Chapter 48

Chapter Forty-Eight

The drive back to the cabin was silent and stiff. The gleam of the city extinguished and buried within the trees became less and less as she pushed further out into the wooded outreaches, and the dark became no longer broken by any sign of civilization. Fiona kept her eyes forward on the road, trying to erase what had just happened from her memory. The meeting of the broker had given them a critical lead but, on the other hand, had heightened the sense of danger that hovered over them.

Julian seated on the passenger seat, gazing out of the window, with his mind miles away. Victor was in the back seat, still on high alert, his hand laid on his firearm and scanning for any surprise threats. That put an aura of tension in the car, serving to remind them once again that they were fast approaching a game of death.

Fiona at last said, "We need a plan. We have the contact, but we've got to be smart with it. Cross isn't going to go down easy."

Julian swiveled his head to look straight at her, face set in an expression of steely determination. "We can't rush this. We need to gather as much intel as possible before making a move. The last thing we want is to walk into a trap.

Victor nodded agreement. "Communication we absolutely need to establish via phone, though we'll have to proceed with extreme caution. Cross's lieutenant will be wary of any new contact that comes across. We have to approach this carefully. We can't afford to tip our hand too early.

Fiona's fingers tightened around the wheel. "Agreed. Let's get back to the cabin and regroup. We need to cover everything we know, plan our next step, and figure out how in hell to do it without getting killed ourselves.

It did, however, feel like a far longer drive than it was, every minute professing the weight of their situation as they finally pulled up to the cabin, the first hints of dawn lightening the sky. The group filed inside, exhaustion tugging at their bodies but their minds too wired to consider rest.

Emma stood, already waiting for them, looking anxious by the time they passed the barrier. "How did it go?" she asked, her eyes scrounging at each of their faces for clues.

Fiona held up the encrypted phone. "We now have a direct line to Cross's lieutenant. It's our best lead yet but it's also incredibly dangerous. One wrong move, and we could blow our cover.".

Emma nodded, her face solemn. "We have to be smart about this. I've been monitoring the comms in the area, and it's obvious Cross's network is on high alert. They know something's coming, even if they don't know what.

Julian put his laptop on the table and opened some files. "We'll start with looking for any recent activity concerning Cross and his associates. If we can find where they're operating from, maybe this finds us a lead on the information we need to get the upper hand.

Victor was sitting at the window, his eye on the perimeter. "And we need to be ready for the fact they will come for us. The moment Cross hears that we are gaining on him, he will not have a second thought to his action of taking us out.

Fiona sighed and passed her hand through her hair. "This is it. We are gaining proximity to Cross, which implies we are in graver danger than ever. We need to stick together and watch each other's backs.

For hours after that, the team was hard at work on its investigation, going through every piece of data it had on Cross and his operations. Emma followed the money, looking for patterns or any anomalies that would give away some kind of lead on Cross's lieutenant. Julian hacked secure databases to bring up files on known associates and locations related to the criminal network. Victor started mapping possible safe houses and escape routes to be prepared with a plan B.

Meanwhile, Fiona had her ear on the encrypted phone. She knew they had to make contact soon, but was also aware they could not afford to rush it. The stakes were too high, and one misstep meant that everything could go away.

Over hours, the weight of exhaustion had begun to tell. Emma yawned inwardly. Her eyes were red and sore from having looked at the screen too much. Julian rubbed at his temples, fighting to keep a headache at bay, and even Victor, who was normally stoic and alert, was starting to look like he had to fight sleep.

Fiona saw that weariness in their eyes and knew what she had to do. "We need rest," she said firmly. "We're no good to anyone if we're too tired to think straight. Let's take a few hours to clear our heads and regroup, then figure out our next move.

The others hesitated, but they knew she was right. In the end, one by one, they managed to find some place to lie down, whether it was on the sofa, the floor, or in the other small bedrooms of the cabin. Fiona had to wait a bit longer, even after others settled in, before finally making her way to her bedroom while still gripping the encrypted phone.

She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the thing. This tiny piece of technology had all the potential—only if they knew how to use it right. At the same time, it could blow up like dynamite in their faces if they weren't more careful.

Fiona sighed and placed the phone onto the nightstand. She threw herself down on the bed, and her body, even though tired, raced from thought to thought. She knew she should go to bed, but her mind was too restless. So, a few minutes later, after failing to find sleep, she gave up and sat back up, her eyes still glued to the phone.

A quiet knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts. Julian poked his head in, looking just as sleep-deprived as she felt. "Can't sleep either?" he asked, a tired smile tugging at his lips.

Fiona shook her head. "Too much on my mind.

Julian stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him. He stood against the wall, his arms crossing his chest. "We've been into a lot of shit already, Fiona; this… this feels different.

"Yes, it is; it's different," Fiona agreed with a nod. "We're not just trying to survive anymore. We're going after Cross. We're trying to bring down a man who's had years to build his empire. And we're doing it with a handful of people and a lot of hope."

Julian chuckled softly. "Sounds like the odds are stacked against us."

"Now more than ever," Fiona said, the fear and resolution mixed in her voice. "But we have to try. We can't just walk away now. Too many lives have been destroyed because of Cross. We have to stop him."

Julian furrowed his brow, straightening up. "We will. We'll figure this out, one step at a time. And we'll do it together."

Fiona felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for Julian and the rest at that moment. What had begun as mere allies had grown far beyond that. They were friends, family—all now risking everything to help her in her crusade against Cross.

She looked back at Julian, and her heart swelled with feelings she couldn't begin to put into words. "Thank you, Julian. For everything."

His smile was warm, the light in his eyes going soft. "We're in this together, Fiona. To the end.

They sat silent for a moment with the weight of their mission hanging between them. Fiona finally rose, stretching her tired muscles. "We should probably get some sleep; we'll need all the energy for what is coming.".

Julian nodded, but as he turned to leave, he paused at the door. "Fiona, come what may, just remember one thing—we're going to ride through this. It's a bit too far for us to give in now."

A smile curved across Fiona's face, the hope within her breaking through the weariness. "You bet, Julian. We're going to finish Cross off one way or another.".

Julian left, clicking the door gently on his way out. Lying back down, her mind continued to whirl, awash with a cavalcade of thoughts, but she felt a bit more at peace now that nobody was going to have to go into battle alone.

As she lapsed into sleep, the encoded telephone lay still on her bedside table, a mute portent of the peril that lay ahead. The calm before the storm was over then, and when she woke up, the right time of confronting whatever was in store for them was here.