Disclaimer :

Rick Riordan owns them. That's it.

~&~ Stole My Heart ~&~

| PJO | Percabeth |

| Annabeth Chase | Percy Jackson |

^Perseus^

I shut the door, slowly and let myself fall on the couch. I was tired, sweaty and dirty. I had to take a shower at some point and when I did, I didn't feel so tired anymore. the water was soothing and it made me believe that I could solve all of my problems. Weird right ? Anyway, I changed into a plain polo shirt and some khaki pants before lying on the couch. I reached the remote and switched on the television. I turned the volume down and let the sound play in the background. I checked my phone for any new messages that I might have.

None.

Zero.

Zilch.

I was out of leads. With the mess she made, I was expecting her to leave something behind. A mark of hers. But even then, she was still careful. Every thief has to slip at one time, right ? I want a lead. Even if it's a small lead. It could help to narrow down our search. I don't want to close the case and leave it unfinished. It would haunt me for the rest of my life. People could bring up that case anytime they want. People could question my credibility. I couldn't have that. Before I was on top, I worked my butt off to get there. If I failed, all of my hard work would be nothing. So, in other words, I'm praying for Sneaky Owl to surrender.

Of course she wouldn't do that. She must be relaxing on her private island, enjoying life. She's rich, what could she ask for ?

I groaned as my phone rang.

My hand searched around in my pocket before I took it out. I pressed the green button and answered with an annoyed 'hello'. It was the chief of police. He said that he and his men found something interesting at the crime scene. They said that he found the remains of Death Ninja's smoke balls. I immediately felt energized.

Finding Death Ninja meant finding Sneaky Owl.

This is a great moment. I asked the chief of police on whether he could let me have the piece of evidence. He said that he would let me but I were to tamper with them but only at the police department. I wouldn't be allowed to take them anywhere else.

Nevertheless, I didn't comment anything. I told chief that I'd come tomorrow around 9. I decided to come tomorrow alone. I didn't want to risk Jason or Rachel ruining my happy time. Besides, the remains must have fingerprints right ? Or at least there might. Besides, I could probably try and trace where the balls came from and then I could find out who bought them recently. So, for the next few hours, I didn't think about anything besides the fact that I'll be much closer to hacking Sneaky Owl's identity. I didn't even think about Nico and Annabeth's relationship.

That reminds me. I should go celebrate. Maybe go to a bar, drink a few and maybe bring a girl home. I snapped myself out of my daydream. My mother taught me better than that. I shouldn't do one night stands.

...

The next morning, I woke up and remembered what was in store for me today. I immediately got dressed and made myself a quick breakfast. Then, I decided to go downstairs and maybe do a quick detour before going to the local police department. First, I went to the bank to withdraw some money. Then, I decided to get a newspaper. I walked to a newsstand and swiped one off the shelves without even looking at the front page. I paid for it and rolled it up.

I was about to go away but a voice startled me, "Percy ?" I turned to see Nico and Annabeth. I don't know why but my heart fluttered at her name. Today, she looked really... pretty.

I smiled at my cousin. "Hey. I was just leaving." I was about to turn but Nico grabbed my arm.

"Where exactly ?" He asked suspiciously.

"I was gonna do some business. Specifically at the police department," I said. I quickly added that Nico couldn't come. He immediately frowned and pouted.

"Please ?" He asked. "Can I come ? It's been so long since I was given a case." He did that thing where he would make his eyes bigger and play with his index fingers. I sighed, knowing it was useless to resist.

"Fine," I said, eventually. He cheered.

"Annabeth's coming too," My eyes widened. I shook my head furiously.

"No, no, no," I told him. " She isn't following us." I realized that Annabeth was standing a few feet from us. She was frowning. Her grey eyes looked really scary.

"Why not ?" She asked. I bit my lip.

"Because," I searched for a reason. " It's going to take a long time." What a lame excuse, Percy... Annabeth shrugged.

"I have all the time in the world," She answered, casually. Before I could come up with another lame excuse, Annabeth had wrapped up the conversation. "So it's settled. I'm coming too." I sighed in defeat as I started walking in the direction of the police department.

After a few minutes, we finally arrived. I went to the main desk to say that I had an appointment with the chief. The guard on patrol took us to a room at the back of the building. When I opened the door, a blast of cold air greeted us. We walked in. It was pretty cold in here. Luckily, I wore a sweater. The chief greeted us and allowed us to gather around the evidence. We all got chairs and sat down.

The chief decided to leave after a while and the three of us set to work. More like, I set to work. I took out one of the bombs and started to analyze it with a magnifying glass. Then, I took the remains apart with a pair of tweezers. So far, I haven't found anything. I took out the other two remains and repeated the protest. I did it at a very slow pace because I didn't want to destroy anything imprinted on it.

"So, I think I'll go get us some coffee," Nico said, standing up. He yawned and stretched before going out of the door. That left me and Annabeth. Annabeth stood up from where she was sitting and decided to stand near me. I could distinctively feel the heat radiating off of her. She was observing my every move and I felt a bit trapped. I looked up briefly to notice that she shivered.

Annabeth was only wearing a tank top. I bit my lip before remembering that my mother advised me to be nice to girls. So, I took off my sweater.

"Here, " I said, passing it to her. She accepted without another word and put it on. Then, she pulled her chair and sat right next to me. I felt a little distracted because she was sitting so close and she looked so pretty with my sweater on.

Snap out of it, Jackson, I mentally told myself.

Annabeth suddenly spoke," Why are you so keen on taking Sneaky Owl down ?" I raised an eyebrow as I set down my tools and suddenly looked at her.

"She's a criminal," I stated the obvious before I picked up my tools again. I needed to focus and she was getting on my nerves because she's disturbing me. Annabeth spoke before I could continue my work.

"Isn't there a possibility that she could be forced to work ?" Annabeth asked. I sighed, frustrated before turning to her.

"No," I answered, straight forward. "Why would there be ? We all know that she must have done it on her own." Annabeth frowned.

"Well, what if she didn't ?" She asked. "What if there were other things that made her do it ? What if she was working under someone ?" I rolled my eyes.

"Why would she be doing that ?" I asked her. "How would you know ? It's clear she did it on her own." I saw that Annabeth opened her mouth again so I immediately cut her off, " You know, I am trying to do work here and you're disturbing me with your questions. Can't you just see the obvious ? Sneaky Owl must be doing things on her own accord and no one is forcing her."

I turned around and immediately worked, ignoring her completely. My hand shook a bit. " Would you believe her if she told you that she was forced ?" Annabeth suddenly asked. I turned and looked at her, giving her an 'Are you kidding me ?' look.

"No, of course not," I answered, harshly. "She's a thief. It could be a lie." Not thinking, I added, "From the way you're saying it, it's as if you're Sneaky Owl," I immediately regretted my words because Annabeth suddenly looked hurt. I didn't get the time to apologize because Nico's head suddenly popped in. He was holding three ups of Starbuck's coffee and he had a grin on his face.

"What did I miss ?"

*Updated 19/11/2012

A/N :

Any thoughts on this ?

Would Percy find something on the bomb remains ?

Review!

xoxoxo Amy's Mischievous Owl