It took longer than he expected for the knock to come, but when it did, he opened the door to find Kerrigan with long baggy pants. A white blouse loosely hung over her shoulder which he could see was still bandaged. She did not at all look like the finely dressed queen of Dragon Corporation he had seen on several occasions prior. She seemed to be favoring her left leg.
"Do you need a coat or jacket?"
"Please." She said simply.
He slipped back into the room and grabbed one of his coats and helped gently drape it across her shoulders. He led them back out into the office and pulled out a chair for her. She dropped into it heavily, her left leg propped gingerly out to the side.
"What day is it?"
"Umm, it's Sunday afternoon. March third if that helps any."
"Shit."
Conor watched as she rubbed more sleep from her eyes. As he assessed her, he saw numerus bruises and cuts everywhere. Kerrigan tried unsuccessfully to run her fingers through her mat of hair.
"Quit staring. I know I am a mess. I don't suppose you have a brush?"
"I can have someone get you one, of course."
She sighed, giving up on her tangle of hair, "Later. First, where am I? I am guessing if you said your office, then I must be in Jinstain, right?"
"Yes, my office at the Dreadnaught Law Firm tower. This floor is home to Vokrizin. This entire half is the executive suite."
"Is it secure?"
"Very. I have a team made up of several Dragoon veterans. Two more joined this morning."
Kerrigan sat up with a wince at that, "Dragoons? Are you sure you can trust them?"
Conor frowned but then a thought crossed his mind, "Dragoons are normally loyal to the temple of Abraxas, and thus the Prima. Would you have reason to also be on his bad side? I always assumed Dragon Corporation would have a direct connection with the temple." Conor saw she tensed at that.
"Please, Mr. Brantley, at least tell me who the newcomers are. I need to ensure they are ones I also trust. The rest needs to wait."
"Of course. There is a Lieutenant Gabrielle and a Captain Evelynn. They are stationed outside even now." Conor noted Kerrigan visibly relax at the names. "I see you know those two."
"You may be under the false impression you hired them. They in fact are my personal guard."
"I see. Well, that would explain the difference in their behaviors. So, what brings you to my home court, Miss Lokir? It seems you are not in the best of shape for a trip, so I take it this is not business, and I seriously doubt it is a pleasure trip."
Kerrigan gave him a mirthless grin, "Let's just say, someone took business a bit to personal and I decided to end things, and he didn't take it well at all. This was his response."
"That is from a breakup? I hate to see what he looks like."
"Sadly, the scum couldn't bring himself to deliver the message himself. They say don't kill the messenger, but sometimes that can't be avoided." Kerrigan tried to shrug but it turned into a wince, with her clutching at her shoulder and side.
"While I am never one to turn down a beautiful woman showing up in my room, I must admit, I am rather at a loss as to why you chose here. When every you are in town, bed things tend to follow."
Kerrigan was silent for a long moment, thinking about her answer. Finally, she grimaced, "I don't like the idea of waking up naked in a strange bed either. Though I suppose there are worst places I could have ended up. To be honest with you, Mr. Brantley, you were not why I came here. Mr. Nuri was."
Conor chuckled a bit. "Well, I suppose Liam is a lucky man if he was who you were expecting."
Kerrigan sighed humorlessly, too tired to quip, "It was Nuri who Dragon Corporation's security felt had reasonable accommodation and would be able to ensure my safety after this most recent event. As to why Mr. Nuri ended up putting me in your office suite, I have no idea."
"While I don't know why he didn't contact me first, the rational is sound enough. Only a select few on my team even know of the existence of that room as it was designed and built less than a year ago. The security of the whole building has also been upgraded in that year several times. This floor is the most secure and that room has several layers not the least of which is its secrecy. This office is in the executive suite which as its own security features, as well as the Vokrizon office floor. So, if your team contacted Mr. Nuri privately for that reason, that you chose well."
Kerrigan looked a bit stunned, "My own offices don't have that much security. Why do yours?"
"Honestly? It was my team who designed it for me when we first renovated the office. Mr. Nuri is one with great foresight. Though, I would say he does his position great justice because the room has already served me well in several ways in just the last year. But, that brings us back to you and your needs. As I said before, when you are in town, my security tends to be tested shortly after."
"Umm right. Well. I am in a bit of a tight spot on that account. See, thing is, I am supposed to be dead."
"Dead? As in no longer living? How is that supposed to work?"
"Well, I am not supposed to be seen for a while. And I could certainly use the rest for now."
"So, what? You just want to hole up here and disappear for a while?"
Kerrigan snapped, "There is little WANT about it. That jackass, Benedict, and his cronies are going to pay for their actions!" She slumped back into her chair clearly in pain after her outburst. "But right now, I am in no shape to do anything about it, and I have little proof to make any legal claims. My team are the only ones who know I am alive after the attack."
"Benedict? Kelan Benedict did this?"
Kerrigan rolled her eyes, "Don't believe me? Figures that he has bought and paid for this whole town. I don't know what Breanna was thinking sending me here."
"On the contrary, if it is Benedict you are planning to go after, well, I think you are in the right place after all!" Conor said with a grin. "Let's just say for now, there is no love loss between us. As for the use of my suite... I have a place in town so now that I know you are going to be here I will not disturb you. I will also make sure my team knows not to disturb you either. Don't worry, nothing will leak from this executive wing."
Kerrigan searched Conor's face before saying cautiously, "Thank you."
Conor stood, and walked over to the bookshelf, "When you want back in, here is the activation." He pulled a book and slid a statue. "All in all, it's just a fancy safe room so it's not like there are any trade secrets in there. I will have my team move my stuff to one of the other offices first thing tomorrow and you can use this one. Though, I suppose if you are dead... not sure how much work you can really do. Tomorrow, we will meet with my team and make some more substantial plans."
Kerrigan winced again but nodded her thanks.
"Before I leave, should I send for some food for you?"
"Please. If you could just send Evelynn here, that would be great. And Mr. Brantley, thank you, again."
Conor nodded and headed out.