Conor spun and jumped back just as a large black vehicle slammed into the curb and stopped inches from Conor, nearly pinning him to the low brick wall surrounding the outdoor eating area. “What the hell mates?” Conor yelled, slamming his hands on the hood. Five men in masks jumped out, each brandishing daggers. “Shit,” Conor said, backing to where Kerrigan and Reilynn were. “Out the back?” Kerrigan asked, just as the door to the store slammed shut and the lock click into place. “Guess that is not an option,” Conor said, grabbing a fork and butter knife off a table. Kerrigan reached down and pulled a small blade from her boot. “Back to back?” Reilynn stepped forward as the first attacker ran up, “Triad, I am the point.” She pulled two extendable batons and flicked them to full length. “We push to the road; Parker will be here momentarily. He will form the quad.” The attackers were hindered by their vehicle blocking the narrow entrance in the brick, so two hopped over the wall wh
Kerrigan and Conor arrived at Vokrizin twenty minutes later. Kerrigan noticed that there were even more guards at the front and throughout the halls than even when she had first arrived. Apparently, Eli was not taking chances and had called everyone up from their time off for duty. When they arrived at the conference room, Mr. Nuri was there with Jared. They had several document packets laid out for each of them. “Please come in and sit. I was heartened to hear you both are ok. I am sorry about Reilynn.” “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Nuri. Now, what is this all about?” Kerrigan asked. Mr. Nuri had a stern look when he clicked on a recording of the news and let the announcer talk about the changes at Dragon Corporation. When the newscast was over, he simply said, “It looks like Prima Zadok and Mr. Benedict have been busy.” “That bastard. I would bet anything that it was him that tried to have us killed today. If I am gone, he and Zadok will have free reign of Dragon Corporation!
As they were about to leave, Conor turned back to Mr. Nuri, “Oh, can you please have Miss. Brooks get in touch with commander Eli about finding Kerrigan and her guards a house? Perhaps one of those gated communities.” “Of course. I will make sure she has a few agents start working on that right away.” Kerrigan stopped as she realized something, “Mr. Nuri, I am not sure how much control I will have over Dragon Corporation funds after this morning.” she said a bit sheepishly. “Never fear about that. Real Estate is one asset that the Dovajun’s coffers never mind adding to the horde.” Mr. Nuri said with a smile. Just outside the door, Conor turned to Kerrigan, “I know neither of us wants to work with Kelan, but perhaps it is best to do so for now. We don’t know to what extent the board will trust him, and I suspect that many of your key staff are not loyal to him. It might be best to just play along for now. Let's get through the Gala for Celia’s blessing. After that, we will have som
Two hours later, Kerrigan sat in the large conference room staring at a screen with the Dragon Corporation board. Thankfully, Zadok and Kelan were not present. Natalie had made sure both were occupied with other meetings to ensure they would not have time for what they would consider a trivial meeting. Mr. Nuri and a lady in her early twenties sat behind the camera, out of view of the board members. Mr. Nuri had introduced his new paralegal as Quinley Rose. Quinley sat tall in her seat, attentive to everything around her. Her dark brown hair was neatly tied back in a short ponytail. Her hazel eyes flashed with pleasure as Kerrigan nodded in her direction. “Good morning, Gentlemen,” Kerrigan began. “Miss Lokir, it is good to actually see you and confirm you are alive. I must admit, you gave us a bit of a shock showing up on TV without having heard from you in some time,” the chairman said. “Please forgive my absence. While I have been away from the office, I have remained in contact
The next morning Conor knocked on the door of his old office. Kerrigan was already waiting but said, “I just need to grab something,” She darted into the hidden suite while Conor texted Parker to finish readying the team. A minute later, Kerrigan was back, clutching her violin case. “Ready.” “Planning to play some with the kids?” Conor asked, nodding towards the violin case as they headed down the hall. “I promised the violin shop owner that I would practice. The community center, as broken down as it is, has some amazing acoustics,” she replied simply. Parker, Evelynn, and Gabriella met them outside and loaded up into the SUV. “Eli will have a small contingent waiting at the center,” Parker explained as they headed out. At the Community center, Conor started to follow Kerrigan as she made her way through the main gym and down to where several large rooms were, but Kerrigan shooed him away stating she was fine alone and that he didn’t need to babysit her. She turned away with a smi
Conor sat in the back of the SUV while Parker drove. Eli had sent another whole team with them to secure the community center, so he was not worried about Kerrigan. As Parker pulled into Vokrizin, another guard stepped up to open the door for Conor. Blue lights flashed and several police vehicles rushed in, attempting to block them from all sides. Guards poured out of the building with guns drawn and surrounded Conor, ushering him inside. “Go, Go, Go.” “Freeze! No one move!” came a voice over a loudspeaker from one of the police units. Conor was pulled inside the building and passed Mr. Nuri, who was heading out to deal with the situation. “Never fear, Mr. Brantley. I will deal with the police.” Conor was taken to the secure suite, and he pulled up the bank of monitors. He did his best to ignore the clothes and other items in the room that made it clear this was no longer his space and focused on the situation outside. Mr. Nuri was talking with one of the officers. “This warrant
Kerrigan watched Conor leave before she found a corner of the gymnasium at the community center and an old metal chair. She set up her violin and drew it to her chin. The bow felt good in her hand as she pulled it across the first set of strings. She lost herself in the notes as she put sound to her emotions, letting the music flow out of her as an extension of her soul. When the notes finally ebbed, she lowered her bow and opened her eyes to a small sea of faces looking up at her. “WOW,” little molly said. “Are you a fairy? I hear they play like that!” Holly commented. “Can you teach us?” Hannah asked. Kerrigan was speechless for a moment before asking, “How long have you all been here?” The girls looked at each other and giggled. “You play beautifully.” one said. “Will you come and play for us more often?” “I might have a friend,” Kerrigan said with a knowing grin. “He makes violins. Would you all like to meet him?” “Yeah!” they shouted in unison. After she had assured the
The next day Kerrigan exited the office suite to see Anna Brooks setting up a presentation in the conference room. She ducked her head in the door and asked sweetly, “Ana, right? Did Conor remember to ask you about houses?” Anna looked up and nodded, “This is actually for you. I have a number of options if you would like to come in and see.” Kerrigan entered the room, but felt like something was off. Anna remained extremely professional but seemed distant. “We may be able to eliminate some of these depending on your needs,” Anna explained, pulling several homes up on the screen. “Why don’t you list some of the things you believe are essential and we can go from there.” “Ok, well, there will be four of us staying there, so I think four bedrooms is important. While the girls can share a room, I think if we are going to be here for any length of time, each having our own space is key.” Anna toggled a setting and several houses fell off the list. “Um, Reilynn will be recovering, so