Chapter 369: They Are Now Powerful Than What You Destroyed

Webb called at 4:33 AM.

"I found something," Webb said, his voice tight with the excitement of a journalist who’d stumbled onto real news. "Or rather, I found evidence of something. There are traces of a privately funded research organization that’s been operating for at least fifteen years. They have government contracts. They have government protection. And they have funding from multiple sources including defense contractors and pharmaceutical companies."

"What do they do?" Mike asked.

"That’s the part that’s classified," Marcus said. "But based on the funding levels, based on the contract language, based on the facilities they’re operating from, my guess is biomedical research. Advanced biomedical research. The kind that might be considered unethical by civilian standards."

Mike closed his eyes.

"The Covenant," Mike said.

"What?" Webb asked.

"Nothing. Keep investigating," Mike said, and hung up.

***

*THIRTY-SIX HOURS INTO THE INVESTIGATION*

Mike had compiled everything into a comprehensive intelligence package.

The Covenant was real. They were operating. And they were being funded and protected by the United States government.

But there was something else. Something that Mike only discovered because one of his hacker contacts got sloppy and accidentally accessed a file he wasn’t supposed to see.

There were OTHER assets. Other proxies. Other operations being funded and supported by The Covenant.

When Mike asked for their identities, he hit a wall.

The names were encrypted. The identities were classified at levels that suggested high-level government involvement. The protection around these assets was so extensive, so professional, so government-grade that identification was nearly impossible.

Mike made calls to contacts in the CIA, in the NSA, in the FBI. He asked carefully coded questions about protected assets, about black budget operations, about individuals receiving government protection.

Every contact told him the same thing: There were people in government who were being protected at levels that suggested they were involved in something far above standard classified operations. Far above normal government functions.

These weren’t low-level operatives. These weren’t mid-level assets.

These were HIGH-LEVEL individuals. The kind of people who had access to classified information, who had influence over government policy, who could operate with complete impunity because the government itself was protecting them.

***

Mike sat in his office at 10:47 PM on day two and understood with absolute clarity what this meant.

The Covenant wasn’t just a criminal organization with government protection.

The Covenant was PART of the government. Or at least, its highest levels had been infiltrated by government officials who were using their positions to provide cover and funding.

Dante wasn’t just being backed by a criminal organization.

Dante was being backed by elements of the U.S. government.

Which meant Dimitri wasn’t just fighting a corporate war.

Dimitri was fighting the United States government.

Mike compiled everything into a secure encrypted file and prepared to brief Dimitri.

The information was devastating. It was comprehensive. And it changed everything.

The question now was: How did you fight an enemy that included government agencies? How did you protect yourself when your enemy had access to government resources, government intelligence, government protection?

The answer was: Very carefully.

And possibly, not at all without allies in the right places.

Mike looked at his watch. It was 11:15 PM. Dimitri had asked for information within forty-eight hours. Mike was delivering it with more than an hour to spare.

He picked up his phone and made a call.

"It’s me," Mike said when Dimitri answered. "I have everything. And brother, you’re going to want to sit down for this."

"I’m sitting," Dimitri said.

"The Covenant are really back. They’re operating more aggressively in New York now, And they’re being funded and protected by the United States government."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

"Repeat that," Dimitri said quietly.

"The Covenant has more government backing than we imagined," Mike said. "Federal funding. Government contracts. Government protection. They’re not just operating with impunity because they’re more powerful now. Like what happened the last time didn’t affect them at all, they’re operating with impunity because the U.S. government is funding them."

"How is that possible?" Dimitri asked.

"Because elements of the government are involved," Mike said. "High-level elements. The kind of people who have access to classified budgets and can distribute funds without congressional oversight."

"What about Dante?" Dimitri asked.

"Dante is just one asset," Mike said. "The Covenant has others. Multiple proxies. Multiple operations. And the identities of the top-level assets are so protected that I can’t identify them. But my conclusion is that they’re government officials. The kind of people who have enough power to protect The Covenant from any legal action, any investigation, any consequence."

Mike let that sink in.

"Brother," Mike continued, "you’re not fighting just The Covenant. You’re fighting elements of the United States government."

Dimitri was quiet for a very long moment.

"Okay," Dimitri said finally. "Come to the penthouse. We need to brief this to Enzo. And then we need to figure out how to fight an enemy that includes the government."

***

POV: DIMITRI

The penthouse was quiet when Mike arrived.

Eve had gone to bed an hour ago, understanding through subtle cues that Dimitri needed to work tonight, that something serious had shifted. She’d kissed him and told him to handle whatever needed handling, and disappeared upstairs with the grace of someone who understood when to be present and when to give space.

Nonna had also retreated, though not before making sure there was coffee available and food prepared. She always knew.

So when Mike walked into Dimitri’s office at 11:47 PM, it was just the three of them: Dimitri, Marco, and the weight of what Mike had discovered in forty-eight hours.

Marco was already there, as he always was when something was happening. Marco, who understood without being told that his presence was needed.

Mike set down a secure drive and began to brief them.

"The Covenant is operating more aggressively in New York now," Mike said without preamble. "They have government funding. Federal contracts. Classified spending that runs into the hundreds of millions annually." he stopped and looked at Dimitri " They have grown beyond what you destroyed that last time, brother"

Dimitri’s expression didn’t change, but Mike saw the shift in his eyes. The recognition that this was worse than they’d anticipated.