Chapter Eighteen
Titus assigned Cato, Alair, and Nikon to check the back of the building. It was one of the most likely areas for an entry point, as it wasn’t as well-lit and the easiest spot to slip in an attacker or bomb.
Clouds covered the sky, leaving dark shadows in the area. The hybrids’ superior night vision prevented the night from being too much of a handicap, but it didn’t push away the eerie feeling settling over Cato.
It still wasn’t clear how the bomb would have gotten in. Getting into the building was one thing and easy, but getting into the Lodge was another.
Ever since the hybrids were made aware of the tunnels running under the Lodge, Titus had made sure they were watched at all times. Lucan was outside the fence, and it was easiest for him seeing as the military still wasn’t aware of his presence.
If one of the townspeople had managed to enter the tunnels with a bomb, he should have been able to tell, given his superior smell and the unusual scents involved. But Titus and Sol hadn’t received any report from Lucan about unusual traffic in the tunnels. He was checking again, but no one held much hope he’d found anything.
There was always the risk the terrorists were using a spray the hybrids had seen encountered before when dealing with the Horatius group. It prevented hybrids from picking up on normal scent trails. Even then, it left an odd scent that most of them were now familiar with.
The military was watching the fence. It’d make sense if a traitor let in a bomber to kill hybrids, but he doubted they’d be willing to let someone in who might kill hundreds of humans.
Whatever had happened, it wasn’t good. Someone would have to pay for a bomb killing human soldiers. The country would want revenge, and scum like the hybrid-hating Senator Woods would be able to deflect the blame from the government or the Group and on to the hybrids.
No matter what, the hybrids would be blamed for this and would likely end up being locked away for good. It would be easy after the hatred they had endured these past few months.
Cato grunted. He still couldn’t believe whoever was targeting the party was willing to sacrifice so many humans, but like Titus had told the colonel, they probably considered it an acceptable loss.
Fucking bastards. They acted like hybrids were the monsters, but hybrids would never casually kill their own kind just to take out some of the enemy.
The whole fucking thing just pissed him off. He was sick and fucking tired of people playing with their lives like god, especially such ruthless pricks.
“Nothing over here,” Alair said.
Cato nodded. They had swept the area several times but hadn’t found anything. They were running out of time.
Something moved in the distance. He clenched his fist and looked that way. If needed, he’d take down a bomber rather than let them get near the building, even if it cost him his own life.
He took in a deep breath and relaxed as the familiar scent of a fellow hybrid reached him. The distant dark shape closed until he could clearly see Lucan.
Lucan sprinted toward him, almost charging, before stopping just a few feet in front of him. He was likely the fastest runner they had at the Lodge.
“Anything at the tunnels?” Cato asked.
Lucan shook his head. “Titus just came by with some of the other men. Things are quiet tonight at the mill. Entirely too quiet. I made my way inside the gate to just check on things. I don’t trust them. Quiet always means trouble.”
Cato scrubbed a hand over his face. There was something they were missing. If the townspeople weren’t at the mill and weren’t in the tunnels, then where in the hell were they?
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered.
He turned to the men to explain but stopped when a loud explosion rocked the building around them. It tossed them to the ground, but they quickly got back up to their feet.
“It came from inside,” Lucan said.
Cato nodded as they raced toward the back door. They had the best chance of getting in there before any of the other hybrids. It would all rest on them to make sure things were handled.
“The townspeople are the waitstaff!” he shouted to them as they entered. “Get as many out as you can.”
The military had screened all the employees, but military screening wouldn’t mean shit if their enemy were using their mind-control signal, which they’d done a good job of refining in recent months.
Even if the townspeople were dangerous, they were just as much pawns in the game as anyone else. Poor mind-controlled bastards. From what the hybrids had seen, some of the even had to deal with the horror of realizing the evil they were doing during a mind-control session, but were helpless to stop it.
And for that matter, it might only be a single person in the whole group who was involved in the attack. The rest were just innocent people trying to earn a living.
“Leah,” Alair said quietly.
Cato’s first thoughts were of Wendy, but he had to trust that she would be all right. She was trained for combat. Wendy would be fine. She had to be.
Red lights flashed as they raced through the kitchen. Nikon stayed behind to help pull the staff outside to safety. Many people rested against the wall or lay on the ground, dazed and couching.
Water from sprinklers rained down on them and didn’t help with the traction on the floor, but Cato pushed through. It was better they sprinklers did their job than people died from a fire.
Shouts and screams sounded from the ballroom. The sounds sent chills to his bones.
He fought to keep his emotions under control as he and Alair stepped into the room. Smoke, water, and debris made it hard to see far in front of them, even with their keen sight.
Chaos reigned. The explosion had ripped a corner completely from the room. Red stains streaked the walls around them, and he tried not the think who had been near when it had gone off. That was no way to die.
In the middle of it all, he spotted Wendy and Colonel Hall shouting orders to the soldiers they came across. The men and women may have been at a party, but they were still members of the Army, and knew their way around tense situations.
The were concentrating on trying to clear out the windows and free people trapped under debris.
He nodded to Alair and then both sprinted to separate rubble piles, yanking wood and metal off trapped people and hybrids.
“Damn cowardly bombing bastards,” Cato growled as he freed two trapped soldiers and helped them up.
Rubble covered the closest door leading outside. They were having to send people through the halls, which caused its own issues.
As he took in more of the horror, a man nearby caught his eye. The vacant stare that met his made his blood run cold. It was one of them. He was sure of it.
“Wait,” he shouted to the man.
Cato ran toward the open door the man was slipping though. Maybe he could get to the bomb before it went off.
The man raised something in his hand, some sort of trigger.
“Shit,” Cato said. He slammed the door shut. A thunderous boom shook the other side. Another explosion burst from another part of the room.
The combined force slammed into Cato and sent him flying from the scene. The heavy metal door slammed into him as he fell hard to the ground. The wall crumbled around the empty hole.
He’d saved the people in the room, but that did little for the fire and structural damage. If they didn’t get out of there, the building would collapse and kill them anyway.
“Cato!” Wendy shouted over the carnage around him.
His mind focused on her voice as he forced himself back from nearly passing out.
He lifted the door off and grunted when he sat up. Nothing he couldn’t recover from.
“Man up, Cato,” Colonel Hall shouted down at him.
Cato wanted to laugh, but damned if she wasn’t right. There wasn’t any time to waste. If they were going to get out of there, he needed to get up. Moving was everything.
Wendy wrapped her arms around him. “Thank God you’re safe.”