Midnight Rising (Midnight Breed 4)

"We're going to need Gideon to run some record checks," Lucan said, flipping out his cell phone and speed-dialing the warrior's quarters. He murmured a greeting and an abrupt apology for the intrusion, then gave Gideon the same news Rio and the others had just shared with him. As the four of them headed down the hallway toward the tech lab, Gideon's personal command center, Lucan finished up the short conversation and snapped the cell phone shut. "He's on the way. I sure hope like hell you're wrong about this, Rio."

"So do I," he said, no more eager than anyone else to consider the possibility.

It didn't take Gideon more than a couple of minutes to join the impromptu meeting. He came into the lab in gray sweats and a white muscle shirt, sneakers unlaced like he'd just shoved his feet into them and ran. He dropped ass into the wheeled swivel chair at his computer command center and started launching programs from several of the machines.

"Okay, we're sending feelers out to every reporting agency and Darkhaven resident bank, including the International Identification Database," he said, watching the monitors as data slowly began to scroll up on the screens. "Huh. That's odd. You said one of the two dead Gen Ones was out of Seattle?"

Nikolai nodded.

"Well, not according to this. Seattle came back with zip - no recent deaths reported. No record of a Gen One in their population at all, although that alone isn't completely unheard of. The IID's only been around for a few decades, so it's by no means thorough. We have a few of the Breed's eldest members catalogued, but the majority of the twenty or so Gen Ones still breathing tend to be a bit protective of their privacy. Rumor has it that more than a couple of them are bona fide recluses who haven't been near a Darkhaven for a century or more. I guess they feel they've earned some autonomy after about a thousand or more years of living. Ain't that right, Lucan?"

Lucan, himself aged around nine hundred and not in the IID register, only grunted in response, his gray eyes narrowed on the computer monitors. "What about Europe? Anything coming back on the Gen One that Reichen mentioned?"

Gideon banged out a lightning-fast sequence on his keyboard, burrowing into yet another secured software system like it was child's play. "Shit. Nope, nothing showing up there either. I gotta tell you, this level of silence is eerie as hell."

Rio had to agree. "So, if no one's reporting Gen One deaths, there could actually be more than just the two we know of so far."

"That's something we need to find out," Lucan said.

"How many Gen Ones are registered in the IID across all Breed locations, Gideon?"

The warrior ran a quick search. "I've got seven between the States and Europe. I'm sending the report of names and Darkhaven affiliations to the printer now."

When the single-page listing came off the laser, Gideon swiveled around and handed it to Lucan. He looked it over. "Most of these names are familiar to me. I know of a couple more that aren't listed. Tegan can probably come up with a couple more too." He put the list of data down on the meeting table so that Rio and the others could have a look. "Any Gen One names you see missing from that list?"

Rio and Chase shook their heads.

"Sergei Yakut," Niko murmured. "I saw him once in Siberia when I was a kid. He was the first Gen One I ever knew - hell, the only one, until I came to Boston and met Lucan and Tegan. Yakut's name is not on this list."

"You think you could find him if you had to?" Lucan asked. "Assuming he's not already some long years dead, that is."

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."

It wasn't until after he'd said it that Rio realized he was using the word "we" when talking about the warriors and their goals. He was including himself in his thinking about the Order. More than that, he was actually starting to feel a part of the whole again - a functioning, valid member - as he stood there with Lucan and the others, making plans, talking strategy.

It felt good, in fact.

Maybe there still could be a place for him here after all. He was a mess and he'd made some mistakes, but maybe he could get back to what he was before.

He was still reaching out for that hope as a little beep started up on one of Gideon's monitoring stations for the compound. The warrior wheeled over to the computer, frowning.

"What is it?" Lucan asked.

"I'm picking up an active cell phone signal here in the compound - not one of ours," he replied, then looked over at Rio. "It's outbound, originating from your quarters."

Dylan.

"Holy fuck," Rio ground out, anger spiking - at himself and at her. "She said she didn't have one on her."