C518 The Decoy Operation

Cipher stood up. "I'll go and speak to the coaches," she announced. I nodded as she walked out of the room. From the look on her face, I could tell she had another plan in mind. Knowing Cipher, she wouldn't leave the border without making sure everything was under control. She headed straight to the coaches' tent. The moment she entered, her expression became serious. "Hammer, I need you all to listen carefully. I have a very important task for you." Hammer immediately put aside what he was doing. Viper, Ghost, Hunter, Sniper, Beast, and the other coaches gathered around her. Within moments, everyone was ready to listen. Cipher waited until they were all settled before speaking. "First, there's something I need to tell you. The news you've heard about me killing my grandfather, Samson, is false. I lied about that." The coaches exchanged surprised glances. Hammer raised an eyebrow. "You lied?" "Yes," Cipher replied calmly. "But that's not important right now. We have more urgent matters to deal with." She paused, allowing them to absorb the revelation. "My spies have informed me that there's unrest within the First Family's army. We don't yet know what's happening, but they're investigating the situation."

Hammer chuckled. "You mean those employees we trained at your company? I recognised Colen. And that girl who was always training harder than everyone. Elizabeth, right?" Cipher smiled. "Yes. Colen and his team are operating undercover." Sniper suddenly frowned as something came back to him. "Wait a minute. Yesterday, I saw someone who looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I'd seen him before. He was wearing a Third Family uniform." Hunter laughed softly. "That explains it. Those eight uniforms were for them." Sniper nodded as the pieces fell into place. Cipher's expression soon returned to its serious state. "As I was saying, there's unrest in the First Family's army, but Colen and his team are there to investigate it. For now, we'll allow them to continue their work." She looked around the tent, making sure everyone was paying attention. "However, that's not why I've came here." The coaches fell silent. "The most important thing right now is our family." Her voice became colder. "Kayla and Jessica have reported that someone from the Gupta family has ordered my assassination. According to Trojan Horse Two, the attack is scheduled for tonight." The coaches froze.

For a moment, nobody spoke. Hammer's expression hardened, while Viper exchanged a concerned glance with Ghost. Hunter and Beast looked equally displeased. An assassination attempt against Cipher was not something they could take lightly. Cipher continued. "I don't know who issued the order. It could be my great-grandfather, Miller, attempting to avenge his son. It could be someone else within the Gupta family. We don't have enough information to identify the person responsible." Viper stepped forward. "Madam, if you didn't kill Samson, then who did?" Cipher looked at him. "Someone I am protecting. I can't specifically say the name out but right now, our priority is protecting our family and dealing with the people coming after us." Viper nodded, although the question clearly remained on his mind. He then asked another question. "Does the Boss know about the assassination order?" "No," Cipher answered. "Not yet." She paused briefly before revealing her plan. "I want you to pretend to be us tonight." The coaches exchanged glances. "You want us to impersonate you and the team?" Hammer asked. "Exactly." Cipher explained that she and the Lions would be returning home, but she didn't intend to leave the assassination attempt unanswered. "The people coming tonight believe they'll find us here. I want you to take our places and catch them before they can carry out their mission."

Hammer nodded slowly, beginning to understand what she was planning. "But there's something you must remember," Cipher continued. "My spies will be among those men. They'll be helping us gather information, so you must not torture or punish them." Ghost folded his arms. "How will we know which ones are your spies?" "You've trained them yourselves," Cipher replied. "I'm confident you'll recognise them." She paused, then added, "However, you must make your actions convincing. If you treat my spies differently from the others, you could expose them. The enemy must believe that everything is happening as expected." Hammer smiled. "Loud and clear, Madam." Cipher nodded. "Good." Hammer then asked the question everyone else had been wondering about. "If we're going to pretend to be you and the Lions, where will you all be?" Cipher smiled faintly. "We're going home." The coaches looked at her with renewed interest. "While everyone is busy with the wall, I'll work on another plan to strengthen our border defences. We can't assume that the wall and the traps will be enough to stop every possible attack. I need time to consider other ways of protecting the border." She paused before explaining the other reason for her decision. "There's also the matter of my grandfather, Samson." The coaches listened carefully. "Whatever happened to him, the news has probably reached Hanna by now. If she believes our family is vulnerable, she may decide to use this opportunity to attack them. We need to be at home to protect our families if that happens."

Beast stepped forward. "Madam, what do you want us to do with the men we capture? Should we force answers out of them and let them go, or should we eliminate them before they have a chance to report back to whoever sent them?" Cipher studied him for a moment before giving a faint smile. "Get whatever information you can from them. Find out who sent them, who gave the order, and what they know about the people behind this operation." She paused. "As for whether they live or die, I'll leave that judgement to you. I trust you to make the right decision." Beast nodded. "Understood, Madam." The other coaches nodded in agreement. Hammer stepped forward. "Don't worry. We'll handle everything here. By tomorrow morning, we'll know whether these people were acting alone or following someone else's orders." "I hope so," Cipher replied. "But remember, we need answers, not careless mistakes. Whoever ordered this assassination may be more dangerous than we realise." "We understand," Hammer assured her. Cipher gave them one final look. "Then get ready. I'll leave the rest to you." She stood up and walked towards the entrance. As she left the tent, the coaches immediately began discussing how they would carry out the operation. They knew the task would require careful preparation, but they also understood why Cipher had chosen them. They were not merely responsible for training the Lions. They were trusted members of the team, and Cipher was placing the success of this operation in their hands.