CHAPTER 11
Percy sat up suddenly awake from a dream.
He was in his own bed. In his own room.
How did he get here?…
"Knock, Knock." A voice came from the door.
He turned his head up and saw Nico standing there.
"Nico? How did?—"
"You've been in comatose for about a week. They kept you sedated then let you get discharged, since your wound is healing fairly quickly."
Percy looked down and saw that his abdomen was bandaged up.
"How long has it been since my discharge?"
"About two days."
Percy got out of bed and winced a bit from the dull throb rushing through his body.
"Woah, Perce. You should stay in bed for a while longer."
"I can't. I need to get to her."
"Who? Who are you talking about? Hey, Percy!—"
Percy ignored his friend and went as quickly as he could down the stairs. In the living room, Thalia was sitting on his couch, watching the news on TV.
Her electric blue eyes were wide in shock and glued to the screen.
"It has been reported that at eleven O' clock this morning, Frederick Chase, the president of Chase Industries, has passed away. He had been found not breathing at his office desk-"
Percy stopped and turned to look at the TV too.
Reyna appeared on the screen. It was a tape of her walking through crowds of reporters.
"Tell us your thoughts about your husband's death, Mrs. Chase."
"Are you going to take over Chase Industries?"
The reporters continued to crowd around her, but she ignored them and went on into the company building.
The news reporter continued speaking.
"It has also been reported that Annabeth Chase, the successor of Chase Industries and daughter to Frederick Chase, is now dead…."
A picture of Annabeth's face appeared on the screen.
"Her body was found in a lake near central park. And police are still investigating the case."
Thalia turned off the TV and put the remote next to her on the couch, before turning to Percy.
"Percy… I'm so sorry."
Percy's face remained stone cold and hard.
No, there was a chance that Annabeth was still alive…He knew how Luke worked things...
But he had no lead on where she was whatsoever..
His heart started beating faster. His breathing louder.
Annabeth…please be alive….
"Take her to my room. When I get back I expect her to still be in there, understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"You made certain she's dead to the public?"
"Yes. It's taken care of."
"Good."
The blonde man then walked out the front door and left the underling to deal with the golden haired girl lying unconscious on the floor of the warehouse.
-line break-
Annabeth woke up to see she was in a room. No metal walls. She was lying on a bed.
As she got up slowly, pain shot through her head. She felt worn and empty.
Flashes of images suddenly flashed through her head, almost too fast to process. Letting out a groan, her hand went up to hold her forehead.
Abduction.
Guy with scar over eye.
Brainwash.
She barely managed to grab onto her memories. A loud, exhaled breathe escaped her lips.
Next time, she knew she might not be so lucky.
A pair of green eyes flashed through her mind. She winced from the sharp throbbing that filled her head. And her heart started beating faster.
Annabeth got off the bed and tumbled to the floor. Her legs were still getting used to the weight of her body again.
How long had she been unconscious?
She crawled over to the desk on the other side of the room and struggled to get herself on her feet. Once she managed to do so, she looked to see that there was a computer with a printer next to it and a telephone set to the side of that. There were some other things, such as some paperwork and a cup full of pens.
There were no windows anywhere, so she didn't know what time of the day it was not to add the fact that the room was dimly lighted.
Footsteps approached—louder and louder— until they stopped right in front of her door. Annabeth got onto the bed again, pretending to be unconscious with her eyes closed, just as two men opened the door and walked in.
They both started talking and Annabeth knew right away that Luke was one of them and the other was the man who tried to steal her memories.
"How long until she's awake?" The voice that was Luke's asked.
"Usually it takes about a week. It's only been three days, so there's no need to worry."
"Nobody's looking for her anyways. I made sure the world thinks her dead now. Besides, she has no family to turn to now. Frederick Chase is dead."
Annabeth struggled to not move or make any noise at that. She bit the inside of her mouth hard.
Dead?
"Alright, you can go now, Ethan."
The door then closed and there was silence. Annabeth risked opening her eyes a bit to see Luke's back facing her. He was looking at something on his computer then turned and she immediately shut her eyes.
Footsteps approached her bedside and Annabeth's heartbeat grew faster and faster. A cool breathe fanned across her face which chilled down her spine.
She tried not to flinch in disgust as a hand grazed down her arm.
Suddenly a voice called from the door.
"Luke."
"What?" he said a bit annoyed form being interrupted.
"I have urgent news…
Percy Jackson— he's alive."
Footsteps.
More footsteps.
Then finally Annabeth was alone in the room.
She slowly opened her eyes then sat up on the bed. Amidst her frantic emotions, she quickly went over to the desk and thanked the gods that the computer was still logged in.
With only one thing on her mind…
She only needed to type in his first name to see that it was the most searched word on the google search engine.
Her grey eyes looked hard at the screen.
"Dad's… dead?"
Octavian went up to Reyna who was sitting at her desk.
"You asked for me?"
The brunette beauty looked up with her stern brown eyes, "Tell me the truth, Octavian. Who killed the president?"
The pale blonde simply looked into the distance with a blank look.
After what seemed to be a while, he spoke up.
"I knew he was in the way and I got rid of him, Miss Reyna. I've done what is right for both you and Master Aaron. And that's what I believe."
Reyna's eyes went wide, "Oh, my God."
"This is good for you, Reyna. You can take up the company and no one will be in your way. That's what you wanted right?"
The brunette's eyes narrowed as she looked up at Octavian, "Are you insane?"
Her breathes became shallow in her ascending disbelief at what had just been said and done.
—
Percy's fingers gripped tighter around the wheel of his car. His eyes were on his phone in his other hand.
Silena Beauregard, apparently one of Annabeth's friends, had called him. Annabeth had been on her way to the Beauregard hotel when she got abducted.
"Once Annabeth found out the driver was taking her somewhere else, she took pictures with her phone and sent them to the last person she contacted—which was me."
"Pictures?"
"Yes, she took pictures with her phone and sent them to me. I tried calling her back, but I couldn't contact her after that."
"Silena, could you send me these photos?"
"Yes, of course."
All the photos were a bit blurry, but in the photo that gave the back view of the driver Percy could see tattoos lining the man's arms and hands.
One tattoo stood out. It was a print of a trident with a star next to it.
Percy pressed hard on the gas pedal—his aquamarine eyes set straight on the road ahead of him.
The driver got his keys and went over to his taxi car parked out in the lot and got in. He put the keys into the ignition and started the engine. He looked up and was about to start the car when he saw a man standing in his way. The taxi driver poked his head out of the window.
"Hey, you over there. Get out of the way!"
The hooded man looked up and the driver flinched back a bit from the striking glare the man gave him. All in a blink of an eye, the man had come up to the driver's side of the car and had a strong hold of the driver's neck. The driver choked from his steel grip. The man let go of his neck and yanked the driver up by his collar,
"I'm not going to ask this again so listen. Very carefully—" His hood lifted slightly and in the shadow— two unrelenting green eyes pierced down at the taxi driver.
"Where is Annabeth Chase?"
"I— I don't know what you're talking about? I really don't, sir. I think you have the wrong person."
The man's hand tightened around the driver's neck, making him choke and struggle even more. His eyes became more wide with terror.
"Don't. Lie." Percy lifted up his phone screen up for him to see, "This is you driving—is it not?"
The driver's eyes widened even more, "That's me. But I have no idea who you're talking about— honest. I only do the driving."
"Driving for what?"
"Transporting the girls to where they're wanted."
Percy's eyes glared down even harder at the man.
"I have this all on tape. If you don't want me to take this to the police, right now—you're going to tell me where you took Annabeth Chase."
The man shook his head, "I can't. Really, they'll kick me out— "
Percy then pushed back his left sleeve, exposing his forearm. The man's eyes widened at what he saw.
"I took her to an abandoned police department building on the outskirts of New York. But she's probably not there anymore. They move girls around frequently so they can't be found easily. I swear, I'm telling the truth. Honest."
Percy then let go of the man's collar. The driver breathed hard from what just happened as Percy simply stood there for a moment longer before slamming the man's face into the wheel—knocking him out cold. He then reached over for the GPS connected to the taxi and took it off.
Recently searched routes— always handy.
Percy took the GPS and ran back to his car, sliding in to the driver's seat.
With his sea green eyes hard set on the road, he sped off onto the highway.
No matter what— he was going to find her
and bring her back.
Luke glared at the asian man in front of him.
"You idiot. I told you to wait until it was confirmed that the bastard was dead."
"Sorry, sir. It won't happen again." Ethan said.
"Damn it to hell." Luke pinched the top of his nose bridge then let out a harsh sigh, "Take all the men you need and go after him. He's not someone to take lightly at all. Don't you dare to underestimate him."
"Why is that?"
Luke pursed his lips,"...He was Poseidon's first in command."
Ethan's eyes widened, "Poseidon?."
"Yeah, Reyna's brother brought him to Poseidon when he was only twelve, wanting to save the little bitch." Luke's pale blue eyes glazed over as his lips turned up in a smirk, "Which is why we had to drug him before assaulting him in the alleyway and also how he is the only one who managed to put his mark over my eye."
Ethan left with his other men leaving Luke alone in his thoughts.
Jackson that bastard. Always favored by everybody over him...
Every single time…
Every single day…
He would never forget the time he took the life of the boss.
Luke's fists clenched then he left to return to his room.
He opened the door to see an awake Annabeth at his desk with her grey eyes glaring straight at the screen.
"What? How are you awake?"
The golden haired beauty looked up at him, "Is it true?"
"What is?"
"Is my father— is he really dead?"
Luke's lips reached up at the end in a sly smirk, "You truly are something, Annabeth Chase."
"Answer me! Is my father dead?!"
Luke chuckled, "And what if he is— you're not going to remember it at all anyways. I'll make sure of it this time."
Annabeth's grey eyes widened. Her teeth gritted together.
She couldn't forget.
She needed to go back home..
She needed to right the wrongs done to her and her father…
There was no time to be stuck here— brainwashed and locked up.
But it was no use, there was no getting out of this place. There was no getting out of here— this dark, dangerous business...
Her heart beat fast within her chest as men came to lead her out of the room again.
Was there absolutely no way out?
Percy crept through the building which looked abandoned. It was odd that there was even a building that was abandoned at all.
And yet each room he went by had different girls in them—all drugged and stripped almost bare.
No none of them…
Where was she?
As he walked further past the rooms, suddenly he was surrounded.
Men on all sides.
He figured Luke would send men over to take him down. Word must have spread fast.
Five behind him..eight in front…
no weapons visible...
Percy's sea green eyes blazed in the dim lighting of the building.
They came from all sides, but he swiped their feet from under them so that four of them came down to the ground. Percy then dodged a man's punch, letting the man sail into another man.
Seven left…
Percy mainly dodged and ducked the men's flailing attacks and tripped many of them. One he punched hard in the stomach making the man cough blood and fall hard to the floor.
The rest of the men looked with wide eyes at the man's inhumane strength and skill. Two with knives ran to attack him only to be flung to the floor and against the wall.
one left…
Percy turned slowly to the last man who had a gun pointed at him. Though the man meant to get him off guard—in a split second, Percy had jabbed up the man's arm right at the elbow so that his arm went at an awkward angle and the man let go of the gun. Percy picked up the gun and pointed it towards the man who was now clutching his arm.
With his hand suddenly around the man's neck, Percy whispered in a low voice to him,
"Grey eyes, blonde hair. You have ten seconds to respond before I crush your throat."
The man struggled and didn't respond. Percy dragged the man into a vacant room and duck taped the man to a chair. Once the man couldn't go anywhere, Percy pointed the gun at the man and didn't hesitate to shoot it at the man's leg.
The man screamed in pain.
Percy placed the gun point under the man's chin and lifted his face up to meet him again.
His stern hard green eyes burned the man to his very core, "Where. is. she?"
He tore off the duck tape off the man so that he could speak.
The man heaved in breathes— cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
"If she's one of the more important ones, they must have taken her to the warehouse." The man coughed hard, "That's where they deal with more difficult girls."
Luke was going to keep Annabeth for himself. That's what he had said.
So, she was probably going to be taken to the highest place...
Percy grabbed the man's collar and jerked him forward so that his eyes glared straight into the man's.
"Where is the main auction taking place?"
The man didn't answer right away so Percy shook him harder around the collar.
"Where is it?" Percy said dangerously.
"It's…at his house…."
Percy let go of him and let his head loll down. The blood loss from the gun shot that Percy gave him must have made him go unconscious.
Percy looked down at the gun in his hand, then left the room—then the entire building completely. Thankfully without getting noticed.
As he got back into his car, Percy slammed his palm against the upper part of the wheel.
Luke's house. He's been there before—and it wasn't a place he wanted to go back to.
But there was a vey good chance that Annabeth was being kept there.
And he definitely had to get her back. If he didn't, there was no chance of getting her to forgive him.
Percy just hoped he could get there in time.
A/N: I know it's a Saturday, but I had some time today to edit and stuff. Also, I got a lot of "Update soon!" reviews. HAHa. Love ya guys.
So here it is.
One of you said this is getting a bit Takenish. Lol, I guess that's true. I didn't realize that at all. But don't worry, after this abduction sort of thing gets resolved, there's going to be more romantic/drama stuff-meaning a lot more percabeth, which I know is everybody's favorite thing to read. So look forward to that, guys.
Expect an "Update soon!" :D