CHAPTER 16: WORLDS APART

PERCY

I barely noticed the plane land. Though the flight had been long-haul, I'd only gotten an hour of shut-eye and felt dead on my feet as I stumbled down the ramp and onto the concrete of JFK airport. Above me, the clouds thundered and rain lashed from the sky. I didn't have a raincoat, so I was drenched to the skin in seconds as I ran to get inside.

By the time I made it to baggage claim, my hair was plastered to my face in sticky crimson strands. My roots were awful—they'd grown out way too far. Not for the first time, I wondered if I should just heed Annabeth's advice and dye my hair back to its natural black. After all, I didn't need to hide my appearance anymore.

My bag was one of the first ones out. I grabbed it and quickly headed to the gate where I'd be picked up by another officer. I wasn't sure if they knew what I looked like, but I imagined they'd be holding a sign or something.

It didn't take long for me to spot them. The officer was wearing a sleek black suit, and his dirty-blonde hair was painstakingly gelled. Sure enough, he was indeed holding a sign—Mr. Jackson had been scrawled on it in Sharpie. As I approached, he pushed back his cuff to check his watch. "Hey, it's Jackson," I called. "You the officer Sir mentioned?"

The guy looked up, face breaking into a glowing smile. "Oh, hello." Surprisingly, his accent was crisply British. "Yeah, the name's Will Solace. I'll be working with you for the next couple months." He offered a hand for me to shake. I accepted it, grimacing internally as he touched the twisted scars on my knuckles and palm. To his credit, he didn't flinch or pull away. "How was your flight?" he asked instead, slinging my rucksack over his shoulder so I only had my suitcase left to carry. We started heading for the airport's glass doors. Through them, I could see it was still raining heavily.

"Fine," I replied. "Barely slept, though." I waved a hand vaguely. "Heights, and all that."

Will nodded. "I'm the same way." A glint entered his eye, and he smirked. "One of my old boyfriends once asked me to join the Mile High Club with him on a business flight to Nepal, but I was too busy hurling into a paper bag for us to get anywhere. "

At his dry tone, I couldn't hold back a laugh. "You're kidding."

He made a pained expression. "Afraid not. He broke up with me a week later." As we pushed through the revolving doors, Will pulled out an umbrella and extended over our heads for shelter. He leaned forward to look ahead up the road and audibly gasped in relief. "Thank fucking Christ, my car's still there. I was worried they might tow it 'cause I couldn't be arsed to wait for the car park."

Will stepped into the driver's side of his glossy black car, and I walked around to climb into the passenger's seat after putting my suitcase in the boot. I clicked on my seatbelt, happy to be out of the rain. "Who else is heading up the operation? I wasn't told much before I left."

"Well, there's two others on our team—Officers Grace and di Angelo."

I wasn't sure I'd heard him right. "Grace? As in Jason Grace's sister, Thalia?"

Will nodded as he looked back to glance in the rear-view mirror, spinning the wheel with one hand. "Yeah. You know Jason?" he asked.

"We worked on a few missions together back in Paris."

"Huh, didn't know that. He used to lead my old squad when he was still stationed over here on the New York branch. Bit of a dick, in my personal opinion, but then again I suppose most people are who're on this particular walk of life. From my experience, anyway."

I laughed. "Point made."

Will stepped on the accelerator, running a red light and cutting in front of another car. The woman inside cussed at him. He cringed, waving apologetically out the window. "Sorry, love!" he called. Still, it wasn't the worst driving I'd ever seen back when me and my mom had used to live in New York when I was younger. "So, how was life in Paris? Amongst the French, and all that?"

I picked at my cuticles. I'd developed the habit again, annoyingly. "It's not all it's cracked up to be, I guess. Some good music back there, though."

"Oh, you're into live music? New York's got some great venues, but I miss Bristol—my old city where I lived back in England. The music scene there's a little more gritty. More down-to-earth." Will shook his head. "You Americans are so obsessed with all your elitist shit, it's unbearable."

I raised a brow. "Thought that was an English stereotype?" I teased.

Will scoffed. "Right. You've clearly never been to Stokes Croft."

We chatted for a while about nothing and everything as Will drove us to the base, and I slowly started to ease up. It always took me a while to feel comfortable around new people, but Will was so outgoing that it was hard to dislike him. Eventually, I decided I should probably find out some more about the operation I'd be leading with him and the others. "So, tell me more about the mission. It's recon, yeah?" I asked.

"You'll receive a file about it," Will replied, "and we'll have a briefing with the others when we get to the base. But I'll give you the rundown now. Basically, there's an unidentified gang who've been fucking with us for a while. Messing with our drug runs, stealing our stock. We've been working to capture some of their men for a while to get to the bottom of it, but to no avail. They're so well-organised, they evade our clutches every time."

"So our job is to acquire more information, and eventually bring them to their knees?" I asked.

"Precisely. But me and the others have all lived in New York for so long that it feels like it's impossible for us to see the big picture." Will flashed me a smile. "I'm hoping your fresh outlook will help."

I sighed, leaning my head against the cold window. The city passed us by in a blur, all grey skyscrapers and endless rain. "I guess we'll see."

It took us about forty-five minutes to get to the base, which could've been worse regarding the state of New York's traffic. Will parked his car in a back street behind the base so it was hidden from public view. The actual base was a small-ish converted hotel which blended seamlessly into the skyline of New York, though I was sure it probably extended beneath the ground too. Even so, it was far smaller than the huge complex I'd grown used to in Paris.

Will seemed to notice my appraisal of the building. "It's small, right? Must feel different from Paris." I nodded, and he continued. "Well, that's 'cause our system here is a little different. Rather than having one condensed base, we're more spread out—the New York branch expands over multiple different locations. One in Brooklyn, two in Manhattan, etc. It's safer that way. If the police somehow root us out, it's much less of a loss and easier to recover from."

I stared up at the base, adjusting my backpack on my shoulder. "Huh. Makes sense."

After passing security on the ground level, Will led me through the building, helping familiarise me with it. We passed dozens of recruits. Some wore suits, some wore military gear. Will explained that the training rooms and interrogation chambers were on the sub-levels that had been dug out over the years, and that the main building was comprised mainly of briefing rooms and dorms for the recruits and officers.

"You get your own room, now," Will told me, as he retrieved the keys to my dorm and office from administration and pressed them both into my palm. "I'll bet it'll be way nicer than what you had before. You're on the fifth floor, Room 305. Go shower and change—you must feel a bit grim after that flight. See you later for the briefing, yeah? It'll be in my office." I thanked him, and he tossed a smile over his shoulder as he pulled his phone out of his pocket to make a call.

I headed to my dorm, keys dangling around my fingers. When I pushed open the heavy, hotel-room door, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. While my room wasn't big, it was furnished with a soft double bed, mahogany furniture and a wardrobe. I walked in, dropping my bags at the foot of my bed. The door to my right led to an en-suite bathroom. The whole setup was far nicer than the tiny dorm room I'd shared with Rachel back in Paris.

Still, what I really liked about it was the gorgeous, floor-to-ceiling window that opened onto a balcony. The view of New York was stunning, sure, but I was mostly happy to have somewhere in the open air to smoke. My fingertips were itching for a cigarette, but the desire to shower off the stench of travelling that clung to my skin won out. I'd have one after I freshened up.

I had a few hours to kill before I had to show up at Will's office to meet the others for a briefing, so I let myself spend a little longer in the shower than usual. I stood with my eyes closed under the spray, feeling the blazing water stream in rivulets down my shoulders and legs as I rubbed shampoo into my hair. The heat of the water was a welcome breath of energy into my tired body, and by the time I'd summoned the will to turn off the water my skin was a landscape of blushing red.

I got out of the shower, drying myself off with a towel and changing into some fresh clothes from my suitcase. I ran a brush through my tangled hair, bemoaning the state of it as I looked in the bathroom mirror. My roots really did look shit, so I resolved to go and find some black dye whenever I could.

After, I rummaged in my bag for the new pack of cigarettes that I'd bought in the airport and stepped out onto the glass balcony. I leaned on the railing and slipped a cigarette between my lips, burning the end with my silver lighter as I inhaled. I stared out into the city's skyline. The last, feeble dredges of rain stuttered from the fading clouds above, and I couldn't stop my mind from wandering. I knew my stepfather was here in New York—I hadn't been so close to his forces in a long time. Soon enough, word would get out that I'd returned to New York after several years, and when Gabe found out he'd be slavering at the mouth to capture and kill me.

Still, I refused to feel afraid of him. Of what he could do. I was stronger now than I'd ever been before, and if he tried anything he'd be met with the muzzle of my gun against his head.

Later, I headed down to Will's office for the briefing. It was pretty late and I was tired, so I hoped it wouldn't run on too long. I could hear voices inside Will's office, so I hesitantly pushed open the door. Will and two other officers were sitting around his desk. One was Thalia—her black boots were propped up on the table, and she was perusing an open file that lay on her lap. She looked the same as when I'd met her in Paris, except now her buzzed hair had grown out to her ears in a pixie-cut. I wondered how her treatments had been going. If her cancer was receding or not.

The guy sitting beside her was unfamiliar to me. His black hair fell around his freckled face, and his dark skin had an olive tone. He looked Italian. I guessed he must've been the other officer Will had mentioned.

As I walked in, Will looked up and smiled. "Oh, you're here. Sit down, we were just about to start."

I did as he asked, pulling out a chair opposite Thalia. She surveyed me, looking duly surprised. "Huh. Didn't realise you were the new operative. How's my brother?"

"Alright," I replied. "He's working on a few new operations. Misses you."

Thalia sighed with some measure of relief. "That's good. Jason barely ever talks to me, so I never know how he is."

I shrugged. "He probably doesn't mean to ignore you—he just gets wrapped up in his work sometimes."

She laughed dryly. "Sounds like Jason." Thalia gestured to the other guy sitting beside her. "Anyway, this is Nico di Angelo. He's leading the mission, too."

Nico raised a dark brow. "And you are?"

"Jackson," I responded. "Nice to meet you."

"From the Paris branch, right? I thought you'd be French when I heard the new officer was from there."

"Sorry to disappoint," I grinned. "I can speak the language, though."

Will clapped his hands together to divert our attention. "Okay! Good to have you here, Percy. It's late and I'm tired as all hell so we won't talk for long, but I just wanted to give you a general briefing." He cleared his throat, gathering the files in front of him into a stack. "In short, this is the second operation our higher ups have organised regarding the unidentified gang that we've been at odds with for months now. The first one failed, and four of the five officers leading it died while attempting to carry out a mission to capture one of their gang members. I was the only officer who wasn't killed, so you can see why I'd quite like us to sort this shit out before there's any more casualties."

"God," I said, very eloquently. "They murdered four of our officers? No wonder there was so much of a buzz over this operation back in Paris."

Thalia leaned forward. "This mission is important. For months, they've terrorised our drug runs, tried to infiltrate our ranks, and spied on our procedures. There's a lot of interest that goes a long way up into our organisation regarding them, as they've humiliated us for a while now. We really, really can't afford to fuck this up."

"Okay," I said. "Surely it won't be too hard to at least gauge their movements, if they're so hellbent on messing with us? Maybe we could somehow lay a trap?"

Will grimaced. "Yeah—we tried that, on the last operation. Didn't go so well." He drew out a file and handed it to me.

I opened it, scanning the documents within. There were blurry, dark photos of unidentifiable faces clearly taken in an action-packed moment, pages of written security footage, and several floor plans. The folder had been stamped with crimson ink—FAILED OPERATION. "The records of the last operation?" I asked. I flipped to the final page, marked Casualties. There were four, just like Will had said. "Shit. Must've been brutal."

"It was," Will said. He took the folder back from me and returned it to the pile. "We can't have another mission like that. We have to succeed."

I felt a rush of determination. I locked my jaw. "We will."

Nico met my eyes. "Don't be too optimistic about it. I have a feeling it'll be way harder than we think to apprehend any of their recruits, much less their officers. To me, this whole thing seems sketchy—their gang might be even more organised and convoluted than any of us realise."

"Which is why we need to be on top of our game," Thalia interrupted. "I've set out patrol routes for our squads corresponding to the whole New York branch's movements—every drug transferral, intelligence meeting and reconnaissance operation. Hopefully, we'll start seeing something. A pattern, a sequence to their actions."

I nodded slowly. "They'll try and be unpredictable," I said. "But there's always order in chaos."

We talked for a while longer, until the clock on the office's wall ticked to one 'o' clock. Will ended the briefing, and we all helped reorganise files. Nico and Will left first, talking quietly between one another. Their heads seemed to dip closer together than they needed to; their knuckles brushed when they walked. It didn't seem like a stretch that there could be something between them.

Thalia noticed my lingering gaze. "You're more perceptive than you look," she grinned.

My eyes snapped back to her. "What?"

Thalia flicked her chin toward the door, where the other two had left. "Will and Nico. You see it too, right?"

I rolled my eyes, tucking the stack of files Will had given me under my arm. "Anyone with half a brain could."

Thalia raised her hands in surrender. "Just saying. I've been wondering for months who's gonna make the first move."

I laughed. "I'm not really into gossip."

"Yeah, yeah. You know as well as I do that it's fun to speculate."

Thalia and I walked back to our rooms together, chatting about the operation. "There's a few things I want to follow up," she was telling me. "Think you can stomach helping me look over files for a bit? I know it's late and you've come all the way from Paris, but I'd really appreciate it."

"Sure. But not for long or I'll probably pass out."

She thanked me, and we headed to her room. It was way messier than mine, as she'd been living in it for a while—stacks of clothes spilled out of her wardrobe, and the shelves on her walls were covered in piles of books. "Sorry about the mess," Thalia said. "Usually I'm the only one who has to see it."

"It's fine, don't worry about it," I assured her. Thalia sat down heavily on her mattress, crossing her legs underneath her. I followed suit, opening the folders Will had given me.

We worked in silence for a minute, making notes and sorting the relevant files from the ones we wouldn't need. Eventually, though, Thalia spoke. "I know you said Jason was fine," she started, "and it's true that he always seems that way, but...can you tell me more about what happened after the Wyatt mission? A lot was riding on it, and I could never seem to get any information out of him whenever I talked to him about it."

I looked up to meet her apprehensive, electric-blue gaze. "Well, as the mission was a success, Sir got off his back. But he's been throwing himself into every operation he leads head-first, as if he's trying to prove himself or something. I don't know..." I trailed off. "I'm aware he's trying to pay off your medical fees, but it's like he's working himself to the bone."

Thalia's expression was carefully blank. She shook her head, looking down at the file in her lap. "I wish he could come back to New York. I don't like him being so far away." She scoffed. "He can handle himself, but he just never knows when to stop."

I was quiet for a moment. "You think Sir will ever let him cut ties? I mean, Jason's one of Sir's strongest officers. Would he be willing to let him go, if you guys manage to pay everything off?"

"I don't know if we can pay everything off."

I put down my file, chewing on my lip. "You will," I said simply. "You and him are some of the strongest people I know."

Thalia looked grateful, despite her doubt. "Thanks. That means a lot, actually."

We went back to scouring the files. Though it was late, my mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. Ever since the briefing, a suspicion had been slowly building in the back of my mind. As my eyes flickered over the words written on the files, a bigger picture was forming in my head.

I remembered the tactics my stepdad always used, the patterns he always followed. I knew where his forces were strong and where they were weak. As I flipped through files, I carefully unboxed each memory, dusting them off and regarding them side by side with this new information. I was curious to see if my theory was rooted in reality at all.

Many of the unknown gang's movements somewhat matched up with where I knew Gabe had bases. In places that he'd always kept under surveillance, there'd been incidents—interrupted drug runs, stolen supplies. Missing recruits who'd been marked as captured. Now I was looking for it, the evidence was clear as day. I'd wanted to be wrong. So badly. But it looked like I wasn't.

I looked up from the files in my lap. "I have a theory," I said.

Thalia cocked a brow. "Oh?"

I cleared my throat. "Looking at these records, I'm starting to see a pattern. Most of the incidents happen in places like Harlem, the East Village, areas of Queens. From what I remember of working with him, my stepdad—Gabe Ugliano—has got strong bases surrounding those areas. Even the brutal techniques detailed in the records that the gang members used to assault our squads and negotiators...SPQR always used to favour them. Maybe I'm wrong, but..." I shook my head. "I have a really fucking bad feeling about this."

Thalia's eyes were wide as she scanned the files I'd been looking at. "You've got to be kidding. You think Ugliano's gang is behind this? SPQR?"

"Well, I'd have to do more research to be sure." I rubbed the side of my neck, where the brand of my tattoo stood stark against my skin. "But everything in these files stinks of his involvement. And it would make sense, too—with Ugliano's power and influence, he's capable of anything. Including the shit written in these records." I went quiet for a moment. "All those recruits who were captured...I'm not surprised they were never seen again."

Thalia exhaled slowly, setting down the folder she'd been holding. "Percy, we could be on the verge of sniffing out the identity of these unknown assailants after so many months of failure. If you're right..."

It was an effort to stop my hands from shaking. If I was right, I was going to have to face my stepdad after years of running. If I was right, I was in neck-deep in treacherous waters. "So, what do we do?" I asked. I was desperate for guidance, for her to quell the panic rising in my gut.

Thalia thought for a moment. "You mentioned Harlem, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. That's where some of Gabe's strongest bases are hidden."

"And it's where a few of the incidents have happened before. Clearly, when we move our drugs through there, Gabe's men see that as an opportunity to strike."

I could see where Thalia was going with this. "And now that we know it's possibly SPQR behind this, we can somewhat predict where the attacks might happen."

Thalia's grin was sharper than a blade. Her eyes were bright with excitement, a jarring contrast against the darkness. "Exactly. And I've heard from Nico that one of our other bases is executing a drug transfer in Harlem tomorrow. A minor one, but it could be tempting nonetheless."

I smiled, mirroring her expression. "We could set a trap. Surround the place with moving recruits and block viable exits. If anyone attempts to strike, they'll have a hell of a time getting away."

"I like the way you think, Jackson." Thalia pulled out her burner phone to check the time. "I'll send out an alert to our squads in the morning as it's pretty late. Thanks for the help—you're invaluable."

I stood up, tucking my files back under my arm. As I opened the door to leave, I tossed a grim smile over my shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

When I got back to my room, I quickly stripped to my boxers and collapsed into bed. I'd had a long day. A quick glance at my glaring phone screen told me it was past two in the morning.

My mind wandered, unable to shut itself off. My thoughts shifted to Annabeth. She was here in New York, like I was, but...we might as well have been worlds apart for all the good it did us. Maybe I hadn't made the right choice in coming here. After all, I'd walked willingly into the heart of my stepfather's territory. I'd thrown all my years of running into the gutter, discarded all the endless sacrifices my mom had made to keep us both safe. It would be child's play for Gabe to find me now.

Images of blonde hair and red lipstick plagued me, perpetual as the rise and fall of my lungs. My brain devolved into a complicated mess of anxiety and hazy colours. After a while, I finally clawed my way into an unquiet sleep.

My dreams were as brutal as they came.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what y'all thought about Nico and Will's introduction. Now that Percy's in New York things will get a lot more action-packed, and it won't be long before Annabeth and Percy are reunited ;)