Matthew hurriedly pushed the car door open as he got out of the driver's seat and stepped out of the vehicle. Daniel and Megan followed behind, promptly getting out of the car. The three stood before the skyscraper, with Matthew looking up.
"This is the building," Daniel confirmed as he squinted, eyeing the concrete plaque that the building's name was engraved on. In capital letters were the words' Waldorf Tower', followed by '1 Varick St' below in small caps and a smaller font.
Matthew went ahead of the group, moving towards the steps leading up to the slightly elevated ground floor. He began hopping up the stairs to ensure that he and the rest of the group didn't waste any more time. Pressured, the other two stopped admiring the architecture of the tower and followed behind him.
The trio entered the building, walking towards the elevators. The hard heels of their shoes tapped against the quartz floor, creating a noise that rebounded through the quiet building. They looked around the lobby, noticing the exquisite ornaments on some marble tables and elegant light fixtures hanging above. To live in such a building, one must have had to be nothing but wealthy.
Matthew pushed the elevator call button before taking a step back and waiting. The doors of the arrived elevator then opened, allowing the detectives to enter. The three stepped into the carriage, taking in the fragrance of a floral scent of some sort. Matthew personally disliked strong perfumes and cologne, although he was fine with lighter ones.
He began sniffling from time to time as the elevator brought them up, his nose irritated by the scent in the carriage. After about half a minute, the elevator finally came to a halt as it arrived on the seventy-second floor. The doors opened, so the three stepped out, turning their head to the right and looking through the hallway.
The trio moved down the hallway before quickly approaching what seemed to be Mr. Palmer's apartment unit. Matthew brought his gun up, tilting it upwards. He knocked on the door lightly at first, expecting a response.
"Mr. Palmer?" Matthew called out after realising that Mr. Palmer may not have heard him. However, there was still no noticeable reply after ten seconds.
Matthew began banging on the door this time, making sure that he would hear him this time. Then again, there was still no reply despite the loud banging. He then turned to look at his friends. From the look in his eyes, they could already tell what he was going to do. They stood back, anticipating the vigorous move he was going to make.
Matthew stepped back before kicking the door open. The latch bolt broke off, falling towards the group as the door swung open. Matthew aimed his gun forward as he entered the room. He moved around the room swiftly, looking out for Mr. Palmer.
If he even was in the room.
The apartment only consisted of two bedrooms and two bathrooms. With additional help from his friends, Matthew searched through the entire house but couldn't find anyone in it. He only noticed the television in the master bedroom, which was left on.
"He's not here," Matthew sighed as he squeezed his eyes while pressing against them with his hands. He subconsciously sat on the queen-sized bed. He was just tired of pursuing people who wouldn't even show up.
"Maybe he's not home," Daniel theorised, consoling Matthew has rested his hand on Matthew's shoulder.
Megan was the last to step into the room. She also noticed the television and saw what was being displayed on it. And it was the news channel. "It doesn't make sense that he would leave the house with the television and lights still on," she dissented. She then watched the news for a bit. "And something tells me that he had left in a hurry."
"But why?" Matthew finally spoke, looking up. "He couldn't have possibly known that we were coming after him, could he? After all, only the three of us knew about our own plan."
"And Mary," Daniel added, although Matthew ignored and quickly dismissed his statement as it seemed ridiculous.
Megan took a seat on the bed as well, resting beside Matthew. She brought up the remote control and increased the volume such that it was easier to hear without the need for them to move their head towards the screen.
"... updates are coming in from Brooklyn just moments ago that the virus outbreak that sparked a few days ago has worsened significantly," the news presenter spoke. "The virus has been identified to be a new strain of encephalitis. However, not much is currently known about it. Originally, the number of cases was miscommunicated and reported to be under 40, including cases not originating from New York, but in actual fact, it is more than 200. Furthermore, it is estimated that another 600 people are infected, as symptoms don't show immediately show after infection. The government has just placed the borough of Brooklyn on lockdown. It is unknown how long..."
"L-looks like the captain really has some good foresight," Daniel stammered, terrified by how quickly the tiny outbreak at the hospital in Edison was about to turn into a full-blown pandemic.
Matthew pulled his hair, frustrated by how Yael had pretty much succeeded already. They had lost their chance to stop them in court a month ago, but they failed. All because Yael "cheated", manipulating evidence and forging documents just to get the chairwoman out.
"There's no way that they're going to contain it this time," Megan shivered, thinking about the horrifying details of the virus that ran through her mind wildly. "Palmer told us that the incubation period is between a few hours and five days, but the amount of time usually leans towards the former. That's still more than enough time for people who seem to look normal and well to spread to the people around us."
Matthew got up and walked over to the window. He looked out, staring towards Brooklyn. Everything looked fine from the apartment, but down there, he knew that there must have been bedlam all over. And it wouldn't be long before it would spread to the other boroughs.
"Blood transfusions from, sex with, sharing food and drinks with, and injuries inflicted by infected subjects are just a few of the many things that can spread the virus quickly," Megan explained how grave the situation was. "Just like the report said, there could be close to a thousand cases right now. It won't take longer than a few more hours for the projected cases to start popping out."
Matthew then turned away from the window and walked out of the room. He moved through the short corridor before walking towards the main door. He didn't speak a word to the others, although they were hoping that he would at least say something.
Megan grabbed the television remote and turned the television off. She and Daniel then followed Matthew out of the room as they watched him step out of the doorway.
"Matthew?" Megan called out, causing him to stop in his tracks. He turned around to face the two of them, although he still kept silent.
"Aren't you going to say something?" Daniel questioned, still anticipating an answer from Matthew.
As such, Matthew moved his lips to speak. "Well, what do you want me to say?" he questioned back. Without saying anything else, he walked out of the house in a huff.
* * *
Matthew stared at his television, then at his friends. He had invited all his friends over to stay over at his house for the night, as Daniel felt quite unsafe living in his apartment, which was just across the river from Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Megan just thought that it was a good idea for them to huddle together in case any dangers, like the chairwoman, would threaten their safety. More importantly, however, Matthew had some things to discuss with them.
"It's just like the news predicted," he reckoned, looking back at the news being broadcasted on the television. He pointed to the figures depicting how many were infected at the moment. "It's at 300 cases now."
"So, are we getting out of New York?" Megan queried.
Matthew shook his head, pointing at the numbers on the news once more. At first, Megan interpreted it as Matthew saying that they were going to remain in the city, but it was actually his way of expressing his dismay. "There's no other way about it," he clarified. "I booked a ticket out to Philadelphia already. It departs in five hours from now, so get packed."
Daniel ruffled his hand through his hair, sighing loudly. "I thought you would have gotten us a flight somewhere further. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle—just anywhere but near here would be perfect," he stated his preferences.
"We're not flying out of New York just to escape this outbreak, Daniel," Matthew corrected him. He already had other plans in mind, although the other two couldn't see what they were.
"Then what are you planning?" Daniel questioned him. He didn't seem to want to be involved in anything regarding the creatures anymore. Just no more.
"We're going to confront Yael," Matthew stated directly. He wasn't going to beat around the bush to make his idea sound more viable. He was just going to blurt out the truth to them. "We're going to take refuge there, make some plans, and head to Yael Tower," he elaborated further, although the other two didn't seem too keen to go with him on his plan.
Megan frowned as her jaw shook. She tried to speak but got stuck in a loop. Finally, she voiced her statement. "Wait, Matthew. Weren't you the one who said it would be a stupid idea to stand right in front of the tower and taunt them? I mean, there's no reasoning in that."
Matthew groaned. He knew what he had said, but it turned out that there was no longer going to be any way around it. "Well, Palmer is gone. And only God knows where he is now. If he won't lead us to Yael, we'll lead ourselves to them then," he explained.
Daniel stood up. He finally decided to get on with the plan. If they stayed in New York, they would most likely die. And if they flew far away to Los Angeles, they wouldn't ever be able to accomplish their goal of taking down Yael. And eventually, Yael would come after them, and they would die too. The last resort for them was to control Yael bravely. "Fine. I'm going back to my apartment to grab my things first," he figured as he headed towards the main door.
Megan, however, hesitated for a moment. She didn't quite believe that going face to face with Yael would put them in any less danger than hiding away somewhere else. After all, they had been playing a losing game ever since the day that Matthew had begged Captain Jones to give him the missing person case regarding George Pace. Nevertheless, she couldn't disagree. Seeing how someone so rebellious like Daniel could still agree to Matthew's plan, she decided that she had no choice but to follow along. "All right. I'll go pack my items, too," she said as she followed Daniel to the door.
"We'll meet back here once you're all done, okay?" Matthew told them.
The other two nodded before leaving the apartment.
* * *
Megan returned to Matthew's apartment, knocking on the door. Matthew pulled open the door to see her carrying bulky luggage. She pulled the luggage up onto the floor of the apartment unit, where there was a step-up as part of the design.
"You're becoming more like Emma by the day," Matthew chuckled. He recalled how Emma would go about with redundancy—packing more than she needed.
"I'm sorry," she started her request, "but can we not talk about Emma right now?"
Matthew frowned, slightly shocked by Megan's unexpected statement. However, he gave in to her anyway. "Whatever you want, then," he said.
Megan rested her luggage beside the coffee table before plumping herself onto the couch. She began fanning herself with her hands in an attempt to cool herself down from the balmy weather. "Where's Daniel?" she questioned, looking around the room and trying to see if he was anywhere in sight.
"Oh, he's in the washroom freshening up," Matthew answered as he turned to look at the washroom. "He won't be long."
Just as Matthew said, Daniel stepped out of the washroom, wiping his face dry with a hand towel. He then plopped the towel down on a cabinet that was beside him. He looked at Megan, who was still resting on the comfy sofa. "Great. We're all here now," he said.
"Whose car will we be taking?" Megan questioned, getting up from the sofa for once as she looked at the two men.
"We can use mine," Matthew volunteered as he brought his car keys out and jangled them.
Megan and Daniel then grabbed onto their baggage, ready to leave. Meanwhile, Matthew took one last glance around his house. The house that he was going to have to leave behind. He smiled slightly as he bid the apartment farewell, holding onto his luggage and following behind the other two detectives.
They stepped out of the house and went down the hallway. Matthew shut the door, which then automatically locked. There was no point in the security system already, however. They weren't coming back either way.
The trio headed down to the basement carpark as the elevator descended. They then exited the carriage, walking through the warm basement level. Matthew quickly located his car and invited the other two in with him. He started the engine and drove off quickly, ready to get to the airport as soon as possible.
Matthew drove out of the carpark, moving at a fast pace. Immediately, he made half a turn around the Columbus Circle roundabout before heading straight afterwards. Daniel, however, thought that Matthew had made a mistake in the route that they were going by and quickly alerted Matthew about it.
"Uh, Matthew? I think you missed the turn earlier on," he said as he tried to get a view of where Matthew was heading. He looked out and quickly confirmed that they were on the wrong route.
Matthew himself looked ahead at the street signs. He tried to figure out if his directions were wrong, but they weren't. "I'm on the right track," he replied.
Meanwhile, Daniel quickly got a feeling that they weren't heading where he thought they would be. He checked Google Maps for a moment and quickly figured it out himself. "We aren't heading to Newark Liberty, are we?" he questioned Daniel.
Matthew looked at Daniel through his reflection in the rear-view mirror so that he could answer his friend more appropriately. Matthew scratched his head with one hand, the other still on the wheel, while sighing. "I guess I didn't say it, did I?" he asked.
"So," Megan added to the conversation, grimacing as she paused, "where are we heading to?"
"We're going to JFK," Matthew responded without beating around the bush anymore. "Most of the flights out from Newark are full, especially those to Philadelphia, for some reason. I had no choice but to choose a flight from JFK."
Daniel buried his head in his palms. He then looked back up at Matthew, looking into the rear-view mirror. "You really didn't have to book a flight there just to get us to Philadelphia, Matthew," he argued, unhappy about Matthew's actions.
"But I guess what's done is done," Matthew said, unwilling to carry on the conversation, which was turning into a debate, and would eventually become an argument. He needed to focus on fighting his enemies, not allies.
Matthew continued moving forward, queueing with the other cars ahead of them to enter the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. The flow of traffic eventually slowed, however. Anxiety began to grow in Matthew, as he and the others didn't want to be late for their flight. Unfortunately, the cars in front all came to a complete halt within the following minute.
A racket quickly began as car drivers started blaring their car horns impatiently. Many of them began winding down the windows of their cars, poking their heads out to get a glimpse of what was happening. Others exited their cars altogether, tipping their toes to see what was going on a hundred feet ahead.
Matthew sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he moved his hands away from the steering wheel. Based on the past few minutes, they were going to be idle for the next few minutes—maybe even more. Moreover, the honking only became more blatant and unpleasant over time.
"Um, guys? Take a look at this," Megan alerted the two detectives as she scrolled through her phone. She held out her phone to show Daniel, although Matthew couldn't really see the screen from the angle his head was at.
Daniel gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. He shook his head in disbelief, hoping that the news was false.
"What is it?" Matthew questioned anxiously.
Megan took a deep breath before revealing the situation to him.
"All of New York except Staten Island is underlockdown."