Chapter 209: She’s Not Going To Let You Go

"You’re not a scientist," Thomas said.

"No," Dimitri agreed. "But I’m a businessman with extensive pharmaceutical connections. A man with resources. A man who could provide things The Covenant needs....funding, equipment, political connections."

"They’ll vet you," Marco said.

"Let them," Dimitri said. "My cover will be bulletproof."

Mike walked to the window, his back to the room. His shoulders were tight.

"You’re asking to be infected," Mike said quietly. "You saw the data. Two-week incubation. Ninety percent mortality rate. You’re asking to die."

"I’m asking to do what needs to be done," Dimitri said.

"No," Mike said, turning around. "You’re asking to leave Eve. You’re asking to break her. You’re asking to destroy the only good thing that’s ever happened to you because you’ve decided you’re the only one who can fix this."

The words hit harder than Dimitri expected.

"This isn’t about ego," Dimitri said.

"Isn’t it?" Mike asked. "The Devil. The man who controls everything. The man who can’t delegate, can’t trust anyone else to handle the impossible missions. You’ve spent seven years wanting Eve, and now that you have her, you’re ready to die for a cause?"

"I’m ready to die so she doesn’t have to," Dimitri said quietly.

The room went silent.

"If The Covenant deploys that virus," Dimitri continued, "Eve dies. You die. Nonna dies. Everyone in this city dies. And I’ll have stood here with the ability to stop it and chose not to because I was afraid."

"Fear is the appropriate response," Mike said. "Fear keeps you alive."

"Fear makes you hesitate," Dimitri said. "And hesitation costs lives."

Marco’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it, frowned, typed something back.

"Eve just texted me," Marco said. "Asking where you are."

Dimitri’s jaw tightened.

"Tell her I’m in a meeting," Dimitri said.

"I already did," Marco replied. "She said...and I quote....’Tell him to come home before I come get him.’"

Under different circumstances, Dimitri might have smiled. But right now, the thought of Eve, of her fierce protectiveness, of her demand that he come home, felt like a weight pressing against his chest.

"You’re going to tell her," Mike said. It wasn’t a question.

"Yes," Dimitri said.

"She’s not going to let you go."

"I know."

"So what’s the plan?" Mike asked. "Lie to her? Lock her in the penthouse while you disappear into a bioweapon facility?"

"No," Dimitri said quietly. "I’m going to tell her the truth. And I’m going to ask her to let me go."

Mike stared at him. "You think she’ll say yes?"

"I think she’ll understand why I have to."

"That’s not the same as saying yes."

"No," Dimitri agreed. "It’s not."

The room settled into heavy silence. Thomas and Claude were carefully not looking at anyone, their attention fixed on monitors, on data, on anything that didn’t require them to acknowledge the personal conversation happening in front of them.

Marco stood and walked to the window beside Mike.

"If you do this," Marco said quietly, "you need a backup plan. A way out. Because suicide missions don’t have to end in suicide if you’re smart enough."

"I’m listening," Dimitri said.

"James is inside as a test subject," Marco said. "His role is passive, he receives treatments, he endures tests, he observes. But if you go in as potential business asset or a scientist, you will have mobility. You will have access to areas James can’t reach. You will have conversations with personnel that reveal operational details."

"And?"

"And when the time comes," Marco said, "you’re not just gathering intelligence. You’re creating an exit strategy. You’re positioning yourself so that when the facility goes down, you’re in a location that allows escape."

"The facility goes down?" Thomas asked. "You’re talking about destroying it from inside?"

"I’m talking about a catastrophic failure," Marco said. "Fire suppression system malfunction. Structural collapse. Something that forces complete evacuation and makes the facility uninhabitable."

"That requires access to building infrastructure," Claude said. "Security systems, utility controls, structural weakpoints."

"Which is exactly what Dimitri would have if he’s being courted as a potential investor, scientist or partner," Marco said. "They’d give him a tour. Show him the facilities. Demonstrate their capabilities. And during that tour...."

"I map everything," Dimitri finished. "I identify vulnerabilities. I plant the seeds for the facility’s destruction."

"And you do it in a way that looks like accident or system failure," Marco said. "Not sabotage. Because if they suspect sabotage, they lock down. But if it looks like equipment malfunction or structural compromise, they evacuate. And in the chaos of evacuation...."

"I walk out," Dimitri said.

Mike was shaking his head again, but this time his expression was thoughtful rather than angry.

"You’d need perfect timing," Mike said. "James’s final transmission happens on day fourteen. You’d need to be inside the facility before that. Which means you have....what? Ten days? Maybe less?"

"I have however long it takes," Dimitri said.

"And if Eve says no?" Mike asked.

Dimitri looked at his best friend. At the man who’d become his brother in everything but blood. At the man whose sister Dimitri had claimed despite knowing it would complicate everything.

"Then I do it anyway," Dimitri said quietly. "Because this isn’t a choice. This is necessity."

Mike held his gaze for a long moment.

"She’s going to hate you," Mike said.

"I know," Dimitri replied.

"And you’re doing it anyway."

"Yes."

Mike nodded slowly. "Then you better make damn sure you come back. Because if you die in that facility, I’m the one who has to tell her. And I don’t think either of us survives that conversation."

Dimitri’s phone buzzed again.

Eve:Dimitri Valentino, I swear to God if you don’t answer me right now....

He typed back.

Dimitri:On my way home. 30 minutes.

He looked at Marco.

"Preliminary planning," Dimitri said. "Cover story, credentials, contact protocols. I need a way into The Covenant that doesn’t raise suspicion. And I need it in seventy-two hours."

"Seventy-two hours?" Thomas asked. "Boss, that’s...."

"Seventy-two hours," Dimitri repeated. "Because James is on day eleven right now. And I need to be inside that facility before day fourteen. Which means I need to make contact with The Covenant, establish credentials, and gain entry in less than three days."

"That’s impossible," Claude said.

Dimitri looked at him.

"Then we do the impossible," Dimitri said quietly. "Because the alternative is unacceptable."

He stood, buttoning his suit jacket "Meeting adjourned," Dimitri said. "Marco, you have seventy-two hours. Thomas, keep monitoring James. Mike...." He paused. "Come with me. I need someone there when I tell Eve."

Mike’s expression was grim. "You think having me there will help?"

"No," Dimitri said honestly. "But I need a witness. So when she tries to kill me, someone can testify it was justified."