Is this destiny?

"He will kill us!", Mila shrieked, unsure where to direct her anger mixed with panic. They are trapped, the situation is horrible and it seems that whatever they touch is only bringing closer their inevitable demise. Is she going to be cut into slices by those lasers? Or die of suffocation? Or who knows what else this room hides?

Kolya and Jasha had equally terrified expressions, but they didn't dare to move because the lasers were too close for comfort and screaming is not very manly. It is one thing if it's just the four of them, but there are others watching them from the safety of the bleachers not so far from them!

"Calm down!", Aiden shouted and repeated in a lower voice. "Everyone, calm down. This is a test of our teamwork. We need to find a way out."

"How do we get out of here?", Jasha asked Aiden in a trembling voice.

Jasha, Mila, and Kolya looked at Aiden, eagerly expecting him to come up with some magical solution and Aiden would be pleased that they are waiting for his guidance, if not for the fact that they will kick him the moment he falters. But he can't admonish them now because he needs their help, or at least not to make things harder for him.

"Keep in mind that this is a test and there must be a way to get out. If we don't keep our cool, we will definitely fail. We don't know if depriving the room of oxygen is the real thing or not. However, if you panic, your breathing accelerates and it feels like you will faint, no matter how much oxygen there is. So, calm down. Second, even if that is true, they will not kill us. At most, we will faint. But in that case, we will fail, so we need to find a way out. Do we all agree on that?"

Jasha, Mila, and Kolya nodded.

Aiden was pleased with their cooperation. "Good. Does anyone have experience of breaking into a safe without using explosives?"

"Is it locked?", Mila asked a question that seemed silly, but no one tried opening it.

Aiden was the closest one and he moved toward the safe while avoiding the lasers.

The moment Aiden touched the handle of the safe, more tiles from the ceiling moved and the number of lasers slicing the air in the room doubled, making Mila scream in surprise when one almost grazed her face.

"Is everyone alright?", Aiden asked.

Jasha, Kolya, and Mila confirmed in murmurs and grumbles.

Aiden was relieved that there are no casualties, and he observed that a narrow area along the walls is not covered with lasers and also an area around the safe is free.

"The safe is locked, so… does any of you know how to crack it open?", Aiden repeated his question before adding: "It has a dial for entering the combination."

Mila, Jasha, and Kolya shook their heads.

Aiden pinched the roof of his nose and glanced at the timer that now showed 4:06 and it was still counting down steadily, one second at a time.

"Alright.", Aiden said. "I will deal with the safe, and you try to find a mechanism that will disable lasers and open the door."

"What are we looking for?", Mila asked while looking blankly through the room. There is no furniture, and even the walls are bare with no paintings or anything that could be pushed or moved in any way.

"Feel the wall for any abnormalities. And there is a chance that the floor tiles could be part of the mechanism.", Jasha said. "I agree with Alex. This is a test and not a deathtrap, so we should be able to find a way out."

Kolya grumbled something for himself, but he scooted along the wall while moving his palms over it.

"Do your best not to make noise, because I need to concentrate on this.", Aiden said, and when he confirmed that the other three were obedient, and he turned toward the safe.

He slowly squatted and observed the dial with a complex expression on his face.

"You can do it, love!", a message flashed in front of his eyes and he knew that Sarah is encouraging him.

The message reminded Aiden that Sarah's eyes are on him, and he felt warm and fuzzy on the inside. 

Ah, if Sarah is by Aiden's side, she would deal with this safe in no time, and he would find a way to disable the lasers, open the door, and get them out safely.

Aiden regretted not showing more interest in safe-cracking. Sarah got her hands on various books about safes and purchased a few safes of various sizes and constructions to sharpen her skills, but Aiden thought of it as a hobby. He even teased her that she is practicing to be a thief.

But instead of rubbing it in, Sarah is giving him her support. His wife is amazing.

Aiden smiled and moved his fingers in the air to send her a message: "How do I deal with this?"

He thought that messages might be cumbersome for instructions (because he needs plenty of them) and he reached for the earpiece that connects him to the other members of the team falcon and turned off the device (just in case, to prevent accidental eavesdropping).

Aiden sent another message to Sarah: "Can you talk me through it? Ear-stud is safe."

"What do I get for my troubles? Will you make me a cake?", another message popped in front of Aiden's eyes.

Aiden's shoulders shook for a second as he suppressed his laughter and he nodded while lifting two fingers in the air, knowing that Sarah can see him on the screen from the audience. She is shameless for extorting a cake while he is in a pinch. Ah, that is his wife.

Whoever saw Aiden on the screen with two fingers up while looking at the safe, assumed that he is showing a V for victory, but Sarah knew that she just got a two-cakes promise. 

"Use the ear-stud to amplify the sounds, love.", Sarah's sweet voice rang in Aiden's ear a second later, and he understood that she is speaking softly so that no one overhears her. "Rotate the dial slowly and you will hear a small clicking sound as you progress through the required sequence. Think of it as a combination lock with digits for a bike where you need to release each of the notches in order to open the lock, but here you need to create gaps for the notches in a specific order and it matters if you are moving clockwise or counterclockwise… I can guide you… Share what you see with Eve-lens so I can have a better view… Move the dial slowly, don't think about the counter above the door behind you because rushing this will only make you fail and then you need to start all over again…"

Aiden felt that it's just him and Sarah, working on this together. He listened to her explanations and moved the dial how she instructed, focusing completely on his task and he didn't notice that Mila slowly inched toward him.

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