Note: Posted with permission

Warning: This is rated 'M' for a reason, I don't make light of the rating system, and it gets progressively more mature as these go on.

Summary:Nico never allowed himself to touch, only to be touched, it was better that way. Percy/Nico

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Battle of the Bulge

"Got him," When Zeus Grace said things like that about people whom he had been tracking it could only mean one of two things. One, someone was financially screwed, or two, someone was about to be screwed in a completely different, more imaginative kind of way. Be that good or bad it was up to Zeus' discretion. Hera looked over his shoulder at the laptop currently sitting on top of his lap.

"He tried to use his credit card," She read through the tracing program's algorithms with a small, tight smile on her unwrinkled and quite botoxed face. "What's this?" She pointed at the screen.

"A pseudonymof his," Zeus smirked staring at the named registered for the offshore Swiss account. "Literally translated it means God of the Seas."

"Who does this guy think he is?" She sneered, taking a seat beside her husband. "New money always is such an upstart among the commoners." She was referring to the categories of the rich. There was new money and then there was Old Money. Old Money had and would always be around. Old Money was what you called the families who built their funds over centuries and had them disturbed through several other, untouchable accounts. Like the Kennedys or the Rockefellers, or even the Graces. New money, well, people like Poseidon were considered new money. People who had just enough means to be dangerous but whose profits had only been around for four generations or less. It occurred to her that that might not have been the best choice of words with her present company though, "Apologies, Hades,"

The dark haired man paid her no attention while the others in the room simply pretended not to have heard the comment. Zeus was, they were all finding out, richer than any man, woman, or child needed to be for several lifetimes. A fact he had pointed out to his son privately where he had berated him about going through such seedy means to get to college, all Jason could do was stare at the floor and apologize profusely. But, that conversation was over and apparently all was forgiven amongst the inner sanctum of teenagers and adults. All anyone wanted was for Percy to be back.

"When do we bust him?" Nico asked; everyone was surprised at the change of heart that had been developing in Nico over the past few days. He had gone from reasonably, but unreachably sad to fierce, cunning, and at times a bit savage. If the situation were less serious Rachel might have joked that Nico was going to track down Poseidon with just his sense of smell.

"We'll have to let the program run for a while," Zeus told him. "And we don't bust him; you let the nice Federal Agents that I keep on payroll worry about rescuing Percy." Nico rolled his eyes defiantly. Hades knew what his son was capable of; he hadn't seen Nico so livid since his mother had first passed. His dark moods always moved from the stage of inconsolable grief to blinding rage, but this time said rage had a target, a directive.

"How does this thing even work?" Grover asked staring at the computer screen.

"It follows the electronic signature of his credit cards every time he uses one," Zeus explained. "If it can't locate that then there's a failsafe where it will rifle through his credit card history and find something electronic of his and track that. Be it a cell phone or anything that can be picked up on GPS, anything. If that fails," He continued. "then it'll dig deeper into all of his records online, whether they've been encrypted by the Government or not, and bring me any information I need. Addresses, phone numbers, his social, the names of all his children, basically his life would be on display for me."

"You're a scary man," Paul observed from the wall he was leaning against sipping his diet Coke.

"Luckily I'm on your side," Zeus winked.

"What I don't understand," Thalia said. "Is why he would go to such extremes? What's his goal?"

"Poseidon was a passionate man," Sally said, sitting on the opposite couch, she looked far off. She looked as if she hadn't slept, as if she hadn't eaten in days and both were quite true. It was all she could do not to grab her keys and drive to each and every home she knew that her ex-husband owned and knock down every door till she found her son. "But why he's gone this far I can't even say. He might not even have an objective, maybe he's just doing this because he wants to. That's the kind of selfish man he's become—no, it's the kind of man he's always been. He feels entitled to any and everything that pleases him."

"He's trying another card," Hera said as the algorithms appeared before their eyes.

"We'll let him access some money," Zeus decided, typing a few buttons. Numbers flew across the screen, numbers and words and things that Jason didn't think he would ever be able to understand, but his sister's eyes were following everything that happened almost comprehendingly. "You should intern with me this Summer," He heard his father whisper to her, she didn't answer instead she just watched all the mathematics fly by.

"Why did you do that?" Persephone wondered, she would not have given Poseidon any money.

"He's trying to purchase passports," Zeus said. "Let him thinks he's got me beat so he can lead me right to him,"

"Don't toy with this man," Hera reprimanded darkly. "He's kidnapped poor Perseus, your game of cat and mouse can always be put on hold."

Zeus just grinned, "Too late," He said. "What's done is done, now, let the program route us to any cell phone or electric device he's recently used or purchased…" There was a blip on the screen, suddenly a map popped up and a small red dot blinked at them as it moved slowly across said map. "It's locked onto the computer in his car's engine," Zeus observed, grinning. "Ironic isn't it? Those new smart cars are supposed to be safer but this one's sealed his fate,"

"A very scary man, indeed." Paul continued, just drinking his Coke. Inside he was happy though, happy that they were that much closer to finding his son.

"I like him," Hades grinned. "He's got style."

Poseidon was most decidedly at the end of his rope. That was evident by his speeding; he was never an incautious driver. That damn Zeus Grace had not only frozen but tapped almost all of his monetary accounts, Greek bastard. Luckily for him he was smarter than Zeus, he had money places that the damn man could never get to. That was how he had just expressly bought nine passports and cut through all the red tape that normally caught other, less important people as himself, up.

Percy was his son. Sally had hid him away long enough, damn it. That bitch. Percy was his son and Poseidon would not be disrespected any longer, by anyone. His associate with the boat was travelling to the nearest harbor as fast as he could, all of Poseidon's vehicles—save the luxurious 2012 Plymouth he was driving, advanced off the lot—had been seized. Houses of his had been taken, some of the mothers of his children were even calling him to know what was going on. Apparently Feds had been around to talk to all of them. But, Poseidon was smart. He set up a dead number, anytime anyone called his old phone it redirected them to this one which, he had been assured, was untraceable.

Zeus was watching him. He knew it; he had done some research of his own. Zeus Grace came from a filthily wealthy family and a very elite social order. He was a behind-the-scenes man for politicians when he wanted to be, he could swing votes from both the Senate and the House for whichever representative he wanted in the White House. There were photos of Zeus with Prime Ministers and Ambassadors from some very important countries, countries that would remain nameless but were, for all intents and purposes, thought hostile and dangerous. There were also photos of Zeus with many, many famous people. Everyone from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to Courtney Cox and Bon Jovi and everyone in between; Zeus had been in a powerful position since the late seventies at a very young age thanks to his father's influence and Poseidon found that if he had any opponent it would be him.

But, to reiterate, Poseidon was smart. He was smart and he was keeping his cool, even if under his hands the steering wheel had become dented by his clenched fingers. He wiped beaded sweat off of his forehead, he hadn't realized how hot it must have been. Poseidon went to turn the air on only to find that it was blasting as cold as was possible. He shook his head, he wasn't scared. There were plenty of other reasons for him to be sweating buckets. It was unseasonably scorching for a Winter's Day. There were, he realized, two days till Christmas.

Parking the car he quickly got out, unbuttoning his jacket even though it was snowing again. He went up the steps of his porch and threw the door back, nearly ripping it off the hinges. "Dad?" He looked over at the sound; all the boys were gathered in the living room. Everyone but Triton who would not have anything to do with Percy.

"Did he use the phone today?" Poseidon asked harshly, the boys shook their heads 'no' seeing the look of great anxiety on their father's face. "Did he use the computer? Go outside?" Again they said no. "What're you doing?" He came into the living room hurriedly. They were playing a game on their Playstation 3. "Don't you know that if someone were looking for us they could find us through this thing!" He shouted, picking it up. Then in one feat of strength that even he had never displayed and with a bout of bitter, bitter anger he threw it against the wall shattering the system and a good portion of his drywall.

Orpheus began crying and Poseidon turned on all of them. "Dad, you don't look so well," Daedalus informed him, the young man came forward with his hand out as if he were about to examine Poseidon.

"I'm fine!" He shouted causing Daedalus to quickly step back. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie, running a hand through his hair. "Who's in the mood for pizza?" He asked with a sudden greasy smile, though it was transparent, underneath they could all see how frazzled he was. Poseidon crossed to the kitchen in three large strides leaving them with a gaping hole in the wall and a ruined game of racing.

Percy watched the spectacle with a small smile on his face; he was seated almost comfortably on the couch. Before Poseidon had so wholly burst through the door he had been contemplating every route through which he could get out of it and into Triton's car before anyone could stop him. Considering that standing hurt and walking was near impossible for him the odds had not been good, but his father's unusual display had him in much better spirits.

Something or someone was getting to his Dad. Poseidon was cracking under a pressure that was unknown to Percy, but the young man hoped that when those levees broke his father didn't survive.

In the kitchen Poseidon was quickly kneading dough. Well, to be precise he was destroying something that had once been comparable to dough and was now a poor doughy cousin to its former splendor. His phone rang. "Boss?"

"Yeah," It was another associate of his who everyone called Meat, indicative of his large, bulbous size and the lobster red tone of his skin that he called a tan. "what is it?"

"Fat Gianni's been seeing a lot of searches coming up in the National databank, searches with your name in the title," Meat informed him. "He says it might stir up some trouble,"

"Can he stop it?" Poseidon asked, dropping the putty like substance that had once been dough, or at least something akin to it. He heard a few clicks of the keys.

"It's done, you into anything serious, Boss? This is some pretty advanced stuff,"

"What's the first rule of the game, Meat?" Poseidon asked.

"No questions," The answer made Poseidon smile now, a genuine and relieved, albeit it dark, smile. "You get that other job done? With your little flamer?"

"It's done," Poseidon said. "The phone's might be bugged, only call me if my name comes up again." Meat said he would do just that, "Now, I need you to do something for me…" Poseidon's whole operation wasn't what some might call legal. Jackson Waterworks was a fall company for something much bigger, Poseidon worked with a lot of people himself. A lot of people who some might consider dangerous. Sometimes they might need someone else to disappear, and there was no grave bigger than the ocean.

If Zeus was putting the squeeze on him then he would just have to squeeze right back.

"Shit," Zeus said, the screen began blanking and accounts started disappearing left and right. "he's caught on to us,"

"Is that a problem?" Hades asked.

"Not really," The streak bearded man grinned. "He's entitled to feel like he's accomplishing something." His fingers flew over the keyboard now, competency bordering on God-like as sequences and equations were easily written up.

"Zeus..." Hera warned.

"What? It's not cat and mouse, I swear." His smile was dark, ominous. "Poseidon wants to play with the big boys and he's messed with my family, and my kid's little friends. I'm just having some fun."

"Less fun, Dad, and a little more pinpointing Percy's location,"

"Oh, that?" Zeus pulled up the map. "Right there, nice little neighborhood in the 'burbs," He shrugged. "I sent that to the FBI ages ago," If it wasn't evident Zeus had always pictured himself a god among men. He, of course, only used his powers for good; or, at least good in his own sense of the word. Funnily, if he were just the slightest bit less understanding, just a smidge more close minded Zeus could almost, almost sympathize with Poseidon. They had very similar traits and tactics he realized. Zeus justified his because he knew that in the long run they were better options for people, while he felt Poseidon's own actions were due to greed and a shallowness so thin he could almost see through it to the rotten core that lay underneath.

"Stop playing around!" It was Nico, all eyes turned to him. "Percy's in danger. For every minute he's not in the hospital recovering it's a minute that brings him closer to death."

"That's a bit dramatic," Zeus smirked. "The boy is fine, so long as his father hasn't been putting him through strenuous activity. Now, unless you want me to call the FBI and tell them how to do their jobs there's not a lot else I can do. I can expunge something off your juvenile record if you want?" Nico huffed loudly and turned on his heels, storming out of the house. He was tired of Zeus' haughty attitude; he was tired of feeling helpless. Before he realized it he was at his own car.

"Where do you think you're going?" It was his father.

"For a drive," Nico said; Hades put a hand on his shoulder. He turned Nico around. Dressed from head to toe in black his father looked like a beacon of darkness, an ebon monolith in an otherwise Winter wonderland. Nico realized that he probably didn't look much different himself. From afar it might appear as if two shadowy figures were plotting and planning. In reality, it was only a father and son talking.

"You're not thinking about driving out to where Percy is, are you?" Hades asked. "Because I couldn't think of a punishment heavy enough to let you know the consequences of your actions. Grounding would just leave you time to think of ways for escaping, and you're too old for me to put over my knee." Nico wrenched his shoulder out from under his father's grip.

"I wasn't going to." He said. "I just want to be alone for a few hours."

"Be alone inside," Nico stared in open protest at his father, whose stony face showed no hint of compassion. Nico sighed heavily; he pushed past Hades who watched him return back into the Blofis' home. His expression became soft then. "I'm sorry, boy." Then he marched back into the house as well, closing the door behind him.

"Fuck!" Poseidon slammed his fist into the wall; he was going to have to pay someone a lot of money to repair all of these holey walls he was accruing.

"Yeah, thanks," Triton closed his father's phone. "Fat Gianni says they can't shut it down this time." His son let him know, again Poseidon struck his home.

"He's sucked me dry," The man growled. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me Jason Grace was his kid?" Triton looked up at his father. "This is all your fucking fault, if you wouldn't have involved one of the world's most powerful men we wouldn't be in this situation." Poseidon screamed. "Once again, Triton, you've been a disappointment. Why I ever got drunk and had sex with your whore mother I'll never know." Triton stood then, at the end of his own rope.

"What did you say?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper but the ferocity in it could be unmistaken.

"Finally grew a pair did you, boy?" Poseidon asked loudly. "I said your mother's a whore, I said you're the idiot who broke my fucking bank account! What, are you deaf as well as stupid?" He saw anger flash murderously in his second oldest son's eyes and he grinned widely. "What, are you going to take a swing on your old man? Try it." Triton was visibly shaking. "Or maybe you're going to cry." Slowly he watched his son fall back into his chair, his chest was rising and falling with heavy, laboring breaths.

"I'm sorry," He whispered.

"Damn right you are," Poseidon said harshly. "But, it can't be helped. If Percy had been raised right he would have never gotten us in this predicament." The older man shook his head, "We'll have to change houses soon again, they're closing in on us. Go tell your brothers to get ready," Triton stood, again shakily, all of his muscles tensed. Then, his father reached out and grasped his shoulder. "You're a good kid," He said.

"Just not good enough," Triton whispered under his breath, he felt his father squeeze and then relinquish him and he walked away.

"Nico?" Grover opened Percy's door, he knew he shouldn't have, he knew he should have just left Nico alone for a while but Grover was keen on doing things he knew he should not have done. See, there was a trick to opening Percy's door that he and his aforementioned best friend had discovered. If you popped the handle up and twisted hard to the left the locking mechanism from the other side came undone. Nico was seated on Percy's bed just staring at the floor, there was a deep set anger running down his brow and into his eyes. Grover had seen Nico upset plenty of times, he was a moody kid, he had seen him hurt at least twice, seen him happy more times than he could count, and about as many as that he had seen him sad, but this was something completely different. This was, he realized, that di Angelo hatred that Percy had mentioned to him a few times before.

The young Italian teen swept Grover with those eyes that burnt like thick, dark coals only for a second but that was enough to raze his soul. Grover felt every last bit of bitterness in Nico's body, it was enough to make him want to break something. Anything. Then, as if he had been intruded upon in his most private of selves, Nico turned away and his eyes lost that gleam of malice. "What is it, Grover?" Nico asked not looking at him. Grover came in and sat down on the bed beside him, he put an arm around his shoulders.

"You might not know this," Grover said. "But Percy's my best friend," Nico looked at him as if he had grown a second head and then as if he were the stupidest person in existence. Grover laughed at that, "Percy's not just my best friend though, Nico, he's my best friend. Percy's my brother." He said. "I would do anything for Percy, forgive him for anything. Dude could seriously slap my Mom and I would forgive him, after I beat his ass into another coma of course, but you get it?"

"You're trying to say you miss Percy just as much as I do," Nico replied.

"No," Grover said leaning with his arms behind him on the bed. "I can't miss Percy the way you miss him, I miss Percy like my brother was kidnapped you miss Percy like a part of you got taken. He's a part of me too, but it's not the same. You, me and him? Well, I guess we're all just stuck with each other," He smiled at Nico again. "You're something like a brother-in-law, I would say,"

"You're trying to make me feel better?" Nico asked.

"Well," Grover smiled darkly, mischievously. "yes and no. Kinda. Look, I heard what that Zeus guy said, and while I'm down with Poseidon getting knocked into next week by some Feds I for one can't sit idly by while my brother is being held hostage."

Nico sighed, "What are you saying, Grover?"

"G-man," Grover corrected, "that's what you're supposed to call me," Nico couldn't help it, he smiled. No matter how small it was, no matter how minute or quick it had been and then left it was a smile and Grover had seen it.

"Alright, G-man, what are you saying?" Nico asked.

"Well, I'm not not saying we should steal away in the middle of the night with Jason and Leo and scope out the place they've got Percy. I'm not not saying we should bust into that place and retrieve my bro, and I'm definitely not, not saying that I just got back from the gas station so I have a full tank of gas, if that's what you're insinuating."

"You idiot," They looked up, Rachel stood at the door with her arms crossed, plaster cast over uncovered arm. "You'll never get anywhere if you just take you, Nico, Leo, and Jason you need someone with a brain," She limped slightly into the room and she thought she closed the door behind her. "And if you're going to plot you need to at least close the door so someone who's going to bathroom doesn't accidentally hear whatever you're planning."

Grover's already dark skin darkened with an embarrassed blush. "You're limping, Rachel," Nico said redundantly.

"Yeah," Rachel replied, flippantly. "And I'm still loads more flexible, reflexive, and resourceful than all of you combined."

"It'd be difficult for you to break in somewhere quietly with a busted knee," Grover told her.

"Haven't you figured out that I like challenges," She smirked, a hand wrapped around her shoulder.

"Planning something without me?" Thalia asked, grinning. The door had swung back open thanks to Grover's popping the latch out of place.

"I should probably fix that back," Grover decided, standing. "If one more person comes in here then we might as well include the entire house."

"Well," The dark haired girl said, "I heard most of the plan too, I was following Rachel to make sure she didn't fall on her way," She received a scathing look from the red haired girl and chuckled, "You never know, you might have," She grinned. "Anyway, I don't know how you think you're going to get there without an exact address; what? Were you planning on having Jason go through Dad's laptop for directions? He couldn't even get passed the password screen." She smiled more widely. "Now, I'm not saying my brother isn't very intelligent, because that would be a lie, but he's just not conniving enough to think like Dad."

"My little corporate tyrant," Rachel smirked, receiving a kiss from Thalia.

"Hot," Grover said. "But, we had to do…something…I can't really remember—Percy, right!" He said as if the whole thing had almost slipped his mind.

"Seriously?" Rachel asked.

"What? He would forgive me if he knew you two were making-out in front of me,"

"We didn't make-out, it was just a little kiss," Thalia replied.

"That's making-out to them," Rachel told her. "If he actually saw us making-out he would die of an aneurysm,"

"Don't you have to have a brain to have an aneurysm?" Grover was not a fan of the little back and forth that Thalia and Rachel had begun; he opened his mouth to say just that.

"Oh, he's got a brain, it's just in the wrong head," Rachel finished before Grover could comment. Oh, they were sharp tongued alright. Before he could defend himself Nico cleared his throat and all eyes turned to him. Nico looked like a soldier suddenly, his angry brooding had been sharpened to the point of becoming deadly and he turned that look on all of them. Grover's breath hitched, even Rachel swallowed down saliva to wet her suddenly dry throat.

"Are we really going to do this, or are you yanking my chain, Grover?" He asked seriously. Grover suddenly became somber, his joking a back-up mechanism to hide his pain. He nodded solemnly.

"Tonight," He said.

"And the others already know about it?" Again Grover nodded. "Alright, then I'm going to get some rest. Wake me up twenty minutes before you want to go, I want to be as alert as I can be." They all saw how very tired Nico looked, his fatigue sat just underneath fury and sadness. It boggled Grover's mind that someone could feel so many things at once and have them all openly displayed on their face in some aspect. He put a hand on Nico's shoulder.

"I meant what I said," He told him. "you're a brother to me now, too, Nico." Minutely the younger teen smiled again.

"Thank you," He said. "I feel the same way,"

"Now give each other a little kiss," Thalia grinned. Grover looked up at her askance and she just laughed.

"One," He said, "bros never cross swords,"

"Meaning you're not supposed to have sex with someone your "bro" has had sex with," Rachel enlightened the room.

"Yeah, and two, as much as I love Nico I've got Juniper, that's the only lady I need." He grinned when the Italian teen struck his arm. He rubbed at the angry looking red mark those small fists left behind, "Ow, you do secretly work out don't you? You don't have to lie,"

"After all this is over," Nico said decidedly. "You and Percy are not allowed to Skype each other anymore; all these vicious rumors are bad for my image." There was an easy laugh shared amongst them, then Grover showed him how to clasp hands in his and Percy's patented handshake and the taller teen left, the two young ladies in tow, one walking and one hobbling.