CHAPTER 7: Conspiracy Of Silence

As David approached the bar at the 8 Bells he noticed that the regular barman wasn't there but some other guy.

"Hey, where's Jack?" David asked.

"Jack's not here" came the stern reply.

"Day off?"

"I said...Jack's not here.  Now what do you want?"

David noticed that this guy wasn't the kind of barman who engaged in friendly chat so he said "Just a beer".  The barman silently poured the beer and David checked out the scene to see if there was anything out of the ordinary or that Lauren, Erwin or anyone else he had met in the town was around.  

After he was served his beer he noticed out of one of the bar's windows a woman in military uniform running past, screaming.  David immediately became alerted and looked around at the other patrons in the bar, most of them military personnel as well, to see what their reactions were.  Not one person in the bar, not the soldiers nor the barman reacted at all.  David put down his beer and ran out of the bar to see if he could catch this woman and see what was going on.

He followed her around the corner of the bar to where a line of military trucks were parked.  She suddenly stopped and looked around as if she were trapped.  David managed to catch up with her and she turned around to see him; her eyes filled with fear.

"Hello!" he called out.  "Don't worry; I'm a friend.  My name's David.  What's the matter?  Can I help you?"

"I...I...it's..." she stammered as she was hyperventilating.  David went up close to her and put his hands gently on her shoulders to help calm her down.

"Try to relax.  I'm here to help.  What is it that's frightened you?" he said.

The woman tried to speak but couldn't find the words.  "It's OK" said David.  "How about we go back to the bar and I'll get you a drink to help calm you down?  Does that sound good?"

The woman nodded and David led her back to the 8 Bells.  However, as they entered two officers in Class A uniforms approached them.

"That's alright, sir, we can handle things from here" said one of them, looking from David to the woman soldier.

"What's going on, Captain?" asked David.

"You don't need to know, Mr Wright.  We'll take care of this situation.  Lieutenant, please escort the corporal here back to base."

"Hey, how do you know my name?" asked David.

"Need to know, Mr Wright.  Need to know..." and with that, the three service personnel left the bar.

David was frustrated and skulked out of the bar and was heading home when he heard his name being called out from across the street.

"David!  David Wright!" came a voice.  David looked across the street and saw the local UFO-spotter and trinket seller, Erwin Pries, looking at him.  David crossed the road and went over to him, suspecting that the guy might have some information for him.

"What's up, Erwin?" asked David.

"They're clamping down on people asking questions, man" said Erwin.  "That's more army people around here than I've ever seen before and I reckon it's you and your British friend stirring things up that's spooking them."

"Have they leaned on you yet?" asked David.

"They took a look around the shack, asked if I'd been up to the lab at all and I said no.  But I know you have." Erwin said, knowingly.

"I can't talk about that" David replied.

"You can't talk and they don't want anyone else to talk.  No one's talking anymore..." sighed Erwin.  Then his face had a concerned look and he stared David in the eyes.  "You might want to keep an eye on your lady friend...the librarian.  She also knows too much..."

That last comment weighed on David's mind throughout the rest of that day and into the next where he had arranged to meet with Lauren outside of Strangerville at the Solar Flare lounge in Oasis Springs.

"Lauren, have you noticed the increased army presence in Strangerville?" he asked her.

"You can hardly miss it!" she replied.

David looked at his drink as a distraction because he was anxious and was figuring out what to say to her next.  This was meant to be a nice, relaxed evening with her with the prospect of their friendship developing more deeply but he was bothered by what he had seen earlier.

"I've been thinking..." he eventually said.  "...maybe you should move away from Strangerville for a while, until this affair is settled.  Do you have relatives you can stay with?"

"David...I can't just up and leave my home and job, not whilst this is unresolved!" she said, defiantly.  "I'm not put off by a few extra soldiers around town."

"It's just that I heard something that bothered me.  Some people, like those conspiracy theorists, think you know too much and that you might be at risk."

"At risk of what?" Lauren replied.

"Harm.  I don't know...it's that I've been warned off from digging deeper and now that might mean you as well."

"Are you giving up?" she asked.

"No."

"Then why should I?  Those are my friends who have been infected and that's my home town where I live.  I want to help your investigation but I can't leave...I won't leave."

David nodded.  "You're right.  It's just that..." but he couldn't finish the sentence.  Lauren reached over and gently touched him on the knee.

"...you care."  She said, gently.  "I appreciate that"

Her words were meant to comfort him but instead he still felt anxious...he now realised he was developing feelings for Lauren and it was starting to affect his judgement.

Back in Strangerville, Cornelius had been far from idle in his investigations.  He had discovered nothing of importance to pass on to Peggy or his superiors back at the DPR but he had been taking notes about the army presence in town.  They had given him the silent treatment, just as they had with David, but he figured if the army were in control, then one other prominent group in Strangerville would be shut out:  The scientists.  Cornelius went to the one place he figured they would be and the soldiers wouldn't...the library.

He found one sitting alone, forlornly, at a chess table.  He was looking glumly down at the pieces and Cornelius could tell that this man wasn't looking after himself with his wild, unkempt hair and no signs of having shaved in quite some time.

"Hmmm, it looks like defeat for Black in that position" said Cornelius, looking over the board.  "However, there is one move that would rescue you..."

"I can't see it" said the forlorn scientist.

"Let me help you..." said Cornelius, sitting down opposite him.  "You still have a bishop and a knight.  Move the bishop to F4, that would force the White Queen to retreat...alright, you sacrifice the knight in the process but in 3 moves you'll be able to check White."

The scientist looked over the board and his eyes suddenly went from despairing to surprise.  "Why, yes!  You're right!  How come I didn't see that?  I must be slipping..."

"Sometimes when the pressure's on, we fail to see a way ahead.  My name's Cornelius...Doctor Cornelius"

"Dr Coates.  Glad to make your acquaintance, Cornelius.  I've seen you around here...what's your connection with the town?"

"Scientific enquiry, like yourself"

Coates stiffened and went quiet.  The joyful look in his eyes vanished as quickly as it came.  "You're one of those outsiders trying to find out what's going on, aren't you?"

"Is that a problem?" asked Cornelius, dryly.

"Well, yes.  You're going to bring trouble here...the army have moved in and taken over!"

"That's hardly my fault, is it."

"You're adding to all the troubles.  It's best you pack up and leave:  Most of us who worked at the lab are heading out."

"Not until I've completed my mission.  Now we're both scientists...we should be beyond rivalries and instead pool our knowledge.  What happened up there at the lab?"

"I can't..."

"You must!  People's lives are at stake and you and I know that whatever happened initially is spreading.  Just give me one clue, just one!"

Coates shifted in his seat and looked around the library:  He and Cornelius were the last two people there and Coates knew that this was the one opportunity. 

"There was an explosion at the lab" whispered Coates.

"I saw no signs of an explosion" replied Cornelius.

"It was on the lower level.  We had to evacuate in a hurry and since then we've been quartered in a makeshift camp just outside of town and we can't leave the precinct."

"What caused the explosion?"

"I...can't...I mean, I'm not sure.  I've said too much...I must leave..." said Coates, gulping nervously.  He then stood up and left the library, leaving Cornelius all alone in the old building.

He decided to head home, now determined to get back to the lab and find the source of the explosion...that is, if the Army haven't taken over by now.  As he crossed the town square he was accosted by one of the Conspiracy Theorist Crowd; Crystal McCoy.

"Hello, Miss McCoy.  It's a bit late to be prowling the streets of Strangerville" he said.

"Oh the evening is when the fun around here starts:  The pods start pulsating more, the lights in the sky are more frequent and the chances of seeing a UFO increase dramatically."  she replied with a strange, vacant quality to her voice.

"And what about the army men, do they get up to much at night?"

"Oh no.  They mostly stay put in their barracks at night.  Not even the army ventures out when it gets dark around here!"

Her voice trailed off and she had a glazed look in her eyes.  Cornelius thought she must be tripping out on magic mushrooms but conceded that there was a kernel of truth to what she said.  Army or no army, he was going back to the lab!