Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-Two

The world of Fiona was rocked by the news of the capture of the Benefactor. News of the arrest spread almost immediately, and the press hummed and sparked with holy speculation over who this figure might be. But to Fiona and her team, it meant they were not finished. The Benefactor's last words—"There are others"—resonated in their heads, a very disheartening intimation that what they were after wasn't nearly over.

The next morning, she awoke to a mess of messages and missed calls. She hardly slept. Her mind was too totally mired in what went down the day before. Scrolling up her phone, she saw that Emma had sent her an urgent message.

"We've got to talk. Something has come up. Meet me at the office ASAP.


Fiona's heart did a somersault. She got ready really fast and ran out of the house. The city itself had a feeling of silence that morning. It was like the whole world was just waiting to inhale at whatever was going to happen next.

She reached the office to find Emma, Julian, and Victor already there - standing around the conference table. Their faces were all grave, and Fiona immediately knew that something was wrong.

"What all's this about?" she said, falling into a chair.
Emma passed a tablet across the table to Fiona. "It came in late last night. It's a message from the Benefactor."
Fiona's pulse quickened as she picked up the tablet and began to read the message:

"You may have caught me, but you're far from safe. The network's vast, always watching. You've made enemies, Fiona. Powerful ones. They won't stop till they've destroyed everything you hold dear. Be careful who you trust."

The tone of the message sent a shiver down Fiona's spine. The raid had obvious implications; capturing the Benefactor had only angered the ones who still supported them. Whomever the mastermind was behind this network, they were still out there, and they were coming for her.

Julian broke the silence. "We've been monitoring communications ever since the BeneFactor was collared, and there's been an awful lot of chatter. It's like a hornet's nest has been stirred up. We're seeing activity from contacts we didn't even know existed."

Victor nodded, adding, "These people are ruthless, Fiona. They've been working in the dark for years, and they won't stop until they retaliate.

Fiona took a long, calming breath. "We knew it couldn't possibly be easy. We need to be one step ahead all the time. We can't allow the fear to paralyze us."

Emma leaned forward. Her voice had become low in a firm kind of way. "We need to start thinking about our next move. The Benefactor might be out of the picture, but the network is still operational. We need to figure out who's running the show now.

"The files we recovered from the warehouse. They're full of names, transactions, and connections. We need to dig further into them to see who's behind it all." Julian glanced at the files splayed over the table.

Victor sat at the table, drumming his fingers while deep in thought. "It's time to bring in reinforcements. We're going to need more resources, more manpower. If we're going to take down this network, we can't do it alone."

Fiona bobbed her head. "Absolutely. The more the merrier. But we'll have to be careful. The Benefactor said we can't let people infiltrate what we're doing. We can't let people work here who are working for someone else."

Emma's gaze narrowed. "And there is something more. The Benefactor said that we have made enemies. We have to start thinking about our own security. They might come to us—or our families.".

The gravity of the situation hung heavily in the room, and at once, Fiona's mind went to her loved ones, friends, colleagues, everyone involved in the fight. She wouldn't let them be harmed because of what she'd done.

"We'll be careful," Fiona's voice went steel. "We'll beef up security, watch our backs. But we can't let them intimidate us into hiding. In that case, they'll have won. ".

The rest of the day they worked out a new strategy. The tasks were divided: Julian was put in charge of deciphering the files for any lead that might lead to him, Emma in charge of communications and gathering intelligence, and Victor in charge of contacting agencies outside of the police force for backup. Fiona took charge of the whole operation, making sure every move they made was one step at a time, calculated.

Hours later, Fiona bounced back. The Benefactor's network was not an easy element to lay hands on, but they had already gone further with the capture of its mastermind. They had identified the corruption, collected proof, and now they were at the brink of total exposure and destruction of the whole operation.

But as night began to fall and the team started to pack up for the day, Fiona couldn't shake the sensation that they were being watched. The last warning of the Benefactor continued on a loop in her head: **"Be car

Just as she turned to leave the office, her phone rang. It was a number she didn't recognize. Fiona hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Hello?

A too-familiar voice answered back, making her skin crawl. "Fiona; long time no see."

Fiona caught her breath with the last sound that the name produced. That voice, she knew so well. It belonged to someone in their past, the one she had not heard from in years.

"What do you want?" She tried to keep her tone steady, though fluttering was happening in her just then.

His voice chuckled lightly. "I have been keeping an eye out for you. You have managed to raise quite a ruckus, haven't you? It's taking down the Benefactor… I must admit, impressive."

Fiona gripped her phone tighter. "If you're calling to threaten me, you're wasting your time. I'm not afraid of you.

"Threaten you? No, Fiona. I'm calling to offer you a warning. You've really got on the wrong side of some dangerous people. They will stop at nothing until they bring down everything you've done. But there's a way to get out of this."

Fiona's heart pounded in her chest. "And what's that?"

"If you come on board. You have shown you are resourceful, determined. With mentoring, you could become a useful member of the network. Imagine-that can give you power, influence. You would not have to watch your back again."

With a strong surge of anger, Fiona declared, "I will never join you. Nothing more in my life could be so-incredibly depraved, twisted."
The sigh came from the voice. "That's too bad, Fiona. But remember, you had your shot. When the time comes, and it will, don't say I didn't warn you."

The line was dead, and Fiona stood alone in the empty office, her mind a maelstrom. The call had just verified something she had been fearing all along—that the network was far from being busted, and they were already regrouping and preparing for a payback.

But, as she pocketed her phone and stepped out into the night, Fiona knew one thing for sure: she wasn't going to give up. She had come too far, fought too hard, to let the network win. Whatever they threw at her next, she was going to be ready.