Is this destiny?

Bo was listening to Master Hollow's explanation of different strategies and potential outcomes, when their attention got drawn toward the noise from the side.

Two poachers walked in from the forest and stared at the situation in disbelief. A teenager and an old man are sitting on a wooden bench with twenty-something men tied up on the ground. It took only a second for the two poachers to pull their guns out.

Bo was absolutely terrified. It's one thing to ambush poachers, but now it's only him and his Master, facing two guns who are directed at them. And the two of them are unarmed.

Master Hollow moved on an instinct…

'BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!'

Four gunshots shook up the air.

The first two were from the poachers, and the other two were from Sarah who emerged from the back to see the scene of the poachers aiming their guns at Master Hollow and Bo.

Sarah used Eve-lens to confirm that two poachers are dead and then she rushed to Master Hollow.

Sarah pushed frozen Bo to the side, so that she can check on the old man, and the sudden jolt startled Bo out of his daze.

"Master!", Bo screamed.

A second later, everyone else came as well (other than Nala who was further down in the forest).

"He jumped in front to protect me…", Bo said in a shaky voice. His whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

Sarah kept her gun in the back of her belt and pulled out a knife, cutting the fabric of the shirt in the areas from where blood was oozing from Master Hollow.

Haru and Aiden rushed to check on the dead poachers and to confirm if they were alone.

Sarah confirmed one gunshot on Master Hollow's left shoulder and another one on the right side of his abdomen.

Sarah saw that Souta looks the most composed out of Master Hollow's disciples. She pulled him down and instructed while pointing at Master Hollow's stomach: "Apply pressure here…"

Next, she inspected the old man's shoulder. "This one went through…", she ripped the sleeve and tied up the wound to stop the bleeding.

Sarah saw the old man frowning and she reached into the pouch on her belt and gave Master Hollow a dose of anesthetic for the pain.

Aiden and Haru returned and observed Sarah who was tending to Master Hollow.

"How is he doing?", Aiden asked.

"We can stitch the shoulder, but the wound on the stomach is a problem. We can't leave him here and even if one of us runs to the helicopter without taking any breaks at full speed, it will take hours…", Sarah told Aiden.

Sarah was looking at Aiden expectantly because he is her ideas guy. And right now, they need ideas because Master Hollow is bleeding and none of them know how to do a surgery on a stomach in order to get a bullet out and stop the bleeding. Of course, if it's a clean wound, it can be done, but what if there is internal bleeding or some other complication? They are in the middle of the forest and their skimpy first aid kits are lacking. And Master Hollow is an old man, every minute his wound is not treated, his life is in more danger.

"It will be faster if we call another helicopter from Romania.", Haru suggested.

Sarah and Aiden agreed that it will be faster, but that is still not good enough.

Sarah shook her head. "It will take three hours for a helicopter to arrive, and at that base we don't have surgeons who can take care of this, so he will need to be transported somewhere."

"I will be fine…", Master Hollow said weakly.

He is slightly dizzy due to blood loss, but he does not feel any pain. He even tried getting up, and Sarah applied pressure on his shoulder to keep him down. Sarah knows that Master Hollow feels fine due to the anesthetic, but he is losing blood and there is a bullet in his stomach, and there is no time for arguing so she decided to pin him down while discussing options with people who understand the gravity of the situation.

"Stella?", Aiden asked.

Sarah bit her lower lip. If there are other options, she would rather not call her mother. If Lebedevs get a hint that they are here, they might try something funny. "She might have people nearby, but can we trust them? How about Patel?"

Aiden looked at Sarah with a troubled expression. That man will ask for something huge as a repayment. Maybe to take over a country. But what other choices they have? Aiden's face lit up. "How about that Chinese guy? You remember, from Vegas? You gave him a vase, and he said that he will repay the favor. We are technically in China and based on his bodyguards, he is someone influential. You have the jade token he gave you, right?"

Sarah nodded. She has it. It was cute and greenish, and she made a keychain pendant out of it because she was confident that she will not actually use it.

"They have a satellite phone inside…", Sarah said and instructed Wing to make sure Master Hollow does not get up before walking into one of the smaller buildings.

Nala returned in a rush. She heard the gunshots and swiftly released the krait snake before dashing back as fast as she could. Haru quickly explained to her the current situation and she got her backpack which has the first aid kit and started her treatment with antibacterial cream.

A minute later, Sarah got out of the building. "The helicopter will be here in ten minutes. They will take him to a secure hospital, but only one person is allowed to go with the patient."

Bo, Souta, and Wing looked at Sarah expectantly. It's obvious that they want to go.

Aiden's eyes didn't leave Sarah. He exhaled a shaky breath. "You should go. You are the one with the token."

Sarah does not want to send Master Hollow by himself and considering that they don't know where Master Hollow will end up, any of his three eager disciples will not be much of help, and Haru and Nala are a couple... and she has the token but separating from Aiden is not an idea that excites her. Aiden saw her reluctance and pulled her into his embrace.

Aiden kissed her temple and spoke into it softly: "You need to go. Even if you give the token to someone else, you earned it and others can be treated as thieves. We will release the rest of the animals and take care of things here. Then, we will return to the clearing where the helicopter is. If you are not back by then, I will find you."

She wanted to tell him to watch out for any other poachers that might pop out, but she knows that he will be careful even without her reminder. But there is one more thing that is bugging her… "What about Kitty?"

"I will keep an eye out for her."

Sarah nodded and leaned into Aiden's embrace. She took a deep breath, hoping that this feeling of his firm hold, and the familiar woody-flowery scent lasts until they meet again. But she knew how that will not be the case because she was missing him already.

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