C399 Caught Off guard

Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become quiet, Amanda grinned. “I don't like this. You all have history. You've known each other for so long. What about me?” Chris laughed. “You want us to talk about you?” Amanda nodded. Chris looked at her for a moment before continuing. “Well, the first thing you should know is that I actually considered you for the interim team leader position.” Amanda looked at him in surprise. “You did?” Chris nodded. “You were one of my candidates for the position. But then I realised how loyal you were.” He paused. “Out of everyone in the Administration Department, you were different. You never seemed to care about my relationship status. Some people were always asking questions, but you never did.”

Amanda smiled faintly. “You were loyal and respectful. And even after finding out that Chipmunk was my wife, you didn't spread it around.” He shook his head. “That means a lot. It showed me that you are someone who can keep private matters private instead of mixing them with work.” Amanda's cheeks became slightly red. Chris smiled. “And now that loyalty has brought you here with all of us. From today onward, we stick together.” Amanda lowered her eyes, clearly embarrassed by the praise. “Thank you.” Before anyone could say anything else, Samantha suddenly spoke. “Kiddo and I are dating.”

Chris nearly choked. “What?” He stared at Samantha. “Impossible! You are both women!” Sarah immediately burst out laughing. “That doesn't mean they can't have feelings, Bighead. What are you even saying?” Everyone looked shocked. Everyone except Sarah and Alicia. I slowly turned toward Alicia. “Cipher…” She looked at me. “You knew?” Alicia smiled. “You are all too slow not to notice.” Chris's eyes widened. “You knew?” He turned toward Sarah. “And you? You knew? But She is Marr...” Sarah quickly stopped him. “Whatever she decides is her choice, not mine.” Faith and Samantha exchanged a nervous glance. Then they looked relieved. Alicia smiled. “So, when did it start?”

Sarah laughed. “My kidnapping.” I froze. “What?” Chris looked even more confused. “Impossible! When you were kidnapped, Survivor was the one calling us. She was more worried about you than anyone!” Sarah smiled. “Exactly.” She looked toward Samantha. “And that is why I let her make her own decisions. If she believes her marriage has reached a point where there is no turning back and she wants to move on, she is free to do so.” Samantha looked down. Faith gently reached for her hand. Chris shook his head before looking at Alicia. “Cipher, if you ever do this to my brother, I will kill you myself.” Alicia laughed. Everyone else followed. The tension disappeared, replaced once again by laughter.

Faith and Samantha seemed completely relieved. They no longer had anything to hide from us. I looked around the room. Then I looked at Laura. “Pixel, do you love women?” Laura froze. “What do you mean? I'm married, Cracker.” I laughed. “Just making sure.” Then I turned toward Amanda. “Silver, do you have a boyfriend?” Amanda shook her head. “My love life has been terrible. I took a break from it.” I smiled. “Good. That means we won't have any more surprises.” Everyone laughed. Then we all went to sleep. The following morning, it was still dark when Hammer and his team arrived. We were barely awake when they started waking us. “Everyone up!” I opened my eyes reluctantly. Sarah was immediately alert. “Where is the bathroom?”

Hammer laughed. “Chipmunk, we are not in the city anymore. There is no bathroom here.” Sarah stared at him. “What?” “The toilet is outside.” She looked toward the door in disbelief. “And the shower?” Sniper laughed. “You don't get to shower here.” Sarah's mouth dropped open. “If you want to freshen up, the river is two kilometres from here. You will take your bath there.” We all looked at one another. Nobody knew whether to laugh or complain. Viper placed the box he was carrying in front of us. “Madam, here are your new outfits.” He opened the box. “We only managed to get sixteen sets, which means each of you will have two sets.” Alicia looked confused. “Why didn't you simply bring our clothes from home?”

Sniper shook his head. “That would raise suspicion. Besides, you are in a military base now.” He pointed toward the uniforms. “You have to wear military clothing.” The moment we heard that, Chris and I exchanged looks. Without saying anything, we both rushed toward the box. The others followed. Everyone grabbed their uniforms. Then came the moment when we had to change. We all looked around awkwardly. Chris grinned. “This is going to be uncomfortable.” Hammer shook his head. “You all need to get used to being around each other.” “Once you have changed, you'll find us outside.” The coaches began leaving one after another. Still, the situation remained uncomfortable. Nobody wanted to change first.

Then Faith simply took off her clothes and tossed them aside, leaving herself in her underwear before putting on the military uniform. Everyone froze. Samantha followed without hesitation. Once the two of them started changing, everyone else finally followed. Within minutes, we were all dressed in military uniforms and heavy boots. I looked down at myself. I barely recognised the person staring back at me. We had spent so long pretending to be ordinary people. Now we looked like soldiers. As we walked outside, Chris immediately started complaining. “I don't like this. Where is the privacy?” Laura was having her own problem. “These boots are too heavy.” Amanda looked down at herself and suddenly grinned. “This uniform is too small for me.” She looked around. “Did anyone think that not all of us have small breasts?” She looked down at herself. “Look at my chest. These things don't fit.” We all burst out laughing.

We eventually reached the coaches. Hammer looked at all of us. “Training has begun.” Sarah immediately looked worried. “You said we are going to freshen up, right?” Hammer nodded. “Yes.” Beast stepped forward. “So we are running to the river.” Everyone looked at him. “The river is two kilometres away. Since this is your first day, we will run there and give you a short break before continuing.” He paused. “But this is only for today.” His expression became serious. “Tomorrow, there will be no easy start.” He looked at us. “We will be sprinting.” Chris sighed. “I already miss home.” Nobody answered him. Hammer simply turned around. “Run!” And we started moving.

While we were beginning our first morning of training, the police were still investigating the disappearance. Their attention remained focused on the black vehicle that had taken us. Officers had searched the area, reviewed the footage and questioned witnesses. Then suddenly, an alert rang through the police station. An officer came rushing toward Mark's office. “Sir!” Mark immediately looked up. “What is it?” “They found the car.” Mark stood up. “Where?” “Not far from the city.” Mark didn't waste another second. “Let's go.” Several officers followed him. They rushed to the location. But when they arrived, their excitement disappeared. The black vehicle had been completely burned. The fire had destroyed everything inside. The officers searched the area. They looked through the remains. They searched for fingerprints. They searched for anything that could identify the people responsible. But there was nothing. No useful evidence. No clear traces. Nothing that could tell them where we had gone. Mark stared at the burned vehicle. His fists tightened. “Who did this?” Nobody answered.

At Willy's estate, four black vehicles were already waiting. Men stood beside them, armed and ready. Willy walked toward Brian and the others. He gave them one final order. “Go there and make an example of a few people.” He paused. “Don't destroy the infrastructure. We still need it.” Brian nodded. Willy continued. “And when they surrender, tell them I want a face-to-face meeting with Mark Mooney.” The men nodded. “Yes, Boss.” Brian entered one of the vehicles. The engines started. One after another, the four black cars drove away toward Lucia Goods. Willy remained behind. He stood at the entrance of his estate, watching the vehicles disappear. A satisfied smile slowly appeared on his face. “The police are busy with their investigation…” He looked toward the road. “Alicia Mooney has been Kidnapped.” His smile widened. “Let's catch them off guard and see how they handle me.” The vehicles disappeared into the distance.