Chapter 182: The Covenant Is About To Release A Virus

"Exactly. And second...." Marco pulled up more data. "Our contacts in underground medical communities reported that The Covenant has been acquiring equipment. Large-scale fermentation tanks. Biohazard containment units. Gene sequencing machines. The kind of infrastructure you’d need to manufacture biological weapons on an industrial scale."

"They’re expanding production."

"Which brings me to the third piece of intel." Marco’s expression turned grim. "And this one comes from an inside source I’ve been cultivating for months. Someone close to The Covenant’s operations in the Northeast."

"How close?"

"Close enough to know they’re planning a field test. They’ve developed a new viral strain, more transmissible than their previous variants, designed to incubate silently for two weeks before symptoms appear. By the time people get sick, they won’t know where they were infected."

Dimitri stood, paced to the window.

"They’re going to release it intentionally. On a test population."

"A captive test population." Marco watched Dimitri process this. "Those missing people? They’re not missing. They’re in a Covenant facility. Infected with this new strain. And The Covenant is documenting everything. Monitoring how quickly it spreads. How many die. How the body breaks down. Complete epidemiological data."

"For what purpose?"

"For sale. To terrorist organizations. To rogue states. To anyone willing to pay." Marco’s voice was bitter. "The Covenant makes biological weapons that kill thousands. And they test them on people nobody cares about because the government won’t even investigate their disappearances."

Dimitri turned back from the window.

His expression was absolutely cold.

"Where is this facility?"

"We don’t know yet. That’s the problem. It could be anywhere, upstate New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania. The source couldn’t access location data. Too compartmentalized. Too many security measures."

"But you’re working on finding it."

"We are. But it’s slow. The Covenant’s security is unlike anything I’ve encountered. Multiple firewalls. Encrypted communications. Physical locations that don’t exist on any official records." Marco leaned forward. "Boss, this is bigger than we thought. This isn’t just about your father’s connection to The Covenant. This is about a terrorist organization actively developing biological weapons using American citizens as test subjects while the government does nothing."

Dimitri was quiet for a long moment.

"How much time do we have?"

"Before what?"

"Before they release the virus."

Marco checked his notes. "Our source said the field test is scheduled for within the next thirty days. They want data on rapid transmission in an urban environment before they sell the strain."

"Thirty days," Dimitri repeated. "To identify a location. Infiltrate a secure facility. And stop them before they release a bioweapon."

"Yes."

"That’s not much time."

"It’s not."

Dimitri moved back to his desk, sat down, his mind clearly racing through possibilities.

"We need more intel," he said. "On everyone involved. The scientists running the program. The soldiers guarding the facility. The funding chain. Everything."

"I have our best people working on it. But it’s not fast enough. The Covenant’s security is specifically designed to prevent this kind of intelligence gathering."

"Then we approach it differently." Dimitri pulled up his own files, contact lists, operative names, security specialists. "We don’t try to hack their systems. We infiltrate their organization. We get someone inside."

"That’s extremely difficult with The Covenant. They’re paranoid about...."

"I know." Dimitri’s eyes gleamed. "But we have advantages. We know their recruitment patterns. We know they’re looking for test subjects. We know they need people."

Understanding dawned on Marco.

"You want to volunteer someone. Get them into the facility as a test subject."

"Exactly. Someone who can pass a medical screening. Someone who looks like exactly the kind of person they’d target. Someone tough enough to survive whatever they do inside that facility. And someone who can gather intelligence while they’re there."

"That’s insane. If they figure out what we’re doing...."

"They won’t. Because this person will be genuinely infected. Will genuinely be going through the viral trial. Will genuinely be sick and scared and breakable like every other test subject." Dimitri’s voice was cold. "The Covenant’s security is designed to keep people in, not to prevent people from wanting to get in. They won’t suspect someone volunteering."

Marco saw the logic.

It was brilliant and brutal and exactly the kind of plan Dimitri would devise.

"I know someone," Marco said slowly. "One of our soldiers. Former Marine. Immune system stronger than anyone I’ve ever encountered, he recovered from a gunshot wound to the abdomen in half the normal healing time. If anyone could survive whatever The Covenant’s testing protocols are...."

"Then he’s our person." Dimitri started making notes. "Get him prepped. Medical workup. Cover story development. We need him ready to volunteer within the week."

"Boss, if this goes wrong....if he gets trapped inside that facility...."

"Then he dies fighting The Covenant instead of dying in my empire protecting me." Dimitri’s voice was absolutely final. "Which is what every soldier in my organization understands they might have to do. This man won’t be different."

Marco nodded.

It was the brutal calculus of their world.

A soldier’s life weighed against the possibility of stopping a bioweapon.

The soldier lost every time.

"Eve. Does she know?" Marco asked.

Dimitri’s expression hardened.

"No. And she won’t. Not until this is over."

"She’s going to find out you’re planning to infiltrate The Covenant. She’s going to realize you lied about...."

"I know." Dimitri’s voice was cold. "But I’m not burdening her with this knowledge right now. She’s safe. She’s happy, and i want to keep her that way.

Marco wanted to argue.

Wanted to point out that lying again was going to destroy whatever trust they’d rebuilt.

But he also understood.

Understood that some truths were too heavy to share before battle.

"Okay," Marco said. "What do you need from me?" ℯℯ𝑙.

"Everything. The location intel. The soldier roster for our inside man. Full dossiers on Covenant leadership in the Northeast. Everything we have on my father’s connection to them. And Marco...." Dimitri met his eyes. "I need you to find a way to break their communication security. I need to know what they’re saying to each other. I need to be inside their operation in ways that go beyond one soldier on the ground."