Chapter 371: You Can’t Fight The U.S. Government

"That’s..." Enzo started, then stopped. "That’s bigger than I thought."

"Yes," Dimitri said. "Which is why we need your information more than ever. We need to understand what The Covenant is doing in Rome. We need to know if there are government officials there who are also involved. We need to know if this is a U.S. government operation or if it extends internationally."

"I’ll dig deeper," Enzo said. "But Dimitri, if government is involved at this level, if we’re talking about federal agencies, then we need to be careful about how we respond. You can’t fight the U.S. government the same way you fight organized crime."

"I know," Dimitri said. "That’s why we’re not going to fight them directly. We’re going to understand them first. We’re going to map their operations, their assets, their vulnerabilities. And then we’re going to figure out how to protect ourselves without triggering a response we can’t survive."

"And what about Dante in the meantime?" Enzo asked.

"Dante stays alive," Dimitri said. "Dante stays operational. Dante stays under observation. We use him as the focal point for understanding The Covenant’s entire strategy."

"You’re going to let him keep attacking you," Enzo said. It wasn’t a question.

"I’m going to let him keep showing me how The Covenant operates," Dimitri corrected. "Every move he makes is intel. Every operation he executes teaches us something about their strategy. Every attack is an opportunity to understand them better."

Marco was nodding, understanding the strategic patience this required.

"Brother," Enzo said carefully, "what if The Covenant escalates while we’re investigating? What if they decide to move against you more directly?"

"Then we respond," Dimitri said. "But we respond informed. We respond understanding what we’re up against. We respond strategically instead of reactively."

Dimitri paused.

"Here’s what I need from you," Dimitri said to Enzo. "Keep investigating The Covenant’s operations in Rome. Find out if there are government officials there who are involved. Find out if The Covenant has assets in European government. Find out everything about their international reach."

"Forty-eight hours?" Enzo asked.

"Take a week," Dimitri said. "I need accuracy more than speed now. Get me comprehensive intelligence."

"You’ll have it," Enzo said, and the line went dead.

Dimitri set down his phone and looked at Marco and Mike.

"Here’s what we’re doing," Dimitri said. "First, we continue to appear vulnerable. We continue to let The Covenant and Dante believe their strategy is working. Second, we investigate. We map every operation they’re running. We identify every asset they’re supporting. We understand the full scope of what we’re fighting."

"And third?" Marco asked.

"Third," Dimitri said, "we protect Eve. More security, more careful protocols, more awareness. Because if The Covenant figures out that we understand what they’re doing, Eve becomes their leverage."

"Already on it," Marco said simply.

Mike was organizing the intelligence files, categorizing them, building a reference library that would allow them to track The Covenant’s operations systematically.

"This is going to take time," Mike said. "But we can do this. We can map them. We can understand them. And then we can decide how to respond."

"How long?" Dimitri asked.

"To fully map their operations? Their assets? Their vulnerabilities?" Mike considered this. "Three to four weeks minimum. Maybe longer if their security is as sophisticated as I think it is."

"You have that time," Dimitri said. "Take whatever you need. Use whatever resources you need. Build me a complete picture of The Covenant. Make sure it is more detailed than what we have on them before"

Mike nodded, already thinking ahead to the next phase of investigation.

Dimitri moved to the window again, looking out at Manhattan spread below him like a kingdom he needed to protect.

The Covenant is back. They were weaponizing Dante. They had government backing. They had resources that rivaled small nations.

But they’d made a calculation. They’d assumed he wouldn’t figure out the truth. They’d assumed he’d react emotionally to Dante’s resurgence. They’d assumed they could dismantle him slowly without him understanding what was really happening.

They’d miscalculated.

And now that he understood the true nature of the threat, he could respond strategically instead of reactively.

The war was just beginning.

But at least now he understood who he was really fighting.

***

POV: EVE

The bedroom was dark when Dimitri finally came to bed.

Eve had been waiting for hours, not sleeping, understanding through months of knowing him that tonight was a night when he wouldn’t rest easy. She’d heard the voices in his office, Marco, Mike, conversations that carried weight and consequence. She’d heard the intensity in Dimitri’s tone when he was strategizing, when he was processing threat levels and calculating responses.

She’d stayed in bed and waited, because that was what she did when he was carrying something heavy. She waited. She was present. She was available.

Dimitri moved through the darkness with the familiarity of someone who knew every inch of the space. He undressed without turning on lights. He slipped into bed beside her, and Eve immediately moved closer, her body finding his in the darkness without hesitation.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Eve lifted her head slightly, her hand on his chest, and asked the question she’d been holding all night.

"What’s happening?" Eve asked softly. "And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I know you. I know when something’s changed."

Dimitri was quiet for a moment. She could feel him processing, deciding how much to tell her, how much she needed to know.

"The Covenant is back," he said finally, his voice absolutely steady in the darkness.

Eve’s entire body went still.

"What?" she whispered. "I thought you ended them. I thought when you infiltrated their facility and burned it down, I thought that was the end of them."

"So did I," Dimitri said, pulling her closer. He shifted slightly so she could rest her head on his chest, her ear over his heart. "I burned down their New York facility. I thought that would be the end. But they’re back, Eve. And they’re not weaker. They’re stronger than they were before."