Chapter 20 Lex #2
We reached an exit point near the perimeter fence. I peered outside, scanning for guards.
“Clear for now,” I reported. “But we’ll need to move quickly. The fence is thirty meters away.”
Con forced the panel open, and we emerged into the cold night air. Searchlights swept the grounds, creating windows of darkness we could use to cross the empty area.
“On my mark,” I whispered, watching the lights. “Now!”
We dashed across the expanse, Con half carrying Bennett while McLaren and I provided cover. The fence loomed before us, its electrified wires humming with a lethal current. Con attached a device to it that created a temporary dead zone in the electrical system.
“Hurry,” he urged as he cut a gap. “This will only work for twenty seconds.”
We helped Bennett through, then followed quickly, sealing the breach behind us. We made it to our extraction vehicle without further incident, though every shadow seemed to conceal potential threats.
As we sped away from the compound with Dr. McLaren behind the wheel, I watched Bennett in the dim light of the cab. Despite his injury, his eyes remained alert, calculating. There was none of the disorientation or shock typical of a man who’d lost as much blood as he had.
Con applied a field dressing to Bennett’s wound. “The bullet passed through cleanly,” he reported. “But we need to get you properly treated soon.”
Bennett nodded, his jaw tight with pain—or perhaps something else. “Did you get what we came for?”
“Enough to understand what we’re dealing with,” Con confirmed.
The rest of the journey passed in tense silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
The safe house felt exposed, though we’d swept it for bugs upon our return. Bennett’s wound had been properly dressed, and he rested on the sofa in the main room, refusing to be confined to a bedroom.
“What’s our next move?” McLaren asked.
Con spread a map on the table, his expression unreadable. “We analyze what we’ve learned and plan our next approach.”
“There’s no time for that,” Bennett insisted, checking his mobile. “We need to relocate. Soon. They’ll find us here.”
“How?” Con asked, his tone casual, but his eyes sharp.
Bennett’s jaw tightened. “Orlov has resources we can’t match.”
McLaren sat silently by the window, her attention seemingly focused on the street outside. I watched her reflection in the glass, noting how her eyes occasionally flicked to Bennett.
Con marked the installation schematic with our infiltration points. “Interesting that the alarm triggered exactly where you two entered,” he observed, his tone neutral.
Before either Bennett or McLaren could respond, Renegade and Archon walked in. Based on the looks on their faces, both were fit to be tied. “I’ll deal with them,” I told Con before leading the two operatives into another room. “What happened?” I asked, looking between them.
“Once we split up from you and Con, Bennett said he was switching things up. He told us to continue to the western perimeter while he and Dr. McLaren inspected the testing location,” Renegade reported.
“He pulled rank,” Archon added. “We heard the gunfire, but by the time we reached the main building, you were pulling out.”
“Copy that,” I responded. Bennett was becoming more of a problem with every passing minute. And, given I outranked him, it was time I set things straight. “Wait here,” I said, returning to the other room.
“If you have something to say, Infidel, say it directly,” Bennett said when I returned.
“Noting facts,” Con replied evenly.
“This is absurd,” Bennett growled. “We were the ones who took fire.”
“Yes,” I said, studying him. “After disregarding a direct order.”
He raised a brow. “I did no such thing.”
“You and Renegade were to report to the testing field. According to him, you ordered him to proceed west with Archon instead.”
“The teams made no sense. Neither of those two have the experience to evaluate the testing site while Dr. McLaren and I do.”
I shook my head. “The time to address the change was prior to the start of the op. You were out of line, doing so once we were in position. Not only that, but you were not authorized to use nonstandard ammunition rounds for a standard infiltration.”
Something dangerous flickered in Bennett’s eyes. “There are aspects of this operation you’re not privy to.”
“What did you say?” I tried to keep my tone even, but the rage I felt was still apparent.
The tension in the room thickened, the air between us charged with unspoken accusations. I shifted slightly, positioning myself where I could react if the situation deteriorated. “This isn’t your fucking mission, Malcolm, and I resent—”
McLaren rested her hand on my arm and cleared her throat. “This hostility isn’t productive. We need to focus on what matters—the data you recovered.”
“Agreed,” said Con as our gazes met.
“I’ll handle the technical analysis,” I said, looking between McLaren and Bennett.
“Of course,” she replied. “But if you need assistance…”
“I’ll let you know,” I finished.
As the night progressed, Con and I studied what we’d recovered.
“These targeting capabilities,” I murmured to Con when we were alone in the bedroom. “They could disable critical infrastructure while leaving their own systems intact.”
Con’s expression remained stoic, but I could read the concern in his eyes. “We need to formulate a response based on this intelligence,” he replied, steeling his expression. “Tomorrow will be crucial.”
When we returned to the main room, Bennett was watching us intently. “Well?”
“It’s as we feared,” Con replied. “But the intel gives us what we need to mount a decisive operation. Therefore, I agree we should move against Orlov tomorrow.”
Bennett nodded, satisfied. “Good. I’ll be ready.”
“Your wound—” McLaren began.
“Won’t slow me down,” Bennett cut her off.
As the safe house settled, Con assigned watch rotations. Tag and I took the first shift, positioned by the window where we could monitor both the street outside and the room behind me.
The quiet hours of my watch stretched endlessly, filled with unanswered questions that multiplied with each passing minute.
Why had the alarm triggered at Bennett and McLaren’s position?
How had McLaren known details about systems she shouldn’t have?
And why did Bennett seem so insistent on moving forward despite his injury?
When Archon relieved me, I returned to the bedroom and found Con still awake.
“I’m worried.”
He looked up at me. “I’d ask what about, but the end of the world seems cause enough.”
I half smiled. “Were McLaren’s and Bennett’s actions today based on the misinformation you put in their briefs?”
“I’ve been thinking about that too. Not precisely enough to say with certainty. However, that they’re sharing information with each other is evident. Then again, we’re all working the same mission, so that they are, isn’t damning in itself.”
“Any leaks otherwise?” I asked.
Con shook his head and motioned for me to join him. Our eyes met before I rested my head on his chest. In his, I saw the same terror I felt over what we were up against.