It was a typical mid-November evening in the Broflovski house as the family was settling down for dinner. Gerald was talkative as ever, chatting with his wife about trivial things and occasionally bringing one of his sons into the conversation. Kyle and Ike were barely listening, mostly tuning their father.

"Oh, I'm having a guest over for dinner, by the way." Gerald said airily, catching Kyle's attention.

Kyle didn't miss the oddly nervous tinge to his voice. His dad rarely ever had guests over; Sheila often invited her girlfriends to dinner, but never Gerald. He couldn't help but be a tad skeptical. "What for?"

"Just a colleague from work. He's helping me with a case." His father was saying before a knock sounded at the door. "Speak of the devil, that must be him now."

Gerald's guest was a short, stout man with glasses and a neckbeard; not exactly the kind of person Kyle would expect to work in law. Normally he would try not to be so judgemental, but there was something off-putting about the situation. Maybe it was the man's somewhat disheveled appearance, or the way his dad seemed to tense up as he entered into the house, or a combination of both. But something rubbed Kyle the wrong way.

"How nice of you to join us for dinner!" Sheila greeted him, gracious as always. If his mother suspected anything, she certainly didn't let it show. "What was your name, again?"

"Richard Schwaggins. But you can just call me Dick." He flashed an arrogant smile. Kyle swore he heard his dad let out a sigh.

Sheila continued on as normal. "Well, Dick, it's a pleasure to have you over. Why don't you just take a seat over here, and I'll…" Kyle stopped paying attention to what his mom was saying, instead narrowing his eyes at the guest. He seemed ignorant and clumsy; this man didn't look at all clever enough to have passed law school.

Then again, his dad had managed, so perhaps anything could happen.

Dinner carried on as Mr. Schwaggins made small talk with Gerald and Sheila; Kyle noted the lack of business discussion taking place. He knew that his father wouldn't have invited anyone over just to banter, which made him suspicious.

"So, Mr. Schwaggins-"

"Please, call me Dick." The man interrupted. Kyle narrowed his eyes again before continuing.

"...Right. So… Dick, what are you helping my dad with, again?" He kept his voice polite, certain that the wrong tone would warrant a scolding from Sheila.

Dick seemed taken aback by his question. "Oh, you know… just one of his cases. I-I'm afraid I can't go too into detail. Client confidentiality and all." He shot Gerald a glance.

"Yes, Kyle, you know better than to ask." Gerald added matter-of-factly, giving his son a testy look.

Kyle suspected he was about to say the wrong thing, but decided to throw caution to the wind and voice it anyway. "Well, I was just wondering because you don't really look like someone my dad would… associate with."

Sheila's reaction confirmed his suspicions. "Kyle! Mr. Schwaggins is a guest in our household, and you will treat him with respect!"

Well, that was predictable. Kyle was tempted to defend himself, but he figured it would be wiser to just give up. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me." Sheila uttered, gesturing towards Mr. Schwaggins.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Schwaggins. Dick." He turned his attention back to poking at his dinner.

Dick gave Kyle a strange look, though he kept his tone lighthearted. "Hey, don't worry about it, kid. We come in all shapes and sizes, y'know."

While Kyle remained silent throughout the rest of the meal, he was more or less paying attention to the conversation. Mostly it consisted of boring chit-chat about the goings-on in South Park, a little bit of gossip, nothing that interested him. What was interesting, however, was when Gerald excused himself early without warning, inviting Mr. Schwaggins to talk privately in his office.

What struck Kyle as odd was not the fact that they were leaving, but the manner in which his father did so. He seemed impatient, irritated even, as though he couldn't get away sooner. Gerald was rarely so openly ruffled. Kyle instinctively got the urge to spy on them, but the logical part of his brain knew that this would catch Sheila's attention, so he resisted.

That is, until later that evening, when Kyle overheard the voices coming from his dad's office, and his curiosity overpowered his better judgement. He made his way down the hallway as silently as he could manage, facing his ear towards the door. The voices of Gerald and Dick were barely audible, and Kyle could only make out bits and pieces of the conversation.

"Damn it, you're being reckless…"

"...I don't know anything about…"

"...You shouldn't have come here…"

"...Just relax, would you?"

That certainly didn't sound like business discussion. Still, Kyle couldn't understand what they were saying. Just as he was about to leave, he caught one snippet that sent chills down his spine.

"You could be in big trouble."

The statement caught him so off-guard that he didn't seem to hear his father approaching the door. It creaked open before Kyle could get away in time.

"I think it's time you le-" Gerald's voice halted when he spotted his son. "Kyle! What the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing, dad!" Kyle barked, though it couldn't have been more obvious that he'd been snooping. Shit. "I was just-"

His dad cut him off, gritting his teeth. "Just… stop. I'll deal with you later." He turned sharply, addressing Mr. Schwaggins. "It's time you left, Dick. Goodbye."

Dick opened his mouth to argue, but upon noticing Kyle, he shut his jaws. Their eyes locked for a moment. Kyle was unable to read his expression before the man turned and left. This guy is really damn weird. In fact, the whole situation was.

He didn't have much time to mull things over before Gerald turned his attention back onto him. Kyle was met with an accusatory glare. "In my office. Now."

On one hand, Kyle should have been nervous seeing his father so angry. But on the other, it all but confirmed his suspicions that something weird was going on. At least now he could finally get some answers. His mom was not going to be happy when she found out, though.

Once inside- Gerald had practically dragged him in- he let out a loud sigh and plopped down at his computer desk. Kyle suddenly recalled that this was the same room where his dad had posted horrible, degrading things about the women in South Park, the same desk where he had trolled an Olympic gold medalist into killing herself. The whole incidence had been put behind them, and yet, it suddenly didn't seem so long ago. Even now he still had a hard time believing that his own father was so needlessly malicious.

"Why the hell were you spying on me?" Gerald's voice was laced with suspicion, his eyes glaring daggers at his son.

Kyle shrugged, refusing to feel intimidated. He knew that his dad was harmless, even though his body language indicated otherwise. "You were acting weird. I heard voices coming from your office, and I got suspicious.

Gerald muttered a swear under his breath before putting on a more fatherly tone of voice. "Kyle, you could get into big trouble for doing things like this." Clearly he was trying to save face by acting as though nothing had happened, but Kyle knew better. "Eavesdropping is a crime in many states, alright? Nosiness isn't worth jail time."

Kyle crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying his act. "I'm not an idiot, dad. You weren't talking to him about business."

His dad's eye twitched as though he could see his own flimsy façade crumbling before him. "Look, whatever you think is going on, it's just a product of your overactive imagination. I know you hate to be wrong, but-"

"That's not true!" Kyle interrupted defensively. Well, yes, it totally was true, but that had nothing to do with the matter at hand. "I'm sorry, but I have a little bit of a hard time trusting you after everything you've done. Everything you put Ike through." He added, hoping those words would be enough to have some kind of impact Gerald.

They did, but not the kind Kyle was expecting. Instead, this seemed to strike a chord with his father. Gerald let out an arrogant scoff, one that he had been using more and more frequently, his twitching eye more detectable now.

"That's really rich," He began, angry but hesitant, "coming from the one who got his little brother's home country nuked."

Kyle was dumbstruck for a moment, feeling as though he had been kicked in the gut. What could he say to that? At a loss for words, he bit his tongue. Gerald continued.

"So you can stop acting so damn high-and-mighty all the time! I have my business, and you have yours." His father turned his back to Kyle deliberately, crossing his arms. "You can just keep your nose out of it."

Kyle's fists clenched. "You know, I used to think… that you were the smartest guy in the whole world." His voice was full of restrained rage. "Even when I got older, I thought that, if even by a little bit, you were better than the rest of the adults in South Park. But… now I know that you're just an idiot like everyone else." With that, he pushed the door open, leaving Gerald in his office alone.

Hours passed. Gerald still hadn't left his office, and Ike had to be put to bed, leaving Kyle alone to watch TV his mother tidied up after dinner. Sheila made her way into the living room, picking up a few of Ike's scattered toys along the way. "It's almost your bedtime, Kyle."

"I know." Kyle mumbled, reaching for the remote to turn off his show; he hadn't been paying attention to it, anyway. He sat in silence for a moment before speaking. "Hey, mom… did you notice anything weird about Dad's guest?"

Sheila frowned at him. "Well… he wasn't the kind of person I would expect your father to invite over, but it's not my place to judge. It's not yours, either."

"So you agree that something was off about him." Kyle seemed to ignore that last part. Biting his lip pensively, adding, "I have a bad feeling about him."

His mom clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Now, Kyle, listen. Just because someone looks or acts a little bit different doesn't mean that they're weird. I know we've raised you not to judge a book by its cover."

Kyle crossed his arms, a slightly stubborn gesture. "That's not what I'm talking about. I mean, the whole thing just seems like trouble waiting to happen. Not just that Dick guy. Dad's acting weird, too." He was hesitant to bring up his father, lest Sheila end up finding out about their confrontation, but he couldn't just ignore it. His mother just sighed.

"I know that weird things are always happening in this town." She started, sitting down beside her son. "But that doesn't mean you need to act suspicious of everyone and everything that seems out of place. New things always happen, and they could just as easily be good things! So don't jump to conclusions based on a single gut feeling."

"I guess you're right." Despite his words, Kyle wasn't completely convinced, but he had to admit that Sheila had a point. Perhaps the recent events had made him a little overly cautious. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that trouble was on the horizon. All he could do was hope that his mom was right.

Alas, she couldn't have been more wrong. A week later Gerald went missing without a trace, leaving no indication of where he had gone or why. Kyle was the only one who had an inkling of what was going on, and he knew he had to take action.