Page 69 of Undercover Infidel
When he finished, he gave me a slight nod. “We’re ready.”
Bennett entered the room, his posture rigid with tension. The strained dynamic between him and Con had become impossible to ignore, with team members exchanging uneasy glances whenever they occupied the same space.
“Are those our mission specs?” Bennett asked.
“Affirmative,” said Con. “Infiltration scheduled for zero one hundred hours.”
Dr. McLaren settled beside me as I checked my equipment. “Your access module will need to interface with their quantum-encrypted systems,” she said, her voice low. “The Metzger H-series firewalls they’re using have a vulnerability in the authentication handshake—exploit that, and you’ll have administrative access.”
I paused, my hands hovering over my gear. “How do you know they’re using Metzger H-series?”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “It was in the intelligence briefing.”
Except it wasn’t. I’d memorized every line of it. There had been no mention of specific firewall systems.
Across the room, Bennett was loading his weapons. I caught a glimpse of what looked like unusual ammunition being tucked into his vest pocket—cartridges with what appeared to be red casings, though I couldn’t be certain from my position. If they were what I suspected—specialized armor-piercing rounds—they weren’t standard-issue or on our approved equipment list.
When he thought no one was watching, he stepped into the hallway and spoke in hushed tones. Thelanguage wasn’t English—it sounded harsh, with guttural consonants. I couldn’t place it, but something about the secretive nature of his actions raised more flags in my mind.
I needed to tell Con about what I’d discovered. I approached him as he secured the operations center.
“Con, I need to?—”
A comms alert interrupted us. Con checked the secure line, his expression darkening. “Surveillance just picked up increased activity at the compound. We need to accelerate our timeline.”
“But there’s something you should know?—”
“We’ll have to debrief later,” he said, his attention already shifting to the tactical displays. “If we miss this window, we may not get another.”
I swallowed my frustration. The mission had to take priority, but the warning in my gut grew stronger with each passing hour.
We approachedthe facility at the designated time under a moonless sky that rendered the countryside in shades of black and gray. According to the satellite imagery, the complex sprawled across three hectareswas surrounded by an electric fence and patrolled by armed guards.
“This is where we split up,” Con whispered. “Each of you, follow your targeted infiltration points. Radio silence unless absolutely necessary.”
While McLaren and Archon were assigned to the western perimeter, Bennett and Renegade were heading east, toward the equipment-testing field we’d observed in the satellite footage. Con and I headed for the main building, where we hoped to find data on Project Labyrinth’s functionality and scope.
We’d barely cleared the perimeter when alarms shattered the night. Not at our position—they’d triggered on the opposite side.
“Why in the bloody hell is McLaren over there?” Con hissed, spotting her on his tactical display.
She was paired with Archon, so I agreed it made no sense. However, we had a tight window, forcing us to follow it to achieve our objectives.
“Stick to the plan,” I reminded him. “They’ve got their directives; we’ve got ours.”
Con hesitated, then nodded. We continued toward the main building, using the distraction to our advantage.The guards had rushed to respond to the breach, leaving our path temporarily clear.
The interior was stark and utilitarian—polished concrete floors, reinforced walls, and surveillance cameras at every junction. We disabled the cameras as we progressed, moving deeper into the complex until we reached a secured laboratory.
The electronic lock on the lab entryway proved more challenging than expected. Three failed attempts would trigger a silent alarm. I connected my decryption module and ran through the bypass sequences, sweat beading on my forehead as the seconds ticked by.
“Hurry,” Con urged, keeping watch behind us.
“Almost…” The lock finally yielded, flashing green after a complex sequence of cryptographic exchanges. “Got it.”
The portal slid open, revealing a cavernous space filled with servers, workstations, and at its center, a device unlike anything I’d ever seen. It resembled an MRI machine but with additional components that gave it an ominous appearance.
“The pulse weapon prototype,” Con confirmed, his voice low.
