The day Simon and his father called his sister at the Academy was the same day he received his last letter from her. After that final correspondence there had been no more and Simon’s heart broke with the absence, especially now that he knew exactly what she was trying to tell him.

He’d been scouring the cortex for weeks, searching for any clues that might lead him to this Academy that he now knew to be a lie. Every minute when he was not at work or catching a few hours of restless sleep, he was on the Cortex, searching, scanning, digging. And he had nothing to show for it.

Until today. He’d found an address, an old address connected to one of the first documents published by the Academy. Simon had latched onto this discovery, a newfound hope blossoming in his heart. I’m coming mei mei.

And then he’d searched some more and discovered that the address was in a blackout zone – an Alliance controlled portion of the city closed off to civilians. There were cases of course of people infiltrating the areas, some thrill-seeking junkies actually got off on the chance to thwart the mightiest power in the ‘verse. Simon had never been one of them before, but if it would lead him to his sister, he would go anywhere, do anything, regardless of the consequences.

Wearing dark clothes and his warmest coat – it was almost winter – Simon had made his way into the area just as night fell. He had managed to find the building that corresponded with the address. It was abandoned of course, appeared to have been for years, but the sight of it, sitting empty and dormant struck him deeply. He feared the same fate might have already befallen his sister. Did she consider herself abandoned? Cast aside by parents and a brother who had willingly turned her over to an unknown fate? He shuddered to consider it.

Just as his hope was fading he’d been picked up, dragged to a local precinct, where he was now, sitting in a jail cell, doing his best to ignore the leering looks of the whores, both male and female, who occupied this holding cell with him. He’d already called his father, dreading doing it, but knowing he had to. He did not relish their conversation once the elder Tam arrived to bail him out.

Glancing to a chrono visible through the bars of the cell, he released another heavy sigh. His shift had started, he was late. Now Doctor Banks had a real reason to tattle on him and Simon hated to know he’d given the man just cause. He was a pompous and arrogant fool who enjoyed his position of power just a bit too much. But it was all inconsequential now, his job, his status, his position in society – nothing mattered to him until he knew his sister was again safe.

Resting his head against the wall of the cell, he wrapped his arms tightly around himself and waited for his father – and the inevitable argument that would follow.

---- ----

The ride back to the estate had been tense, the anger sparking between father and son like lightning. As soon as they had pulled into the driveway, Simon bounded out, barely waiting for the vehicle to stop. Gabriel did wait, trying to quell his rage at his son and remind himself that obviously Simon’s delusions had taken on a dangerous level of realism for his son. He and Regan could no longer pretend that their son was all right.

Striding through the front door, he met Regan’s shocked gaze. Rushing to him, her hands clenched tightly before her, she asked breathlessly, “Gabriel, he didn’t say a word, just rushed up stairs, mumbling something about getting River’s things.” Her eyes following the path Simon had taken just seconds before, she looked back to her husband and asked, “What happened?”

Taking her firmly by the shoulders, Gabriel looked her in the eye, wishing he did not have to break such awful news to his wife. “I think Simon is suffering from some kind of mental break. He’s obviously delusional and tonight was the final proof.”

“A mental break?” Regan’s hand flew to her mouth as she tried to comprehend her husband’s words. How could Simon, their perfect son, be crazy? It seemed so unbelievable. Tears welling in her eyes, she finally managed, “Oh, Gabriel, what can we do?”

“Help him, Regan,” Gabriel said firmly, moving from her side and jogging up the stairs to find his son. Regan followed, pulling her heavy skirts up, trying to match his pace. “All we can do is get him the help he needs.”

In silence, they made their way first to Simon’s old room. Noting that it was empty, they crossed the hall and instead found him in River’s bedroom, an open satchel on her bed, a few clothes and books visible inside of it. Walking into the room from her closet, Simon did not spare either of them a glance, as he moved forward and placed his latest items in her bag.

Their eyes following his every movement, Regan and Gabriel stood dumbfounded for a second. Simon was so sure, so confident in his task, moving with the ease of a man on a mission. It was indeed as bad, if not worse, than they’d thought.

Moving to stand in his path, Regan waited until he had turned to face her, before asking quietly, “Simon, dear, what are you doing?”

Glancing to her for a second, Simon easily side-stepped her, heading for River’s bookcase as he said, “River will want some of her things with her once I get her out.”

“Out of where, son?” Regan was willing her voice to remain steady, but she was finding it difficult as fear for Simon and fear of his behavior, consumed her.

“Out of that prison, that torture chamber.” He spoke in a detached tone, as if he were discussing the weather or wine, and this chilled Regan and Gabriel both. Pulling a few of River’s most favorite novels from the shelf, his eyes continued scanning for one in particular. Not finding it, he turned back to place the books in the open bag and asked, “Do you know where her copy of The Once and Future King is? I know it’s her favorite.”

“Simon, stop this.” Gabriel’s tone was his most authoritative and commanding. Watching as Simon’s hands stilled, he waited until the boy’s cold blue eyes had alighted to his face, before continuing. “Your mother and I realize now that you need help and we’re willing to get it for you. But you have to stop living in this delusion.”

Snorting with derision, Simon crossed his arms over his chest, his lips pressed into a thin line as he regarded them both coolly. “It’s not a delusion,” he said firmly. Resting his hard gaze to his father, he added, “And I’m only doing what you asked. You told me to make a choice. Either drop my search for River or never come home again. Obviously, I’ve opted for the latter.”

Regan’s stifled sob startled both men, but it was Gabriel who moved to her side to comfort his wife, while Simon simply closed up the bag he’d packed and headed for the door. Watching him go, Regan turned to her husband, clutching at his shirt in desperation. “Don’t let him go, Gabriel,” she begged. “He needs our help. We have to help him.”

“I know, ai ren,” he told her quietly. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he said, “I’m going to try and reason with him. Why don’t you get some rest?”

She nodded numbly, unable to stomach the thought of watching Simon and his father locked in another battle of wills. Gabriel left her there, shaking like a leaf in River’s room, not hearing her cries as she sank slowly onto her daughter’s bed and prayed for her family.

Gabriel found Simon in the foyer, waiting impatiently for his taxi to arrive. Pausing on the stairs, he regarded his son’s agitated form, trying to think of the best way to approach him. Logic had not worked, nor reason and Gabriel was uncertain what type of tactic would be successful when dealing with someone who was so obviously lost in their own psychosis. He didn’t want to believe his son was crazy, but what other explanation could there be? His extreme tunnel-vision and adamant assertion that River’s life was in jeopardy were not the conclusions of a sane man. Especially not when he was basing his entire assumption on his sister’s letters.

“I’m going father, and I’m going to get River back.”

His voice, firm and hard, broke through Gabriel’s musings and with a sigh the elder Tam moved towards him. Standing just a few feet away, Gabriel finally said, “Simon, think of what you’re doing. You’re throwing your entire future away.”

“My future doesn’t matter if River’s in danger.” His voice did not waver once.

“Simon, do you understand how insane this sounds?” Moving to stand before him, Gabriel took his son lightly by the shoulders and looked deep into his cool blue eyes. He loved his son, whether Simon would believe that or not, he had no idea, but he did. Loved him for all his accomplishments, all his achievements, all his life would someday be. “You’re suffering from delusions of grandeur. Please let your mother and I help you. We’ll get you the best care.”

Shrugging off the man’s touch, Simon told him hotly, “I am not crazy, father. Why you can’t accept that I’m right, after all the evidence I’ve shown you I have yet to understand.” Taking a step forward, he dropped his voice to a menacing whisper and said, “I pray that I’m wrong, that River is just playing some elaborate game, but if I get to her and I’ve been right …” The unfinished sentence hung in the air between them, and Gabriel inhaled sharply as he realized that Simon would place the blame for any harm done to his precious mei mei squarely on his father’s shoulders.

Holding the intense gaze for another moment, Simon finally stepped back, clutching the satchel more firmly as he headed for the door. “If I were you, I’d pray I was wrong too,” Simon told him before he’d opened the door and was gone.

Gabriel stood for a long time that night staring at the closed door, doing his best to not despair over the loss of his son. It was devastating for a father to lose a son, to lose his first born for something as trivial as a game concocted by his daughter.

What Simon didn’t know of course, or rather, what he refused to realize was that Gabriel did pray he was wrong – for his son’s sanity and his family’s integrity.

“Mister Tam?”

“Yes?” Gabriel asked, rising from his seat on the couch, his drink in his hand. Resting a steadying hand to Regan’s shoulder, he greeted the uniformed men who entered the room. “Can I help you?”

The two soldiers who entered, weapons holstered, stepped aside as another man followed behind them. His hands were clasped behind his back, his face expressionless, but still benevolent. He carried no weapons, rank or insignia of any kind. His slanted eyes spoke of Sino ancestry, while his coffee-colored skin spoke of mixed heritage.

Both Gabriel and Regan tensing at the man’s presence although they couldn’t know why, he addressed them in modulated tones, his voice meant to put others at ease. “Please, Mister Tam, sit.” As the older man did so, the inspector strode forward, extending a hand. “I am Chen. I’m one of the chief security officers at the Academy your daughter has been attending.”

Shaking his hand, Regan glanced nervously to Gabriel at the man’s introduction, clutching her husband’s hand firmly in her own. “Is there a problem?” Gabriel asked, doing his best to keep his voice steady. His heart had started to pound uncomfortably in his chest as he realized that something must have happened to River. “Is my daughter all right?”

Not answering, Chen glanced back to one of the shoulders and the man moved forward instantly, depositing a slim data rod into his hand. Gesturing towards the Tams’ dormant wave screen, he asked, “May I?” waiting for his hosts’ nod before approaching the console and inputting the data.

Calling up the stored images, Chen waited to advance them, instead turning back to the distraught parents and asking, “Can you tell me when was the last time you saw your son?”

Glancing furtively to her husband, Regan found her tongue tied, unable to speak, and so Gabriel answered instead. “About six months ago, I’d guess.”

“It was his birthday,” Regan whispered, vividly remembering her son’s angry scowl and the door he’d slammed in their faces. “He didn’t want to see us.”

Rubbing a comforting hand along her back, Gabriel nodded once, affirming the story and Chen nodded in return, before turning back to the screen to press play. Standing to the side, he watched the images again, for the third time in the past two hours. It was really a testament to the boy’s resourcefulness that he’d managed to so successfully infiltrate their facility and, what’s more, get his sister out. Of course, he wouldn’t be free for long, alive only slightly longer. When the boy was carrying something as precious as the Alliance’s prized pupil, there were very few places in the ‘verse he could hide.

As the recording wound to the end, he froze it on the image of River and Simon on the ship’s lift, waiting to be whisked to safety. Turning back to face his hosts, he noted that the mother’s cheeks were now shining with tears, her face drawn with pain and confusion. Gabriel’s on the other hand had only grown more stoic and expressionless, if not a bit paler.

Giving them a moment, Chen finally pointed to the screen, his finger hovering near Simon’s image and asked, “Is this your son?”

Gripping her husband’s hand so tightly her knuckles were white, Regan turned her head slowly to regard her husband as she breathed, “Gabriel?”

Doing his best to ignore the anxiety welling in his gut and the fear in his wife’s eyes, he nodded once and forced himself to speak. “Yes, that’s Simon, our son.”

“And the girl?” Chen asked, moving his finger to point at River’s open face.

“Our daughter, River. She is supposed to be away at school.” Gabriel assumed this was information the other man already knew, he’d simply come to them for confirmation.

“Please,” Regan begged, drawing all attention to her as she turned imploring eyes to the Alliance official. “Please tell us what happened. Where are they now? Are they safe?”

Holding up a hand to halt her questions, Chen flipped off the screen and sat in a chair across from them. Holding each of their worried gazes evenly, he addressed the shaking mother. “Your son, Simon, as you saw by the security feed, managed to infiltrate the school River was attending. He found her in class and kidnapped her, fleeing on an unmarked transport.” Turning to Gabriel, he added, “We are still tracking the ship.”

“They’re missing?” Regan’s voice was barely more than a whisper. Her heart was beating so loudly and painfully for her children, she could hardly be sure she had spoken aloud at all. The thunder of her own blood rushing through her body made hearing and speech nearly impossible.

“For the time being,” Chen confirmed, keeping his eyes focused on the father’s stoic face. “Yes, they’re missing.”

A sad silence hung around Regan’s shoulders like a mantle, weighing heavily on her chest and causing another sharp pain to shoot through her heart. Placing a hand to her breast, she gasped slightly, before burying her face into Gabriel’s shoulder. Her beautiful, bright children were gone, Simon had kidnapped his baby sister and Regan felt her world slipping away.

“I realize this must be a difficult time for you,” Chen intoned, his eyes still locked on Gabriel’s. The man had placed an arm around his wife, but his body was tense, stiff-backed, and there was no compassion in his gaze, only emptiness. “But we need to understand why your son would have gone to such drastic measures. We need to know why he did what he did in order to understand how best to track him and bring him in.”

Clearing his throat, Gabriel knew it would fall to him to explain to this man, this stranger that his son had been acting like a lunatic for almost two years. That his son, the famed surgeon, was in essence, a madman, concocting government conspiracies in an effort to reach his sister and rescue her. Willing his voice to remain steady, Gabriel told him, “Simon has not been well for some time.”

His brow furrowing, Chen pulled out a data pad and stylus and began making notes. “Not well? How? Is he sick?”

Shaking his head once, Gabriel told him, “For some time, almost two years, he’s believed that River has been a prisoner at the Academy. That she was in trouble. He said that her letters contained a hidden code and she was begging him to help her.”

Chen’s face did not betray the discomfort he felt at this information. His superiors had suspected that the Tam girl was in some way getting information out of the facility, and while each of her letters had been scanned for any possible slip, they obviously had not been scrutinized closely enough. “And what did you say to him when he made these assertions?” Chen questioned, barely pausing for a second to digest this news.

“We didn’t believe him, of course,” Gabriel said. “We looked into the Academy and knew that River would be getting the best education. We spoke with her, about once a month and she seemed happy there, if not a little homesick.” Gabriel’s trailed off as he remembered that fateful call two years ago. Simon had been so close to dropping all of this nonsense, but that call with River had set him on a precarious edge and Geoff’s findings had simply pushed him over it.

“It didn’t matter what we told him, he would not let it go,” Gabriel continued. “Finally, he was caught in a black-out zone and I, we, gave him ultimatum. Drop this foolishness or never come home again. He chose the latter.”

Regan choked back a cry as her husband finished his story. Lifting her head from his shoulder, she turned her tear-stained cheeks towards the man and begged, “Please, Simon is a good boy, a great doctor. He must not be feeling well to do something so drastic. Please help him. He just needs help.”

Nodding once, Chen again pocketed his data pad and said, “I don’t doubt that Mrs. Tam. We’ve already spoken with some of Simon’s co-workers, reviewed his files and performance evaluations. This is quite uncharacteristic of him.” Which only proved to Chen and his superiors how dangerous Simon Tam truly was; someone with a future as bright as his did not throw it away casually. And yet, he just had, no more than thirty-six hours ago.

“What will you do?” Gabriel did not like these men who had barged into his home. He was a stalwart supporter of the Alliance, however it always made him uncomfortable when men brandishing firearms were standing in his parlor. “I do not want either of my children harmed.”

Shaking his head once, Chen lied. “Neither do we, Mister Tam. To be honest, we will be issuing a warrant for Simon’s arrest, however, I would recommend that you issue one as well.”

Inhaling sharply, Regan’s eyes darted to her husband and then back to the officer. “What? What for?”

“Kidnapping,” Chen told her. “River is a minor and Simon is not her legal guardian. He has no lawful claim over her.”

“But she’s his sister.” Regan was trying to make sense of this situation her mind spinning with the disparate events they had been forced to confront in the past fifteen minutes. “He would never hurt her.”

“I don’t mean to imply he will,” Chen told her, rising to head for the door. “But whether he injures her or not does not change the fact that he has kidnapped her. And that is a punishable offense.”

Shaking her head in disbelief, Regan slumped back into their sofa as Gabriel moved to see their guests out. Once they were in the foyer, the doors to the parlor closed, the elder Tam addressed the man. “I do appreciate you bringing this to our attention personally,” he said, extending his hand which the other man shook.

“Of course. The Academy, and by extension, the Alliance, feel terrible that something like this could have happened at one of our facilities.” Chen’s veneer was as smooth as any and he knew Gabriel Tam was none the wiser. “We will do everything in our power to return your children to you.”

“We will be issuing that warrant,” Gabriel said finally, the words coming out in a rush. As Chen cocked an eyebrow to him, the other man explained, “I want Simon to get the help he needs. We’ll press charges for kidnapping, but I won’t see my son go to jail. I just want him to get help.”

Clapping a hand to the man’s shoulder, Chen told him, “You are a good father, Mister Tam.”

Nodding to acknowledge the compliment although he didn’t quite believe it, Gabriel watched them leave, calling once more as they headed out the door, “They won’t be harmed, correct? I have your word?”

Hiding a grimace, Chen turned back and smiled tightly. “You have my word, no harm will befall your children while the Alliance is looking for them.”

Satisfied, Gabriel nodded once and watched them go. Back in their craft, Chen murmured, “Of course, once we’ve captured them, I can make no such guarantees.”

---- ----

TBC