The helicopter blades carved through the night sky with a heavy rhythm that matched the tension inside the cabin. Smoke from the destroyed Sanctuary still clung to their clothes, a reminder of the inferno they had barely escaped. The air inside the aircraft tasted metallic, sharp with adrenaline and the fading echoes of explosions.
Rita sat strapped beside John, her breathing uneven. Her hands trembled despite how tightly she gripped the seat belt. Her clothes were scorched, streaked with soot. A cut ran across her temple, and blood dried slowly along her cheek. She stared straight ahead, trying to keep herself from shaking.
Morgan sat across from them, hunched over scattered devices and charred fragments he had recovered before the ceiling of the Sanctuary caved in. His fingers moved quickly, though they faltered every few seconds. He kept wiping sweat from his brow, not sure if it came from heat or fear.
Between them, on the floor of the helicopter, the Benefactor lay unconscious, secured with metal restraints that glinted under the cabin lights. His breathing was steady, too steady, as if the explosion had done nothing but mildly inconvenience him. His face was smeared with dust and ash, yet he somehow still held that strange, eerie calm that made the air heavier.
John had not looked away from him since the helicopter lifted into the sky.
Rita finally spoke, her voice a thin thread. "John. Are you alright."
John remained silent for a moment. The city lights reflected in his eyes, but they did nothing to soften the cold fire burning inside them.
"I am fine," he said quietly.
Rita studied him. His clothes were torn. His arms were bruised. His chest rose and fell with controlled breaths that tried to hide the storm inside him. He had walked through explosions and fire as if the flames themselves feared to touch him. But she knew the truth. No one survived something like that without scars beneath the skin.
She reached toward him, hesitating. "You could have died back there."
John finally turned his head. His gaze softened only a little when it landed on her. "You could have too."
Rita shook her head. "I followed you because I chose to. You walked in because you believed you had no other choice. Those are not the same."
Before John could respond, Morgan cleared his throat shakily.
"I managed to salvage some pieces," he said, lifting a ruined device with careful hands. "Most of the data cores are gone. The Benefactor knew exactly where to hit. But I found something that survived the blast. I think your father built a duplicate."
John narrowed his eyes. "A duplicate of what?"
Morgan held up a cracked metal panel. "The primary access route to the Hidden Relay. The one the Benefactor claimed he controlled. This fragment suggests your father created a secondary pathway. A backdoor he never told anyone about."
Rita leaned forward. "So the Benefactor might not hold all the keys."
Morgan nodded. "Maybe not. But I need time to decode this. And I need equipment that did not just survive a firestorm."
John studied the fragment thoughtfully. "We will handle it once we reach The Crest."
At the mention of the building, Rita glanced toward the window. The city sprawled beneath them in glittering lines, unaware of the disaster that had almost unfolded. Unaware of the man lying unconscious at her feet. Unaware of the man beside her who had just sentenced himself to an even greater war.
She whispered, "Do you think the Benefactor told the truth about the threats. The bombs. The citywide triggers."
Morgan exhaled shakily. "I do not know. But after what we saw in that Sanctuary, I would rather assume he has more traps than fewer."
John stared at the Benefactor. "He did not bring the threats with him. He carries them. If he dies, the House of Shadows does not collapse. It reacts."
Rita felt her stomach twist. "And now we have him. Which means the city is sitting on a live wire."
The helicopter jolted lightly as it hit a crosswind. Morgan steadied his equipment.
"John, what is the plan once we land?"
John kept watching the Benefactor. His voice came out steady, but each word carried weight.
"We get him inside the Crest custody. Under heavy guard. No one speaks to him unless I say so. No one enters the room without me present."
Morgan frowned. "That is not enough. The Benefactor is not a man. He is an institution. A network. People in The Crest could be his. Some might even be waiting for him."
Rita looked sharply at John. "He is right. You cannot walk into that building without assuming there are knives behind the walls."
John's jaw tightened. "Then I will pull every knife out."
Rita leaned closer. "You cannot fight everyone at once."
John gave her a look that made her breath catch.
"I already am."
A tense silence settled over them.
Then, without warning, the Benefactor stirred.
Rita sucked in a breath and moved back. Morgan nearly dropped the device in his hand. John leaned forward, eyes locked on the older man.
The Benefactor's eyelids fluttered open. His gaze remained unfocused for a moment before sharpening with terrifying clarity.
He looked around the cabin slowly, as if the explosion behind them had been a faint inconvenience. Then his eyes settled on John.
"You made your choice," he murmured.
John's stare did not break. "And you lost."
The Benefactor gave a thin smile. "Did I?"
Rita tensed. "Stay back, John."
But John did not move.
The Benefactor tilted his head slightly. "The moment you refused the crown, you accepted the consequences. You declared war on an institution that has survived kings, presidents, and empires. Do you truly believe you can destroy something that predates your own family?"
John's voice grew sharper. "Watch me."
The Benefactor smiled again, wider this time. "I was hoping you would say that."
Morgan whispered, "John, the restraints will not hold if he tries anything."
The Benefactor closed his eyes for a moment, as if listening to something distant.
Then he opened them again, calm and eerily knowing.
"The Crest is not the same building you left."
Rita's eyes widened. "What did you do?"
The Benefactor's smile deepened. "Nothing. I did not need to. Your enemies moved the moment you set foot in the Sanctuary. They have already seized positions. They have already prepared statements. They have already planned meetings. They believe you died tonight."
John did not blink. "Then I will return as a ghost and haunt every single one of them."
The Benefactor laughed softly. "You will return to chaos. And that chaos will crown a new enemy."
Before John could respond, the pilot's voice came through the cabin intercom.
"Landing in three minutes. Brace yourselves."
The helicopter began its descent. The city grew larger through the windows. The Crest towered over the skyline, its glass walls reflecting the moonlight like a blade.
Rita grabbed John's arm. "Whatever waits inside that building, we face it together."
Morgan nodded. "We got you, Boss!"
John looked at both of them, then at the unconscious threat at his feet.
He inhaled a slow breath.
"This is not the end of the war."
Rita squeezed his arm. "Then let us start the next battle."
The helicopter descended toward the rooftop.
The moment the skids touched the concrete, John felt it.
A shift in the air.
A tension waiting for him.
And the storm ahead opened its eyes.