(A/N) So, yet another chapter! I know I said that I wouldn't update till I got 5-10 reviews, but then I was like, 'Aww, to heck with it, I like writing and uploading chapters anyways,' so here is the result. And thanks to Kerowyn6 for the reviews and pointing out my mistakes, your feedback has really helped! P.S The "simplicity of war" quote belongs to the makers of Call of Duty MW3 (A/N)
Percy slowly walked home, sunshine pouring on his back and weighing him down. He was tired after a long day of studying and swimming practice. Coach Hedge had told him that if he kept his performance consistent he would replace the current captain next year when he would graduate and go for further studies at NYU. Percy thought of how happy he would be as captain but was also a little sad that the current captain, Tyson, was moving on to college.
As he walked into his apartment he smelled the mouth-watering aroma of pancakes cooking in the kitchen. 'I'm home!' he yelled and promptly flopped on to the couch and tossed his backpack on the floor. His mother, Sally, walked into the room and smiled at her son. She was in her late thirties but still looked beautiful. She had grey streaks in her brown hair and smile crinkles around her eyes. Percy never wished for a better mother. She always put up with his stubbornness and sloppiness. She never complained about his hygiene and never nagged him about anything. Even though he wasn't scolded often Percy tried to stay disciplined for her sake. He always tried to improve himself and not further stress out his mother.
Five years ago, out of desperation, Sally Jackson married a human walrus known as Gabe Ugliano, who then proceeded to make their lives hell. Every day he would invite his obese, drunk friends over for poker games and everyday he would bully Percy and make him wish he was never born. Finally, after a year or so, Gabe disappeared off of the face of the earth. There were rumours that the mafia had ordered a hit on him as he was unable to pay off a few debts. Percy and his mother didn't really care; they were glad that he was out of their lives.
And then came Paul. Kind, caring, handsome, brilliant Paul. He was like a father to Percy and a husband to Sally. They had dated for a while before they had married each other a few months ago. Percy and Sally could finally close the door on Gabe, that chapter of their lives was over; they only had peace and comfort to look forward to now.
Sally placed her hands on her hips and said, 'Now, do you have any work to do, Perce? I don't want you skipping homework and earning another week's worth of detention. Again.' Percy grinned sheepishly and shrugged. 'Yeah, I suppose I have a little work, but I promise I'll do it with the gang.' Sally raised an eyebrow, prompting Percy to explain, 'We thought it'd be great if we all worked together and finished our projects. Please?' Sally frowned, 'You should have told me before school. And I'm worried that you won't get any work done and will spend your time goofing around on that new Xbox thing that Paul bought for you.' Percy dramatically got down on his knees and placed a hand over his heart. 'Strike me dead, Hades, if my schoolwork isn't done before nine this evening.'
Sally chuckled, 'You don't have to bring in those dusty old Greek gods into this, you know. If they were real I have no doubt that you'd be lying dead on the floor.' She bit her lip thoughtfully before replying, 'Okay, Percy, you get to invite the gang.' Just as Percy let out a whoop she continued, 'But only this once. I don't like the fact that you didn't inform me about this beforehand, young man.' She said sternly. Percy looked up at her, smiling. He spotted the mocking twinkle in his mother's eyes and hugged her tightly. 'Thanks, mom. I won't let you down!'
He ran upstairs and locked the door before Sally realized that he hadn't promised that he wouldn't use the Xbox.
~oOo~
The door-bell rang loudly and Percy ran down the steps two at a time to answer the door. His mother was napping in her room and Paul had gone out to give a lecture in a local college.
He opened the door and smiled broadly, his green eyes twinkling. 'Thalia! Nico! Grover! How are ya guys? Hey Annabeth, glad you could make it! What's going on, you guys?' He nodded towards Jason and his friends.
As the others walked in, shuffling and giggling quietly, he nudged Annabeth and dragged her to a corner. 'Hey, Annie, I have something to tell you. Something me, Grover, Jason, and Frank cooked up. With a dash of toilet humour from Leo, of course.' He pointed towards Leo, who was trying to do a hand stand and was revealing his pink and red Super McShizzle underwear. Annabeth giggled and blushed a faint shade of red as Percy walked on completely oblivious.
~oOo~
They sat down in a loose circle on the carpet in Percy's room. Leo glanced around appreciatively, taking in the video game and rock band posters on the light blue walls. Jason stared at a small collection of G.I Joe action figures Percy had kept on his dressing table, along with a bunch of other board games and stuff. Hazel and Piper examined the pink and red curtains and the soft green bed-sheets, nodding at Percy's mother's good taste in décor. Frank practically drooled at the sight of the brand new Xbox sitting in front of the HD television. And everyone was awed at the sight of a whole shelf of awards and trophies that Percy had won in various swimming championships.
Percy cleared his throat and looked around at everybody. 'So, guys, at the risk of sounding lame, we've come here for a reason, haven't we. Grover, could you please tell the girls about our plan.'
Grover stood up and nodded at Percy. He was rather short for his age, with curly brown hair and soft brown eyes. He walked with a slight limp in both legs as he had a disease in his leg muscles that prevented him from walking normally. He had propped up his crutches next to the door.
He said, 'So, today we are here to discuss our plan to take down Luke and Vaas's gang. We'll stomp 'em out once and for all. Their bullying has got to stop. And we can't involve the teachers. If the principal himself is powerless against Vaas then we can't count on anybody 'cept for ourselves. Are you guys in or do you want to back out? If you want to, that's totally understandable. There'll be a lot of risk in pulling it off, and we might get into a heck of a lot of trouble.' His gaze lingered on Annabeth. Her face had paled and she was trembling slightly at the mention of Luke's name. He felt worried that she would rat them out to the teachers. Come on, Grover. Get a grip on yourself. Annie won't rat us out. She's our best friend, right? Looking at her sickly face he wasn't so sure anymore.
Percy noticed Annabeth's discomfiture and wrapped a protective arm around her. 'Don't worry, Annie. You won't get in trouble. We'll protect you from Luke and his lame sidekick. Cheer up!' Annabeth took a shake breath and smiled a watery smile. 'Thanks, Perce, that really means a lot to me. But don't worry, I'll try and protect you from Luke, too.' Everybody laughed at Percy's gobsmacked expression.
'Alright, guys, let's get down to business. And Annabeth, I'm not so sure that Vaas is Luke's sidekick anymore. He looks like he's in charge now. Luke seems rather worried, and while that may be good news for us, it might mean that Vaas has something extreme in the works, and that doesn't sound too good for us, does it?' Jason said.
Frank nodded, 'Yeah, maybe Vaas is trying to get to us right now. He knows we're planning to take him on, and he could be planning a counter attack right now.' Leo raised a hand as though he was still in class and asked Frank, 'But how the heck does Vaas know that? I thought this stuff was all secret, like classified government stuff.' Thalia and Nico had been silent till now, sitting in a shadowy corner and silently observing the proceedings. Thalia intervened before Piper could speak, 'Well, you guys weren't so discreet about planning this whole thing, were you? I think the whole cafeteria heard you guys talk loudly. No wonder Vaas knows about your plans.' Percy and the others hung their heads in mock shame. 'Well, it's too late to do anything now, right? I say that we should go ahead with our plans and go out in style!' Leo flexed his non-existent muscles and grinned broadly.
'Cut the crap, Leo,' Nico snapped, 'You've seen what Vaas and his gang do to other kids, haven't you? Do you want to end up with your head in a toilet?' Everybody stared at him in surprise. Nico rarely snapped. He mostly stayed on the sidelines and spoke quietly, if ever. 'There are perks of being a wallflower' he would say if asked why he stayed so silent.
Nico blushed faintly when he realised that everybody was staring at him. He wished he could melt into the ground and fade away. Jason broke the silence, 'You know what? Nico's got a fair point. We've gotta be serious about this. Who knows what Vaas could be planning out there right now. C'mon Grover, explain the plan to the girls.' Grover cleared his throat before speaking, 'As I was saying, here is the foundation of our plan, the basics: divide and conquer. As we know, there are about ten kids in the gang, including Vaas and Luke. Suprisingly, a few girls have joined up too. It seems as though everyone wants to join 'em if they can't beat 'em. Everyday new kids are joining up, so we need to move fast if we want to stay ahead.' Hazel raised her hand to ask a question, 'I get the divide bit, it means taking them down one by one right? But how exactly are we going about the conquer business?'
Percy broke in, smiling evilly, 'We humiliate them. We dishonour them. We bring them down so low that they are not gonna be rising up any time soon. We need to fight fire with fire, and that's how we're gonna roll. But at the same time we need to try and convince the new recruits to step down. Those guys are innocent people who joined up to stay out of the way of the bullies. They were desperate, so they joined up. And maybe we might get them on our side.' Everybody nodded appreciatively. However, Annabeth said, 'But, um, do they really deserve that? I mean, if we go ahead with this, we'll sink down to their level. We will be the bullies, and with our luck everyone will gang up on us.'
Percy said firmly, 'Yes, we do. You say that maybe they don't deserve that, but you don't know what they're capable of. They beat up a couple of guys and tossed them onto the streets for fun. They nearly got run over by passing traffic. They had to stumble home and quietly patch themselves up. If their parents had gotten involved, Vaas's dad would have calmly pulled a few strings and turned the tables on 'em. Trust me, you wouldn't want that.'
Annabeth said furiously, 'Is that what you want to do? Trust me when I say this, guys, once we get down and get dirty at their level? We'll never be able to get back up again.' Percy's smile dropped off his face as he argued, 'But Annabeth, if we don't teach them a lesson they won't forget, they're gonna bounce back up again. And who knows what'll happen to us once Vaas is back on his feet? He will not sit down quietly and take it as it comes. He will come for us. You sure you want that?'
Frank looked up with a grave expression on his face. He had been carefully listening in on their conversation and had tried to come up with a solution. This was his home turf after all. His father, James, was a decorated U.S Marine and had served in several countries. He was brutal and ruthless on the battlefield, earning him the nickname of "Ares", the Greek God of War. On the other hand, he was kind and gentle with his family and friends at home. War brought out the worst in everybody.
He had often coached Frank on the basics of warfare, in the hope that his son would take after him and join the U.S Army. Frank had no intention of disappointing his father.
'Not to sound too melodramatic, Annabeth, but this is war. We need to strike hard and strike fast. And to win? Well, my father always says that there is a simplicity to war. Dare- and the world yields. That's all there is to it. And that's all we'll ever need.' Everyone stared at Frank. He started feeling self-conscious and blushed. Leo said, 'Wow, that was cool, dude. Unless you're just quoting that new Call of Duty videogame.' He cheekily held up the game disc lying beside the Xbox. Frank's eyes widened, embarrassed at being caught out. Jason chuckled, and Percy smiled as he said, 'Okay, dude, that's enough. Frank, you rock, man. And while it's not easy admitting that we need a video games' help in making a plan, Frank is right. We need to dare to make Vaas yield. In fact, we need a Dare to win. You guys thinking what I'm thinking?'
Suddenly, Annabeth looked furious. Piper quietly mumbled, 'Aww, are we jealous, Annabeth?' Annabeth angrily shushed her before tuning back into the conversation.
'. . . and she can help us infiltrate the gang, nobody will suspect her 'cause she doesn't hang out with us anyways. Plus, this will guarantee some alone time for Percy and Rachel, won't it?' Hazel nudged him, grinning. Percy hung his head sheepishly. He said, 'So, it's decided, right? We'll ask Rachel to help us and she'll infiltrate the gang. She'll collect information on their plans and tell us what their next move is. That's all for now.'
Annabeth broke in angrily, 'Why do we need that arrogant, stuck-up little thing in our plans? What if she won't accept? What is she rats us out to them? What if she is caught? Why can't any of us go instead?' She stopped, breathing heavily.
Finally, Jason chuckled, 'Annabeth, we know you are jealous-'-Annabeth mumbled furiously while Percy blushed a bright shade of red- 'but let me tell you a few things. She is sympathetic to our cause. She hates Vaas like we do. Plus, she's cunning and very clever. And she is very loyal to her friends, too, she will not rat us out. She could be very useful to us. Trust me, we can't make any further plans without information, and Rachel can get that for us. If anyone else goes Vaas will be instantly suspicious and we'll be in for a free ride to hell. C'mon, you know this already, no wonder we call you Wise Girl.'
Annabeth looked faintly please at these words, but started arguing about the ethics of the whole thing when Nico spoke for the second time. 'I thought we were done with that discussion, Annabeth. We don't have any choice. Accept it or get out. We don't care if you rat us out to Vaas.' Everybody looked at her pleadingly, urging her to accept the decision. She had enough sense left to know that she was acting like a brat and managed to gracefully accept the decision. There was a collective sigh of relief at her decision as the tension in the air defused. Thalia said, 'So, we're done here for today, right? We contact Rachel via her email or something, give her the instructions, and arrange for her extraction from the gang. Then we'll get the info, make some solid plans, and move on. Any objections?' Everybody shook their heads. Piper asked, 'So, same time tomorrow, right here?'
Percy replied, 'Yeah, sure, by tomorrow we'll have the plans and we can meet up again right here.' Everyone got up to their feet, speaking excitedly as they discussed their plans. Percy pulled Annabeth aside and mumbled, 'So, um, you okay? Do you wanna go ahead with our plans, or do you wanna quit? If you want to, you know,-' He was cut off by a peck on the cheek. Annabeth smiled, 'Thanks, Percy, but you guys can be persuasive. I still don't think what we are doing is totally right, but it's better than what I was suggesting anyway. I'll see you tomorrow, then.' She walked out with the gang, tramping down the stairs and walking out of the house.
Percy flopped down on the bed, sighing. He smiled dopily as he looked out of the window and out at the fading summer light. Suddenly, a thought struck him like a lightning bolt. Shit, I forgot my homework! Mom's gonna kill me! He rushed to his old brown study table and started working as fast as he could.
~oOo~
Vaas tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the call. He reflected on how he was going to rule the whole school and beat down anybody who opposed him. There was only one obstacle left to beat down. Percy Jackson and Jason Grace's pesky gang. He was glad to have had the forethought of planting an informant in their little group just in case they tried pulling anything off. Cautiousness is everything when you want to be a master bully. He snorted as he though of the phrase. Master bully. Hmm. . . that has possibilities as a good title.
He jumped as his old mobile rang, startling him out of his reverie. Finally! He excitedly took the call as his informant explained the gang's plans in emotionless, robotic tones. His smile widened as he heard of their audacity in planning to take him down. So. You plan to make me yield, do you, Jackson? Let's see just how you go about that when one of your so called friends betrays you. My informant will take you down piece by piece, Jackson. Your family, your friends. . . and that girl, Annabeth. She has some interesting possibilities, doesn't she? He cackled as he cut the line.
Planning a coup de'état was going to take a lot of work.
(A/N) So, how was it? Please review and let me know your thoughts! And could anyone please tell me if it sounds too melodramatic? I know it sounds far-fetched, but this is fanfiction after all! And, guys, try and guess who the informant for Vaas is! I bet you'll be surprised! Chill, hermanos! (A/N)