A/N: We did it, guys! We made it too 100+ reviews! Thank you all so much for this, it was a goal I was aiming for on this story, and I'm happy we reached it. I know it's not all about the reviews, but it's definitely a great feeling...Just a head's up, this chapter's on the shorter side. But nevertheless, it's important in clearing things up, and I hope you guys still enjoy it. Also, please be sure to read the author's note at the end of the chapter. I have a surprise!

Twenty-One: Can of Worms

The time spent traveling from the hospital to the precinct building was nothing more than a mere blur to Percy. He had been whisked away from the massive bloodbath of a crime scene, escorted down a seemingly never-ending stairwell, then tucked away into the back of a police car. The man who had been standing beside Thalia, as well as a uniformed police officer, took the driver and passenger seat, respectively. He noticed that the former of the two looked into the rear view mirror frequently, glancing at Percy with a calculating stare. But Percy didn't care whether or not he wanted to keep looking back, he was too numbed and too pained to care.

Grover was gone, shot to death in a hospital. Something both tragic and ironic. And it was his fault that his friend had perished. A number of what if's crossed his mind. What if he had done something to save Grover? What if Grover had never been there in the first place?

Percy tilted his head back, resting it into the hard plastic headrest as he clenched his eyes shut. He wanted nothing more than to be alone in solitude so that he could grieve over the loss of his best friend. But he supposed even if he was still on the run, and not in cuffs, he wouldn't be able to afford that luxury, either. And his mother...God, he could barely fathom the fact that she had been only a few doors down from a deadly shootout. If it had ended towards the benefit of the other hired guns, he knew that they wouldn't have spared her.

But the guilt he felt over the information she would inevitably and eventually become aware of about him was overwhelming. He had never hoped nor wished that she would know. Why would he? She had done and sacrificed so much for his sake over the years. Percy wouldn't know what to do with himself once the uncontrollable worrying, pain, and sadness were inflicted on her.

And Annabeth. She had been oblivious as to who, no, as to what he was. And as far as he knew, none of them were fully aware as to what he really was. What would that news do to her then? His scrambled thoughts were interrupted by the man at the driver's seat,as he turned to face Percy. He glanced away briefly out of discomfort from Percy's empty, but all the while intense gaze.

After fidgeting in his seat, he cleared his throat,

"We'll be asking you some questions once we get you into a secure room."

Percy nodded, "Alright."

The man blinked, a look of confusion crossing his face. Then, he shook his head,

"What?"

He shrugged, "I suppose you would've demanded a lawyer at this point."

"Why?" Percy questioned, letting out a bitter sort of chuckle, "What's the point?"

He didn't answer this, as he stepped out of the car. Percy heard his feet rounding the back of the car, before opening up Percy's car door. He reached behind Percy's back, before grasping onto his cuffs. Percy climbed out, as he was led by the officer or detective or whoever he was. He was led up the steps, into the precinct, and into an elevator.

The ride was quiet, other than the quiet breathing from Percy, the unknown man, and the officer who was keeping watch. There was a ding from the elevator, before the doors revolved open. Percy was led out into the hall, where only a few officers walked by. The three of them walked down a hall, then another, until he was stopped in front of a door. To the left of it, there was a one-way mirror that revealed the interior.

Table, three chairs, and four cinder block walls. That was it. The man opened up the door, before leading him to the table to sit down. He took a few steps back from Percy,

"Some detectives will be in to speak with you shortly."

He turned, left, and shut the door behind him. Percy leaned back in the chair, looking about the lackluster room. He shot a sideways glance towards the glass, but from this side, it was a mirror. Percy wondered who was standing behind it, observing him at a safe distance. He jumped slightly when the door at long last opened once more.

Thalia stepped inside, her shoes clicking across the concrete floor before she reached the chair sitting across from Percy. It slid out, before she was seated. A folder was in her hands, and she flipped through it in silence. Occasionally, her eyes would flit up, shooting a glare towards Percy. Then, she closed it, set it aside, and folded her hands on top of the table,

"This would normally be the part where I would introduce myself," She began, "But given the circumstances, I don't believe that's necessary."

Percy listened on, not speaking as Thalia continued,

"Well, considering the overwhelming evidence we have against you from that night of the hotel murder, as well as the events from earlier this evening, I doubt very much that you'll be able to weasel your way out of this one, Jackson."

Her voice was uncomfortably venomous, though he supposed he couldn't blame her. Percy cleared his throat, before adjusting his position in the chair,

"I know, and I wasn't planning on it. I'll tell you what happened that night, and why. I'll tell you what happened tonight, and why. But it's going to take a while."

Thalia narrowed her eyes, reducing them to mere slits,

"I have plenty of time to listen, and I can make time if I have to."

Percy nodded, "Fine. So, where should I begin?"

Thalia leaned back in her chair, scooping up a pad and paper,

"Why don't with you start with the hotel murder?"

Percy nodded once more, "Well, I attended the party that night, and the lawyer was my target."

Thalia raised her hand, beckoning him to stop,

"Target?" She echoed.

Percy took in a breath, "I was paid to kill him."

"Who paid you?"

"I'll get to that later," Percy said, much to Thalia's already-thin patience, "I couldn't go in with a gun, not when there were metal detectors and so many people around. But when the party was over, and he was heading up to his room, I knew that-"

"Yeah, yeah," Thalia interjected, "We can fill in the pieces from there..."

She jotted a few things down, before continuing,

"Was this your first hit job?"

Percy shook his head, "No, it wasn't."

"Well what do you normally use for your jobs, then?"

"Pistol," He answered.

She nodded, and set the pad of paper aside. Thalia was quiet for a few moments, before continuing,

"Are you going to tell me who hired you, then?"

Percy swallowed, "Luke Castellan."

He continued on talking about the lawyer, not realizing that Thalia had perked up at the name, finally, she cut him off,

"Wait a minute," She said, "Castellan? He hired you?"

Percy nodded, slowly, "Yeah. But..."

He faltered, knowing that from there, it was only going to get worse for him. Not that he could really reverse anything at that point, but he had a hunch that Annabeth was on the other side of the mirror, listening in on everything. And what she was going to hear wasn't going to make things any easier. Thalia folded her arms over,

"I bet a phone call to a lawyer sounds really great right now."

Percy shook his head, "No, it's just-"

He faltered again, before exhaling slowly,

"Castellan was serving as a messenger boy for Kronos. He had Castellan pass the job down to me, but at the time, I had no idea I was working for him, as well."

Thalia looked on, an intense blaze in her eyes. She glared for a few moments, forcing him to look away, before she stood from her seat with a start, and left the room. And so, he was alone again. Percy was simply spewing things, though he couldn't really think of an alternative way to say things. He wasn't trying to dance around suspicion, which made things easier, but not any less painful.

After a few more minutes went by, the door opened again, revealing a flustered-looking Thalia. She was carrying two water bottles, and set them down. As she opened them, she spoke up,

"I guess if you're gonna explain all of this, we really are gonna be here for a while."

She slid the opened water bottle towards him, but when he didn't make a move to drink it, she sat down, taking a sip of her own without question.

"What now?" Percy questioned.

Thalia capped her water, "I guess the best way is to explain everything in order, like you're telling a story."

He nodded hesitantly, "Okay..."

So, he started his "story," continuing from where he had left off. Thalia, however, had him briefly backtrack to explain how he had started working for Castellan. Percy told her how, with great difficulty, his friend Grover had taken him to meet the lawyer. He talked about the day he had met Annabeth, and how later, he had met Kronos for the first time at the steakhouse.

"He told me that he was planning to eliminate everyone who had landed him in prison, and how the lawyer I had killed was one of them."

"Who else did he plan to kill? Do you know?"

Percy bobbed his head, "You, the police chief, and Annab-I mean, Detective Chase."

Thalia looked up from her scratchpad, and her face looked as if it had gone sickly pale in the matter of seconds. After calming her nerves, she motioned for him to continue, looking down at her notes,

"He offered me the job to kill Detective Chase. Castellan had mentioned how we had talked the night of the party, and how this could be used to gain her trust more naturally. But I declined."

Percy's cuffs had since been removed, and was able to take a drink of water. After draining what was left of the bottle, he set it aside,

"Kronos told me never to mention us meeting to anyone, and I didn't. I thought I was safe...Annabeth and I met up again, but afterward, I got a phone call from my friend, telling me that he and my mother had been in a car accident. She barely made it out alive."

Thalia paused in her note-taking,

"Did he organize the wreck?"

Percy nodded, "Yeah. After I got flowers and a note addressed from him, I realized it. He asked me to reconsider his offer."

"Did you?"

When he looked away, Thalia set her pad and pen down with a loud slam,

"Did you or did you not?"

"Yes," He answered in a small voice, "I had no choice."

She rose from her seat, looming over him,

"So, all of it was an act you put on? For her?"

"No!" He protested, looking up at her, "Never! I grew to love her, and even before that, I never planned on killing her!"

"Then why did you take the offer?" She snapped, "You only took it because you thought it was too good to pass up, right? We know that Kronos is a rich man, and he would've paid well!"

"No!" Percy shouted once more, "He was going to kill my mother if I didn't kill Annabeth, or at least if I didn't pretend I planned on killing her! I accepted because I had to think of a plan on my own!"

"And what plan was that, then?"

Percy gripped the edge of the table, continuing in a quieted tone,

"I was going to kill Kronos and Castellan before they grew tired of waiting on me to kill Annabeth. I was going to sweep it under the rug, and go about my life. For all intents and purposes, Kronos and Castellan both would've simply fallen off the face of the Earth."

Thalia's hardened gaze relaxed somewhat, but only by a minuscule increment,

"So, what went wrong with your plan?"

"The file you recovered from the hotel. Once she recognized me, I had to improvise. At that point, I planned on grabbing my gear, going to kill Castellan and Kronos, and then leaving the country."

"The bodies at your house and at the hospital, were they Castellan's men?"

"They were. Obviously I didn't realize it by the time I got to the hospital, otherwise my friend wouldn't have hired them...And he wouldn't have been killed off by them."

Thalia paced slowly, her footsteps trailing behind Percy. He looked up into the mirror, and watched her reflection as she stood at the window behind him.

"I'm sorry," She muttered, "About your friend, I mean."

When he said nothing, she cleared her throat,

"Well, for what it's worth, I guess you could say that you've helped us in a way. This could help us finally arrest Kronos again, and arrest his partner in crime. But, I have one more question to ask you, and that's whether or not you've killed anyone else."

Percy, with a brief pause of hesitance, nodded,

"I did hit jobs for work beforehand, like I said...Odd jobs, I don't know how many at this point. And...My father."

Thalia let out a faint, but audible gasp at this,

"Your father?" She echoed.

"He was the one who taught me the ways of becoming a hit man, after all."

Thalia was completely silent for a moment, and he could almost feel her eyes staring at the back of his head.

"A single shot between the eyebrows, right? That's how you took people out during your jobs?"

Percy couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle,

"It's beginning to all piece together, isn't it? Yeah...He never stopped gloating about how he got away with it."

The detective said nothing, and instead, took out her handcuffs,

"I'll take you down to a cell. You're going to want to rest up for some time at the courthouse."

Percy scoffed, "I just confessed to everything? Do I really need a court case?"

At this, Thalia half-laughed, half-scoffed,

"Everyone has to be given a fair trial...You're no different, unfortunately."

She adjusted the cuffs on his hands, before he stood to his feet. Thalia led him to the door, knocking. After a brief moment passed, the door pushed inwards, and he was escorted farther down. They took another turn, until they were in another wing. An officer faced towards them, sitting at a desk with a drowsy expression,

"Need a cell?" He slurred.

"Yep," Thalia responded.

He swiveled in his chair, pressing a button on a panel close to him. There was a sharp buzz, before the door closest clicked ajar. Thalia brought him into the cell, with contained a bunk and toilet/sink combination. Once he was seated on the bunk she undid the cuffs, before returning to the hall. The buzz sounded again, and the door closed shut automatically.

And then, he was alone.

A/N: Even though it was shorter, I hope you guys liked it. And, I hope it was interesting and seemed to be accurate enough to your average police interrogation. I know it couldn't get it 100% accurate, but hey, all of those episodes of Law and Order have paid off a little.

And besides, I have a special treat for you guys! Since this up and coming Wednesday is August 5th, that also means that it will be four years since I first created my account. Now, I don't have the time to write something extra at this point, but instead, I'll post chapter twenty-two then. I'll still post chapter twenty-three on Saturday, like always. So, I hope you guys are looking forward to that.

See you guys then!
Leaded-Pegasus