Emperors Errands

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS. ALL RIGHTS TO RICK RIORDAN WHO CREATED THE CHARACTERS. I ONLY OWN THE PLOT AND STORY.

Rated: T

Main Pairing: Percy/Annabeth

Summary:
Recent murders have been occurring all around America. It's up to one of the most skilled agents, Annabeth Chase to put an end to the ongoing mystery. But what happens when she is forced to work along with another agent? (PERCABETH, SLIGHT apocalyptic, Human AU)

TAGS:
Adventure, romance, crime, secret agent, Percy, Annabeth, spy, spies.

Authors Note:

I apologize for the lack of uploads! But beware, I have reasons. Basically, I broke my neck. "..." Yep I know, wow. How I did it? I'd like to say I was doing hardcore parkour and broke it doing multiple backflips. But, um... Nope. I woke up and I stretched a certain way and my neck snapped back and pain. Yep. I couldn't do anything but stay still for two weeks according to doctors orders. But being stubborn me, I obviously got so bored and eventually broke those rules by exercising my neck and I'm guessing you know what happened then. Another week in the brace, yay... Anyway, enough of my pain and suffering. I really hope you enjoy this chapter! Because I had to rush it since I finally got my hands on a computer in about a month. Oh, side note, it may have heaps of errors since I had to rush for obvious reasons. So enjoy!

Annabeth's P.O.V
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the villa came into view I couldn't help but smile.

I parked my car in one of four possible parking spots (excluding the garage).

As I got out of the car I couldn't help but notice the beauty of the place. The villa was surrounded by life and plantation. The walls were made of intricate stone, timber and a beige concrete. This place was impressive I wasn't going to lie. It was between a medium and big size. A stone path leading towards the entry was just a genius idea to add to the adventure vibe.

I couldn't wait to see the inside; I guess my luggage will have to wait for a bit.

I jogged onto the path which turned into a sprint to the door. Hades, even the door was carved to perfection. I reached out for the spotless golden door knob. My hands now firmly on the handle, I pushed it down to enter. I would love to tell you all about the inside décor but I can't because I didn't get to see it.

Immediately when I took my first step inside the house, I was greeted with a hard chest.

"Styx! ''

"Holy Hera!''

We both fell on the carpet with a groan.

Cursing I raised my head to be met with his sea green eyes. Crap. I looked at my surroundings, or rather my surrounding. Percy was wearing a plain cotton blue T-shirt with some dark blue jeans. I'm going to take a wild guess and say he liked the colour blue. Thinking back to where I was, I seemed to be on top of Percy in a very compromising position. My forearms resting beside his head, and my legs lying tangled up in his. I raised my head once again to see him smirking and winking like a dork.

He started wiggling his nose –wait why was he doing that?

"Are you sniffing me?'' I questioned slightly taken aback.

''You smell like lemons, with a hint of strawberry,'' he casually replied as if we were having a normal conversation.

''Excuse me?'' I asked glaring down at him.

He seemed to be getting comfortable, just smiling up at me with that troublemaker smirk. Oh no, I was not going to give him the pleasure of making fun of me with that face of his. With that I got up, brushing of invisible dust on my shoulder. Looking down at him I could see he wasn't going to get up anytime soon. He slowly closed his eyes and put his arms behind his head as if he were in Hawaii.

''You take a look around, I already have,'' he nonchalantly spoke.

How.

Just how was I going to put up with him?

Without giving him another look I walked around his still body out into the lounge. Wow, was my first thought as I stood at the end of the hallway looking into the room. The ceiling was on an angle going up toward the sun. That made the room very open and bright. The feature wall was genius. The brick worked so well with the décor making everything stand out, looking beautiful. The other walls were timber. Oddly enough I always thought brick and timber would never go together, but I was proven wrong. Looking around this modern villa made me feel so proud. Even the red couch blended perfectly.

I made my way to the French doors at the opposite of the room, leading to the backyard. The sight was beautiful. I could see the sun shining above mountains in the distance. Not only was the view beautiful, but the life that lived around their villa. The birds were flying around singing songs, with bugs adding their own tune to the music. It was overwhelmingly, catastrophically, stunning.

"Wow," I breathed.

"I know right?" Percy crept up behind me.

"So how long do you think we'll be staying here?" I questioned turning around the face him.

"Around four months if we're quick," he replied putting his hands in the pockets of his denim jeans. Wow… was it just me or is he really tanned?

"Hmm?" I asked completely forgetting what we were even talking about.

"Four months. How long we're staying… you asked for my opinion…" he trailed off awkwardly.

Right.

I ducked my head down. "Oh… Oh- yeah," I chuckled just as awkwardly as him. Wait a second…

I looked back up to meet his oh-so perfect sea green eyes. Just then my eyes darted down to his pearly white teeth. Ha, there was a strip of seaweed stuck between the back of his lower teeth. This is the perfect chance to tease him. How could I possibly miss out on this opportunity? " Hey seaweed head, you got some seaweed stuck in between your teeth."

"I-what hey!" he complained sticking his bottom lip out in a pout. Such a great use of English words, I thought sarcastically.

"Seaweed brain," I mumbled under my breath staring at the carpet. His lack of the dictionary made me think of the word brain, (yes, I'm aware how weird that sounds). And seaweed is thick just like his reaction… so seaweed brain. It fits perfectly if you ask me.

"Huh?" he grunted unintelligibly.

"Your new nick name. We wouldn't want anyone knowing who you were in public now would we?" I smiled gazing up at shocked expression. This is going to be so much fun.

"Um well yeah I guess- but-" he groaned in frustration shaking his head as if finally realizing he had been outsmarted.

There was awkward silence.

"I'll just go unpack my bags," I gestured to the front door.

He cleared his throat, "oh um, yeah, that'd be great, I mean awesome, I mean-"

"Yup, OK I get it," I bit my lip, slowly starting to proceed back into the hallway.

A fake cough could be heard from across the room just as I entered the hallway.

"Yes, is there a problem?" I questioned curiously.

He blushed then pointed to his teeth. "Where is it," he asked sheepishly, flashing me a grin. I laughed internally before gesturing where the seaweed was using my mouth as an example. "Thanks," he spoke before going into the hallway past me to a bedroom.

Maybe I was wrong.

Maybe this was going to be fun.

"So, about this guy in the photo…" Percy lingered.

"Oh gosh, don't get me started", I huffed in frustration, leaning back on my seat crossing my arms.

We were currently seated on the couch in the middle of the living room, looking out towards the sunset. Nature sure was a beautiful thing. Gazing out to the sunset we both knew we couldn't be lounging like this for long. 'At least till we have to get the weapons out and go kick some- ok better stop before I get carried away,' I snide myself.

"Well, It'd nice if you could start explaining one day," he smiled.

"Me? Explaining- no I don't think so," I smirked, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

There was silence in the room as we reveled in the calm atmosphere.

"Maybe if I tell you a bit about me you'll open up?" he questioned with hope.

I hummed. "No. Not likely." If there is something I have learned about being a spy is to never dare to reveal a slightest flaw.

"Well, since were partners, I might as well try," he gazed in my direction.

I stayed silent not daring to make eye contact. I refuse to have my heart broken again, just like when-

"I was about 17," Percy cut in. Thank gods for that. I couldn't live with myself if I'd slip back onto that road again. "I was-" Percy cleared his throat. I should probably listen. Maybe I could get some useful stuff out of this. No, no stop. Annabeth you are partners not nemeses. Yet… I shook my head. Why was I doing this to myself?

"Are you alright?" Percy questioned, his eyebrows furrowing together in a kind of cute way. No he-

"Continue," my eyes strike up to his. Maybe if I listen and distract myself, all these stupid thoughts will stop attacking me. Percy is not cute. Maybe because I'm lonely and don't interact much is why I think he's cute. Yup, I should definitely get a cat. Cats are good company. Or maybe a dog…

With a sigh he continued. "I was walking down this- this street," he paused. Dramatic much? "And I saw this girl, she was running out of this fancy restaurant and there was a guy. He was around his early twenties I assume." I kept listening, getting rather interested in his story.

"This guy, he kept chasing her down the street. And I'll tell you it wasn't the friendly chase. She only made it half way before the guy caught up to her. It was really dark, so I couldn't really tell what was happening. But the occasional city lights did help," He laughed to himself, rather off put of what he saw. "He tackled her to the ground, and carried her into an alleyway next to them."

I got Goosebumps. This did not sound good at all. "Why didn't you help her," I asked.

He stared at the ground. "I don't- I…" he breathed for a moment, clearing his head of emotions. "I was a coward. I didn't know what to do. I had the adrenaline but I didn't do anything to stop him." This was a lot of information Percy was throwing on me, just a day after we met.

"Look if it's too much, we can-" I tried to respond but he cut me off.

"No, I need to. It's something I have been holding on my chest for a while. I just-"he gave me a pleading look. I could almost swear I saw a drop of water leaking out of his tear duct. I nodded for him to continue. "She was begging for him to put her down. But all he did was shove her against the brick wall in the alley. And my gods her eyes, they were amazing. I don't remember the colour now, but they were just so-"he stopped needing a breather. "They were just so incredible. I remember seeing her glare at the guy, with all her passion, hatred, stubbornness, pity."

Percy breathed, as if still in awe. "I swear I hadn't lived till that moment. She tried to reason with him but he seemed to think otherwise. He grabbed the collar of her shirt, shoving her up the wall to choke her. I don't even know how the guy could hold her weight; it looked too simple to him. She was struggling against his grip, crying for him to wake up. She was trying to encourage him that this wasn't him. But I doubt he even comprehended a word that was coming from her mouth since she was started to lose consciousness. Her face was so devastating to look at; she was gripping his wrists tightly, fighting to free herself." Percy rubbed his forehead, getting a headache of emotions.

"But then the weirdest thing happened. She started wheezing apologizes, before she- she grabbed a small pocket knife and slashed at his face." I winced at that. "He immediately loosened his hold on her neck and she slipped to the ground landing on her back. She curled up into a ball, a hand clutching her swollen throat in pain, eyes closing. He was groaning in agony, stumbling backwards, clawing at his throbbing face. He eventually tripped on a rubbish bag behind him. It looked like the guy couldn't take the pain so he passed out." Percy stopped short.

"That's when- that's when he came. Chiron. He grabbed the guy's collar and checked his closed eyes to make sure he was unconscious. Then he went over to the girl who had also lost consciousness, from the lack of oxygen probably. He carried her over his shoulder and left the scene. The rest is really fuzzy. But about a week later while I walked down the same street, I met Chiron. He offered me a safe home, a new start. So, I took it," He sighed, tears streaking down his face.

I reached up, tempted to brush off his tears, but I retracted noticing how weird that was.

Suddenly a loud sob could be heard.

Percy's head snapped up, trying to meet my falling gaze. "Are- are you crying?" Percy sniffed slightly amused.

"I am not crying," I mumbled trying to hide my face.

Percy laughed. "Look at us getting sentimental."

I decided to laugh along with him, before the pain of his story struck me again.

He noticed my absent laugh. "Hey what's wrong?" his eyebrows scrunched together worried.

"I…" I didn't have the courage to tell him yet. I just couldn't. He raised an eyebrow at my short response. "It's nothing, just remembered I had to go grocery shopping," first lesson of lying is to not be so obvious and say 'nothing' without a reason.

"But Chiron said we had freshly restocked groceries before we arrived."

"Well Chiron forgot to order my favourite chocolate," I said bluntly. That's a good lie. I'm keeping that one.

He cocked an eyebrow, as I stood up to leave. "Hey," I looked in his direction, waiting for him to proceed. "Friends?" he questioned.

I nodded and smiled. "Friends," I confirmed before exiting into the hallway.

I yawned, slightly exhausted from the day.

I exited the bathroom into my room. Yes I had an en suite, which I didn't mind.

I glanced around the bedroom. The room was tinted a shady black. Wow, it gets dark pretty quick out here.

I climbed into bed. After taking my shower I felt great. My fresh blonde hair fell over my shoulders as I lay down under the covers. I got into a comfortable positon, lying on my side, with my head propped up on the fluffy pillows.

I took a second to admire the room. I had fallen in love with it the minute I stepped inside. The wallpaper was covered with vintage flowers, though the furthest was a feature wall made of timber. The carpet was a creamy milk colour, soft on the feet too. It was easy to tell how dedicated the interior designer must've been with their furnishing choices.

I yawned again. I felt the energy being drained from me.

Next thing I knew, my eyes were dimming, shutting down for the night. I must've been really tired, because I didn't pay any attention to the black blotches drifting me off to sleep.

The girl giggled as she walked alongside the boy in the middle of the night.

"Ok where are we going? Can you please tell me already!" she asked impatiently.

"In a second Annie, we're almost there," the boy scolded, though his heart wasn't really in it.

The girl rolled her eyes and scoffed. "You're no fun," Annabeth retorted.

"I'm no fun?" the boy asked a bit confused. "Aren't you the responsible one and I'm the fun one?" he questioned rather amused.

Annabeth groaned, crossing her arms over her chest while they continued walking down the street. Sure, he was two years older than her, but that does not give him the power to even try to outsmart her.

They crossed the street.

"Okay here we are," the boy gestured up toward the lit up sign.

"No, Luke you didn't," Annabeth asked with a grin on her face, making eye contact with him.

"Oh yes, I did," he smiled back at her.

Annabeth couldn't believe her eyes, as she gazed up at the sign. Greek for a day! The sign read. A restaurant she had always wanted to go to since her mother went.

"Here," his cold breath brushed her check, as he pointed to her coat. She shot him a confused gaze before finally noticing what he meant.

"Oh, right," she blushed, taking off her jacket that she wore to protect herself from the cold winter air. She watched as he took it from her grasp. He tilted his head towards the door, silently asking for her to walk inside.

Some bells chimed, alerting their new presence. The restaurant really was astonishing. Waiters were weaving through the tables, carrying a tray full of what looked like the best thing she could possibly eat. It was pretty crowded for the time. Everywhere she looked, she saw people dressed up, on dates, family outings, or friendly reunions. She looked down at her plain shirt and denim shorts.

"You'll be fine. Who are they to judge our sense of fashion," Luke's sky blue eyes twinkled.

"Well they would have a point, we dressed so casually and they are all wearing dresses, and tuxedos like you are supposed to do when you go out to fancy –"

She was cut off by Luke who just scoffed and shuffled her forward to the reception area.

A woman was seated at the desk with a smile.

"Hi, how may I help you tonight?" she grinned then frowned noticing our clothing choices.

"Table for two," Luke spoke, holding up two fingers as if to help her comprehension.

"I'm sorry to ask, but do you two have a guardian with you?" she asked.

"No but I have my I.D," Luke reasoned.

The woman gestured for his I.D.

He passed her his card. She took a quick scan then nodded. She handed back his card. "I apologize for misunderstanding your age… sir," she responded rather bitterly. "Your table is just over there, by that young couple," she pointed.

Luke just nodded and followed her directions, Annabeth trailing after him.

They walked to the corner of the room, taking a seat on the fancy chairs.

Annabeth gazed at the lit candle in the middle of the table. She tended to procrastinate a lot, whether it be watching her favourite documentary, or a simple shimmering flame.

"So," Luke started awkwardly.

"So what did you mean when you said you had a new outlook on life," Annabeth quoted getting straight to the point.

Luke cleared his throat. "Right, Annabeth before I tell you this, do you promise not to be afraid," he asked rather seriously.

"Luke I-" Annabeth didn't know what to say. Whenever he was serious, he either had a really good prank to play, or he had been caught singing in the shower. "Luke, I don't know. What happened?"

"Just promise me, you won't freak out, or take me to an insane asylum," he pleaded, not hint of humour in his tone.

"I can't promise you that," his face dropped. "But, can you promise me one thing?"

"Of course I can," he raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Promise me that whatever you tell me right now, won't affect the way we see each other, as family," Annabeth fiddled with her fingers, holding the eye contact.

He nodded. "Family, I promise," he confirmed smiling.

Annabeth smiled back, totally oblivious of Luke's next words.

"Moving on," Luke pressed his lips together. "I know this may seem- weird, but things are changing, Annabeth, they could be for the better or for the worst."

Annabeth snorted. "Is that it? Luke, things change every day. It isn't rocket science," she stated in amusement.

"No that's not what I mean- I…" he took in a deep breathe. "Look, about a week ago, I was cleaning out my garage."

"Really?" Annabeth gasped, sarcasm flowing through her face.

"Yes, and I found this box," Luke continued.

"No a box? Luke you should've left that poor box alone," Annabeth snickered.

"Annabeth can you please take this seriously, this is really- well serious," Luke scolded, annoyance laced in his voice.

"Ok, fine. Continue," she gave in.

Luke sighed, leaning back in his chair. "This box it had these diagrams and reports, just all this weird high tech stuff. Well actually, it was kind of outdated technology but it was still complex," he reasoned, leaning forward.

Annabeth leaned forward, intrigued. "And this technology you're talking about… how outdated do you think they are?"

"That is where it gets interesting," he smirked, lowering his voice. "I looked at one of the papers and it had a date. 1941," he whispered the numbers slowly, as if to add some dramatic effect.

"What!" Annabeth asked in surprise. "Luke that's- that is massive! You have to tell someone," she breathed, unsure how to take this.

"I'm telling you aren't I?" he grinned, his sky blue eyes meeting her stormy grey ones.

"That isn't the point. Luke this is big. Bigger than you think!" she responded with haste.

"That is exactly why I want you in on it with me. Think about it Annabeth! We could be rich. That box could be worth millions," his smile brightened.

"We? When did I specifically agree to this? How did the box even get into your garage in the first place?" she questioned.

"I don't know, yet. I'm still working that out. But it could've been passed down from my ancestors or something. Look, all I know is that those files could be something big and possibly the bits in bobs in there could be bigger… I may have also found a little something for you," he added, passing her a rather rustic looking weapon.

She studied the object. It was a bronze dagger. The sharp blade looked like it had been polished to perfection. But what caught her eye were the engravings written on the blade. She wished she could read whatever it meant, but the script was clearly an ancient language of some sort. Although the handle looked equally stunning, it had a leather strap securely wrapped around it. The design on the handle was surreal. It seemed to have a golden tree root or stem twisted around the leather to keep it together.

Luke interrupted her thoughts, "Annabeth, if you agree to help me in this, we could afford anything."

Annabeth sighed, slipping the dagger into her pocket. Its handle did stick out from her jean's pocket so she pulled her shirt over it. She took a deep breath; all this stress being put on her shoulders surely couldn't be good. Thinking back to his statement, she concluded in the most appropriate way possible, "this is something officials take care of, Luke, not- well us."

Luke stayed quiet, considering her. "You don't believe me do you?"

"What! Luke no-"

"Yes or no, Annabeth," he interrupted harshly.

"I believe you, but do you think that what you're doing is the best thing to do? To sell it for money rather than handing it in, where it could be safe under the government's hands," she tried to persuade him.

He laced his hands together, taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes, trying to hold his anger down. "Go."

"What, but we just got-"

"Go," he replied loudly, opening his eyes. He stared right at her, all his rage igniting.

Annabeth eyes started to water. She looked back at him, waiting for him to apologize and tell her he didn't mean it. But he just stared back. She shook her head, he couldn't have meant it. A sob escaped her lips. She hurriedly placed a hand over her mouth, shocked that she was going to cry in public. With a blink, she stood from the table, making her way to the exit.

She felt the cold winter air brush her skin. Not stopping at anything she quickly raced down the street, wanting to be as far from the restaurant as possible. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears. She didn't know what to think of her emotions, only one thing made sense. Run.

Just as she ran past a street light, she heard repetitive footsteps, echoing off the pavement behind her. With a quick glance to identify who the intruder chasing her was, she snapped her head back. Luke. Luke was chasing her, and he was really good at running…

She looked back to see where she was running. All she saw were old, slightly rundown buildings and fire escapes. Maybe she could climb up one of those? Her breathing started to quicken. No! She couldn't slow down now! Annabeth kept running straight ahead, crossing a street without looking.

"Annabeth," a grunt sounded.

She started picking up the pace before she felt a force pushing her to the ground. He held her from behind as her stomach was pressed against the stone pavement.

"No, no, no, please stop," she wailed, as he pinned her to the ground.

He ignored her pleas and secured his arms around her waist. He pulled her up like a doll, carrying her into an alley beside them. She started kicking around in his arms, squirming to break free of his hold. Her hands started clawing at his arms hoping he'd give up and let go.

"Please put me down," she begged, tears leaking from her eyes.

He shoved her against the brick wall behind her, gripping the front of her shirt roughly. She knew fighting him would be pointless with the position she was in. She sought her thoughts for an idea, which was rather hard considering he was now yelling gibberish accusations at her. Her reflexes were now yelling at her to do something. So she gave into her temptation and sent him a steely glare.

"Luke c'mon you aren't thinking straight. Just take a deep breath and let me go. Its ok I know-"

She was cut off as he pulled her towards him than again pushed her against the hard brick wall. She winced, if he kept doing that, she would be slumping to the ground in seconds. 'That glaring probably didn't help,' she thought bitterly.

Everything around her was moving too quickly, she was starting to lose her time perception. Next thing she knew, Luke was reaching for her neck. He wrapped two solid hands around her throat and started to choke her. Her eyes widened, as she hastily started to pull at his arms. A faint black started clouding her vision. Her breathing was rapidly slowing down. If he didn't stop now, he could possibly kill her.

Apparently that wasn't enough; with all his strength he lifted her frail body higher on the wall so her feet were no longer touching the ground. 'This is it,' she thought, tears welling in her eyes. She continued clawing at his arms.

"Luke, stop, this isn't you. I know this isn't you," she cried, her sobs drowning out her voice.

His eyes were no longer the sky blue she knew. They were tinted dark, like a demon.

"That's where you're wrong, Annabeth," he spat out, "I've just been hiding it because I didn't want to lose you. Now look what you've done to me."

She tried to argue with him, which was no use, as all he could hear was the wheezing of her breaths. She could only make out a few things out at this point, being the hatred in his eyes, and the death grip from his hands. Just as she was starting to accept her fate, she felt something stiff but sharp in her pocket. She had to, she had no choice.

"I am so sorry, I'm-," she tried to finish but she was losing her breath quickly. She had to do it now.

With a quick grab, she palmed the dagger and slashed at him. The blade ran up his face, across his check to his eye. He screamed in pain, both hands now clutching his bloodied face. He stumbled backwards, tripping on a rubbish bag.

A thud echoed the night, as he collapsed onto the cold stone ground. Another crash followed, as she fell onto her back, no longer strong enough to take her own weight. Her dagger clattered to the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind. Everything was turning black, she had no hope left. She curled up into a ball as the last of her tears trailed down her checks.

At that moment, a silhouette emerged from the street, walking into the alley.

'Great, someone else wants to kill me,' she thought with her hazy light-headed mind.

But, instead of the figure stabbing her or ending her life in some other gruesome way, the figure went straight towards Luke. The black shadow leaned down to check to see if Luke was still conscious. Obviously pleased, the figure stood up meeting her scarce eyes.

'It's just a dream,' she tried to convince herself.

She closed her eyes, trying to catch her breathing. The last thing she remembered that night, was the shadow approaching her. But, before the figure could reach her, darkness consumed her eyes. She took one last breath before falling into the lull of unconsciousness.

Authors Note:

YES! Another chapter done! I really wish I could assign chapter dates, but whenever I make a schedule... Well, I do it for about a week then I forget it exists so... (review if you relate.) But yes, I will be making more chapters. I have assigned events for each chapter so you don't have to worry about that. And now that my neck is better you should be expecting a lot more from me! I really hope I can meet your expectations! Ok, I think I'm done here. Awesome! See you guys all soon! Or read- nevermind! Bye!