A/N: Sorry, guys. Unfortunately, this is yet another short chapter. But that's just the way it is sometimes. Anyways, after I post next week's chapter, I will be going on a two-week hiatus to catch up on writing, editing, etc. But after that, fifteen more chapters will be posted on a weekly basis. So, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and look forward to the following chapters!
Nine: Retribution
The house was uncomfortably quiet and empty with his mother absent. The fact that it was just the two of them living there made it quite quiet in the first place. But that on its' own was never much of a problem to Percy. He saw it as a good kind of quiet, a cozy kind. And even when you were alone in the house, it wasn't particularly uncomfortable.
But with the gloomy fact that his mother was in the hospital, severely injured at the hands of the most wanted man in New York City, it made the house unnervingly silent. Almost like going into the house of someone who had passed on. It was like even the house knew that they were long gone, and all the life and love that had existed inside of them had passed on, as well. And despite his own mother hadn't died, it was an eerily similar feeling. He was thankful that he found an excuse to leave the house on a daily basis.
He visited every day, spending every minute available during visiting hours at her side. It was one of the few times that he was almost thankful for his job, so that he could come and go as he pleased without the factor of conventional job hours to weigh him down and impede him. But every time this thought came to mind as he sat down beside his mother, silent and unmoving, he grew angry with himself, condemning the notion almost instantly after thinking of it in the first place. He would demand himself in his head,
Why would I think something like that? My so-called job is why she's here in the first place!
This mental battle went on and off during his visits. Like the house, the room was quiet too, with only the occasional, hushed set of voices in the hallway as people passed by. In the silence, he often found that his mind would wander, and severely so. But compared to the many other lower points he had experienced in his life, this was by-far the worst. Not only was the pessimistic daydreaming damn-near unbearable, but the fear of his mother's medical state was terrifying.
While the doctors' tests had proved hopeful for her, and they had seemingly pushed all of his concerns away and considered them overreacting, his fears had yet to settle. There was still the possibility that she would slip into a coma. And as for how her memory, among other things would fare once she did wake up, the doctors were still unsure of. His biggest concern is that she would forget everything, forget him. And he knew that he wouldn't be able to cope with something like that.
There was a knock at the door, and Percy looked up from his hands, which were knitted around a cup of water in his lap. The door opened, revealing Grover standing in the doorway, holding a vase of flowers in one hand, and a greasy fast food bag in the other,
"Hey," He greeted, walking over to the table by the door, "I got these at the gift shop. There uh...Wasn't much to pick from. I got you some food too, since I'm guessing you haven't left all day."
Grover walked over, handing him the bag,
"Thanks," Percy dug through the bag.
There were a couple of cheeseburgers, as well as a generous serving of french fries. He picked the ones out that had fallen to the bottom of the bag, wolfing them down. Grover leaned against the wall,
"So," He asked with an edge of nervousness in his voice, "Do they think she's going to be okay?"
Percy unwrapped a cheeseburger quietly,
"They don't know what's going to happen. Pretty much remains to be seen until she wakes up."
If she wakes up.
Grover nodded gravely, "Well...All things considering, I guess it could be worse."
His friend looked down after his voice had gone wobbly. Percy's head snapped up as Grover swiped at his eyes, before rotating his head completely in the other direction,
"Sorry," He mumbled, "Sorry. I'm trying to keep it together, but I'm not exactly doing a great job at that."
Percy shook his head, "It's okay to be sad, Grover. You don't have to apologize, alright? Here,"
He scooped up the box of tissues sitting on Sally's bedside table, before tossing them to Grover. Quickly, he yanked a few out, dabbing his eyes and blowing his nose.
"Thanks," Grover said with a sniffle.
Percy dug out the second cheeseburger, offering it. But, his friend shook his head no,
"I got those for you," He protested with a watery-eyed smile, "I've had plenty to eat today."
Percy didn't push anymore, as he consumed his food entirely, burgers and all. Eating made him feel a little better, as he leaned back in the chair with a sigh. He cracked a smile, before looking to Grover,
"So, how's the outside world?"
Grover chuckled, before shrugging in his coat,
"There's been a shit ton of snow and Christmas decorations. That's it."
They laughed quietly and briefly.
"That girlfriend of yours has been on the news a lot."
"She's not my girlfriend," Percy answered quickly.
Grover rolled his eyes playfully, "I didn't mean it like that, idiot."
"Oh," Percy looked away again, his cheeks growing warm, "Well, I'm guessing it's about Kronos?"
The name was sour to the taste, like acid on the tip of his tongue as it consumed the entirety of his mouth. Grover nodded,
"Yep. But still nothing on the guy. It's like he's just...Disappeared."
Percy almost wanted to laugh out loud at the statement, knowing full well that the notion of him having just disappeared was far from reality. He was right under their noses, and no one had a clue about it. Percy was almost tempted to tell his friend everything, or everything that he knew from his standpoint. But he couldn't bring himself to do so. The last thing he wanted to do was drag his best friend into this, too. So, he bit his lip and shook his head instead,
"It's crazy," Percy answered, "How someone could just vanish without a trace like that."
Grover shrugged, "I guess when you have the right amount of cash, you can do anything. Even disappear."
Percy nodded in agreement, sighing, "I guess visiting hours are going to be ending soon, aren't they?"
Grover checked the time on his phone,
"You'd be right. Want a ride home?"
Percy accepted the offer, and when they pulled up to the front of the house, the interior eerily darkened, he sighed once.
"Thanks, Grover."
"No problem," He responded, "And hey-"
Percy stopped to look back, as he held the car door open,
"Let me know if you need anything, okay?"
Percy nodded, "I will. Thanks for sticking around with me at the hospital earlier, I needed the company more than I realized."
"Don't mention it...Well, goodnight. Get some shut eye, alright?"
"I'll try."
Percy shut the door simultaneously to him stepping up onto the curb. The car remained idle for just a moment later, before Grover peeled away down the darkened street. He shivered in the cold, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked up at the sky. Snow drifted downwards, directly at him. The pure color of the flakes contrasted sharply with the dark sky, and they almost appeared to be minuscule stars falling down to earth.
He leveled his head back down again, walking down the path that led up to the porch. His shoes made a satisfying crunching sound in the untouched snow, and stopped when he reached the doorway. Percy started to dig around his pockets for a key, but paused suddenly, absentmindedly. He turned to look around the darkened street, fearing that he might see someone watching him in the shadows.
But it was so obscure, so dark from the lack of streetlights, that even if someone was watching him, Percy would never know. He quickly dug around some more, as the chill that lingered in his spine crept upwards. When he was inside, he checked and double-checked that every door and window was locked. And with each click of a lock, his breathing grew more labored, more panicked. When the back door was locked, he sunk into the closest chair at the kitchen table, burying his head into his hands.
Kneading his hands deeply into his hair, which had been neglected to be washed in days, he pulled back quickly, gripping the strands in his fingers. It was then and only then that the feeling of helplessness, the feeling that he had been reduced to nothing more than a cowering, cornered animal, had really settled in under his skin. The feeling had always lingered in his mind, or at the very least, lingered subconsciously. He couldn't think of a single time in his life where the paranoia hadn't been peeking over his shoulder with every waking minute. And Kronos, having been the puppeteer behind his mother's hospitalization, made matters much, much worse.
Nothing like it had ever happened beforehand in the few years that he had been carrying out hits. But Kronos had managed to track down his mother, along with Grover, and get them into a near-fatal accident. It really was amazing what you could do with the right amount of money. Percy was certain that Castellan had helped, of course, after all, his own real name was probably more than enough to pinpoint an address, other relatives, anything.
He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, scrolling through his contacts until he came across one of the first names in the alphabetized contacts: Annabeth. Percy's thumb hovered over the call button, as he pondered the possibility of calling her, telling her everything that had happened. He came close a few times to calling her, but finally resolved not to do so, as he set it down on the table.
Percy realized now that it was out of the question. There was the chance that either Castellan or Kronos had the means to tap into his phone calls. After all, with everything that they had shown they were capable of previously, he couldn't doubt the possibility straight away. And even if they didn't have the ability to do so, Annabeth would obviously want to know how he, of all people, was in contact with the crime lord. That on its' own was a dead-end option, surely they would eventually find out that he was a hit man, it would be pretty difficult to get away with that with police officers so close to the matter.
No. Calling Annabeth was a stupid move all around. No matter what outcome occurred, it would end in disaster. He sighed, leaning back in the rickety wooden chair. Percy knew that he would deal with this on his own for as long as he could. His mother having been injured as terribly, and even Grover's single bruise on his forehead had crossed the line by a million miles.
No one else is going to get hurt because of me. No one who doesn't deserve it in the first place, anyway.
He almost felt a smirk tug at his lip at the thought. Plans and schemes were already running through his mind as to would he could do in order to enact revenge a hundred times more terrible than anything either Castellan or Kronos were capable of.
Percy rubbed at his temples in an attempt to clear his head. He needed sleep, some time to recuperate. But one thing was certain, as soon as he was certain his mother was home safe, as soon as he was of clear mind again, he was going to have Castellan's and Kronos' heads rolling, as well as whoever stood in his way. He rose from his chair, scooping up his cellphone from the table at the same time. It was then that he realized he had several messages on his phone.
Firstly, Annabeth had written him a number of days ago. Shortly after the time Sally had been hospitalized. He had been so pre-occupied by that matter that he had completely forgotten that they were planning on meeting up again. Percy rubbed at his eyes, deciding that he could save messaging her back the next morning. However, the second message in his phone couldn't wait.
Kronos would like to meet with you again, he wants to know whether or not you've changed your mind about the assignment.
He typed out a message, slowly and deliberately in order to keep his anger from boiling over. With the press of his thumb, the message was sent:
I have changed my mind. Just send me a time and place, and I'll be there.
It only took a matter of a few minutes for a reply. In that time, Percy had been getting ready for bed, taking a handful of sleeping pills along with a few chugs of water to help them down. Finally, his phone chirped, and he quickly read the message:
Be at the southwest corner of the park tomorrow at noon. Come alone.
Percy breathed in heavily, setting his phone onto the nightstand. He laid back onto his bed, trembling somewhat as he stared up at the ceiling. Slowly, his face contorted into a determined sort of scowl. That next day, it would all begin. His contingency of revenge against both Castellan and Kronos.
And they were not going to come out of it unscathed. They were not going to come out of it alive.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Sorry again that it was so short, it was more or less a filler chapter. Sometimes they're necessary, though. Anyways, I'll see you guys next week!
Until then,
Leaded-Pegasus
