128 (Operation Armageddon: Book 1)

Chapter Nineteen: The Apartment | Part 1

After briefing the group, Eliot, together with Elaine, re-entered the room. Eliot then spoke to the detectives for the last time. "As much as I want to, I can't follow you three to Philadelphia. There is still much for me to complete, and I have some things to settle with the rest of the group. We'll keep in contact, however. Anyway, Elaine will accompany you now," he said. He then left the room and returned to the rest of the group.

Elaine pressed her hands together nervously. Matthew could already sense she wasn't the extroverted type—just like him. She already had trouble trying to engage with the detectives, but that wasn't what she was tasked to complete. "So... I heard that you guys are detectives from the NYPD," she said awkwardly.

"Well, yes," Matthew clarified. Now, may I know which airport we'll be taken to?" he then queried.

"LaGuardia. I have a car parked outside here, so let's get on now," Elaine said as she guided the trio to the vehicle. They all buckled up before Elaine drove away with the rest of them towards the airport.

* * *

"Okay, hop off, everyone. Follow me," Elaine announced. The group walked behind her.

The ground was littered entirely with documents, bags, bottles, shoes, and of course, bodies and their blood. All around New York City, the rampage had really taken a toll on the place. The group stuck together closely in case any creature decided to just pop out and ambush them.

The departure hall was also filled with the same type of litter all over. Smashed glass panels and broken ceiling boards gave the terminal a dilapidated feeling. Countertops were snapped, with corpses behind them, hinting that there had been a fight between humans and, well, infected humans. In which, of course, the humans lost.

Soon, they continued walking through the departure hall until they found their gate—and their plane.

After some time had passed, the airplane P.A. system rang. "Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts. We are now preparing for take-off," an automated message played in the P.A. system. The aircraft automatically spun around and faced the end of the other runway.

Matthew looked out of his window and back at all the abandoned planes at the empty airport. Holes were punched in the glass windows of the terminals, and fires that were initially just sparks were turning into blazes as the water sprinklers desperately tried to put out the raging flames.

The plane's engines roared and whined, just like the creatures did. Would they ever see or go back to New York again? Probably not. The plane began to speed, its wheels rubbing forcefully against the runway as they spun. The aircraft then took off smoothly as Matthew continued staring out of his window.

He could see Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens with their damaged buildings and structures, the most prominent one being the ruins of the Manhattan Bridge. Just five weeks ago, the city was bustling with people filling up the streets and cars piling up in mountainous rows. The air was fresh as the trees surrounding the city buildings gave out great bundles of oxygen until the time when they escaped the museum, which ended up exploding.

Now, it was tens of explosions going off. Clouds of smoke rising from the blazing infernos of skyscrapers were thick enough the replace the actual clouds in the sky. Matthew felt guilty as he saw helpless people running around the streets, people who could not be rescued with dozens of creatures on their tails.

As the plane drifted away further from the city, Matthew and his friends waved goodbye to his hometown.

"So," Matthew started a new conversation, "what will we do when we arrive in Philadelphia?"

Elaine rinsed her hands before scrubbing them thoroughly under the running water of the sink. She then dried them against a cloth, adjusting her hair to the side such that the strand of hair that was constantly tickling her eyes would cease to do so. She sat down on a leather armchair before answering Matthew's question.

"I'll give you three two keys—each one for one apartment unit. I couldn't get three units, so you'll have to split the two units amongst yourselves," Elaine explained. She then grabbed the keys out of her purse and handed them to Matthew, who was nearest to her. "Keep them carefully. If they get lost, they might go into the hands of the wrong people. Yael's people. And then they'll have access to whatever documents you have against them."

As such, Matthew brought his briefcase over. He placed it on his lap before unlocking it. Unzipping a small pouch in the baggage, he slipped the two keys inside it, keeping them secured properly. He then closed the lid of the suitcase and latched it such that it was locked before placing it away.

"What's the address of the apartment?" Megan inquired as she placed her index finger on her chin.

"2240 West Quartz Street," Elaine answered promptly. "It's called the 'Quartz Plaza Apartment'."

Matthew nodded, entering the information into a virtual notepad on his phone. After recording the details, he clicked off his phone, ready to make his following query. "You'll show us how to get there, won't you?" he clarified.

Elaine hesitated for a moment. She began an attempt to enunciate some words, but then she doubted that she should answer at all. As such, she started going back and forth in a loop of wanting to reply while simultaneously wanting to stay silent.

"Uh, Elaine?" Matthew snapped her back to reality.

"Right," she quickly responded. "I... won't be able to follow you three to the apartment, unfortunately," she revealed. She faced down, placing her hand on her forehead, sighing.

"Why not?" Matthew asked further.

"Well, the answer is quite simple," Elaine stated. "We can't risk Yael knowing you guys are working with us. That would threaten both your mission and the confidentiality of our group. And even so, I beg you to be careful about your surroundings and keep a low profile as long as you're in public areas. Philadelphia, being Yael's hub, is basically their hunting ground for bringing down you detectives.

"All right then. We'll direct ourselves to the apartment, I guess," Matthew thought as he modified the plans he had in his mind for the new changes they had to make.

"We'll be landing in about twenty minutes, so I'll begin our descent," Elaine announced as she headed away towards the cockpit. "Buckle up, everyone."