128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Nineteen: The Apartment | Part 2

After landing, the three detectives moved from the apron beside the short airstrip near the main airport area to the main airport area itself. They followed the directions that Elaine had given to them before she left for somewhere else, leaving them to advance on their own.

They approached the taxi stand at one of the airport terminals. The three rested, leaning against the metal railings that organised the way that people would queue. However, the queue was almost empty, and so was the area around them, which was quite unlike the usual crowd Matthew would notice at any of the airports in New York before the outbreak.

Their turn soon came to hitch a ride to their temporary apartment as the person in front of them got into a cab, driving off. The next vehicle quickly arrived, allowing them to finally enter and begin their journey to their newfound home.

As Matthew slid into the taxi first, he informed the driver of their destination. "Quartz Plaza Apartment, 2240 West Quartz Street, please," he told the driver.

Once the three had adjusted themselves comfortably on the seats, Megan, who was the last to enter the taxi, shut the door. The driver then stepped on the pedal, bringing them towards their destination.

After about thirty minutes or so, the taxi came to a halt. Megan looked out of the taxi window, glancing up at the apartment tower. It seemed pretty run-down and old, hinting to them that their experience there wasn't going to be too pleasant. However, enjoying the stay wasn't their purpose for coming to Philadelphia.

Confronting Yael was.

As Megan pushed the door open so that she could step out and let the others leave, Matthew rummaged through his wallet. He then grabbed out some cash, handing it over to the driver. "Keep the change, and have a good night," he said as he placed the money in the driver's hands before hastily leaving the cab and shutting the door. The taxi then drove off, leaving them in front of the apartment building.

"Looks like we're here," he commented as he stared at the building. "Let's check the apartment units out."

Hence, the trio headed into the building. The lobby already didn't look any better than the exterior façade of the building. The plastic surrounding the light bulbs was tearing off, and the wallpaper covering some of the walls was falling off too. The leather of the sofa at the side of the lobby area was worn out, and the coffee table was scratched.

The detectives then headed up to the eighth floor, where both their apartment units were located on. As they stepped out of the elevator, Matthew looked at the directory signs, showing which way would lead to which units.

He then gestured to the left, signalling to the others to follow him towards the left side. They quickly arrived at the end of the hallway, where both adjacent units were located.

Matthew grabbed the keys from his pocket, which he had transferred from his suitcase earlier in the elevator. He then glanced over at Megan, who was eyeing the room second closest to the end of the corridor. He then passed her the key, contemplating who would bunk with whom. "I guess "the boys go with the boys" if that's how it works," he remarked. After all, it seemed that Megan would feel more comfortable alone.

"Well, good night then," Megan grinned slightly before she inserted her key into the keyhole. The door unlocked, and so she pushed it open, glancing inside from the outside. She turned back and looked at Matthew and Daniel for one last time.

"If anything happens, call us. We'll be right over," Matthew added. As such, she headed into her room and shut the door, locking it.

"Well, looks like we can get some sleep for now," Daniel rejoiced quietly as Matthew unlocked the door, allowing him to enter his room too. Matthew followed behind before closing the door and latching it.

He took off his shoes and coat, completely exhausted from the long days he had. And it wasn't just the recent days that had him drained. The past months had been complete chaos for all three of them, although they could all acknowledge that Matthew was hit the most.

However, Matthew himself chose to keep aside the bitterness he was manifesting. He decided that putting all of the stress away for that night could help him rest.

Not for long, though.

* * *

Matthew's sleep was disrupted again, just like it was in his car earlier in New York. Unlike this resting session, however, that one was purely unintentional. This time, he was determined to really get the sleep he needed. Instead, he was disturbed by the sound of someone speaking in the background.

Daniel.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly before getting out of bed and heading towards the bathroom, where he heard Daniel's voice coming from. He peeped into the toilet, his head popping out to the side of the doorway slightly. Daniel was speaking to someone on the phone; however, he had no idea who. Despite this, he was able to capture a bit of his conversation.

"... 2240 West Quartz Street. Tomorrow? All right then. Bye," Daniel spoke before hanging up the call. He then turned around to see Matthew before placing the phone down. "Oh, you're awake," he said as he watched Matthew continue to rub his eyes.

"D-Daniel..." he faltered, his voice affected by his exhausted state. "It's 3 am. Who were you talking to at this time of the night?"

"Oh, well, someone from the SRA called me all of a sudden," Daniel explained, elaborating more afterwards. "I don't know why, but they asked me about our details here. Apparently, they said Eliot wanted to know, although he should already have the information."

Matthew walked away, his arm still shielding his sensitive eyes from the bathroom light. He threw himself back onto the bed, trying to go back to sleep. "Turn the light off, please. I really need to rest," he said as he sighed, his eyes squeezed shut to filter out the light in the room.

And so Daniel complied and switched the light off before returning to his bed to rest. He turned over, facing Matthew, who was facing the other way, meaning he couldn't quite see his expression. However, Daniel could already imagine Matthew keeping his eyes shut, seeing how irritable he was when he was tired.

"Matt?" he called softly. "You still awake?"

"Yeah?" Matthew replied, his voice still sustaining for the moment.

"Do you think we'll make it?"

"What do you mean?" Matthew questioned back, peeling his eyes open and turning over to face Daniel.

"Well, do you think we'll even be able to make it out of here alive if we confront Yael?" Daniel rephrased his query.

Matthew exhaled deeply. He shrugged slightly. "It's hard to say. Time will tell, so we'll see. All we can do is hope for the best. And get rest."

Daniel nodded before going quiet. He decided it was time for both of them to finally take a break and sleep. And so, he flipped back up, closed his eyes, and fell asleep...