Renata dropped down into a crouch next to Mira's chair at the table. "I've got an idea, Mouse. Why don't you come with me and show me what you're making for Hunter?"
"Okay," she answered, then turned to Kellan with a bright grin. "You wanna see too?"
"Sure." The teen shrugged as though he couldn't care less, but he was out of his seat as soon as the word left his lips. He loped along sullenly behind Renata and Mira, a loose shuffle of gangly arms and legs.
"Renata's right about the baby, you know." Savannah addressed everyone in the room.
"I've got a lot of good Southern midwives in my mama's line, and I've attended enough births myself to know that we're probably looking at a matter of days before Tess goes into labor. The way she's carrying, we could be down to a matter of hours."
Lucan felt a scowl pressing into his brow. "Days or hours? We need a few more weeks."
Lazaro Archer met him with a sage look. "Nature doesn't give a damn for convenience, and never has."
Lucan grunted, well aware of that ironic truth. He also knew they could buy valuable time if they could drop a hammer on Dragos somehow, get the bastard on the run again. It was time that they needed to assess a possible relocation of the compound, and time that Tess and Dante deserved in order to deliver their baby under some semblance of normal, peaceful conditions. He looked over at Gideon. "Best-case estimate, how soon can you be up and running if we determine the move to Archer's holding is viable?"
"Have laptop, will travel. Assuming we can establish satellite access up there without any issues, I can get our basic systems limping along in a few hours. The whole enchilada - networks, telecom, security cams, heat and motion sensors, et cetera - is going to take a couple of weeks, minimum."
Lucan expelled a curse along with his low sigh. "All right. Not great news, but we'll have to make it work. What about leads on Dragos?" he asked the assembled group. "Anything turn up on Murdock's possible whereabouts?"
"Nothing firm," Tegan replied from the other end of the table. "I've questioned a few of his known associates, but they came up empty. No one I've found has seen or heard from him since the incident the other night in Chinatown. Meanwhile, Rowan's putting out feelers on Murdock from within the Agency. One way or another, we'll find the son of a bitch."
Lucan nodded grimly. "Let's make it soon, yeah? Right now, he's our best shot at getting the drop on Dragos from this end. While we're working that angle, Hunter's going to run recon tonight on Henry Vachon in New Orleans. Based on the attack Dragos ordered last night, it appears the connection between Vachon and him is more than valid."
A few grave glances met his from the group, silent acknowledgment of the close call Hunter and his civilian companion had survived with one of Dragos's assassins. Brock's expression was the most concerned. Understandable, considering the history he'd had with Corinne Bishop back when he had served as a bodyguard for her family's Darkhaven in Detroit. The warrior had been nearly unrestrainable when he'd been brought up to speed on the details of Corinne's ill-fated reunion with Victor Bishop and the revelations that had resulted from her trip back home to Detroit. He was still visibly outraged over the news.
Chapter Nineteen
"Henry Vachon is obviously scum, with or without a fresh connection to Dragos," he said, his deep voice rumbling with fury. "I'd personally like to see the bastard drawn and quartered, but I hate the idea that Hunter has to leave Corinne unguarded for so much as a minute while he collects the intel we need."
"It concerns me too," Lucan replied. "Hunter's comfortable that they're in a safe place for the time being, but they need to find better shelter. Unfortunately, we can't risk area hotels, nor can we be sure of any of the local Darkhavens. We have to assume anyone in the civilian population down there could have secret ties to either Henry Vachon or Dragos himself."
"What about someone in the human population?" Savannah's question had all heads turning in her direction. "I know someplace they'd be safe for a while. It's not far from the city, but it's about as off-the-beaten-path as you can get."
"Savannah," Gideon interjected slowly. "We can't ask her - "
"Who is the human in question?" Lucan asked. Savannah met his gaze. "My sister Amelie. She's been living on the Atchafalaya Swamp for more than seventy years. And she's trustworthy. The fact that Gideon and I are alive today, standing here in front of you all, is testimony to that."
Gideon nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Savannah and I owe Amelie Dupree our lives. She's solid, Lucan. I'd stake my life on that. I have, actually."
"Amelie knows what Gideon is," Savannah added. "She's known about him since the night he showed up on her doorstep looking for me some thirty years ago, and she's kept our secret all this time."
The newsflash that a human down in the Louisiana swamps was privy to the Breed's existence didn't exactly warm Lucan's cockles. Still, he knew he'd be a fool not to consider the option Savannah and Gideon had just handed him. Human alliances were hardly his first choice - in fact, they ranked about dead last as far as he was concerned - but the situation was desperate and time was definitely not on the Order's side at the moment. "How long do you think it might take to contact your sister?"
"I can call her right now," Savannah said. "I know she'll be willing to help us. All I need to tell her is when she should expect her company to arrive."
"Tell her they'll be there as soon as night falls," Lucan replied.