"What happened?" Kellan called to him.
"Crowe," Rafe snarled over the tops of the fleeing throng. "Son of a bitch planted a UV bomb in the middle of the damn reception. Lucan's trying to shut it down. He wants a total evac."
Ah, Christ.
Even worse than ultraviolet rounds, a bomb utilizing that kind of technology could wipe out not only the Order but every Breed dignitary in the place.
Which was exactly Opus Nostrum's plan, he realized now.
"Kellan, look." Mira nodded toward the far end of the lobby. "At the elevators."
Reginald Crowe, flanked by a pair of uniformed security personnel, was rushing into a service elevator while the rest of the lobby swarmed with total chaos. Before Kellan had a chance to flash across the distance and stop the bastard, the doors slid closed. Crowe was gone.
"Fuck," Kellan growled as he and Mira ran up on the sealed doors. "He's heading for the roof. Stay here. Stick close to Rafe and the other warriors."
"Let you go after him alone?" she said, not even close to a question. "Like hell I will."
He didn't like it, but he didn't have time to argue with her, especially the way her chin hiked up as she spoke. And besides, Crowe was only human. The two guards with him weren't Breed either, which meant the three of them together would pose little problem for Kellan. Add in Mira's lethal skill with her blades, and Crowe's escape attempt was futile even before it began.
Kellan shot a glance at the service stairwell. Using the speed his Breed genetics gave him, he could be up to the roof in mere seconds. "I'm going up on foot. You take the second elevator."
She nodded and he took off, racing up the several flights to the service access door on the rooftop, just as Crowe and his security detail were taking their first steps across the asphalt. A helicopter waited a dozen yards away, a human pilot seated behind the controls. The engine whined to a start as Crowe strode swiftly toward the aircraft.
Kellan wasted no time. He put a bullet into the back of each guard's head, dropping the pair like bowling pins. Crowe drew up short as his men hit the ground.
"Don't move," Kellan growled. "Don't you fucking move, or you're dead next."
Crowe put his hands in the air and slowly turned around. His golden brows rose in surprise. "Well, this is an amusing development. The rebel leader formerly known as Bowman. I never expected to see a dead man staring at me over the barrel of a pistol this evening.">"You told him," Mira said. She came around in front of him and carefully smoothed her fingers over his healing wounds. "If you're talking about Opus Nostrum, whatever that is, Lucan is already looking into it. You gave him that intel just before you - "
"There's more, Mira. We need to bring Benson in. He's got information about some kind of attack that's being planned, one that involves Ackmeyer's Morningstar technology. We need to interrogate the bastard ASAP."
She gave him a funny look, then shook her head. "Benson's dead. He was killed by the same JUSTIS officers who shot you. They murdered him execution style in a back hallway of the GNC building when he was trying to get away."
Ah, fuck.
Kellan grabbed the T-shirt and shrugged into it. "Lucan needs to know what's going on. I have to see him right now."
"You can't." Mira shook her head. "He's gone. He left with Gabrielle and the rest of the Order and their mates some time ago. Everyone's at the peace summit gala tonight."
The peace summit.
Realization sank in with sharp, icy talons.
"It's going to happen at the gala," Kellan murmured. "When I read Benson, his guilt was over the fact that Opus Nostrum had killed Ackmeyer because of his UV technology and that many more people were going to die because of it too - all under the guise of peace. They're going to use Morningstar as a weapon at the gala tonight."
Lucan's grip was tight on his comm unit as he ended the call with Mira. His curse, vicious and nasty. It drew an aghast inhalation from the Breedmate of a visiting ambassador, who'd been blathering on endlessly to Gabrielle and Gideon's mate, Savannah, for the past twenty minutes about her latest art acquisitions. The female gaped at Lucan, who returned the look with a dark scowl, too distracted by troubling news to be bothered with playing the pleasant party guest.
As the woman made her excuses and scurried away, Gabrielle turned a wry look on him. "Thanks for the rescue. What did Mira want? Nothing's wrong with Kellan, is there?"
"He's fine. Already on his feet, in fact. But he remembered something more from his read on Benson." Lucan's blood ran a bit colder as he took in the sea of people in attendance at the gala. He glanced to Gideon, who stood talking with Darion on the other side of the two Breedmates. "Kellan says Benson was aware of an attack being planned by Opus Nostrum. Something big, involving Ackmeyer's UV technology as a weapon. He believes it may be set to take place tonight."
"Here, at the gala?" Gabrielle whispered. "You don't think that's possible, do you?"
Gideon grunted, his blue eyes dubious over the rims of sleek, silvery-lensed glasses. "Between the Order and Crowe's security detail, this place is locked down. Someone would have to be insane to think they could get in here and wage some kind of assault."
"Unless they're already inside," Dare suggested.
Lucan felt a scowl tighten his face as he considered his son's all-too-probable scenario. With a tilt of his chin, he motioned Tegan, Nikolai, and Hunter over from across the room. "Everyone in here went through metal detectors and weapons scans, yeah?"