The Lady of the Lake: Epilogue (Completed)

[RaiaDraconis]

Lance is awesome, plain and simple. Now we know what those sparkly fireflies were--and that Lance has been helping people all across time. Come to think of it, he and Anja would be an adorable couple...but now isn't the time for matchmaking, Valerie.

Hats off to Dustin. Chivalry is most certainly not dead. I hope that the other four were rescued!

[melancholy_anju]

Oh geez, that line about the criminals looking to sabotage the hospital when they least expect it sounded pretty ominous. Hopefully the team can come up with a plan of attack before too many more people get hurt. And I agree with everyone else Lance is really awesome. 

[Magz from Oz]

Lady of the Lake:  Chapter 37 – A Very Special Agent


A sudden and eerie silence engulfed the room: had Geoffrey Landgraab actually said “Sir Bors”.



Moments that seemed like minutes passed until Bors, ostensibly disregarding the implications of Geoffrey Landgraab’s use of his old title, responded.  “It’s not time to roll over yet.  We need to know why they want this hospital before we can form an alternative plan.”

“Perhaps this might simply be a crime of opportunity.  They had a need and when the shares were offered for sale, they took advantage of it,” suggested Valerie.

Geoffrey Landgraab shook his head, “I don’t think so.  There are many private hospitals around whose shares they could have taken over at any time.  No, they must have wanted this particular hospital.  And although they have control already, why do they need 100%?”



A sudden and loud creak of the stairs turned everyone’s head towards the staircase where they saw Galeas descending.  “They are both sleeping,” he said.  “Morgana is out like a light, but Anja is very restless.  I’m going to make tea; does anybody want some?”

“No for me thank you,” said Geoffrey, “I’ve been drinking coffee all day long to stay alert.”  The others also declined his offer.  Galeas prepared his tea and stood sipping it as he looked out of the window across to the hospital where the lights of the fire truck alternately washed the white lights of the street in shades of red.  Galeas could see that the fire was out but presumed there was probably some residual danger because of the gas cylinders there.



Picking up from Geoffrey’s last point, Bors said, “Most of those private hospitals have major wealthy benefactors and universities backing them.  If we are lucky we might manage to regain your hospital, but the criminals could simply move on to another town and do the same there.  We have to end this for good, and to do that we need to find out their motivation.”

“Can a non-shareholder complain to the SEC about the activities of the Board?” asked Valerie.

“Yes,” answered Galeas adding his opinion to the conversation while his eyes remained drawn to the scene outside as the police cruisers and fire trucks departed one by one.  “But the SEC can’t investigate unless the suspect activity constitutes a securities law violation.  The morality of a Board’s actions is out of their hands.  However... now that I think of it, it would become entirely out of the SEC’s hands if the criminals acquire all the shares and then delist the company.  Then they wouldn’t have to file all that paperwork about quarterly earnings and such.  There would be one less regulatory body that was able to investigate their activities.”

“Well that could explain why they need 100%.  They need to silence any authority they can’t corrupt.  But why the spurious OH&S report?” asked Valerie.



“Perhaps they intend to use that OH&S report as one of the grounds for delisting the company.  Excessive capital expenditure required, low earnings, huge potential losses, etc. would become causes for... What the...!” exclaimed Galeas, pressing his face closer to the window, “What on Earth is he doing here?”

“Who?” asked Valerie.



“Michael Dandy.  I’m sure he’s a criminal kingpin in Roaring Heights.  Oh, and that reporter looks like Blair.  I know her upturned nose anywhere even from this distance.  I wonder if she’s tailing him.  Connor said she has just been promoted to Special Agent.” 

Sufficiently intrigued, the others joined Galeas at the window to see Blair standing back in the shadows of the museum, huddled against the rain and observing the man watching the hospital. 



Presently the man moved off and as Blair looked around to check her surroundings, she noticed the collective duGaunnes and Geoffrey Landgraab gazing out at her.  She walked directly towards the Condor Museum Lofts, prompting Galeas to go downstairs to meet her.

Galeas brought Blair up to his parents.  “It’s nice to meet you all again,” said Blair. “You may not have realised, but your house is lit up like a Christmas tree and with the lights around you, your faces stand out very clearly from the window, especially yours, Dr Landgraab.  Perhaps we can turn out a few lights.”



Unsure why Blair was turning off lights, Geoffrey responded.  “We have been talking over some treatment requirements for Morgana.”

“I would have expected that she would be among the evacuees to Bridgeport.  Thank heavens for some good news for a change.  Actually I’m glad I found you first Dr Landgraab.  As we speak, there are two police officers over at your house waiting for you.  Did you know that there is a warrant out for your arrest?”



A collective “What?” echoed around the room as each person gasped.

“No I did not,” replied the perplexed doctor.

“Hang on a minute Blair... eh... Agent Wainwright,” Galeas intervened.  “What is the charge?  Are you going to arrest Dr Landgraab?”

“Fraud,” replied Blair.  “And no I’m not.  I’m risking my career to warn you Dr Landgraab because something is really off about this whole thing.  My gut instinct is that after all the sabotage, the fraud charge is merely a smokescreen.”

“Fraud!” said an astonished Geoffrey Landgraab.  “That’s absurd.  I don’t want you risking your career for me Blair, but can you tell me more?



Blair looked at the gathered faces.  She knew Galeas very well from their time at university.  Lance she knew only marginally.  Galeas’ parents had been very welcoming and generous hosts to her and Connor the week they spent in Dragon Valley.  Blair thought highly of Dr Landgraab so she followed her intuition that these people were not the criminals, and began her narration.

“About two months ago, Cornelia Goth and Chris Steel both came into the police station concerned about some documents, purchase orders actually, that they said were used to fraudulently procure restricted drugs and regulated equipment.  The fraud was discovered when one of the drugs was not available from the supplier in the requisitioned amounts and so a back order was created.  When the invoice for the back order was processed through accounts payable, Cornelia noticed the original purchase order number was not from the issued order books in circulation.  Then she couldn’t find any record of the original invoice being paid for the other items on the purchase order.  She asked Chris Steel about the purchase order and he denied requesting the drugs even though his Pharmacist registration number and signature were used to authorise the purchases.”



“They both began to investigate this with both the hospitals approved and other suppliers.  It turns out that this was not the first such purchase of drugs through the hospital’s accounts so it is fraud to use a Pharmacist’s registration to obtain restricted drugs not for their regulated use.  I personally didn’t want to believe it but I don’t think either Cornelia or Chris is lying.  Chris stands to lose his career, his registration and everything, if he can’t prove his innocence.  And Cornelia, well why would she?  Anyway, together Cornelia and Chris have obtained copies of dozens of purchase orders raised in the last three months from the registered drug suppliers that did not originate from purchase order books listed on the Accountable Forms register.  The purchases involve not just drugs, but some equipment too.  Digging further, they discovered that the invoices had not been paid from the hospital’s main purchasing account, but from an account whose bank number is only two digits different.”

“So anyway, our handwriting experts said the signatures on the purchase orders and delivery dockets were inconclusive.  They were either genuine or very expertly forged.  The bank account used to pay the invoices belongs to some obscure shell company.  My boss asked me to investigate the hospital staff on the QT but four days ago I was ordered to drop the case and hand in my files.  Then about 20 minutes ago, my boss rang to say he received instructions to arrest Dr Landgraab for fraud.”  Blair turned to Dr Landgraab, “Hank and Justine are at your house waiting for you.”

“Who are Cornelia and Chris?” asked Valerie.

“Cornelia Goth is the hospital’s Senior Finance Officer and Christopher Steel is the Chief Pharmacist,” replied Geoffrey.  “Why didn’t they come to me?  This is the first I’ve heard of it.”



“That’s not surprising,” answered Blair.  “No one knows who they can trust in this town anymore.  Both Cornelia and Chris say they didn’t make those purchase orders.  Cornelia says the purchase orders used aren’t fakes but were printed by the hospital’s normal stationery supplier.  Cornelia didn’t order the additional purchase order books to be printed but that particular purchase order contains her signature which Cornelia swears she didn’t sign.  Similarly, Chris says he didn’t order the restricted drugs.  He says he doesn’t even use those suppliers, but those purchase orders have his registration number and signature, which again, he swears he didn’t sign.”

“Isn’t ordering done on-line?” asked Valerie.

“For most general hospital supplies, yes; but not for some types of equipment and restricted drugs.  They must have the correct registrations and signatures.  The regulatory authorities love paperwork,” Dr Landgraab replied.

“How does this constitute fraud on Dr Landgraab’s part?” Galeas asked Blair.

“All the delivery dockets were signed by Dr Landgraab and Chris swears the drugs are not in the hospital’s drug inventory.”



“So Blair,” interrupted Lance, “You’re saying someone at the hospital is buying regulated equipment using the hospital’s company registration and drugs using the Chief Pharmacist’s registration number and setting Dr Landgraab up as the culprit if there is an investigation?”

“Yes, that’s it in a nutshell.”

“What sort of equipment?” asked Lance.

“Lasers of some kind, I don’t recall the specifics, but something that Cornelia said is regulated.”

“All medical lasers are regulated.  But could they have been Q-switched lasers or picoseconds lasers?” asked Dr Landgraab.

“Yes.  Q-Switched lasers.  I definitely remember that now that you mentioned it,” replied Blair.

“What are Q-switched laser used for?” asked Valerie.

“Dermabrasion mostly, but Q-switched lasers are now used fairly extensively for removing tattoos,” replied Dr Landgraab.  “But Blair, I rarely ever sign delivery dockets, maybe three or four a year at most and only for specific equipment I’ve ordered.  I haven’t been anywhere near the loading dock in months.  Not since Buster Clavell’s retirement.”

“So who took over from Mr Clavell on the loading dock?” asked Lance.

“I think his name is Lang but I don’t have all that much to do with the administrative staff.  I’ve only met him the once.  I phoned him to track down a shipment of titanium sutures which had gone astray.  He located them and brought them straight to me.  He seemed quite competent.”

“Did you, by any chance, sign for those titanium sutures?” asked Lance.

“Of course!” replied Dr Landgraab as a collective “ahh” echoed around the room.

“Dr Landgraab, how long ago did that happen?” asked Lance.

“Hmm, maybe three or four months ago.  I see where you’re going with this; but all new employees are subject to rigorous police checks.”  All eyes turned to Blair.

“We do our best but we rely on police services in other jurisdictions to check their records for out of townies.  However, from my investigations I’m thinking your Mr Lang may be a Twinbrook hacker whose real name is Lang Gwydd.  A contact in Twinbrook, Scout Sergeant, has told me things are really quiet there.  The Rackets had collectively gone on vacation and Sinbad Rotter and Lang Gwydd had dropped off the radar.  In my investigation, I’ve been trying to get a handle on the man called Justin Lang at the hospital but I’m certain his identity is a fake.  It’s too clean.  I began matching his record with the Twinbrook guys and I’m pretty sure he’s Lang Gwydd but with some work done.”



When silence descended on the group as they mulled over their thoughts, muffled sobs could be heard from above.  Dr Landgraab sprinted up the stairs followed closely by Galeas.  A few minutes later Dr Landgraab came downstairs.  “Anja is having nightmares.  I’ve given her an injection for the pain of her ribs.  Galeas has offered to stay with her until she’s sleeping.”

Bors said, “Let’s just summarise what we know.  One: the villains are using the hospital’s legitimate registration systems to buy quantities of restricted drugs probably not intended for hospital use.  Two: the hospital has more operating theatres that are specifically designed for plastic surgery than it should conceivably use.  Three: the villains have purchased dermabrasion lasers to remove tattoos.  Four: minutes before the warrant was issued for his arrest, Dr Landgraab had paid a visit to the criminals at the warehouse to negotiate the purchase of their shares, and they had demanded that the townies give them their shares to gain 100% control of the hospital.”

“Lance you were right, the authorities are in their pockets,” said Bors, “Drugs and plastic surgery I can understand, but why the lasers for removing tattoos?”

“Oh, I think I’ve just worked it out!” exclaimed Blair with delight.  “Law enforcement agencies now have a tattoo database and we trace over 70% of criminals by their tattoos.  Tattoos aren’t necessarily unique, but the placement and number of tattoos, usually are unique to an individual.  By removing the tattoos and changing their faces with plastic surgery and body sculpting, the criminal element can move about freely and circumvent all facial recognition software.  The only thing they can’t disguise is their DNA and while we have CODIS and the National DNA database, it’s not always enough.”

“Okay, we’re progressing.” said Bors.  “Now we have a good idea why they need control of a hospital but why Sunset Valley?  Why not a big city like Bridgeport or somewhere with a large volume of visitors to disguise their activities?

“Maybe because the people of Sunset Valley are generally poorer than other towns and the hospital is the major employer,” suggested Blair.  “Perhaps they thought they could squeeze us more than other towns?”



“I think the reason might be the similarity in the bank accounts,” replied Valerie.  “Only the most pedantic auditor would find that discrepancy, because most hospitals have more than one bank account.  They have trust accounts and such.  No I think they targeted this hospital because they somehow found the similarity between the bank accounts.  Plus they probably didn’t expect the townies to be so tenacious in holding onto their shares.”

“Now that’s plausible,” said Blair and the group nodded in agreement.

“So what do we do now?” Geoffrey Landgraab asked.

Valerie looked at him her eyes twinkling like blue sapphires.  “How about we offer them something they might see as more valuable than this hospital?”

Geoffrey looked up and asked, “What did you have in mind?”

“Something so fabulous that they’d be tempted to take it!  Do you recall the decor of the warehouse?”

“Early mid century shabby chic man cave?” answered Geoffrey uncertainly.

Valerie chuckled, “No, I meant the collection of weapons.  The battle axes, crossbows, maces, scimitars and swords on the walls and in display cases.  Someone has spent an awful lot of money to buy or replicate some of the legendary weapons of history.  So what if we offered them the most fabulous weapon of all time:  Excalibur?  To a dedicated collector, it would be worth more than the real face value of the shares, perhaps even as much as the §26 million they previously demanded.”

“Excalibur is magical,” Bors countered.  “Why would you suggest we hand it over to a bunch of crime lords?”

“Because it’s only magical in the hands of a righteous person,” answered Valerie.



“Where would you find Excalibur?” asked a bewildered Blair. “Notwithstanding the fact that Excalibur is a myth; if it was real, surely thousands of treasure hunters must have been looking for it for centuries.”

“Oh finding will be easy,” replied Valerie.  “I know where I put it.”

[RaiaDraconis]

Aha! Now Valerie has laid her cards on the table! This grows more unnerving by the minute...poor Geoffrey, being caught up in all of this. Whomever wants control also wants him out of the picture. Very unnerving, that.

Way to go, Blair!

[Shewolf13]

Woot!  Go Valerie!  Oh wow.  I'm so giddy right now XD  I love this story so much.  It just keeps getting better and better, all the while I get to the end of an update and almost shout, "No!  You can't just end it THERE!"

[MarianT]

Great update! Of course Valerie knows where Excalibur is -- she's the Lady of the Lake.

[Magz from Oz]

Lady of the Lake:  Chapter 38 – The Warehouse


Blair looked exceedingly uncomfortable.  “I think this is where I report back to my boss”, she said.  “I will tell him I have been informed that Dr Landgraab took the last chopper back to Bridgeport with a patient.  That may buy us all enough time.”  Then, turning towards Dr Landgraab, Blair addressed him directly. “Dr Landgraab, don’t even think of surrendering yourself to the police.  I think that could be very dangerous.  Mr duGaunnes is right: the timing is far too suspicious.  Someone is giving my boss orders that are contrary to proper police procedures.  I know there’s not enough concrete evidence in my files to arrest anyone on those fraud charges.  So my advice is to lay low and stay out of sight.  Neither Justine or Hank want to arrest you Dr Landgraab, but they will have to, if they see you.”



“But I told Connor Frio I would meet him in the library tonight,” responded Geoffrey Landgraab.

“I’ll take care of that.  In the meantime, I’m going to run some leads down.   I can show myself out.  It’s been... really interesting... to meet you all again.”  She walked down the stairs muttering to herself, “Excalibur!  Yeah right!  It’s just the stress!  It’s a wonder everyone in this town isn’t a little bit gaga?”



Geoffrey used the group’s focus on Blair’s departure as an opportunity to take a closer look at Valerie, the wife of Sir Bors.  From his readings of history, Geoffrey knew that only one person could be the last to touch Excalibur, the Lady of the Lake.  Geoffrey had read that once King Arthur’s Marshall, Bedivere, had cast the magnificent sword into the river at Camlann, a hand arose and caught the sword mid-air; then sank into the waters.  Thus King Arthur was assured that the sword had been returned to its maker.  If one assumed that Valerie duGaunnes put Excalibur somewhere, she was not just some modern woman who happened to marry a mysteriously immortal Sir Bors, as Geoffrey had thought initially, but the sword’s maker, the Lady of the Lake herself!

Geoffrey’s mind flooded with thoughts.  Valerie’s name, her cornflower blue eyes, vermillion dress and blond hair – surely these could not all be coincidences:  Valerie must be the unknown maiden in the painting in the secret chamber of the West Almandy Manor House.  According to the White Knight of Gaunnes’ journals, Lady Valerie, half-sister to King Arthur, went on Camelot’s last quest with Sir Bors the Younger as her only companion, and disappeared.

Geoffrey recognised that there were some inconsistencies with his theory.  Historical accounts stated that Sir Bors the Younger was killed in the Holy Land on Good Friday, while no historical source made any mention of Lady Valerie’s existence whatsoever.  Only the White Knights of Gaunnes journals contained accounts of Lady Valerie being on Avalon at the fall of Camelot.  Could somehow these two Arthurian characters have become immortal, he pondered.  Perhaps they had moved throughout history together as man and wife and bore children like Lance who became the ‘Saviours’ mentioned in the White Knight of Gaunnes journals.

Geoffrey reasoned that except for the immortal aspect and the Sir Galahad lookalike in Galeas, which he was yet to figure out, his theory made some sort of logical sense.  Taking a deep breath Geoffrey screwed up his courage and knelt before Morgana’s father.  “Sir Bors, perhaps I should have introduced myself fully.  My name is Geoffrey Owen Almandy-Landgraab.  I believe you know my ancestor Aeron, son of Cai and squire to Sir Elyan the White.  It is my family’s honour to serve in your name as the White Knights of Gaunnes.  If I may, I should like to accompany the Lady of the Lake to retrieve Excalibur?”

Sir Bors looked pensively at Dr Landgraab organising his thoughts when Lance stepped forward.  “Dr Landgraab, apart from the fact that our method of travel can be extremely hazardous; Avalon is not the tranquil sanctuary it once was.  It has dangers that we cannot subject you to.  If you were harmed from this, you could not fulfil your destiny.  I shall escort the Lady of the Lake back to retrieve Excalibur.”

Geoffrey looked disappointed until Bors spoke, “Geoffrey I agree with Lance.  To endanger yourself unnecessarily is foolish.  You are an honourable man and a gifted surgeon.  But there is much good you have yet to do.  You are indeed, a worthy descendant from the brave and gracious Aeron I had the pleasure to knight.  Aeron would have been an asset to the Round Table had it not been destroyed.  You have asked for our help and unstintingly we will assist you all we can.  However, before anyone goes to Avalon, we need to know whether this exchange is acceptable.  We must return to the Warehouse to negotiate this proposal.  With that warrant out for your arrest, we can’t ask this of you.”

“Galeas would be a far better negotiator than I anyway.”

“True, but they don’t know him.  But they will remember Valerie so she and Lance should be the ones to return to the warehouse and negotiate the exchange of Excalibur for the hospital shares.  Valerie, because her face will now be familiar to them; and Lance because of his rather unique skills.  I will go as backup.  Geoffrey, it would please me to know that you are safe, so I’m asking you to trust us and stay here while we do this.”

“Of course my Lord,” replied Geoffrey Landgraab.

“I gave up my lands and my title a very long time ago Geoffrey.  I would be honoured if you would simply call me Bors.  Please get some sleep while you can, you will need to be alert when the time comes.  There is a bed in the room beside Morgana and Anja, use that.  Galeas can take first watch.”

“Of course Bors.  Thank you,” Geoffrey replied smiling.

After appraising Galeas of their plans, the trio set out for the warehouse.  Arriving at the warehouse rear entrance, Lance used his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door.  “I will wait here outside as lookout and backup.  Lance, show me again how to work this sonic blaster.”  Lance demonstrated the device until he was certain his father knew what he was doing.

Bors was still uneasy about this.  “Okay we’re good to go.  They will most likely have a guard but they will never waste the best fighter on sentry duty.  But be prepared nonetheless.  Lance, a word of caution; don’t take chances.  Get your mother and yourself out of there at the first sign of real trouble.” said Bors.



The warehouse was in darkness as Valerie and Lance entered, but as Lance began to change the setting on his sonic screwdriver he was jumped by a man who Valerie promptly turned into a toad.  The toad ran shrieking into the darker reaches of the warehouse.

A bright spotlight came on above their heads blinding them to what lay further in.  “Hold it right there lady,” a voice called from the darkness away to Valerie’s right.  “You got style, I’ll grant you that.  That’s quite a way to make an entrance.  How’d ya get in here?”

Valerie called into the darkened depths of the warehouse.  “You’re not the only person who can override a lock, even a biometric one.  I want to speak to whoever is in charge?”

Another light turned on and the man Geoffrey Landgraab had spoken with earlier stepped forward into its glow, “Well pretty lady, you’re looking at him.  I was kinda hoping I’d see you again.  You gotta name?”

“My name is Valerie.  Who might you be?”

“You can call me Dennis,” the man replied.

“Dennis, I’ve come to offer you a unique opportunity?”

“Have you now.  Well, I’m listening.”



“I noticed earlier that someone here has a passion for ancient weapons of war.  I’ve come to offer that person an exceptional weapon in exchange for the shares of the hospital.”

“The hospital shares are not on offer.  Ansari, escort the lady and her toy boy out.”

A dark haired athletic looking woman stepped past Dennis but stopped when another voice spoke up from the darkness to Valerie’s left.  “What kind of weapon?”  In contrast to the rough cadence of Dennis’ voice, the new inquirer’s voice was mellow, cultured and educated. 

“A sword,” replied Valerie as she turned toward the new inquirer.  Lance now stood beside his mother ready to clutch her hand and carefully watched the proceedings.

“Which sword?” the soft voice asked.

“Excalibur,” replied Valerie and immediately guffaws and snickers broke out among the unseen mob.  Valerie estimated that there were possibly two dozen people in the warehouse - many more than had been there earlier.

“Do you have it with you?”

“No,” replied Valerie.

“Where did you get it?”



“Excalibur has been in my family’s possession for centuries.”

“Which family might that be?”

“Pendragon,” replied Valerie, as snorts of derision and chuckles could be heard.

“Where is Excalibur?”

“In a place no one but I can ever find,” replied Valerie.

“How soon can you get it?”

“I’ll need twenty-four hours.  In that time you will prepare the documents for the SEC to transfer the ownership of all 51% of the shares of the Sacred Spleen Hospital into the name of Morgana Wolff, the paramedic you almost killed with the sabotage of the autoclave.  You will also prepare letters of resignation of all members of the current Hospital Board.  When I produce Excalibur and you are satisfied that it is, in fact, Excalibur, you will sign the documents.  Once I have all the signed documents in my possession, I will hand over the sword.  This is my first and final offer.”

“That sabotage wasn’t our doing,” said the softly spoken man.

“Your man Dennis said earlier this evening that he would keep sabotaging the hospital until the townies caved in?”

“Dennis has a nice line in threats.  It comes with his territory.  I heard it worked though.  The Doc took the bait, obviously, and the last chopper to Bridgeport.”

“That’s why I’m here in his place,” replied Valerie not disclosing that she knew Geoffrey’s whereabouts.  “If it wasn’t your people sabotaging the hospital, who was it?”



“It’s just a turf war lady.  We legitimately bought that little hospital.  We were going to turn it into a goldmine... our goldmine.  But our opposition had other ideas.”

“The police?” asked Valerie to the howling laughter of the mob.

“The police are our... um... friends, maybe not, allies at least.  Now Miss Valerie Pendragon, you’re asking an awful lot for a sword no-one can verify is Excalibur, because I’m guessing you don’t have any provenance to prove its authenticity,” said the soft voice.

“You will know it is Excalibur the moment you see it.”

“How will I know?”

“Trust me, you’ll know.  Excalibur has an aura like no other. You will only need provenance if you want to sell it, and if that is your wish, I’m sure you’ll find someone who can forge the documents you need.”

“I don’t like this Boss, said the man called Dennis.  “This sounds like a con.”

“It’s a clever one, if it is Dennis.  We’ve all been Con Artists at one time or another.  Does this feel like something we’d pull?  Who would try to con a Con Artist?  Mancini, you’ve got a good nose for a clever con, does this smell like a con to you?”

“No boss!” replied a heavily accented Italian voice from the shadows. “But if I was pulling this one, I use a more... well... sexier ingénue to play the part.”

“Pok, what do you think?  Is this a con?”

“No Boss!” said another voice.

What about you Hooley?  Does this feel like a con to you?”

“I don’t think so Boss,” replied a soft lilting voice that Valerie knew.

“You know me Robin Hooley,” said Valerie turning further to her left, “Tell your boss I don’t do cons.”

“She’s right Boss.  Miss Valerie here is from Dragon Valley.  She’s straight up.  Weird... to be sure, even by Dragon Valley standards, her whole family is weird, but they are straight.  Now she says she’s a Pendragon.  That certainly explains a lot.  I guess that’s why nobody else ever wins against them at the medieval fair.  A Pendragon!  Wait till I tell the Eames.”

“So what happens after if we exchange Excalibur for the shares?”

“I file the SEC documents.  You pack up and leave Sunset Valley and you can do what you like with Excalibur,” replied Valerie.

“And here I thought you were being reasonable.  Why would we leave?” asked Dennis.



“It would be healthier for you.  Your opposition obviously knows where you are.  It’s just a petty turf war to you with the hospital and our friends as collateral damage; but to the people of Sunset Valley, it is life and death.  If you leave Sunset Valley, your opposition will have no need to sabotage the hospital further causing more death and destruction.  Besides, this warehouse doesn’t seem to be an ideal hideout.  All of you here in one place with only one entry point; it seems a nice setup for an ambush.  Also, if I can get in, they can too.  I think you would survive longer if you left Sunset Valley.”

“You may have a point Ms Pendragon,” said the soft spoken man, “However, you do realise that you’re outnumbered?  You’re in a very weak position to be making such highfaluting demands.”

“I’m not here alone and I’m not threatening you.  I’m making you a genuine offer that will advantage both of us.  If you don’t like it, you can always say no and I’ll find your opposition who may not be so short sighted.”

“I’ll say this for you Miss Valerie Pendragon, you have spirit and I admire that.  All right, you have a deal.  I will prepare the documents and you will bring me the sword.  Just you... and the sword.  You can leave your toy boy at home.”

“My boy, as you say, returns with me or I don’t return at all?”

“The boy should stay here as hostage until she returns with the sword,” suggested the man with the Italian accent.

“I don’t think so.  Goodbye ‘Mr whoever you are’ and good luck with your opposition.”  Valerie turned toward Lance when the voice spoke again but without the soft mellow tones.

“Wait Miss Pendragon.  You and the boy can both go.  You two have 24 hours to bring us Excalibur.”

“You know my name.  Whom am I speaking to?” asked Valerie.



“Michael Dandy.”

“Very well, Mr Dandy, you have a deal.”

As Valerie and Lance left the building, Dennis turned to his leader.  His tone more of a statement than a question, said, “Boss we’re not letting those shares go, are we?”



“Of course not!  Ursine, Ansari, Bird, Hudson and Irwin, you take out Miss Valerie Pendragon and Winchester, Hemlock, Schlick, and Torres can take care of the toy boy.”

A refrain of “Yes Boss” sounded around the cavernous room.

“Eh Boss,” Robin Hooley spoke up.  “The boy is her son Lancelot.  He’s grown up some since I last saw him.  But all that family are skilled combatants.  We’d best be careful.”

“And Boss, one of them is an occult,” said a ghostly woman’s voice.  “That toadification curse requires at least a level 4 spell castor.”

“Good thinking Hooley and Slymer.  Okay, so Pok, you and Slymer know occults.  You two get hold of whatever elixirs and potions you need to give us every advantage.  Get something for Clavell while you’re at it.  While a decoy who looks like a toad might be a brilliant distraction, we could only use him in that state once.  You all have your assigned roles, so practice your moves for their return.  We don’t want any surprises and Gwydd, you better figure out how they hacked your biometric lock or we’ll get you a new pair of shoes,” Michael Dandy said as he turned on the lights. 

“Listen up people!  We’re not handing over anything.  We’ve been working to this plan for years.  This is our turf and we will win.  We are not just kleptos and petty thieves but superior craftsmen and women of skill and daring.  With Excalibur we will prevail.  The Supervillainess and her henchmen will finally be eliminated.”

A chorus of exclamations of “Yeah”, “Orright”, and “Bout time!” echoed throughout the warehouse.

As Bors, Valerie and Lance left the warehouse, Lance turned to his mother in the back seat.  “Mum, you do realise they are going to double cross us to get Excalibur and still keep their shares.”



“Of course they’ll try,” replied Valerie.  “That’s why I plan to turn Excalibur into a portkey.”

[MarianT]

Ah, a Portkey! Magz, you're brilliant!

[Shewolf13]

Oh My Watcher!  That is perfect!  Oh Valerie, you are just so awesome! 

[RaiaDraconis]

Heh. Valerie is far more clever than the criminals take her for. Interesting plot twist regarding the turf war. I'll be curious to see who is on the other side of the battle.

[melancholy_anju]

Oh a portkey lol. I can't wait to see that. These chapters are always so in depth and well done. When I see you have a new post I get excited. It's like getting lost in a good book. So amazing.

[Magz from Oz]

Lady of the Lake:  Chapter 39 – Return to Avalon


“Remind me again what a portkey is?” asked Bors.

“Daaaaad...  Honestly,” said Lance.  “A portkey is an object that has been enchanted with the power to immediately transport any person touching it to a different location.”

“When you were children, your mother gave you teleporting objects so you wouldn’t be caught out after curfew.  Were those portkeys?”

“Yes.”

“From where is the power derived?  Is it a Time Lord tool or a witchcraft device?”



“Actually it is a witchcraft device, although not ours originally,” replied Valerie.  “The concept was created by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter books¹.  Lance and I experimented with it and we have successfully used portkeys dozens of times.”

“But the object was transported with the teleported person,” said Bors.  “When the villain touching Excalibur disappears with the sword, no one else can touch it.  So unless they all touch Excalibur simultaneously, you will only get rid of one villain.”

“Lance and I were working on that very issue last year; it just needs tweaking.”

“So where are you going to teleport them?”

“Originally I thought of sending them to jail but without due process, they’d be released, so I’m still thinking about that.”

“Well it seems there is a lot to do in the next 24 hours before this plan is workable”, said Bors.  Then, after checking his rear view mirrors for the umpteenth time, added, “Okay, we don’t have a tail so let’s get home and get to work”.



Arriving back at the Condor Museum Lofts, Valerie checked in on her daughters and Anja.  All were sleeping soundly except Anja.  Whatever Geoffrey Landgraab had given the injured woman had not given her peaceful dreams.  Still a near death experience was a lot to get one’s head around, so Valerie cast a spell taking away Anja’s nightmares and left the room.



Next, Valerie rang Blair Wainwright.  “Hi Blair, this is Valerie duGaunnes. I hope I didn’t wake you.”  Valerie said pretending not to hear Blair’s mutterings.  “Who would be an opposing force for those criminals at the warehouse, if not the police?”

“It’s after midnight Mrs D, is this important?”

“Very.”

“Okay.  The criminals are divided into Master Thief and Emperor of Evil factions.  That particular warehouse is currently a thieves’ den so their opposition, other than law enforcement, could be the evil career faction.  I understand from the latest police bulletins that there’s a turf war going on between the two criminal factions.  But we don’t have that problem.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, there actually aren’t many criminals who choose to go down that path.  Anyway, we haven’t had an evil group in Sunset Valley since Judy Bunch outwitted Dr Iniquitous.”

“What happened to Dr Iniquitous?”

“We don’t know.  Maybe he just packed his bat and ball and went home.  As I said, as far as we know, we don’t have an evil faction here anymore.”

“But somewhere else has?”

“That’s classified,” said Blair hesitating.  “Oh what the heck, I’ve broken so many rules already.  The latest police intelligence puts a woman from Sunlit Tides by the name of Alana Kahale as the next Empress of Evil aspirant.  This is all supposition because the police there haven’t been able to pin a single thing on her because her husband is the island’s Governor and she’s a 5 star celebrity.  What I can tell you is that Kahale fell off the radar in Sunlit Tides about a week ago.  So ever since Donia Spinelli, a known associate of hers from Roaring Heights, showed up here in Sunset Valley last Sunday, we have been watching out for Kahale.  I was actually tailing Spinelli when I saw her and Michael Dandy get into a very heated argument on the night of the autoclave explosion.  When I saw Dandy after the roof fire, I was hoping he’d lead me to Spinelli’s hideout.  Why do you want to know?”

“Well it seems the people at the warehouse are not the saboteurs of the hospital, but their opposition is.  Do you know where we can find this Spinelli and what does she look like?”



“Spinelli is actually a spritely 76 year old, but mutton dressed as lamb, if you know what I mean.  She is 5’8”, dies her hair blond, has brown eyes and weighs about 100 pounds dripping wet.  She usually wears a black dress but she’s no grieving widow.  We haven’t found out where she is staying.  Spinelli has been seen out at the Old Mill Tea Room up at Stoney Falls and at the Elixir Store.  But she disappears for long periods of time.  We know she uses the LLAMA booth in the Elixir Store to disappear.  We have no way of tracing where she goes.  If you’re thinking of trying to locate Spinelli, my official advice is:  don’t.  But since I doubt that’s going to deter you, be careful, they tell me she’s bad to the bone.  According to her file, she’s got the unholy trio; evil, mean spirited and a kleptomaniac.  And if that’s not bad enough, she is hot-headed and ambitious.  I know you are a powerful witch but by all accounts, she’s a nasty piece of work all round and seriously dangerous.”

“Hmmm... it is interesting that she uses the LLAMA.  By the way, how many known thieves are there here in Sunset Valley?”

“There are three home-grown ones we know about.  Add in Michael Dandy and Lang Gwydd; that makes five.  Is there something I need to know about?”

“Not yet.  Thank you again and goodnight.”

“It’s morning Mrs D!”  Valerie hung up before she received a lecture from Blair she didn’t want.



Bors thanked Galeas for keeping an eye on things and advised him to get some sleep.  While Bors believed they had not been followed to the Condor Museum Lofts, there were only a limited number of rental houses in the town, so someone was sure to find out where they were staying, if they really wanted to.  Bors was uneasy.  There were far too many doors and windows in the Condor Museum Lofts to be guarded against intruders.  Give him a tall keep with narrow arrow slits and Bors would have been confident of defending it.  Not that he’d defended anything in a very long time, Bors thought, but these modern houses with all this glass were an invitation to unwanted entry.  Still he felt it more likely that the villains would want Valerie and Lance inside their warehouse to stage their ambush because they knew their own property better and had the home ground advantage.  That’s how he would have planned his attack in their position.

Lance looked at his mother and spoke. “Bad news mum.  My vortex manipulator is quite low on power so it looks like we’ll have to go to present day Avalon not the island you left in the 6th century.”

“That no problem”, asserted Valerie.  “I know where Excalibur will be but Avalon may have changed a little bit over time.  The lake and the hills may have moved to fit the geography of its new location.”

Turning to his wife, Bors said, “Please be careful returning to Avalon.  It’s been a long time and you don’t know what has been happening there all this time.  Also it’s an enchanted island, so its inhabitants may not be too friendly with visitors.”

“I’ll be careful,” replied Valerie, remembering the Green Fairy all those years ago.  “But don’t worry about the inhabitants; I’ll have Lance with me, wand in one hand and sonic screwdriver in the other.”

“I love you,” said Bors, holding his wife in his arms.

“I love you too.  I promise I’ll be careful.  Because of the rotation of the Earth, Avalon will be in daylight.  We’ll be fine,” Valerie assured her husband with a kiss.



Silently Bors watched as Valerie held Lance’s arm and together they disappeared.  He would have liked to have gone with them, but Bors felt he couldn’t leave his young daughters to be guarded only by Galeas who he knew to be very tired.  Bors fervently hoped that his bold and fearless wife would exercise caution.



When Valerie and Lance arrived on the misty island, Lance immediately drew out his wand.  They stood adjacent to a relatively fresh flower trail.  Tension prickled along Valerie’s spine as the mist dissipated into bright sunshine.  By the edge of the lake, Valerie could see two little plant elf children happily playing a game of peek-a-boo among the flowers and reeds that grew there. 



Feeling relieved, Valerie and Lance walked along the lake shore.  Valerie easily found what she had been looking for – Merlin’s grave.  As she knelt down to the grave, she called the sword to her with a song.  For a few tense minutes nothing happened, although Valerie’s song drew the attention of the little plant elves who momentarily stopped playing to watch her. Then, inexplicably Excalibur was in her hand and she curled her fingers around the once familiar hilt and held it aloft.  The plant elves clapped and continued with their game.

As Valerie walked over to Lance, she felt a presence behind her.  She turned around quickly only to find Merlin’s ghost, looking exactly as she’d last seen him more than one and half millenniums ago. 

“Oh Merlin you startled me.  It’s so good to see you,” squealed Valerie throwing her arms around him.  “Come and meet my son.”



“We’ve met,” replied Merlin.  “But it’s been a while, Lance.  It is good to see you again.  What brings you both here today?  Is that Excalibur you have there?”

Valerie quickly gave Merlin all the details and how she hoped to turn Excalibur into a portkey to transport them all from Sunset Valley.

“Do you know where you’re planning to transport them?” asked Merlin.

“Not yet but I was thinking about transferring them to Themyscira².”

“Well Queen Hippolyta and the Amazons won’t like that.  Perhaps you could consider something closer.  There are two options.  The island you can see on the horizon is also an enchanted island.  It is occupied by Green Fairies whose numbers are dwindling rapidly.”

“Is that a bad thing?” asked Valerie.

“Green Fairies are very important to the sustainability of the forests.  As aggressive as the breeders are, the remainder are harmless arborists who look after the trees of the forests.  As their numbers decline, the forests of the world decrease too.  There should be balance in all things,” said Merlin.

“Well that seems a more practical substitute than jail for our villains.  I’m sure not all those thieves we encountered are evil.  Maybe some just fell in with a bad crowd.  We could transport them there and let the Green Fairies sort them out.  What’s the second option?”

“There is another island further out which is not enchanted.  It is a place of exile for Weeping Angels.  Most have decayed beyond resurrection but some are still viable.”

“Weeping Angels?” said Lance anxiously.  “Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure.  I’m safe.  It’s not like I’ve got a future they can steal from me?



“What are Weeping Angels?” asked Valerie.  “They don’t sound too dangerous.”

“Not these ones.  The Doctor says they are a fascinating race from another world,” said Merlin.  “Apparently they are creatures of the abstract who live off potential energy.  The Doctor once said they were the only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely.  No mess, no fuss, they just zap you into the past and let you live.  Their victims die in the past; and in the present, the Weeping Angels consume the energy of all the days their victims might have lived.³”

“Well that sounds like a better alternative than being turned into a wooden statue if the Green Fairies don’t like them.  I didn’t really want to hurt anyone,” said Valerie.

“After all these years, you are still a softie my dear child.  Okay let’s have a look at Excalibur,” said Merlin.  “I have an idea of how we can transport multiple people at once.  Lancelot, how much power do you have in your sonic screwdriver?”

“It has full power”.

“Excellent!  Let’s get to work.”  The three wizards worked and experimented with Excalibur until they were satisfied they had a workable solution.  Finally, Merlin reluctantly bid them farewell, hugging Valerie and saying his goodbyes to Lance.  “Don’t be a stranger Lance and tell The Doctor I said hello.”



Valerie and Lance arrived back at the Condor Museum Lofts just as dawn turned the shimmering sea into a kaleidoscope of orange hues and reds.  They soon told Bors of their plans for Excalibur.  Valerie knew the toddlers would wake soon and if left unattended would wake the household, so she went upstairs to check on them.  Returning downstairs shortly after, Valerie reported that Ginny was happy to look after the twins for the day and had volunteered to take them to the beach.  Valerie prepared some energy drinks for those who hadn't slept while Bors whipped up a quick breakfast of waffles. 



Just as Bors was about to sit down to breakfast, he received an unexpected phone call.  “Mr duGaunnes, this is Dave Ramsey.  I’m the 2IC in Security at the Sacred Spleen Hospital.  I’m calling because Dr Landgraab asked us to contact you if anything happened to him.  Can I have a moment of your time Sir?

“Certainly, Mr Ramsey, how can I help you?”

“Dr Landgraab asked us to check the CCTV footage for the second floor to see if we could identify the saboteur of the autoclave.  I have found something that I think is unusual.  The only unauthorised person to enter that particular Dirty Utility room in the time frame was an elderly dementia patient from ward 4M, who is prone to wandering the corridors.  So I checked all our corridor footage for Ward 4M and tracked her movements.  It seems that that particular patient is often in the executive corridor and enters the Boardroom every day.  The peculiar thing is; she doesn’t come out for hours.”

“Do you have the dementia patient’s name?” asked Bors.

“That’s another thing, she was admitted under the name of Donna Aggiunto from Monte Vista but I checked with a friend there in law enforcement and there is no record of any Aggiunto’s in the town.  Here’s the kicker, apparently ‘aggiunto’ is the Italian word for assistant or side-kick.”

“Where is she now?”

“That’s anomaly number three.  She was discharged four hours before the fire.  When the Fire Chief declared the fire out, I went back into the hospital to check the Boardroom.  There is a LLAMA tucked away in a stationery and equipment storage area in there.  I think she’s used the LLAMA to disappear for most of the days she was an inpatient.  So I checked the CCTV footage for her movements since she was admitted.  She stayed in the ward until she’d been seen by Dr Langraab, took her meds and then wandered around.  By mid morning she’d go to the Boardroom and not reappear until late afternoon when she again wandered the corridors until she was sent back to her ward.  I checked with the guy at the Elixir store which has the only other LLAMA I know of in Sunset Valley.  Every morning for the past week, a spritely elderly lady in a black dress, stepped out of the LLAMA browsed for a while then walked out the front door.  She returned each afternoon, browsed again, sometimes bought an elixir and then used the LLAMA and disappeared.”

“Could she have set off the fire?”

“That’s my personal theory.  The Fire Chief said a timed explosive device was used to take out the main power supply but the showy part of the fire was merely a paper fire with alcohol used as an accelerant.  The Fire Chief said the Hospital would not have suffered too much structurally.  Closing the building until a building inspection is only an insurance issue.”

“Thank you Mr Ramsey.  I will tell Dr Landgraab all you have told me.”



“Okay, secondly, Mr duGaunnes, please tell him that Officer Goddard came to see me at my home last night.  Hank said he knows that Dr Landgraab didn’t take that last chopper to Bridgeport but he’s willing to support Agent Wainwright’s statement until it is proven wrong.  By the way, the security team will continue to guard the hospital until the building inspector is finished.  So you can find me at the front door any time you want to relay a message.”

“Thank you again Mr Ramsey.  I know Dr Landgraab would deeply appreciate the efforts you’ve gone to.”



Over breakfast, Valerie told of her late night conversation with Blair and Bors told of the call from Dave Ramsey.  All agreed that the dementia patient, Donna Aggiunto could be Donia Spinelli from Roaring Heights.  Their mission was to find her and implement the next part of their plan.

Dr Landgraab agreed to stay indoors and keep an eye on his patients, particularly as Morgana was exhibiting classic signs of post brain surgery patients, while Anja was now too stiff and sore to move much.  Lance left to make sure all his equipment was charged.

Galeas then said as he knew Donia Spinelli by sight, he could play an important part in the stakeout at the Old Mill.  He would take a book and could happily occupy his time innocently pretending to be a tourist.  Bors and Valerie decided to stakeout the Elixir store.  There wasn’t a performance on at the park next door, but they could still surreptitiously watch the store.  Together the four remaining co-conspirators worked out their roles and signals for their little sting.



Galeas was the first in place.  The Old Mill Tea Room had three main tea rooms.  The only occupied room contained two people; a rather pretty young woman who was drinking her tea and a young man.  Galeas watched with mild amusement as the young man seemed to be trying to find the courage to strike up a conversation with the woman.  Eventually the man gave up and sat with his back to the lady to have his tea. 



After ascertaining that Donia Spinelli was not yet on the premises, Galeas selected a position on the rear deck where he could see everyone arriving at the Old Mill.

Valerie and Bors took up a position at the performance park and easily spotted the elderly woman dressed in black get into a taxi outside the Elixir store.  Valerie rang Galeas.  “Heads up Galeas.  You may have incoming.  I’ll call you back in fifteen minutes as we agreed.”



Galeas was quietly sipping is tea when Donia Spinelli arrived.  Galeas saw her first and approached her.  “Hello Donia, it’s nice to see someone from Roaring Heights here.  Would you care to join me for some tea?”

“Hello um...  Look, I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name?  You’re the new guy at City Hall, aren’t you?”

“Yes that’s me.  Galeas, Galeas duGaunnes.  I’m visiting my sister who lives here.  Isn’t this just the most beautiful spot?  Are you staying long in Sunset Valley?”



“No, not long.  I’m here to... um...get... um... you know...” Donia didn’t finish her sentence when Galeas’ phone rang.

“Excuse me,” said Galeas as he stepped away from the table but made sure he was well within earshot of Donia as he replied ambiguously to the voice on the other end. 



Donia surreptitiously listened in to all Galeas’ side of the conversation.  She had gotten her hands on the file Dandy had commissioned on Galeas duGaunnes when he first arrived in Roaring Heights.  Donia thought Galeas was so naive and straight he was almost adorkable.

“Well that was really odd?” said Galeas retaking his seat.

“How so?” asked Donia.

“Well it seems the owners of the hospital shares here in Sunset Valley believe that they are being offered Excalibur in exchange for the shares.  I’m something of an expert in medieval weaponry so I’ve been commissioned to verify if the sword is really Excalibur.”

“Do you believe Excalibur exists?”

“I believe it could exist.  If it did though, it seems an unequal trade...  an enchanted sword for a few thousand shares.  I’m sorry Donia, I must go.  I don’t even know where the Outstanding Citizens Warehouse Corp is, so I’d better look around town so I can find it tonight at 10:00 PM.”  Galeas picked up his book.  “Donia, it was nice meeting you.  I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to chat.  I’ll settle your tab.  I hope you enjoy your stay in Sunset Valley.  Goodbye.”  Galeas didn't see the smirk that spread across Donia's face.



As soon as Galeas left the Old Mill, Donia was on the phone.  “Boss, you wouldn’t believe what I just heard.  Dandy is about to get his hands on Excalibur in exchange for his hospital shares.”



The voice on the phone was high pitched.  Aggression and agitation vibrated through every word.  “Well Dandy always had a fascination about weaponry... but Excalibur... it’s extraordinary if its magic is still intact after all this time.  We can’t take that chance.  We can’t let him get his hands on it.  We have to get there first.  When and where is it being delivered?”

“10:00 PM at their warehouse.  Boss, Dandy is sure to try to double cross the sword’s owner.  We’ll convince the owner that he’ll need us to act as security.”



“Donia that’s brilliant.  We’ll take that sword before the owner even gets to the warehouse.  I’m on my way to you now.  Let’s come up with a plan and be in position by 9:30PM.”

“Yes Boss,” replied Donia Spinelli.

“Excalibur shall soon be ours!  That sword should have been wielded by Mordred, not King Arthur.  Oh the power we will have with that sword at our command.”

“Yes Boss,” replied Donia, but in reality, she began making her own plans.  Feeling undervalued by Kahale and with her age against her achieving her own ambitions, Donia decided she would try to get the sword for herself.  With Excalibur she wouldn’t need any outside help to overthrow her enemies and become Empress of Evil herself. 



Donia was totally unaware that Alana Kahale was thinking along the same lines.  Alana thought with Excalibur, she wouldn’t really need a sidekick.  Empress of Evil with Excalibur seemed a nice bit of alliteration.  The words fit together so beautifully, Alana thought, almost like it was fated to be.  To herself Alana said fanatically, “Look out world, here I come!”


1.   Rowling JK, (2000), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Bloomsbury, UK
2.   Marston, WM & Peter, HG, (1941), All Star Comics, DC Comics, Burbank, CA, USA, (Wonder Woman)
3.   Paraphrased from Dr Who, Blink (2007) – 10th Episode of the third series (186)

[Shewolf13]

Oh the tangled webs you have woven!  Brava Magz!  I love this!  I can't wait to see what happens!

[RaiaDraconis]

Oh this was brilliant! But...even with Valerie's magic and Lance's abilities, they are going to be vastly outnumbered. Whatever is going to happen, I am absolutely at the edge of my seat

[Magz from Oz]

Lady of the Lake:  Chapter 40 – The Beginning of the End


While her parents went about their arrangements, Ginny took the twins to the beach with the help of magic.  Their picnic basket was a ‘one-time-only’ portkey.  Valerie and Bors would join Ginny and the twins on the beach as soon as they could. 

It was still summer but autumn was merely days away, so when they arrived at the beach they found it deserted.  And since there were no red and yellow flags on the beach, Ginny didn’t know whether it was safe to swim.  Not that she would get the chance to swim until her parents arrived: she knew from past experience that because the twins were so active, she couldn’t afford to take her eyes off them for more than a second.  Ginny soon set up two beach umbrellas and settled the twins down to play in the sand.



While her eyes and hands were occupied with entertaining the twins, Ginny’s thoughts were elsewhere.  She knew that her family was going on a stakeout because, as usual, she had listened in.  The Condor Museum Lofts was not like the house in Dragon Valley.  With its open plan areas and lots of glass and hard plaster walls, the sounds reverberated around the lofts.  When her mother left the bedroom door slightly ajar, Ginny clearly heard every word of their conversations.  Ginny was aware that her mother often left doors ajar and she wondered if that was on purpose because she knew Ginny hated being left out of things.

Added to that, Ginny had always been very observant.  Last night’s conversations had confirmed some of her theories.  Ginny finally had the verification she had sought for a very long time: her father really was Sir Bors the Younger, the former King of Gaunnes.  And last night, Ginny had learned that her mother was the Lady of the Lake.  She had known for ages that Lance was a Time Lord and that Galeas had no idea about any of it.  Ginny hadn’t figured out why this had to be a secret from Galeas but she was really good at keeping secrets.

Most of the secrets Ginny found on their home computers. Her parents weren’t exactly computer literate.  They did very few things on-line.  They mostly used email and occasionally googled something.  They knew next to nothing about blogs or apps and never once ever thought to empty the recycle bin.  Not that Ginny ever considered that she had been snooping.  The emails from her brothers and Morgana had clearly been sent to all the family, so Ginny rationalised that she was entitled to read them.  From the emails, Ginny learned about The Doctor and guessed that her parents had travelled through time on the TARDIS and that both Galeas and Morgana were adopted.

Now knowing that her father was Sir Bors the Younger, Ginny reasoned that his cousin would have been Sir Lancelot, the son of Bors’ uncle Bans, King of Benoic.  Since the email stated that Galeas was Lancelot’s son, Ginny deduced that Galeas would have to be Sir Galahad for that statement to be true.  But Ginny figured that Galeas couldn’t really be Sir Galahad.  If a Time Lord had gone back in time and taken the infant Galahad to the future, there would be no history of Sir Galahad ever finding the Holy Grail.  History had no mention of Lancelot fathering another son, but history could be wrong.  Logically, it made sense that Galeas had to be a clone of Sir Galahad.

Similarly, Ginny concluded that Morgana could also be a clone and Ginny’s research led her to believe that Morgana could indeed be a clone of none other than Morgan le Fay, the allegedly evil sister of King Arthur.  But from the tone of her mother’s emails to Morgana, it was clear that Morgan le Fay may have been misrepresented by history.  Certainly, her father had been.  It angered her that people wrote that the loving, caring and gentle man that Ginny knew her father to be, as a surly curmudgeon and brutal vengeful knight.



As Ginny pondered the inaccuracies of written history, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.  A young teen was walking along the beach toward them.  He looked at the ground as he walked and occasionally kicked at a wave that swept over his expensive shoes and soaked the legs of his designer jeans.  He stopped about a metre from Ginny and the twins, realising that he was not alone. 

“Sorry,” he muttered as he turned and walked ankle deep into the water.  Ginny and the twins watched him as he pulled out his Smartphone, looked at it briefly then put it away again.



“Zup?” Ginny called out.

“Nothing.”

Because Ginny’s attention was not 100% on the twins, Daisy made a dash for the water.  “Grab her!” yelled Ginny getting to her feet and picking up Bronwyn.  The teen easily grabbed Daisy and brought her back to Ginny.



“She’s quite a handful isn’t she?”

“Yes, and thank you so much.  These are my younger sisters, Bronwyn and Daisy.  I’m Guinevere by the way.  Guinevere duGaunnes.”

“I’m Malcolm Landgraab.”

“Oh I think I know your dad.  Is he the surgeon at the hospital?”

“Yeah.  What have you heard about him?  It’s not true you know.  None of it!” Malcolm exclaimed, anxiety making his voice sound rough and grouchy.

“He is a good surgeon.  He saved my older sister’s life.  I know he’s in a bit of a pickle right now, but they’ll sort it out,” replied Ginny.

“Yeah.  He’s a great surgeon.  He didn’t do anything wrong,” said Malcolm then paused as he realised exactly what Ginny said, “Wait!  What!  Who’ll sort what out?”

“Agent Wainwright and Officer Goddard are covering for him until they sort the whole sorry mess out.”

“How’d you know that?”

“My parents and brothers are helping your Dad fight the bad guys.”

“Do you know where my Dad is?”

Ginny looked up and down the beach.  They were alone but still she was cautious.  She winked at Malcolm.  “Say it’s getting kind of windy here.  How would you like to come home with us and join us for the picnic lunch there?”

Malcolm looked confused at first and then understood, “Sure... that sounds nice.  You lead the way.”

As they entered the kitchen of the Condor Museum Lofts, the first person Malcolm saw was his father. 



“Dad!”  Forgetting that he was now a teenager, Malcolm put down Daisy and hugged his father.  “We’ve been so worried about you!”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t call.  But it was too dangerous and I didn’t want to complicate things for you and your mother.”

“That’s what Mum said,” replied Malcolm.  “We knew it had to be something really awful for you to miss my birthday!”

Over a picnic lunch at the dining table, Malcolm and his father reconnected.  Geoffrey explained as much as he could to his son without giving away the real identities of his new friends and protectors.  When Geoffrey went upstairs to see his patients and begin some physiotherapy for Morgana, Malcolm texted his mother to say he was spending the afternoon with friends.



Ginny put the girls in their cribs to have an afternoon nap.  Left to their own devices, Malcolm and Ginny went exploring through the junk piled in one of the garages downstairs.  Some of it was probably leftover from previous tenants but they found some interesting equipment.  One was a Brain Enhancing Machine similar to the one Lance had used for his university course.  Ginny asked Malcolm if he would assist her to move some of the bigger items to help create a small den in the garage.  He readily agreed.  They were struggling to move some of the bulkier items, when the doorbell rang.  Ginny answered the door to a worried Thornton whose first words were not a greeting.  “Where’s Morgana?”

“Hey Thornton, we were wondering when you would surface.  Morgana is upstairs but she is in the middle of physiotherapy right now.  Can we please get your help with moving some things?”  Ginny asked.

“Okay, I guess.  How is it that Morgana is here and not in Bridgeport?” asked Thornton.

Ginny was unsure how much Dr Landgraab wanted Thornton to know so replied vaguely, “I guess you can ask her physio that after her session.  Come on, we need your muscles.”  Thornton was reluctantly dragged off to the garage where he helped move a lumpy sofa and carry boxes of junk into the back yard for disposal.  Complaining of a sore back, Thornton declined the offer of a seat on the lumpy sofa and eyed the odd looking machine.

“Why are you keeping that?  What does it do?”

“Oh that’s one of those Brain Enhancing Machines.  The science students use them in university.  It’s supposed to give you a genius IQ to ace the exams or something like that.”

“Really, does it still work?”

“Why don’t you try it?” suggested Ginny.

“No thanks, there’s nothing wrong with my IQ,” replied Thornton.

At that moment the sun shone through the garage window.  “Oh look, the sun’s back out.  Why don’t we go for a swim next door?”

“Great,” said Malcolm.

“Not for me,” said Thornton, “I’ll go upstairs and check if Morgana has finished her session.”

Ginny and Malcolm went upstairs too to show Thornton where to find Morgana.  Ginny looked in on the twins who were still napping.  Geoffrey Landgraab had finished with Morgana’s physio treatment but she’d fallen asleep again.  Anja was awake but in a lot of discomfort so opted to stay in bed.  When Ginny told Dr Landgraab that she and Malcolm were going for a swim next door, Geoffrey offered to keep an ear on the twins.  Assured that they could have some fun while the summer lasted, Ginny and Malcolm bounded out of the house.



Geoffrey began to explain to Thornton as best he could about the surprise recovery of Morgana without giving away Lance’s use of alien nanogenes.  Before he finished his explanation, the twins woke up.  Geoffrey checked on them and called out to Thornton to lend a hand changing diapers.  When no help was forthcoming, Geoffrey changed both girls and looked around.  He found he had been talking to an empty room.  Thornton had disappeared.

Ginny and Malcolm arrived back from the pool when Bors, Valerie, Lance and Galeas returned home.  “What took you all so long?” asked Ginny mildly accusingly.  “I thought you were joining us on the beach for lunch?”

“We went to get some rather special supplies that took longer than we expected,” replied Valerie.

“Oh.  Okay,” said Ginny, her good mood restored.  “By the way, this is Dr Landgraab’s son, Malcolm.  We’ve made a little den for ourselves downstairs where all that junk was stored.  Do you want to see it?”

“Maybe later,” replied Bors.  “I want to touch base with Dr Landgraab on some things, first.”

“I’d like to see your new cubby,” replied Lance.  Ginny and Malcolm led the way downstairs only to find Thornton stretched out on the Brain Enhancing Machine.

“This thing doesn’t work does it?” asked Thornton.

“Hmmm,” replied Lance.  “Well, not right now it won’t, it’s in cool down mode because someone’s used it recently.  Did you try something?”



“I thought I’d have a go at the genius IQ setting because most of what Dr Landgraab said may as well have been Swahili for all the sense he made.”

“Well let’s see if it worked,” said Ginny.  “What are the six flavours of quarks?”

“What are quarks?” asked a puzzled Thornton.

“It didn’t work,” replied Ginny.  Thornton looked discomforted and said to no one in particular, “I think I’ll go over to the Museum.  Malcolm, I saw your mother go in there as I arrived.  Do you want to come with me?”

“Sure,” replied a noticeably puzzled Malcolm.  Thornton left the room.  “I’ll have to go with him.  He’s acting weird.  Everyone in town knows Thornton Wolff would never go anywhere near the Museum.”

After Malcolm left the room, Ginny said to Lance, “What setting do you suppose he activated instead of the IQ?”

“Probably the personality changing setting.”

“Well there’s lots of room for improvement with that!”



Lance turned to Ginny, “Try not to be so judgemental Ginny.  Morgana loves him, flaws and all.  By the way, how do you know about Quantum Chromodynamics?”

“I’m a genius, remember?” replied Ginny.  “Anyway you shouldn’t leave the schematic diagrams lying around for your design for a ‘Timey-wimey-detector’ so you can detect residual artron energy.  I’d written some notes in the margin.  Did you find them useful?”

“I thought someone else had written those notes.  Okay, so how much do you know?” asked Lance looking at his little sister with renewed appreciation.

“Just about all of it, replied Ginny. “But what I don’t understand is why Galeas doesn’t know any of it.  He must be Sir Galahad’s clone after all and we know he has some second sight inherited from King Pelles.  How come he doesn’t know anything?”

“I think it would mess with his head,” replied Lance.

“We think that too,” interrupted Bors startling them.  “I can see Ginny knows more than we thought, so I’ll explain to you both.  Galeas is not Sir Galahad, he merely has the same genetic material.  You really can’t compare them as they are two very different men.  I helped train Sir Galahad.  I had been on quests with him and we fought side by side.  I knew him like few men could.  I can unequivocally state that Galeas is not Sir Galahad.  Their biology might be identical but their minds are very much a product of their upbringing and their time in history.  Yes, Galeas is as gentle and kind as Sir Galahad, but he doesn’t have the unworldliness that Sir Galahad had.  Your mother and I feel that it would be wrong for Galeas to learn that he was Sir Galahad’s clone.  If it should mess with his head and he became the lesser man for it, it would be a great loss to his time.”



“So why are we all here in this time and this place?” asked Ginny.

“It was the last quest of the Round Table.  I don’t know the real reason for it, but my best guess is that humanity is in need of him.  Not as one of the brave soldiers who put their lives on the line so most of us can live in peace and security.  But as someone who has strong convictions that honesty and fairness should triumph over greed and inequality.  Galeas is innately good.  He is about as incorruptible as someone can be in this period of history.  He is the ideal person to become the Leader of the Free World and implement public policy to make the world a fairer and happier place for everyone.  That is his destiny.  Now come, your mother wants to speak to you both.”

Dinner that evening was very quiet with everyone lost in their thoughts.  Thornton hadn’t returned to the house after his visit to the Museum although Malcolm did.  Malcolm talked about his experiences with his mother and Thornton at the Museum.  He said Thornton even picked up Officer Keaton’s kid.  As this was apparently another thing Thornton wouldn’t ordinarily do, Ginny and Malcolm were convinced Thornton had accidently changed his personality.  Lance began to wonder how his old Brain Enhancing Machine had even managed to turn up among the junk downstairs.  But seeing the smile that his mother couldn’t quite hide when Malcolm explained Thornton’s odd behaviour, Lance wondered no more.  Instead he speculated whether every setting had been altered and that somehow his mother had intended to engineer the very outcome that had occurred.



With all the action happening after their curfew, Ginny and Malcolm were designated to stay at the house, to look after the patients and the twins.  Malcolm was particularly taken with the little girls.  He had always wanted a little sister and wanted to help entertain them. 

For the adults, the waiting for the action to start was different for each participant.  For Geoffrey Landgraab, dressed in his knight’s tunic and eager to get into the fray and clear his name, the time dragged. 

Galeas, similarly dressed, was both puzzled at how events turned out and anxious about the subterfuge that he would be a party to.  Galeas could Zeneport with meditation but was unsure how he would acquit himself using the portkey.  But timing was everything so he had no choice.  Galeas had disliked the sensations those early portkeys caused, so had only ever used the portkey his mother had given him once.  For Galeas, time moved too quickly.



For Lance and Valerie, who checked and double checked that everything worked according to plan, there was adequate time.  When Lance returned with all his gear at full power, he brought with him not only the knights’ tunics they needed, but Valerie’s golden robe and tiara.  To the criminals at the warehouse, it was hoped Valerie’s appearance was simply seen as stage dressing, but each item was both practical and magical.  The robe would protect Valerie better than any bullet proof vest and the tiara, which was made from the gold from Atlantis, had special powers of its own.  Valerie and Lance were confident they had covered all the angles, so Valerie spent her time baking for the twins’ birthday the following day.

Bors, dressed in a knights tunic that he had not worn for over a millennium, made sure everyone had their role and signals well in hand for the grand finale at the warehouse that night but he was still worried.  They were outnumbered and despite Valerie’s magic and Lance’s unique skills, this was not an even fight if the criminals turned nasty.  On the plus side was the feeling that this wasn’t going to be like the battles that Bors had fought in when he was a Knight of the Round Table.  In those days, all he had to rely on was his fellow knights, his brute strength, training, skill, strategy and understanding of the enemy’s tactics.  Try as he might, Bors could not get inside the head of the forces he was soon to oppose.



In the impending battle, Valerie would play to her strengths: her skill and knowledge of magic, her sword, her intelligence and the element of surprise.  Valerie was certain they would emerge victorious.  That worried Bors - he knew one should never go into an arena with that attitude.  It could make you blind to how the battlefield was evolving and stop you changing your tactics to counter it.  These criminals were not people who were known for playing fair.  Bors also considered the old adage; one should never underestimate the power of stupidity in large numbers.  In their case maybe not stupidity per se but desperation, which could create an unforeseeable variable Valerie seemed intent on disregarding.

Unknown to either of his parents, Lance had another ace up his sleeve.