Chapter 216: You’re Asking Us To Orchestrate A Miracle

"You destroy it," Marco said simply. "While you’re inside. You identify where the samples are stored, and you contaminate the storage area. You destroy the lab equipment. You corrupt the research databases. You make sure that when the facility burns, there’s nothing left to salvage."

"That requires access to secure areas," Dimitri said.

"Which you’ll have," Mike said. "As a consultant being courted for recruitment, they’ll show you their capabilities. They’ll give you tours of their facilities. They’ll demonstrate their security measures and their research progress. All of that is information gathering. All of that is reconnaissance."

Dimitri moved back to his desk and poured another scotch. The plan was coming together....intricate, dangerous, requiring perfect timing and flawless execution.

"What about personnel?" Dimitri asked. "The scientists inside the facility. The security guards. What about them?"

"What about them?" Marco asked.

"When the facility burns, people die," Dimitri said quietly. "Scientists who might be there against their will. Security personnel who are just doing a job. Innocent people."

The room fell silent.

"You understand that’s the cost of this operation," Mike said carefully. "When you burn that facility, everyone inside dies. Unless they evacuate. And if they evacuate, they scatter. Some of them will disappear. Some of them will be impossible to track down."

"I understand," Dimitri said.

"Do you?" Mike asked. His voice was harder now. "Because this isn’t a clean operation, Dimitri. This isn’t something you can do with minimal casualties. This is war. And people die in war."

"I know," Dimitri said.

"Do you?" Mike repeated. "Because Eve doesn’t understand that yet. And when this is over, if you survive....she’s going to understand it. She’s going to know that you made the choice to kill innocent people to save millions. And she’s going to have to decide if she can live with that."

The reminder of Eve....of the woman sleeping in his bed, trusting him, terrified for him, hit harder than expected.

"That’s not your concern," Dimitri said quietly.

"It is my concern," Mike said. "She’s my sister. And I need you to understand what you’re asking her to accept. Not just that you might die. But that you’re going to come back with blood on your hands. And she’s going to have to choose whether that’s acceptable."

"Then I’ll make sure she understands the cost," Dimitri said. "Before I go."

Marco cleared his throat. "We should discuss the technical aspects of the infiltration. Surveillance equipment, communication protocols, emergency extraction procedures."

"Not now," Dimitri said. "We have forty-eight hours before the recruitment announcement. We use that time to finalize the credentials, establish the backdoor access, and make sure the digital foundation is bulletproof. After that, we’ll do the detailed planning."

"And tonight?" Mike asked.

"Tonight I spend with Eve," Dimitri said. "Because I promised her seventy-two hours, and I intend to keep that promise."

Marco nodded and stood. "I’ll have preliminary credentials by morning. You’ll review them, suggest any modifications, and we’ll finalize by tomorrow night."

"What about Mike?" Dimitri asked.

"Mike will coordinate with Thomas on the digital infiltration," Marco said. "And I’ll handle operational planning with the extraction teams. By the time The Covenant makes contact, we’ll have a complete operational blueprint ready to deploy."

Marco moved toward the door, then paused.

"Boss," Marco said. "You understand that when you go inside that facility, the probability of survival is low. The probability of escape without assistance is lower. You’re asking us to orchestrate a miracle."

"I’m asking you to do what you’ve always done," Dimitri said. "Find the impossible solution. Make the miracle happen."

"That was easier when you weren’t the one dying," Marco said quietly.

"Everything’s harder when it’s personal," Dimitri agreed. "But that’s also why it has to be done right."

Marco nodded once and left the office, closing the door silently behind him.

Mike remained, settled back in his chair with his scotch, watching Dimitri with the careful attention of someone trying to memorize a face.

"She’s going to hate this," Mike said finally.

"I know," Dimitri said.

"No, you don’t," Mike said. "You think you do. But when she realizes that you’re planning to kill innocent people to stop The Covenant, she’s going to look at you differently. She’s going to see you as The Devil for real. Not as a lover, not as a protector, but as a killer who makes cold calculations about acceptable casualties."

"That’s what I am," Dimitri said simply.

"Is it?" Mike asked. "Or is that who you became when your mother died? When Antonio sat by and let her suffer because he was more concerned with power than protecting her?"

Dimitri didn’t answer. Just looked out the window at the city that didn’t know it was being saved by a devil.

"I’m not going to stop you," Mike said finally. "I stopped trying that about six hours ago. But I need you to know that when you come back....if you come back, Eve won’t be the same person who let you leave. And you won’t be the same person who goes in."

"I know," Dimitri said.

"Do you?" Mike asked. He stood and walked to the door. "Because that’s the real cost of this operation. Not the people who die in the facility. Not the virus samples. Not even your life. The real cost is what you’re about to do to the woman you love."

Mike left the office, closing the door quietly behind him.

Dimitri stood alone in the darkness of his home office, looking out at the city below.

Seventy-two hours until he infiltrated The Covenant.

Seventy-two hours to hold Eve and memorize the way she felt against him.

Seventy-two hours to prepare for a war that would change everything.

He finished his scotch and set the glass down carefully on his desk.

Then he stood and walked back to his bedroom, back to Eve, who was waiting for him to come back to bed, who was trusting him to keep his promise about coming home.

Back to the woman he was about to devastate by doing exactly what needed to be done.