Chapter 36: Of Proposals and Rebuttals

As Keith made his way downtown to the meeting, his phone was buzzing with incoming texts, most of them surrounding his absence and what he was missing - namely, Dominic Black and his scare tactic that there may or may not be a six-year-old girl living among them that might be a carrier for some unknown but lethal pathogen. If Keith had to guess, he'd anticipate just enough scares and warnings to get everyone worked up and upset, but not to the point they would start wondering why, if this was so bad, the military and the CDC had not cordoned off the town like they did in the Dustin Hoffman movie 'Contagion.'

No, Dominic had to roll this out just right – with just enough fear and personal connection to make it work.

Keith thought about that as he made his way back towards town and after visiting the clinic, and he had to admit, the ruse was brilliant.