Free Conscience (The Bellator Saga Book 2) by Cecilia London Page A

stayed at the forefront, she was liable to let them slip out without realizing it. She started counting the blocks again.
    “We know who you were talking to,” Bradbury said.
    She began to twiddle her thumbs.
    “It’s best if you cooperate,” Howard added.
    Caroline looked over at him. At one time he had probably been quite a capable agent.  He had a moderately friendly face but his pleasant expression was a mask. She knew the score. They likely did know bits and pieces of what she’d been doing. They were waiting for her to confirm it. To help them fill in the blanks so that they could continue to build their intelligence. To bolster whatever case they thought they had against her. To strengthen whatever plans they had to take out the rebellion. And she wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction.
    They’d start out nice and then devolve if they didn’t get what they wanted. She knew better than to think that they’d abide by the policies and procedures that were in place when she was working for the DOJ.  Not if they weren’t Mirandizing prisoners. It was an entirely new ballgame. And she wasn’t going to play.
    Howard frowned at her. “We’ve seen the classified information you obtained.”
    Stay focused. Give them basic identifying information. Talk about the furthest topic from what they want to hear.
    “My legal name is Caroline Joan Gerard,” she said quietly.
    His eyes narrowed. “What?”
    “I was born at Highland Park Hospital in Highland Park, Illinois on September 4.”
    The two agents exchanged glances.
    “Who were you working with?” Bradbury asked.
    More people than you think, asshole. “I graduated from St. Mary School in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.”
    Bradbury glared at her. “How did you get on a government server?”
    Very subtle. They thought she’d turned into a hacker in order to obtain classified information. Interesting. Were they bluffing, or did they know?
    “I am an alumnus of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois,” she said.
    “Who were you working with?”
    Time to have a little fun. “Adlai Stevenson was the governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953,” Caroline said blankly.
    “Excuse me?” Howard laid some papers out on the table in front of her. He was getting angry. “Where did you get these?”
    She knew better than to look at the documents. She stared down at a different part of the table. “He ran for president twice on the Democratic ticket.”
    Bradbury reached across the table, pulling her chin up so she was facing him. “Tell us what you know.” He turned to Howard. “This bitch is messing with us.”
    Of course she was. She’d written her senior thesis on Adlai Stevenson. She could carry on for hours if she had to. She’d barely covered enough for a lame Wikipedia entry.
    “He unofficially ran again in 1960 but was defeated by JFK,” Caroline said.
    Bradbury punched her in the nose and tears sprang to her eyes.
    “Move on,” he told Howard. “She’s fucking around.”
    “Where are your children?” Howard asked.
    An interesting segue. They weren’t going to play nice. At all. They probably thought they could somehow trick her into talking if they threatened her family. Caroline closed her eyes, trying to remain focused. She would never betray the ones she loved. Howard and Bradbury would figure that out quickly if they were worth their salt.
    “Adlai Stevenson is widely regarded as leading the resurgence of the Democratic Party in the 1950s,” she said.
    Bradbury punched her again and the blood started to flow. Fantastic. He plopped down on the table next to her, presumably to seem more intimidating.
    “Where’s Senator Sullivan?” he asked. “We know she has your children.”
    Caroline’s nose was bleeding profusely. She tried to wipe at it with the back of her hand and spat out some blood. “Stevenson served as ambassador to the United Nations before his death in 1965.”
    Bradbury pulled her up from the chair by