By twelve hundred,the command center was fully staffed. Bishop and I took the front of the room.
“Some of you know this already. For those who don’t, the name of this organization is the Genesis Consortium. It exists because Minerva Protocol was destroyed and because the people who destroyed it are still out there.”
Blackjack lowered two of the electronic boards from the ceiling, and we got to work.
“I’ll start with what brought us all here—the bombing at our former headquarters, in which thirteen people died. We believe we know the motive behind the attack as well as who carried out the orders—Nikolai Vasiliev. What we don’t know is the full scope of what we’re here to fight against.” I paused.
No one in the room appeared to have any questions, so I continued. “Mercury was the target, and he missed. He isn’t going to give up now. That’s our immediate threat.”
“Vasiliev is the man who pulled the trigger, but the network around him is built to survive him,” Blackjack said. “Killing Vasiliev without taking Romanov apart leaves the same machine running with someone else at the top of it.” He turned to me, and I continued.
“What we are facing predates Minerva. My grandfather and Horatio were investigating it in 1989. They got close enough that they were murdered for it, and what they had died with them. Lyra, Eleanor, and Edgar revisited it thirteen years ago. Minerva Protocol is gone now. We continue. That is going to take multiple teams working at the same time, each with its own target and its own job.”
Blackjack cleared his throat. “All the teams will have Romanov in their mandate. The difference isthe angle.” He turned to the board and highlighted the first group. “Team One goes at Vasiliev directly—his people, money, and movement. Dagger and Givre will be primary with support from Agatha in London as needed.”
Doc leaned forward. “Three of his shells went down in the last seventy-two hours. The assets came out the other side under names we haven’t placed yet. Something put him in motion.”
“We need to know what it is,” Blackjack said.
“We won’t move on Vasiliev until we understand his network well enough that taking him out collapses it instead of rearranging it,” I added.
Givre looked up from her notes. “Two of the sources I’ve been working in Europe had movement on their patches last week that matches what Doc’s describing. I’ll have a handler framework built by end of day.”
I took the next one. “Team Two is Reaper, Amaryllis, and Hornet. They’ll work Romanov’s European footprint, including the trafficking routes, the diplomatic cover Vasiliev uses for his operatives, and the embedded assets we know are scattered across the continent.My old contacts feed into this team, and the people who used to report to me will be reporting to you now.”
“Roger that,” said Reaper.
Blackjack continued. “Team Three is Magnolia and Delfino. Magnolia runs imagery and cross-border tracking on every facility we flag. Delfino builds the behavioral profiles on Vasiliev and on anyone in his network who surfaces.”
Magnolia raised her chin. Delfino nodded once.
Doc stood. “Team Four is K19. Gunner, Razor, and I run tactical, cyber support, and cross-border alongside the three teams. We’re partners on this operation, not support.”
“Blackjack, Dagger, and I will lead it, but Mercury’s security is everyone’s responsibility,” I continued. “It will run alongside the investigation, not beneath it.”
“Every team reports to Beacon and me,” Blackjack said. “If you need a decision that crosses teams, come to one or both of us.”
Lyra raised her hand from the far end of the table. “There are relationships that belong to the generationbefore this one. Directors emeriti, former heads of service, people who will not take a call from an organization they’ve never heard of, but who will take mine. Tell me what doors you need opened.”
“All of them,” I said.
She nodded once.
I looked around the room at the people who had come when we asked.
“Questions?” Nobody reacted. “In that case, what are you waiting for? Let’s get to work.”
After everyone broke into teams, Blackjack and I made the rounds. When no one appeared to need me, I excused myself and walked out into the corridor.
Blackjack followed. “Taking a break?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Me too. But there’s something I need.”
“What?”
He crowded me against the opposite wall with one palm flat beside my head.
