Chapter 1714 - Staying Positive (1)

~ Romania, the Ceresc Solutions ~

11:23 AM

Jeff and Felix had an online chat with JoAnna and Sophia and called everyone to the common room to share the updates. Other than the kids and the members of the Sigma army, Aaron and Hong were present as well.

"Sarah has another fight this afternoon as she is establishing herself in that organization." Jeff said. "If all goes according to the plan, tomorrow after breakfast we will join them. It is still not late for you to change your mind. You have three options: return to Los Angeles and be on guard duty, stay here as a backup, or join Sarah in Russia. Sarah has a high position, but that only means that all eyes are on her, and people will try to topple her. Decide by tonight so that we can make the necessary arrangements."

Mishi is definitely going to stay with Eliza and Attila at the Ceresc Solutions. The same goes for Petar, Lucija, Emir, and Tereza. They are providing help online, so they don't need to be there in person.

None of the kids is returning to Los Angeles, so they only needed to decide if they will stay in Romania or head to Russia.

"Is there any news on Aiden?" Ade asked.

"Nothing yet. But we are working on it. There are clues we are following and I'm sure that we will find something soon." Jeff responded.

Nala thought that she should share some good news: "Hero is recuperating well. Antonia sent a video of him trying to stand up. I will share it with everyone."

Nala exhaled when she saw several half-smiles, but overall, the mood didn't improve.

All of them felt the pressure increasing in the last few days, and the feeling of helplessness seeped in their hearts.

Felix stood up and looked at the kids. "Let's stay motivated. Sarah is doing everything she can, and her sisters are helping, but they need our help as well. Tomorrow, we will storm that place, flip it upside down, and find Aiden."

"YEAH!" Jamari exclaimed; other kids followed, and it was noisy for a few minutes. The mood improved temporarily.

The crowd dispersed and Corey and Merve went to talk to Michael and Oni.

"We want to go with everyone." Corey said to Michael and Oni.

Michael made a face. "You are not cleared for active duty. Neither of you two is."

"We can do more than fighting, right?" Merve asked. "You are assisting Sarah, and we can go as Anna's and Sophia's assistants. There is so much more we can do than fighting. We are both good with computers, we can take notes and do all kinds of chores."

Michael looked at Oni, obviously telling her to decide on this.

"We will not deny you, however, you need to be aware of the risk. We don't know what to expect there, but we can assume that people will not be happy to see us. In a way, we are invading their territory and taking what belonged to them. We will put you at the bottom of the list and IF there is enough space, you can go."

"When will we know if there is space?" Merve asked.

"Sarah will have her fight this afternoon so… by tonight we should find out how many rooms and beds are in the villa she is assigned to." Oni said with a reassuring smile.

Merve and Corey agreed to this. Well, they didn't have a choice.

"You know, there will be space and kids will not mind doubling up if needed." Michael reminded Oni when Corey and Merve left.

"I know. I was only testing their resolve."

"They are determined to go." Michael voiced his thoughts.

"Yeah… just like everyone else. I only wish that we have some news. It is getting increasingly difficult to stay positive and smile."

Michael wrapped his arms around Oni and kissed her forehead.

"How about we go and let out some steam?"

Oni understood that Michael is suggesting they go and train.

Outside…

Ade, Hande, Jamari, and Imani went to the garden. Imani called Hande for some girl-talk so girls separated from the boys.

Ade and Jamari are sitting on the ground and observing Hande and Imani who are further down, next to the lake.

"What do you think about this?" Jamari asked.

Ade didn't understand. "About?"

"This situation." Jamari clarified. "Aiden is missing. What if we don't find him? What will happen to us?"

Ade frowned. "I don't want to think about not finding him."

"Me neither, but… This is the fifth day." Jamari saw that Ade's mood dropped and he decided to change the topic. They need something positive to talk about, but everything that was not related to this incident seemed irrelevant. "Were you scared?"

Ade understood that Jamari is asking him about the time when he was at the port. "At first, it was like any other mission. I remember Hero growling and barking and that is not how he usually behaves but we didn't see anyone. Aiden released Hero and told him to lead the way. After that… everything happened so fast. Hero barked, people were shouting, I heard gunshots and I remember seeing at least a dozen men approaching us from all sides. I went for the closest one and the next thing I know, there were three of them attacking me... after only a few hits, my limbs stopped responding and I fell on the ground. After that… I regained consciousness and everything was silent. The only thing on my mind was to call Hande and to let her know that I am alive. I think I asked for backup, but I passed out again. Yeah, I was scared. It's terrifying when you lose control over your body. And I can't describe how miserable I felt when I found out that Aiden is gone."

Jamari patted Ade's shoulder. "It's not your fault."

"I believe it is. I was supposed to watch his back and I was down within a minute. Hande told me to be careful and not to be cocky but… I clearly remember seeing Aiden fight off five of them and I am sure that the guys who were on me joined to subdue Aiden as soon as I fell down. If I was faster, this would not happen. I don't think I can look at Sarah in the eyes anymore."

"I'm sure that she is not blaming you."

"She isn't. Sarah sat next to me and asked me over and over again to remember exactly what happened; what I heard, what I saw, what I smelled. She was hoping that I will remember something valuable and unfortunately… I'm useless. I saw that her eyes are vacant. It reminded me of the time when Aiden was in a coma, but this seems to be worse. And it's because of me. If I was faster or stronger or anything… I could have prevented it."

"Don't beat up yourself too hard over this. It was an ambush. You heard Jeff. Tomorrow we will join Sarah and find Aiden and things will go back to normal. When we find Aiden, you can apologize to him in person." Jamari tried to comfort Ade, even though he was not confident in his own words.

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