BA-DA-BA-DA-BOOM! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY! CHAPTER SEVEN IS HERE!
Excited moment over, is everyone ready to find out about Annabeth's past yet? I know I am. I'm not sure if it will all be in this chapter, so just bear with me, it will all come...all in good time. This might be a bit fillerish, not sure yet.
And yes, Annabeth does know something the others don't. She knows a lot. I am so sorry for the late update :(
ENJOY!
Disclaimer: I wish I owned the characters. But I don't, so there.
Annabeths POV
"We go get out Percy."
The response is immediate. All of us grin around at each other like little children having Christmas early. I suppose it kind of is like that. A group of teenagers going into a secret service building to go and get their friend back, possibly bringing the place down with them. Sounds like my kind of fun, if not the others. I've always wanted to see this place crash and burn after everything. That would be funny to see.
"Which way do we go? Like which level?" asks Piper. Hazel looks to her and then to me and says,
"We find out in there," pointing down the corridor at a door on the left hand side. I glance at her, confused and dropping my hand to my side, but she says nothing else. I should know my way around here, but I don't. Interrogation wouldn't be on the reception floor, there could be dangerous people. I guess a little help wouldn't be too bad, even if I shouldn't need it. I nod in agreement and we follow her toward it. I flash my keycard again and open the door to the...visitor room. Okay, I guess we are visitors. We could use some of the stuff they supply new people and probably some drink of some kind, I am so thirsty.
"What do we need in here?" asks Jason, snottily. I glare at him, praying to the Gods that Zeus will forgive me if I kill his own son. Again. And they all thought once was enough.
"Maps," Hazel says, grinning and walking over to the bunch of building maps lying on the tables in the center of the small room, scattered over the pine-wood, along with pens, coffee cups and cereal bars. No water. That's just great. I might die of thirst, for all they know. But that's not gonna happen.
Yeah, get real Annabeth.
I take off my rucksack and jam some cereal bars inside. Save them for later. Who knows, maybe Percy is hungry or something. I remember when I was here after the incident a couple of years back. I was here an entire week. They tried to squeeze the information out of me and turned me into...well me. I didn't give them anything. Only a good punch in the face. I guess you could say that's why I'm in this mess today. Why Percy is in this mess.
I'm so sorry.
"Okay, we need to take what we can," I say, looking once more around the room I have occupied so often. I feel guilty being here, but have no idea why. All the secrets are finally getting to me, I think. Must be the decent set of friends I found again.
On the left wall, there is a stack of visitor passes. Frank is nearest and hands them out. With Leo's, he just throws it at Leo's face. So those two are still the same as ever. Leo catches it and glares at Frank before grinning and taking a cereal bar from the table and throwing it at Frank. It hits him in the face. Oh, how times never change, even after the time. Sometimes I just want them to remember.
It's not your fault.
I try not to listen to that niggling voice in the back of my mind and slip on the visitor pass with the lanyard over my head. My lanyard is purple. It could destiny that makes purple my favorite color.
"Pink? Really?" Piper asks, scowling down at hers. I smirk and she glares at me. I guess she doesn't like the color this time too. Jason smiles at her and Thalia scowls at him. Brotherly, sisterly love.
"Do you want to trade?" asks Juniper, holding her own blue lanyard out to Piper, who exchanges it for her own, gratefully. The others pull the passes over their heads and Nico steals a cereal bar and chews on it, his arm around Thalia's shoulder. Jason glares at him but Nico just ignores him more.
"Ready?" asks Frank, his baby face squeezing in a small smile.
"Hell yeah!" shouts Leo. We all laugh, including Frank.
"Which way do we go?" asks Piper, glancing round at us all and peering through the window on the door panel. Well, don't look at me. I haven't been interrogated or interrogated anyone in my particularly short career in this life. "Annabeth?" I shrug my shoulders, a universal sign of 'I have no idea'.
"To the elevator?" pipes up Hazel. We all nod in agreement and leave the small visitor room, heading toward the pair of shiny doors. I think I regret not making some kind of plan or telling them everything about me.
This is all my fault.
Is it though?
So true. Damn you insignificant voice in my head.
So, um, turns out the doors weren't an elevator, they were just doors leading to more doors that look exactly like elevators. This could be more difficult than I thought.
"Great," mutters Thalia. "What now?"
"Well, press all the buttons," Nico grins deviously, nodding toward Leo, fingers twitching. They run up and down the corridor, dragging their hands along the walls, slamming into the buttons. Nothing.
Our group turns to the left out of the door down another stretching corridor, doors pairing with more doors on either side, all of them locked to visitors. I'm not sure if I count as a visitor, or if this is just an office.
At the end is our last chance before the dead end. Leo smirks and slams his hand onto the button to either open a door or a lift. It's a 50/50 situation and, to our ridiculous luck, the doors open, revealing a pale brown inside of an elevator, all four walls gleaming.
"Percy is going to be in interrogation and that's down in the basement floor," I say.
"How do you know that?" asks Jason, incredulous. My heart beats faster. What do they know? Am I going to have to reveal myself? What if they hate me? What if they wanted me to tell them sooner? I need to tell-
"Well, it's kind of obvious, Jase," Piper mutters, but I hear her. She says louder, "If you kidnap someone, you take them to HQ and interrogate them. The interrogation is in the basement, as it says in the map. Have you never seen a spy movie or a crime movie?" She looks at Jason in surprise, seeing him mumble something, a little - Gods forbid - angry.
"Okay people," Nico shouts. "Best friend at stake here. Lets move while there isn't too much tension." The doors shut behind us, leaving it very crowded.
Percy's POV
I don't know how long it's been. I wonder if my friends know where I am. Or if they even know I went missing. Probably not. Someone else might notice the windows though or have seen the shot happen. Some homeless guy who wants to steal everything I own. I need to call Annabeth to tell her sorry and where I am and for her not to worry. Then I'll be able to know where she is.
I'M SO BORED!
Seriously, there is nothing to do here but stare at the boring white walls and hope those two interrogation people come back to try and get something out of me. It's the only interesting thing that really happens here. Also, I'm not sure where here is. I know the building is some kind of secret HQ or something, judging by the uniforms and interrogation, but I was passed out in the time I was taken here and the time I was put in this room. I woke up here.
Another advantage of having a phone would be to tell Annabeth to stay away from here. It's clear these people want her for something and I'm betting it's not to give her a late Christmas present. I need to ask her where she knows them from.
Click, the door opens again. Finally! Some entertainment, at last.
"Mr Jackson," the man in the suit addresses me again, entering with the taller guy in black, just behind the first speaker. My interrogator.
"Yo, Mr Suit-Guy," I say, nodding my head in acknowledgment, not moving from my laying down on the makeshift bed. Or whatever it is.
"That is not my name," he growls, getting closer. He grins and the taller guy in black almost cracks a smile from his mask of no emotion. I bet he was a cheerful child. His mother must hate that whole thing with the no emotion. He looks like a robot. But with skin and feelings. I think I should stop while I'm ahead. Robots aren't even capable of feelings yet. And this guy is smiling.
"What do I call you then?" I ask, buying time to keep me entertained. It's what this all is. A big show of who can crack first. It is not going to be me.
"Nothing. I speak to you." I shrug, a little taken aback, but not showing it.
"Fine, what do you want?"
"I want to show you something you might be interested in. Some pictures I have taken lately." I shrug again, as if to say 'continue'. "Do you recognize any of these people?" he asks, pulling a couple of crumpled photos from his jacket pocket. He hands them to me and I suddenly have to struggle to keep my straight face. I'm not sure if he sees my struggling, but doesn't mention it. His own mask covers it, if he does.
All the photos, every one, contain one of my friends. Piper and Jason laughing at Nico when he fell into the pool in summer. Annabeth with Thalia in the library, just talking. Juniper throwing an enchilada at Grover and him grinning as it splattered into his face. Hazel and Frank grinning as Thalia tells a joke. Piper and Juniper shopping together. Leo filling his mouth with as many marshmallows as possible, doubling Nico in his Chubby Bunny challenge. None of them with me in, for which I am glad.
"No, who are they?" I ask, scared for once and gulping down a lump in my throat, trying to stop my voice from breaking.
"You don't know them at all?" Mr Suit-Guy asks, sneering and trying to provoke me. I shake my head, unable to talk. I try to keep calm, but it just doesn't work for me. I'm supposed to be a friend so I have to protect them. "Well, it won't bother you that we can dispose of them." The man in the black suit hands Mr Suit-Guy a small television screen or something. I hand back the photos and we swap. On the screen, it is split into four sections, all showing parts of the building where I see a group of people walking. On the top left corner is written the date and the floor level for the CCTV.
On one screen is a reception area with a desk and a large group of people shuffling away. I see a flash of blonde hair before it disappears. On the next screen is a shot of a room filled with a table, covered with maps and coffee cups. The group walks in. The same group as before and I see the same flash of blonde as before in the reception. The girl turns around, her curled hair bouncing, and I finally see who she is, although it was like I already knew. Annabeth.
She's here!
That elated little voice in my head talks to me. I shouldn't listen. She shouldn't be here. None of them should. They'll all die.
"We can just get rid of them. Of her. You know we can, Percy."
"SHUT UP!" I yell, standing up and throwing the screen onto the floor and getting up in the face of Mr Suit-Guy, shaking with anger. "DON'T TOUCH HER! DON'T GO NEAR ANY OF THEM!" I swing my fist towards his face, but he ducks back and the larger man in black blocks my punch, defending his leader. He smashes his own hand into my chin, head snapping upwards, and kicks me in the shins. I fall to the ground.
"Thank you, Mr Jackson," mutters Mr Suit-Guy, straightening his jacket and walking backwards to open the door. "That was all we needed." I groan and fall sideways as another kicks lands in my stomach.
Clever, Perce. Real, clever.
I am such an idiot.
Pipers POV
We all clamber into the small lift and I can sense the tension among us all. Nico tries to laugh it off but it doesn't work. You could say it's worry. You could say it's stress. You could also call it plain insanity. I would call it all three. Leo has no idea why there is so much silent and just pulls faces at Hazel before Frank hits him or something.
"Down to the basement we go," Thalia says, breaking the silence before the lift 'pings' and we all step out into another corridor. There seem to be a lot of corridors here. Really, though.
The fact that Jason is here with us is annoying. He couldn't just keep his whole self out of this one thing. A small part of me is a little happy he is here with me, but I shouldn't be.
Back to the important stuff, we pile out of the lift and are greeted by another desk, much like the one upstairs, with another girl sitting behind it typing. She looks up at us for a second, still typing. She looks back at the keyboard and continues writing. Wow, that is rude. I walk up to her with the group behind me, Annabeth hanging at the back. That's strange, I thought this is her forte. I don't know this place, but I know girls. And the girl at the desk is purposely trying to draw attention so we make a scene. A scene we shall make.
I click my fingers in front of her face. She doesn't even flinch. I slam my hand down on the desk and she looks up, glaring with steely grey eyes, not quite matching Annabeth's glare, but pretty darn close. I don't move.
"Can I help you?" she asks too sweetly, iciness dripping with the words. Like eating too much toffee at once.
"We're here to see Percy Jackson," I say, keeping my voice steady.
"Through the door behind me and register to let them know you're here," She says, still talking to me like a child. I nod my head, scowling at her and walk through the doors, gesturing to the rest of the group to follow me. Jason follows first. The girl looks him up and down and I feel suddenly protective of him, away from her laser eyes. I move closer to him. Jason tenses with my closeness and glances down at my face, smiling a little. "Shame."
Jason glares at her before taking my hand and pulling me through the doors. I glance down at his hand fitting with mine and drop it as quick as possible. I miss his warmth when it's gone, but forbid the thought of anything happening between us again. It doesn't matter, it's his fault anyway.
"Sorry," he mutters, looking away, jaw clenched. The rest of the group joins us.
"So, the girl kind of left. Where do we go now?" Thalia asks, clearly a little anxious. "The computer register is there. Do we sign in or what?" She points to a podium a few feet away with a large computer stacked on top.
"We don't sign in, Thals. We hack it!" Leo shouts, jumping around and leaping to the computer, his fingers waggling around, itching to set on the keys to work his Leo magic. He set his hands down and started typing, muttering, "P-e-r-c-y J-a-c-k-s-o-n."
"What's the news?" asks Nico, unraveling from Thalia to stand by Leo. "Room 4." Leo taps his fingers on the keys several times more.
"Yep, through there and the second door on the right."
"Lead the way, my good friend," Nico says, mimicking a British accent. [A/N: Not all Brits speak like this. In fact, almost none] Leo grins and smacks Nico on the back, in a manly way. I don't see how it suggests friendship. It just looks painful. A serious good thwack.
"Onwards," mutters Thalia. She is strangely quiet today. I'm not sure what's got into her, but she could be worried like the rest of us, her hero quality ebbing away.
We move into the next room and seek out the door and, reaching it, stop. A tall man steps out of the room in an all black suit, followed by one in grey, the second sneering at us.
"We're here to see Percy Jackson," Annabeth says in her most important sounding voice yet.
"Ahh, Miss Chase. A pleasure to see you again." Annabeth scowls? Again? "And Mr and Miss Grace. Mr Zhang, Miss Levesque, Mr Valdez. Mr Underwood and Miss Arbor and finally, Mr Di Angelo and Miss Mclean. Lovely to see you again," he says slowly.
"What do you mean again?" Thalia asks, glancing sideways at Annabeth.
"We know each quite well. In face, I am surprised Miss Chase told you nothing of her, somewhat confusing, past."
"You swore," she growls. Little tense in here. "You swore on my mothers life." The man in the grey suit takes a threatening step toward Annabeth but she doesn't back down.
"Miss Grace, have you ever had a childhood friend that you lost?" Annabeth glares when he turns to Thalia. "Miss Chase should have told you that of all people what she went through, right Annabeth?" Now Annabeth is really angry. I think it might be the fact that he called her by his name. Man, he is asking for it.
"It's not the right time! I am going to tell them, just not yet!" Annabeth shouted at him. He snorted. The transition of the conversation between them is familiar, like they are friends or have known each other for a while. How could that happen, we only just got here?
"You wouldn't know the right timing if it came and hit you in the face shouting at you," he snarled. Bad move.
SMACK!
Next second, the man was out cold on the floor, the other dude in black, running off for reinforcements. There is no point going after him, Percy is priority. After Annabeth punches the guy, I swear I hear her mutter,
"I know who my mother is, even if it's not who you think." Don't look at me, I don't know who her mother is.
Percy's POV
I am not crazy, just listen...there are voices outside the door. Voices that I haven't heard here before. There is some mumbling then some louder shouting and a really loud, SMACK!
There are a few more words and my door clicks open. I lay back, trying to look indifferent, expecting the same two men and not a very angry blonde girl, standing alongside her, my other friends. Every one. I leap up, running to Annabeth, flinging my arms around her thin neck and grinning like a small child on the Christmas morning.
"Percy," Thalia begins. "We gotta go. Like right now."
"I have missed you all so much!" I shout, not caring about anyone who might be outside. I remove myself from Annabeth and hug the cluster that is my friends, all standing awkwardly just outside.
"We have really got to go, Perce," Nico urged, ushering me out of the door.
"Why? I know I need to get out, but seriously, we got time," I say, shrugging it off. Nico's eyes blaze for only a second before he grabs my arm and hauls me out into the corridor, footsteps pounding as his head whips round, looking for somewhere to go. I speak up again, "Look the door is just there, we could just leave now." Nico's eyes flit to the door then back to me, then to Annabeth. Why Annabeth?
"Okay, back-up may come, probability says no one will no who he is. Reason says everyone will. Now they know who we are so I say we pretend we are supposed to be there, like in all the spy movies," Thalia says, taking control. Good, she deserves her hero moment. Annabeth nods in appreciation and smiles at Thalia who smiles back, glad for some reason. Since when did Annabeth lead this thing?
"Visitor pass for Percy?" Frank mutters, handing me a green lanyard with a badge attached to it claiming I am a 'VISITOR'.
Like hell.
Ahh well, always out with a bang, as we learn, going through the doors to our escape. I guess they really do look into these things.
I stand at the front of our little group, shrugging away Nico's grip, and Annabeth comes to stand beside me. It's almost reassuring that she is here, even if I don't know her. But, like I've always said about her, there is something different. I know her, somehow. But maybe she doesn't know me. Or maybe it isn't that confusing. Or maybe it's more confusing. Who knows? Not me.
Gathered at the entrance just after the elevator is a large group of people, all dressed in dark suits and wearing a face that says 'back off dude or you die by my glaring skills'. I kinda almost laughed. Their staring match is nothing compared to Annabeth's steely glares.
"We have you trapped. You cannot escape," remarks a particularly short guard, scowling through his glinting green eyes, but showing nothing on his face. I need to practice how people do that, face not matching with eye feelings. Seems impossible.
"Yeah, well we're not here for conversation, buddy." Guess who? Piper. I know, I didn't think she could pull off that kind of malice either. Jason grinned stupidly at her, looking sort of...proud? Thalia glared at him but he didn't notice, just kept smiling. Man, he would pay for that later. I don't feel sorry for him in the slightest.
"The blonde one is her, sir," claims a tall girl standing at the side. The shorter man moves toward Annabeth, taking her wrist in a firm grip and twisting her arm around behind her back.
"Thank you Miss Charleston [A/N: One of the best dances EVER!]. You can have a promotion; I'm sure we'll find a job for you somewhere." The girl nods and slinks off to the back of the crowd. Well, this could get difficult. Might be more difficult if you didn't have a group of ten ADHD people who can seriously throw a punch and are threatened by men in suits who have just taken their friend. You really expect us to do nothing?
Bad idea.
I think that about wraps it up for this chapter
Hope it was to your satisfaction :D Who likes the new cover? And if you spot any mistakes, I'll change it or something :)
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