Brett spent the rest of the day worrying about Annabeth, but he was quickly distracted when he got home from school. He was finally going to be able to put his new plan into action.

Annabeth seldom mentioned her parents, so he didn't have much information on them, but he tried to find them anyway. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't find a single trace of Annabeth's mother. Her father, on the other hand, was a different story.

It only took a cursory google search to find a Dr. Fredrick Chase, a history professor at Stanford University. That must be Annabeth's father. He was the only member of faculty at any University in the San Francisco area with the last name of Chase.

After a couple of clicks, he was provided with all of Dr. Chase's contact information, including email and an office phone number. Brett briefly considered sending Dr. Chase an email but decided that the matter was too urgent. It was entirely possible that an email could get overlooked in an overflowing inbox, or Dr. Chase could simply decide to ignore it altogether. No, it was best to call. That would give Brett the best chance of getting through. He did some quick math in his head to make sure he got the time zones right. It was evening in New York, so if he called now Dr. Chase would just be wrapping up the end of his workday.

Brett dialed the number and held his breath as it rang. He still wasn't entirely sure what he would say to Dr. Chase if he picked up, he just knew that he had to try for Annabeth's sake.

"This is Dr. Fredrick Chase, how can I help you?" a voice said on the other end of the phone.

"Dr. Chase," Brett started. "My name is Brett, I'm calling about your daughter-"

"Annabeth? What's happened? Is she alright?" Dr. Chase interrupted him, his voice urgent. "I haven't heard anything from Chiron, or surely Percy would have called-"

"You know Percy, sir?" Brett asked, startled. He thought for sure that Annabeth's father must not know about Percy. No father would let their daughter date someone who was so clearly a bad influence.

"Yes, of course I know Percy," Dr. Chase affirmed impatiently. "What's happened to Annabeth? Is she alive?"

The question threw him off guard. Just how much did Dr. Chase know about Annabeth's dangerous friends if the first question he asked about her was whether or not she was alive? If his frantic tone was anything to go by, Brett would guess that he must know at least something about the dangerous situation Annabeth was in.

"She's alive, sir."

"Oh, thank the gods," Dr. Chase sighed. Brett could practically see the tension seeping out of his voice. Though his next words were still tight with worry. "So what happened?"

"Nothing's happened per se," Brett started hesitantly. "But I have some concerns about Percy. He-"

Dr. Chase interrupted him again. It seemed Brett couldn't even get out a complete thought before Dr. Chase jumped in. He was giving Brett the impression of the stereotypical scatterbrained and eccentric yet genius college professor.

"What happened to Percy? He's not hurt, is he?" Dr. Chase sounded just as worried about Percy's wellbeing as he was about his daughter's.

"No, sir, Percy's not hurt. But I'm worried that he might be hurting Annabeth."

Dr. Chase's voice went cold. "What do you mean?"

Brett couldn't help but cheer internally at the small victory. It seemed that he might actually be getting somewhere. If he could convince Annabeth's father that Percy was dangerous then her father could talk to her, maybe he'd even forbid Annabeth from ever seeing him again.

"I don't think he's good for her. He is clearly dragging her into all kinds of dangerous situations. And I've seen her come into school covered in bruises. Whether Percy's causing them directly or indirectly, he's still responsible for Annabeth getting hurt."

Dr. Chase said nothing for a long time. Brett was starting to get nervous. No father would react well to hearing that their daughter was dating an abusive man, but Brett wasn't sure what Dr. Chase would do with that information.

Finally, Dr. Chase said something that startled him. "Who did you say you were again?"

Brett was not prepared for that to be the first thing out of Dr. Chase's mouth after hearing the revelation that Annabeth was in trouble, but he managed to stammer out an answer anyway. "I- I'm a friend of Annabeth's from school, sir. I-"

"From school? Not from Camp?"

What was so special about this stupid camp that everyone kept bringing up? "No, sir."

"I see." Brett could practically see Dr. Chase nodding his head as he came to a conclusion. Though what conclusion Brett couldn't tell. Why should it matter if he was a friend from school and didn't go to some special camp?

"I think it would be best if you dropped the matter." Dr. Chase said tersely. "There are things that you simply can't understand."

"But-" Brett tried to argue, but Dr. Chase kept talking as if he hadn't even spoken.

"There is no one on this Earth that I would trust more than Percy to be there for my daughter. I have seen that boy go to impossible lengths just to make sure Annabeth is safe. There is nothing he wouldn't do for her. And more than that, I trust Annabeth. She is the smartest, most capable person I've ever known. If she trusts Percy then that's the end of it."

"But, sir-"

"Goodbye, young man. Have a nice evening."

Brett could do nothing except stare at the phone as it flashed to signal the call had disconnected. What kind of father reacts that way to hearing their daughter is in danger? It was especially strange given the intense reaction Dr. Chase had had at the beginning of the call. Brett thought for sure Dr. Chase would step in if he heard about the situation, but instead, he had shut down all of Brett's concerns like they were nothing. How could Percy have gotten to Dr. Chase too? He lived all the way across the country.

Then again, maybe it was because he lived all the way across the country that Dr. Chase had reacted the way he had. After all, what kind of caring parent lets their eighteen-year old-daughter move so far away on their own before they had even graduated high school? And to live with their boyfriend, no less. If Dr. Chase was okay with Annabeth doing that, then he must not care too much about her situation in general. Brett would just have to find another way to make Annabeth see reason.