Is this destiny?

~ Eastern Europe, the main base of the Lebedev family ~

Sarah and Aiden returned from their date in Bucharest energized.

Their date evening was relaxing, and they spent the night cuddling in the bed until Sarah slept off. They lazied in the morning and had breakfast in bed after which they got ready and returned to reality.

As soon as Sarah and Aiden arrived at the main base of the Lebedev family, JoAnna gave Sarah a checkup with Imani's assistance, and they confirmed that everything is fine with the pregnancy.

To JoAnna's surprise, both Sarah and Aiden said that they don't want to know the gender of the baby, yet. Sarah would like a boy and Aiden is set on a girl, and both of them know that whatever the outcome is, one of them will be disappointed. The parents-to-be agreed to adjust their mindsets to any of the two possibilities before they confirm with a test.

Once everything health-related was done, JoAnna asked if she can talk with Sarah in private, and Aiden and Imani left the room.

Aiden went to spend some time with their fur-babies and Sarah said that she will join him when she is done with JoAnna.

"Sarah, as your doctor and as your sister, I need to remind you not to take unnecessary risks."

"I know. I am careful.", Sarah assured JoAnna.

"Are you sure about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You want to go back to that place tomorrow morning. Is that necessary?"

Sarah pressed her lips into a line. She knows what JoAnna is talking about and the best thing she could do is to stay back and take care of her body, but she does not want to separate from Aiden.

"If I don't go, Aiden will not go either because the two of us being apart is not an option. And that means we will waste this chance to infiltrate the Voronin family. They are all around us and we can't afford to let them be. We will not have another opportunity like this one. Besides… after the last attack, I don't think any place is safe. Do you expect us to hide forever?"

JoAnna didn't respond. Sarah has a point, but JoAnna does not agree with her. JoAnna believes that for the next seven months, Sarah should take her health and safety as a priority, even if that means hiding. This is not only about jeopardizing the pregnancy. Sarah can't be her usual self due to hormones and awareness that there is a baby in her belly and that means she can't defend herself properly.

But JoAnna knows that there is no use in talking because they will only argue without achieving anything.

…

Felix waited eagerly for his five minutes with Sarah and Aiden.

"New and improved…", Felix proudly pushed two boxes forward, each with a set of Eve-lens and ear studs.

"What is improved?", Aiden asked.

"I examined the signal jammer you brought with you last time and I found the way to break through it. There is a chance that the incoming signal will be blocked, but I am fairly confident that your signal will reach out of the jamming web."

"How fairly confident is that?", Aiden was not happy with this vague estimate.

"It will definitely go through the jammer you brought in, so if others have the same settings, you are good to go. However, we will know for certain once you try it from there. In the worst case, you will face the same situation you have now. I am working on modifying the drone and I might have a working prototype in about two days, so we will work on finding a way to send it to you."

Sarah was optimistic. She knows that Felix's gadgets always work, and he is the master of miniaturizing technology. If Eve can join them on this risky mission, that would be amazing. Also, it will give them an opportunity to send a distress signal easily, if necessary. "Thanks, Felix. These are great."

Aiden didn't want to break Sarah's happy bubble, but he didn't want her to get carried away either. "I hope they work because we are entering the final stage and if I am right, they will move us closer to the core of the base. That means more surveillance and we will not be able to freely walk out of range to make calls..."

…

As part of the preparations for their departure to the Voronin family, Sarah and Aiden spoke with Jeff and Michael about the White foundation; with Konstantin, Zack, Sophia, and Stella about the Lebedev family; with Aaron, Noah, Michael, and Oni about the Army of Chaos; with Nico and Beck on the performance tests they did on the security (aka Eve); with Genie, Haru and Nala about the situation with kids, their properties and businesses and the day trickled away in meetings that were mostly in person and a few people attended via video-conferencing.

Sarah and Aiden wanted to make sure that everything is in order, because they didn't know how long they will stay at the Voronin family this time, and there was a chance that they might be offline.

Dinner was more than one hour away when Sarah and Aiden entered Hong's room.

"Can we talk?", Sarah asked.

Hong gestured for them to sit on the sofa, and he sat opposite them.

"We believe that after our last few days at the main base of the Voronin family, we all have a better understanding of how things work there and about the possibilities…", Sarah said to Hong. "You told us that you are interested in getting your hands on Simeon and that you don't care about the organization. Is that still valid or do you have different thoughts?"

"You want to say something so just say it.", Hong said bluntly. He knows that Sarah is trying to ease him into a conversation, but he was never someone who liked to beat around the bush.

Sarah glanced at Aiden and he understood that he should talk.

"We want you to consider taking over the role that belongs to you."

Hong's brows furrowed at Aiden's words. "You want me to be the Grand Master?"

Aiden confirmed. "At least temporarily. Based on the information we have, there are many bases and numerous undercover operatives. Each of them works independently, reporting to various people, but at the top is the Grand Master. Considering what we know, I can be a leader of the base with the potential of becoming an Elder, but my position will be unstable for anything more than gathering information. Without connections on the inside, I can't overthrow Simeon and expect to be the Grand Master so our only way to take Voronins down is to engage in an open confrontation which will cause losses on both sides no matter how much information about them we have."

Aiden paused and observed Hong, expecting him to say something, but Hong only gestured for Aiden to continue.

"Let's put the open war on the side and focus on the present. Assuming that our infiltration is successful, and you manage to get close to Simeon. Once you get rid of him, Elders and all other bases will be without a leader. That means we will end up with many factions and individuals who have access to the information, connections, and technology of Voronins, yet each of them will do their own thing. That will be horrible, like unleashing a swarm of rogues and powered-up bullies who can't be controlled…"

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