Chapter 1723 - Alex

~ Eastern Europe, unknown location ~

June 8th

9:24 PM

Sarah carefully inched closer under the shadows dense foliage and massive rocks provided, toward an enemy's base while avoiding the guards.

This is the base they identified as the one where Aiden is being held. And the current information says that it has more than fifty capable fighters who are good at hand-to-hand combat and they can use various weapons.

Mr. Wang and Suvedini navigated people who followed the white unmarked van to a small airport. From there, Aiden was transferred into a two-engine plane, and then a silver van that transported Aiden to this location. Their pursuit was assisted by information retrieved from a number of military satellites SP3CT3R hacked into.

Mathew used his contacts in Europe and Angelo assisted as well.

Everyone came together in confirming that this is the right location and that this base belongs to one of the side-branches of the Voronin family. The confirmation arrived earlier that afternoon, but Sarah wanted to wait for the veil of the nightfall before making her entrance.

"I want to confirm that Aiden is OK. We can't storm the place if they are holding him at a gunpoint… Or what if they pumped him with some meds and unless they administer the antidote he will never be the same…" Sarah explained.

More than a hundred people are waiting in the area, and Sarah told them to keep their distance in a mobile base they set up. Once she confirms that Aiden is safe, they can commence their attack. At least that is the plan.

"That base does not look like it's out of electricity, yet we can't get any signals in or out.", Masika mumbled while looking through binoculars.

Oni remembered something… "Signal jammers. This reminds me of how we fell into a trap when we went into the base of the Shadow Ravens. We were confident that they are not technologically advanced, yet that was only because they had signal jammers and we were unable to see what they have."

Sarah agreed that this makes sense and it also confirms the reports that Oscar provided. Who has a base of more than fifty capable fighters, and they can't capture a single cell phone signal? And if the jammers are sophisticated enough, they could block the signal for Eve's wireless charging as well. "That is more of a reason for you to stay back and wait for news from me. Do not rush in without knowing what you are getting yourself in."

"Sarah… be careful.", JoAnna said with concern obvious in her voice.

Sarah gave JoAnna a confident smile. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I will sneak in, find Aiden, disable jammers, and bring him back. I need to move silently and to do it gradually in order not to alert them. I expect that it will take a few hours at least. I will prefer that we attack them during the daytime."

Sophia agreed that they attack during the daytime because night gives enemies an advantage on the familiar terrain and with signal jammers, they can't use drones to scout in advance.

Sophia was concerned. "What if they capture you?"

"IF they catch me, I will blow up something and you will see it. Don't make a move until I get in contact with you."

"Or until something blows up.", JoAnna added.

Back to the present…

Sarah avoided two patrols before reaching the first building on the outskirts of the base and climbed on the tiled roof. The people are still active, and she does not want to risk being spotted, but she could not wait a single minute longer. She already waited too long, and her patience is running thin.

Sarah is confident that as long as she does not make the noise accidentally, no one will spot a figure in a black outfit and a black mask on her face moving over the rooftops in the night.

She moved slowly and used heat signatures on Eve-lens to determine who is in each building. Luckily, most of the buildings are single-story, which makes things simpler when observing from above.

The ear-stud has a sound-enhancing feature and Sarah could hear people chatting. She would stop and listen while wondering if any of them is Aiden.

Stella told her the effects of medicine after one month of consumption, and they confirmed the same thing from the reports they read after she became the Grand Elder, and she has no idea what to expect after nine days, assuming that they gave him the medicine as soon as they kidnapped him. Even if they didn't feed him the snovidenie medicine or it's not effective, there are many others that they can give to Aiden to make him temporarily obedient. She tried not to think about it but it's inevitable that Aiden is here either drugged or restrained because there is no way he would be clearheaded and docile.

One chat got her attention when she heard a familiar name. It was between two females…

"It's not working, Natalia… There is no point in trying again." A woman sulked.

"Try again, Svetlana. He is getting a double dose of the medication and he is confused. Your task is to take advantage of that confusion and get him to believe your story."

Svetlana snorted. "Easy for you to say. I spoke to him after dinner and he ignored me. The only thing he talked about was how potatoes are oversalted and that the salad is not fresh. He needs at least a few more days before I can do anything useful."

"And I told you… Try again. Now.", Natalia said impatiently. "You know that we are short on time."

"Fine!", Svetlana said through her teeth and stomped away.

Sarah held her breath. The person they are talking about must be Aiden! He was always a picky eater.

Sarah was concerned about the 'double dose of medication' but she didn't have time to think about it because Svetlana was on the move. Sarah jumped over roofs nimbly while following Svetlana.

Sarah observed Svetlana from the neighboring rooftop as she stopped in front of a door, adjusted her hair, and then knocked.

"Alex, are you sleeping?" Svetlana called in a soft voice.

The door creaked open slightly. "What do you want?"

Sarah's heart stopped. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

A second later, the door opened more and Sarah hoped to see his face, but the light from the room was behind him and he was in the shadow of the roof above the porch… but she knew that she is looking at the outline of her husband.

Sarah frowned when she heard Svetlana talking…

"I was thinking… if you can't sleep, we can go for a walk. The weather is nice, and we can enjoy the moonlight just how we used to do." Svetlana said while playing with the strand of her hair.

"I am not in the mood. I told you that I want to rest." Aiden responded impatiently.

The cold rejection made Sarah smile.

"Alex, I am your fiancée. How can you reject me?" Svetlana said in a whiny voice and Sarah felt like ripping her into a million pieces.

Sarah gritted her teeth. Alex? Fiancée? Those people are courting death, especially that so-called fiancée!

Aiden exhaled. "Svetlana, I am not rejecting you, but unless I remember… it does not feel right."

Svetlana made a step toward Aiden, and he extended his hand, preventing her from coming closer. "I told you not to touch me."

Svetlana sniffled. "You are mean. Just because you had an accident I need to suffer. You have no idea how worried I was, and now that you are back I am getting a cold treatment. Maybe if you hug me you will remember. A kiss might jog your memory."

She saw that he is silent, and she leaned toward him. "I can come in and give you a massage. You always said that my hands have the power to relax you. How will you remember anything if you are not letting me touch you?"

"Svetlana, please… I told you that I'm tired. You know I had an accident and it messed with my head. Give me time. OK? My headache is back. We will talk more tomorrow."

The door closed and Svetlana stared at the closed door for a few seconds before she snorted and left.

"No one rejected me like this before. Who does he think he is?" She mumbled as she walked away.

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