The new accommodations reminded Sarah of a college dorm.
The building had three floors. The main floor had a big common area and eight rooms while the top two floors had an additional twenty-four rooms.
Every room had two beds, a sitting area, and an attached bathroom. It was more spacious than the previous room Sarah and Aiden shared. The furniture was slightly worn out, but they didn't care. Sarah loved that they have proper windows, the ones that can open and it does not seem like they are in the basement. Their room was on the first floor, and they couldn't see beyond the buildings on the other side of the street because they were taller, but Sarah was content with the view of a narrow street and more buildings that stretched left and right.
Sarah was happy that she gets to share a room with Aiden without any problems. She feared that Maksim might do something to separate them, but so far everything seemed fine.
After settling in, they went to the common area on the main floor where the announcement board had information on their next assignments as well as the schedule for the next two days.
"You got a base in Brazil.", Sarah mumbled to Aiden suspiciously.
"I am not the only one in South America.", Aiden pointed out a fact. "Kolya, Jasha, and Mladen also got bases there."
Sarah felt that something is fishy. Knowing Maksim, would he let her go? Probably not.
She would not be surprised if Aiden got allocated to the main base of the Voronin family or something in this area, but South America is far away and the Army of Chaos plundered that area thoroughly, which means that the supervision will be weak. New people are usually surrounded by older, trustworthy ones, to guide them and also to watch over them; are they really going to allow Aiden to have his base so far away from the main one?
'Maybe Maksim was unable to pull his strings and keep us close', Sarah mused. But Aiden is ranked first. Why are they sending him to a remote location? And another thing was suspicious... Shouldn't he be in the area close to Natalia's base?
The more Sarah thought about it, the more she felt that something is off.
Looking at their overall schedule, their first class starts at 11 AM, after that, they will have a lunchbreak, afternoon of classes, and in the evening is a social gathering that includes dinner. The next day will be full of classes with final instructions given in the evening. On the morning of the third day, they would be dispatched to their next destinations with every person getting some time to collect his people.
"I heard that Elders will be present at the party tonight.", Kolya said excitedly, and a moment later he looked at Aiden and Sarah with a pout. "It seems you don't need to worry about a date for tonight."
Jasha was listening from the side. He winked at Sarah. "You will have a lot of dance offers."
Aiden wrapped his arms around Sarah. "She is taken."
Jasha lifted his hands defensively. "I was just kidding. There should be more girls available."
"Did anyone see Mila?", Kolya asked.
"I didn't see her after the event yesterday.", Jasha responded in a hushed voice.
Kolya nodded. "Yeah. Same here. The last I know was that she left with Maksim and he was not happy."
Jasha shivered at the mentioning of Maksim. "That guy does not look stable." Jasha looked at Aiden. "Did you see Mila after that?"
Aiden shook his head. "No. I didn't see her on the list either."
Kolya inched closer and spoke in a whisper: "True. Our team got reduced to four members. Do you think that Maksim gave her a special position already and she does not need to take the training?"
"I don't think so.", Jasha said. "She was accusing Maksim of playing favorites with Alex and Maksim didn't seem happy. He probably kicked her out."
Aiden and Sarah listened to the exchange between Kolya and Jasha in silence. They had to remind themselves that in this place, they are Alex and Olga from Natalia's team, and they need to blend in with the rest of the people who are trained not to ask too many questions and to obey orders.
"Come, it's time for the class. Let's not be late. Don't gossip, everyone is listening.", Sasha (aka Kolya's +1) reminded them.
Sarah and Aiden followed the group and Aiden pulled Sarah close to him. He didn't like what he heard about Maksim and Mila. Did Maksim kill her? Possibly. Aiden looked up Maksim's file that Eve put together, and he knows that Maksim is despicable with no morals. If it's up to Aiden, he will never let Sarah close to that man.
The first lesson was held in a nearby building where one room was arranged as a classroom where two people share a desk.
Aiden went in first, and Sarah trailed behind while holding his hand.
She smiled when she saw that he sat at the desk that was placed front and center.
"Your favorite, how much I remember.", Aiden said while holding a chair for her to sit.
Sarah sat and he moved his chair closer to hers before sitting and draping his arm around her shoulders as if that is where it naturally belongs.
Sarah glanced around and noticed that they are the only couple in the room. That is not surprising, but it made her remember their days at the University as her memories resurfaced.
"I remember the time when I was reluctant to sit next to you in a classroom because of all the gossips."
"Hmm…", Aiden hummed and pulled her closer before speaking softly into her ear: "I remember that you avoided me."
Sarah's smile widened. "I don't remember avoiding you."
Aiden exhaled. "Maybe not avoiding-avoiding, but you were spending less time with me than what I craved for."
"Was it ever enough?"
"No.", Aiden admitted. "I wanted you with me all the time."
"I am still amazed that you approached me and stuck to me persistently. Oh, you did it only because of the job."
Aiden narrowed his eyes at Sarah. "You know that it was much more than just a job."
"Many girls were brokenhearted, and I remember a few even coming at me to tell me to stay away from you.", Sarah teased him.
Aiden frowned in dislike that non-important girls tried to separate him from Sarah before they even started dating. "If I have a time machine, I would return to that classroom and tell everyone that we are married. That would shut them up."
Sarah thought that his idea is silly. "If your current self appeared in one of those classrooms and said that we will be married, I would not believe you."
Aiden was ready for this one. "I would show you the video of our first kiss, and our travel journal, and photos from our wedding."
"Now that… would be a shocker."
"I like to shock you. In a good way."
Sarah looked at the corner of his lips that lifted into a smile and she remembered their wedding… specifically the part after the I-dos when they descended from the mountain with a hang glider and then a parachute. That was a shocker. She thought they are going to die.
"Yes, you can shock me…", Sarah murmured and leaned on him.
"In a good way.", Aiden whispered close to her ear.
Sarah stifled a laugh and confirmed: "In a good way."
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