A/N Ok I know I promised to publish it earlier, but in my defense, My semester exams are coming and another story was also lagging Hence I had to devote my time there. But thank you for your patience. Also another piece of news, I won't be able to update after this, until mid-May. Sorry and hope you like it.

Chapter 11. Kidnapped by a Not-So-Stranger

Annabeth's pov.

"The Chapter ends. Now who will read next. "Zeus boomed waking up Sadie. "What happened ?" Sadie asked drowsily. " Nothing much. We just finished the chapter with another of Zeus's antics. "Poseidon said sarcastically. "And I believe, we should call it night after the next chapter. Is it fine with everyone? " Hestia asked. Everyone nodded. " Now Zeus hand me the book. "She said to Zeus and the book flew in her hand.

Chapter 4: Kidnapped by a Not-So-Stranger

I JUST LOVE FAMILY MEETINGS. Very cozy, with the Christmas garlands round the fireplace and a nice pot of tea and a detective from Scotland Yard ready to arrest you.

We chuckled at that description. I was liking this girl more and more. More so because she reminded me of Percy.

Carter slumped on the sofa, cradling Dad's workbag. I wondered why the police had let him keep it.

"The mortals cannot see it, I presume?"

Sadie nodded.

It should have been evidence or something, but the inspector didn't seem to notice it at all.

Carter looked awful—I mean even worse than usual.

" Excuse me? " Carter exclaimed.

Honestly, the boy had never been in a proper school, and he dressed like a junior professor, with his khaki trousers and a button-down shirt and loafers.

The aforementioned person huffed while we demigods tried not to laugh at his expression.

He's not bad looking, I suppose. He's reasonably tall and fit and his hair isn't hopeless. He's got Dad's eyes, and my mates Liz and Emma have even told me from his picture that he's hot,

Carter looked green.

which I must take with a grain of salt because (a) he's my brother, and (b) my mates are a bit crazed. When it came to clothes, Carter wouldn't have known hot if it bit him on the bum.

I was laughing so hard my stomach ached. The boys even fell on the floor.

[Oh, don't look at me like that, Carter. You know it's true.]

At any rate, I shouldn't have been too hard on him. He was taking Dad's disappearance even worse than I was.

"I was." Carter nodded.

Gran and Gramps sat on either side of him, looking quite nervous.

Ruby perked up as her parents were mentioned.

The pot of tea and a plate of biscuits sat on the table, but no one was having any. Chief Inspector Williams ordered me into the only free chair. Then he paced in front of the fireplace importantly. Two more police stood by the front door—the woman from earlier and a big bloke who kept eyeing the biscuits

"If that bloke eats any of grandma's biscuits, then the poor guy won't have any teeth left. "Carter said jokingly. Ruby shook her head fondly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Faust," Inspector Williams said, "I'm afraid we have two uncooperative children."

"As if the police were any cooperative. "

Gran fidgeted with the trim of her dress. It's hard to believe she's related to Mum. Gran is frail and colorless, like a stick person really, while Mum in the photos always looked so happy and full of life. "They're just children," she managed. "Surely you can't blame them."

We raise our eyebrows at that.

"Pah!" Gramps said. "This is ridiculous, Inspector. They aren't responsible!"

Gramps is a former rugby player. He has beefy arms, a belly much too big for his shirt, and eyes sunk deep in his face, as if someone had punched them (well, actually Dad had punched them years ago, but that's another story).

Ruby glared at Lord Osiris making him squirm in his seat.

Gramps is quite scary looking.

Osiris nodded while the other members of the Kane family laughed at his expression.

Usually, people got out of his way, but Inspector Williams didn't seem impressed.

"Mr. Faust," he said, "what do you imagine the morning headlines will read?

"Breaking news. A Fiery bloke was blasted out of Rosetta stone last night and kidnapped the famous Egyptologist Julius Kane in a coffin. If anyone notices a strange coffin shooting out of the floor or fiery guys coming out of your loose fireplace bricks, Please don't go to the police as they cannot see these guys and they will think you are crazy. "Percy said mockingly in a reporter's voice. Everyone was rolling on the floor laughing.

'British Museum attacked. Rosetta Stone destroyed.' Your son-in-law—"

"Former son-in-law," Gramps corrected.

"—was most likely vaporized in the explosion, or he ran off, in which case—"

"He didn't run off!" I shouted.

"We need to know where he is," the inspector continued. "And the only witnesses, your grandchildren, refuse to tell me the truth."

"They just told you the truth. "

"We did tell you the truth," Carter said. "Dad isn't dead. He sank through the floor."

Inspector Williams glanced at Gramps, as if to say, There, you see? Then he turned to Carter. "Young man, your father has committed a criminal act. He's left you behind to deal with the consequences—"

" That is outrageous. " Osiris said.

"That's not true!" I snapped, my voice trembling with rage. I couldn't believe Dad would intentionally leave us at the mercy of police, of course. But the idea of him abandoning me—well, as I might have mentioned, that's a bit of a sore point.

"Dear, please," Gran told me, "the inspector is only doing his job."

"Badly!" I said.

Let's all have some tea," Gran suggested.

"No!" Carter and I yelled at once, which made me feel bad for Gran, as she practically wilted into the sofa.

"Sadie, Carter, stop being so hard on her. "Ruby admonished them softly.

"We can charge you," the inspector warned, turning on me. "We can and we will—"

He froze. Then he blinked several times, as if he'd forgotten what he was doing.

"What happened? Did you miss something, Lady Hestia?"Percy asked. She shook her head and continued.

Gramps frowned. "Er, Inspector?"

"Yes..." Chief Inspector Williams murmured dreamily. He reached into his pocket and took out a little blue booklet—an American passport. He threw it in Carter's lap.

"What is an American passport doing in a British officer's pocket ?" They simply shrugged.

"You're being deported," the inspector announced. "You're to leave the country within twenty-four hours. If we need to question you further, you'll be contacted through the FBI."

Carter's mouth fell open. He looked at me, and I knew I wasn't imagining how odd this was. The inspector had completely changed direction. He'd been about to arrest us. I was sure of it. And then out of the blue, he was deporting Carter?

"He is being manipulated? " I gasped while Amos nodded.

Even the other police officers looked confused.

"Sir?" the policewoman asked. "Are you sure—"

"Quiet, Linley. The two of you may go."

The cops hesitated until Williams made a shooing motion with his hand. Then they left, closing the door behind them.

"Hold on," Carter said. "My father's disappeared, and you want me to leave the country?"

"Your father is either dead or a fugitive, son," the inspector said. "Deportation is the kindest option. It's already been arranged."

"With whom?" Gramps demanded. "Who authorized this?"

"With..." The inspector got that funny blank look again. "With the proper authorities. Believe me, it's better than prison."

Carter looked too devastated to speak, but before I could feel sorry for him, Inspector Williams turned to me. "You, too, miss."

He might as well have hit me with a sledgehammer.

Leo tried to hit Sadie with a sledgehammer but it turned into ashes. Sadie rolled her eyes and kissed Walt's cheeks, who were glaring at Leo. Leo raised his hand in surrender and went back to his seat.

"You're deporting me?" I asked. "I live here!"

"You're an American citizen. And under the circumstances, it's best for you to return home."

I just stared at him. I couldn't remember any home except this flat. My mates at school, my room, everything I knew was here. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Inspector," Gran said, her voice trembling. "This isn't fair. I can't believe—"

"Poor mum. "Ruby muttered.

"I'll give you some time to say good-bye," the inspector interrupted. Then he frowned as if baffled by his own actions. "I—I must be going."

This made no sense, and the inspector seemed to realize it, but he walked to the front door anyway. When he opened it, I almost jumped out of my chair

" Why? What happened? " Nico asked.

, because the man in black, Amos, was standing there.

Wow, Sadie, you make me sound like a villain." Amos said sarcastically.

He'd lost his trench coat and hat somewhere, but was still wearing the same pinstripe suit and round glasses. His braided hair glittered with gold beads.

I thought the inspector would say something, or express surprise, but he didn't even acknowledge Amos. He walked right past him and into the night.

" Because I was the one who manipulated the police officer in the first place. " Amos shrugged. Our mouths fell. They can manipulate others without even speaking. How strong they are?

Amos came inside and closed the door. Gran and Gramps stood up.

"You," Gramps growled. "I should've known. If I was younger, I would beat you to a pulp."

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Faust," Amos said. He looked at Carter and me as if we were problems to be solved. "It's time we had a talk."

"Yep, you were. " Amos said while Ruby and Julius glared at him.

Amos made himself right at home. He flopped onto the sofa and poured himself tea. He munched on a biscuit, which was quite dangerous, because Gran's biscuits are horrid.

" Why? What's the matter with your grandma's biscuits." Hestia asked. " They are burnt." "And you can play baseball with it. I know because I have tried it. "The Kane sibling answered.

I thought Gramps's head would explode. His face went bright red. He came up behind Amos and raised his hand as if he were about to smack him, but Amos kept munching his biscuit.

"Please, sit down," he told us.

And we all sat. It was the strangest thing—as if we'd been waiting for his order. Even Gramps dropped his hand and moved round the sofa. He sat next to Amos with a disgusted sigh.

" Amos, you dared to charm my parents. " Ruby asked in a threatening tone. People next to her shifted away while both Hades and Osiris looked uncomfortable. I could understand them as, ghosts or not, Ruby was scary.

" Sorry Ruby, I had to ensure your kids' safety without getting my handsome face destroyed. "Amos said scaredly. Ruby sat down but still looked angry.

Amos sipped his tea and regarded me with some displeasure. That wasn't fair, I thought. I didn't look that bad, considering what we'd been through. Then he looked at Carter and grunted.

"Terrible timing," he muttered. "But there's no other way. They'll have to come with me."

"Excuse me?" I said. "I'm not going anywhere with some strange man with biscuit on his face!"

Cue laughter. Even Ruby cracked a smile while Amos muttered something along with no respect for elders.

He did in fact have biscuit crumbs on his face, but he apparently didn't care, as he didn't bother to check.

"I'm no stranger, Sadie," he said. "Don't you remember?"

It was creepy hearing him talk to me in such a familiar way. I felt I should know him. I looked at Carter, but he seemed just as mystified as I was.

" Of course, you wouldn't. The house didn't allow me to meet any of you for 6 years. " Amos said with a huff.

"No, Amos," Gran said, trembling. "You can't take Sadie. We had an agreement."

"Julius broke that agreement tonight," Amos said. "You know you can't care for Sadie anymore—not after what's happened. Their only chance is to come with me."

" As much as I hate to say it, Amos was right. You both would have been safe with your uncle. "

"Why should we go anywhere with you?" Carter asked. "You almost got in a fight with Dad!"

Amos looked at the workbag in Carter's lap. "I see you kept your father's bag. That's good. You'll need it. As for getting into fights, Julius and I did that quite a lot. If you didn't notice, Carter, I was trying to stop him from doing something rash. If he'd listened to me, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"If I would have listened to you, the world might not even exist today," Julius replied.

I had no idea what he was on about, but Gramps apparently understood.

"You and your superstitions!" he said. "I told you we want none of it."

Amos pointed to the back patio. Through the glass doors, you could see the lights shining on the Thames. It was quite a nice view at night, when you couldn't notice how run-down some of the buildings were.

"Superstition, is it?" Amos asked. "And yet you found a place to live on the east bank of the river."

" East end! Wait so you live in Brooklyn? " They nodded." Is that why we are not allowed to go there? "They again nodded. "But now you can come if you wish to. We won't mind. "Sadie said. We nodded while the fates smiled at us.

Gramps turned even redder. "That was Ruby's idea. Thought it would protect us. But she was wrong about many things, wasn't she? She trusted Julius and you, for one!"

Amos looked unfazed. He smelled interesting—like old-timey spices, copal and amber, like the incense shops in Covent Garden.

He finished his tea and looked straight at Gran. "Mrs. Faust, you know what's begun. The police are the least of your worries."

Gran swallowed. "You...you changed that inspector's mind. You made him deport Sadie."

"It was that or see the children arrested," Amos said.

"Hang on," I said. "You changed Inspector Williams's mind? How?"

Amos shrugged. "It's not permanent. In fact, we should get to New York in the next hour or so before Inspector Williams begins to wonder why he let you go."

" ONE HOUR! YOU CAN NEVER REACH NEW YORK FROM ENGLAND IN AN HOUR. " Mom said incredulously.

Carter laughed incredulously. "You can't get to New York from London in an hour. Not even the fastest plane—"

"No," Amos agreed. "Not a plane."

"Then? "Apollo asked.

He turned back to Gran as if everything had been settled. "Mrs. Faust, Carter and Sadie have only one safe option. You know that. They'll come to the mansion in Brooklyn. I can protect them there."

"You've got a mansion," Carter said. "In Brooklyn."

Amos gave him an amused smile. "The family mansion. You'll be safe there."

"But our dad—"

" Is beyond your help. You would have to learn more about your culture to defeat a god, child! " Chiron said wisely.

"Is beyond your help for now," Amos said sadly. "I'm sorry, Carter. I'll explain later, but Julius would want you to be safe. For that, we must move quickly. I'm afraid I'm all you've got."

That was a bit harsh, I thought. Carter glanced at Gran and Gramps. Then he nodded glumly. He knew that they didn't want him around.

Ruby's eyes widened.

He'd always reminded them of our dad. And yes, it was a stupid reason not to take in your grandson, but there you are.

She shook her head, tearing up. Carter sat next to her and soothed her. It was pretty awkward. Hestia cleared her throat and continued.

"Well, Carter can do what he wants," I said. "But I live here. And I'm not going off with some stranger, am I?"

I looked at Gran for support, but she was staring at the lace doilies on the table as if they were suddenly quite interesting.

"Gramps, surely..."

But he wouldn't meet my eyes either. He turned to Amos. "You can get them out of the country?"

"Hang on!" I protested.

Amos stood and wiped the crumbs off his jacket. He walked to the patio doors and stared out at the river. "The police will be back soon. Tell them anything you like. They won't find us."

"You're going to kidnap us?" I asked, stunned. I looked at Carter. "Do you believe this?"

Carter shouldered the workbag. Then he stood like he was ready to go.

Ruby looked even more sad while the awkwardness continued.

Possibly he just wanted to be out of Gran and Gramps's flat. "How do you plan to get to New York in an hour?" he asked Amos. "You said, not a plane."

"No," Amos agreed. He put his finger to the window and traced something in the condensation—another bloody hieroglyph.

"A boat," I said—then realized I'd translated aloud, which I wasn't supposed to be able to do.

Amos peered at me over the top of his round glasses. "How did you—"

"I mean that last bit looks like a boat," I blurted out. "But that can't be what you mean. That's ridiculous."

"Look!" Carter cried.

"What? Do you have a boat? " Leo screamed and babbled about something.

I pressed in next to him at the patio doors. Down at the quayside, a boat was docked. But not a regular boat, mind you. It was an Egyptian reed boat, with two torches burning in the front, and a big rudder in the back. A figure in a black trench coat and hat—possibly Amos's—stood at the tiller.

"That is so old-fashioned. You should try modernizing them. " You can guess who said it.

I'll admit, for once, I was at a loss for words.

"O MY HORUS! SADIE WAS AT A LOSS FOR WORDS. WHY DIDN'T YOU CLICK A PHOTO OF HER FACE? " Walt said diffusing the tension in the room as everyone laughed. Sadie punched him while Carter shrugged and said " I could have if I had a camera. " " Or a certain Arab was not in his mind. " Sadie teased. Carter glared but before a fight would break out Ruby motioned Hestia to read. Hestia obliged.

"We're going in that," Carter said. "To Brooklyn."

"We'd better get started," Amos said.

I whirled back to my grandmother. "Gran, please!"

She brushed a tear from her cheek. "It's for the best, my dear. You should take Muffin."

" How dare you forgot me. " Bast murmured

"Ah, yes," Amos said. "We can't forget the cat."

He turned towards the stairs. As if on cue, Muffin raced down in a leopard-spotted streak and leaped into my arms. She never does that.

"Who are you?" I asked Amos. It was clear I was running out of options, but I at least wanted answers. "We can't just go off with some stranger."

"I'm not a stranger." Amos smiled at me. "I'm family."

And suddenly I remembered his face smiling down at me, saying, "Happy birthday, Sadie." A memory so distant, I'd almost forgotten.

"Uncle Amos?" I asked hazily.

"That's right, Sadie," he said. "I'm Julius's brother. Now come along. We have a long way to go."

" The chapter ends. " Hestia ended and closed the book. "We all should go to bed. Everyone must be tired. " We nodded. " Demigods and magicians will follow me to their chambers. "Good night. " We said our good night and followed her. (Even though, I knew where we are going.)