"What?" Hearing such news had formed a frown on Colonel John's face. If what his superior had said was true, then this meant that it would definitely be best that the Secret operations teams were able to get important information on the families.
"That is why we have to send in our forces before the wave hits." What Gray meant by that was it was easier to send in the spies before the Lee and Tabola family had gained power. By then, with their new found status, it would be harder to even crack into their stronghold.
John and Gray discussed about the plan moving forward. Two hours after midnight, the pair finally came out with a detailed plan of action.
The first step was to recruit a two small teams of five. As they had to be away from their family for a minimum of two years, this was a declinable mission. The second step was to create a new identity for these soldiers. It was normal for special operations personnels to have multiple identities, but this time, as they were going up against the two major families, their character had to be fool proof.
The third step was infiltration, where the soldiers would integrate into the life in Country C and A. Under their new cover, they will attempt to enter the family's system. This kind of infiltration was blunt and usually not effective as the two families would never divulge their internal secrets to people that they do not know for a long period of time. However, such reconnaissance was the only way forward as other methods would be easily discovered by the families. All Gray and his team could hope for was that they would get lucky enough to acquire information on the side.
The plan had been simplified down into three steps, even though the actual execution had many more nitty gritty aspects to it. Within two short months, the two teams of five had left for their respective countries and started their mission.
The next day after Gray and his subordinate had finished drafting up a plan, Sato had woken up early as he did his morning stretches quietly. He did not want to wake up Gray who was sleeping soundlessly by his side. In the end, he had failed as Gray's ears were very sensitive to sound.
"How was your sleep?" Gray asked with his eyes closed slightly. He had not gotten enough sleep, but such days were normal for him.
"It was very good. I slept like a log." Sato grinned.
"Come. Give me a kiss to wake me up."
"Alright." Sato obliged as he walked up and bent over to give Gray a smooch on his lips.
"Ah, I feel better already."
"Haha."
The couple went downstairs together to enjoy a nice breakfast with Gray's parents. The atmosphere in the room had become less tense overnight and now, it felt more like a cohesive family. Though Sato was still slightly awkward around Alex, he still spoke when asked. In the afternoon, Byron called over to his older son's house, he was looking for the young Sato. Hearing that Gray's grandfather wanted company again, Sato did not decline the request. It was fun for him anyways and he got to bond with the old man over chess.
Gray brought the boy over and he himself went to work in a study room. He had other agendas relating to the infiltration that needed to be sorted out. As such, he left his lover in the hands of his grandfather.
On the other hand, in Country Z, a family of two was having a casual lunch at home. They were Ming Yue Guang and his mother, Melisa. After Ming Yue Guang had started soccer practice again, he had been staying in the National Soccer Team's dormitory and only came home to visit once a week. It was tough balancing school and soccer training, but the young man enjoyed the busy lifestyle. It was a good distraction for him because now, he did not have any time to spend with Li Ming anyways. His mother was the only family he had left in Country Z and so, he tried his best to see his mother more often.
"Da Guang ah, do you feel lonely nowadays?" His mother, Melisa spoke with an uncertain tone.
"Mm, I feel fine, mom. How about you?" Ming Yue Guang answered his mother. Being able to still talk to Li Ming over the phone had made his days better.
"I..I have something that I want to ask you."
"What is it?"
"Do you want to know more about your family?"
"My family?"
"Isn't father's parents all gone from this world and he was the only child? And for you, your parents had disapproved of your marriage with father and so, you had cut off all contacts with them?" Saying out all of this, Ming Yue Guang frowned and asked his mother, "Were all of this a lie?"
"No. They were not a lie." Melisa shook her head. "Recently, my older sister had manage to find my number and she had contacted me."
"She found you? Didn't you migrate from Country Y to Z? How did she even acquire your contact number?"
"Da Guang, your auntie isn't exactly an ordinary person. Much less her, if my family wanted to find my location, it wouldn't be hard for them in the first place."
"Huh? What are they? A private investigation agency?" Ming Yue Guang was confused by his mother.
"My surname is not Han."
"It isn't?"
"No. It is Hanlon. I had it changed when I migrated to Country Z."
"Hanlon… Hanlon… THAT HANLON?!" Ming Yue Guang was chewing on his food, before spitting it out inadvertently.
"Yes.. That Hanlon." Melisa sighed inwardly.