C412 Memories

None of us slept. There were still dead bodies lying somewhere beyond the walls of the military base. The smell of smoke hung in the air, mixing with the cold morning breeze. Eventually, Cipher broke the silence. She looked at me with a curious smile. "Cracker, how did you meet Bighead? And why are you two so inseparable? You act like you are brothers by blood." I smiled. "Well, it started in primary school." Bighead immediately laughed. I ignored him. "In Grade Two, I had no friends. I was always quiet and kept to myself. Bighead was sitting behind me, and he was talking nonstop."

Everyone looked at Bighead. He raised his hands. "He was disturbing my Maths lesson." Bighead laughed even louder. I shook my head. "Anyway, I eventually turned around and told him to stop talking." I paused. "And that's when the teacher caught me." Everyone started laughing. "The teacher thought I was talking to Bighead, so she chased both of us out of the classroom." Bighead pointed at me. "And the teacher wasn't wrong. He turned around specifically to talk to me, so technically, we were both talking." I laughed. "But I was trying to shut you up." "That doesn't matter," Bighead replied. "You were still talking." Cipher shook her head, smiling. "So you were both punished because Bighead couldn't keep his mouth shut?" "Exactly," I said.

Bighead nodded proudly. "And that was the beginning of our friendship." I looked at him. "Not exactly." "After we got outside, we argued for a while," I continued. "I blamed him for getting me into trouble, and he blamed me for turning around in the first place." "I still blame you," Bighead interrupted. "I don't care." "Then the break came." I smiled at the memory. "We ended up eating together." Cipher looked surprised. "So you became friends after being punished together?" "Something like that." Bighead laughed. "We discovered that getting into trouble together was easier than getting into trouble alone." Everyone laughed. Cipher then looked toward Survivor. "So if you two were in the same class then how did you meet survivor?"

Bighead answered this time. "The four of us were in the same class. Cracker, Survivor, Ben and me." Cipher's eyes widened. "Is that when you two started dating?" I laughed. "I was smart, handsome, and funny. So naturally, she fell for me." Survivor immediately looked at me. "Don't start. You chased after me." Cipher laughed. "Really?" I nodded confidently. "She fell for me just like you did." Cipher's smile disappeared for a moment before she laughed. "What? Have you forgotten? If it wasn't for that condition, we probably wouldn't have ended up together." Bighead suddenly looked interested. He opened his mouth to speak. But before he could say anything, Survivor interrupted with a grin. "Cracker tell them the truth, you chase me."

I laughed. "And you let it happen." "Then your friends started hating me." Survivor laughed. "That's because I was spending more time with the two of you. Even my lunch breaks with them were always cut short." "See?" I said. "It wasn't my fault." "You were the problem," Survivor replied. Everyone laughed. Then Bighead looked at me. His expression suddenly changed. "Cracker." "Yeah?" "Why does Cipher keep talking about a condition?" The others became quiet. Bighead continued. "Is that the condition you got in prison? The one you never told me about?" I smiled. "Yes." Chipmunk and Survivor exchanged a quick look. Then, almost at exactly the same time, they spoke. "What condition?" I laughed. "Guys, come on." Chipmunk leaned forward. "Tell us." Survivor nodded. "Yes, Cracker. We want to know."

I looked at Cipher. "Cipher, tell them. I just told everyone about my friendship with Bighead." Cipher rolled her eyes. "I didn't know anything about it." I looked at her. "You knew about the marriage." "I knew about the marriage," she corrected. "But I didn't know the whole story. It was you and my grandfather who talked about it." Pixel suddenly looked at us. "Wait." She looked between Cipher and me. "So you two were already together when Cracker and I dated?" "But you were always organizing everything for us." "That was different." Pixel frowned. "Then when did all this happen?" "The condition came after I was arrested." Her expression immediately changed. "Because of my statement."

I nodded. "Your false statement caused my arrest." Pixel lowered her head. "I'm sorry." I smiled. "Don't worry about it." She still looked guilty. I continued. "After I was arrested, Cipher's grandfather found out that she had been going everywhere, begging people in different neighborhoods to give her security footage that could prove my innocence." Cipher smiled slightly. "I wasn't going to let you stay in prison." I looked at her. "I know." Then I looked at pixel. "You did the dumbest thing possible..." I reached toward her hand. "Let me see." Pixel immediately looked suspicious. "What?" "Your hand." She slowly held it out. I looked at the scar. "There is a scar!" Pixel quickly pulled her hand away. "It's not funny." I shook my head. "You almost killed yourself."

I continued telling the story. "About the condition, Cipher's grandfather eventually told me that he could get me out of prison." Bighead leaned forward. "But there was a condition." Cipher immediately looked away. I smiled. "He told me he would get me out of prison if I agreed to marry his granddaughter." Bighead's mouth fell open. "What?" Everyone burst out laughing. Cipher covered her face. I continued. "There was another part of the condition. I also had to run Lucia Goods together with her." Kiddo giggled. "So that's when you two came to take the director positions?" I nodded. "Yes." Bighead stared at me. "You never told me any of this." "You never asked." "I asked plenty of questions." "You mostly talked." Everyone laughed. Bighead shook his head. "Unbelievable." The conversation continued for a while. Eventually, the sky became brighter. The sun slowly appeared over the horizon. We had never slept.

At the Gupta Family Residence, Hanna woke up early. She had barely slept. The previous night, she had sent ten men to the military base with one simple order. Kill Alicia. Take Gold and Diamond. Bring it back to me. But as the morning progressed, there was still no communication. Hanna checked her phone again. Nothing. Her anger slowly turned into suspicion. "They didn't survive." She stood up. If they killed her team, she needed to see it with her own eyes. Hanna immediately gathered three groups of men and headed toward the military base. The cars moved quickly through the roads leading toward the training grounds. By the time they arrived, Hammer and the other coaches had just arrived. Hammer noticed the vehicles behind them. His expression changed immediately. He recognized Hanna's vehicle. "Miss..." Hanna's vehicle stopped. The doors opened. Hanna stepped out. Hammer looked at the men behind her. Then he looked toward the military base. "Miss, what brings you here?"

Before Hanna could answer, the door to the base opened. Cipher walked out. The rest of us followed. I looked at Hammer. Then I looked at Hannah. "Hammer, let them talk." Hanna's face turned green. She looked directly at Cipher. "Where are they?" Cipher tilted her head. "What?" "My men." Cipher smiled. "Who?" Hanna's anger grew. "Alicia, don't try to be smart with me." Chipmunk suddenly giggled. "So the team that tried to execute us was sent by you?" The coaches froze. Hammer looked at Cipher. "Madam..." He glanced at the others. "Are you okay? What happened?" Cipher smiled. "Yesterday, after we all left, we had a big drill." She looked toward Hanna. "All I can say is that the Lions did not disappoint." Hanna stepped forward. "Are you treating my team as part of your drills?" Her voice was becoming louder. "I asked you a question. Where are my men?" Bighead laughed. "You still haven't answered our question." He folded his arms. "Did you send them here to kill us?"

Hanna said nothing. Her silence was enough. Bighead shook his head. "That's what I thought." Hanna turned toward her soldiers. "Search the entire base." She pointed toward the buildings. "Turn everything upside down." "Yes, ma'am!" The soldiers immediately moved forward. I laughed. "You don't need to bother." Hanna looked at me. I pointed toward a large dustbin near the side of the training area. "They're in that dustbin." Hanna's expression changed. "What?" I nodded. "You heard me." She stared at me. "You really killed them?" Bighead laughed. "You sent them here to kill us. What were you expecting us to do?" He looked at Hanna. "Let them kill us?" Nobody answered. The silence was heavy. Hanna's soldiers began moving toward the area. Some of them stopped when they saw the bodies. Hanna stared at them. Her men. Dead.

For a moment, she said nothing. Then she turned toward us. Her eyes were filled with anger. Cipher didn't move. Neither did any of us. We had learned something during our training. Fear was something you controlled. Not something you allowed to control you. Cipher looked at Hanna one last time. Then she turned around. "Let's go." We followed her back inside. Hanna remained outside. Hammer finally spoke. His voice was calm, but there was a warning behind every word. "Madam, what you did is treason." Hanna turned toward him. "You turned against your own family." Hanna's eyes narrowed. "Is she my family?" Hammer didn't hesitate. "It doesn't matter." Hanna stared at him. Hammer continued. "She is our leader. Gold and Diamond chose her." He pointed toward the base. "You should respect that." Hanna's anger exploded. "They just killed my team!" She pointed toward the bodies. "Look at my men! They are carrying them away, and you're telling me that I am the one who did something wrong?"

Hammer remained silent. "I never killed them!" Hanna shouted. "They killed ten of my men!" Her voice echoed across the compound. Then she laughed bitterly. "But that will all change now." Hammer looked at her carefully. Hanna's face hardened. "They declared war." She took a deep breath. "Now I will show them how ruthless I can be." She turned around and walked toward her vehicle. Hammer watched her leave. Hanna climbed into her vehicle. The door slammed shut. The cars soon disappeared down the road. Hammer remained standing where he was. He looked toward the military base. Then toward the road Hanna had taken. His expression became serious. He immediately pulled out his phone and called Victor. The call connected after several rings. "Boss." Victor's voice came through. "What is it?"

Hammer took a deep breath. "Things have just gotten worse." Victor became silent for a moment. "What happened?" Hammer looked toward the military base. "Sir..." He hesitated. "Hannah sent her team yesterday to attack Madam." There was silence on the other end. Victor finally spoke. "She did what?" Hammer closed his eyes briefly. "All ten of her men are dead." Victor said nothing. Hammer continued. "And Hanna is furious." The line remained silent. Then Victor's voice changed. "Where is Hanna now?" "She left."

Hammer looked toward the direction Hanna had disappeared. "Yes." Hammer swallowed. "She said they had declared war." Victor's breathing became heavier. Hammer lowered his voice. "Boss... I don't think Hannah is going to stop."