128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Eleven: The Trial | Part 1

"It's only two days from now, so let's rehearse it one more time for today," Matthew said to the two.

"Seriously? Again? We've already done it around... ten times..." Daniel grumbled, stifling a yawn and rubbing his irritated eyes.

Emma didn't seem better, either. Her eyelids were already drooping, and whatever parts of her eyeballs were visible were turning red and watery, hinting that she was equally tired.

Only Matthew seemed to be okay, completely unaffected by the sagging atmosphere that resulted from the unenergetic auras of the two other detectives. "Come on, just one more time, and you guys can go home," he begged them.

"Fine. I can't believe we're still doing this at 2 am," Daniel said, glancing at the clock blurrily.

Matthew rolled his eyes. He wasn't complaining; as such, he didn't see why his friends needed to. He saw all of it for their own good, despite knowing it was already late at night. He just didn't know why his friends prioritised sleep over a trial rehearsal.

"Daniel Washington, may you tell us what happened on May 14 in the APD police station you were at with your fellow colleagues?" he directed the question to Daniel, playing the role of the prosecution counsel in the direct examination.

"I swear... that this is the last thing I'm going to say. There was a boar chasing us, and... our... our captain Bryan Harris tried to... kill us alongside the beast..." Daniel said before slumping down onto the couch, about to be knocked out by exhaustion. "Seriously, Matthew. Can we just postpone this to tomorrow or something? I really—," he begged before getting cut off by his own yawn. "I really don't think we can focus right now," he commented as he glanced at a sleeping Emma.

Matthew looked at the countless beer cans sitting and lying around on his coffee table. He groaned. "Of course, the beer wasn't a good idea. You guys must be too drunk or something..." he sighed, sounding tired this time.

"Oh, no. I'm fine. But Emma clearly isn't," Daniel corrected.

Emma didn't hear anything. She was still sleeping soundly and even began to snore blatantly. The comfort of the couch cushions was just too tempting for her, and she gave in to the pressure of falling asleep.

"Come on, Emma. Wake up," Matthew said as he tapped Emma on her shoulder. Of course, she didn't wake up.

"I think she's dead," Daniel remarked jokingly. "I'll send her home." His eye bags began to droop and darken, hinting that he wasn't quite in the state to help Emma out.

"You don't look too good either. I think you should settle yourself. I'll drive her," Matthew suggested, figuring that Daniel probably wasn't keen on taking a detour to send Emma back home.

"I guess that's a good idea..." Daniel said, this time scratching the caruncle of his eye. "I'll get going first, then," he said, waving behind as he strode towards the front door. He knocked into the barstool at the counter as he couldn't see properly with his fingers obstructing his eyesight.

"We'll meet here again tomorrow afternoon for the final rehearsal. I'll send a message to remind you guys," Matthew added as Daniel walked out the door.

* * *

The day of the trial...

"Where is Emma? I've been trying to contact her ever since yesterday afternoon. Something must have happened to her," Matthew questioned, sighing tiredly. It was certainly unusual that she had cut off all her connections, such that the messages of the detectives hadn't even gotten through to her phone.

"We can't do anything about it. If we wait any longer, we'll be throwing away our chance to win. It's either her or the trial," Daniel warned Matthew of the consequences of skipping the trial.