Chapter 401: Ask Your Father About The Covenant

"How many people have you killed?" Dimitri asked.

"Forty-seven," the operative said without emotion. "I keep count."

Dimitri felt the weight of that number. Forty-seven people. Forty-seven lives ended by this man’s hands.

"And today was going to be forty-eight," Dimitri said.

"Yes," the operative confirmed.

"Tell me about The Covenant’s structure," Dimitri said. "Who’s in command? Who makes decisions? How is the organization run?"

The operative took a breath.

"There’s a command council," the operative began. "Five people at the highest level. Viktor Mikhailov is one of them. There’s a woman named Aleksandra Volkov who handles logistics. There’s a man named James who manages financial operations. There’s someone we only know as ’The Director’ who sets overall strategy. And there’s a fifth council member whose identity I was never given."

"And below the council?" Dimitri pressed.

"Handlers," the operative said. "About twenty of them globally. Each handler manages operatives in their region. Operatives like me who execute operations. Support staff who handle logistics, safe houses, documentation, transportation."

"How many operatives total?" Dimitri asked.

"Unknown exactly," the operative said. "But I’d estimate between 50 and 100. We’re kept compartmentalized. I don’t know who my fellow operatives are. I only know my handler."

"Who’s your handler?" Dimitri asked.

"A woman named Catherine," the operative said. "Former CIA. Now works exclusively for The Covenant."

Dimitri made mental note of the name.

"What facilities does The Covenant operate?" Dimitri asked.

"The facility you destroyed in New York was their primary research center," the operative said. "But they have satellite facilities in Rome, Moscow, Beijing, and London. Each one does different research. Bioweapons, pharmaceutical enhancement, psychological conditioning, intelligence gathering technology."

"And you know this because?" Dimitri asked.

"Because I’ve been to most of them," the operative said. "Operatives get debriefed at these facilities after major operations. They extract our observations. They analyze our performance. They update our training."

Dimitri’s mind was already processing the information. Multiple facilities. Multiple research programs. The organization was far larger than he’d anticipated.

"What’s The Covenant’s endgame?" Dimitri asked. "What are they ultimately trying to accomplish?"

The operative was quiet for a long moment.

"I don’t know," the operative finally said. "That’s handled at the council level. But based on the research I’ve seen, based on the operations I’ve been part of, I believe they’re trying to create a new form of human. Enhanced humans. Humans with accelerated healing, enhanced cognition, emotional control. The assassination attempts, the infiltrations, the acquisitions, they’re all in service of something larger."

"And what’s their timeline?" Dimitri asked.

"Years, not months," the operative said. "This isn’t a quick operation. This is a decade-long project, maybe longer."

Dimitri understood. The Covenant wasn’t trying to destroy him. They were using him as a step in a much larger process. Removing threats. Testing their operatives. Building their network.

He was just one piece on a much larger board.

"Who’s Antonio Valentino to The Covenant?" Dimitri asked.

The operative’s expression shifted. Just slightly. But Dimitri caught it.

"Who is he?" Dimitri pressed.

"That’s above my pay grade," the operative said. "Seriously. Council-level information. I don’t have access to whatever history your father has with The Covenant."

"But there is history," Dimitri said.

"Deep history," the operative confirmed. "Decades of it. But I can’t tell you what I don’t know."

Dimitri leaned back in his chair, processing this.

"Anything else you want to ask?" Marco said to Dimitri.

"Names," Dimitri said. "I want every operative name you know. I want every handler name. I want every facility location. I want every contact you have. Write it all down."

The man nodded and Marco provided him with paper and a pen.

As the operative began writing, Dimitri reviewed the intelligence in his mind. The Covenant was an organization of staggering scope. They were far more established than he had ever imagined, with multiple facilities. multiple research programs. dozens of handlers and operatives than his initial investigation about them had revealed. And a council structure that made decisions at levels far above what any individual operative would know.

The operative finished writing and slid the paper across the table to Dimitri.

Dimitri reviewed it. Names. Locations. Operational details. Numbers. Resources.

It was comprehensive. Useful. But still incomplete.

The operative was right about one thing: there was history between his father and The Covenant that went deeper than anything in this intelligence.

Dimitri stood to leave.

"One more thing," the operative said, stopping him.

Dimitri turned back.

"Your father," the operative said. "He knows more about The Covenant operations than I can give you. If you need detailed intelligence about their true scope, about their real objectives, about what they’re actually trying to accomplish, you should ask him. He’s dealt with them longer than anyone alive."

Dimitri felt something shift inside him.

"How do you know that?" Dimitri asked.

"Because before The Covenant recruited me, before I became an operative, they trained me," the operative said. "And during that training, i hared whispers about the history between The Covenant and your father. I hared about the war that’s been happening in the shadows for decades."

"What war?" Dimitri asked.

"The war between your father and The Covenant," the operative said. "A war that predates you. A war that never ended. A war that you’ve just inherited."

The operative looked directly at Dimitri.

"Your father is the only one who understands the full scope of it," the operative continued. "If you want to win against The Covenant, if you want to do more than just survive, you need to talk to him. Because he’s been fighting this battle longer than you’ve been alive."

Dimitri left the interrogation room without responding.

Marco followed him into the hallway.

"He’s right," Marco said. "About your father. Whatever happened between your father and The Covenant, it’s foundational to understanding what we’re dealing with now."

Dimitri nodded slowly.

"Book the flight to Rome," Dimitri said. "I need to talk to my father. And I need to understand what he knows about The Covenant that I don’t."