Page 66 of Undercover Infidel
Then, unexpectedly, he paused.
His head turned slowly, gaze tracking across the tree line until it seemed to settle directly on our hidden position. A chill ran through me as his thin lips curved into what could only be described as a knowing smile.
“He sees us.” I gasped.
Con tensed beside me. “Impossible. We’re completely concealed.”
Yet Orlov continued staring in our direction, his smile widening before he deliberately turned away, resuming his work as if nothing had happened.
“He knows we’re watching,” I said, absolute certainty in my voice. “And worse—he’s been expecting us all along.”
19
CON
“Get down,” I hissed, pulling Lex away from the observation point and deeper into the cover of the trees. My hand gripped her arm as we retreated, staying low to avoid detection.
“He saw us,” Lex whispered once we were safely concealed. Her eyes held no fear, only sharp calculation as she processed what we’d witnessed.
“That wasn’t a coincidence,” I replied, checking our surveillance equipment to ensure it wasn’t compromised. “Orlov deliberately sought out our location.”
Lex tilted her head in agreement, her expression grim. “But how? We were hidden, equipment masked against detection.”
“We need to pull back. Now.” I quickly gathered our gear. “If Orlov knows we’re watching, this entire op could be at risk.”
We made our way through the dense woodland to our vehicle, maintaining radio silence until we wereclear of the facility’s perimeter. Only when we were moving did I contact the others.
“Tag, we may be compromised. Orlov made direct visual contact with our position. Returning to base.”
“Copy that,” came Tag’s terse reply. “Bennett and I will hold position until further notice.”
Lex frowned beside me. “He should withdraw too. If Orlov spotted us?—”
“Bennett won’t leave,” I interrupted. “He’s been hunting Viktor for years. Now that we’ve confirmed his location, Bennett would sooner die than abandon his position.”
The driveback to the safe house took twenty minutes, each passing kilometer deepening my concern. Not just about Orlov’s awareness of our presence, but about Bennett’s increasingly suspicious behavior—his excessive knowledge of the facility’s layouts, his secretive calls, and his barely contained emotional reactions when Orlov’s name was mentioned.
Dr. McLaren met us at the door, her expression betraying concern. “What happened?”
“Orlov knew we were there,” Lex explained as we moved into the command center. “He looked directly at our position and smiled.”
“That’s not possible,” Dr. McLaren said, but her tone lacked conviction.
My secure mobile vibrated with an incoming message—Gus’s full report on Bennett. I scanned it while Lex updated Dr. McLaren on what we’d observed.
What I read confirmed my worst suspicions. Malcolm Bennett’s background contained disturbing inconsistencies. His record indicated he’d started with MI6 in 1996, yet there were periods where his assignments were suspiciously thin on details.
The Estonia operation that had been redacted in earlier reports was now partially visible. Bennett had been part of a joint task force monitoring Soviet-era facilities for potential technology transfer. During that op, something had gone catastrophically wrong, resulting in the deaths of three agents.
The report named Viktor Orlov as a person of interest in that incident, not as a perpetrator, but as a potential asset who had either been turned or compromised.Bennett was the only survivor of the team assigned to make contact with him.
Most concerning was a notation from a psychological evaluation conducted six months after Estonia. “Subject displays signs of unresolved trauma and fixation on target. Recommend continued monitoring and possible reassignment.”
I slipped away to contact Tag, finding a quiet corner of the house where our conversation wouldn’t be overheard.
“I’ve got Gus’s report,” I said when he answered. “Bennett’s history with Orlov goes deeper than we suspected.”
“I figured as much,” Tag replied. “He maintains a well-crafted facade, but his control slips whenever Orlov is mentioned. His body language shifts, his pupils dilate, and his voice changes pitch.”
