*** Breanne POV Targu Province, Temple of Abraxas***
Breanne slipped through the halls of the temple of Abraxas on silent feet. She had trained here every day of her life since she was five and knew every hall and every room better than the back of her hand. The kids who grew up here had always mastered these halls better than any one else thanks to their endless games of hid and seek, chase, and cat and mouse. Today, she was tracking Kelan Benedict.
The traitorous bastard had been spotted on the trolly lift by one of her loyal guards who had alerted her. She had left Dragon Corporation and was now closing in on where that bastard had gone. Her sources had guided her to the wing where the Prima held his office. Fresh Dragoon guards patrolled the corridors now that she had never seen before. These men must be some of the Prima's personal pets then.
She twisted out of sight and down another hall and opened a small door. Brooms and buckets greeted her but she closed the door behind her blanketing herself in darkness. She pulled out a small pocket light and looked up, spotting a grate above her head. She smiled and stood on one of the buckets, sliding the grate to the side.
As a child, this had provided a grand hiding space for her. Now, it would serve another purpose. Unbeknownst to most of the current monks, many of whom had only been transferred here in the last five to ten years, all of the floors had these tunnels carved through them. The original builders had designed them with the ability to pump heat through the building during the cold winters. She had once found where they came out on a molten lake of fire deep in the mountain, likely a long forgotten lava flow.
The stone conducted the warmth well and even now, it almost singed her hands to touch the onyx. She pulled on thick gloves and made her way along the tunnel toward her goal. After several twists she found the opening that should be near Zadok's office. She looked out, and saw several pairs of feet. Then the voices drifted to her.
"The board is worried about Kerrigan. She has not been seen or heard from in days. They are use to her breathing down their necks daily, and now? Now she suddenly disappears. Natalie insists she is just on vacation. That woman has not taken a holiday without my say so in over 18 years. When she did, we were in constant contact the whole time! Did you do something Kelan? So help me. If you-"
"If I what, Zadok? Seriously, if she disappeared like this wouldn't that be all the better? Just vanished, with her aid claiming she is on vacation? If she vanishes while on vacation, no one questions you, no one questions me. People disappear all the time on trips, and its sad, but not out of the ordinary, even for a top person like a company president. Now you can take your place as CEO and claim all fo dragon Corporation. Isnt that what you wanted all along? What is the issue?" Kelan said.
Silence followed before Zadok said, "Fine, then is she dead? If we press the board, she is not going to reappear is she?"
"Right now, my sources say she ran off to Jinstain for some reason." Kelan replied simply.
"Then what the fuck are you trying to pull, Kelan? Why all this ruse? You had me scared half to death that you had murdered her right in my own gods damned back yard with no way to cover it up!"
"Peace, man, Peace. With her in Jinstain, its all the better. We are less likely to be blamed for anything happening there. Besides, our aim is not to publicly replace her, just aid her. It looks less hostile and no one will question adding leadership. You take your place as CEO to give proper supervision, and place me as your general manager. She can maintain her position as president and be COO or even Chief Financial Officer if need be. Put her in charge of charity work. As general manager I can still help manage the majority of operations and lock her out of the company. When she suddenly is attacked by criminals in Jinstain, that lawless city that took Rania from us, well, who could blame us?"
There was silence again before Zadok said, "Just make sure you don't fuck up this time. The board will reconvene on Monday to vote. We need to have our assets in place."
"That is plenty of time."
"I will place a team of Dragoons at your disposal. These are loyal to me, and well trained. Use them as you see fit. They are good at scouting and can help make sure she stays in Jinstain and away from the board members. Keep her in hiding until we can convince them to replace her completely."
"You sure you wouldn't want her to just, you know..."
"KELAN! She is the last legitimate heir of the house of Lokir among other things. Don't be stupid."
"Fine. And Zadok you should call an exterminator. You have rats in your temple."
Breanne watched as a set of feet retreated out of the office. She followed those to a vent in the hall. She heard muffled mutterings there.
"Daft fool. She is just as good dead. The Lokir lands would be auctioned off if she is officially ruled dead. Gah."
The footsteps left the hall and disappeared. Breanne made her way back out of the shaft and into her closet again. She had to warn Kerrigan. While they knew Kelan was likely behand things, now it seemed he would try again! She dropped down from her shaft and opened the door to the hall.
"Well, hello little mouse. What might you have been doing in there?" drawled Kelan, two burly dragoons flanking him.
Breanne tried to bolt, but the two dragoons blocked her path. She engaged with a spinning kick, but the tight corridor limited her movement. These men were not her own loyal warriors, or they would never have challenged her. Despite her claims to Kerrigan that she could best five or more of these new recruites, now that she was facing them for real, she had to admit their training was at least on par for newer recruits. With two of them, it was difficult for her to get leverage or a good angle.
Just when she was gaining the upper hand, a heavy weight crashed into her neck from behind, and she collapsed to the ground, dazed. Through blurry vision, she saw three more dragoons had come up behind her, each with a heavy baton in hand.
Then the world went dark.