Nikolai chuckled. "Sergei Yakut is one mean son of a bitch. Too mean for death. I'm willing to bet he's still alive, and yeah, I think I could probably locate him if he is."
"Good," Lucan said, his expression dark. "I want to get a handle on this fast. Just in case we are looking at a potential serial situation, we need to get names and locations of every Gen One in the population."
"I'm sure the Enforcement Agency knows of a few more than what we have here," Chase added. "I've still got one or two friends left over there. Maybe someone knows something or can point me to someone who does."
Lucan nodded. "Yeah. Check it out, then. But I know I don't need to tell you to keep your cards close when you're dealing with them. You may have a few friends in the Agency, but the Order sure as shit doesn't. And no offense to you, Harvard, but I trust those useless Darkhaven ass-kissers about as far as I can drop-kick them."
Lucan turned a serious look on Rio. "As for the other potential you brought up - that the Ancient may be revived and being used to breed a new line of first generation vampires?" He shook his head and exhaled a low curse. "Nightmare scenario, my friend. But it could very well be a solid one."
"If it is," Rio said, "then we'd better hope we get a lead on it soon. And that we're not a couple of decades behind the bastard.">The hairs at the back of Rio's neck did a sudden ten-hut at that bit of news. "How was he killed?"
Nikolai's look was grave. "Bullet to the brain, pointblank range."
"Where?"
"Typically the brain is located in the head region," Chase drawled, his thick arms crossed over his chest.
Rio slid a narrowed glare on the male. "Thanks for the anatomy lesson, Harvard. I mean where was this Gen One at when he was killed?"
Niko met Rio's sober look. "Shot in the backseat of his chauffeured limousine. My contact said the poor bastard was returning from the opera or the ballet or some damn thing, and while he was waiting at a traffic light, someone popped him in the head and vanished before the driver even realized what had happened. Why?"
Rio shrugged. "Maybe nothing, but when I was in Berlin, Andreas Reichen told me about a Gen One killing that happened recently over there. Only this Darkhaven elder ate it at a blood club."
"Those private sports clubs have been outlawed for decades," Chase said.
"Right," Rio agreed, all sarcasm, since the ex - Darkhaven Agent seemed intent on being a prick. "So now they print the invitations in invisible ink and you need a secret decoder ring to get past the door."
"Same MO on the Berlin Gen One?" Niko asked.
"No, not a gunshot wound. According to Reichen's sources, this sports lover ended up losing his head."
Niko whistled low under his breath. "That's two of the top three methods for killing a first generation Breed vampire. Option Three being UV exposure, and let's face it, the least effective way unless you have a leisurely ten to fifteen minutes to devote to your work."
"The two killings could be unrelated," Rio said, not sure his instincts could be trusted on this anyway. But damn if warning bells weren't clamoring in his head like a cathedral belfry on Easter Sunday.
"Something's off," Chase said, finally getting with the program. "I don't like the feel of this either. Two dead Gen Ones in a matter of, what, a week's time? And both of them smelling like executions?"
"We don't know that's what they were," Niko cautioned. "Come on, think of the odds here. If you live for a thousand years or so, you're bound to piss someone off. Someone who might want to shoot you in the back of your limo, or guillotine you at a blood club."
"And the Darkhavens don't want word of either slaying going public?" Rio added.
Chase's tawny brows came together tightly. "Berlin's on hush mode, too?"
"Yeah. Reichen said they were keeping it quiet to avoid a scandal. Doesn't look good to anyone if a pillar of your community gets toppled in a sports club full of blooded, dead humans."
"No, it doesn't," Chase agreed. "But two dead Gen Ones is a pretty serious hit to the entire vampire nation. There can't be more than twenty first generation inpiduals still alive among the entire population - Lucan and Tegan included. Once they're gone, they're gone."
Nikolai nodded. "That's true. And it's not like we can make any more."
A chilling thought sank into Rio's gut. "Not unless we had a live Ancient, a Breedmate, and about twenty years' lead time."
Both warriors looked at him with grave expressions.
Niko raked a hand through his blond hair. "Ah, fuck. You don't think - "
"I pray to God I'm wrong," Rio said. "But we'd better wake Lucan."
Chapter Twenty