C425 Cloning

After dinner, Cipher noticed the worried looks around the room. Nobody had spoken for several seconds, but everyone understood what was at stake. We had spent weeks training at the Gupta military base, preparing on defending ourselves against the Harris family. Now that moment seemed to be approaching much faster than expected. Cipher folded her arms. “We must plan our attack,” she said firmly. “And within a week, we must be ready to strike.” Bighead nodded. “We don't have enough time to prepare for everything.” “We never have enough time,” Survivor replied quietly. Cipher looked toward me. “Cracker, you will proceed with your cloning plan. But if anything requires us to return to the city, I would rather go alone.” I immediately shook my head. “Impossible.”

Cipher raised an eyebrow. “Why?” “At least two people must go. I will be the one cloning Charlie's phone, which means I cannot protect myself and operate the equipment at the same time. Someone else must provide backup if anything happens.” “I can do that.” “I know you can,” I replied. “That is not the point.” She stared at me for a moment. “What is the point, then?” “The point is that we do not know what we are walking into. Charlie may be alone, or she may have security. Her husband may be involved, or there may be other people inside the house. If something goes wrong, one person will not be enough.” Bighead nodded in agreement. “Cracker is right. We learned that lesson the hard way. Never assume an enemy is weaker simply because you have caught them by surprise.” Cipher looked at him. "You are agreeing with him?” “Unfortunately.” A few of us smiled, but the tension quickly returned.

Cipher turned toward Kiddo. “Kiddo, give us the Kinlore family's location. We will go there tomorrow.” Kiddo reached for a notebook and wrote down the address. She tore out the page and handed it to Cipher. “This is where they live,” she said. “I have never personally visited their home, but Charlie listed the address in her employment records.” Cipher studied the paper before passing it to me. I memorized the location immediately. Pixel, however, looked increasingly worried. “Wait,” she said. “What exactly is the plan?” Bighead turned toward Cipher. “Exactly. What do you intend to do after getting there?” Pixel continued before Cipher could answer. “And what happens if you are caught? What happens if the police arrive? What happens if Charlie's husband recognizes you and raises an alarm?” The questions came one after another. Cipher smiled faintly. “Then we will either die or get arrested.”

Survivor froze. “How is that good news?” “It is not good news,” Cipher replied. “It is simply what could happen.” Silver shook her head. “Can't you send Hammer instead?” Cipher immediately refused. “No.” “Why not?” “You all heard what Hammer said. We are on our own.” The room became silent. Hammer had made it clear that the next stage of our mission could not depend on the Gupta family rescuing us every time we encountered danger. We had been trained to survive without them, and now we had to prove that we could do exactly that. Cipher looked around the room. “You do not have to worry. We will leave while it is still dark. We want to reach the Kinlore residence before they leave for work, assuming they have jobs outside the house.” Pixel frowned. “And if they don't?” “Then we adapt.” Bighead leaned forward. “And what about the rest of us?” Cipher's expression became serious. “If anything happens to Cracker and me, Bighead and Chipmunk will lead the rest of you.”

Bighead immediately straightened. “Wait. Lead us where?” “To finish what we started.” He stared at her. “Cipher, you cannot simply say something like that and expect everyone to remain calm.” She looked at him. “What would you prefer? That I pretend nothing can go wrong?” “No, but...” “Bighead,” Cipher interrupted, “we have seen a lot lately. We have faced attacks, interrogations, betrayal, and people willing to hurt innocent families just to reach us. We cannot allow ourselves to be shaken by every dangerous situation.” Her voice softened slightly. “This is a small operation compared to what we may eventually face.” Bighead looked at the others. “She calls breaking into someone's house a small operation.” “I did not say breaking in,” Cipher replied. “You are going to someone's house before sunrise with a gun.” “That depends on how cooperative they are.” Bighead sighed. “Somehow, that makes it worse.” The room slowly relaxed. Even Pixel managed a small smile.

Cipher looked at all of us one final time. “We leave tomorrow morning. Until then, continue training as normal. Nobody changes the plan without informing the others.” Everyone nodded. There was no argument after that. Eventually, we went to sleep. But sleep did not come easily. I lay awake for a long time, thinking about Charlie Kinlore, her husband, and the information we might uncover from her phone. The plan was simple in theory. Find Charlie, take her phone, clone it, and learn who she was communicating with. In reality, nothing involving the Harris family was ever simple. The following morning, we woke before sunrise. Our routine continued as usual. At five in the morning, we ran through the cold darkness surrounding the military base. Our boots struck the ground in rhythm, and nobody complained. A month earlier, most of us would have struggled to complete the distance without stopping. Now, we ran together. Afterward, we made our way to the river and took our usual bath before returning to the base.

By the time we arrived, Hammer and his team had already returned. Several vehicles were parked outside the main building. Hammer stepped forward when he saw us. “Good morning.” “Morning,” Bighead replied. I noticed the new cellphone in Hammer's hand. My attention immediately shifted toward it. He held it out to me. “Your equipment.” I took the phone. It was brand new, still in its packaging, with no personal information or previous connections attached to it. “Perfect,” I said. Hammer nodded. “You requested something clean.” “That is exactly what I needed.” Cipher and I had already prepared ourselves before leaving the dormitory. We were both dressed in military uniforms, carrying our weapons beneath our jackets. Hammer noticed. “Where are you going?” I smiled. "To clone a phone.” Hammer looked at Cipher, then back at me. “You are leaving now?” “Yes.” “You have not even eaten breakfast.” “We will eat when we return.” Hammer frowned. “This is not a normal training exercise.” “I know.”

He looked toward Cipher. “Are you certain about this?” Cipher nodded. “We have discussed it with everyone. We cannot continue waiting for the Harris family to make the next move.” Hammer remained silent for a moment. Then he handed me the keys to one of the black vehicles. “Take this one.” “Thank you.” “And be careful.” Cipher gave him a small smile. “We will.” Hammer did not ask any more questions. He understood that we had reached the point where decisions had to be made without constantly seeking permission. I climbed into the passenger seat while Cipher took the driver's side. As soon as the vehicle left the base, I began working on the phone. I installed the software required for cloning and monitoring communications. I connected it to my equipment and began installing other necessary programs. Cipher glanced at me while driving. “How long will it take?” “To prepare the system? A few minutes.” “And to clone Charlie's phone?” “That depends on how close we can get to it.” She nodded. “Then we need to get close enough.”

The journey was quiet after that. Neither of us knew exactly what Charlie's reaction would be when she saw us. She had worked at Lucia Goods for years. She knew Alicia as her director and me as her vice director. She also knew that we had supposedly been kidnapped. If she had been involved with the Harris family, she might already have been expecting trouble. If she was innocent, we were about to terrify an innocent woman and her family. I looked down at the phone. The software installation completed. “Everything is ready,” I said. Cipher tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “Then let's find out the truth.” When we arrived at the Kinlore residence, we immediately noticed that the lights were already on. It was still early, but someone inside was awake. Cipher parked the black car a short distance from the house. “Do you think they are preparing for work?” she asked. “Possibly.” “And if they are?” “We make this quick.” She nodded. We stepped out of the vehicle and approached the front door. The morning air was cold, and the neighbourhood was quiet. Most of the surrounding houses were still dark. Nobody appeared to be watching us.

I knocked. A few seconds later, footsteps approached from inside. The door opened. A man stood in front of us. He was Charlie's husband. Before he could say anything, Cipher stepped forward and pointed her gun directly at him. “Where is Charlie?” The man's eyes widened. “Who are you?” “Where is she?” He raised his hands instinctively. “Wait! What is happening?” Cipher did not lower the weapon. “Answer me.” The man looked frightened. “My wife is inside.” “Call her.” At that moment, a voice came from deeper inside the house. “What is happening?” Charlie appeared from the hallway. She had heard the commotion and rushed toward the entrance. The moment she saw us, she froze. Her face turned pale. “Director Mooney... Vice Director Smith?” “You were not kidnapped?” Her husband turned toward her. “Wife, who are these people? You know them?” Charlie did not answer. Her eyes remained fixed on Cipher and me. Cipher gestured toward the living room with her weapon. “Come and sit down.”

Charlie slowly moved forward. Her husband remained standing near the door. “Please,” Charlie said nervously. “I don't know anything.” Cipher's eyes narrowed. “Then you should have nothing to fear.” "Tell me where is Willy harris?" Charlie shook her head quickly. “I have not seen my uncle in a long time. I am innocent. Please don't hurt my family.” The mention of her uncle confirmed what we had suspected. Willy Harris. Cipher's expression hardened. “Your uncle came after my family.” Charlie swallowed. “My uncle?” “You heard me.” “I have nothing to do with what he does.” Cipher stepped closer. “My family suffered because of people connected to him. You expect me to believe that you know nothing?” Charlie began shaking her head. “I swear I don't know anything about his plans.” Her husband looked between us in confusion. “What is this about? What did your uncle do?” Charlie looked at him, but no answer came. I moved closer and quickly searched her. She did not resist. I found her cellphone in her clothing and removed it.

Charlie begged. "My phone has nothing, I told you I haven't seen my uncle for a while." “Please, let us go.” I ignored the request and slipped the phone into my pocket. Cipher continued watching her. “Who else is in this house?” Charlie shook her head. “No one.” Her husband answered at the same time. “No one else. It is only the two of us.” I looked around the house. “Stay here.” Cipher nodded. I began checking the rooms. The house was modest compared to the Mooney mansion, but comfortable. There were no obvious signs of anyone else hiding inside. The bedrooms were empty, and the kitchen contained only the remains of breakfast preparation. When I reached the hallway, I moved out of their sight. That was when I began cloning Charlie's phone. I scanned her phone and activated the software. The process began immediately. I kept one eye on the screen and another on the hallway.

The phone was protected, but Charlie had not been expecting someone to physically access it. The system took longer than I had hoped, but eventually the connection was established. A copy of everything in the phone. I waited. The information slowly appeared on my screen. I did not yet know what I would find. But if Charlie had been communicating with Willy or anyone connected to the Harris family, this phone might finally give us the evidence we needed. After several minutes, I completed the process and returned to the living room. Cipher was already questioning Charlie. “So you have never seen your uncle recently?” Charlie nodded. “No.” “And you have never contacted him?” “No.” Cipher leaned forward. “Should I kill you if I discover that you are lying to me?” Charlie stared at her in fear. Her husband immediately stepped forward. “Please, leave my wife alone. If she says she does not know anything, then she does not know anything.”