Chapter 376: Eve Just Narrowly Escaped Being Kidnapped

"Exactly," Enzo confirmed. "And that means when Dante moves against you, when he takes Brooklyn, when he escalates against your operations, he’s not just a criminal using The Covenant’s resources. He’s essentially an agent of a government-backed organization. He has federal resources behind him. He has international government support."

Dimitri was quiet for a very long moment.

"Is Dr. Castellano still in his ministry position?" Dimitri asked.

"Yes," Enzo said. "Full authority, full access, full protection. Anyone who asks questions about him gets transferred away from Rome."

"So he’s untouchable," Dimitri said.

"As untouchable as someone can be when they’re a government official," Enzo said. "But that also means he’s visible. We know who he is. We know what he’s doing. We know the facility exists."

"Can you get more intelligence on the facility?" Dimitri asked. "Equipment, personnel, research projects beyond the enhancement protocol?"

"I can try," Enzo said. "But I need to be careful. If they realize someone’s investigating, if they understand that their operation in Rome has been compromised, they’ll move the facility or increase security."

"Then be very careful," Dimitri said. "But get me everything. I need to understand what they’re capable of. I need to know what kind of technology they’re developing. I need to know if there are other facilities beyond Rome."

"It might take a week," Enzo said.

"Take whatever time you need," Dimitri said. "But understand this: if The Covenant has successfully placed operatives at high levels of government in both the United States and Italy, then the threat isn’t just to me or to my operations. The threat is systemic. It’s structural. It’s bigger than any single mafia family."

Enzo understood the implication immediately.

"You’re talking about going after government officials," Enzo said carefully.

"I’m talking about understanding what I’m really fighting," Dimitri said. "I can’t fight The Covenant if I don’t know the full scope of their reach. I can’t protect myself from a threat I don’t understand."

"And once you understand?" Enzo asked.

"Then I figure out how to dismantle them again, just like i did before" Dimitri said simply. "Whether that means going after government officials or not."

***

POV: EVE

The day started like any other day.

Eve had a lunch appointment with one of her clients at a restaurant in the Upper West Side. It was a public location, well-lit, crowded, the kind of place that seemed safe by default. Marco had approved it after his usual security sweep. Three operatives in the restaurant, two outside, unmarked vehicles positioned at both exits, communication systems checked and verified.

It was standard protocol.

It was routine.

It was exactly the kind of complacency that made people vulnerable.

Marco was in the vehicle behind Eve’s when the accident happened.

A delivery truck ran a red light at the intersection, hitting a parked car with enough force to cause a chain reaction. Two vehicles collided. Traffic stopped immediately. The intersection became a scene of controlled chaos, drivers getting out, phones appearing, the initial shock that comes with any accident.

It was perfectly executed.

Marco’s eyes narrowed immediately. The accident had happened exactly at the intersection where Eve’s vehicle was passing. The timing was too precise. The location was too convenient. The chaos was too perfectly distributed to separate the protective vehicles from the target.

Marco keyed his radio.

"All units, possible setup," Marco said, his voice absolutely calm despite the adrenaline that had just spiked through his system. "Accident at the intersection appears coordinated. Possible extraction attempt. Full defensive mode. Now."

Eve’s driver heard the message and immediately took action, turning the vehicle sharply away from the intersection, moving toward an alternate route, increasing speed.

That was when the second vehicle appeared.

A black sedan pulled out from a side street, attempting to cut off Eve’s vehicle. The timing was coordinated and professional. This wasn’t random criminal activity. This was a planned extraction.

Eve was in the back of her security vehicle when she felt the sharp turn.

"What’s happening?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Stay down," the driver commanded, not taking his eyes off the road. "We have a situation."

Eve immediately understood that "situation" meant danger. She dropped to the floor of the vehicle, her heart beginning to race. This wasn’t a drill. This wasn’t practice. This was real threat.

The vehicle accelerated. She could hear the driver on the radio, communicating with other units. She could hear Marco’s voice, calm and commanding, coordinating the team’s response.

The second vehicle accelerated, trying to force Eve’s vehicle toward the curb.

But Marco had already anticipated this move.

His vehicle swerved in front of the black sedan, blocking its path. The sedan had to brake hard to avoid collision. In that moment of separation, Eve’s vehicle gained distance.

Marco’s secondary team was already moving, two operatives on foot, running toward the black sedan, establishing defensive positions, making it clear that any further approach would meet armed resistance.

"All units converge on the target vehicle," Marco commanded into his radio. "Full protective envelope. Move now."

The response was immediate. Three additional vehicles that had been positioned in the neighborhood converged on Eve’s location. They formed a protective grid around her vehicle...one in front, two on the sides, one behind. A moving fortress designed to make any further extraction attempt suicidally expensive.

Eve’s vehicle pulled into the underground parking garage of a secure building that Marco had pre-positioned as an emergency safe house.

The moment the vehicle stopped, Marco’s team moved into extraction protocol.

Eve’s door opened. Hands reached in and pulled her out, moving her quickly and efficiently away from the vehicle and toward the secure elevator. She was being moved faster than she could process, her mind still catching up to what had just happened.

"You’re safe," one of the operatives said, his hand on her back, guiding her forward.

The elevator doors closed. They began moving upward.

Eve’s entire body was shaking. Her hands were trembling. Her breathing was coming in short, sharp gasps. The adrenaline that had flooded her system was beginning to wear off, leaving her shaky and terrified and understanding with absolute clarity that she had just narrowly escaped being kidnapped.