C420 Tracking Them

Chipmunk suddenly laughed. "No, Cipher. You are our leader." Cipher looked at her for a moment before smiling. "Fine. I suppose I have no choice." Her smile faded as she turned toward Hammer. "Then I think the Harris family is the bigger threat now that Hanna has returned to the army." Hammer nodded slowly. "That is a reasonable conclusion." He pushed himself away from the wall and stood upright. Until then, he had allowed the Lions to discuss the matter among themselves, but his expression suggested that he had more to say. "I will leave you all to decide what to do and make your plans," Hammer said. "But there is something you need to understand. We cannot always be there to protect you." The room became quiet. "You handled Hanna's attack well," he continued. "You worked together, protected one another, and managed to survive an enemy with considerably more experience than you. That was the purpose of your training."

I glanced at the others. None of us expected what he was about to say next. "Harris family will be dealt with by you." Cipher's expression changed. "What do you mean?" Hammer looked directly at her. "Our job was to train you, Madam. When the time comes, we will join the others at the boarder." He looked around. "And when you are ready enough, the first and second groups will be waiting for you, and you will lead us to war." Cipher froze. For a moment, nobody spoke. I could hear the faint crackling of the fire outside the room. The words had landed heavily among us. "You mean I will fight in wars?" Cipher finally asked. Hammer nodded. "Yes." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What kind of war?" Hammer took a breath before explaining. "It is a family war. Right now, our family is fighting Rome over control of the borders of our country. Hanna is there, and she has returned to her military responsibilities for that reason."

Chipmunk looked confused. "Rome?" Hammer nodded. "There are forces trying to control the borders for their own interests. Our family has protected those territories for generations, and we cannot simply allow them to be taken by anyone who wants them." He looked around the room. "Rome is not the only group interested in those borders. Several underground organizations are also challenging for control. The Harris family is one of them." Bighead frowned. "I thought they are in drugs business. What do they want with the borders?" "Freedom to move their illegal shipments," Hammer replied. "The more control they gain over the border routes, the easier it becomes for them to transport cocaine and other contraband without interference." The information left us silent. Until that moment, our attention had been focused on surviving the people hunting us. We had known the Gupta family was powerful and that its enemies were dangerous, but we had never truly understood the scale of the conflict surrounding them.

Now Hammer was telling us that our training was not simply preparation for protecting ourselves. It was preparation for war. Cipher slowly looked at the Gold and Diamond dagger resting nearby. "And you expect me to lead all of you to fight those people?" Hammer nodded. "When the time comes, yes." I could see the weight of that responsibility settling on her shoulders. She had spent the past month learning how to fight, shoot, survive, and protect the people beside her. But leading trained soldiers into a war was something entirely different. Kiddo looked at her. "Are you ready for that?" Cipher remained quiet for a moment. Then she smiled. "Hammer, we will cross that bridge when we get there." She looked toward the rest of us. "Right now, I have decided to avenge my mother and my aunt. That is what matters to me." Her expression became firm. "So we will plan the attack."

Hammer studied her carefully before nodding. "Very well." He turned toward the door. "Remember what I told you. You have trained for a reason. From this point forward, you must learn to make your own decisions." With that, he left the room. The door closed behind him. For several seconds, nobody moved. The eight of us looked at one another, still trying to understand everything we had just heard. Finally, Cipher turned toward us. "Anyone with a plan?" I raised my hand slightly. "Yes. I do have one." Bighead immediately leaned forward. "Brother, what is it?" I hesitated. "But it is risky." Survivor folded her arms. "We have trained and killed already. Tell us. We are not scared anymore." Her words were confident, but I could still remember how frightened some of us had been during our first real fight. Training had changed us, but it had not made us invincible.

I looked toward Cipher. "Do you remember the last time I tracked Willy's location?" Cipher nodded. "Yes. The next morning, his men came to our door." "Exactly," I replied. "I can buy the equipment and try to track him again." Pixel immediately shook her head. "That is a bad idea." I looked at her. "Why?" "Because if we expose ourselves, Willy may find us before we are ready. Our base is hidden outside the city. If he discovers where we are, he could attack at any time." I nodded slowly. "That is a valid concern." Pixel continued. "We cannot assume that we will get another warning like the one we received before. The Harris family could send more men, heavier weapons, or someone who knows exactly what they are looking for." The room became thoughtful. I knew she was right. We had been lucky that his men had not discovered the military base. Repeating the same plan without considering the danger would be careless. "But there is another option," I said.

Everyone looked toward me. "If I cannot track Willy directly, I can try tracking Charlie again." Kiddo's expression brightened slightly. "That is better." She thought for a moment before continuing. "Charlie is not as dangerous as Willy. She worked at Lucia Goods, and as far as I know, she has not been involved in anything serious beyond her attitude and ego." Survivor nodded. "If we track her movements, perhaps we can find out where she goes or who she meets." Bighead leaned back. "And if she visits Willy?" "That is what we are hoping for, we will follow the connection," I replied. Cipher remained silent while considering the possibilities. Tracking Charlie would still carry risks, but it was less direct than targeting Willy himself. We would not immediately expose the military base, and we might discover information without forcing the Harris family to react. But it could also be endless tracking if she doesn't visit Willy Harris.

Finally, Cipher nodded. "Then it is decided." She looked at me. "Write down the equipment you need. We will use the landline to contact Hammer and let him know what we plan to do." I nodded. "All right." We all went to sleep. The next morning arrived quickly. As always, our day began before sunrise. At exactly five o'clock, we left the base for our morning run. The cold air struck our faces as we moved through the forest, our boots hitting the ground in a steady rhythm. A month earlier, the run had felt impossible. Now, although it remained exhausting, none of us complained. We had learned to push through discomfort. We had learned that weakness could cost someone their life. By the time we returned to the base, everyone was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. The moment we returned to the military base, we noticed that the coaches were waiting for us. They were standing near the training area. And they were not alone.

Nine people stood beside them with their heads covered. Their hands appeared to be restrained, and they remained completely silent beneath the dark cloth covering their faces. I slowed down. Bighead, who was walking beside me, did the same. "What is this?" Nobody answered immediately. Cipher looked toward Hammer. He gave us a small smile. "Today, you will not train as you usually do." We gathered around him. Hammer gestured toward the nine covered figures. "These people were captured near the border." The atmosphere immediately changed. Kiddo looked at the prisoners. "Captured by whom?" "Some of our men," Hammer replied. "They were attempting to move through territory controlled by our family." I glanced at Chipmunk. She looked just as confused as I felt. Hammer continued. "Today, you will learn interrogation." The word alone made everyone uncomfortable.

Cipher's expression hardened. "What information are they carrying?" Hammer shook his head. "That is what you will find out." Sniper stepped forward. Unlike Hammer, he wore a faint smile. "Let me make this clear. Today is not an ordinary classroom exercise." Nobody spoke. "You will be dealing with real prisoners," Sniper continued. "Your task is to discover what information they possess and determine whether they are telling the truth." The covered figures remained motionless. I looked at them carefully. Sniper's voice became more serious. "Interrogation requires patience. It requires observation. It requires understanding how people react under pressure." He paused. "You cannot simply ask a question and expect an answer. You must know when someone is lying, when they are afraid, and when they are protecting information." Cipher crossed her arms. "And if they refuse to talk?"

Sniper looked at her. "Then you must learn how to make them cooperate." The word hung in the air. For a moment, nobody moved. The idea of interrogation was frightening enough. But the coaches had made it clear that this would not be a theoretical lesson. These were real people, real questions, and information that could affect the safety of the Gupta family. Hammer looked at all of us. "You have spent the last month learning how to survive an attack. Today, you will learn another part of survival." He glanced toward the prisoners. "Sometimes, the information you need is hidden behind fear, loyalty, or silence." The eight of us exchanged uncertain looks. We had expected difficult training. We had expected weapons, fighting, and dangerous missions. None of us had expected to stand in front of prisoners and be taught how to extract information from them. Sniper stepped aside. "Prepare yourselves." The covered figures were slowly led toward the interrogation room. We followed in silence. I realized that our training was entering a completely different stage. And I was not sure any of us were ready for what came next.