Blogtober 2023
Smith left the room and returned with the other two agents, who were escorting Murphy and Nicole into the room with Clarkton. They sat on either side of the detective while Agent Smith handed them each a stack of paper.
“What’s this?” Clarkton asked.
“Security clearance,” Smith replied. “We are grateful for your service. This was a dangerous creature, and who knows what it would have done had it been able to extract its ship. We want you to continue to serve your community, but that comes at a price.”
“Which is?” Nicole asked.
“You don’t reveal the truth about what happened or what you saw,” Smith said. “The cover story is that what you found really was a meth lab. The creature was an illusion meant to scare people away.”
“People really died here,” Murphy said. “What are you going to tell their families?”
“We’ll say they crossed paths with the meth makers and were killed,” Smith said. “The ones with no family will just be buried and forgotten.”
“What incentive do we have to cooperate?” Clarkton said. “We could walk out of here and tell our story.”
“We’ll have to ensure that no one believes you,” Smith said. “Do you all really want to throw away your careers? Sign the document, keep your secret, and if you ever need a favor, my cell phone number is on the last page.”
“This is a conspiracy,” Murphy said.
“This isn’t a conspiracy,” Smith said. “It’s the United States Government.”
Photo credit Adobe Stock #612523443
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