The news of the incident in Ohio—the midnight lockdown, the bio-contaminant breaches, the rapid military involvement, and the subsequent mass university evacuation...had reached the executive desks in Detroit hours before dawn.
Federal intelligence divisions, state police departments, and regional emergency task forces across three states were currently operating at elevated alert levels.
At the front of the room stood Mr. Benedict. Tall, sharp-featured, and impeccably tailored in a charcoal suit, he exuded the quiet, unyielding authority of a seasoned director. His hands rested lightly on the edge of the polished wooden podium, his cold, gray eyes sweeping over the gathered operatives before he gestured toward the screen.
"As you can see from the active feeds," Mr. Benedict began, his voice devoid of unnecessary flourish, "the situation on the Ohio perimeter has crested into a high-visibility event. The official public narrative remains attached to an emergency civil infrastructure failure and an unverified environmental hazard. However, within the inter-agency channels, the tension is escalating rapidly. Civil authorities are nervous, the regional governor's office is demanding hourly briefings, also combined with the public chatter which is threatening to reach a critical threshold."
He clicked a handheld remote, updating the display to show a complex organizational chart connecting three distinct international logos to a central corporate emblem.
"Our primary directive today," Benedict continued, "is to establish a comprehensive containment framework that quells this expanding unrest. The public, the media, and the local law enforcement networks must see nothing except an extraordinarily normal, highly efficient municipal response. Simultaneously, we must preserve the operational integrity of our core endeavor, the ongoing field testing of the human existence breakthrough project."
He paused, letting the weight of the phrase settle across the room.
"We have received two critical supply shipments overnight," Benedict stated, gesturing toward the chart. "The first is the specialized serum batch dispatched directly from Ian's Axile group operating out of France. The second is the refined stabilization compound delivered by the Harvey group from England. Both formulations represent an unprecedented leap in bio-kinetic evolution and genetic synthesis. However, to execute these trials without triggering a full federal audit, our front must remain entirely civilian."
He tapped a key, highlighting the central emblem on the board. "The Vince Duchy entity will remain the sole, public-facing corporate facade even though they are the detective force of Ohio. Every contract, facility lease, clinical trial authorization, and every logistics movement will be funneled directly through Vince Duchy. If the public or independent investigators look into these projects, they must find nothing more than a wealthy, philanthropic pharmaceutical conglomerate conducting routine, cutting-edge medical research which of course has the governor's permission."
Benedict turned his gaze toward the left side of the table. "Dr. Maru, I believe your assessment on the integration of these two European batches under the Vince Duchy umbrella is vital for us to move on."
Dr. Maru, with her slender sharp features and rimless spectacles, leaned forward. She adjusted her glasses as she held the pick in front of her.
"From my perspective, Director, the strategy is sound and mandatory," Dr. Maru explained, pulling up a secondary data stream on her personal tablet that mirrored onto a side screen. "The Axile group's formulation from France possesses an extraordinary kinetic yield, but its primary flaw has always been metabolic volatility, as we observed in the unrefined field trials. The Harvey group's English compound, conversely, acts as a high-density neural makeup. By running these tests under the guise of Vince Duchy's proprietary 'Advanced Cellular Regeneration' initiative, we can conduct controlled, double-blind trials across multiple private facilities without raising biological red flags."
Dr. Maru tapped her screen, displaying a series of clinical flowcharts. "We simply present these trials as voluntary, high-tier medical treatments for nerve damage and muscular dystrophy. The subjects will believe they are receiving revolutionary therapy, the municipal health boards will sign off on the clinical documentation, and we receive clean, uncorrupted data on metabolic adaptation. Should an anomaly occur, such as a sudden spike or tissue mutation—it will be categorized internally as a rare adverse reaction, insulated entirely by Vince Duchy's legal team."
"And the public perception?" Benedict asked, nodding slightly.
"Extremely manageable," Dr. Maru replied smoothly. "By flooding the medical journals and local news outlets with press releases regarding Vince Duchy's philanthropic investments in regional health care, we create an atmosphere of progress and an upgrade in biology. The public naturally gravitates toward reassuring narratives. If we tell them a breakthrough is happening for their benefit under a trusted corporate banner, they will look past the strange logistics trucks and the perimeter security."
Sitting directly across from Dr. Maru was Michael Sam—the quiet methodical strategist who had recently taken over the administrative seat following Mr. Bingley's departure. Michael cleared his throat, adjusting a set of neatly organized physical documents in front of him. His expression had less clarity but with a precise manner.
"I agree with Dr. Maru's suggestion regarding the public facade, Director," Michael Sam spoke up, his voice carrying a calm, steady resonance. "However, from an operational and logistics standpoint, maintaining such facade requires absolute control over our local contractor networks. Which brings us to the most pressing vulnerability in our current plan s."
Michael clicked his interface, bringing up a detailed dossier on the right side of the main projection. The screen displayed a series of high-resolution mugshots, surveillance photos, and police incident logs centered around a single name: William 'Bill' Curt.
"Vince Duchy as an entity is operating through actively participating in detective work and is only as strong as the contractors it dispatches to handle ground-level operations," Michael Sam continued, leaning his forearms against the table. "Bill Curt has been our primary operative for field harvesting, sample acquisition, and physical security in the Ohio sector. But the data from the last forty-eight hours indicates a severe deterioration in his operational discipline. He is acting out of line. His personal obsessions, lack of subtle execution, and his erratic, aggressive methods are creating unnecessary noise."
Michael gestured toward a series of red incident markers on the map.
"The shooting of Detective Quive, the messy engagement near the university perimeter, and the high-visibility chase through the residential district—these were not clean executions. Bill is operating like a sledgehammer when we require a simple knife. If he continues to leave trails behind, the local law enforcement agencies will eventually trace the physical evidence back to Vince Duchy's local logistics hubs."
Rose leaned forward, resting her elbows on the dark wood of the table, her tone crisp and pragmatic as she joined the discussion.
" Sir Michael is correct," Rose stated, looking toward Benedict and then around the room. "If we are going to strengthen Vince Duchy's posture as our primary public shield, we cannot allow independent contractors to run rogue protocols. Bill Curt considers himself an indispensable surgeon, but his methods are undisciplined. To preserve the normal, quiet appearance of this project in Detroit and across the state line, we need to keep a special pair of eyes on him."
Scarlet, who had been observing the readouts silently, turned her head toward Rose before offering her own assessment.
"Maybe eliminating Bill immediately would create a vacuum in the local field network that we cannot afford while the French and English batches are in transit," Scarlet pointed out, "However, permitting him to operate unmonitored is an unacceptable risk. My suggestion goes in similarity with rose, we strip Bill of his independent decision-making authority.