128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Twelve: The Pretrial Detainee | Part 2

"Emma... how could you say that? How can you... how can you assume she's dead?" Matthew sighed. He just couldn't believe Emma's new attitude, the cold air surrounding her.

"Because she is, isn't she? All your search efforts have been fruitless, aren't they? The least you can do is take down Yael!" Emma ranted, causing Matthew to feel the rage burning in him too.

"That's enough, Emma!" he bellowed all of a sudden, his jaws shaking in anger and his cheeks reddening.

Emma stayed silent. She didn't expect either of the two to scream back at her, but it happened.

"I'm not some infinite-sized airtight container, all right? I'm a damned cup with a limited capacity. A damned cup!" he yelled. "That's right. I will overflow if you keep lashing out your anger at me! And I'm damned! Damned to fix Yael's mistakes! But that doesn't mean I'm immortal and invincible. And it doesn't mean I know everything!"

Daniel stared at Matthew. He had never seen his friend so furious for years. Until then.

"I don't have the resources and knowledge to bring them down yet. So stop pushing me. Sitting in this stupid facility and getting nothing out of it all day probably shaped you into thinking I could do much more than you. But I'm just achieving ten times what you can get in here. Ten times nothing, and it's still nothing! But at least I'm trying! And so is Daniel. So give us a damn break, will you, Emily?"

Emma closed her eyes for a second, exhaling deeply. All that she could think of were her crimes. How she had almost betrayed the detectives just to save herself and her father. How she was motivated to murder them coldly without regrets if she had reaped the rewards from Yael.

How she had turned herself to the other side.

"I have no hope already. By accepting my fate and letting myself be trialled with that liar, I'm with Yael now. But you guys aren't. So, leave. Don't get yourself mixed with a shrew like me. Once a traitor, always a traitor," she stammered as she almost began to sob. "Stop wasting your time with me, and get your asses out of here!" she wailed before getting up from her seat.

Matthew pursed his lips. He needed time to process whatever was going on. Emma has turned herself over to Yael? Nonsense, he thought. Emma was indeed guilty of attempting murder, but she shouldn't have let herself be controlled by Yael.

"If you guys aren't leaving, then I am," Emma said as she faced away from the two and rubbed the tears off her face. She stopped where she was standing momentarily before shouting to the warden in the other room.

"Officer!" she called out. Within seconds, the warden entered her room to follow her request.

"Take me back to my cell, please. I'm done with the visitation," she told the warden.

As such, the warden cuffed her hands and brought her by the shoulders to the other room.

"Emma, wait! Don't just go like that!" Daniel cried desperately as he watched the two leave the visitation room.

It was hopeless. Emma had refused to go on with a regular conversation as Daniel had wanted before leaving. They could do nothing about it. An inmate refusing to see their visitors anymore couldn't be helped.

"Sirs, you have to get going now. Your visit is over," another officer said, coming from behind to escort the two detectives out of the room.

"A-all right, then," Daniel said reluctantly as he walked with the officer out of the room, together with Matthew, who stayed silent and didn't utter a single word.

* * *

The next day...

"I guess this will be our routine from the days on," Matthew chuckled as he sipped hot coffee from his porcelain cup. "Isn't it troublesome for you to drive all the way here, though? We could pick some other place to eat at next time."