C519 The Man Behind The Assassination

The Lions prepared to leave the border as darkness began to settle over the camp. Eight Lucia Goods employees would remain behind, continuing their undercover operations as Trojan Horse One and Trojan Horse Two. Their mission was to monitor the situation, gather intelligence, and keep Cipher informed of anything suspicious. Viper and Ghost took responsibility for transporting the Lions away without attracting attention. Two vehicles left the camp shortly after sunset, with Viper and Ghost driving. They chose their route carefully, avoiding areas where they might be seen by the soldiers or anyone watching the camp. After driving for some distance, both vehicles pulled over. The Lions transferred to one vehicle and continued towards the city, while Viper and Ghost took the other vehicle back to camp. By the time the two groups separated, there was little chance of anyone tracing the Lion's departure to the coaches. Everything was proceeding according to plan. Back at the camp, Hammer and the other coaches began preparing for the night's operation. They had been instructed to impersonate Cipher and the Lions, and they intended to make the deception convincing. They knew the assassins would be expecting to find their targets at the camp. All they had to do was wait for the men to arrive.

It didn't take long. Tim and his team approached the tent under the cover of darkness. They believed they had caught Cipher and her team at a vulnerable moment. As far as they knew, their target was still at the camp, unaware that an assassination attempt was about to take place. What they didn't realise was that the entire situation had been arranged to catch them. Among the approaching men was Trojan Horse Two. The moment he noticed that the operation was about to begin, he quietly ducked away and disappeared into the darkness. Nobody noticed his absence. Tim and the remaining men continued towards the tent. The moment they entered, the coaches moved. Before Tim could react, Hammer and the others overpowered the group and secured their weapons. The men had walked directly into the trap, leaving them with no opportunity to carry out their mission. Hammer stepped forward and looked at Tim. "Who sent you here?" Tim remained silent. Hammer studied him for a moment before asking again. "I'll ask you one more time. Who sent you?" Tim refused to answer. The Gupta family had trained its soldiers to endure interrogation. Captured operatives were expected to resist giving away information, even under pressure. Tim had received that training, and he was determined not to betray the person who had given him the order.

However, not everyone on his team shared his determination. Under interrogation, some of the men eventually broke and revealed what they knew. "It was Tim!" one of them admitted. "He organised everything!" Another quickly followed. "He received a phone call from someone connected to the Gupta family. After that, he told us we were going to assassinate our leader." Hammer exchanged a glance with Beast. "So Tim planned the operation after receiving instructions from someone in the Gupta family?" "Yes!" the man replied. "That's all we know!" Hammer turned back towards Tim. "Your own men have already told us everything they know. You might as well save yourself the trouble and tell us who gave the order." Tim glared at him but remained silent. Beast stepped forward and continued the interrogation, pressing Tim for the identity of the person who had contacted him. Still, Tim refused to cooperate. Minutes passed, but Hammer was no closer to getting an answer directly from him. Finally, Hammer stepped back and considered the situation. "They said the call came to Tim's phone, didn't they?" Sniper nodded. "That's what they told us." Hammer looked towards Tim. "Then we don't need him to tell us who called. We can find out ourselves." He held out his hand. "Give me his phone." One of the coaches retrieved Tim's phone and handed it to Hammer. He examined the call history, looking for the number associated with the instructions. Tim's expression changed as he realised what Hammer intended to do. "Wait..."

Hammer ignored him. Tim tried to say something else, but the coaches prevented him from interrupting the operation. Hammer located the number and pressed the call button. Everyone waited. The phone rang once. Twice. Then someone answered. "Tim, is it done?" Hammer froze. So did the other coaches. They recognised the voice immediately. Nobody spoke. The person on the other end waited briefly before speaking again. "Tim? Are you there?" Hammer stared at the phone, his expression hardening as the implications became clear. The man who had issued the order was not some unknown member of the Gupta family's organisation. It was Darry Gupta. When no answer came, Darry suddenly laughed. "Alicia, you caught them, didn't you?" The coaches exchanged stunned glances. Darry continued, his voice filled with anger. "You may have stopped me this time, but this isn't over. I will avenge my brother!" Hammer ended the call without saying a word. For several seconds, the tent remained silent. The coaches had expected to uncover a connection to the Gupta family, but none of them had anticipated that Darry himself would be behind the assassination attempt. Ghost was the first to speak. "Was that Darry Gupta?" Sniper nodded slowly. "I heard him clearly. There's no doubt about it." He looked towards Hammer. "Darry ordered the assassination." Beast shook his head in disbelief. "So this wasn't just some rogue soldier acting on his own. The order came directly from someone within the Gupta family." "More specifically, Darry Gupta," Ghost replied.

Hammer remained silent, thinking about what they had just discovered. Darry had openly declared that he wanted revenge for his brother's death. His words left little room for doubt about his intentions. But the revelation raised another question. What would happen when the rest of the family learned that Darry had ordered an assassination against Alicia? Sniper broke the silence. "We need to inform the Boss and Madam immediately." Hammer turned towards him. "No. We can't inform the Boss." Sniper frowned. "What do you mean? This concerns Alicia's life. Victor has a right to know who ordered the assassination." "I'm not saying the information should be hidden forever," Hammer replied. "But remember who assigned us this operation. Madam instructed us to catch the assassins, and we have done that. We report our findings to her first." He looked around at the other coaches. "We'll tell Madam everything we discovered, including Darry's phone call. She can decide how and when the Boss should be informed." The coaches considered his reasoning. Although Sniper was still uneasy about withholding the information from Mike, he eventually nodded. Hammer had a point. Cipher had entrusted them with the operation, and they needed to report directly to her.

Bulldog, who had been standing near the entrance, finally spoke. "So, what do we do with the prisoners?" Hammer turned towards Tim and his men. The failed assassins stood under guard, their expressions revealing that they had begun to understand the seriousness of their situation. Their mission had failed. Their employer had been exposed. And they had delivered that revelation directly into the hands of the people they had intended to kill. Viper looked at them. "I don't see Madam's people in them." Hammer's expression became cold. "If they are not here then it is easy, kill them." Nobody argued. The coaches understood that allowing the men to leave could put the entire operation at risk. They had already uncovered Darry's involvement, and they could not afford to let the assassins return to him with news of what had happened. As the coaches prepared to carry out the order, Hammer looked down at the phone still in his hand. Darry Gupta had made a serious mistake. He had believed that ordering Cipher's death would be a straightforward task. Instead, he had exposed himself to the very people he had tried to eliminate. And now Cipher would have to decide what to do with the truth.