Kerrigan pulled herself to the edge of the bed and rummaged through her jacket to find her phone. She felt her strength ebbing as she pressed the speed dial for Breanna.
"Miss? Is something wrong? Why are you calling so late?"
"Breanne. Track my cell. Gah. Bring. Bring the emergency kit. I am up the mountain somewhere."
"Miss?! Kerrigan?! Are you ok?"
"Hurry."
Kerrigan felt the last of her strength leaving her as she pulled herself onto the bed. She lay out trying to quiet her racing heart. As the shock of the evening hit in full force, she slipped into unconsciousness.
Kerrigan awoke to Breanna shaking her awake and sliding onto the bed behind her, cradling her head. "Kerrigan? What the hell did you get yourself into? Stevic, search the grounds, make sure no one else is in the area. Lear, search that man, and figure out who he is. Reilynn, help me with Kerrigan."
A fiery looking young woman dressed in what could only be described as dark stealth armor came over and opened a kit to begin working on Kerrigan's wounds. Kerrigan noted red hair poking out from beneath a dark cowl. She worked deftly as she untied Kerrigan's makeshift bandages and began cleaning the gash to her leg.
Breanna worked on her arm, "Silly girl. Whatever did you get into? How did this happen? I thought we trained better than this."
"Lost focus. Got me in the garage. Chloroform and then something he called mind rot."
"Shit." Breanna stopped what she was doing and looked seriously at Kerrigan. "Did he actually get you with the mind rot?"
"I think so. He talked as if he did."
"Fuck sake girl. Reilynn, I don't know, do we have anything in the kit?"
"Not for mind rot," the girl said, her accent carried a pleasant lilting brogue. "If she was daft enough to mess with that, she must be a mule indeed if she is even still talking. How long ago did'ja say he stuck ya?"
"How long did it take you to get here?"
Breanna checked her watch, "No more than half an hour."
"Double that. He got me before we left Dragon Corporation."
Reilynn tsked, "Daft mule indeed. It's had plenty'a time to work then. She should be drooling all over herself."
"Thankfully I am not." She looked to Breanna and whispered, "Abraxas."
Breanna's eyes went wide, but she nodded and continued tending her arm.
Lear walked over and handed Breanna a phone and a wallet. "Man's name seems to be Timur. I have heard the name before. He is a hired cutter. Nasty piece of work. She is lucky to be alive and the fact he is dead is nothing short of a miracle. Abraxas be praised on that account."
"Any clues as to who hired him?" Breanna asked.
"Isn't that obvious?" Kerrigan asked.
"Kerrigan, I get the same files Natalie reads to you. I am the one who sends them to her. I know just how many threats you get each week, including the ones that never reach your ears," Breanna quipped.
Kerrigan frowned at that but refrained from commenting in front of the group, "Well in this case, my money is on Kelan Benedict."
The room went silent for a moment. Breanna finally said, "I thought the rumor was he was petitioning the Prima for your betrothal. Why would he target you?"
"I think it was a mistake on that guy's part. He mistook me for Katie."
"Ah." Several nods around the room, they all knew what had befallen Katie and had helped in her defense the last few nights.
"I was in her car earlier tonight. Perhaps he was tailing that. didn't bother checking the person in the car."
Leer spoke up, "Odd of this one not to confirm things. He is known to be quite the professional. But then again, we only ever catch wind of disappearances and rarely find much evidence. Nothing official anyway. He does like to send out a calling card a few days after."
Reilynn held out her hand for Timur's phone. Kerrigan watched as she quickly swiped a series of codes on the screen. It chirped and unlocked. "How?" Kerrigan asked.
"His prints are smeared on the screen," Reilynn relied absently. she scrolled till she found what she was looking for and then held it out to Breanna. "I can't confirm from this if it was Kelan, but whoever it was has used Timur before and will expect a confirmation when the deed is done. Looks like Timur sent a picture. I can see why it might have been confused for Katie. She is in the girl's car, and when has Kerrigan ever worn pink?"
Breanna nodded.
Reilynn continued "We should send the same message he used the last time in case it is a code."
"Agreed. Go ahead," Breanna replied.
Kerrigan watched a Reilynn typed a quick message. "What now?"
Breanna looked seriously at her, "I think you need to go into hiding. Make it look like this was successful. We don't know who for sure did this. And until I can scope out the situation, its too dangerous for you to be out in the open. I think we need to get you out of Velyki all together."
"Breanna, I have a company to run. I have meetings, business doesn't stop."
"You can run it remotely through Natalie. But as far as most people are concerned you disappear. Even Natalie will not be 100% sure. You can relay things through me so there is no direct communication."
"And just where am I to go? And what about Katie? What if they try again on her and her family?"
"Katie... I will deal with. Her family will be cared for. You on the other hand, will disappear into the hands of the Dovari. There are hidden loyalists everywhere, even now."
"But which ones can we trust?"
"Reilynn with be your shadow. She will guard your back. But as for the where, I believe you said you found Celia's Deimaar in Jinstain right?"
"Well... not exactly."
Abraxas stirred within her mind, "Nuri is Dovari. Sahvot"
Kerrigan looked Breanna in the eye, "Dreadnaugh Law firm."
"Lawyers? What about?"
"There is a man there Abraxas trusts. Contact Mr. Nuri," Kerrigan insisted.
Breanna looked at each of her team, when they all nodded, she said, "Fine. Leer, you and Stevic dispose of this body and clean this cabin. Make it so no one knows it was ever used. Find a cave or something if you can for the body, somewhere it is not likely to be found. Reilynn, you are with Kerrigan. Get her to the train station. Dreadnaught is in Jinstain, so it will take some time to get there. I will send Gabrielle and Evelyn to join you near the station. Remember, no one is to see Kerrigan. No one can know she is alive."
Reilynn nodded.
"Kerrigan, your phone. No one can be able to ping its signal."
Kerrigan reluctantly handed it over. "Please don't smash it. Get it to Natalie. It has company data on it that she can get off before it is smashed. It will save me months of work."
"I will see what I can do. Now go, take the rover. There are more medical supplies in there for the trip and I will make sure Gabrielle and Evelyn are fully stocked before they meet you. Abraxas guard you."
"He already has helped, more than you will ever know." Kerrigan said as Reilynn helped her up, and supported her weight as they stumbled to the waiting Rover.