C488 Shaping The Plan

Alicia suddenly turned toward us. “It seems like we can't go undercover ourselves.” Everyone looked at her. “I think we need to bring in a few people from Lucia Goods.” Chris raised an eyebrow. “Who?” Alicia thought for a moment. “Can anyone remind me of some of the strongest individuals we noticed during our training?” Chris leaned forward. “What kind of people are you looking for?” Alicia thought again. “I'm not completely sure yet.” She paused. “But I can identify Colen as one of the strongest people we can choose.” She looked around at everyone. “Come on, guys. We trained with these people. We selected them ourselves. Think about the ones who can withstand pressure and keep going even when things get difficult.” She paused. “And it doesn't have to be only men.” Everyone listened. “If we can find strong women as well, Laura won't have to go undercover. She can stay with the team and help plan the rest of the operation.”

Samantha smiled. “Faith, you know them better than most of us.” Faith thought for a moment. “I knew only a few people there personally.” She paused. “But I can tell you that some of the women I trained with are just as capable as I am.” Chris grinned. “Then tell us their names.” Faith began counting them in her head. “Jessica.” She paused. “Lucy.” Another pause. “And Sophie.” Laura suddenly spoke. “I remember one more.” Everyone looked at her. “I once saw a girl training nonstop. She barely stopped to rest.” She thought for a moment. “I think her name was Elizabeth.” Alicia smiled. “Four females.” She nodded. “Good.” “Now let's do the men.” Faith immediately continued. “Leon and Edwards.” Alicia shook her head. “Not them.” Amanda looked confused. “Why not?” I looked at Amanda and laughed. “Because they're the directors of Lucia Goods in our place.” I shook my head. “They can't just leave their positions.” Everyone laughed. Laura thought for a moment. “What about Colen and Kayla?” She looked at Alicia. “Those two were among the first people to volunteer when we started training them.” Alicia nodded. “Good.”

Samantha thought for a few seconds. “Henry.” She paused. “And Daniel.” I smiled. “So now we have four males and four females.” I looked around at the group. "That sounds like a good team.” Alicia nodded. “Agreed.” She then turned toward Samantha. “Now let's go back to your original plan, Sam.” Samantha looked at her. “How do we approach Hanna's allies without putting their lives at risk?” Chris immediately grinned. “I still think we should just kill them.” Laura nodded. “Exactly.” Amanda rolled her eyes. “And then how do we find Hanna?” Chris looked at her. Amanda continued. “If we kill her allies, Hanna will only become more careful.” She paused. “She'll disappear even deeper.” I looked at Amanda. “So, Amanda, do you have a solid plan?” Amanda shook her head. “No.” She looked toward Samantha. “It was Samantha's plan in the first place.” She smiled. “Let's hear it from her.” Samantha suddenly looked uncomfortable. “What?” Everyone stared at her. “I was trying to avoid killing them.” She paused. “But now that Alicia has suggested bringing people from Lucia Goods into the operation…” She thought carefully. “I think they should arrive unexpectedly.” Laura and Sarah both looked at her. “Unexpectedly?” Samantha nodded. “Yes.” She leaned forward. “Not as people who are obviously working with us.” She paused. “They need to arrive in the middle of something.”

Chris frowned. “Something like what?” “Chaos.” Samantha looked around at everyone. “They should enter the situation when everything is already confusing.” She continued. “That way, nobody immediately connects them to us.” Laura nodded slowly. “But what happens after they get close to Hanna's allies?” Samantha thought for a moment. “That is where we have another decision to make.” She looked at Alicia. “Do we have them pretend to hate us and oppose us while secretly working for us?” She paused. “Or do we have them approach Hanna's allies as completely random people without mentioning us at all?” Faith nodded happily. “I like that.” Chris suddenly grinned. “What else can you say about your girlfriend?” He looked between Samantha and Faith. “Wait…” He raised an eyebrow. “Who is the girlfriend and who is the boyfriend between you two?” Laura and Amanda exchanged amused looks. Alicia burst out laughing. “Brother, come on.” She shook her head. “We're discussing something serious here.” Chris laughed. “You still remember that I'm your older brother.” He pointed at Samantha and Faith. “And this question is serious too.” He looked directly at Faith. “So, Faith…” He paused dramatically. “Are you the girlfriend?” Faith stared at him. Samantha covered her face. “Chris…” Everyone laughed.

Before Chris could continue, Laura interrupted. “I actually think Samantha's second plan can work.” Everyone turned toward her. “If they simply act like random people, nobody will immediately suspect them.” She looked at Alicia. “And the first option is usual, spies do this all the time.” She paused. “They pretend to oppose the leaders while secretly working against them.” Amanda nodded. “She’s right.” She smiled. “Imagine Colen walking up to Stacy and immediately saying that he hates Alicia and that Alicia is a terrible leader.” She shook her head. “Stacy would become suspicious immediately.” Laura nodded. “Exactly.” Amanda continued. “It would be much better for Colen to arrive as a completely ordinary person.” “He can slowly gain their trust while gathering information.” Alicia smiled. “See?” She looked around the vehicle. “Now the Lions are working together.” Everyone smiled. I whispered to Chris "Brother When Samantha and faith answered your question I also want to know." Chris choked and coughed. Everyone turned to look at him. He quickly dismissed them "Nothing." Alicia quickly became serious again. “There is one more rule.” Everyone looked at her. “As you know, When we are in our missions we use our codenames.” She paused. “So from now on no more real names.” Everyone nodded. Alicia looked at each of us. “Not even by accident.” We all agreed.

The plan was beginning to take shape. Eight new people. A group of strangers who would enter Hanna's circle without revealing who they really were. Their job would be simple. Get close. Observe. Gather information. Find Hanna. And most importantly, stay alive. Not long after that, we finally arrived at the border. The moment we entered the camp, I immediately noticed something strange. There were tents everywhere. Dozens of them. The Gupta soldiers had built a large temporary camp across the area. But something was missing. I looked around. Then I looked again. There were no enemy tents. Not even one. Only Gupta family tents stretched across the border. Faith slowly brought the vehicle to a stop. Nobody spoke. Alicia looked through the windshield. “This isn't right.” I nodded. Laura looked around. “Who are we fighting?” Nobody answered. The border was supposed to be divided between opposing Gupta forces. Yet now, there was no sign of the enemy. Only Gupta soldiers. Only Gupta flags. Only Gupta tents. Samantha slowly looked at Alicia. “Are you sure we are in the right place?”