Free The Need for Fear by Oisin McGann

over the young man’s face and placed his hands on Chi’s shoulders.
    â€œListen, I need you now, Chi,” he said earnestly. “I know this isn’t how you thought things would go. The kind of power we’re messing with here, it’s … believe me, it’s beyond the ability of any one person to influence.” He looked back out at the street to see a black cab pull up in front of Sharon’s building. “There’s the taxi. We’re out of time. She’ll be on her way down.”
    Chi barely grunted in reply. Robert shook him, staring intently into his eyes.
    â€œWe’re both out of our depth, okay? Me as well as you. I’m an old man pissing against the wind here. But there’s one thing you can do to make a difference and that’s to help me keep those two young women alive. That’s something , isn’t it? We can do that right now, but I need you to go out there and be convincing . Sharon’s got to talk to you, to look like she’s comfortable with you. Can you make that happen?”
    â€œDunno,” Chi said in a morose voice. “I suppose.”
    â€œHey! Hey! ” Robert barked at him. “These bastards are all around us! ‘ Suppose ’ isn’t going to cut it! You’ve got to commit to this, to make it work. You want the truth about what’s going on here? I’ll tell you all of it, you hear me, Chi? Anything you want. I’ll … I’ll … I’ll tell you everything I know about the goddamn aliens if that’s what it takes, but I need your help! Come on, man!”
    â€œYou’ll tell me … everything?” Chi said, blinking.
    â€œSure, anything you want.” Robert was gazing back down the street.
    â€œWhat are we going to do about the police?”
    Robert shrugged off his coat, folded it over his arm, and handed it to Chi. Then he took a steel-handled locking knife from his pocket and unfolded the blade.
    â€œI’ll handle the police,” he said.

Chapter 13: Contact
    Chi watched as Robert tore open the front of his shirt, pulling one side out of his trousers. The old man then mussed up his hair before placing the blade of the knife against his head, just above his hairline, over the left side of his forehead. With barely a wince, he cut a short incision in his scalp. Blood began to run down his face.
    â€œScalp wounds bleed a lot,” he murmured, seeing the expression on Chi’s face. “Looks worse than it is. Just make sure you do your bit right.”
    With a brush of his wrist, he smeared the blood across his face and his glasses then handed the knife to Chi. Stepping out onto the path, he began to stumble away, as if drunk or concussed. He looked the part. Chi watched for a moment before turning his eyes to Sharon’s front door and realizing with a jolt that the reporter was already stepping outside—and Detective Sergeant Harriet Caul was with her. Still unsure of what he was going to do, Chi crossed the street and started making his way toward the two women.
    It felt like a betrayal of everything he stood for, of the Truth. But he believed Robert’s fear. The conspiracy was horribly, dangerously real. Sharon was going to get herself—and possibly Harriet—killed. Even as he set out to sabotage the other journalist’s work, Chi felt an emotion that was almost chivalrous. He was doing the right thing. By allowing himself to be the clown Robert needed, he was saving these two women from something that would consume them all if he didn’t act. In its own small way, wasn’t this a heroic sacrifice?
    Harriet spotted him then, her wary copper’s eyes hardening, like a predator watching its territory invaded. She was about to say something to Sharon when her attention was drawn to a scene that was unfolding across the road. Robert had reached the police car and was staggering against it, leaving bloody handprints on the