D E L P H I N I U M

Benton stopped the car and the rumbling of the engine ceased. I got out of the passenger seat and slammed the door. It echoed inside the parking structure.

We were next door to the building in which the United Nations meeting was being held. The parking structure had been partially blocked off by workers seeking to protect the world leaders inside, but we had gotten through under the guise of being electrical workers. After checking the back of the truck Imperium had provided, they'd permitted us inside.

The worst mistake they could have possibly made. They'd just unknowingly let the wolves into a flock of sheep.

After looking both ways, I saw that the parking structure was free from prying eyes. No one else was here to witness what was about to happen.

So the back doors were opened and Benton and I worked together to lift the metal paneling off the floor. Underneath, the explosives were exposed, their small red lights gleaming.

"They're good to go," Benny told me in English.

"Then we must get going."

With our footsteps echoing in the concrete structure, we made our way towards the exit, still looking like casual workers. We passed by an elevator that would have taken us up to the main building—if it hadn't inevitably been blocked by security. It was no problem; we weren't going anywhere near the actual meeting. In fact, we were moving as far away from it as we could.

The other workers gave us an acknowledging nod as we passed through the exit and into the chaos of the city. Cars honked and swerved through traffic, sky-high buildings rose above us. The sky was a cloudless blue. Just another normal day in the city.

At least, until the bombs went off.

Wordlessly crossing the street, Benton and I made our way to a tall building across the street. It was easily in range. And once we were high enough, we'd have the perfect place to sit and watch.

The elevator was packed with people waiting to get on so we took the stairs. Around and around and around up the zig-zagging staircase we went, completely alone in the journey. That was good, it meant there would be no witnesses to what we were about to do.

When the plaque next to the door read Level 20, I pushed through it and found myself in a modern-looking office building. Not bothering to engage any of the other people inside, I went to the unlocked storage room with Benton in tow.

It was the ideal spot I'd hoped we'd find. Electrical workers inside the storage closet would be relatively normal if someone happened to discover us here. And it even had a small window out the back with a view of the city. If I went right up to it and peered down, I could see the top of the parking structure.

The coast was clear. The workers around the entrance were simply milling about. Had they seen the bombs inside our van, there would be hysteria and panic instead of their calm body language.

"Do it," I told my partner.

Without looking behind me, I knew he'd set the bombs off with the detonator he had hidden in his clothes. I kept my eyes on the structure.

A rumbling could be heard—and even felt—from the building we were in. There were a few confused calls from the people on this level. Then, dust billowed out of every orifice in the parking structure. Part of the roof crumbled inward. Now, the guards fled across the street, unsure if the entire thing would collapse. Cars swerved to avoid the mayhem.

"It's done," I said, still not facing Benton.

The structure was crumbling more. Sirens were beginning to sound in the distance. I gave a small smile. They probably thought there had been a direct hit on the United Nations. But that wasn't quite it.

This was no terrorist attack. This was no direct threat to the United Nations. Not yet. That would come at Orion's order.

For now, we wanted them scared. We wanted them paranoid.

We wanted them to be so fearful for their safety that they'd enlist that wretched crew of criminals for added protection.

And once the crew was present, my hunt would begin.