128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Four: The End of the Beginning | Part 2

Matthew headed into his car, preparing to drive off. However, before he began his journey, he pulled out his phone and contacted someone. Someone that he thought he ought to catch up with after he had finally finished his part in the Yael investigation.

While waiting for the receiver to respond, he checked Google Maps for directions to his next destination. One of his last destinations in the city, actually, before he would leave New York the next day to join the rest of his family and friends on the other side of the country. Just before Matthew could come to the assumption that the receiver was busy, the call began.

"Hello?" the receiver spoke.

"Hey, it's Matthew," Matthew said as he took the call off speaker mode and placed it on his ear.

"Oh, hi, Matt," the receiver responded. "I'm sorry I left on such short notice. It's... it's just been a lot for me so far. How has it been for you in New York so far? You know, since you're... all alone now..."

"Look, Megan," Matthew said. "There's no need to be sorry for me. I, uh, decided to leave New York too. I think I ought to spend some time away from here, at least for a while. It's a mess here. Many essential services have shut down, my apartment building was partially burnt in a fire, and bodies are still being cleared—human and creature."

Megan sighed over the call. Hearing Matthew mention all of the negative pointers reminded her of the melancholic events that had happened while they were in New York and Philadelphia. However, she still felt contented over the fact that Matthew had made the right decision by taking a break from everything regarding Yael.

"Anyway, I hope you're doing well in LA. I've got a flight booked for there tomorrow," Matthew elaborated further on what he had in mind to do. After some thought, however, he decided to tell Megan about the trip he was about to make to someplace—to visit someone. "By the way, I... I'm going to visit Emma today at the detention facility. She had been cleared from most of the charges that were placed on her, but all that remained were those of attempted homicide. They told me I don't have to be there for her next trial, but I think that I should at least pay her a visit before I leave."

Megan didn't say anything for a moment. At first, she could be heard sniffling a little. She went blue the instant Emma was mentioned. But once again, Matthew knew that Megan would be better off knowing what had been happening to Emma. "S-say hello to her for me, okay?" she said, her voice breaking a bit as she rubbed her nose.

"I will," Matthew agreed as he lowered the phone down to his waist. He then ended the call.

Matthew then placed the phone down for a moment. He wished for the best for Emma, who he wasn't going to be able to stay behind for. Even if he wanted to, he didn't really have a purpose. He couldn't be there for her constantly because of the restricted visiting times. And even without restrictions, he still couldn't do anything.

All he could do was watch her get trialled, a pain he didn't want to hold in his heart.

As such, he placed the phone on a phone holder, referring to it for directions to the detention centre. He decided for the last time that he would see Emma off before he left. And so, he stepped on the gas pedal, driving off to the detention facility.

* * *

Matthew pulled over in front of the building. He looked out of the windshield, staring at the facility ahead of him. He then retracted his head before grabbing his car keys and exiting the car. Locking the car, he proceeded towards the entrance of the building, which was highly guarded as usual.

He entered the facility, which he had not been to for about a month. It had barely changed—the whole building was still grey and dull as it was the last time he had seen it. The atmosphere remained stagnant, the cries of people wanting to be free from the captivity of the facility lingering in the air.

Matthew walked towards the check-in desk, where he had to speak to a worker and sign in on a form before he could visit any inmates. He was already familiar with the procedure, however, as it was nothing different from what he had done the last time. He signed the form before handing it over to the worker.

The worker looked up at Matthew, although her face was slightly blocked by the shadow cast on her as she looked down. Despite this, she could somehow recognise him. It was pretty indicative of how few people had come by in the last couple of months since the worker could identify him. Either that or Matthew just had a "memorable" look of some sort.

"You're an NYPD officer, aren't you?" she said, recalling him from his previous visit to the facility.

Matthew looked up for a moment. He was in a bit of a daze as he was recalling the moments that his quartet had while Emma was still with them and when Daniel hadn't been known as a traitor. However, he quickly replied to ensure that the worker didn't think he was unstable or anything of that sort. "Oh, yes. Former NYPD, actually. I resigned today."

"Oh," the worker said as she checked through his form. "I suppose I shouldn't ask you why."

Matthew sighed, shaking his head. "I actually don't mind sharing," he admitted, scratching his face. "It's just that it's a long story, and if I explain everything, it will probably take more time than I would spend visiting my... friend..." he elaborated slightly.

"All right, then," the worker said as she shelved his form on a stack of sheets. "Emily Anne Watson is the person you're looking for, right?" she confirmed before searching for Emma's records.

"Yes, that's right," Matthew said, his legs shuffling a little as he began feeling uneasy. It had been a while since he had the opportunity to speak to his dear friend, and he didn't know how she had been. He just hoped she wouldn't think he had intentionally avoided her.

Meanwhile, the worker began frowning as she frantically searched through the facility records for Emma's profile. After much typing, she finally found her. However, it wasn't exactly good news, as there was much more to it.

She looked up at Matthew, not knowing how to break the news to him. She had already noticed how uncomfortable Matthew seemed to be, and she didn't want to ruin his mood even more. However, she could say nothing less than the truth. And so, she continued. "Mr. Davis, I... I don't know how else I can tell you this, but... about Ms Watson..." she trailed off, hesitating.

"What about her?" Matthew inquired.

The worker paused momentarily, still doubtful of what she was about to say. She finally spoke, revealing the information on Emma.

"Her profile isn't on the database of activeinmates in this facility, which means she isn't here at the moment. In fact,she escaped the building about a few days ago."