C410 Be Ready

As we prepared to leave the Gupta residence, Victor walked toward us. His expression had changed. The warmth he had shown us earlier was gone, replaced by something much more serious. He looked at each of us before finally speaking. "From now on, you have to be careful." We all stopped. "Always stay on guard," he continued. "What happened today was only a family gathering, but things will not remain that simple."He looked toward Cipher. "And, Alicia, my child..." Cipher smiled. "Grandpa?" "Train harder." Cipher laughed softly. "Grandpa, please avoid using my original name." Victor raised an eyebrow. "Why?" "Just call me Cipher."

Victor laughed. "Fine, fine." He shook his head. "Cipher, you must train harder." Cipher nodded. "We will." Victor looked at all of us one last time. "Take care of each other." "We will, Grandfather," I said. Everyone nodded. Then we turned around and followed Hammer, Viper, and Rider toward the vehicles. None of us noticed Hanna standing near one of the windows. She watched us leave. Her eyes followed Cipher. But she wasn't looking at Cipher's face. She was looking at what she was holding. Gold and Diamond. Hanna's eyes narrowed. Then a smile slowly appeared on her face. "So..." She watched Cipher walk farther away. "You have finally caught my attention." She remained by the window.

For a moment, she thought about what had happened during the fight. She had expected her to be weak. Instead, Cipher had managed to push her back. Hanna had been forced to use a weapon. And even then, she had not defeated Cipher as easily as she had expected. That bothered her. But at the same time, it excited her. Hanna smiled. "Let's see how you survive." She looked outside again. Then she noticed something. Hammer and his crew had not left with them. They were still somewhere around the residence. Hanna's smile disappeared for a moment. She understood what that meant.

Hannah turned away from the window. She reached for her phone. There was one call she needed to make.

Hanna called a number. The call was answered quickly. "Yes, Boss?" "Organize a few men from my third troop." There was a brief silence. "I have a task for them." Her voice became colder. "It must be done as soon as possible." "How many men?" "Get whoever is available." The man hesitated. "Yes, Boss." The call ended. Hanna placed the phone down. She waited. She didn't have to wait long. Within a short time, her phone rang again. She answered. "Boss." The voice on the other side was deep. "We have about ten men who volunteered." Hanna smiled. "Good." She walked toward the window again. "Tell them to come here." "Yes, Boss." "When they are one kilometer away, call me." "Understood." The call ended. Hanna looked at herself in the mirror. She straightened her clothes. She wanted everything to look normal. Nobody could know what she was planning. Not even Samson.

Within an hour, Hanna quietly left the residence. She drove herself. The sky had already grown dark. The roads were quiet. Nobody paid attention to her vehicle. That was exactly what she wanted. She drove for some time before eventually reaching the meeting point. Her phone rang. "Boss, we are one kilometer away." "Good." Hanna ended the call. A few minutes later, the vehicles arrived. Several men stepped out. They were members of Hanna's third troop. They stood in front of her, waiting for their orders. Hanna looked at each of them. Then she finally spoke. "I have one order." The men listened carefully. "Go to our family's military base." They exchanged brief looks. Hanna continued. "Get inside." One of the men nodded. "Yes, Boss." "If you have to fight your way in, do it." Her expression hardened. "I want Gold and Diamond."

The men became more serious. "A tall female named Alicia has it." She pointed toward the road. "Bring that dagger back to me." One of the men asked, "And the owner?" Hanna looked at him. "You know what you are supposed to do if she gets in your way." The man nodded. Hanna stepped back. "Go." The group immediately got into their vehicles. Within seconds, they were gone. Hanna watched their taillights disappear into the darkness. Then she turned around. She returned to the Gupta residence as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, we had already returned to the military base. The journey back had been quiet. Everyone was exhausted. Some of us had minor injuries from the fights. My body was still aching from my match with Destroyer. Chipmunk had bruises from Bloom's kick. Pixel was still disappointed with her loss. But despite everything, we had made it back safely. We simply rested.

Cipher eventually sat down. She looked around. "So..." She smiled. "Who's cooking today?" Everyone looked at each other. Silver immediately raised her hand. "I will cook." Bighead laughed. "Are you sure?" Kiddo looked at him. "Why wouldn't she be?" Bighead shrugged. "Because after today, I don't trust anyone's cooking." Silver picked up a pan. "You have two choices." Bighead raised an eyebrow. "What are they?" "Eat my cooking or stay hungry." Bighead immediately smiled. "I'll eat." Everyone laughed. For a brief moment, the tension disappeared. Silver began preparing the food. The smell slowly filled the room. I sat down near the table. Cipher was talking to Chipmunk. Kiddo was helping Pixel. Bighead was complaining about how hungry he was. Everything seemed normal. Almost too normal. Then my phone vibrated. I looked at it. My expression immediately changed.

The phone had been connected to the security system I had installed around the base. The system had several cameras positioned around the perimeter. I opened the alert. My eyes narrowed. There were vehicles approaching. Three of them. I immediately stood up. "Guys." Everyone looked at me. "What is it?" Chipmunk asked. I turned the phone around. "The cameras picked up three vehicles." The room became silent. "They're coming in our direction." Bighead stood up. "Are they approaching the base?" I nodded. "Yes." Cipher slowly stood. Her expression became serious. "How many people?" I checked the camera feed. "I can't tell yet." Bighead looked at Cipher. "Cipher, what do we do?"

Cipher didn't answer. She looked at the screen. Then she looked at all of us. A small smile appeared on her face. "I'm sure everyone knows who this could be." Nobody spoke. Cipher continued. "After today's fight, Hanna knows exactly what we can do." She looked toward the security monitor. "And she isn't going to simply forget about it." Kiddo frowned. "You think she sent them?" Cipher nodded. "I think so." Bighead clenched his fists. "So they're coming here because of you?" "Most likely." Cipher looked at the cameras again. "She wants to finish what she started." I stepped forward. "So what are we going to do?" Cipher turned toward us. "We counterattack."

The room became silent. She looked at each of us. "There is no reason for us to wait for them to enter the base." Her voice was calm. "But remember something." She looked directly at me. "We don't know how many people are coming." I nodded. Cipher continued. "And we don't know exactly what Hanna has ordered them to do." She looked toward Pixel. "Pixel." Pixel stepped forward. "Yes, Cipher?" "There is no way they came here to talk." Pixel nodded. "I know." "Be prepared." Cipher's expression became serious. "If you have the target in your sights, you know what to do." Pixel nodded. "Understood." Cipher looked at the rest of us. "There are eight of us here." She paused. "We need two snipers." Pixel immediately raised her hand. "I'll do it." Survivor also stepped forward. "I'll go with her." Cipher nodded. "Good." She looked at the two women. "Find a good position and keep your eyes on the vehicles."

Pixel nodded. "We'll cover you." Survivor picked up her weapon. "Nobody will get close without us seeing them." Cipher then turned toward the rest of us. "The rest of us will confront them." Bighead smiled. "Finally." Chipmunk looked at him. "Don't get too excited." Bighead laughed. "I'm just saying I'm ready." Cipher looked around. "Everyone, remember what Hammer taught us." She paused. "Stay together." We all nodded. For the past month, we had trained for situations exactly like this. But this was different. This wasn't training. These people were coming to our home. And they weren't coming to talk. Pixel and Survivor quietly disappeared into the darkness, moving toward their chosen positions. The rest of us prepared ourselves. Cipher stood at the front. Far in the distance, the sound of approaching engines became louder.

Cipher looked at me. "Cracker." "Wife?" "Remember what I told you that day in the beach." I nodded. "About Emmanuel." She smiled. "Yes." The engines grew louder. The headlights finally appeared through the darkness. Three vehicles were approaching the military base. They had no idea what was waiting for them. One month ago, we would have been terrified. Tonight, we were ready. The first vehicle entered the outer perimeter. I raised my weapon. Cipher raised her hand. "Wait." The vehicle moved forward. The second followed. Then the third. Cipher watched them carefully. "Let them come closer." Nobody moved. Somewhere in the darkness, Pixel and Survivor were already watching through their scopes. The vehicles finally stopped outside the gate. Group of 10 men came out carrying big guns. Cipher lowered her voice. "Everyone..." She took a slow breath. "Get ready."