I DONT OWN PJO! THIS GOES FOR THE ENTIRE STORY!

Then, Sally heard a scream that would haunt her for the rest of her life. After a minute or two, the screaming stopped as Sally recognized the sound of a needle entering skin and the sigh from Annabeth as what seem like morphine entered her system. A sentence or two from the man confirmed this. Then, there sound was cut knew that the sound of Annabeth screaming would haunt him for the rest of his life. She screamed liked she was on fire, and Percy wouldn't be surprised if she thought she were. She only quieted when Bruce injected her with something- morphine, he presumed. After that, she sat, eyes closed, on the brink of unconsciousness.

Percy hoped that the principal would agree to talk. He didn't think he could stand what Annabeth went through, let alone anything near what they did to her. He was already very weak, the edges of his vision slightly blurry. He felt like any more abuse to his body would kill him, and with the way these men were acting, it could very well be an accurate statement.

He thought about his life, what he had done. He had had a pretty easy life, though not without some difficulties. His father, Pons had left them when he was only three, and hadn't come back until he was nine. Over frequent correspondence they had had over those years, Pons told them that he had become an alcoholic when Percy was one, and had left for rehab and to get his life back in order. Once he had got a job at a marine research company, he began sending them money every month, which took off the burden his mom had been feeling to provide them with a decent life.

He had seen his dad once in those years, when he had been on a business trip to New York and had stopped by. When he was finally transferred to New York, Pons moved back in with them. There he told them the reason he didn't come back sooner was that he was afraid that getting back into a normal routine would have him interacting with his friends, and therefore, copious amounts of temptation and alcohol. He told them he needed to totally ready to walk past numerous party stores every day, and that living in southern Pennsylvania, where there is not a lot of alcohol helped him get off it. S of now, his father had be sober for 12 years, something they celebrated every year on the first day his father was sober.

Contrary to what most people thought, he didn't hold a grudge for his father because of what he did. On the other hand, he was very proud. He didn't think that many other men would have the courage to leave their families in order to be a better father. Hid mother had once told a friend that it was a sign of true love.

He also had struggled with ADHD and dyslexia throughout his life. He had been kicked out five schools when he was younger until they realized he had ADHD. He had to have a tutor until he was thirteen to help him read and write homework. After that, he was able to learn techniques that helped him see the letters.

Other than that, he had had a good life, one full of laughter and smiles. Percy didn't want to lose that. He was determined to survive, despite how bleak the odds may be.

Apparently this train of thought Percy had been having had lasted the five minutes break because then Bruce came back into his view and unmated the computer. He smirked and said to Officer Blowfis who was now standing back in view of the webcam, "Has Alfred made his decision?"

Taking a deep breath, Officer Blowfis said with a grim look on his face, "Yes, he has."

"Well, what is it? I am not a patient man!" Bruce replied angrily

"He has decided that he will talk to you, on the condition you release the children into police custody during the talks."

Bruce's face adopted a pensive look for a couple of moments. Percy allowed a sliver of hope to enter. They may be getting out alive! But then Percy reminded himself about whom they were being held by. Bruce obviously wouldn't agree to that.

As if reading his mind, Bruce finally spoke up. "I don't know if that is a fair trade. How do I know that you will still talk to me after you have the kids?"

Suddenly, the principal burst into the view to the camera and said, "You have my word Bruce, that I will keep talking to you. I just want those kids out of there."

Bruce gave another minutes thought before saying with a sly grin on his face, "Well, I do want to talk to you, so we can do one thing. How about I release little miss Kate right now?"

"Why just her?" Officer Blowfis asked.

"Because," Bruce said, "I need some insurance that Alfred will continue to talk to me even after we release one of these kids. As for why I picked the girl, well, she does have a serious injury and I assume that is whom the parents would pick if they got to choose. Now, take it or leave it." Bruce finished with a huge I-rune-this-show-and-you-know-it grin on his face.

Percy's heart raced. He would be left? They would rather leave him with the kidnappers that had probably killed someone in their time, than Annabeth? It was probably because of the injury she had just sustained, Percy knew, but he couldn't help but freak out. With a tremendous amount of will, he pushed the thoughts down and focused on the present. He turned his attention back to the screen and Bruce.

Officer Blowfis came back on the screen with an even more grim expression than before. He turned his gaze towards Percy. He gave him a sorrow filled expression and mouthed 'sorry kid' before turning to Bruce and saying, "We will do it." Before Bruce could reply though, Officer Blowfis continued talking, "We will send someone to the door of the school to wait. You will pick one man to take Kate to the entrance, where you will set her down and walk ten paces away. You will then let us go in and take Kate and walk out. That is how we are going to do things."

Bruce nodded. "It's a deal then. Have someone there in two minutes."

That's not necessary. Someone is already there. "Officer Blowfis replied.

Bruce nodded. "Well then, lets us do this." He turned to his comrades. "Gabr here will take Kate to the entrance."

Even as he talked, Gabr untied Annabeth and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. He gave a nod towards the screen and walked out.

Bruce watched him walk out then said to Tristan and Ulisse, "Get the boy over here in a chair. Now!" The two scrambled up and one ran over to Percy and started untying his bonds while the other got even more rope and a chair right next to Bruce. The first man, Tristan grabbed him roughly and dragged him over to the chair where Ulisse tied him to the chair, but left his arms free for some reason. Just then, Gabr came back into the room, without Annabeth. Percy's heart lighted at the thought of her safe.

Bruce turned his attention back to the computer screen where Alfred and Officer Blowfis were standing. "Now Alfred, let's get started. First, we are going to send a few ground rules."

Bruce turned towards Percy. "Leroy, what is your dominant hand?" Knowing what might happen, Percy lied and said, "My left."

Bruce looked up at Ulisse, Tie down his left, but put his right on the table." Percy swore mentally that he caught the lie. The he look at the screen. "Every time I ask a question, you are going to answer truthfully. If I think you aren't I am going to crush one of the fingers on this boys dominant hand, then his hand itself. If you still lie, we will do the same to his left. Got it?" Alfred gulped and nodded. Percy resisted the urge to gulp right along with him.

Bruce nodded and mockingly pulled out a sheet of paper with a list of questions written on it. "Ok, first question. Where did you put the money?"

Alfred paled and after a moment's hesitation said, "I-in the pl-pl-plane."

Bruce gave a grin and said, "Are you sure about that?" Alfred nodded. "I don't think so. You see, Marquez here was on the plane at the time and there was never any money."

Percy paled. Why did he have to lie? Did he purposely want to cause Percy pain?

Bruce turned to Tristan who had produced a small hammer from god knows where. "Start with the pointer." He said. Then, the hammer cam down on his finger not one, not two, but three times. Percy tried his hardest, but against his will, a small whimper, then another escaped his mouth. Accompanying that were a few tears, but other than that Percy kept his pain to himself.

Without missing a beat, Bruce said, "Second question! Where did you put the codes?"

Again, Alfred hesitated before saying, "I gav-gave them to Filipe. He said that he gave them to you."

"Them why did he never come to me speaking about such codes. You still have them on you don't you? Think you can bring us to a halt in we don't have access to one of our warehouses. Newsflash, it didn't stop us." Then he turned to Tristan and beckoned for him to crush Percy's second finger.

Tristan complied. Again he brought the hammer down three times, and again Percy tried to hold back his whimpers of pain. Only unlike last time, this time, he couldn't keep any of them in. He cried out in pain.

Through a haze of pain, Percy noticed shadows moving behind him. What were they?

Then, People in SWAT and police uniforms flooded the room. Shouts of "hands up!" and, "Put the gun down!" Filled his ears. Then, one of the officers was coming over to him and untying him. When the person finished, they picked him up and started towards

the exit, away from where officers where now tying up the five men.

He carried Percy outside; whispering reassurances that 'It was over' and 'He was safe' filled his ears. But Percy couldn't hear him. All he could think was that it hurt! Now that he was out of the grasp of Bruce, Percy let himself go. The pain was bursting inside him, and he let it. He floated in it, losing himself. Everything faded from view. He felt his breath quicken and his skin go cold.

After a while, He could hear cries of, "He's in shock! Get an IV and get him to the hospital." Then, he was on a bed, and a needle was going into his skin. He heard someone say something, but before he could figure out what, his world went black.

Sorry if the ending felt rushed, but I didn't know any other way to do it. I was really unsure about this chapter, some please feel free to provide feedback, both good and bad. If anyone from the Charlotte, NC area is reading this, IO hope that you are safe from the flooding. My house is out-of-the-way but if yours isn't, stay safe.