A few quick things before I start. After finishing this story, I'm most likely going to stick to one-shots considering I don't have the patience required to finish many stories that I start.
Second, to those who've asked if I own a calendar…I know I said I'd update before the end of January… But, hey… *shrugs shoulders*
Third, as promised, to those who reviewed my last PJO one-shot, The Girlfriend Tag, shout-outs to: Guest, Insane PJO LOver 93, Annabeth's Sister, Heyitsthecats, Guest (Percy), GoddessOfArchitecture, Ninja Cats and Rainbows, painted-red-colored-blue, Jedi1, PJoHoOFan,soccerchick03, SingingFroggy, Lucy-Annabeth Pevensie, Guest (Honesty), trio-of-friends, I-love-fish-and-chips, Guest (Anon), Guest (AnonymousGal), and HPPJTPKE.
Warning: few flashback scenes in this chapter and lot of back story.
Previously—
"I will kill you," Luke whispered. "I won't wait around till you make an attempt on my life."
Percy would have responded had a voice not interrupted them, "Luke, is that you?"
Without warning, Percy's arm swung in the direction of the voice, a flashlight blinding him momentarily. She dropped the glasses she was carrying in her hand, the glass shattering to pieces flying everywhere as she took in the scene in front of her.
She stared at the two men, one holding a gun to the other's head. "Percy?" Annabeth whispered.
Percy heard Luke's low voice swear under his breath. He glanced at the gun in his hand, the smudge of blood seeming to glow under the flashlight.
"Percy?" Annabeth repeated.
"Annabeth, this is not what it looks—"
"Don't listen to him Annabeth!" Luke barked. "It's exactly what it looks like. He was about to shoot me. You saw it with your own eyes."
Percy dropped the gun, the thud filling the air as he put his hands up, "Annabeth, please, hear me out. I…" He approached carefully with his hands still in surrender. She backed away slowly the closer he came. A flash of hurt was seen in Percy's eyes as her eyes widened.
"No…" she stopped, "No Jackson, don't come any closer. I swear. I will kill you if you take another step closer," she had pulled out her hand gun, causing Percy to stop abruptly.
"Annabeth, let me explain."
"Save it for court, Jackson!" Luke snarled as he handcuffed the other man, his arms pinned to his back. A gag was forced into his mouth being secured by a rope.
"Court?" Annabeth questioned, her eyebrow slightly raised. She had put on a façade of cool composure, but the beads of sweat remained on her face.
Luke sneered, "I did a little background check on your little boyfriend here. The whole story about Thalia being killed by a drunk driver was a lie. It wasn't a drunk driver. It was all him. Ask him." He jerked his head aggressively towards the green eyed marine who was almost frozen.
"What? What did Thalia ever do to him? She was just a high-schooler."
"Mr. Grace had a few enemies. He and Thalia weren't close. Simply put, Mr. Grace made a few enemies, and pretty boy's employer over here had him kill her."
"He killed…" Annabeth stopped before she could fully formulate the question, unable to understand what she was just told. Here was the man that she currently loved. Here was also the same man who was responsible for the death of her best friend. "No, no, it's not possible."
Percy was mute at this point, but the gears in his brain turning quickly. Luke knew about his employer, but not his Navy officer, but Kronos. He couldn't have possibly known. He hadn't slipped up. Did Luke know who this insider was? Unless…
Luke noticed the spark recognition in Percy's face, "Very good Jackson. I was wondering how long it would take for you to catch on."
"Catch on to what? Luke?" Annabeth's question was directed towards the major, but her eyes trained on the green eyed marine as though waiting for some sudden or unexpected movement from him.
Percy's eyes met Luke's for a second, a silent message passing in between the two. "Jackson had slipped up," Luke lied smoothly. "He wasn't careful with his connections."
"So, what's our course of action now?"
"I could kill him right now."
Percy felt the chill of a cold metal being pressed against his forehead, "You like how this feels Jackson?"
"Luke," Annabeth said warningly.
He tsked in mock pity, "Annabeth, if I didn't know you better, I would have thought you had gone soft for this bastard."
"We need to interrogate him. Now! Thalia's been dead for almost eight years. What business does he have here now?"
"Ah, I was wondering where you were getting there. It's simple. He's nothing more than a terrorist. I believe you remember the attack in Afghanistan with the Taliban? Where both Marines and the Navy were requested?"
He glanced at Annabeth's side, "You incurred a wound from me then."
"Because I had intercepted it. But it wasn't a Taliban attacker. They had the Navy insignia. What does this have to do with anything?"
"Patience, my Captain. Patience. As your memory recalls. The attacker was not in fact a Navy man either. He was a plant by Kronos himself. And that man was none other than our beloved Percy Jackson."
Annabeth felt the green eyes fixated on her. She fought the urge to scream in frustration, the urge to just look once at those enigmatic emerald eyes, looking for answers.
"Why? What does he have against you? What does this Kronos have against Thalia, Zeus, and all of them?"
"Who, Percy? He's nothing but a puppet, carrying out Kronos's orders. As for Kronos's motives, your guess is as good as mine. From the intel we have on him, we've gathered that he's part of some underground mafia, connected with the Taliban and the Underworld network."
Percy's eyes narrowed into slits. So, this is how he was trying to play him. Filling her head with lies. The irony Luke, when his own father had much to answer for.
He, Percy Jackson, was not Kronos's puppet. He wasn't going to answer to anyone. Yes, Kronos wanted Luke Castellan dead; he had made that point clear enough. His cold, merciless voice rang inside Percy's head. But, he had his own vendetta against the man. He had killed Rachel, but here he was manipulating Annabeth to believe otherwise.
As for Thalia… Percy remembered the blue-eyed punk girl. He had been in high school himself, his junior year. But Luke had been wrong. This was before he had gone to Kronos. This was, in fact, the reason he went to the mafia man.
It was an accident. Percy distinctly remembered the night.
"Percy," Rachel drawled, her voice slurring from the spiked drink.
"Yes Red," he had answered affectionately, his own head befuddled from his current state.
She hiccupped, "I wanna go home. This party is getting boring. Come home with me tonight."
"But, my mom…"
"But Percy! Don't you want to see my red, lacy thong I have on? I specifically wore them for you," she pouted, giving him those big green puppy dog eyes.
"Sorry Red. Not tonight."
"Percy Jackson," she grabbed him by his shirt collar, "You are the paragon of virtue. You old soul."
"Let's get you home. I think you've a little too much spiked drink. Now that I can finally drive, let me take you home."
"But Percy…"
He dropped Rachel off quickly, and he was returning to his own house. He was stopped at a red light when a car hurtled out from right of the signal. He honked, hoping the driver would notice, but nothing. The car swerved wildly.
He held out his arms protectively over his face when the blinding light hit. The last thing he remembered.
Of course, that wasn't the official record. No, no. Percy Jackson was deemed a troubled child. He was framed by Zeus Grace for having "killed" his mistress and daughter.
And that was how Percy came into Kronos's acquaintance. Their contact was minimal, but Kronos was a godfather of sorts to Percy. He never once met the man during this earlier period of his life. But Kronos had cleared up the statement surrounding the car crash controversy, virtually making Percy invisible though his name still tarnished.
It had been him who had helped him get into the Navy despite his record. But once in, Percy cut off ties with the man. Until Luke came along that was. Luke had killed Rachel heartlessly.
Percy kissed the top of Rachel's head. He was now barely an inch taller than her. Much to Rachel's delight, he had hit a growth spurt his first year at the Naval Academy. Now, here they were, both having graduated from college, now in the Navy, and engaged to get married.
He wrapped his strong arms around her, planting another kiss on her neck. He could feel the small shivering movement she made under his touch, a grin forming on his face.
"You sure you have to meet this Castellan guy?" he nuzzled her neck once.
Rachel started to move away, so she could see his eyes, "Percy, you know…"
"I know, I know." He continued kissing her down the nape of her neck till he was at the collarbone.
"But why today?" he pestered. "Why not another day?"
"Percy, this meeting with the Marines has been on the calendar for weeks! We can't just change it."
"You make it sound like this is some official business."
"It is."
"No, this is you being an overachiever trying to use your dad's influence to get you access to marine affairs."
"Percy," she began warningly.
"Right, don't mention the dad."
"What's wrong with you today? All so loving," she teased, trying to move away from the broached topic.
"Well, what do you think?" he shot her a playful smirk.
"This has something to do with the announcement earlier, right?"
"No shit, Sherlock," he winked. "I was just informed this morning that the woman I love is carrying my child. I want to celebrate, and here we are, waiting for you to go on a date with another man."
"It's not a date!" she protested hotly.
"Don't you think it's too early for hormones?" he chuckled.
"Shut up, Jackson!" she whacked him hard. "But, I have to go. See you later tonight." With a quick peck on his lips, she left.
That had been the last he had heard from her. He had waited of course, but nothing. It was around two o'clock that morning he received a call from the office demanding his presence.
"Private Jackson," the other man looked at him sorrowfully, "I regret to inform you, but Miss Dare was found killed an hour back. She…"
The voice was drowned out as the blood rushed through,, blocking his vision as all else turned red. His fists continued to clench and unclench, the frustration emanating from him.
"Mr. Jackson, Mr. Jackson!"
But it was too late, Percy Jackson had already left. And where to then Kronos who had helped him last time. This time however, to extract revenge.
Kronos was to be contacted through his henchman, Nico Di Angelo. He had listened carefully. And so the plan was born. It was not till later that he realized, through a slip up of Di Angelo's, that Kronos himself had his own personal agenda.
Kronos's rival, Zeus Grace, was just one obstacle in Kronos's way. But it was Hermes Castellan who was the real problem, head of most nearly every other secret black market organization, his postal service a mere façade.
Kronos and Percy had made a deal. Get rid of Luke simple. The attack in Afghanistan was just the beginning.
But Percy had miscalculated, he had made an error. Annabeth. No one factored Annabeth in either situation.
"Why so stiff Jackson?" Luke's eyes glimmered with the glint of evil befit of the son of a mafia leader. "Tell us. What was that? You can't talk. No need to. I called some friends over to help."
"Luke, you know rules about…"
"Screw rules, Anna. You and your rules. This man is a first-class murder. We're going to dispose of him now. I've waited too long for this."
"Luke, this makes you no better than him. Just let him go. A trial, something. Don't kill him. You don't want blood to dirty your hands."
"I think I can make an exception."
"You think Thalia would…"
"Don't bring Thalia into this!" he roared.
"Wasn't that what this was all about? Thalia?"
"Annabeth, shut up."
Luke cocked the gun, and Percy felt a sense of déjà vu pass through him. It was just minutes ago when his own gun had been pointed at Luke.
"Luke, you're going to regret this."
"Annabeth, please, let me handle this."
But Annabeth wasn't having any of that, she stepped forward, making a move towards the gun in her major's hand. Luke's eyes widened momentarily in shock, surprised she was actually trying to stop him.
He grabbed her with his free arm, turning her around so that she faced Percy with her back pressed against Luke's chest. "Hmm, change of mind. You've waited a while. You can wait a few minutes more. You don't mind, do you Jackson?" he feigned genuine concern. "I think little Annie here needs a lesson."
He moved the barrel of the gun so that it not was focused on Annabeth's temple. Percy struggled against the handcuffs which still had his arms pinned back.
"I don't think so Jackson. He'll be arriving shortly, my master. I'm sure you two are very well acquainted."
Percy stopped struggling for a second, his boss… No, he couldn't possibly show up here unless the insider had… No.
"Jackson," a discordant voice came from behind him. "What a surprise."
Percy froze upon hearing the voice so close to him. Yet, he kept his eyes focused on Annabeth's gray ones where Luke still had her pinned against his chest.
"Sir, your presence is welcome," Luke smiled past him, a grin so evil, only intensified by the scar on his face. "Thank you for coming Kronos."
I don't know if it's a cliffhanger or not. Anyway, two more chapters left. I've started writing the next chapter already. Not sure when it'll be up, but I want to get this story done soon.
Want to review? Go ahead. Don't want to review? Don't. Hate this story? Tired of waiting for the lousy author to update? K. It's all cool. Do what you deem necessary. Obviously, reviews would be nice, appreciated, and provide incentive, but it's up to you.
Until next time,
TJ