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
The three men stepped forward reluctantly. “In the back of Wayne’s van, you will find suits. Don them and help each other. You have three minutes. GO!” Eli commanded. The men hurried to obey while Wayne appraised Karrigan. “Ready for your first test, Girl?” Kerrigan nodded but her body shook slightly with nerves. “Faolan! Dein!” Faolan came to rigid attention and stood between Wayne’s legs. “Come here, girl. Time for you two to bond.” Kerrigan came forward and accepted the leash. “Now, it’s up to you to seal the bond and help her imprint on you. You will start with the commands Dein for Guard, and then Spaan for defend. These will begin to get her used to your voice and know that she is to guard and defend you. Try it now and be firm in the commands. She is used to hearing orders when on duty. You can be soft when she is off duty but always command to show when it's time to work,” Wayne explained. Kerrigan knelt and let Faolan sniff her hand before standing back up and command
The following morning, Kerrigan joined Wayne and Bran at the Jinstain police K-9 training ground. Six dog handlers were present for their annual recertification and Faolan was Wayne’s top choice for showing them the course. Kerrigan was nervous in front of so many experienced handlers, but Bran assisted her in remembering any commands she forgot. Faolan executed the basic course with ease, returning to Kerrigan’s side. The morning training only lasted just over an hour but was an excellent primer for Kerrigan. Watching the other trainers gave her a chance to cement some of the concepts in her mind, and she was both relieved and a bit concerned that even with their years of training, several of the trainers still struggled to control their dogs. If this was the state of the current police force’s more experienced members, she wondered how effective they were in the field. “Never mind the weaker ones. After all, that is why I am here. The department wants me to work with them for the
Later that day, Kerrigan and Evelynn pulled through the gated entrance to the address Anna had provided. The community guard waved them through without much of a fuss after they simply mentioned meeting Anna Brooks. “House is in the back. It has its own street, so its hard to miss.” This entrance led to a series of large homes that had been built some time ago. A new section of the neighborhood was being created and would likely connect to this section within the year. Evelynn drove them to the back of the neighborhood where a narrow paved lane ended with a long driveway. There had been two homes on the corner flanking this private street, but this property felt set aside, separate from the larger neighborhood. No one should be on this private street unless they were visiting the home at the end. Kerrigan let Faolan out of the car first and spotted Anna coming down the drive toward them. “Ah, good you found it without too much trouble. Being tucked back in here I thought you migh
Kerrigan fell into a simple routine of visiting the local police academy to train with Faolan every morning, stopping by the hospital to check on Reilynn, and then visiting either the master craftsmen at the violin shop or going to the community center in the afternoons before returning to Vokrizin to catch up on emails from Natalie. Faolan was brilliant, and the other trainers were envious of her skill and obedience. After the first week of working with the police dog trainers, Bran commented, “Faolan has really taken to you. She never really took to any of the other trainers who worked with her. Even Evelynn seems to be doing well with her.” “Even Evelynn? What is that supposed to mean?” Quipped Evelynn as she jugged past with Faolan on their next circuit of the course. “Damn that one has good hearing,” Bran commented, watching her run past. “Best keep that in mind. Hopefully, we can get Reilynn out here soon. I think the two of them will get along great,” Kerrigan said. “When