A/N: Hey guys! Here is another chapter for you all! Hope you like it! Also thank you for your support! I was surprised that people liked the last chapter, so glad that you guys are liking the plot and the mystery! Thanks!
Here it is:
I woke up the next morning with another body pressed against mine. I looked down to see Annabeth snuggled up to my side. She looked so peaceful sleeping, I carefully moved a strand of hair out of her face. Last night we had eaten pizza and Annabeth had stayed over because it was getting late and we were both really tired. I had fallen asleep minutes after I had laid down, Annabeth falling asleep seconds before me. I closed my eyes again, savoring the moment. Annabeth shifted a bit and then slowly woke up. She looked up at me through droopy eyes.
"Good morning gorgeous," I said smiling. She smiled back and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before rolling over.
"Percy! Why didn't you wake me earlier, we're gonna be late," she admonished turning back. I tightened my grip on her,
"You looked so peaceful asleep, I didn't want to wake you."
She shook her head but her eyes were twinkling,
"Fine, but let me go! I have to change," she said.
"No!" I refused, so what if I was being childish.
"Percy," Annabeth warned.
"No!" I said again.
She leaned and kissed me on the cheek, "Now let me go so I can brush my teeth and kiss you." Well you can't argue with that logic, I reluctantly let her go. She got out and went to my dresser. She had stayed over a couple times and had a whole drawer to herself so she would have fresh clothes. She had changed into some sweatpants yesterday and a T-shirt before she had gone to sleep, now she pulled out another pair of clothes to wear and headed to the bathroom. I leaned back in bed, mind as well get some more sleep in.
-BREAK-
"See we're not that late," I told her as we entered the police station later on. She gave me a look and we made our way to the conference room. It should really have a name, I thought, The Room.
We had just barely sat down when Malcolm came in with more files in his hands,
"Good Morning guys," he said with a smile. I eyed the stack warily,
"Is all that for us?" I asked.
Malcolm winced, "I'm afraid so. These are some of the store's records and such, I would help but I have to report to the captain."
"Alright, thanks Mal," Annabeth said taking a file from the top.
-BREAK-
"Who worked there before Nico and Bianca?" I brought up the question.
Annabeth looked up from the board and flipped through a file, scanning the names.
"Well, the shop is relatively new, it's only about three years old. In that time frame they have had various employees. 14 to be exact. Two have not left according to recent records. Caleb Bruce and Cole Bruce. They're brothers and are both managers. I don't think Cole has been their in a while because we haven't heard from him, and Caleb is on vacation, he should be back by now..." Annabeth ended with a frown.
"He hasn't come in yet, I'm sure we'll see him soon. What about the other employees?" I asked.
Annabeth projected the list of all the employee names and when they worked. Something seemed a bit off.
"These are going by regular intervals!" I exclaimed. I got up and went to the board, drawing lines separating the names.
"Look, they have only had two employees work at at time, and only for six months. After six months they have switched the employees and new ones come in. The only two of the fourteen that stay are the managers Cole and Caleb Bruce," I pointed out.
Annabeth closed her eyes, thinking. I stared back at the list, trying to figure out what that could mean as well.
"Percy!" Annabeth suddenly broke the silence.
"What?" I said.
"This bookstore is a front for a gang or something of the sort, right, and members come in through the store as well. The whole show is run by members, that means the employees must also be a part of it." She paused and moved to the side to see another file.
"Gangs, cults, or any similar groups have a certain process for how one joins to become a member, they also have hierarchies. Maybe the employees are prospects as future members and them working at the store is their first 'test' I guess. It helps the people higher up in the gang to decide if they are good enough to join, and these employees become one of the lower levels of the hierarchy. After the six month trial period is up, they leave to do other work for the gang, or move higher up in the social ladder," Annabeth explained.
"That checks out, Caleb and Cole might be the trainers, higher up on the social ladder. The rest would be, like you said, lower members." I agreed, and got my cell out,
"We can compare the employees to any names we have on our records for gang activity."
"Hey Travis, Conner! I got some names for you to check up, see if any of them come up in the records," I spoke into the phone. They immediately started cross-referencing, in a matter of minutes I had a list in my hands.
I looked up at Annabeth and smiled, "You were right! Some of these guys have showed up in NYPD records as possible gang members. They have some criminal history, break-ins, robbery, assault...it goes on."
Annabeth smiled back, but it turned into a frown, "If I'm right, then that means Nico and Bianca were both possible gang members, maybe even already part of the gang."
A/N: So? What did ya think?
Also most of the stuff you'll see about the gangs is true. It's based of a real gang that I read about. Of course, the details might not apply to all gangs but for this one, that's how it is. I will make some parts up of course cause I don't know everything but hopefully you guys like it!
If anyone want's to check it out there's this book called Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh and this is a true story. It does have language so if you're younger than 13 or 14 you might want to wait to read it...
Anyway! Please review!
See ya! :)
