It Was A School Day - 2. Liar, Liar

A few hours later, Kismet found himself on the phone lying to his mother. He had a very strong need for her to do as he asked, and an even stronger need for her not to know the real reason why he asked. So, he was speaking to her in calm tones, trying to explain that Amberly had been injured and that was why he would not be attending his own graduation. Local medical staff had treated his injuries and his employer had contacted Kismet, because after their mother’s last case of hysterics all three boys had changed their primary medical emergency contacts to each other not their parents. Yes, they still loved their parents, no Amberly was not going to die, at least not at the last report. And yes, everyone could come to see him, but not right away.

“Mum, it’s not a local hospital.”

“Where is it? I’ve traveled before. I have a passport.”

“Which type?”

“When Amberly was stationed on that colony your father and I made sure we all had the inter-galactic ones in case of emergency. Everything is up to date, even our shots. Finding a ship headed in the right direction might be a little difficult, but we will get where we need to go.”

“Well that’s good news then. The first ship headed in the right direction leaves in two weeks. And Mum, it’s not a colony anymore. It hasn’t been for quite a while, well before Amberly was ever stationed there.”

“It’s just so far away,” she sniffled a little. “He’s going to be all right? He can wait for us?”

“It’s complicated, Mum. Can you put Da on please?”

“Oh just a moment,” came her frustrated reply.

“Kismet?”

“Hey Da.”

“Son, you’ve got your mother pretty upset.”

“I know, but not much I can do about it right now. Do you remember when you sat us down and we talked about family emergencies?”

“I do, son.”

“Well I would like to activate Emergency Action Plan A.”

“Are you sure son?”

“Yes, absolutely, plus two.”

“Mia?” his father asked.

“Yes, and Val.”

“That blond Asian roommate of yours?”

“Yeah, he’s something like that,” Kismet said. “They’ll meet you. Stay safe.”

“I’m sure your mother and I can manage, Kismet. We love you son.”

“Love you too. Let Mum know, and Maggie,” Kismet said as he concluded the conversation.

By the time he got off the phone with his parents, one of his dorm-mates had found their needle. A person meeting Puck’s description, including name and identification number, had been treated the day after Puck’s twenty-first birthday – for rape, brutalization, and an unknown alien transmitted disease. He was released into the custody of the Zedek Center of Alien Disease Control for the treatment of the unknown alien transmitted disease. There were dates. Puck had been under the care of the Center for approximately five weeks.

Kismet picked up the phone again, but this time he called someone he knew would be able to handle his baby brother and get more information – Amberly’s husband -- “Bobby?”

“Hey Kismet, Amberly’s not here. I can check with Bri, but he’s probably at the lab,” Bobby’s voice sounded like he was still a little sleepy.

“Puck is missing.”

“I thought Amberly said some mail was missing?”

“The mail was missing. Amberly seemed upset, so I ran some inquiries. It wasn’t just the mail. There is a rumor he might be in Zedek Center. Think you can check for me?”

“Everyone is rumored to end up in a Center; it’s like everyone’s worst nightmare.”

“Which is why this one scares me, it’s a note at the bottom of a hospital report.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then a quietly spoken, “Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, give me a few minutes to get to the office. I’ll check.”

“Thanks, Bobby. I guess I don’t have to ask you not to mention any of this to Amberly?”

“Nope, got it. Thanks for the heads up. Tell your mom and dad not to worry, we will be there for the wedding.”

The line went dead in Kismet’s hand He placed it back on the table. Brianna must have walked back into the room. Amberly had stumbled into a good thing with those two. Both of them loved him and Kismet knew his brother shared their feelings.