Is this destiny?

~ Los Angeles, the main base of the Army of Chaos ~

Ivan woke up in an unfamiliar place.

He observed a room with bare walls which will be his home for the many months to come. There were no windows. In the room, he could see a bed, a small table with one chair, a toilet, and a sink… and nothing else.

Ivan had no idea how he got here. He remembered being in a room, in the basement of the main villa in the Lebedev family and this is definitely a different place.

The door opened and Noah entered with a tray of food.

"You have twenty minutes to eat before someone comes to pick this up.", Noah said stiffly to Ivan after placing the tray on the small table.

Noah glared at Ivan who scrutinized him in return. If it's up to Noah, he would peel Ivan's skin slowly and enjoy every scream that escapes Ivan's lips.

Noah read Ivan's file which states that Ivan worked as Vasily's assistant for decades. Occasionally, Ivan would do something behind Vasily's back and Noah's guess is that Vasily didn't punish Ivan for it only because things were insignificant. Actually, more than once Ivan would get a good bashing from Vasily for disobedience, but once Ivan healed, everything would go back to normal with Ivan playing his role of a faithful assistant while doing small things here and there for his own benefit. That routine lasted for many years.

When Vasily got his eyes on Sarah as the next Grand Elder candidate, Ivan knew there is nothing that could change Vasily's mind, so Ivan started looking for allies who will prevent Sarah from entering the family. Ivan even went to the length of giving Stella data that Vasily collected on Sarah, and Noah's guess was that Ivan did it with the hope that Stella will prevent Sarah from coming closer when she realizes how Vasily is watching her. After all, Stella did many things to keep her daughters away from her family, and in Ivan's mind, Stella was the best ally to keep Sarah from coming to the Lebedev family.

Noah thought how Ivan must be stupid. No one can prevent his Mistress from doing whatever she wants, and if Ivan paid attention to all the data they collected on Sarah, he would know that. And how dares this lowly worm think that Sarah is not worthy of becoming the Grand Elder of the Lebedev family? He should be honored that Sarah got her eyes on their lowly organization.

"Where am I?"

Noah smirked at Ivan's question. Usually, a regular soldier would deliver a meal, but Noah wanted to do this personally so that he gets a chance to answer Ivan's questions. Noah is aware how because of this man, his Mistress was imprisoned and she nearly died, and Noah will enjoy torturing him.

Sarah said not to harm him physically (unless he does something to deserve it), but mental torture is fine. The only limitations she gave to Noah were that Ivan should stay alive and that no one should tell him that Vasily is alive.

"In the base of the Army of Chaos.", Noah responded. He knew that Ivan will never leave this place, so there is no need to hide this from him.

Ivan was shocked. The notorious Army of Chaos? How did he found himself entangled with them? Did Lebedevs hand him over? Or did the Army of Chaos attack the Lebedevs and he ended up as a prisoner? Nothing made sense.

"What? Why?"

"You should know what you did.", Noah said mysteriously.

"I am from the Lebedev family. You can't keep me here.", Ivan spat in anger while trying to conceal his fear.

Noah chuckled. "We know who you are. A traitor like you should not announce that he belongs to the family he worked against. You betrayed your Grand Elder and got your boss killed."

Ivan gritted his teeth. "What does that have to do with you?"

"Your Grand Elder is my boss."

"What?"

Noah's lips curved into a smile. He enjoyed the horror on Ivan's face. "Sarah is the leader of the Army of Chaos. She is our Goddess Nyx."

Ivan blinked a few times rapidly as his brain refused to accept Noah's words as the truth. "You are lying. No one knows who she is."

Noah lifted his index finger. "Correction. No one knows who she is and lives to talk about it."

Ivan's face fell, as he realized. "You are going to kill me."

"One day, yes. Until then, eat up. We want you to heal and be in good shape when Sarah comes to visit you."

Ivan knew that he will not come out of this predicament alive. After all, the only one foolish enough to punish him and let him live was Vasily. Ivan found it ironic that Vasily had a reputation as a ruthless man, yet Ivan knew that Vasily was a softy who had difficulty killing people. The only time Vasily killed was when someone acted against the Lebedev family, or against the Hill sisters.

"If Sarah is your leader, then I have no information that can be valuable. You know everything. Just kill me and be over with this.", Ivan demanded.

Noah shrugged. "That is not my call to make, and neither is yours. The moment you decided to go against Sarah, you lost the power to make decisions about your life."

Ivan observed the smile on Noah's face, and it made him sick. "You are enjoying this. Why? Is it personal?"

Noah didn't deny it. "Yes, I am enjoying it. And if you think it's just me, you are mistaken. There are hundreds of us at this base, and each and every one of us would be happy to give you a good beating. Do you know why? Because we are all loyal to our leader, and the fact that you endangered her life makes it personal to every soldier of the Army of Chaos. We believe in her and don't question her decisions. None of us would work behind her back, and that is the difference between us and people like you." Noah's face twisted in disgust. "Traitor."

Ivan watched Noah walk out and his body jerked when the heavy door closed behind Noah.

Ivan looked at the tray with food and he knew that he should eat, but he lost his appetite. It is one thing to be stuck with the Army of Chaos, but the news that Sarah is leading them came as a shocker. Ivan wondered if Vasily knew about it. Is that why he claimed that she is capable and that she can be a good Grand Elder?

Ivan's mind was spinning. If Vasily knew, how come Ivan was oblivious? Is it possible that Vasily suspected him from way back and he hid information related to Sarah on purpose?

Noah walked outside and shook the nasty feeling that Ivan left lingering behind.

"Are you ready for me?", Igor asked enthusiastically when he saw Noah.

"Yes. Let me show you around the base and after lunch, I will take you to the Boyle Heights neighborhood…", Noah started the tour.

Noah didn't like when Sarah told him to take extra care of Igor, but he could not deny her request. It seems that Igor will be under the direct guidance of Sophia related to strategizing, and Igor has a good chance of turning into Sophia's personal bodyguard if he proves his loyalty over time.

'Lucky bastard…', Noah thought. Ah, Noah would love to be Sarah's personal bodyguard.

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