My Mom was always so supportive and caring. She taught me more than any public-school teacher ever did. Art, language, mythology, and even some types of martial skills. She taught me about armed and unarmed combat. Katana and saber, as well as fencing, were a blast.

I always loved her stories of Arthurian Legend. After all, she named me after King Arthur himself. Our last name was Lafayette. I always liked that it was so close to Le Fay. Mom had her own version of the legend though. Even though it was not terribly appropriate for a young boy, she pointed out that, during the time period of the legend, royal families would often encourage siblings to marry each other. It was seen as a way to keep the royal bloodline pure. Men, in some societies, were also allowed to marry more than one woman at a time. Multiple wives meant more chances for a surviving heir. These ideas were ones I dared not share with classmates or teachers.  

Even the idea she shared that Morgan Le Fay was not fully human was a detail I would not dare to mention. But the name ‘Le Fay’ did seem to imply it. Some translations of the name actually meant ‘The Fairy’.

Mom also differed from most people when it came to legends of Merlin. She implied that he is only a positive character in the legends because he was the only one left to tell the tale. Her view seemed to see him as a manipulative and selfish person who took advantage of the conflict.

For 18 years, my Mom was always there when I needed her. I have no idea what work she did, but she was never away at work. There were no business trips, but she did have a yearly trip to the UK. The reason for the trip was never made clear to me, but she had a friend and her husband who would let me stay at their place while she went. My dad was never in my life. He sent cards and money to me on birthdays but was never directly in my life.

With all of the previous information in mind, why was I standing alone in our kitchen, watching my phone ring and the caller ID displaying “Dad” as the caller.

Tapping the green icon, I said, “Hello?” into the device.

“Arthur! Your Mom programmed my number into your phone in case of emergencies.”

“What is the code word?” I asked. I was barely holding back the panic. She was NEVER not here when I got home after work. “Why are you calling me?”

“The code word is Mordred. Son, I don’t know where she is, but you need to be careful,” my father replied. Oddly, my mind fixated on the gentle lilt of a Spanish accent in his speech. “I know it’s strange for me to call, but I need you to focus. Your mother always contacts me when she leaves the house and tells me how long she expects to be out. She advised me five hours ago and said she would be back in three hours.

“Is her car in the driveway? Do you have your car fueled up?”

“I understand. Her car is not in the driveway. Mine has three quarters of a tank. Why are you asking?”

“I need you to take the bag your mother made you put together for emergencies and add any important things that you might need to go camping. Pack it all in your car and call me back when you are in the driver’s seat,” the connection dropped as soon as my father stopped speaking.

It took me ten minutes to grab my bag and put the camping gear in my car. I called my father back from my contacts. It was odd that I had never noticed the contact before. “I am in the car,” I said.

“I am sending you an address. Put it into whatever mapping app you have and go there. I will have a messenger meet you there with a package and directions.” The line went dead again.

The text with the address came through. It was a place in a seedy part of the south side of town. It took me forty-five minutes to get there in moderate traffic.

A stern looking woman in black tactical fatigues and boots was waiting at the door to the apartment building. The pouches on her belt all seemed in use, and there was a holster on her left hip with a taser and a similar holster on her right hip with an obvious, polished automatic pistol that was loose in the holster. There are no rank or insignia markings on her clothing, and there was no badge or ID. “Hi. I’m Gertie. The code word is Mordred. I have a package for you,” she said as she indicated the sealed, black case at her feet. The case was a 1.5 foot cube of anodized metal. There was some sort of biometric plate on the top of the case and a seam that ran around the top third of the case. “Place your hand on the plate, and if you are who you claim, the box will open.” she stood back then. Her expression was as blank as her tactical uniform.

I picked up the box. It was about 20lbs. It seemed very solid. When I pressed my hand against the plate, four lights showed green after a moment, and the box opened.

The lady turned away and seemed to look into the distance as she said under her breath, “Package delivered and recipient has been verified with biometric lock. Awaiting further instructions.”

Inside the box were a number of things. There was a wallet, an envelope, a wooden box, a sheathed knife, and several bags of varying sizes. Putting the wallet in my front pocket, I closed the box and heard the lock engage. I looked to the woman and asked, “What next?”

“Use one of the cards from the wallet to enter the building. The apartment number is on the card. That same card will give you access to the apartment. There is a new cellphone on the coffee table. Please turn off your current phone and put it in one of the EM blocking bags I will give you, and do not take it out until you are told to. The new phone has my number, your mother’s number, and the number to my boss programmed into it.” With that, she handed me an EM shielded bag. I turned off my phone and put it in the bag and sealed the zip closure of the bag. “Have a nice day, sir.” This last was delivered with a curt nod. She walked away, around the side of the apartment building.

Turning to the front door, I pulled the card from the wallet and pressed it to the reader. The door unlocked with an audible click, and I opened it easily and went in. The door locked with a loud “thunk”.

I walked into a luxury loft with stairs going up along the wall to my right past the entryway. Looking around the huge place in wonder, I walked over to a beautiful, live edge coffee table of some dark wood with a wonderful, knotted grain. Setting the metal box down on the table, I opened it with the biometric plate again.

On the coffee table, I found a new phone in a box labeled “Secure Phone. NSA level encryption enabled for all calls.” Taking the phone out, I found it was already activated and had a virtual phone connection to my previous number. What the phone did not seem to have was a GPS function. I looked in the list of contacts, and there was one labeled ‘DAD’.

Selecting the ‘DAD’ contact and selecting to call, I heard the line ring twice. “Hello, son! I’m glad you got there safely. I set your old number up as a virtual phone in your new one so you can stay in contact with friends without giving away your location. The connection goes through a VPN that should make it harder to trace. If anyone tries to trace your calls, you will seem to be in random locations in the world each time.”

“Who am I hiding from? Did Mom do something to piss off someone with power?”

“Son, I have no idea who could have had anything against her, but she did seem to think that there was something to fear,” heaving a deep sigh, rife with frustration, my father continued. “I have my people looking for her now. I know that our relationship is confusing, but I love your mother and would, and will move heaven and earth to keep her safe!”

“Then why have you never been around?” I asked.

“Your mother asked me to stay away from you both. Her family objects to me. They can never know about me and our connection.”

Thinking back, I remember the wistful looks to the side whenever I got one of the cards f rom my father. She never said anything about it, but I was sure she was longing for him. She had never dated anyone that I ever saw.

“I always meet with your mother when she goes to the UK. I used to ask her if she wanted a sibling for you, but she would start to cry. She told me at one point that we couldn’t risk it. I never found out what, or who she was scared of. It could have been her family.”

“So, I sit tight here. How does that help Mom? Are you doing ANYTHING to help her?”

“My team is looking for her, and multiple detectives are working on finding a way to get her back. I need to make sure you are safe. She would tell us both that your safety is the most important thing.”

I raged internally. I couldn’t do anything for Mom. How could she hide all of the drama with him from me? How could she have hidden whatever led to her disappearance? What would I do if she is not found or is... I could not deal with the possibility that I would never see her alive again. “How can I help?” I asked.

“You can stay safe. If there are people responsible for your mother’s disappearance, they may be after you as well. Sit back and let my people do the work.”

“What do I do about my classes?”

“I’ll contact your school and arrange something. Stay safe and keep yourself busy right where you are. I will keep you posted as we look for your mother.” with that promise, my father hung up abruptly.

I turned on the huge TV opposite the overstuffed sectional couch. Sitting down, I used the remote to stream some nonsense show that almost irritated me as much as it distracted me. I dozed off after a while.

I woke to an unfamiliar ringtone as the windows showed me dark skies. The TV was showing a screensaver that displayed 8:00PM.

It took me a while to remember why I was in a strange place and why my phone didn’t feel the same in my hand.

The Caller ID said ‘Gertie’ when it rang again.

I answered with, “Hello.”

She largely ignored my greeting, as bland as it was. “Sir, do you have any requests? I stocked the apartment with what I was told are your favorite foods and snacks. The refrigerator has many options for beverages.”

“I will let you know once I have any requests. I just woke from a nap. Is there any word on my mother?”

“We are following multiple leads. Please call me in the morning and I will probably have updates for you then.”

“I’ll get a snack and then crash. Please just call if there are updates in the night.”

I hung up after that. A couple of beef patties and some milk filled my stomach enough for me to find my bedroom. I was almost asleep before my head hit the pillow.