C461 A Plan For The Exchange

Alicia and I exchanged looks. Neither of us knew what to say. Finally, Alicia broke the silence. “Well, we will go upstairs and think about it.” Everyone watched us as we walked upstairs. Nobody tried to stop us. We needed to make the decision ourselves. As soon as we were gone, Victor looked toward Hammer. “Go and find out everything you can about Hanna. Start by looking into her army. We need to know where she is and how she got Emmanuel.” Hammer nodded. “Yes, Sir.” He immediately turned toward the other coaches. “Let's go.” Hammer, Beast, Sniper, Reaper, Ghost and the others followed him out. Inside our bedroom, Alicia sat beside the bed. She looked exhausted. “Mike, what do we do?” I looked at her. “Wife, I don't want to lose my child. And I really don't want to lose you either.” My voice cracked. “I’m scared. I can't think of anything.” Alicia looked down. “What about what Grandpa said?” She wiped the tears from her face. “If I go there, Hanna could kill me. But if I don't go, she could kill our son.” I felt tears slowly falling from my eyes. “Wife…” I took a deep breath. “Can't we just counterattack?” Alicia looked at me. “What do you mean?” I wiped my face. “What if you go there and deliver Gold and Diamond just like Hanna ordered?” Alicia listened carefully. “We won't actually be far away. We'll surround the area and watch you. If anything happens, we'll use snipers to protect you.” Alicia shook her head. “What if they discover you?” She looked terrified. “What if knowing you're there motivates them to kill me and our son?” I walked toward her and pulled her into a hug. “Wife, we have to make a decision.” I held her tightly. “Hammer and his team can help us as well.” Alicia looked at me. “Won't you blame me if something happens to our son?” I remained quiet for a moment. Then I shook my head. “We can't blame anyone for this because we don't even know whether they're telling the truth.”

Alicia looked confused. “What do you mean?” I continued. “They could be bluffing. Maybe Hanna wants to make you come out so she can capture you. Maybe Emmanuel really is there.” I paused. “We won't know until we get there.” Alicia slowly nodded. “Then we'll have Hammer's team on lookout.” I looked at her. “Why can't it be us?” She raised an eyebrow. “Hammer and his team are very familiar with how the enemy works. But as far as Hanna is concerned, she has only seen us fight once.” Alicia thought about it. Then she nodded. “Okay. Inform the Lions.” I took out my phone and opened our group chat. I typed. "Hanna has our son. She wants to exchange him for Gold and Diamond. Come to us tomorrow morning. We must plan a counterattack." I sent the message. One by one, the messages were seen. There was no need for anyone to reply. They understood. Alicia and I eventually went to sleep. Neither of us slept peacefully. The Next Morning, The Lions arrived early. We were already waiting for them. Everyone gathered around the table as I explained the plan. “We will surround the area. We will have snipers watching the exchange in case anything goes wrong.”

Everyone listened carefully. “We will not pursue them if the exchange is completed fairly. If they give us Emmanuel and leave without causing trouble, we let them go.” I looked around the room. “But if they try anything else…” I paused. “We counterattack.” Peter nodded. “Looks like a solid plan.” Mark, however, looked concerned. “From what you're saying, if they decide to kill Alicia, she will have to tell you that she is in danger.” He looked at Alicia. “How will she do that without alerting them?” Alicia thought for a moment. Then she raised her hands. “I'll put my hands up.” She looked at everyone. “Watch for a three-sign.” Everyone nodded. It was simple enough. Alicia then looked around at the Lions. “Lions, today is very different from the other days.” Everyone became serious. “Today, we have to hope everything goes right.” She paused. “But if it doesn't…” Her eyes moved toward Kiddo. “Kiddo, you will be my first contact.” Kiddo nodded. “You will come out of the mall with shopping bags. But keep your gun somewhere you can reach it quickly if something happens.” Kiddo nodded again. “Understood.” “Pixel, Silver and Chipmunk, you are our snipers. Find the best positions where you can see the exchange clearly.” Both nodded. “Cracker and Bighead, you will be stationed nearby. You will look like ordinary people passing by.” Bighead grinned. “Easy enough.”

I nodded. Cipher continued. “Survivor, you will be our point of extraction. Wait in the car and be ready to drive us away.” Survivor nodded. “Understood.” Everyone had their role. Everyone knew what they had to do. Quinton looked confused. “Wait…” He looked at Alicia. “How do you memorize all these strange names?” Alicia immediately shook her head. “Father-in-law, you shouldn't have heard them.” Quinton stared at her. Everyone began leaving. We all knew what was waiting for us. By 9:50 a.m., everyone was in position. The mall was busy. People walked in and out, completely unaware of what was about to happen. Pixel, Silver and Chipmunk were already positioned where they could see the meeting area. Bighead and I were among the people moving around nearby. Survivor waited inside the vehicle. Kiddo left the mall with shopping bags, looking like an ordinary customer. Then, at exactly the right moment, Cipher slowly took out Gold and Diamond. She held the dagger carefully. Then she began walking toward the security guard. The security guard smiled when he saw her approaching. Cipher stopped in front of him. “I'm here for the exchange.” She handed Gold and Diamond to him.

The guard took the dagger and looked at it carefully. Then his eyes moved toward a small baby basket sitting nearby. Inside the basket was a small figure covered by a blanket. It appeared to be a sleeping child. The guard smiled. Cipher stared at the basket. For a moment, relief crossed her face. Then everything changed. The security guard suddenly pulled out a gun. Cipher's eyes widened. “The boss said you must not live.” He pointed the gun at her. “So you will die today.” Cipher immediately raised her hands. She looked around while making the three-sign. “What?” Her voice remained calm. “But we agreed to exchange fairly.” The security guard laughed. “There is no fairness in war.” Cipher frowned. “So you aren't really the security guard?” The man smiled. “No.” He tightened his grip on the gun. “I came...” PA! A single sniper shot rang out. The bullet struck him in the head. He collapsed instantly. People nearby screamed and began running. Cipher didn't even look at the body. She rushed toward the basket. Her hands were shaking as she pulled back the blanket. She looked inside. Her expression immediately changed. There was no baby. It was a doll. Cipher stared at it in disbelief. “She played me.” Then suddenly... The doll made a small sound. Cipher's eyes widened. She instinctively threw the doll away. BOOM! The explosion tore through the area. For a moment, everything disappeared behind smoke and dust. And the Lions' carefully planned exchange had turned into chaos.