Is this destiny?

~ the main base of the Voronin family ~

Sarah walked with Aiden to the building where Elder Sergey is.

Aiden decided to talk to him, and they made a plan last night.

The idea is that Aiden will look for something closer to the main base, but he will not be too obvious because he does not want to sound desperate. Desperation can either alert Elder Sergey that they are up to something, or it might make Elder Sergey try to take advantage of Aiden by offering something dark in return. The key is to make Aiden appear agreeable, but not too much. It's all in the balance.

Sarah and Aiden believe that if Elder Sergey thinks that Aiden will be loyal to him, he will help them out, but Aiden needs to make it sound that both he and Elder will profit from that collaboration. After all, Aiden is here for the money and benefits, and he should stay in that character. 

However, it will depend on the attitude of Elder Sergey. Sarah believes that Aiden will do fine. He is smart and levelheaded and as long as no one has bad intentions toward Sarah, Aiden will keep his cool.

If Aiden convinces Elder Sergey to move his reward to a base in Europe or Western Asia, it will be beneficial to what they are planning as the next stage because their ultimate goal is to hit the main base of the Voronin family, and it will be useful if they are nearby (or at least within a few hours of travel). Of course, if this negotiation does not work out, they have backup plans; one of them includes using their doubles to stay in Brazil as Olga and Alex, while Sarah and Aiden remain in the area, but they hope that things can be simplified.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?", Aiden tried one more time when they were in front of the building.

"Only you were invited and if I show up, I will be an extra. Also, if Elder says that I need to leave and you insist that I stay, it will not be good for you.", Sarah said. "Don't worry about me. I will be in the canteen with many others. It's breakfast time, so it's packed, and I will find safety in numbers. Come and join me when you are done. OK?"

"Let me walk you there.", Aiden offered.

Sarah refused. "Go before you run out of time. It's less than five minutes away and I will be fine. Look at all the people outside."

Aiden had to agree that quite a number of people were on the street. During the day, the middle circle of the base is rather lively.

Aiden hopes that Maksim won't try anything funny in his absence, but he has faith that Sarah can handle him. She did it more than once already.

He took Sarah's hands into his and kissed each of her palms before letting go and walking inside.

Sarah stood there until Aiden was out of sight, and then she moved toward her destination. She plans to grab some food and sit at the table and to use Eve-lens to watch the negotiations taking place. She loves to watch Aiden in action.

...

Aiden reached the office on the second floor and approached a young lady who was sitting behind the desk. "Excuse me, is this Elder Sergey's office?"

The lady smiled at Aiden while checking him out shamelessly. "Yes. And you are?"

"I am Alex Perun. Can you tell Elder Sergey that I am here? He should expect me."

"Sure. Please, take a seat."

She gestured to the sofa behind Aiden and walked toward the office door.

A minute later, she returned and told Aiden: "Elder Sergey is busy right now, but he can see you in five minutes. Is it OK for you to wait?"

"It's not a problem.", Aiden responded and got comfortable on the sofa.

He wanted to use his phone to check on Sarah through the cameras in the security system of the Voronin family, but he decided not to. There are cameras in the hallway, and he does not want to expose the fact that he can access the network he is not supposed to. Of course, he could use Eve-lens, but he will risk seeing Sarah sitting in the canteen and some guy coming onto her. Aiden is not sure if he will be able to go through his meeting with Elder while knowing that some sleazeball is hitting on Sarah. Sure, she can take care of herself, but Aiden's protective instincts will make him go into a rage.

He told himself to be cool. This talk to Elder Sergey is important because it can make their lives easier in the next period until they come to the final stage to attack the main base.

Aiden decided to leave Sarah for the next fifteen minutes and play a game on his phone to pass time. If anyone can swat away annoying flies, that will be his wife. And she is right... in the crowd of the canteen, no one will try anything extreme. 

…

While Aiden waited for his time with Elder Sergey, Sarah reached the canteen.

"Olga Perun?", a man who was standing at the door called.

"Yes?", Sarah responded and noticed that man was standing with three others. She does not know them, but they are familiar. They are not competitors, but she saw them around... Probably part of the staff that was in charge of the tournament. 

"Instructor Boza wants to talk to you.", the man said and gestured down the street, indicating that she should go that way.

Sarah paused. "Instructor Boza? Before breakfast?"

The man looked at her like she asked something silly. "He asked us to inform you and show you to his office. That was ten minutes ago, if you came to breakfast earlier, you would finish by now. I don't know what he wants, but it should not take long. You can have breakfast after you are done."

Sarah had to agree with this. Well, Aiden is not here, and being with the instructor is not more dangerous than sitting in the canteen where someone will probably approach her.

"Lead the way…", Sarah said.

Two men went in front, and the other two took left and right from Sarah and she was happy that they kept a respectable distance from her. It gave her a fake sense of security.

She wondered if four of them are necessary to escort her to her destination, but then she guessed that maybe they are buddies and just giving that man company. Even if something is off, she is not in a position to argue because this is the enemy camp. Her best option is to immerse herself in the role of Olga, see what the instructor wants, and return before Aiden freaks out.

Sarah checked Aiden's location and saw on her Eve-lens that he playing on his phone and sitting on the sofa in the hallway on the second floor of the building.

She decided not to disturb him. If he comes to the canteen before her, he can check on her location, just how she checked his.

…

Aiden didn't wait long, maybe a few minutes, when the office door opened and Elder Sergey escorted Kolya. They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before Elder Sergey looked at Aiden.

"Alex… I am glad you are here. Please, come in…"

Aiden and Kolya greeted each other briefly and Aiden was about to shake hands with Elder Sergey when he heard JoAnna's voice in his ear-stud...

"Sarah, why are you not with Aiden? … Right, you can't talk when others are around… We have a problem. A big one… Ivan betrayed you and told Voronins who you are. We are not sure if informants reached the main base to share that information, however, we must assume that they did because Ivan spoke with them more than twenty-four hours ago. We don't know if Voronins are planning anything, but just in case, we are on our way… We should be there in about forty-five minutes… The team from Romania will be in place in twenty minutes… You need to be extra vigilant so that you are not caught. Nod or wave if you heard me… I hope that we are overreacting, but just in case, come up with some exit strategies of your own…"

…

Sarah was on the street when she heard JoAnna's message through her ear stud.

While JoAnna's voice rang in her mind, Sarah observed her surroundings. She glanced at two men around her and two in front before turning back where she saw a few more men following after them. It seemed random like they are moving in the same direction. However, when people who were lingering on the street got alerted as they met her gaze, Sarah realized that she walked into a trap.

Two steps later, she confirmed that she is not imagining. The number of people around her is increasing and empty space is reducing.

There is a drone above her, but the number of enemies is too much.

Sarah felt her stomach sinking as adrenalin rushed through her body. Her fighting instincts were on all-high.

She was always able to sense danger and after Stella's training, Sarah could identify malicious intent, and this time, her hair stood on ends.

Sarah suppressed all those signals which used to save her out of a tricky situation more than once. She told herself that she is paranoid, it's due to the pregnancy, it's because they are in the middle of an enemy's base, but now… she could not deceive herself. This is definitely a trap. They brought her to this street and she had no idea how come she believed an illusion that there will be safety in a crowd when everyone is an enemy.

Sarah slowly reached for her ear stud. "Too late…"

…

Aiden was nervous while listening to JoAnna, and Sarah's words made the blood drain from his face. He completely ignored the hand that Elder Sergey offered him to shake.

Without a word, Aiden dashed out of the building with wind under his feet, hoping that he is not late. He can't be too late. If anything happens to Sarah or to their baby, he will never forgive himself and anyone who dares to touch her will suffer unimaginable torture without being allowed to die.

'Please, let me be on time…', Aiden chanted while looking at the distance between him and Sarah reducing on his Eve-lens.

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