Is this destiny?

~ Eastern Europe, the base of the Lebedev family ~

June 17

Sarah and Aiden are in the study room with JoAnna, Sophia, Stella, Zack, Masika, Ron, and Zula, going through the information they gathered and the plan about infiltrating Voronins. Michael, Oni, Haru, and Nala are attending the meeting via video conferencing.

They all agreed on two points.

First, if Aiden and Sarah want to take advantage of their anonymity, they need to act against Voronins quickly before Voronins become aware that Natalia's base was compromised.

Second, this upcoming tournament is the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the ranks of the Voronin family.

Unfortunately, for everything else they had different opinions. They didn't know much, from the location of the actual tournament to the duration and the structure of the competition. All those unknown variables left them with a lot of different theories.

"We know that the tournament starts on June 20 and that at 6 AM we need to be at the gathering place from where they will take us to the location of the tournament.", Sarah said while summarizing what they know. "Natalia estimates more than a hundred competitors, so it will be huge, considering that every fighter will have at least one more person in the group and that they should provide food and lodging for everyone. For many remote bases, this is a unique opportunity to come close to the main family and they will take this chance to send more people with a goal to establish connections. We found four locations that could be used to host so many people."

"I would be more relaxed if we know where you are going.", Sophia interrupted. "And the initial number of participants does not mean that it will be huge. There could be a massive elimination first thing in the morning and they might provide accommodations only for the ones who stay. It's summer so lodging does not mean a hotel or solid structure. They could put you in a warehouse or in tents until it's down to the top ten."

Sarah was not happy that Sophia interrupted her, but she didn't comment on it. Sophia had a valid point. "Aiden and I will go with Natalia and once we are settled, we will send Natalia back under the influence of the obedience potion. She is a liability, and we don't want to think about her while there."

Ron and Zula understood that is their part.

"We will be ready to pick her up and bring her here.", Ron confirmed.

Stella was not comfortable with this. "Are you sure that only the two of you should go? This is not about a fighter, it's about the team, and every base can send several people, not only fighters."

It's not that Sarah didn't think about it but… "Who do you suggest? You can't come with us because they know you."

"We can go.", Ron volunteered.

Sarah refused. "You are Ronald Heine. Your and Zula's faces are shown in multiple magazines and it can blow our cover. And before you suggest Julius, Allen, or anyone else, I believe that it will be better that we don't go as a big group of strangers; we can't trust Natalia or any of her people that are still here. In case we bump into someone who knows Natalia and her people, it will be easier to pass as two new faces than as five."

"I will take care of her.", Aiden said and placed his arm around Sarah's shoulders. "No one will touch Sarah unless they go through me."

"Reckless…", Stella said under her breath while shaking her head. She knows that Aiden and Sarah are set on going, but she hoped that someone else goes with them. There is safety in numbers.

"We will take a few drones and set up cameras.", Sarah added while trying to comfort her mother.

"The latest pills are ready. If they crush them, everyone in the radius of fifty meters will be knocked out.", JoAnna added.

Stella was not pacified. Her concerned gaze didn't leave Sarah. "I am worried that only the two of you are going. What if they figure out who you are and catch you? You know that Voronins want Aiden, and their intentions are not good. And if they figure out who you are, it will only make everything worse. Even if they don't know that you are the Grand Elder, you are still a daughter of an Elder, a Lebedev."

Sarah pressed her lips into a line and looked at Stella. "OK. What do you suggest? Who else can come without making them wary of us?"

"I will go."

They all turned toward the voice and saw Hong standing at the door.

Sarah frowned. Since when is he listening? And she is confident that they closed the doors.

"You want to go?", Stella asked suspiciously.

Hong confirmed. "I'm an old man, so they will not see me as a threat. I will be keeping an eye on the youngsters…" He gestured toward Aiden and Sarah. "Natalia is not related by blood to the family, so she can introduce me as her Uncle and leave me as her representative because she needs to take care of other business."

"You got this figured out.", Sophia said to Hong.

"Why?", Sarah asked while scrutinizing Hong. "And don't tell me that it's to help us. You helped us plenty and there is no need for you to do this unless you have your own agenda."

When they first arrived here, Sarah didn't think about Hong's behavior as suspicious because she was focused on finding Aiden and anything else was not relevant, but now she can see that this is out of character for Hong.

Hong is was hiding in the mountain and agreed to stay with them only after confirming that he will be under the radar, and then he insisted on staying at the Lebedev family, and now he wants to go on a mission that is much more than just bashing people and not leaving any witnesses.

Aiden thought the same as Sarah, Hong's behavior is suspicious. "We never probed into your background or motives because we knew that you don't mean harm to us and that was enough. However, this is risky. Both Sarah and I will be undercover, surrounded by enemies and we can't risk being exposed. If you want to come with us on this mission, we need to know your intentions."

Hong observed everyone in the room before giving a small nod. He thought about this ever since he met Sarah and Aiden, and from the moment he heard Sarah say that they are finally going to act against Voronins, he was mentally preparing himself to come clean and talk about his origins. "Can we shrink the circle of people in this room?"

Sarah agreed. "Zack, Masika, Ron, Zula… can you give us a minute?"

After the four of them left, Sarah disconnected the video call. "We will be in touch once we have something…"

With this, it was only the six of them in the room: Sarah, JoAnna, Sophia, Stella, Aiden, and Hong.

"This is my family and I trust them with my life.", Sarah said. "If I end up in trouble, I would rely on them. Whatever you say here, will stay between us."

Hong looked at five sets of eyes directed his way and hesitated. "I'm not sure where to start."

Stella could not control her curiosity. "It would be good if you can start from the beginning."

Hong took a deep breath before saying: "I was born as Gedeon Voronin."

A suffocating pin-drop silence invaded the room, as everyone's minds exploded.

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