128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Evidence | Part 1

Daniel seemingly stared up at Matthew in fear, shaking unnervingly. To Matthew, however, this was all for show. And he thought that Daniel just wanted to make himself look innocent, such that Matthew would release his grip on the firearm.

"M-Matthew? W-what are you doing?" Daniel shuddered in fear as he tried to close his eyes and remove the image of the gun on his forehead from his mind.

"Well, why don't you tell me what the hell you were doing with Yael?" he interrogated Daniel, yelling.

"What do you mean, 'Yael'?" Daniel questioned back. "There must be a misunderstanding! I told you I was—"

"You were what? Talking to the SRA in the middle of the night?" Matthew questioned sarcastically. "Look, Daniel. I'm tired of this, all right? I'm sick of Yael, I'm sick of this outbreak, and I'm sick of you."

"S-sick of me? What—"

"Stop treating me like I don't know shit because I do now. So shut your trap and stop trying to explain things with your lies," Matthew screamed.

As a result, Daniel kept silent. There was nothing he could do now. It was obvious that Matthew and likely Megan had already discovered everything about his connections with Yael, or at least enough to superficially understand what was happening. And just by glancing over at the distasteful look on Megan's face, he could confirm that his cover was truly blown.

Meanwhile, Matthew refused to move the gun away from Daniel's forehead. He wanted to ensure that he wouldn't try anything funny. However, he still had more to say to and about Daniel. A lot more to say, in fact.

"I know what you are now, Daniel. You're a psychopathic, two-faced monster that would blend in with people before betraying them just for the fun of it," Matthew scoffed. "Back in NYU, you were the one that assaulted Alyssa, weren't you?"

Daniel didn't answer his question, however. Of course, Matthew didn't expect an answer. He just wanted Daniel to listen up and get his mind straight. Because he definitely wasn't in the right state of mind considering that he would betray his conscience and friends to help Yael for no apparent reason.

"Sure you were," Matthew continued. "I've always had suspicions about that day, you know? The victim claimed she had left a scratch on the perpetrator's right arm. And you had one such wound on your right arm too. But I didn't say anything, all because you proved my innocence when I was accused of attacking the girl. But now I know you enjoy being the villain in the dark and playing the hero in the light. And that's as simple as it can be."

At that moment, Matthew released his finger from the trigger and moved the gun away from Daniel's forehead. Daniel sighed in relief, although it t wouldn't last long. The tension between the three detectives remained, and it would always be there as long as they knew for a fact that Daniel was a traitor—worse than Emma was.

"Don't think for a second that we're going to let you off so easily. You'll be dealt with the moment we get out," Matthew said as he moved himself to the other side of the room, his gun still in his hand.

Daniel looked across the observation room and stared at Matthew. At that point in time, Matthew's face had almost become as emotionless as Daniel's. However, nothing could beat how psychopathic and remorseless Daniel was, not even to regret what he had done.

"So," Daniel started talking again, "since you know it all now. Where's the flash drive?"

Matthew raised an eyebrow. He was surprised that Daniel had the cheek to even ask such a question after all he had done. As such, he decided to play a little "game", just like the one that Daniel himself had played with them. "What flash drive? The empty one that I got from the hospital?"