Is this destiny?

~ the main base of the Voronin family ~

Sarah, Aiden, and Hong returned to the main base, in time to see the ranking from the previous events and to hear more details about the final stage.

The information they received before leaving the main base was that the final event will include competitors forming teams, but there was nothing more than that, and considering that the whole event was unpredictable, Hong had a theory that the organizers can change their minds at any time.

While they unpacked, Aiden observed Sarah and noticed that her mood is better. The mini-vacation included a date and a much needed time with friends and family (fur-babies included), and it did wonders for Sarah's mental state. He hoped that it will last until they get another break and in the meantime, he will do his best to keep her out of stressful situations.

As much as Aiden agrees with JoAnna and he desires for Sarah to be safe, he didn't dare to suggest for Sarah to stay behind. The last time when he mentioned for them to part, it was also related to the Voronin family and it ended up in a complete meltdown, and now… he does not want to think about it.

They also spent some time discussing plans for the bat-cave that is under the Beach house. To Aiden's surprise, Sarah had realistic expectations.

"I want it to be a safe house that we can use in case of emergencies. With the Ocean nearby, we can build underground turbines that will utilize the currents to provide uninterrupted power supply, independent from the power grid or the wind turbine that we have in place. Several individual access points will allow us to sneakily get in and out without being noticed and also will prevent us from being trapped in case someone finds out about it…"

Aiden listened to Sarah and the more she spoke, the more he was impressed. He thought at first that she will plan to use that cave as a safe spot where they can live without being disturbed, but now he sees that she wants to use that as a refuge in case of emergency. At first, he wanted to argue how with all their properties that have underground structures, they don't need an emergency shelter, but then he remembered that they faced enemies and situations he could not imagine a few years back so… an emergency shelter might come in handy. Better safe than sorry. In the worst case, they will not use it, and that is not a bad thing actually.

Back to the present…

Sarah eagerly looked at the screen in the hallway of the canteen which showed rankings in order to see where Aiden is, only to be disappointed. They didn't reveal detailed ranking, but only listed in alphabetical order twenty competitors that qualified for the final event.

"You would be in the first place.", Sarah told Aiden while frowning at the screen.

"They used this approach in order to prevent more infighting.", Aiden responded. "By giving away details, everyone would feel threatened by the top few spots. It's less trouble like this. What matters is that I am in. Let's go to the announcement area next to the training grounds and hear what the final round will be. With any luck, it will happen today, and tomorrow we can move on to the next stage."

Sarah liked the idea of ending this quickly.

If Aiden gets a base assigned for him to lead, it means that they will be out of the main base of the Voronin family, he will get access to additional resources, and that will open up the doors for their people to join them. Sarah is excited about the possibility of having a few more people around who are not trying to eliminate them.

On the other side, there is a chance that the Voronins might decide to keep Aiden at their main base for some time until he proves himself, or maybe even permanently by assigning him a position close to the core. If they stay here, there will be more chances to investigate and possibly access sensitive information, but at the same time, they will be stuck in the middle of the hornet's nest and it will be trickier to get their people inside and to coordinate with them.

Sarah is not sure which one of those two is better, but they are here already and the only way to go is forward. She is confident that as long as Aiden and she are together, it will be alright.

At the training grounds, Aiden joined the other nineteen named contestants as they gathered in front of the man who stood on the improvised stage, and spectators formed a semi-circle around the main characters, curious to see what will happen next.

Sarah and Hong were in the spectators' group.

All other contestants were still present because no one was dismissed. This confirmed Hong's guess that everyone who reached here will get some position and these events are only to determine their future roles.

The man who was standing above everyone else waited for the crowd to quiet down before he started talking.

"I want to congratulate everyone who got selected to participate in the final event…", the man spoke with a smile. "You will be divided into five teams, and every team will get a team leader assigned. I am not at liberty to reveal details about what you will be facing, but I can tell you that it will require many talents that are not limited to physical abilities and weapon mastery. You will hear the specifics from your team leader, shortly before the event start. Now, I will announce who belongs to which team and distribute the uniforms. Please wear them and assemble here at 2 PM. You will notice that each uniform is marked with the sign of the team you will belong to…"

Two ladies approached from the back and the man started calling names and giving them the uniforms. The names were not in alphabetical order and he was reading from the list, which means that they were predetermined, probably based on the results they achieved.

Aiden picked up his uniform and after inspecting it, he went toward the area where Sarah and Hong waited for him.

"Alex…"

A female voice sounded next to Aiden and he halted his steps.

"Mila…"

"What team are you in?", Mila asked Aiden cheerfully.

"Sokol."

She grinned. "We are teammates, look…" She showed him the uniform that was neatly folded, and it revealed the left chest pocket which had embroidery in the shape of a falcon and letters: "сокол 5".

Aiden looked at his own and saw the same embroidery and letters: "сокол 2".

"I guess I will see you at 2 PM.", Aiden said dryly and continued walking toward Sarah. He has no control over the team member selection, and he has no intention of socializing or doing anything other than to focus on his task.

"What did she want?", Sarah asked grumpily when Aiden approached her.

Aiden didn't want to get Sarah upset, but he didn't want to hide things from her either. Especially because there is a big chance she will find out later. "To tell me that we are on the same team. She is the fifth member, and I am the second one."

"If there are four competitors in each team and she has number five, the number one is probably reserved for the team leader.", Hong shared his thoughts.

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