Voltis' household was in uproar when Virdon arrived: servants were crowding in the corridors, muttering excitedly among each other; guards trampled up and down the stairs, pushing everyone to the side who didn't squeeze themselves against the wall in time; and a grim-looking Zatis conferred with a tired and distracted Voltis in the middle of the corridor leading to Ennis' room.

Virdon waited until Voltis had broken up what looked like an impromptu war council to intercept Zatis. "What happened? Everyone is so... agitated."

Zatis just flicked him a sideways glance as he pushed past him. "Taris. There you are. We thought you had joined your master."

Virdon blinked. "Joined him? What do you mean?"

Zatis stopped and turned around to regard him with raised brows. "Master Ennis ran away some time during the night. Naturally, we assumed he'd taken his human with him."

It was impossible to tell if the orangutan meant to express disapproval over his unauthorized nightly absence. Virdon didn't care. "Ennis ran away? Where to?"

Zatis frowned. "We'd have brought him back home already if we knew that. Unfortunately, Master Ennis has developed a proclivity for taking to the mountains when life here becomes too overwhelming for him. Not that we ever approved of that, but during the summer, it was not as dangerous as it is now."

Virdon stared at him, too stunned to reply.

I could've prevented this. I should've stayed here.

It was pointless to ask Zatis to let him join the search party - as a human, he'd be considered as nothing but dead weight for the apes. Virdon could've told the orangutan that he was a pretty decent tracker himself, but that would've just prompted questions he wasn't ready to answer.

But he couldn't just stay here and do nothing, either. I swore to myself that I wouldn't fail again.

Maybe he could still help, without raising suspicion. Maybe Ennis had left behind some clue that could point the search party in the right direction. Virdon was certain that despite this fit of rage, the boy still wanted to be found eventually - after the adults had suffered through their well-deserved panic for an appropriate amount of time, of course.

Ennis' room was exactly as Virdon remembered it. The decision to run away must've come in a flash, because his damp coat still lay crumpled on the floor, his leather bag still drooped over the edge of the desk where Ennis had carelessly flung it when he had returned from school; and all the toys and machines were still crammed into their shelves, even the... the boomerang, that was the word that had eluded him all that time.

Virdon plucked the boomerang from the shelf and turned it in his hands. It had been Ennis' favorite toy, especially after he had mastered the trick of throwing it so that it returned to him.

He must've been pretty pissed off at me to leave it behind. Or maybe he was in such a hurry that he just forgot about it...

Virdon put the boomerang back in its place and turned away. His gaze fell on the empty windowsill.

The empty windowsill.

The telescope was gone.

Well, maybe Zatis had it - as far as Virdon could tell, the old orangutan was the only one who ever touched it. Ennis treated it as if it carried the plague.

But it had been in the room when Ennis had stormed in and locked everyone out. It was hard to believe that Zatis had taken the telescope this morning when Ennis' absence had been discovered. It would've been the last thing on his mind - which meant that it had vanished together with Ennis.

It just doesn't... doesn't fit.

Virdon strode from the room, determined to find Zatis or even Voltis, and to alert them to the missing telescope. He didn't stop to ponder the meaning of his find himself, until Zatis was frowning at him.

"That's all well and good, Taris, but I don't have time to go looking for the far-viewer now, we'll be heading out shortly... you go searching for it, I allow you to play with it..."

"No, vetes," Virdon interrupted him, fighting to keep his annoyance out of his voice. "I don't want it for myself. I just find it strange that En... Master Ennis would take it with him, but forget his poncho, especially if he really went for the mountains. The telescope is heavy, and he doesn't even like it very much. I only know of one ape who'd take care not to leave it behind, aside from you - Ennis' mother."

Suddenly, the pieces fell into place. "I think he didn't run away at all. I think his mother took him and-"

"It's not your place to think, Taris." Zatis absently patted his arm. "A human doesn't think, it obeys. Trust that Master Voltis and I have everything under control, and don't waste my time with these wild stories."

"Well, how do you explain the missing telescope?" By now, Virdon didn't care anymore if Zatis could see his irritation.

"I'm sure there's a perfectly rational explanation for it. Now off with you - you have an appointment with Dr. Kova now, if I'm not mistaken." Zatis turned away and headed for the stairs.

Virdon stared after him with clenched fists, reminding himself that a human punching the wall would only catch the unwanted attention of a passing guard, and wondering who else he could spur into action on Ennis' behalf.

Talking to Voltis would probably get him the same reaction as from Zatis, if he was lucky, or an intense interrogation, if he was unlucky. Unlike Zatis, Voltis would've noticed him dropping the honorifics, as well as his new lack of deference towards an ape. Virdon remembered his last audience with the district chief. He wasn't eager to arouse the undivided attention of this particular ape.

As much as it pained him to admit it, he could think of only one ape who would not only listen to his theory, but also give it some serious thought.

He just wasn't sure yet if he should still address him as 'Dr. Kova'.


For once, Voltis wasn't alone in his office; when Galen entered, he found the lean ape and his Orangutan advisor bent over a map that entirely covered Voltis' huge desk.

"This better be important," Voltis muttered without looking up. "As you can see, I'm rather busy right now."

"I believe it is," Galen said mildly. "And I'll try not to take up too much of your precious time, District Chief. In fact," he gestured at the map, "my reason to see you refers directly to your... ah, situation."

Zatis did throw him a rather disapproving glance then, but refrained from commenting. He probably already suspected what this was about - Alan had tried to reason with Ennis' mentor, to no avail, before he had asked 'Doctor Kova' for help. Galen couldn't decide if Alan remembered his true self, and had asked him as a friend, or if he still thought he was Taris, and had asked him because as his doctor, he was a natural confidant.

He avoided probing the question of why he had agreed to indulge the human in either case.

Voltis wasn't impressed. "Unless you saw my son, or have him with you, I doubt your usefulness, doctor. No offense, but I've been inundated with helpful ideas ever since we discovered Ennis' absence."

"And I have no doubt Privat Zatis shielded you from the most ridiculous or impractical suggestions," Galen said with a forced smile. "But it's a testament to people's love for your son that they're trying to help you."

Voltis paused, then flicked him an ironic glare over his shoulder. "If you want to put it that way... So, what's your idea? I'll let Zatis here tell you if it's ridiculous or impractical."

"The information that has been brought to my attention gives me reason to believe that your son might not have run away on his own, but has been taken against his will," Galen said.

Voltis scoffed. "I'm afraid your theory is neither new nor original. I've heard everything from Kobavasa, to wild humans, to ghosts being responsible for his disappearance."

"Or disgruntled prefects trying to put pressure on their district chief to finally crack down on said Kobavasa?" Galen held up his hands when both apes turned around to glare at him. "Just something I heard on my way here, it's not my theory."

"My prefects are hand-picked by me," Voltis growled. "They aren't rogues."

At least one of them has gone rogue, or that Kobavasa problem wouldn't have exploded like it did, Galen thought, but was careful to keep his expression neutral. And my bet is on that old friend of Urko and his extremist priest.

Voltis had to harbour the same suspicion, but he probably lacked the evidence to start an investigation. Urko picked his allies carefully, too.

"Of course not," was all Galen said aloud. "I told you it wasn't my theory, but I thought you should know about it nevertheless." He smiled blandly. "Rumors have such a nasty tendency to spread out of control if they aren't contained at once."

Voltis' gaze became piercing. "You seem to have a keen eye - and ears, doctor."

"Well, in my profession, good listening skills are helpful," Galen shrugged.

"I doubt that the cows talk much about politics," Zatis rumbled. It was the first time he had said anything. Another ape with good listening skills, Galen thought wryly.

"But their owners do," he said with a slight smile. "Anyway, as I said, I don't want to steal your time. I was wondering about that telescope that went missing along with your son, Chief. My source assured me that Ennis didn't care at all about it, while the gift-giver apparently put much value in it. So we both find it highly unlikely that Ennis would plan to escape into the mountains and take nothing with him - no food, no weather-proof robe, no hunting gear - nothing but that telescope."

"There are hunting cabins spread across the whole district," Voltis said with a shrug, "and the hunters keep them well-equipped. If Ennis decided all of a sudden to go on a hike, he'd know how to find one and outfit himself there. And he'd have no problem getting there - he's not a city ape."

Like I am, Galen added silently, which is of course the reason I wouldn't think of these things. But Alan hadn't grown up in a city, as far as Galen knew, and he had still been convinced that Ennis had been taken by his own mother...

"So what would he have needed his mother's telescope for?" Galen asked.

"For spotting our search party from afar, probably," Zatis interjected, when Voltis hesitated. "I taught him how to use it, and practicality might have won out over his... shyness to try it out."

Galen looked from Voltis to Zatis, and back to the District Chief, meeting two blank stares.

Finally, Voltis cleared his throat. "Thank you for your input, Kova. We'll take it under consideration. Don't let me keep you from your lunch, though - I heard you are out in the prefectures all day, treating the humans' winter fever. A man has to take his lunch while he can get it."

Galen bowed deeply to cover his sarcastic smile. "Indeed, Chief. I wish you success on your mission."

Whatever it really is.

The thought niggled at him even as he trudged down the corridor. Galen had seen a number of incompetent, foolish, even corrupt councillors, but the lower ranks - police chiefs, and prefects, and district chiefs - couldn't afford being those things. Competition for these positions was fierce, and every ape who had secured one for himself was acutely aware that the contenders were watching his every step, waiting for him to trip up and make himself vulnerable. That Voltis had held out for so long despite his Kobavasa problem was a testament to the man's ferocity and competence. He wouldn't fool himself into believing that his son had just gone for an unauthorized hunting trip in the middle of the night.

It was all a ruse.

The realization made him stop cold. Of course! Zatis and Voltis had brushed him off just like they had brushed off Alan, because they wanted to keep secret whatever they were really planning. They had no reason to take either a foreign doctor, or a human... an animal, in their eyes... into their confidence.

Galen threw a cautious glance over his shoulder, then casually turned a corner and circled back to Voltis' office. He forced himself to pay no attention to the guards that had been positioned at various strategic spots in the corridors; his face was known by now, and as long as he walked with confidence, everyone would assume that he had a legitimate reason to prowl the halls of Voltis' mansion.

He wondered if Ennis' mother had used the same tactic. If she had, Voltis would have to update his men's training.

The door to Voltis' office opened just as he was about to turn the last corner, and Galen hastily retreated - to his eternal relief, there was no guard posted in the short section of the corridor he was standing in. He had to retreat some more when the voices drew in his direction; at this time of the day, though, most rooms lining that corridor were empty. He kept the door cracked open to let Voltis and Zatis pass, then followed them at a distance.

Both apes were engrossed in a murmured conversation and didn't look back even once. Some of the guards looked in askance at Galen, but the doctor's bag he carried alleviated any instinctual wariness - here was a doctor on some routine call, only accidentally walking down the same corridor as their superiors. Galen carried the bag with him only because he'd had that appointment with Alan, and he hadn't known where to put it when he went to see Voltis; but now he came to appreciate that the bag had secondary uses, too.

They were moving into a part of the estate that Galen had never entered before; for some reason, there were no guards in the corridors anymore, a fact that should've relieved him. Instead, it filled him with vague concern. Those guards had to be somewhere else... but where?

He almost ran into his quarry when he turned the last corner, and hastily jerked back. When he was certain after a moment that neither Voltis nor Zatis had noticed him, he cautiously peeked around the corner again.

The apes had stepped out on a sort of balcony; but Galen could make out a stairway leading down into an inner courtyard at the far side of the platform.

A courtyard filled to the walls with black-clad guardsmen.

Galen tried to remind his suddenly galloping heart that the black mass down there wasn't trying to take up his scent , but his body had been trained to recognize those uniforms as signs of immediate, life-threatening danger, and refused to believe his mind's reassurances. He found it hard to breathe all of a sudden, hard to hear Voltis' voice over the rushing sound in his ears.

This was what he had come here for, though - to find out what was really going on. Galen strained to focus on the words that Voltis was now directing at his men.

"... gone too far. I'd celebrate the fact that she finally provided me with actionable evidence against them, if the evidence wasn't my own son. I don't think I have to stress this, but I will: under no circumstances are you to endanger Ennis. I don't care if you have a Kobavasa by the throat, my son's safety has absolute precedence."

Voltis' voice was icy. Galen didn't want to imagine what would happen to these men if young Ennis brought home so much as a scratch.

But… Kobavasa? Did Voltis suspect that his former wife was one of them? It would explain why he hadn't lifted a finger against them until now, at least.

"Now," the Chimp continued crisply. "We're trying to catch them unawares, so you'll file out in small groups - just regular patrols, if anyone dares to ask. Not that I think anyone would."

Low chuckles rose up here and there, but overall, the atmosphere was tense. Galen brushed his gaze over the upturned faces, riveted at their leader, and only found a terrible, exhilarated anticipation in each of them.

They were lusting for blood. They had been waiting far too long for this day.

"You'll ride to Sultok proper after nightfall, and we'll rendezvous outside the gates at sunrise - help Aboro out of bed," Voltis continued.

Galen quietly slipped away, no longer eager to hear the rest of his speech. So Voltis was planning to take down Aboro, too. Well, the abduction of a child was a crime, and if Ennis' mother was indeed a Kobavasa, Voltis might be able to pin that crime on Aboro, too, even if the evidence for the prefect's involvement in it was scant to non-existing. Galen remembered Aken, the prefect who had tried to execute him and the humans for their non-existing membership in the Human Liberation Front. If you desperately needed evidence, you'd find a way to make it appear.

I wouldn't want to be Aboro's neighbour tomorrow.

Or Aboro.

It seemed that Alan's worries were completely unfounded; Voltis knew exactly what was going on, and was finally taking measures to not only get his son back, but to eradicate the Kobavasa problem in one fell swoop.

All would be fine in a matter of days - Ennis would be back home; Galen's own work as a veterinarian would become a lot less dangerous; and Alan... Alan would be...

... Alan would be happy to have his master back. He had been so tense when he had told him about his theory that Ennis had been abducted.

He'd be happy. And that was the most important thing, wasn't it?

But when Galen opened the door to Ennis' room to bring Alan the good news, the human was gone.