128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Nineteen: The Apartment | Part 1

"Wait, what? He's not here?" Megan panicked.

"Of course, he drilled the wall open and got out somehow," Matthew pointed to the broken galley wall and the chainsaw left behind. "So, now what? Gather some food and escape to somewhere somehow as Palmer did?" Daniel asked.

Matthew stepped forward, staring at a hole present in the wall ahead of him. The gap led out to a street outside, implying that if Palmer had been hiding in the room, he would have later escaped through the hole out to the streets. He inspected the room again, not entirely convinced that Palmer was gone for good, however.

Meanwhile, Megan waited around as the others continued to look around the place. She then pressed her hand against a shelf that was beside her before noticing that she was pushing against a photograph.

She scrutinised the photo thoroughly. A woman—probably middle-aged—was portrayed in it. To Megan, there was nothing about the person that rang a bell, however. As such, she flipped the photograph around and noticed that there was an inscription on the back side of it. "Linda Palmer", it read. "Hey, guys. Take a look at this," she called the others over.

The three detectives, together with Eliot, gathered together to look at the writing on the photograph. It took a while for all of them to come up with a theory on what the name might be referring to, but Matthew quickly came up with a thought. "This must be Palmer's wife or sister," he suggested.

Eliot moved closer and looked at the picture carefully for himself. "Wife," he clarified.

The three detectives looked up at Eliot, expecting that he would provide them with more information that they ought to know about. As such, he elaborated further. "You guys are in possession of several confidential documents from Edison Palmer Hospital, aren't you?" he asked first.

"Well, yes," Matthew responded, pointing at the suitcase he was carrying in one hand.

"Then you must know that Palmer, together with Yael, instigated the testing programme of a potential "White Fever" cure on multiple subjects," Eliot assumed. "The question you have in mind, however, is why? Why was Palmer so desperate to make the programme a success? The simple answer is so that he could save his wife."

Matthew raised his eyebrow, trying to piece together the information. "So, her wife has... White Fever?" he questioned.

"Had," Eliot corrected again. "She died a while ago. She was attacked by a member of the Pace family as her ward was near the testing facility. In fact, her room was part of the testing facility itself since Palmer had intended to give her the substance hastily, knowing that she had little time left."

Matthew finally understood the reason for Palmer's actions, although it didn't quite justify them. Furthermore, he still couldn't get why Palmer would lie to them and tell them that he was coming personally to rescue them when in fact, he had brought along the chairwoman just so that she could annihilate the detectives herself. His betrayal was something that Matthew still held a grudge about, but he knew he couldn't let it get to him. After all, Palmer wasn't the villain.

Yael was.

"So, how do we go about from here?" Megan queried, curious to know more about the secret organisation's plan with them.

"We'll transport you to Philadelphia tonight," Eliot informed. "You have got a lot to complete still."

"By car?" Daniel questioned.

"By plane."

"But how will you be able to get us on a plane if the airspace is—"

"I don't have time to explain everything," Eliot cut in. "I'll call Elaine over. She's a certified pilot and will fly you there, by hook or crook." He then left the room and gathered his alliance together. Thankfully, none of them were hurt, and they all had managed to obliterate the creatures that no longer posed a threat to their safety.