128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Twelve: The Pretrial Detainee | Part 1

A month later...

Matthew stared blankly at the television. He had nothing else to do and had nothing to think about ever since the detectives' defeat at the trial. All he could do was wait to attend another trial that would come soon—the trial of Emma and Mr. Bergen.

"This is CNN news. Eleven of the thirteen boar-like creatures found in Scranton Middle School last Saturday have been contained. Eight of them were culled, but the remaining three have been taken in to be studied. However, two of the creatures have yet to be found. The public is advised to be wary and call the Scranton PD or CDC if they happen to spot any of the creatures anywhere," the reporter announced. "The head of Commonwealth Health also commented that based on preliminary reports, the creatures are human, but seem to be infected by an unknown strain of encephalitis—," he said before Matthew turned to television off.

He couldn't care less about the escaped creatures. He didn't live in Scranton, after all. All he cared about was Emma and how she was doing. Things had been going south for the three of them ever since the disappearance of George and Penelope Pace.

Seeing that there was nothing better to do, he gave Daniel a call. "Hey, Dan. I'm thinking about visiting Emma again. Her trial is only three weeks from now, and I think it's best we show our care and concern by visiting her frequently," he said.

"I think that's a good idea. I'll come along too," Daniel replied.

"The facility opens for visiting at 10 am, so it's still a little early. You should grab a bite first," Matthew suggested.

"I will," Daniel said, seemingly, dejected. After pausing for a little while, which almost caused Matthew to hang up, he added another note. "Matt, wait. Do you want to have breakfast together?"

Matthew stopped to think for a while. "I mean, why not?" he replied. "I actually have a place in mind. It's all the way here in Columbus Circle, though, so it's a bit far for you."

Daniel chuckled discreetly. "I mean, if it's what you want, then I'm fine with it," he gave in. "We still have an hour before the visiting hours for the jail begin, and we don't have to go the minute it opens anyway."

"I'll meet you at... 9.30 am then," Matthew stated, glancing at his watch.

"All right. See you later."

Matthew sighed, staring at the TV screen. He pondered about the missing creatures that had run wild back in Scranton. He remembered Mr. Palmer's words, how he had warned them about the dangers of getting infected by one, and also the similar warning he had seen on the news.

And most of all, he wondered what Yael was really up to.

He dived into a deep session of reflection and careful thought, thinking about Yael's ulterior motives. They were obviously trying to gain something by crook and had to make it so confidential and unknown that they would kill anyone that got in their way or found out too much about them.

What were they trying to do in secret such that they had to even try to murder the detectives on their first encounter with the creature at the Allentown police precinct?

What was it that they were so desperately trying to cover up, such that they wouldn't allow Matthew and his friends to investigate the missing persons case of George and Penelope Pace?

And how was the missing persons case even related to Yael's vicious plans?

Matthew attempted to draw a connection between the recent events. The missing persons case. The assassination attempts on the detectives. The boar-like creatures.

As a result, he brought out a whiteboard and began writing and illustrating some of the events. He annotated all of them, seeing if he could make any sense out of what he wrote and suggested to himself.