After an unknown measure of time, Albert reached for his phone robotically and made a call.
"Rance? Is your main villa the only thing that got robbed?", Albert spoke without much energy. "I verified that my safes were emptied in my other two residences. Nothing was touched of value, how much I could see, but the safes were emptied. Money, documents, and some other things… Yeah… You should check yours as well…"
Albert exhaled heavily while thinking if this is Sarah's doing.
If Rance experienced similar misfortune, it would enforce that thought. But, what if she is behind these and what if she isn't? How would that impact anything?
Albert's phone beeped with a notification of an incoming message.
"Check your email", it was from an unknown sender.
Albert's heart tightened. Now what?
...
~ Los Angeles, the main base of the Army of Chaos ~
Sarah was in the conference room, on the video call with Angelo.
"You know I appreciate your gifts. But these are house appliances…", Angelo said while shaking his head.
"They are for your bases in Africa.", Sarah explained. "High-quality stuff."
"I know but…"
"The plugs are different and we can't use them.", Sarah cut him off. "Take them or throw them away. Now, is there anything else, or did you call to complain? Are you complaining?"
Sarah thought that Angelo had some updates on their mission in Africa because his men are supporting the Army of Chaos in securing the mines. But Angelo called to inquire about the house appliances that Michael and Oni dropped off. Those are appliances that they swiped from Rance's villa.
As Sarah said, the plugs are different because electric sockets in Africa, Europe, and the United States differ, so Sarah decided just to leave them in Africa for Angelo's men to use. It's not that she can't buy appliances, and getting socket converters is an unnecessary trouble. Besides, those are perfectly good appliances and Angelo has bases in Africa, so it all works well. She didn't know that Angelo would fuss about it.
Angelo looked at Sarah helplessly. He really called only about the appliances, but now he felt silly about it.
"Any updates on the movement of Rance's people?", Angelo asked.
Sarah crooked an eyebrow, knowing that he came up with that question only as a coverup. "No."
"How long are we going to be on standby? My men are needed elsewhere."
Sarah didn't have a definite answer to this question. "I'm not sure. If they don't attack, at least a week more."
In a week she will meet with the Council, and by then she should have an idea of the overall situation with Rance and Albert.
"Why don't we attack them?", Angelo suggested. "Instead of waiting for them to make a move, we can take care of them, eliminate the threat and go on with our lives."
Sarah puffed her cheeks while thinking. "It's not that simple, Angelo. Those men are not there because they follow Rance, but because he is paying them. Even if we annihilate those forces, he can just hire another batch. Attacking means getting through his defenses, and that will include casualties of plain farmers. I don't want to go there."
"Why not take care of Rance? Cut off the head and the rest of the body will be useless."
"That's true, but that will have negative effects on the area. Many farmers are depending on him, and if we get Rance out of the picture, they will be left on their own. He is using them, but also protecting them."
Angelo saw that Aiden entered the room and Angelo saw that as his opportunity to end the call. They exchanged greetings before Angelo said, "Alright. I see that you have things to do. We will talk about this later…"
"What did Angelo want?", Aiden asked.
"He is awkward about the appliances.", Sarah responded. "And he also wants to know what's our plan with dealing with Rance. Sitting and waiting is not his style."
"It's not yours either.", Aiden reminded her.
"That's true. We are not sitting idle."
Aiden's lips lifted into a smile. "That's why I'm here. Our men are unloading things that Nala and Haru brought in. Michael and Oni are half an hour away."
Sarah grinned. "Where?"
"Warehouse two…"
Nala and Haru robbed completely Albert's main villa and emptied all the safe deposits and vaults that were located in other Albert's properties. Some of the locations were revealed in the blueprints, and the rest was found easily with help of Eve-lens and other gadgets that came from Felix's laboratory.
With concoctions that JoAnna created, they knocked out everyone, hacked into electronic surveillance, swiped things, and left without alerting a soul.
In locations other than the main residence, they didn't disturb the things that were in plain sight. This was done on purpose, so that Albert can experience finding out about intrusions in waves, each bringing him another dose of discomfort. Also, this approach will plant a seed of anxiousness in Albert's heart as he will always worry when the next attack will come.
Nala and Haru sifted through most of the things they swiped, and big items like furniture, appliances, and accessories were left at their base in Europe, the Ceresc Solutions. Aaron will decide what to do with them. The rest of the items were brought for Sarah and Aiden to investigate.
In a similar manner, Michael and Oni led their team to take care of Rance and his valuables. Big items like furniture and appliances were left for Angelo, while the rest is for Sarah and Aiden.
Before getting up from her chair, Sarah asked Aiden, "Did you deliver warnings to Albert and Rance?"
Aiden had a mischievous smile while confirming. "Emails are sent. If after this they still make a move against us, they are desperate or stupid."
Aiden sent previews of damaging evidence and smear campaigns to Albert and Rance, with a note that if they don't behave, those will be released to the public.
Aiden didn't disclose that Albert and Rance should not act against Sarah, because that would be indirect evidence that Sarah is the one behind Albert's and Rance's current misfortunes, but those two should be able to connect the dots.
Sarah got up from her chair, faced Aiden, and put her hands on his shoulders, sliding them slowly toward his neck and higher, until her fingers laced in his hair at the back of his head.
"You said, they are half an hour away…", Sarah drawled and the way she looked at him betrayed her naughty thoughts.
Aiden's chuckle sounded more like a whimper. Without a second thought, his fingers moved, and the door was locked with a soft click.
Aiden's lips found Sarah's and his fingers worked swiftly on the buttons of her pants as they moved in small steps toward the desk that was behind Sarah.
He grabbed her bare buttocks and lifted her with ease to sit on the desk, and her legs were already wrapped around him.
"I love that you are pregnant…", Aiden murmured against her lips while pushing down his pants with haste. If it's up to him, she should be pregnant all the time.
Sarah giggled and pulled him down for a searing kiss.
He swallowed her gasps and moans.
She loved being pregnant as well because other than the increased libido, her sensitivity increased to the point of her not being sure if the climax is touching heaven or descending into madness. But as long as it was with Aiden, she wouldn't mind it either way.
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