Chapter 183: The Suicide Mission

"That’s going to take...."

"Days. I know. But you’ll do it anyway." Dimitri’s voice was absolute. "Because if The Covenant releases that bioweapon, if they sell it to terrorists, if thousands of people die....that blood is on us. On our failure to stop them."

Marco stood.

"I’ll get you everything. When do you want to meet again?"

"Eight hours. I need to handle some personal matters first." Dimitri glanced toward the hallway that led to their bedroom. "Then we reconvene and start planning the operation."

"Understood, boss."

Marco headed for the door, then stopped.

"For what it’s worth...." He turned back. "Getting inside The Covenant? Actually stopping them? That’s the right thing. Even if it costs us."

"The right thing stopped mattering a long time ago, Marco." Dimitri’s voice was distant. "But stopping them? That’s necessary. That’s personal. And that’s what we’re going to do."

Marco nodded, left the office.

***

POV: EVE

Eve woke to find the bed empty and Dimitri’s side cold.

She stretched, felt the pleasant ache of muscles that had been thoroughly used the night before, and smiled.

Last night had been perfect.

Six rounds of sex. Dimitri finally unleashed. Finally free from the restraint of his injuries.

She’d loved every second of it.

Eve got out of bed, pulled on one of Dimitri’s shirts, and went to find him.

The penthouse was quiet. Too quiet.

She found Nonna in the kitchen, making breakfast.

"Good morning, cara. Dimitri is in his office. He has had visitors early."

"Visitors?"

"Marco arrived at seven. They have been speaking ever since." Nonna studied Eve’s face. "Whatever it is, it is serious. Dimitri’s expression when Marco left....it was the face of a man making decisions that will cost people."

Eve felt the contentment from last night drain away.

"What kind of decisions?"

"The kind that come with war." Nonna turned back to her cooking. "Go. See what he needs."

Eve walked to his office, knocked softly on the door.

Dimitri looked up from his laptop, and she saw it immediately.

The weight on his shoulders had returned.

"Hey," she said carefully. "Everything okay?"

"Everything’s fine." The words were automatic. Lying. "Just business."

And there it was.

The secret. The lie. The reminder that no matter how perfect last night was, Dimitri’s world was still dark.

Still dangerous.

Still full of things he wouldn’t tell her.

Eve wanted to push. Wanted to demand he tell her what Marco had brought.

But she also knew that pushing would only build walls.

So instead, she smiled and said, "I’m going to shower. Join me when you’re done?"

"In a bit, baby. I need to work."

She left his office without pressing further.

And tried to ignore the feeling that everything was about to change again.

***

POV: DIMITRI

The drive to Dimitri’s corporate headquarters took twenty-three minutes through morning Manhattan traffic.

Dimitri used the time to mentally prepare for what he was about to tell Mike.

The Covenant wasn’t just an organization that had killed his mother.

It was an active terrorist threat operating on American soil, developing bioweapons, conducting illegal human experimentation.

And it was connected to his father.

The building loomed ahead....forty stories of glass and steel, the headquarters of Valentino Enterprises, the legitimate face of Dimitri’s empire.

Security recognized him immediately and saluted as he made his way to the private elevator.

When the doors opened, Mike was already there waiting.

Of course he was waiting.

Mike had the ability to sense when Dimitri needed him. Had perfected it over eight years of partnership.

He stood as Dimitri entered, two coffee cups on the desk between them.

One already poured. One still steaming.

"You texted about new development regarding The Covenant," Mike said without preamble. "That was at 5 AM. You haven’t slept. And you look like you’re about to tell me something that’s going to change everything."

Dimitri took the coffee cup, sat down heavily.

"It’s worse than we thought," he said quietly.

Mike remained standing.

Dimitri pulled out the tablet Marco had given him that morning, turned it so Mike could see.

Started scrolling through the data.

Missing persons statistics. The spike across five states. The age demographics....predominantly poor, marginalized, forgettable people. The government’s non-response.

Mike’s expression darkened with each screen.

"They’re kidnapping people," Mike said.

"No. Technically, people are volunteering. The Covenant advertises medical trial opportunities. Offers payment. No background checks. Perfect cover for people desperate enough to risk their health for money."

"But they’re not signing up for what they think they’re signing up for."

"Exactly." Dimitri pulled up the next file. "Once inside the facility, they become test subjects. Infected with experimental viral strains. Monitored as they sicken and die."

Mike sat down hard.

"Christ."

"There’s more." Dimitri showed him the equipment acquisitions. The fermentation tanks. The biohazard containment units. The gene sequencing machinery. "The Covenant isn’t just testing. They’re manufacturing on industrial scale. They’ve developed a new strain, highly transmissible, two-week incubation period. By the time people show symptoms, they won’t know where they got infected."

"And they’re planning to release it."

"Field test. Documented release in an urban population within thirty days. They’ll gather epidemiological data, then sell the strain to whoever pays the most. Terrorist organizations. Rogue states. Anyone with enough money."

Mike stood, started pacing.

His best friend was calmly describing bioweapon production.

Describing the systematic murder of forgotten people.

Describing a threat that could kill thousands.

"How long have you known?" Mike asked.

"Since this morning. Marco’s been tracking missing persons patterns for weeks, but he only connected the dots to The Covenant a few hours ago."

"And now?"

"Now we stop them." Dimitri’s replied. "We find the facility. We infiltrate. We gather intelligence. And we destroy their operation from the inside."

Mike stopped pacing, turned to face Dimitri.

"How?"

"We put someone inside. Someone The Covenant thinks is just another desperate volunteer. Someone who can survive the viral trials and gather intelligence while they’re there."

"You’re talking about a suicide mission."