Benedict nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. "Precisely. Now, let us summarize our strategic directives for the Detroit sector and the surrounding districts."
He tapped the podium's central control, bringing up a unified four-point action plan on the main screen which show the personnel's in charge of operating actively on the field alongside the directors in charge of keeping outside interference from other big powers.
Benedict announced authoritatively through the quiet briefing room resounding the key matters which was to maintain the illusion of absolute normality across Detroit, while our work progresses unimpeded in the shadows.
"Very well," Benedict paused giving a big smile, "Dismissed. Execute your respective assignments." He added pressing a button to lock the encrypted files on the board.
Everyone after given the permission to leave, began to take their leave leaving behind the sound of clearing chairs and rustling documents which soon faded in the briefing room.
Just when the door was about closing Dr. Maru's voice cut cleanly through the quiet hustle of departing personnel, "Rose and Scarlet, please stay back for a moment" she said.
The two women halted immediately, allowing the rest of the Scarlet team to file past them out into the hallway. Once the heavy doors sealed shut again, leaving only the three of them inside the soundproofed chamber, Dr. Maru stepped around the dark composite conference table. She reached into her sharp white lab coat, pulling out a sleek, padded silver cylinder no larger than a fountain pen.
She set it gently on the polished wood between them. Inside the transparent central window of the casing rested a small, glass vial filled with a clear, faintly luminous fluid that seemed to ripple with a soft, iridescent sheen even under the cool fluorescent lighting.
"Director Benedict's directives for Detroit are already in motion," Dr. Maru began in a low, private tone.
"However, the primary vulnerability to our entire scheme remains the unmonitored volatility in Ohio. Bill's behavior combined with the chaos around the university grid require direct, high-level oversight. I am assigning the two of you to personally moderate affairs in the Ohio sector."
Rose looked down at the silver cylinder, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"A field deployment? Does this mean we get to override Bill's authority on the ground?"
"Not necessarily unless the situation calls for it. Anyways you will supervise him to ensure the local containment protocols do not spill across the state border," Dr. Maru clarified.
"Consider yourselves the absolute authority of the Vince Duchy corporate compliance unit in that district." She added dipping her fingers toward the metallic case, and gestured for Scarlet to take it.
"And while you are there," Dr. Maru continued, her sharp eyes scanning both operatives, "try to find a way into the clinic's high-security ward and administer this serum directly into Quive's IV line."
Scarlet picked up the cylinder, her fingers tracing the cold metal casing. "Quive is currently in a critical condition—his vitals flatlined during a sudden neurological crash this morning. Introducing an unverified compound into a dying police officer's bloodstream carries an immense risk of high-visibility mortality."
"It is not an unverified compound," Dr. Maru replied, a faint, cold smile touching her thin lips behind her spectacles. "Think of it as a miraculous serum. It possesses cellular repair capabilities far exceeding anything currently documented in modern clinical science. Quive's brain function will stabilize, his damaged neural tissue will regenerate, and his physical collapse will reverse within hours. The local medical team will categorize his sudden recovery as an unexplained medical miracle—a miraculous survival of a brain dead."
She stepped back, resting her hands inside her coat pockets.
"His recovery will keep the public calm, along with the local police department being satisfied with their his survival, and position Quive precisely where we need him: alive, indebted to our saving grace, and continuing to walk his predictable, moral path while remaining completely oblivious to the biological miracle holding his body together. Once the dosage is delivered, monitor his vitals discreetly, keep Bill on his leash, and report back to me directly."
Rose nodded, her tone crisp and executing. "Understood, ma'am. We will handle the Ohio grid."
"Dismissed."
Rose and Scarlet stepped out of the briefing room, the silver cylinder tucked securely into Scarlet's inner jacket pocket.
Once the pair had vanished down the subterranean corridor, Dr. Maru turned and walked in the opposite direction, leading to the lower complex of the building .
Passing through three security checkpoints—each requiring biometric eye scans, digital clearance codes, and pressurized decontamination gates—she entered the subterranean facility lab. The space was vast, sterile, and cold, filled with rows of automated centrifuges, glowing bio-reactors, and high-tier genomic sequencing monitors. The air smell was surprisingly normal and fragrance which pale in comparison to how the usual laboratories were.
At the far end of the facility stood a massive, isolated glass chamber.
Reinforced with eight-inch-thick, bulletproof, sound-dampening tempered glass and encircled by heavy electromagnetic containment rings, the chamber was a high-grade isolation cell which were In narrow long rows. Inside, the environment was completely bare devoid of furniture,as if save for a seamless white floor and a single overhead light casting a calm shadowless glow.