Webb called at 4:33 AM.
"I found something," Webb said, his voice tight with the excitement of a journalist who'd stumbled onto real news. "Or rather, I found evidence of something. There are traces of a privately funded research organization that's been operating for at least fifteen years. They have government contracts. They have government protection. And they have funding from multiple sources including defense contractors and pharmaceutical companies."
"What do they do?" Mike asked.
"That's the part that's classified," Marcus said. "But based on the funding levels, based on the contract language, based on the facilities they're operating from, my guess is biomedical research. Advanced biomedical research. The kind that might be considered unethical by civilian standards."
Mike closed his eyes.
"The Covenant," Mike said.
"What?" Webb asked.
"Nothing. Keep investigating," Mike said, and hung up.
***
*THIRTY-SIX HOURS INTO THE INVESTIGATION*
