The tunnel felt endless. Water dripped from overhead pipes, forming small puddles along the metal walkway. Rita's flashlight cast long streaks across the narrow space.
"Something feels wrong," Rita whispered.
Morgan stopped. "What do you mean?"
Rita hesitated. "He is too quiet."
John adjusted the unconscious Benefactor in his arms. "He is unconscious."
Rita shook her head. "I mean the Sanctuary. The systems. Everything. It feels like something is waiting."
Morgan checked his tablet again. "No active protocols. No motion sensors. We should be clear."
John spoke firmly. "We keep moving."
As they reached the end of the tunnel, a heavy metal door waited for them. Morgan accessed the manual lock.
It creaked open.
Cold air rushed in from the forest outside.
The clearing was visible through the trees, illuminated by faint moonlight breaking through the storm clouds.
Rita exhaled in relief. "We made it."
Morgan hurried out first to scan the area.
John was stepping through the doorway when he felt it.
A shift in the air.
A soft hum behind the walls.
The Benefactor stirred in his arms.
His voice was faint but clear.
"You really think this ends with me."
John froze.
The hum grew louder.
Lights blinked along the tunnel walls.
Morgan turned, eyes widening. "John… something activated."
The ground vibrated.
Rita shouted, "Move. Move now."
John stepped fully into the clearing just as alarms exploded inside the tunnel.
A deep mechanical roar echoed through the forest.
The Sanctuary began to shake.
Morgan screamed, "It is the self-burial protocol. He triggered it from inside his jacket."
John dropped the Benefactor onto the wet grass and tore open the man's coat. A small device was blinking with red indicators.
Rita knelt beside him. "He had a secondary trigger. He was waiting."
Morgan's voice trembled. "The Sanctuary is going to collapse underground and seal itself forever."
John grabbed the Benefactor by the collar and shook him awake.
"Turn it off."
The Benefactor opened his eyes slowly, a faint smirk forming.
"You think I would let you walk out with my legacy."
John's fury surged. "Turn it off, or so help me…"
The Benefactor whispered, "History buries what it outgrows."
The ground shook violently.
The facility behind them began sinking, its massive structure groaning as supports collapsed.
Rita shouted over the roar, "We need to get to the helicopter now."
Morgan grabbed John's arm. "Forget him. The building is going to swallow everything."
But John held the Benefactor tighter.
"Turn it off."
The Benefactor laughed weakly. "You cannot save all three."
John's eyes flared. "All three?"
The Benefactor whispered, "Look up."
Rita looked to the sky.
Her breath stopped.
Two drones hovered above the clearing, armed and primed.
Morgan shouted, "Incoming strike."
Rita screamed, "John, run."
John's grip tightened around the Benefactor.
He had one second.
Just one.
He could save his team.
Or kill the Benefactor.
Or attempt both.
The drones locked onto them.
The Sanctuary collapsed behind them.
Rita grabbed Morgan and pulled him toward the trees.
John made his choice.
He dragged the Benefactor across the clearing, running toward the helicopter with every ounce of strength in his body.
The drones fired.
Explosions ripped through the clearing.
Smoke and fire swallowed the trees.
The forest lit up with violent orange light.
Rita screamed his name.
"John."
Through the flames, she saw him.
Running.
Carrying the Benefactor on his back.
The final explosion hit the ground behind him, launching both men forward.
John crashed onto the grass, rolling over the Benefactor's body.
Rita sprinted toward him, tears streaming.
Morgan ran behind her.
John gasped for breath, muscles trembling from adrenaline and smoke.
Rita fell beside him. "Are you alive…"
John rolled over, breathing hard, and nodded. "Yes."
She sobbed in relief.
The Benefactor lay unconscious beside them.
Morgan knelt and checked the device. "The secondary trigger is destroyed. The strike drones are down. The Sanctuary is gone."
John stared at the smoke rising through the trees.
"So is his throne."
He stood slowly, every muscle burning.
"Bind him."
Rita and Morgan secured the Benefactor's wrists and ankles with restraints.
John looked at the smouldering crater where the Sanctuary once stood.
"He tried to bury the truth."
Rita placed a hand on his arm. "But you survived it."
John turned toward the helicopter.
"We take him back to the city."
Morgan nodded. "And then?"
John's eyes hardened, burning with purpose.
"We end the House of Shadows once and for all."
He carried the Benefactor toward the helicopter.
Behind them, the Sanctuary smouldered like the grave of an empire.