Is this destiny?

"Hurry, hurry! They are in a pinch!", JoAnna shouted for the group that was advancing through the tunnel.

"We are moving as fast as we can!", Zack responded.

It's not that they are not aware of the urgency, but the closer they are getting to their goal exit, the more tunnels are interconnected and there are rooms and people. There are no security cameras in the tunnels, but the rooms have them, and the people have communication devices, and they can alert others.

The whole network of tunnels resembles a spiderweb with many connections toward the center and bigger gaps as they move further away. The silver lining is that Sarah and Aiden are at the outer edge of the middle circle because if they need to use tunnels to reach the core of the base without being noticed, it would be nearly impossible.

Luckily, the drones are acting as invisible scouts, and they take out the enemies silently, but Zack and others need to pull the bodies on the side in order not to attract attention.

Vasily smiled while listening to the exchange between parties through the ear stud that JoAnna gave him in the helicopter. Sophia was not willing to give it to him (considering their history), but she knew that if Vasily is not in the loop with what is going on, he will probably get in the way.

The key to the success of this mission is to move as a cohesive unit and to quickly get in and out of there and Sophia had to put her personal feelings for Vasily aside.

But it's hard.

Other than watching their every move since they were born, Sarah lost her baby while in Vasily's hands. Also, Vasily's people tried to kidnap Sophia. Sophia is also angry that Vasily was involved with Katherine who was responsible for her breakup with Mark. Sure, Mark ended up being a horrible human when he tried to force himself on Sophia, but would he do that if she didn't reject him? Would they break up if not for the fiasco called Katherine? Sophia is not sure, but she is aware that if she was not romantically available, Sophia would not accept Felix in her life and have her adorable children and a wonderful husband, and live an overall happy life.

Sophia has conflicting feelings about everything that happened related to Vasily, but she knows that Vasily is bad news and she wishes that he stays away from them no matter how friendly and accepting he is now. Sophia sees Vasily as a ticking bomb, and she would rather not be around when he detonates.

Vasily was elated that he got a piece of equipment. It made him feel like they accepted him as part of this rescue party. Of course, he noticed Sophia's displeasure and JoAnna's reluctance, but still… he made small progress.

Vasily would be delighted to offer his support to the Hill sisters in leading the Lebedev family, but he is aware that they don't trust him, and he can't blame them. His nieces experienced many hardships because of the direct or indirect connection Vasily had with their lives.

However, the fact that they gave him the ear stud means that there is hope for them to mend their relationship.

Little by little, the three sisters will accept him. Vasily is confident in that.

…

Maksim was in his office, trying to figure out how to handle the current situation with Sarah.

He does not want Sarah to be killed. How can he get her out when his father is watching? One wrong move and Sarah will be in more trouble than she is, and Maksim will get in that quicksand with her.

Maksim is aware that he needs to be smart about this, but how can he save Sarah when his father is watching, and no one dares to go against the Grand Master?

Is it possible that she is so important? Maybe his father is exaggerating, only to test him. But test or not, Simeon killed people for less.

Maksim's phone rang, and he made a face when he saw the caller ID.

"Now what?", Maksim mumbled and picked up the call. "Yes?"

"Maksim! What is going on with security?", Simeon roared.

"Why are you asking me? Aren't you in charge of everything?"

"I told you that she is dangerous, and you are playing house! I'm sending my men to get her!"

"No! I will do it!", Maksim shouted but he was not sure if his father heard him because he hanged up shortly after. Actually, even if he heard him, he would probably not care. His father was always like that… bossy and not trusting anyone.

Maksim called his men.

"What's going on with security?", Maksim asked.

"Everything is down."

"Everything?", Maksim repeated and smiled. He was excited. If this is Sarah's doing, he really wanted to see what else she can do. He dashed out of his office.

"Come with me! Send me on my phone the security footage of the last five minutes we got from the cells on the second level underground…"

…

As the extraction team trickled out of the underground tunnel, they found cover between the boxes. They were happy that the trapdoor is located in the storage and not in the cafeteria or some other place that is bustling with people.

Zack extended his arm, palm up and a drone appeared out of thin air. Vasily's eyes were open wide as he watched without blinking Zack replacing cartridges with small ampule-like bullets, and then the drone moved up in the air again and disappeared. It was like magic.

"What was that?", Vasily asked.

Zack smiled smugly. "If you are authorized to know, you would."

Vasily was not happy about Zack's response, but there was nothing he could do, and Zack moved toward the main entrance.

Daniel and Xiaohui stayed back to set up the explosives that will be detonated once everyone escapes to a safe distance.

Merve and Corey were also allocated to stay guard in the warehouse and protect Daniel and Xiaohui as well as to make sure that the path for a retreat is open.

Everyone was tense. Except for Corey, others participated in numerous missions, but this is the first time that Sarah and Aiden are in such grave danger that they need to be rescued, and no one wanted to make a mistake.

Vasily looked at Daniel and Xiaohui with disapproval. "It will take some time for us to escape out of the blast zone considering that we are underground and there is a chance of the tunnel caving in. What if they come and remove explosives before they detonate? What if they find the trapdoor and rush after us before the explosion?"

Daniel didn't have time to discuss this. If the plan is accurate, others might return in five minutes. That means how Daniel and Xiaohui are tight on time to place explosives and remote detonators. "If you have other options that are better than this, I am all ears. If not, let us work."

Vasily saw that they are concealing explosives, but still… they can be found. And even if a portion of the explosives is removed, the desired effect of blocking the tunnel might not be achieved. It is obvious that they made this plan in a hurry without calculating where and how much explosives to use.

Vasily wished that they include him in planning, but JoAnna and Sophia told him not to meddle and he ended up in a different helicopter.

There was a commotion from outside and Vasily rushed to join in the fray. He was never the one to stand on the side and watch others fight.

Vasily enjoys fighting, it's what he grew up with. The danger, adrenaline… to him, it feels like home. At the same time, this is his chance to save Sarah and Aiden, and maybe make up a little bit for what happened, and get into their good books.

---

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