[u][b]Inquisitor Wilson - Covington, IN [/b][/u]

[u]Covington, IN - Sheriff's Office - 0635 CT (8:35 PT)[/u]

"Allow me", Inquisitor Wilson said as leaned over the the table and presented a flip lighter so the youngish woman across from him could light her cigarette. Normally, Wilson wouldn't allow a interviewee to smoke in his presence...it was a disgusting habit, not to mention unhealthy...but when working for willing cooperation from a subject, small gestures could mean a lot. 

"Thanks", she said as she lit the cigarette, then settled back in her chair. she was still relatively young, in her mid-twenties, though the guarded expression women in her line of work assumed made her look older. She was dressed similarly to Brother Simon, who leaned against the far wall listening to the interview, her rifle leaning up against the wall next to him. Though Simon...now Acting Mayor...was relevant to this, he was mainly there to reassure Betty, who was somewhat nervous to find herself face to face with one of Barnaky's dreaded Inquisitors.

"Please be advised, this interview is now being recorded", Brother Wilson said, then picking up a small remote and turning on the camera. "This is Inquisitor Charles Wilson, OIC Field Investigation Group II, in Covington, IN on this date at 0635 Central Time. This proceeding is the initial post-mission debriefing of Betty Henderson, 26, a resident of Covington and Auxiliary of the Office of State."  

"To begin, tell me about yourself, Betty", Wilson said, "While Brother Simon has spoken to me about you, I would like to hear from you in your own words why you chose to work with us." 

Betty's story was like many he had heard before across the Wasteland outside...a widow with children who had found herself obliged to either sacrifice her pride or see her children starve. To make matters worse, most of the proceeds from selling her body went to the murderer of her husband, the former Sheriff of Covington, now in a cell awaiting his fate. That alone would have seen him hanged for public corruption as an object lesson....the fact that Betty wasn't the only resident he had victimized just made that fate more certain...but he also turned out to be a member of the Cult cell that plagued the town. Word had come down to transport him back to Danville...it seems they had something special planned for him. 

Unfortunately for former Sheriff Roscoe P Coletrain...she was made of sterner stuff than he had realized. She had proved eager to work with Brother Simon, to the point of continuing her "work"...and the things Coletrane forced her to perform  were revolting, and clearly pained her to discuss in front of a camera...to help the Cause. Thanks to the information she provided, Simon was able to round up most of the Cult cell to present to him gift-wrapped upon his arrival. The demented gibbering he had elicited from the prisoners when he toured the cell-block had proven Mrs Henderson's efficiency...he had already recommended her and her children be evacuated as soon as possible.

Wilson was, as delicately as he could, asking questions about the conversations with Coletrane that led to her discovering his membership in the Cult when he heard two explosions, one after another, seemingly outside. They were close enough that some plaster fell from the ceiling of the old building. 

"What the hell?", Wilson said as he reached for his radio to call his command vehicle. "Brother Jones, what just...."

He was interrupted by a third explosion, this one much closer. More plaster fell from the ceiling, and the door was blasted inward and the lights went out as smoke billowed into the room as all three of them were knocked off thier feet (or chairs). After a moment, the old emergency lights flickered into life as Wilson got to his feet and dusted himself off dazedly. Simon helped Betty to her feet and handed her rifle to her. Wilson drew his plasma pistol and approached the door just as the decrepit sprinker system activated, a drizzle of brackish water emanating from each head. Looking cautiously around the door, he saw that the main lobby of the old Pre-War building was devastated....the third bomb had detonated inside the building. The guards that had been posted here were all dead. Staggering outside, he saw bodies everywhere. 

"Suicide bombers", he heard Simon say behind him, "Gotta be".

He noticed the War Correspondent from the Administration's Office of War Information climbing down from the APC she had been operating her camera from to help. 

"No, Sister", Wilson explained, "Get back to your post, I want you to keep filming!" she hesitated a minute, caught off guard by the order. He added, "the people need to see what kind of degenerates we're fighting!". That did it and she got back aboard the APC and manned her camera. 

"Jones", Lewis barked into his radio, "Situation report!"

The command APC reported that the rest of the settlement was quiet...thankfully the bombing did not seem to be the opening of a counter-attack. He ordered the recon drones circling above the settlement to be re-tasked to cover the area around the settlement in case this was a distraction for a larger attack from outside. Fortunately, that was not the case either, though one of the drones picked up a figure running away from the town. Wilson ordered the contact to be followed and turned his situation back to dealing with the aftermath of the attack. 

"What do you think, Brother Simon", Wilson asked. "Were they trying to rescue the prisoners...or silence them?"

"Perhaps", Simon replied with the serenity only a true fanatic can display, "Or they might have wanted to provoke a over-reaction against the people, or to make the people doubt we can protect them....or perhaps they just wanted to kill as many people as they could before we finished them. it's best not to read too much into what they do...trying to understand them too much leads to madness and Heresy. All we need know is that they are our Enemy and will stop at nothing to strike at us. 

"For my part", Simon continued, "I believe this attack was an admission that Covington is lost to them."

"Yes", Wilson said wearily, "Your words ring true. There are probably only a few left here now....we just have to find them. I suspect in the sewers, though the logical place to start would be to search the homes of confirmed members for clues. For now, I want a curfew set to limit the casualties they can cause."

"It will be done, Inquisitor", Simon said, saluting Brotherhood style before taking his leave to carry out the order. 
Wilson then turned to the rather distraught Betty. 

"Collect your children...I'll send some men with you...then report to the Command vehicle", Wilson said, "I'm ordering you evacuated with the wounded. It's not out of the realm of possibility that they were trying to get to you....and I am not going to take that chance."  

As the detail left for Betty's house, Wilson sighed and pounded twice on the rear door of the Command APC then moved back as it slowly opened to let him in. He was not looking forward to submitting a report on this mess.

It was going to be a long war.