Chapter 41

Chapter 41

The clue at the abandoned warehouse had shaken Fiona and her team to the core. It was disturbing to discover that the Benefactor had been privy to their every move and was masterminding situations from afar. The room they had just uncovered was not just a hideaway; it was a command center, a place where their lives had been cut open and adjusted at will. They had found the heart of the operation, but the mind still eluded them.

The next morning, Fiona sat in the office with Julian, Emma, and Victor. In front of them was all their evidence: maps, photos, and documents, encrypted files. Everything was a clue but nothing led to the Benefactor.

"We need to decode these files," Julian spoke, his voice laced with frustration. "There has to be something in here that tells us who we're dealing with."

Emma nodded, her eyes running over the documents. "We're this far already. We can't let the trail go cold now."

Fiona, who had been silent until then, finally spoke up. "We need to be smarter than them. If they've been watching us, they know the way we operate. We need to think out of the box and do something which they wouldn't expect."

Victor leaned back on his chair, a look of thoughtfulness on his face. "What if we use their tactics against them? They've been tracking us, manipulating us—why don't we turn the tables?"

Fiona turned to him, eyes interested. "What do you have in mind?"

Victor's eyes crinkled at the corners as he leaned forward. "We set a trap."

The next few days, the team spent with razor-sharp precision on the fine details of the plan that will have to draw the Benefactor out of the shadows. They would create a false narrative, feeding disinformation into the channels they knew he monitored in search of this very thing. They needed to bait him into making a mistake, to force his hand and expose himself.

"We start by planting the impression that we are close to discovering their identity," Julian explained in one of their strategy sessions. "We slip that we have been able to crack some of the files and that we are planning a major move based on what we found."

Emma nodded, adding, "We can stage a fake meeting at a secure location, make it look like we're gathering all our resources to confront them."

It was to be left to Fiona to complete this last part of the puzzle. "We need to make this believable. I'll reach out to some of our contacts—people who can be informants feeding the Benefactor just enough truth mixed with lies."

This was going to be a dangerous plan, but it was the only way they could think of to flush out whoever had been behind this menace for so long. They knew they were walking into the lion's den, but they were prepared. They had come too far to back down now.

That day, the team set out to implement this plan. The meeting place that Fiona had selected was a government high-security conference room; public enough to possibly rattle the Benefactor, but secure enough in case things went in the wrong direction.

As the pair readied themselves, there was something about that hum of excitement interwoven with a tingle of apprehension that Fiona just couldn't shake. The moment was here. Every effort, each sleepless night, was boiling down to this. The Benefactor was out there, somewhere, watching and waiting for them to make their move.

At precisely 3:00 PM, Fiona, Julian, and Emma entered the conference room, on which the three of them arranged a table with laptops, files, and so forth, in such a way as to make it look like a proper operation. Victor was playing surveillance from a van nearby.

"We're live," there was the crackle of Victor's voice through the earpiece. "Nothing yet. Keep sharp.

Fiona inhaled deeply and nodded to Julian, who cleared his throat to begin speaking in low, conspiratorial tones. "All right, let's go over the intel we've gathered. According to the decrypted files, the Benefactor is in cahoots with quite a few high-profile business figures, which include…

Julian went on, but Fiona swept her eyes around the room, feeling tension coiling up her nerves. Any second now, something was going to—a door was going to kick open, some shadowy figure was going to pop up out of nowhere.

But each minute continued to tick by and—nothing.

Victor's voice sounded in her ear again: "Nothing. No movement. Is.anyone sure they took the bait?

Emma looked at Fiona, who shook her head slightly. "We need to wait," Fiona said quietly. "They will move. We just need to have patience now."

Another strained hour passed, and Fiona started to get concerned that their plan was a dud. Maybe the Benefactor was sharper than they had given him credit for, or perhaps he had just noticed the trap. But no sooner had she resolved to scrub the operation than Victor's voice cut through the static.

"We've got something," he said, urgent. "An unmarked van is coming up to the building. Could be our guy.

Fiona's heart leaped into her throat. "Cool it, everyone," she murmured, "This is it."

The van pulled to a stop at the building's entrance. A figure got out, wearing a dark suit and a hat with the brim raised. The purposeful stride took the figure directly to the entrance.

Victor's voice was tight. "They're heading inside. Stand by.

Fiona met eyes with Julian, and Emma. They were at the ready. If this was their Benefactor, then they would have their confrontation.

The silhouette closed in at the door to the conference room. It paused as though listening, and then with intent, opened the door and looked inside.

For a moment, no one said anything. Fiona stared at the figure, trying to make out features under the hat. Julian and Emma tensed, both poised to move in an instant.

The figure stepped forward, then forward again, and then at last raised their head to show their face. Her breath clogged in her throat as she realized who it was.

It was someone she knew—someone she would never have guessed.

"Hello, Fiona," the Benefactor said, a cold smile playing on their lips. "I've been expecting you."

Unveiling

Fiona stood there with awe as crashing waves of disbelief hit her mind. The Benefactor was before her, and it was someone she had trusted, someone who had been part of their lives for years.

"It was you," she whispered, her voice filled with disbelief. "All this time… it was you."

The Benefactor's smile broadened. "I must admit, you put on quite a show. But you were always one step behind, Fiona. You couldn't see what was right in front of you."

"You've played your last game. It's over," Julian said, his voice hard.

But the Benefactor didn't seem concerned. "Is it? You think you've won, but you've only just begun to understand the scope of what you're dealing with.

And as they talked, something shifted somehow—one slight motion in the Benefactor's hand, sliding, it seemed, into their jacket. On impulse Fiona dived forward, her arms pumping through, latching around the wrist of the arm holding the weapon.

"Not so fast," she hissed, wrestling it away.

He was quick, though, and if anything, just didn't have the extra weight anymore. He spun around, drawing a second weapon in that moment she'd tipped his balance, a small concealed blade, and whipped the thing toward her head. Where she just managed to duck the thrust.

Then the room went wild. Julian moved in beside Fiona to help, and Emma scrambled to secure the evidence. Benefactor was fighting like a wild animal, not that anyone would have guessed there was that much ferocity in the benign-looking person, with slashes and strikes coming out everywhere.

But Fiona was ready. Gone through too much, lost too much, to allow this person to escape now. One last surge of adrenaline lent her the strength to disarm the Benefactor, and the blade slid across the floor.

Julian held them in an armlock, their arms behind their back, as Victor and a band of officers crashed into the room.

"It's over," Fiona gasped. "You're finished."

The Benefactor glowered at her, but a flicker of something else in their eyes—fear. "You think this ends with me?" they spat. "There are others. You'll never stop us all.

Fiona felt a shiver run down her spine but refused to show it. "We'll see about that."

The police officers whisked the Benefactor away as Fiona plopped into a chair, replete of fatigue. They had won a major battle, but the war was far from over.

Sitting alone in the office that evening, Fiona was reflecting on the day's events. The words of The Benefactor were echoing in her mind. The fight wasn't over. There were others still out there; threats still lurking the shadows.

But for now, she allowed herself a moment of peace. They had faced a powerful enemy and prevailed through it, but Fiona realized that no matter what came next, she wasn't alone. She'd always have her squad, her friends, and her inner strength.

Closing her eyes, Fiona felt something deep down set into a sense of resolve. The Benefactor may be down and out of commission, but the fight for Justice was far from over, and she'd be ready for whatever else was still in store.