Chapter 21 Con
CON
Iwatched Lex through the darkness of our room, her face illuminated by the glow of her tablet as she analyzed the data we’d gathered.
Neither of us had found sleep after discovering Bennett’s deception and McLaren’s suspicious knowledge of Orlov’s systems. Despite the exhaustion weighing on my limbs, my mind refused to quiet.
An alert from Kestrel appeared on my phone. No word on Nightingale. Chatter suggests full-scale demo eleven hundred tomorrow. Multiple hostiles to attend.
I raised my head, and my eyes met Lex’s. “It’s on.”
“When?”
I read Kestrel’s message aloud.
“We need to move on this immediately,” said Lex.
“Agreed.” I pushed myself off the bed where I’d been reviewing surveillance images. “Let’s gather the team.”
We found Tag in the kitchen, cleaning his weapon.
“Time to earn our keep,” I told him. “Confirmed intelligence on Orlov’s demonstration. Tomorrow morning.”
His brow furrowed. “Copy that. I’ll wake Renegade and Archon.”
Within twenty minutes, our makeshift command center buzzed with activity. Bennett arrived last, his complexion ashen, the bandage on his shoulder spotted with fresh blood. Despite his injury from yesterday’s mission, determination blazed in his eyes.
McLaren took one look at him and shook her head. “Malcolm, you need medical attention—”
“I’m fine,” he spat, though his labored breathing suggested otherwise.
Lex stood beside me when I spread the facility schematics across the central table, drawing the team’s attention to our target. “Everyone clear on their positions?” I surveyed the faces around me. Tag’s expression remained stoic, while Renegade and Archon acknowledged my question with “yes, sirs.”
“We have a tight window,” I continued, marking the entry points on the digital map. “After that, Labyrinth goes from theoretical threat to active weapon.”
“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Lex added, her voice steady despite the pressure crushing down on us all. “If Orlov completes this demonstration, there’s no putting this technology back in the box.”
Bennett shifted uncomfortably in his chair, wincing as the movement disturbed his wound.
“Malcolm, I’m pulling you from the op,” Lex said before I had the chance to say it myself.
“The hell you are,” he snapped. “You can’t go in there without me. I made sure of it.”
“What in the bloody hell does that mean?” I barked.
“I told you there were things you weren’t privy to. Either you take me with you, or you’ll have no way to stop the demonstration.”
“I’ll see to it this ends your career,” Lex seethed.
Bennett’s expression was chilling. “It’s already over, Dr. Sterling.”
“We can’t risk it,” warned McLaren. “We need to stop Orlov at all costs. Whether Malcolm is bluffing or not isn’t something to chance.”
“Fine,” I relented, knowing further argument would waste precious time. I turned to Bennett. “You’re with Archon on the east approach. Minimal resistance expected there.”
Bennett’s eyes narrowed, but he offered no protest.
I outlined the final plan and assigned positions. “Tag and Renegade, you’ll take the south entrance. Lex and I will approach from the west—likely the heaviest resistance, but also the most direct path to the demonstration area.”
“What about me?” McLaren asked.
“You’ll coordinate from here,” I replied. “Your expertise in neural interfaces means you can guide us once we’re inside. If we encounter technical obstacles, we’ll need your knowledge.”
She accepted this with a short nod, though something flickered behind her eyes—something I didn’t like. I pressed on anyway.
“Once inside, our primary objective is to reach the central laboratory and disable the neural interface,” I continued. “Secondary objective is Orlov himself. Questions?”
No one spoke. The gravity of our mission had sobered all of us.
“Departure in thirty minutes,” I concluded. “Gear up.”
As the team dispersed to make the final preparations, Lex stayed behind, her fingers tracing the facility layout on the display.
“We’re missing something,” she murmured, too low for the others to hear.
I leaned closer. “What do you mean?”
“The intelligence is too clean, too complete.” Her brow furrowed. “It’s as if someone wanted us to have this information.”
“A trap?”
“Or a test.” She met my gaze, her dark eyes reflecting my own concerns. “Either way, we need to proceed.”
I touched her arm gently. “Stay close to me in there.”
“Roger that,” she replied, the two words carrying a weight beyond their syllables.
As darkness cloaked our approach, we moved toward Orlov’s compound. Our team split into three groups, each taking different entry points to minimize the detection risk. Tactical vests equipped with limited comms kept us connected as we penetrated the outer perimeter.
Lex moved beside me, her breathing steady despite the tension.
“In position,” Tag’s voice murmured through my earpiece.
“East team ready,” came Bennett’s confirmation.
I glanced at Lex, who gave a brief affirmative gesture. “West team proceeding,” I responded. “Execute on my mark.”
The facility loomed ahead, its security more fortified than our previous infiltration had revealed. New motion sensors dotted the fence line, and additional guards patrolled in tighter rotations. Orlov had clearly anticipated our return.
“Three…two…one…mark,” I whispered.
We breached the perimeter simultaneously, our coordinated approach designed to overwhelm their security response. For precious seconds, everything proceeded according to plan—until floodlights blazed to life across the compound.
“They were waiting for us,” Lex hissed as guards emerged from concealed positions.
Gunfire erupted from multiple directions. Not random suppression—targeted shots from trained personnel who knew exactly where we’d be. Our plan had been compromised.
“Fall back to the secondary positions,” I ordered through the comms, pulling Lex behind a storage container as bullets peppered the ground where we’d stood.
No response came through the channel. Either our comms had been jammed, or the others couldn’t reply. Either way, we were isolated.
“We need to reach the main laboratory,” Lex said, checking her weapon.
“No doubt they’ve accelerated the timeline.”
More guards converged on our position, forcing us to retreat farther from our planned route. Each exchange of gunfire drove us deeper into the facility and farther from the area where Orlov would be conducting his demonstration.
“This way,” I urged, spotting the maintenance access we used yesterday.
We slipped through the narrow passage, the sounds of pursuit temporarily fading behind us.
“We need to hurry,” said Lex, racing ahead of me.
“Wait—”
An explosion rocked the facility, the concussion wave nearly throwing us off our feet. Alarms blared as emergency lighting switched on, bathing everything in pulsing red.
“That came from the east entrance,” I noted grimly. “Bennett and Archon’s position.”
Lex’s expression tightened. “We need to keep moving.”
We navigated through increasingly unfamiliar passages, guided more by instinct than intel. Another explosion, closer this time, sent debris raining from the ceiling. The facility was under attack—but from whom?
As we rounded a corner, three guards appeared, weapons raised. I fired first, dropping two while Lex eliminated the third. We claimed their access badges, hoping they might grant us entry to restricted areas.
“The main laboratory is one level down,” said Lex.
We located a stairwell and descended, the sounds of conflict intensifying above us. At the bottom, an armored door stood between us and the laboratory complex. I swiped one of the confiscated badges, but the reader flashed red.
“Higher clearance required,” Lex muttered, examining the lock. “I can override it, but I’ll need time.”
“Which we don’t have,” I replied, eyeing the corridor behind us. “Step back.”
I planted a small breaching charge on the electronic lock, using our bodies as shields when it detonated. The door’s mechanism failed, allowing us to force it open manually.
Beyond lay a transitional space—an antechamber leading to multiple laboratory wings. The central display indicated active testing outside, with power consumption spiking to unprecedented levels in a lab different than where we were previously.
“That’s our target,” I confirmed, checking my weapon’s magazine.
“Con,” Lex gripped my arm, her expression grave. “Whatever happens in there—”
“We come back out together,” I finished for her.
She squeezed my hand once, then we moved toward the lab, flanking its entrance. Through the reinforced glass panels, I glimpsed a central apparatus glowing with blue-white energy. In the control booth above, monitors displayed what appeared to be targeting data.
I tried my comm unit one final time. “All teams, report position.” Only static answered.
“Ready?” I asked Lex.
She exhaled steadily. “Now.”
We burst through the doors, weapons raised, but the place was empty. At the center of the room stood the neural interface device.
“We need to stop the test sequence!” Lex shouted, advancing toward the main control console.
A gunshot rang out, the bullet striking the floor near my feet. I spun toward the source and froze.
Bennett stood with his weapon trained not on me, but on Lex. His arm encircled her throat, the barrel of his pistol pressed against her temple.
“Don’t move, Carnegie,” he called out, his voice eerily calm. “Not if you want her to live.”
McLaren emerged from behind the neural interface, tablet in hand. “This isn’t what you think, Infidel.”
“What have you done?” I gasped.
Bennett’s expression was sinister. “What was necessary.”
“Put down your weapon,” McLaren instructed, her tone that of a professor addressing a wayward student. “Please don’t force Malcolm to hurt her.”
I assessed our options, finding none that guaranteed Lex’s safety. Slowly, I lowered my weapon to the ground.
“Kick it away,” Bennett ordered.
I complied, watching it skid across the polished floor.