Taken

Chapter 21- Business Men

-Percy POV-

"What on earth are you guys talking about?" I asked, looking specifically at Chase's best friend, Thalia Grace.

"Uh, Percy?" Leo spoke, fiddling with his hands. "I think it would be best if we took this conversation elsewhere."

I looked over my shoulder to see a lot of eavesdroppers who had probably turned to look at the little group after I started to speak loudly. That could get someone's attention- especially in a small apartment like this one.

I nodded at Leo, and didn't bother to hide my annoyance as I dragged them into the kitchen. A few of my mother's friends who I have probably only met once were gossiping in the kitchen, and sipping on wine.

"Would you ladies excuse us?" I asked, trying to charm my way out of the situation with a small smirk.

One of the women blushed, and they quickly scurried out of the area. "Well, Percy, sure seems like you haven't changed a bit," Piper McLean joked, a small smile on her face.

I shook my head at her, and looked at my group of friends in sorrow. "I can assure you I really am not the same guy who you guys saw two months ago."

"Percy," Jason spoke, his voice slightly strained. "What the hell happened in there?"

My mouth opened, but I couldn't find the right words to come out. My heart rate sped up as I started to remember my own personal hell, and I wanted nothing but to run and avoid having to face my friends; but with some inhuman strength I stayed put.

"Percy can tell us what happened when he seems fit, don't you think, Jason?" Juniper spoke, her voice diplomatic. Her face was stony and unreadable, but I knew she saw that I was freaking out. I threw a small smile at her in thanks.

"I'll tell you guys what happened as soon as you guys tell me what happened to you," I said. "I mean, you all hated each other before Chase and I were taken, and now it seems that everyone's all buddy-buddy! What happened when I was gone?"

"Well, when you and Annabeth went missing all of us were in a frenzy," Thalia explained, taking control. "We were being questioned by a dick of a detective-"

"And then Mr. Brunner came in and saved the day!" Leo exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air. I chuckled a bit at Thalia's not-so-pleasant reaction.

"Anyway," Jason continued, "Mr. Brunner asked us to help figure out where this Luke guy was keeping you and Annabeth. So, basically we've all been working together to try and find you. Imagine our surprise when you were the one who found us."

I nodded slightly, trying to soak in all of this newfound information. "How close were you guys to finding Chase and I?"

Grover shrugged. "I'd say we were pretty close; I mean, we did find a motive and with that we found reasons that Luke would have wanted to kidnap you."

"Chase and I figured that since she had been kidnapped once before, Luke was after revenge. And of course, I had to be in the wrong place at the right time…"

Confusion swept across the group, who all shared looks with each other. Even a complete idiot like me could figure out that there was something they knew that I didn't. "What?"

"Percy, you guys weren't captured because of Annabeth… you were captured because of you," Rachel said softly, placing a hand softly on my shoulder.

I shook my head in disagreement. "No, Chase had been captured before by Luke. Luke even said that he had to finish what he started! He meant to capture her, not me. It wasn't my fault."

"It wasn't anyone's fault, Percy," Rachel comforted, her green eyes wide with compassion.

"Jackson, we found pictures of Annabeth's first kidnapping, and you were in them," Thalia deadpanned. "Luke wanted to take you because of your father, but he took Annabeth instead because her brother cut in."

"That doesn't make any sense," I denied. I refused to accept what they were telling me… it changed everything.

"I know this is probably shocking, Jackson, but you need to understand that Luke was actually after you the entire time. Even now, he's after you. There's a reason why he let you go so easily, and now together we need to figure out why," Thalia said.

"You think my kidnapping was a diversion?" Rachel asked, turning to Thalia. She retracted her hand from my shoulder and crossed her arms, obviously not having considered this angle before.

"I know it was a diversion. Luke is going to do something big, and we're running out of time to stop it," Thalia concluded.

Jason stepped forward, raising a hand slightly. "But even if it was a diversion, Thalia, what would it be a diversion for? I mean, Luke has been after Percy this entire time, so what might he do now that Percy's out of his grasp? What could he do?"

Chills started to run down my spine, and for some reason I thought of the old saying of someone dancing on your grave. My blood went cold as I thought about what Luke's ploy could be- what he could do to me even though he couldn't physically hurt me.

"Loyalty," I gasped out, grabbing for the kitchen counter beside me.

"What?" Jason asked. Everyone was looking at me in confusion, waiting for me to explain.

"Chase told me that I was just like Malcolm, her brother. I am loyal to a fault… I would let the world burn to save a friend… that's what Luke's playing at."

"You're not making any sense-" Jason started, confusion obvious on his features.

"No," Nico cut him off. "This makes perfect sense. Luke uses Percy's loyalty for Annabeth against him, right?"

"Since when has Percy ever been loyal to Annabeth Chase?" Leo asked, his lack of filter feeling like a punch in my gut. Thalia pushed him into the counter, a sort of fire filling her eyes that I had only seen when she was protecting her friends.

"Look, dumbass, isn't it obvious? Jackson obviously came to his right state of mind and got close to Annabeth. Can't you see that it's killing him? Can't you see that being separated from her while he knows very well that Annabeth is the least deserving of that kind of torture is slowly killing him? I mean, God, I'm not even a friend of his and I can see that."

Everyone looked between Thalia and I in shock, a revelation starting to spark in their eyes.

"Something obviously happened to the two of them while they were captured, and I don't really want to know what, but something happened and Luke is taking advantage of it."

A blush formed on my cheeks at her slight innuendo, but I kept my mouth shut. I knew that Thalia had my back, and for some odd reason I could see why Annabeth bothered to keep her around all of these years. She can be a pretty cool person when she wants to be.

"We're kind of at a bad position because we don't know what Luke is going to do to Annabeth, and when it's going to happen. So we need to make sure that she is found; and fast," Jason spoke as though he was going through game plan before football on Friday nights.

"We could talk to my dad," I volunteered. "You did say that this had something to do with my father, so I guess we could start with him."

Everyone nodded in agreement and a small smile crossed Thalia's face. "We can figure out why Luke might be after your father… and if we figure that out, we might figure out what Luke is fighting for and then we stop him from getting it."

Rachel slowly raised her hand. "So, uh, if we're going to go and talk to your father, when exactly are we supposed to do that?"

I pondered over that for a second, then shrugged. "Now, I guess."

"Now?" Piper and Juniper asked in sync, and I held back my smile.

"Now."

"So, how are we supposed to get out of here during this party without your mother or Paul? Thought of that too, Jackson?"

I turned to Thalia and smiled, "Now I know why you and Chase are such good friends," I joked. "You both seem to think that I act on impulse all of the time. I can plan stuff too, you know."

She raised an eyebrow at me and gestured for me to continue. "Please, do enlighten me on your plan."

"We can get out of my house in the window right next to us leading to the fire escape. We can hop into a car and drive out to my father's business building, and then conference with him there."

"Who are you and what happened to Percy Jackson?" Grover asked jokingly.

"Yeah, seriously, dude?" Jason asked, clapping his shoulder. "Not to burst your bubble or anything, but Thalia kinda has a point with the whole impulsive thing."

I laughed and quickly wrote a note to my mother, explaining that I needed to go talk to dad about something and that if she needed me my cell phone was on. I mean, after being missing for two months I think it would be nice to let her know that I hadn't been taken again.

I could only imagine the stress that my mother went through…

"Percy, c'mon! Let's get going before business hours end!"

Grabbing my phone and a sweater, I hopped out the window and followed my friends, hoping to find some answers.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You know you're going to have to face him one way or another?" Rachel asked, her voice soft and knowing. We were all standing in front of the building that held Poseidon Incorporated, namely my father.

"I know."

I walked into the building, immediately having to stop myself from turning the other way and running right out of there. The official seal of the company was staring right at me, and directly below that was the receptionist desk.

I slowly walked towards the desk, carefully taking each step and reminding myself that I was only going to be talking to my father. It wasn't like I was going to be attacked or anything… my father loved me- he wouldn't do that to his own son.

But after finding out that he was in business with Luke's own father, I didn't know what to think anymore. I couldn't figure out who I was supposed to trust.

"May I help you?" The young woman behind the desk asked. Her hair was strawberry blonde, and she had bright blue eyes. She seemed nice enough, I guess. But obviously she had to be new to not recognize me.

"Yeah, I was wondering if I would be able to speak with Poseidon?" I asked, holding my hands behind my back in confidence.

The receptionist's eyebrows furrowed a bit, and she started working on her computer for a few seconds before turning to me. Her nice expression was replaced with a serious one as she spoke, "I'm afraid there are no appointments for someone to meet with him this hour. Sorry if you had been mistaken."

My eyebrows raised. I can't say that this ever happened to me before. "Could you call him quickly? Let him know Percy is here to speak with him."

She raised an eyebrow at me, slightly shocked at my aura of confidence. "I'm not allowed to phone him unless it's an emergency, kid. So I suggest you take your little band of friends and hop on out of here. I have enough things I need to take care of, and you are not one of them."

I held back a laugh, but the smile remained on my face. "I guess I'll have to call him myself."

The receptionist smiled at me, and gestured for me to continue. "Please, amuse me."

Wordlessly I took out my cellphone, and called my father- a number I don't find myself calling very often. I heard my friends snicker behind me, and I could only imagine the look on the receptionist's face when she found out the truth.

"Percy? What's wrong?"

I sighed into the phone. "Why does there have to be something wrong every time I call you?"

Laughter came through on the other end of the phone. "I can't tell you how much I missed your witty humor, son. So, what can I do for you?"

I smiled, shooting a look at the receptionist who was staring at me with a bored expression. "Why do you think I want something all the other times I call you? Am I really that obvious?"

My father chuckled on the other end. "Unless you've called me to say hello, which I doubt is the case, what is it that you want, Percy?"

"I am actually in the lobby of your building right now, and I was wondering if you'd give the receptionist notice that I can actually go up."

The receptionist's eyes narrowed when I mentioned her, and she glared. I couldn't help but smile sarcastically at her in response.

"Ah, I do believe she's new. I'll buzz you in, and you can come on up."

"Thanks, dad."

The receptionist's eyes widened as she heard my side of the conversation. "Dad?" she asked. I just nodded, and leaned against the desk into more of a comfortable kind of posture.

"Dad's going to buzz me and my friends in," I told her, just as the red light went on behind her, showing that my father was ready for his guest.

"Oh, I'm so sorry… I didn't know you were related to him, I mean, I just started last week and-"

"Don't worry about it," I laughed. "You were only doing your job, so Dad's pleased to hear that you wouldn't just let a stranger to in to see him."

The blonde receptionist blushed, and some stress left her face which quickly was graced with a smile as he was gestured to move on and speak to his father. "Sorry, again."

The others couldn't hold back their laughter anymore when they had the confidentiality of the elevator and I pushed the number 18 to get to the top floor, where my father so eloquently put his office and multiple meeting rooms.

"Percy, I can't believe you can go from groveling in your sorrows to charming the receptionist in one day," Jason said, his voice not hiding his amusement. "I mean, that takes some serious skill."

"Jason, you're an asshole," Thalia spoke, her annoyance obvious. "He just did what he had to do to get to his father, nothing too impressive or charming about it."

For some reason I felt better when Thalia said that. I kind of felt like I was cheating by getting the receptionist to do what I wanted by flirting, but I didn't really know on who or why.

"Hey Percy, do you think your dad is going to give us the information we need?" Piper asked, leaning against the rail that ran across the elevator.

"To be honest, I don't know what is going to happen. I mean, its news to me that my father is involved in this at all," I admitted.

"Well, let's hope that this all goes good and let's leave it at that, okay?" Juniper spoke, crossing her arms. "None of us can afford to think differently."

The elevator stopped and chimed, then opened the door. We walked into the level, and I could tell the others were shocked at what they were seeing. There were fish tanks everywhere, with different fish taken either from the amazon or the various rivers and lakes in the United States.

We were completely surrounded by glass windows and glass walls so everything could be monitored throughout the entire floor. The only room that had filmed glass was my father's office, which could be necessary at times, I guess.

I quickly walked forward to the office, and knocked on the door. There was silence for a split second then I heard my father's voice, "Come in, Percy!"

I opened the door and waltzed in with a smile on my face. My father stood up and gave me a large hug, holding me for a few seconds before pulling back with a huge smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you've gotten a lot stronger since I've last seen you! You seem a lot healthier, which is very good."

"Thanks, dad."

His sea green eyes flickered from me to behind me and his smile changed, reminding me of why I was here. "I see you brought your friends, as well. I take it this is some sort of business visit?"

I raised my eyebrows at his validity. "We came for information on someone that we believe could help us figure out where Luke is still keeping Annabeth- or at least why he has kidnapped Annabeth and I. We have a few questions that need to be answered, dad."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at me knowingly. "What if I tell you that all of this is too dangerous and ask you to leave?"

I raised my chin in defiance. "I would respect your opinions, of course, but I believe that this situation had been dangerous ever since I was kidnapped two months ago."

My father nodded, his face unreadable. "If your mother finds out about what I'm about to do, she'll kill me. So please, do refrain from telling your mother that I helped you on this little quest of yours. Surely you understand the poor position I am at, here."

I nodded, a smile coming to my face when I realized that he was giving in. "I won't tell mom, I promise."

My father smiled at me, then at my friends, and clapped his hands together. "Great! Please follow me to one of our meeting rooms."

We walked with him to the room closest to us that looked like a classic meeting room. There was a long table that almost stretched across the entire room, with chairs that lined the sides and one on the heads of the table. It easily fit our little band of misfits, which was a lot better than my father's office.

There was a smart board on one side of the room, while there were six TV's in rows of twos on the other side. It was quite an interesting set up, and I was amazed to be here with my father, none of the less.

My father took his place on the head of the table, and stood there as he waited for the rest of us to take our seats. I sat to his right, and Thalia sat to his left, and then on the boys and girls were quite hilariously separated.

"So, what are those questions you wanted to ask me?" My father asked, unbuttoning the front of his suitcoat as he sat down in front of us.

"Well, we would like to know more about Hermes Castellan, sir," Thalia spoke. "He is Luke Castellan's father, the man who kidnapped Percy and Annabeth. We found out that he worked in your company before he died, and that's when Luke kidnapped for the first time. There might be some carry over, and we were wondering what you thought on the situation."

My father's face turned grave, and he pressed a button below his spot at the table, causing blinds to go across the glass that connected our room to the rest of the floor. He was obviously used to this kind of interrogation by the look on his face.

"How did you find out about that, Thalia?"

"I, uh, I kinda hacked into your server," Grover admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We realize that hacking is a complete violation of your personal space and property," Piper continued. "And that you probably don't want to help us after this, but please know that we were just trying to find out where our friends were."

"Why would you all tangle yourself up for my son and Miss Chase? Why would you risk your lives for theirs?" My father asked, a pensive look shrouding his face.

Jason spoke up, "They've helped us a lot in the past, sir. I guess we all owe them so much that there wasn't really a choice to make. We needed to help them, and that was it."

My father nodded, a small smile coming onto his face. "You care about my son, just as I do. And my son cares for this Annabeth, just as I cared for Sally. So, I believe that I should tell you what I know, based on what has been explained to me, of course."

I smiled at my father, who winked at me. "Where must I start?" He asked.

"Start at the beginning, dad. Who was Hermes Castellan, and how might his death connect to Luke's activities?" I gestured for him to speak, and suddenly his face changed to being all business, startling me a bit.

"Hermes Castellan was a liar and a thief, but he was a great friend and a good father. He cared for his family, and cared for his business. He was helping me with many projects, so it was hard not to trust him, as he had put his faith in me. And I admired that," He spoke, a faraway look in his eyes.

"His son, Luke, was a different story all together. Luke strove for power, and he wished to control people, not diplomatically handle business with them. What Luke wanted was the recreation of a business Tycoon that would control all of New York, just like in the past.

"Somehow he planned to do this without the government knowing, without all of us knowing. The child was going to overthrow my ranks at Poseidon INC. and was going to infiltrate the businesses around that weren't as powerful as mine. It would be a complete disaster."

"So how do you know about this now if you didn't know about it before?" Nico asked, coming out from the shadows. "Somehow I doubt Luke told you all of this himself."

My father chuckled and nodded, "Hermes knew of Luke's faults far before anyone else. As a father, he tried to parent Luke out of these destructive decisions, but as a business man, Hermes knew that he needed to do something. With my help, Hermes deployed an inside man to keep an eye on his son. For a month it was great, but soon Hermes was murdered, and it was framed on my company. I knew who the culprit truly was. It was Luke."

"So who is this 'inside man' that you were talking about?" I asked. "Do you think he's still keeping an eye on Luke?"

"After the first kidnapping of Annabeth Chase, I lost contact with him. It seemed as though he disappeared of the face of the earth."

We all nodded, and the breath that all of us had seemingly been holding was let out. We didn't learn anything that could directly save Chase, but we learnt what Luke's true intentions were. It seems as though everything has been adding up after all.

"That explains why Luke has been after Percy," Thalia concluded. "Percy's the heir to Poseidon INC., if he messes Percy up, he messes the whole business up, allowing him to swoop in and take control."

"Damn," Jason cursed, running a hand through his hair. "What a messed up son of a-"

"He is 'messed up', Mr. Grace. But I doubt speaking about it to those who already know will do you any good," My father spoke, an eyebrow raised pointedly at him.

I took that moment to speak, "We should really bring this information to the FBI. If they combine what we have with what information and equipment that they have, we might be closer to finding Chase."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and I passed the business card from the agents to Thalia. "Call them, and tell them that we have some information that they might want to hear," I told her.

She nodded, and walked out of the conference room, and the rest of us decided to take our leave and follow her, but I was stopped with a hand on my shoulder.

"Percy, I want you to know something," My father spoke, his voice low.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Should I go and grab the others, or…"

My father shook his head. "No, this is a conversation for you and me. I need you to understand that I don't blame you for what happened while you were in confinement. I don't blame you for Amphitrite's death, son."

My eyes bugged out of my head. "You don't?" I asked dumbly.

"Of course I don't. The truth is, the two of us only married for a business deal. There wasn't any passion, love, or anything. Just business."

I looked at him in confusion. "Is this supposed to make me feel better? Because to be honest, I don't think it's really working."

"No, that is not the reason at all for why I am telling you this. It is because I know that you care for Annabeth Chase, Percy. You care for her as I have cared for your mother… but don't let her go. I let your mother go, and that was the worst decision I had ever made in my life. Don't let Annabeth go, Percy."

My eyes widened and I nodded, and suddenly I was pulled into a hug. "Now do me a favor, and go find her."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

After talking to my father, we headed down to the local police headquarters where the FBI agents were stationed. They were pleased to hear that we had more information, and they were happy to know that we were on our way.

Thalia and Jason were basically the two who told the story about what happened when I was kidnapped, and the information they found trying to find Chase and I, so I just sat in quiet and listened to a story that I've already heard multiple times.

As I let my mind wander, I kept coming back to what my father said. He obviously knew my feelings for Chase went deeper than just the typical friendship, but what shocked me was that he thought they went even deeper than that.

I knew I messed up big time with her, but what I can't believe is that my father would actually think that I love her! I hardly even know the girl, and somehow I'm supposed to have feelings for her? Somehow I'm supposed to love her?

But somehow I know that what my father said was in fact the truth, and that I did care for Annabeth Chase in a way that could only be described as love.

I love her.

I love Annabeth Chase.

A huge smile came to my face as I remembered how beautiful she is, and how easy it is to talk to her. Our relationship was a good one, and once I apologize I believe that we might have a shot.

"What are you smiling about, Jackson?" Thalia whispered over to me while Jason was finishing up explaining our evidence. "You look stupid, stop it."

"Sorry, I just realized something important," I admitted, trying to calm myself down, and my smile only became half as big as it was before.

"We stop smiling and pay attention, Jackson. Apparently they have a lot of information about Luke that we had no idea about! Did you know that you were stuck in an abandoned factory? They found the same residue on your body that they found on Annabeth ten years ago, too!"

"I could have told you that one," I laughed.

"Shut up, Jackson. I'm just excited about the idea that we might actually be able to find Annabeth, so you shut your trap and listen in."

Agent Charleston and Palmer were talking about the type of area they believed Luke to be camping out in, which I also kind of zoned out from. I didn't really care to know what type of soil surrounded the place with mercury levels and all that other stuff.

I just wanted to find Chase, already.

All of the sudden, someone's ring tone went off, and we all went silent. Thalia quickly grabbed her cell and apologized to the two agents before answering it with an embarrassed smile on her face.

"Hello, this is Thalia speaking."

Someone said something on the other line, and Thalia's face went white.

"Jackson… it's for you."

She wordlessly handed me the cellphone, her eyes wide and her face pale. I held it up to my ear in anticipation.

"J-Jackson? You there?"

"Annabeth?"