Chapter 1694 - Under Attack (6)

~ Los Angeles, the Cliffside Villa ~

In the planning room, activity didn't subside.

Felix was gone and Sophia was nervous.

"He will be fine." JoAnna assured Sophia.

"I know. But I want to see him here or at least on the screen." Sophia gestured toward the screens which showed various video feeds.

Felix went to one of the locations where electronic surveillance completely failed, and that means that they can't see what is going on there.

"Maybe you can go to the kids' room and give your babies a hug." JoAnna suggested.

Sophia rejected the offer. "No. I am fine. I need to stay here." She is not fine, but if she goes there, her kids might sense her anxiousness. There is no need to upset the kids.

In the meantime, they found another location with damaged equipment, and Allen joined that team. Nico and Beck are Felix's apprentices, but Allen is very proficient with electronics. Of course, Julius is also in that team, watching Allen's back.

Some of the other kids got dispatched to other locations, and they assigned a few groups of kids to patrol the area.

Everyone is busy inside and outside the Cliffside Villa.

Pam and Leah are at the White corp. The two of them are helping Jeff manage the situation, without impacting regular day at the White corp. for other employees.

Tiffany is at the LA Medical Center making sure that everything runs smoothly without Emma present, and Mike is by Charlie's side as his assistant.

Steve is handling issues at the Long Industries with the help of Gabriel.

Sophia's phone buzzed and she answered swiftly when she saw that it's Felix. He asked to be put on the speaker so that others can hear.

"We reached the destination. Everything is calm and the existing personnel said that they didn't notice any intruders. People are scouting the area and I'm looking at the hardware. I don't see any physical damage, cameras are in place, so my initial guess is that the issue is with the software. I will run the diagnostic and let you know what I find."

Sophia exhaled in relief. "Thanks for letting us know…" She turned off the speaker and stepped on the side to talk to Felix. Hearing his voice put her at ease.

Aiden frowned. "Why would anyone damage video surveillance without getting in?"

"Maybe they got in and no one noticed." Zack guessed.

Aiden rejected that idea. "That is a warehouse for large pre-assembled equipment. There is no way anyone can steal things without someone noticing, and sabotaging pieces does not make sense because they will be inspected before assembly. If they wanted to cause material loss, they would blow up the place. If Felix's guess is correct, they hacked in the security system and disabled it, but no one physically approached the place."

"What if they wanted to attack, but for some reason, they changed their minds?" JoAnna asked.

"If that is true, we need to find out why they changed their minds." Aiden said.

Aiden looked at the map and rubbed his forehead.

"There is this location, at the port. I will go there."

JoAnna didn't like the idea. "Send someone else."

"This one also has electronic failures. Three ports are in blackout." Aiden saw that Sophia and JoAnna don't agree, so he explained: "Felix just reached his destination, Nico and Beck are still traveling to theirs, and Allen left five minutes ago. It will take more than an hour for any of them to finish their work, and they are on the other side of the city. I am the only one who can look into this without delaying for almost two hours. This is one of the biggest outages on our map and it can't be neglected for so long."

"Go tell Sarah." JoAnna said stiffly.

Aiden rejected. "She is busy with Eve. I will check that location and return without her noticing that I was gone."

JoAnna does not approve. Why is he so stubborn? This is not about hiding it from Sarah. "What are we going to tell her if you get hurt?"

"Why would I get hurt? Didn't you hear Felix? Someone just messed up with cameras and sensors. I'm sure that these ports have the same issue. I will find where the power was cut off, restore it and it will be fine."

JoAnna's frown deepened. "If you are so confident, send an electrician."

"These are ports under Long Industries. You know that a regular electrician can't get there and even if he can, he needs to get the system back up. We are all in this together. We need to stop this landslide and figure out who is behind it. I can't stay here locked up safely when I know that I can help with the process."

"We need you here." JoAnna persisted.

"Michael knows about my men, as much as I do. And you and Sophia can hold the fort. Haru, Nala, Oni, and Zack are here as well…"

With the corner of his eye, Aiden saw Ade pass by. "I will take Ade with me."

Ade was going to check on Hande who is helping with online cleanup, but then he heard Aiden and he took two steps backward before peeking into the planning room. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the port. Electronic failure. We will get a few more people and form a team. It's a quick mission and we should be back within two hours."

Sophia ended her talk with Felix and joined JoAnna in frowning at Aiden. They can see that Aiden is set on going and it seems that there is nothing they can say or do to stop him, other than calling Sarah. But Aiden is right. They are all in this together. And just how Sarah is the only one who can fix Eve, right now, Aiden is the only one who can investigate (and hopefully fix) surveillance at the port.

Aiden saw that JoAnna and Sophia gave up on stopping him.

"Ade, we leave in five minutes… Hero will come with us…"

…

"Where are you going?" Hande asked Ade, and panic which swelled inside her showed on her face.

"To the port with Aiden, to investigate the failure of the security system."

"I'm coming with you."

Hande was half-up when Ade placed his hand on her shoulder, pushing her back into a chair.

Hande saw that Ade is preventing her from going. "We are a team."

Ade nodded in agreement and added: "Sometimes, we need to do different things in order to be more efficient. Use your skills to clean up this, and I will use mine to check a location. Let's see if you can finish this before I return."

Hande pouted. "You are making up a competition to make me feel better."

"Is it working?" Ade asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Not really." Hande admitted.

"I will be back in time for lunch."

Hande checked the time. "Lunch is in half an hour."

"OK. I will be a bit late for lunch. Don't eat all the food, leave something for me."

"I will wait for you so that we eat together."

Ade inched closer and gave her a quick kiss. He would kiss her more, but Masika and Zula were watching shamelessly with smirks on their faces.

"Alright." Ade responded and he paused when he felt that Hande is holding onto his hand.

"Be careful."

Ade straightened his back. "I might not be the strongest, but I am the fastest. They need to catch me first."

Hande exhaled a shaky breath. "That attitude will get you in trouble."

"Maybe, but… my skills keep me out of trouble."

Hande wanted to bicker more, but Ade grabbed her face with his palms and kissed her. And it was not the light kiss, it was the real one with tongue and everything.

"I will be back." Ade whispered in her lips. "I promise."

Hande lifted her hand, and Ade saw that she is offering him her pinky finger. He hooked his pinky on hers and repeated: "Promise."

Hande watched Ade walk out and she was anxious. She knows that he is capable. The two of them went on numerous missions, and he went on many more before she joined but now… he left, and she is staying behind and how can she be OK with that?

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