Leo looked at the photo frame beside his bed. The picture consist of him and his mom. He was about 7 years old in that picture and his mom looked just like the last time he saw her. He still haven't forgave himself for her death but he did know that it wasn't his fault.
He remembered the summer she passed away. Later on, he knew she was addicted to cocaine and died because of it. Before that, he thought it was a heart disease. His mom never really told him what it was so he guessed. Drugs and cocaine had always been a touchy subject for him, especially since he lost his beloved mother in it. He didn't like coming back to the world of drugs but if they are going to find out who the Shooter is, it seems like he have to.
"Mom, will you always be with me?" Leo remembered asking beside his mother's hospital bed.
"Yes, mijo." His mom nodded weakly. "I'll always be here."
Leo smiled at the word 'mijo'. It was what his mother loved calling him. Normally, he is the one giving people nicknames. He don't exactly enjoy getting them himself but he loved how his mother called him 'mijo'.
Leo knew his mother always meant to quit cocaine but it was addicting, hard to stop. She had started taking cocaine in high school, around Leo's age because of peer pressure. Everybody was taking cocaine. The most popular people in school including Aphrodite, Travis, Zeus Grace all took cocaine. It was as if you don't take it, it's social suicide.
Leo knew that feeling. After his mom died, he wandered around the streets of New York for months. He slept in sewers and dumps before the police found him and returned him to his dad. On one of those days around New York without a home, he wandered into an alley and met a bunch of teenagers. The teenagers were no older than 14 but they were smoking, drinking alcohol and taking drugs - of course cocaine.
He remembered one particular boy. After all, he is still around except he probably didn't know that the boy he met 8 years ago was Leo. Justin Fontaine.
"Kid, you want some drugs?" Justin laughed. Leo guessed now that he was high, probably wasn't aware of this.
"Drugs?" Leo made a face. He has been told ever since he was a toddler to stay away from strangers and foreign objects. He did not recognize the word.
"Duh!" Justin showed him the white crystalline powder of cocaine. "These cost me a fortune. You're lucky I'm offering it to you for free, boy."
Leo recognized the power. He saw it in his mom's drawer before. If his mom knew what it is, then it's not exactly foreign anymore. Secretly feeling honored that he going to have something like his mom's, he grasp the little pocket of white powder.
"Keep it safe!" Justin giggled, something not very common for a teenage guy. "Don't let anybody especially those nasty blue uniformed people get you!"
At that time, Leo was determined to consume these powders. However, he felt the urge to get away from the dodgy alley and these strangers so holding on to the packet firmly, he began to run away from the alley. Justin Fontaine and some of his friends were hollering things after him but Leo didn't pay attention. When he got to a desire distance away from that particular alley, Leo found out that the packet of cocaine he held so tightly somehow managed to escape from his grasp. Feeling low, he walked back to the alley to see if Justin was still there with more packets of these powders but he was gone.
Annabeth looked at her audience. "I think we should stop focusing on the shooting, drugs and Jason's doctor. It's too much."
"So what do you suggest doing?" Jason frowned. "Uhm..Dr. Marshall is treating me."
"There are seven death victims of the Shooting and the Shooter obviously wants them dead for a reason. We will pair up as doing this alone is too dangerous to find out what each person who died had to do with the Shooter." Annabeth said boldly ignoring any sudden outbursts. "Jason, tell Piper you guys are doing Silena Beaugard and Beckendorf. Grover and Nico, you guys are doing Mrs. White and Zoe Nightshade."
"Ew," Nico frowned. "We get to investigate a teacher. Yay."
"Hazel and Frank are doing Chris Rodriguez and Lee Fletcher and me and Percy would focus on Ethan Nakamura." Annabeth continued.
"Um..there's Luke." Grover piped up nervously. "I know he isn't like dead, or I don't think he is but-"
Annabeth's strong gaze wavered slightly. "I'll take him. With Percy."
"You left me." Leo reminded her. "I don't have anyone to investigate."
"You can go along with Hazel and Frank." Annabeth replied to Frank's dismay. Frank always had a crush on Hazel but lately, he has been getting a feeling that Hazel is crushing on Leo. Leo is just so easy-going and funny, Frank was afraid he could never compete with him.
"Piper." Jason called as he saw him walking down the street with Cat. They were laughing about something Cat just said. "Hey! Piper!"
"Ooh, look who's calling you." Cat winked at her friend and stopped.
Piper blushed. "Hi, Jason."
"Can I talk to you?" Jason glanced at Cat awkward. "As in private?"
"Go ahead." Cat smiled. "You're cute together."
"Actually," Piper said quite embarrassed by Cat being around. "Call me later, okay?"
"Sure." Jason grinned. "Um..I'll go now? I'll leave you guys alone."
"Don't be embarrassed, sweetie!" Cat said. "I don't bite. I'll wait here, you guys take a stroll."
"You sure?" Piper asked, looking at Cat for her permission. Jason found it weird as Piper never seeks other people's approval, most of the time she just does whatever she wants to do.
"Yeah." Cat nodded.
"Thanks, Cat." Piper hugged her friend and then turned to Jason.
"Rachel, talk to me." Annabeth muttered softly. "There's nobody here but me and Thalia. We're your best friends. You can trust us." Rachel was hidden in Annabeth's house sitting on the couch watching TV shows absent-mindedly.
"I know I could trust you." Rachel said slowly. "It's just that it's way to dangerous."
"Why don't you start by telling us your life. What you told us previously is probably fake as you never lived in Boston for 9 years." Thalia suggested. "How was your life as a child?"
"Terrible." Rachel admitted. "My father died of cancer when I was 3 and my mom remarried another guy. For the first 2 years, we were actually happy. The guy Gordon was nice to me. I liked him, we were really close but when I was 5 years old, he started hurting me physically and verbally. He changed. When I come home from primary school, he would randomly punch me and yell at me. I was so scared but he warned me not to tell anything to my mom either. I didn't so she never found out about this. When I was 13 years old, Gordon started abusing me and even raped me. I was terrified, I didn't know what to do. He's just not the same anymore. I try reasoning with him, try to get the Gordon I originally knew back but that was gone."
"Oh gods." Annabeth winced. "I'm so sorry."
Rachel kept a straight face while reaching for tissues to wipe a few tears from her eyes. "It's okay. It's just that I never told anyone this before. My mom still doesn't know, she thinks that I love him. I don't know how to break it to her, she loves him."
"Where is that fuckhead?" Thalia demanded. "I am so beating the shit out of him."
"Don't." Rachel breathed hoarsely. "Nobody is suppose to know this."
"You should have called the police." Annabeth whispered.
"I know." Rachel sobbed. "And then I started getting these phone calls from the Boss offering a better life for me. At that time, my school life wasn't exactly thrilling either. I mean, imagine yourself ignored everyday at school, having no friends to talk to. That's exactly me back then. The Boss had a wonderful vision of life ready for me only if I befriend you guys. It's almost too good to be true. I had to take it."
"Evil guys always have these 'too good to be true' thing going on, don't they." Thalia sighed. "I don't blame you, Rach."
"My life is just so screwed up I don't even know." Rachel shook her head. "Sorry, I really shouldn't be doing this to you guys. Especially when you are technically one of the victims here. I can tell you that I sincerely like you guys though. I'm not faking that, you guys are sweet, genuine and anything I could wish for as a friend."
"Yay." Thalia nodded weakly.
"Okay, Grover." Nico looked at his friend. "Have you realized that everybody else got a partner of the opposite gender and we're like the only gay ones?"
"Gay?" Grover frowned nibbling on his emptied coke can. "That's because we're the only 2 guys left and one of us isn't a girl."
"There's still Reyna and we get to investigate a teacher." Nico sighed. "I am seriously going to kill Annabeth if she isn't so threatening."
Grover winced. "Yeah, I bet she can beat you up."
"Me?" Nico scoffed. "I don't actually mean that she's threatening. I only said that because I'm a uh.. gentleman. Yeah, gentleman. I don't beat girls up. If she's a guy, I would totally beat her up! She has no chance against me."
"I won't risk that if I were you."
Evidently trying to change the subject, Nico said hastily. "Grover, do you remember when Mrs. White taught? I never got her for any of my classes. I don't think so at least."
"She was my maths teacher." Grover answered wistfully. "I remember her pretty well. How can I not? Hey wait! You got her a few years ago didn't you? We were in the same math class, I think?"
Nico shrugged. "I don't remember my teachers. Who do I even have for social studies? I just go to their class, sit down and do my own thing. Wait..do I have Mr. Wright or Mr. Reeds for social studies again?"
"You have Mr. Evans." Grover reminded him. "Anyway, I'm actually not sure why she's killed. She's one of the sweetest teachers in Goode High. Actually was, but that's according to me. A lot of people like her as well."
"That's probably why I don't remember her." Nico laughed. "If she never gave me an 'F' on my report card or anything that bad she goes straight out of my memory."
"Mrs. White would only give A's on reports." Grover smiled remembering the past. "She won't dare giving people anything lower. She'd only offer extra coaching to those who have rather low grades."
"If she was so nice, then why is she killed? I mean if there's this strict teacher who gives detentions every day to everybody I'd understand." Nico frowned.
"Exactly! This world is so twisted." Grover moaned. "The only good thing around is probably enchiladas."
Reyna twisted her hair into her usual braid. Ugh, she knows she had already lost Jason to Piper. There isn't much she - or Piper could do. Why should Jason choose her over Piper anyway? Piper's parents are Tristan and Aphrodite McLean and she is drop dead gorgeous. Anybody in the right mind would choose Piper.
Stop with the pitying yourself! Reyna scolded herself. She isn't normally like this, moping over some guy. She should be strong, a leader like Hylla.
"Reyna, you up?" Reyna's phone broadcasted Annabeth's call across the room.
"Yeah." Reyna answered.
"Everybody has a pair and they are each researching two dead victims of the Shooting each." Annabeth paused. "I need you to do something special.""Okay." Reyna nodded. She was going to ask if she is going to have a pair but decided to let Annabeth finished her task first.
"You have a solo mission. I gave Leo to Frank and Hazel as a three because he would not be good in your mission. Yours would have to be solo and you must not tell anyone, got it?"
Reyna's heart sunk. She was hoping to get somebody, maybe Jason or at least Leo as a partner but noo, Annabeth had to give him to Frank and Hazel although they are already a pair. "Got it." She muttered glumly.
"You will be investigating the death of Drew Tanaka."
Reyna's mouth fell wide open. "Drew, Drew Tanaka. You want me to investigate her death?"
"Yes." Annabeth hesitated. "I know, it's tough but somebody's got to do it."
"Fine." Reyna sighed. "I'll do it."
AN: Happy New Years Eve guys! x hehe, what are you doing tonight? I'm counting down with my friends in a New Years party this guy in my class's hosting!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter as it'll probably be the last chapter I upload in 2012!
~Kisses, Emily