Percy

"We in the right place, Perce?" Nico asked.

I checked my phone, which had the address and apartment number on it. "Yup, this is the place." We walked in and took the elevator to the 5th floor, beginning our search for our guy.

When we finally got there, Nico knocked on the door. It creaked open. We shared a look and pulled out our guns. I gave a nod and he pushed open the door, entering the room with me close on his heels. We stood in the living room when I heard talking in the kitchen. I put my finger up to my lips and nodded at the closed door.

Nico and I stood at either side of the door. I pulled out my cell phone, hit record, and then I listened in to their conversation.

"I'm not a patient man, Anthony." A male voice snarled.

"I-I know. I'll get the money, I swear." A second stuttered, obviously scared. I moved my phone closer to the door.

"Yeah you better; you owe me a grand Smith. You bring the money to warehouse 27 at noon tomorrow or else; because if I have to pay your debt, you won't like the outcome."

"Warehouse 27? On which base?"

I could hear the animistic growl of annoyance that came out of the first man's throat. "The base your girlfriend's on! Oh and by the way, did you knock her up yet?"

"N-no."

"Damn, I could have used that as leverage."

"What about Madison?" The second voice, Anthony, questioned.

"Who's Madison?" My unknown male said, trying to act innocent.

"You know who she is!" Anthony roared.

I looked over at Nico, he shared the same look. "Oh yes, your girlfriend owes me a pretty penny as well. She's four weeks overdue on her payment. Maybe this will get her to…quicken her pace."

"Where is she? Is she alright? What are you doing to her!"

"Relax, Mr. Smith, your little friend is doing just fine. She'll be even better when you bring me my money, and make sure Kelly comes with her dough too or she dies." Suddenly I heard shuffling coming towards us. I ducked behind moving boxes, Nico behind the couch.

After a few minutes I poked my head out to make sure it was clear before standing up. "Holy shit!" A man yelled. "Take anything you want just don't hurt me!"

I walked out from behind the boxes and pulled out my I.D. "Special agent Jackson, CSI; are you Anthony Smith?"

"Look man, I didn't know it was stolen, I swear!"

I looked at Nico and rolled my eyes. "We're not here to arrest you...yet. We just need to ask you some questions."

He looked up at us apprehensively through his black bangs that came down to just over his eyes. The rest of his hair was in a crazy mop, not sexy-messy like mine, but like crazy person messy. His clothes looked like they came straight out of the dumpster, and he smelled like he personally went down there to get them. I held my breath as best I could while I talked to him. "Do you know a woman by the name of Mrs. Kelly Peters?"

Anthony leaned back into the couch with his arms folded over his chest. "No, what's it to ya?"

I nodded and looked down, fiddling with my backpack that was sitting in front of me while trying to keep a smile from my features; of course failing, I've been told I'm easily amused. This guy was making it hard not to laugh as he attempted to look like a badass.

"So who's Madison?" Surprise and worry crept their way onto his face. I pushed him and asked again.

"She's my girlfriend's daughter alright!"

Nico handed him a picture of Kelly. "This her?" He nodded. "That is Kelly Peters."

"No!" He slammed his hand against his thigh. "That's my girlfriend Kelly Simmons. She ain't married, not anymore. Madison is from her first marriage!"

I smacked Nico on the chest. "And we were under the impression she was someone else."

He chuckled. "So what do you think she was doing on an Airforce base?"

Anthony paused. "She's in the Airforce."

"She has no record of ever being in service, you know why Tony? Can I call you Tony? Because her name is Kelly Peters, she is the wife of a Pilot-Joe Peters-who is currently stationed in Iraq. You're girlfriend isn't who she says she is."

"Ever think she isn't who she tells you she is!" Tony exclaimed, but I could tell he was hesitating, like he was almost believing me; or at least starting to consider she lied to him.

I let Nico deliver the blow, I've never been good with telling people their loved ones were dead, or in this case, didn't even exist in the first place. "We ran prints, DNA, we didn't get a Kelly Simmons."

Nico and I shared a look when he collapsed into his hands; muttering incoherent sentences about he knows what. He didn't cry though, he didn't cry. "Tell us about your friend." Nico changed the subject. "Why do you owe him so much money?"

Tony looked up and shook his head; trying to clear his head. When he was finally ready, he scratched the back of his neck, embarrassment replaced his anguish. "I uh...have a gambling problem and borrowed money from him."

"I assume that means Kelly does too? Or is the 'pretty penny' she owes him for something else?" Suddenly my phone went off. "Keep going." I told Nico and walked outside the apartment to answer it. "Talk to me."

"Do you really answer your phone like that?" The familiar female voice teased though the connection.

I nearly face-palmed. "Annabeth this better be important!"

"Well, Mr. Impatient." She scoffed offended-ly. I rolled my eyes. 'So sensitive.' I thought but didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue. "Peters admitted to buying from a drug dealer on base. She said Anthony introduced her."

"Let me guess, warehouse 27."

"Um, yes." I could hear the curiosity in her voice as to how I knew that, as well as caution. "What information did you extract from Smith?"

"Well, when we got here he was talking to a guy. He said Anthony owed him a grand and Kelly owed a 'pretty penny', but didn't say for what; just a threat to pay it tonight at warehouse 27."

"That must have been the drug dealer! Did he see you? Did you get a good look at him? A name?" Annabeth pumped out questions like rapid fire.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down there speedy." I waved my hands around like she could actually see me attempting to calm her down. "No, no, and no; unfortunately. Nico and I were hiding behind furniture so we weren't seen."

I heard her sigh quietly from the other end. "I suppose that was a good idea Percy. Now that you know, go get more information out of Smith." With that she hung up. I pulled my phone away from my ear, staring at it for a moment before smiling and entering the apartment once more.

"So Mr. Smith." I said dramatically, sitting down in the couch again. "Tell me about your gambling addiction again."

"I uh, keep thinking that the next slot will be the jackpot, ya know?" Tony rubbed his hands together, almost greedily. "I've spent almost all life savings-"

"You don't have a gambling problem." I stopped him short. I don't have a long attention span, I didn't want to sit through him lying to us about non-existent gambling. "That man you owe money to, what do you really owe him for?" I could have said I knew it was for drugs, but I wanted him to say it.

When he looked up at me, his eyes dulled. "I don't know his name, I just know he sells out of warehouse 27. I got Kelly hooked, I was so stupid to get her involved again." He started hitting himself on the head repeatedly. Nico jumped up and restrained his hands.

"Hey, calm down Tony." I stood.

"No! It's all my fault!" He struggled against Nico, but a word about Nico, he's really strong. Not like, douche or body builder buff, but strong enough to hold down a grown man shot on cocaine. I took out my handcuffs, Nico shifted so I could get them around his wrists, and we led him out of the apartment.

I pulled my phone out and hit re-dial. As it rang, I watched the trees fly by from the passenger seat; finally she answered. "Malach."

"Ok, who is Malach?" I was going to get the answer this time.

"Percy, what do you want?" She sounded irritated.

I shook my finger in the air, even though I knew she couldn't see it. "Oh no, you're not getting away with it this time. Who's Malach?"

"I am hanging up now." Came her reply.

I had a quick battle in my head, deciding the case was more important than her phone greeting, I stopped her. "Alright, alright. We're on our way back with Smith."

"Why?"

I laughed. "Why? Why? Because we need to question him when he's not high on coke! Also so we can wire him for tonight."

"One can get high from a beverage?" Annabeth asked.

I sighed. "No Annabeth, 'coke' is another way of saying cocaine."

"Then why did you not just say cocaine?"

"Its a street-" I stopped and sighed, it wasn't worth the time to try to explain it to her. "Never mind. So you haven't been blown up again since we left, have you?"

Finally I got her to let out a small laugh. "No, perhaps their real target is not me, but you. Understandable."

"Understandable?" I scoffed. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." I opened my mouth to rebuttal, but the line went dead. I fake glared at my phone.

"That was a very strange conversation from my end." Nico commented.

I rolled my eyes. "Eyes on the road would ya!" I said, even though he hadn't taken his eyes off said pavement. He laughed but said nothing and the rest of the ride to the office was spent in a comfortable semi-silence with the radio as a background sound.

~~~Ignore the pretty page break~~~

I stared out the hotel window that night. I was on security detail again, but I didn't really mind; it gave me a chance to think and clear my head. Who needs sleep right?

The bust went by the book and we caught the dude, Marco Richardo, who the two owed money to. He wasn't a huge drug dealer, he only had about a dozen customers, but at least he was off the streets before he could become a big one.

But there was one thing that ate at me, where was Madison? She wasn't at the warehouse, and Marco says he's never heard of her until Smith started frantically asking about her; he only went along to use whoever she was as leverage. He passed his polygraph, so we could only bust him for the drugs. We checked his customers, they were all clean. It's like she basically disappeared!

In an act of frustration, I hit the wall then rested my forehead against it.

"We are missing something." I nearly jumped out of my socks at her soft comment.

"Yeah, when we rush me to the hospital because of a heart attack!" I whisper yelled at her.

The moon was on the end of it's cycle, so it was darker than normal, and I could barley see her form as it rose to a sitting position. "I am turning on the light." She told me.

I closed my eyes and waited for the light under my eyelids to open them again. "Thanks for warning me." I smiled at her.

She nodded in return and continued talking. "She did not just," She moved her hands in a bomb explosion. "Poof."

"Well no, humans don't go 'poof'." She gave me a look like 'I bet I could make one go poof'. "Normally."

"And mostly children," The blond stood and started pacing in front of me.

"Where could she go?" I wondered while trying not to oogle her body through the small tank top and short shorts she had worn to bed tonight. "It's not like she could get very far."

"Oh, and why not?" Annabeth stopped for a moment and turned to face me.

"Well, she's 8 for one thing, and I don't know how you get around in Israel, but you need money here or you're not getting very far." I told her.

She humphed at the idea. "For then, where could she be being kept? Or would she run for herself? Then where would she go? A relative?"

"I doubt she could get out of base, but then again, they let in a drug dealer and a drug addict in, so I'm not exactly confident in their system..." I mumbled the last bit to myself.

"She was indeed kidnapped then." Annabeth stated, but it was a kind of statement that demanded an answer and explanation.

I nodded, not wanting to find out what happened if I didn't answer. "I don't think it had to do with anything with the drug dealer or..." My voice trailed off.

I felt Annabeth's arm rub up against mine as I stared down the window. "Why did you stop?" She asked.

I pointed down. Below us, several men were unloading boxes, but that's not what stopped me. Two of the four of them had large guns, it was hard to see what kind. All I could really see was it was big and automatic; not something you want to be staring down the barrel of. "I told you." Annabeth mumbled.

"Told me what?" I asked without taking my eyes off the four men.

"That they would find me."

"Oh I never doubted you on that." I told her, finally pulling my gaze away and looking to the side at her. "Just didn't think they'd be that quick."

"Never underestimate your opponent." She said, almost subconsciously, as she watched the men below us.

"What do you think is in the boxes?" I changed the subject. "More weapons?"

Annabeth shook her head. "C4."

"How do you know?"

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Israelis like to blow things up, but it is more of a...last choice than a direct approach."

I scratched my head. "So why are they unloading it now?"

"Like I said, it is a last choice. They are most likely going to try to shoot me first, but if it does not work," She gestured down. "They will blow the hotel up."

"Last resort." I corrected. "When do you think they're going to try to shoot you?"

"I do not know exactly, but I would guess soon. We do not like to wait, almost like your attention problem."

I looked at her in shock. "Attention problem? I do not have an attention issue!"

Annabeth laughed. She actually laughed! It was contagious and I found myself laughing with her even though she was laughing at me.

"Aw, I missed the joke, yes?"


So who's the mystery voice belong too? O,o

I hate to inform y'all you will have to wait a week before you find out. I'm going out of state to do some volunteer work during spring break, so I can't update.

Always yours,

~Arty