The first body hit the marble less than thirty seconds after Arion crossed the threshold.
So much for surrender.
The central entrance hall was enormous, built to impress before Claudia's people had converted half of it into something closer to a fortified command post. White stone climbed three floors around an open atrium, dark metal walkways cutting across the upper levels where decorative balconies had once been, while reinforced doors had been inserted between old carved columns with absolutely no concern for aesthetics.
The defecting soldiers had warned them that the remaining specialists refused to leave.
They had neglected to mention how enthusiastic those specialists were about dying.
A man in a laboratory coat stepped from behind a pillar with a handgun.
Arion caught the movement before the weapon cleared the fabric.
His pheromones struck first.
The man's knees buckled as the sigma pressure hit him, but he still managed to pull the trigger.
The shot went wide.
