A/N: Hey! Another chapter today! Hope you enjoy it! It's gonna end about around 8th or 9th chapter, with Epilogue, of course. Anyways, when I complete Life as I knew It and Afire with Passion, I won't be posting any new stories soon. I'm having tests a lot, and algebra, Science, biology, etc. Wish I have more time to write, but I don't. But when the year slows down a bit in maybe December or January, I'll probably post one new story.

Enjoy!

Afire with Passion

Chapter 6

Location: Donny's apartment

"Nice apartment." Rick commented, impressed. He looked around cautiously, taking note of every surrounding around them. He whistled as he saw various expensive paintings that hung neatly on the wall.

"Yeah, it's twice more that my pay." Sue commented dryly.

The hall was awfully peaceful, not a single tenant wandering around. "Hmm…" She mumbled, vigilantly glancing around. Rick carefully walked to the door that had its door ajar. It looked like it was broken into, noting that several splinters were scattered across the floor.

There was a strange, grunting sound that drifted deep within the room.

He pressed a finger to his lips and lolled his head to the side as he drew his gun from his holster. Calmly pushing the door open slowly, they felt blood rushing between their ears. As they emerged, they could see the clear signs of a struggle.

Their eyes widened as they saw a body lying the floor, it's body in a odd position. Rick walked over and crouched down, placing two fingers onto the man's throat. He shook his head grimly at Sue as he closed the man's eyes.

At the corner of their eye, they saw a dark figure rush across the room, it's body in a blur.

"Freeze!" They both yelled, aiming their guns at the figure. The figures froze in place, his face clear with shock. Slowly, the man raised his hands, and then lunged forward, grabbing a loose brick. Rick fired a shoot, but it missed just inches above the man's head as he ducked down low!

He flung the brick to Rick's head furiously, shoving Sue back. She landed with a massive thud, feeling a painful strain on her back. Rick deftly ducked under the brick, as it clattered by his head, grazing his shoulder slightly, tearing his suit. "Go! Go! I'm fine!" Sue shouted, waving her hand at the window hurriedly. With a lean agility of a cat, the man leaped down the fire escape.

He nodded, firing at the man another time; this time hitting the mark on his lower abdomen. The figure tumbled down the fire escape, harshly slamming down onto a parked sedan. Rick could a horrifying, brittle crack at the man's ribs.

Painfully, the man got up, as Rick quickly and deftly climbed down the fire escape, leaping from the ladder and landing in a perfect tuck and roll. "Freeze or I'll shoot your damn head off!" Rick threatened angrily, cocking his gun and squinting down, his gaze set on the man's head.

The man slowly got down onto his knees, as Rick carefully walked over, his gun still pointed at the man's head. Quickly, he unhooked a pair of handcuffs from his belt, hooking the handcuffs onto the man's wrists harshly.

Rick holstered his gun to his side and wrenched the man to his feet. A pair of footsteps approached harshly, it's feet splashing against the cold, hard and wet cement floor of the alley. "Great job, Rick." Sue commented, her breathing ragged and uneven.

"Come on. Let's get this bastard down to the station."

"I don't think so detectives." The man commented, his voice hoarse and low. Suddenly, a loud, hard crunch came from within the man's mouth. Within seconds, disgusting white foam flowed out of the man's lips.

He shuddered horrifyingly, before he tumbled down onto the floor, his body still, his eyes wide open, and face in a tight, reptilian grin. Sue and Rick glanced at each other in shock, before she crouched down, checking the man's pulse.

"Yup. Dead." She mumbled, shooting an irritated and grim glance at Rick. He nodded, pulling out his phone and dialing a number.

"What! Are you kidding me?" Percy heard a man screamed angrily distantly as the unconsciousness started to fade away. He felt a low grade headache pound in his temple lightly, but he still kept his eyes closed, fearing that one of them may spot that he was awake.

He heard a massive slam and then muffled, angry voices coming from the outside. "You're damn...is dead! You're an idiot to let your….in!" He heard David shout angrily, his voice deep in rage. 'Damn. Can't hear the rest.

Percy's eyes shot wide open, full of distress and alarm. He found his throat dry as he tried opened his mouth. 'Damn! Gagged!' He thought in irritation. He glanced around carefully, and his sights landed on a figure that laid in a nearby chair, that was effortlessly tossed aside messily, and the body in an odd position.

"Annabeth!" He tried to call out, but his voice was muffled, and you could only hear a grunt from him.

He felt his wrists chaff uncomfortably, and he struggled fruitlessly, trying to break out. 'Good, the ropes are loosening.' He thought to himself, calmly and deftly untying himself. Slowly, the ropes slipped out as Percy quietly leaped from his seat, bounding carefully to Annabeth, vigilantly looking out for any traps as he slipped off the gag from his mouth.

"Annabeth!" He whispered softly, shaking her shoulder, trying to wake her up. Slowly, she started to stir around, unconsciousness starting to leave her. "P-Percy?" She asked hoarsely as he wrenched her gag aside, pulling her into a warm embrace.

"You ok?" He asked her, stroking her head through a sweet caress. She nodded and he got up quickly, pulling her up as well. "Come on. Let's try to break out of the window." Percy suggested, jerking his thumb to the window above them.

"Wait." Annabeth told him through a hushed whisper. She quickly walked over the sofa, and crouched under, sliding her hand in. Hurriedly, she grabbed the gun and handcuffs from the sofa. She brought them up to her face, a triumphant smile on her face.

Percy gave a smile, a hopeful smile that wrote across his face. "Alright. I'm going to distract him, saying I need to go the bathroom, then, when he unlocks the door and comes in, I'll knock him unconscious and tie him up while you keep watch." She explained her plan thoroughly.

"You got it?" She asked him, sharing eye contact. He nodded and grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him. "Wait. Back at the apartment, why did you call the man who kidnapped you 'Ryan?" He asked her curiously, a concern expression on his face.

She sighed, her shoulders slumped down low. "What apartment. What Ryan?" She asked in a hoarse whisper, a blank expression on her face. "Come on, Annabeth. Quit pretending, I'm not dumb." He asked, his face painted with concern. She gave him a hard and sharp glare. "Just not now. Ok Percy?" She told him brusquely,

He sighed, nodding his head, loosening his grip on her. "Ok. I'll get into position."

Quickly, Annabeth ran up the stairs, handcuffs behind her back. She pounded the door harshly, her voice loud and clear. "Hey! Open up! I need to use the bathroom! Come on!"

She heard grunt come from the outside, before a brief creak, then the man stepped in, his eyes boring through her head in a rough glare. "Alright, you got five minutes."

Before he could reach, Annabeth pulled him through the door harshly, and you could hear a harsh pop from his shoulder. Then, she winded up and slammed his head against the doorknob, knocking him unconscious.

Quickly, she pulled his arms behind his back, slapped the pair of handcuffs onto his wrist, then grabbing the rope from the side, deftly wrapping the rope around the man's ankles, and tying a gag to his mouth. Then, she kicked him aside roughly, and pulled Percy out of the door as he stared in shock.

"Come on!" She tugged his arm, pulling him through the hallway. "H-how the hell did you do that?" He asked excitedly, impressed. She gave him a cheeky grin, pushing him gently to the wall as a dark figure lurked down the hallway.

"My godfather taught me how to that." She told him quietly, letting go of his arm. She pressed a finger to her lips, as he nodded. She held out her hand, gesturing him to give her a gun. He handed it to her reluctantly, as she peered around the corner, seeing no one was there.

Quickly, they tumbled out into the hallway, rushing for the door. They burst through quietly, and emerged in a large forest, a bramble hewn path in front of them. They stared at each other in shock, slightly frozen in place.

"I-I thought we were in the city!" Annabeth looked utterly exasperated, her emotions a mix with irritation and confusion. Percy nodded, glancing around for another path. "Come on. We can't stay here for long. We gotta go." Annabeth said, tugging his arm.

They ran alongside each other, through the surrounding large trees and bushes when behind them, they heard a loud eruption from the warehouse, a loud rupture of light, and the flames expanding from the point of the warehouse, sweeping nearer to the trees.

They leaped forward, flailing their arms wildly as they tumbled down the rough hill, splashing harmlessly down into the freezing waters below. Overhead, the water rippled as the lights came alive, bouncing from tree to tree. Ashes splashed into the water harshly, scraping against their skin; Annabeth felt a hot, tingling sensation seep into her skin, and she felt like letting out an agonized scream, but pushed it back into her throat, holding her breath.

Annabeth felt her chest tighten and her heart beat loudly in her ears. She could see the bright, twisting and vibrant colors of the flames rush to the pond, dancing spryly around them. She waited for the lights above the dim slowly, as Percy clenched his hand tightly onto Annabeth's wrist.

When they were sure that the flames had been doused, they moved upwards slowly and cautiously, breaking through the surface of the water. They breathed in deeply, air flooding through their lungs like a wave crashing into the surface of a beach. Their hearts thumped wildly, so loud and clear in their ears.

"Hff.. Y-You ok?" He called out breathlessly, his eyes searching for hers. She turned around, and nodded, a wave of relief washing over her. She swept the wet strands of her hair away from her eyes, grabbing onto his hand.

They intertwined their fingers together as they swam to the edge of the pond, collapsing unstably onto the damp, charred and burnt ground. "Damn…This is one exciting week." He joked dryly, leaning back further as she nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Definitely….I just hope it won't happen again, I don't think I can take this every week." She told him spryly, a grin dancing across her face.

"I won't let this happen to you ever again."

She smiled, snuggling into the crook of his neck as he smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist. "I guess David is dead." She whispered into his ear, a grim look on her face. He nodded quietly, as she sighed heavily, wearily glancing out into the water.

"Well, we better find a way back into the city before night comes." She suggested, pulling away from the warm embrace and standing up. She offered a hand as Percy was getting up. He grabbed her hands and pulled her deeper into the forest.

An hour later, near the stream of the rushing river, they settled down, taking a temporary shelter under a tall, large oak tree at edge of the river. Overhead, a thunderclap burst through the sky, lightning screaming across. A flame danced around the small pit that they had made out of kindling, tinder, moss, branches and several other items.

Percy stumbled in with branches, and thick, large leaves. He set them down nicely as Annabeth rubbed her hands together, huffing her warm breath of air into her hands. He crouched down, settling next to her. He wrapped her arms around her warmly, and dragged them closer to the fire.

"Where'd you learn how to survive in the wilderness anyway?" She asked, her voice somnolent. He sighed, wavering with fake incomprehension as he stared forward. Annabeth cocked an eyebrow questioningly, seeing him swallow down a large lump into his throat.

He sighed deeply then nodded slowly, relenting to her stern and curiously gaze. "..I suppose you should know since you're my girlfriend…" She nodded, pressing him to go on. He took in another deep breath, his fingers rubbing soothing circles around the back of her hand.

"My dad taught me how to do all of this. When I was a kid, he would take me to the forest and we would survive for a day or two with just the clothes on our backs and our refined outdoorsman skills." He smiled, flashing back at the memory when he was eight.

She noted the wavering, grim look that had been painted on his face. "But?" She asked curiously, pressing on. "He was accidentally killed by one of his friends in the marine core." He spluttered out, tears welling up in his eyes.

She reached over and squeezed his arm empathically, planting a small kiss on his cheek. "It's ok. I'm sorry I brought it up."

He shook his head, craning his head back. "It's alright. I've come to terms with it, but every time I mention that story, it makes my heart ache because I always flashback and see my mom, crying because she found out what happened to my dad."

She sighed, placing her head onto his shoulder. "…But enough about me. Who taught you to fight like that?"

"My godfather. H-He was in the marine core too."

Percy cocked an eyebrow, curiously staring at the basic features of her face in the bright, burning fire. "What was his name?"

"It was Ryan…That's why I called the man Ryan. Because I thought that it was him. His pattern, his behavior, even his speech reminded me of my godfather…or my ex-godfather." She whispered quietly, as he released his grip on her.

He leaned up, crossing his legs as he stared at her face directly, scrutinizing her very closely. She sighed and rolled her eyes, flicking away her hand in dismissal. "Can you not look at me like that?" She remarked dryly, a look of consternation and exasperation flitting across her face.

He leaned away, defensively holding up his hands. "I will, if you tell me what happened to make him your ex-godfather."

"….Fine. He killed a man about ten years ago, and that's why we cut ties with each other. Also, he tried to make me join his drug trade, asked me sell out to others." She explained quietly, playing with her fingers.

"But I turned him in to the police, after having solid proof. And now he's out, I'm betting he wants revenge."

He furrowed an eyebrow in confusion. "But why would you think he would be responsible for our kidnapping?" He asked enigmatically.

"Don't you see?" She asked him, cutting him off. She stood up abruptly, brushing away the dirt from her jeans. "He kidnapped us because he believes that he could use us!"

He narrowed his eyes, carefully scrutinizing every detail on her face. "Wait..What?"

She rolled her eyes and sighed, plopping down gently onto the ground. She rubbed her forehead slowly and wearily, shaking her head. "Percy. With your skills you've picked up from your father and the skills he taught me, we're his perfect candidates to finish any jobs he wants!"

"And what makes him think that we would do what he says?" He asked, cocking his eyebrow skeptically. She sighed deeply, throwing her hands up in the air in irritation. "Because he has leverage with us; he'll hurt the people we love if we don't do what he says."

"If he could get any FBI agent just to turn like that, he could get many to do the same…" Percy spoke up quietly, a wave of realization washing over his face. She nodded, a grim look on her face. They both sighed loudly, slowly inching near each other for warmth.

"Get some rest." He said. She nodded, yawning as she snuggled into the crook of his neck. "Oh, and Annabeth?" He whispered in her ear.
"Hmm?" She mumbled somnolently, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I love you." He replied quickly, planting a gentle kiss on her temple. She smiled in content, before drifting into a dreamless sleep.