Basic Trope: Character (A) finds a interesting discovery, so Character (A) tells Character (B) the discovery. It turns out Character (B) was aware of the discovery from the very beginning, so Character (B) (Usually) kills Character (A) to prevent the information from spreading.
- Straight: Alice discovers a superweapon that is hiding in an underground sewer, so she reports to her trusted ally Charlie about it's danger. Charlie kills Alice to prevent the situation from escaping.
- Exaggerated:
- Charlie takes things even further by killing anyone who is related to Alice.
- Charlie pulls this several times in one day. It seems to be his main method of maintaining secrecy.
- Downplayed:
- Charlie locks up Alice in a prison cell so she won't tell anyone about the superweapon.
- Charlie is constantly spewing Implied Death Threats to Alice in order to try her to not talk about the superweapon in the sewers.
- Justified:
- Charlie does not want to be exposed as a criminal and have his reputation as a hero be ruined by Alice's discovery.
- Charlie is a Villain with Good Publicity, and wants to be able to gather resources for his superweapon easily with his reputation.
- Charlie's superweapon could get him in trouble with the authorities, so he has to kill Alice to ensure the information does not spread.
- Alice trusts Charles with her life - unwisely.
- Charles cannot afford to hurt Alice - or she thinks so.
- The circumstances force Alice into telling Charles even if she doesn't fully trust him, and he is the only one who could help her.
- Inverted:
- Charlie and Alice tell everyone about the secret superweapon that was found in the sewer.
- Charlie reveals to everyone about his secret superweapon and kills them all.
- Subverted:
- Charlie decides to leave Alice alive after a moment of thought, deciding that there are better ways to ensure Alice ensures the info doesn't reach the wrong ears.
- Alice made sure to tell several people the information she had on Charlie before confronting him.
- Charlie asks this question menacingly, and Alice herself seems to realize her mistake. But then Charlie smiles and says "Keep it that way" as an Implied Death Threat, leaving Alice safe for now.
- Double Subverted:
- At the last second Charlie decides that lethally silencing Alice is the best option and does so.
- At least half of them cannot believe what Alice said about Charlie and meet him themselves. And Alice told Charlie a list of the "everyone else" in the middle of gloating about her safety measure. Soon they're all dead meat.
- But then Charlie suspects Alice might tell someone and kills her anyway.
- Exploited: Alice, due to being unsure of Charlie's allegiance, also tells Charlie about another "friend" of hers who knows the information. If Charlie is really planning to silence Alice for the information, he will go after that friend too, who also happens to be related to the superhero Bob, who would wipe the floor with Charlie.
- Defied: Just after exposing her findings, Alice adds: "And before you even ask, I set up a Dead Man's Switch that only I can disarm to send my discovery to every single media organizations in the country. Call this a security measure."
- Parodied:
- Charlie uses his superweapon to blow up the city so his secret superweapon is not exposed to the world.
- Whenever anyone tells Charlie some secret information, Charlie simply kills them. Charlie even kills people even though the information is not real.
