Is this destiny?

~ Russia, St. Petersburg ~

It was past noon, and Corey and Merve were in bed, under the covers.

"We should go and take some photos…", Merve reminded Corey who stuck close to her and inhaled her scent while running his fingers through her hair.

They ordered room service for breakfast, and other than a quick shower, they didn\'t leave the bed since they woke up.

Corey tightened his hold on Merve. "Later."

"But…"

Merve\'s words disappeared when his hand snaked toward her core and his fingers moved between her wet folds.

"I said, later…", Corey said with a smug smile when he saw that her eyes became unfocused. He knew that her whole body was buzzing, and he didn\'t let her come down from her high.

Corey loved that he has this power over Merve, and he wished that they can stay in this bed forever.

"But… your mother…", she managed to say.

"I got it figured out…", he murmured and pushed a finger inside her, making her gasp and shudder as she clung to him. "I will download some photos from the internet and photoshop us in a few. My mom will not suspect a thing."

Corey didn\'t care about St. Petersburg and even if they were on a different planet, he would not want to leave this bed where Merve is next to him naked and willing to give in to his ministrations.

Merve had no idea what Corey was saying, but she understood that he will handle it. Somehow, during her time with Corey, she started trusting that he will take care of everything. Her included. And he did an amazing job.

~ Eastern Europe, the main base of the Lebedev family ~

In the biggest warehouse…

Michael and Oni were sitting side-by-side at one desk with laptops and piles of papers that littered the surface of the desk.

Numerous boxes and crates filled the space in front of them, leaving only narrow passageways for people who would enter to move crates around.

Michael pushed the laptop to his right and plopped on the desk, face-first. A second later, he let out a frustrated groan.

"Just a bit more and we are done.", Oni tried to pacify him, knowing that he is eager to finish this boring paperwork of cataloging what they swiped from the Voronins.

The soldiers of the Army of Chaos already went through everything and made their lists. Michael and Oni are putting all that together and sorting it out in one universal list that will be presented to Sarah and Aiden.

Michael frowned. "You said that this morning… and last night… but this seems to be endless."

Oni touched his cheek and then gently caressed his hair, enjoying the light prickles on her fingers.

"We are together. Does it matter what we do? And it should be good that we are busy."

Michael moved closer to her and spoke in a half-whisper. "But it would be better if we are not busy so that we can get… busy." He gave her a meaningful glance that made Oni giggle.

Michael inched closer with his head still resting on the desk. "Don\'t you think that everyone is happy? Since this morning everyone is grinning and in good mood and we are the only ones stuck with boring work."

Oni was not sure what to say to this. "Don\'t imagine things. I\'m sure it\'s just your craving to go home." Oni saw that he is not pacified, so she added: "Sarah and Aiden are visiting other locations with Ron and Zula, and Sophia, Zack, and Masika are in meetings with the Lebedevs, Anna is taking care of Vasily, Hong and others are at the base of Voronins, everyone is busy. As for us, we will finish this today. Maybe not in an hour, but today, before we call it a night, it will be done. Tomorrow we will have a party, and after that, we will head home. To our apartment where it will be just the two of us."

Michael moved even closer to Oni, and his left hand landed on her back, keeping her in place as he buried his face in her chest.

Oni glanced around nervously to make sure no one is watching. "What are you doing?", she whispered with urgency.

"I miss you…", he mumbled.

Oni gave up on resisting and she cradled his head with her hands.

"I miss you too…", Oni admitted. "Let\'s take a lunch break."

Michael nodded in agreement. "Give me just a minute like this, and then we can go."

"OK…", Oni agreed, thinking that he is childish and adorable at the same time. And undeniably handsome and hers.

About eighty kilometers to the East…

Sarah and Aiden were visiting a training facility. Ron and Zula were with them, and they also took their fur-babies.

It was their third location for that day, with the first two being warehouses. Moving around was not a problem with the soundless helicopter.

They were currently in an indoor hall that had a circular running track and inside it, were areas for various activities that are associated with track and field sport activities. 

"What you see behind is a unique obstacle course that I designed personally, and in the separate areas on the right are gym and swimming pool… on the right is the shooting range…", the main trainer named Reggie was explaining to Sarah and Aiden while nervously glancing at Kitty who was too close for comfort.

They all knew who Sarah and Aiden are, because of the video that was widely shared (the one where they interrogated Elders and it ended with Aiden beating up six people at the same time).

Sarah already knew that Lebedevs recruit youngsters from the bases that are under their command and that everyone needs to go through training before they can participate in missions or assume certain positions within the organization, but those were vaguely explained.

Sarah observed fifty recruits that lined up two rows that consisted mostly of boys in their teens and there were a few girls. She saw three people which stood out as they were in their mid-twenties.

"At what point do people graduate from here and what happens next?", Sarah asked.

"We give them about three months to reach the minimum requirements. If they fail, they return from where they came from with a chance to come back in a year. The ones who pass, go the assigned base, unless an Elder takes interest in them."

Sarah diverted her gaze from the recruits to Reggie. "Let me guess… Elders take the ones with better results."

Reggie smiled. "That is correct. Whoever scores in the top 10%, we need to notify Elders about it."

"This is for physical capability and combat. What about their other skills? How do you know if some of them are good with numbers, strategizing, or leadership?", Sarah continued probing.

Reggie shook his head. "We don\'t train them for that. Not here, at least. Maybe the ones that go with Elders learn about those things…" He didn\'t understand why Sarah frowned and he didn\'t ask.

Sarah wondered how come Elders managed to suppress all the youngsters who might endanger their position and this clarified many things for her. The Elders picked them from the training camp and suppressed them before they could even think about rising up the ranks, leaving mediocre characters to act like they own the place.

Sarah turned toward the recruits. "Raise your hand if you are interested in becoming more than a foot soldier."

Almost everyone raised their hands.

Sarah glanced at Reggie who realized that something is amiss.

"I want you to take note of everyone who is interested in doing more than just growing muscles and reflexes. Within a few days, you will get instructions on how to test them, and then we will come up with a strategy to provide them with the correct guidance."

Reggie frowned slightly. "Pardon me, Grand Elder Sarah, but most of them were interested. We don\'t need so many strategists or leaders."

Sarah agreed. "All of them will need to pass physical and combat tests that are already in place. Anything else will be additional specialization. We don\'t guarantee that they will get those positions right away, but when there is a need, they will be ready, and we won\'t be lacking people with knowledge to lead or to provide medical aid."

Aiden looked at the recruits who were staring at Sarah with sparkles in their eyes and he knew that she is doing her magic again… she is making others admire her and he could see that in a few years, these youngsters will be grateful to her for giving them an opportunity of alternate paths in life, and that will come with their loyalty as well. Sarah is awesome.

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