43 Silent Evils

It was already past ten in the evening and the last few days had been exhausting for both of them, especially today. They were disgusted dealing with the sick but they had no better choice. Well, the payment was good so they had to follow orders, every word of them. For Tara, what she got from doing her assignments would enable her to buy new bags, shoes, and clothes, and possibly to travel to different cities or even countries.

\"I would really love to get away from here,\" Tara said. \"I don't mean I hate Subangdaku but there is nothing much to love here. I want to go somewhere fun and possess fun things.\"

Indeed, working as a plain nurse at the district health center would not help her with her goals. So when Dr. Alvarado's man presented her the opportunity, she was quick to grab it. She could not let the chance pass; besides, the works so far were too easy.

For Cecilia, her motivation was different. Being a single mother to two kids, she would do everything to secure their future. Her daughter was in high school while the younger child, a naughty boy, was still in primary school. Like Tara, she was also working in the district health center and the wage as nurse was really terrible. The offer from Dr. Alvarado's man was irresistible and though she had hesitations at the beginning, she later accepted it. Besides, she believed in Dr. Alvarado and what he had been doing would be for the greater good. Since she and Tara were not really friends in the center, just regular acquaintances, nobody would suspect their involvement.

\"You are just being a brat,\" Cecilia told Tara.

\"I don't care,\" she answered Cecilia. \"I can't look poor.\"

\"I was hoping you would have a deeper reason for doing this but I guess it is all about yourself.\"

\"Whatever! Watch out, you'd better get a good parking.\"

Cecilia parked their car under an old tree. Her rickety car was the only good gift her late husband left to her. Tara went out first and after Cecilia joined her, they walked past by a few buildings before entering their destination. Cecilia buzzed the doorbell once and waited for several minutes before the door finally opened. They walked through several rooms before finally entering Dr. Alvarado's office.

\"Good evening, Doctor!\" the two women said.

\"Good evening, ladies!\" Dr. Alvarado greeted back with a huge smile on his face. \"Pretty tough days but you both made it through. Congratulations for making my plans truly successful.\"

The two smiled and their smile grew larger when Dr. Alvarado threw each one of them a fat envelope. Tara hastily opened hers and chuckled when she finally finished counting her cash.

\"I put in some bonus,\" the doctor said. \"You really did great.\"

\"What happens after this?\" Tara asked.

\"Just standby. Let's enjoy this outbreak for a while.\"

\"It's not exactly enjoyable, Doctor,\" Cecilia protested. \"But we will remain safe through all this chaos, right?\"

\"Of course, Cecilia. I guarantee everyone's safety, including your children.\"

\"Thank you for reassuring, Doctor.\"

\"Have some confidence in me. I have everything figured out already.\"

\"I believe we will still be properly compensated, right?\"

Tara's question made Dr. Alvarado laughed hard.

\"That's what I like about you, Tara. You are so easy to please. For now, you can both go and have some peace of mind and plenty of rest. More exhausting days will come as this outbreak spreads.\"

The two nurses bade farewell and happily left the office. Once the revving of their car's engine faded, Dr. Alvarado once again took out his documents. He had been studying them before they arrived. He spread open the blueprint of his facility plans.

The medical building would have two storeys. The reception area and different clinics for children will be on the first floor. Medical services catering mostly to adults will be on the second floor. He knew the doctors who would be renting the rooms; they were all friends and acquaintances. Even before the outbreak, he already had contacted them to make sure he would have partners. However, he truly trusted some of them, enough to include them in his secret plans.

After the spaceship crashed in Subangdaku, his simple plans for the medical facility became more ambitious and illusive. The government had taken his alien, somewhere he did not even know. But he knew there was another spaceship from the first crash and he was positive there was another alien. What happened to the being, he had no idea but he believed it was only hiding in the district. He must find it first before the government did.

In order to accomplish his plans, he needed some distraction and a headquarter. The original building already had a spacious basement. Initially, he had no intention of utilizing it but with the present opportunity, he would instead transform it into a secret base where he could keep the alien and perform necessary experiments on it. In order to buy him time to find the alien, the government must be busy with something. It was then the idea of an outbreak came. A meteor came and then an outbreak spread. Dr. Alvarado could not think of a better plan.

\"One week and the facility will be finished,\" Dr. Alvarado said to himself while tracing with his finger the drawing of his facility. \"The mayor is quite easy to convince. A little cash and some reason for urgency.\"

He laughed out loud. He could not believe his luck. Deceiving the mayor was not a difficult task; what was even more exciting was that he instantly facilitated the approval of all permits for the establishment of the medical facility. He could now quickly do everything he planned. And the knowledge from experimenting the alien and the countless possibilities afterwards thrilled him a lot.

\"As for the little fools, they don't have to know about all my plans,\" Dr. Alvarado said. \"But they will be involved for a little while. There are some details for which I could still use them.\"

The doctor was still studying his notes when his telephone suddenly rang. Nobody called him at that time of the night. He hesitated on picking it up but his guts told him to do so. Reluctantly, he grabbed the phone.

\"Hello? Who is this please?\"

He smiled upon hearing the man behind the line. He was his eyes at the government facility which kept the alien.

\"Any good news for me?\"

Dr. Alvarado was tapping his fingers on the table.

\"What? So the subject contains a new substance in it? Something not found in Earth.\"

He began folding his documents while talking on the phone.

\"It's not yet known what the substance can do. But it can be fatal, right?\"

He talked on the phone for a long time. When he was done, he was beaming with delight.

\"The alien has a biological composition different from anything on Earth,\" he said to himself. \"And they are calling it Subangdakudium. Very interesting. So interesting that a little idea just came into my bright mind.\"

Dr. Alvarado laughed to his heart's content. He was indeed a very lucky man.