"That," Gideon said, "is a little deencryption routine I wrote the other night. I hacked through some of the lab data without any problems, but one of the files has an extra password lock on it. My usual bag of tricks didn't make a dent in the encryption, so I'm coming at it from another angle."
"And it's working?" Lucan asked, watching the dizzying code fill the monitor and keep on going.
"It's working," Gideon said. "But going a lot slower than I'd hoped. The program's been running for roughly twenty-four hours and that's all it's returned. At this rate, we're looking at another four or five days to crack the whole sequence. Assuming the program's results are accurate."
Lucan grunted. "And we have no way of knowing what's in the file even if we crack the encryption."
"Right," Gideon replied. "But since Dragos took the extra step to lock it down with multiple safeties, I'm guessing whatever's inside is intel we're gonna want."
"Agreed, but another four or five days could be too late to make use of whatever we find in there. Tell me you have something more than this."
Gideon nodded. "I've been hacking into the GPS transmissions that Hunter sent us while he was down in New Orleans. Since that intel led us to Corinne's son, maybe we can get a bead on Dragos's other Hunter cells across the country. We locate those cells, we can start taking them out one by one. Disassemble Dragos's homegrown army from the ground up."
"Sounds like a plan. We need some wins, now that we're beginning to see all that Dragos has been doing in the years - hell, the decades - he's been running unchecked."
"A female Gen One," Gideon mused, getting busy on one of the keyboards in front of him.
"How is it she's been living among the humans all this time? And what the hell did Dragos stand to gain from creating her in the first place?"
"Questions I have myself," Lucan replied. "We'll have the chance to debrief her once Tegan and the others collect her from Rowan's place."
Uncertain if Tavia Fairchild would be cooperative, Lucan had sent Hunter and Niko along with Tegan. Renata went too, not only because the presence of another female might offer some sense of comfort to Tavia, but also because of Renata's unique Breedmate ability. Niko's mate had the power to temporarily immobilize any of the Breed using the ESP strength of her mind. Unfortunately, the industrial-strength migraines she tended to suffer afterward meant Renata used her talent sparingly.
"What about Chase?" Gideon asked. "Did Rowan tell you anything about him when he called?"
"Only that he was there at Rowan's Darkhaven, and that he looks like hell." One more reason Lucan felt it was a good idea to send Renata down to Boston tonight with the rest of the crew. "For better or worse," Gideon said, "I gotta say I'm relieved to know that Harvard is still breathing."
"Don't get your hopes up where he's concerned," Lucan replied, but the truth was, he too was relieved that Chase was still alive. And more than a little grateful that he'd brought Tavia Fairchild to the Order's attention. This, on top of the personal risk Chase had taken in surrendering himself to the humans the morning of the compound's raid. He'd likely saved more than one life that day, an act of sacrifice that still humbled Lucan to reflect on now.
Lucan was the Order's leader all this time because he knew when to draw the hard lines in the sand, but he also knew when those lines should be allowed to bend.
Sterling Chase was more tarnish than shine lately, but he wasn't a total lost cause.
Lucan ought to know. He'd been there himself not so long ago.
"What was it like?" Gideon had turned away from his computer keyboards and was watching Lucan from behind the icy lenses of his shades. The tech genius's usual jocularity was replaced with a sober quiet as he stared at Lucan now. "You've never said what it felt like to brush up against Bloodlust."
It didn't take much to recall. Lucan's struggle with his own feral nature had eased some since Gabrielle had come into his life a year and a half ago, but the memory of it wasn't far out of reach.
"It was hell," he admitted. "Unrelenting, all-consuming hell. Hunger and aggression were constant. It's a dangerous combination, self-destructive. The thirst fuels the compulsion toward violence, and violence intensifies the urge to hunt and feed." He bit off a curse. "As bad as I had it, Tegan endured something even worse."
Gideon gave a grim nod. He knew the basics of Tegan's history. "He lost his Breedmate and went Rogue. You saved him."
"Several long months of seclusion and near starvation saved Tegan, not me. Even then, there had been no guarantee that he'd come out better on the other side." But he had, in spite of everything, even the grief and rage that had owned the warrior. Lucan was glad that somehow Tegan still considered him a friend. A brother. "It was a long time ago, centuries for him, but I can tell you that the itch of Bloodlust never leaves you completely. Tegan came out of his tailspin over time. A great deal of time - something we can't offer Chase right now, with Dragos on the loose."
One of Gideon's brows quirked over his serious eyes. "The walls of the fallout shelter beneath this Darkhaven are made of steel and concrete, twenty inches thick. There's a triple- reinforced door built to withstand a nuclear blast. Ought to be strong enough to hold one pissed- off vampire until we do have time to deal with him properly."
Lucan held the warrior's gaze, feeling a spark of conspiracy tug at the corner of his mouth. "I've already been down to check out the situation myself. Took a look right after I spoke with Rowan tonight."