Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and its characters as it belongs to its rightful owner(s)
Annabeth's Point of View
I hated being embarrassed.
I knew how typical teens used to dump a person's hand in a cup of warm water at a sleepover so they would pee all over their sleeping bag, which was a high level of embarrassment. I had done that before. This was a little bit like that except in public with people staring and whispering, and instead of urine, it was coffee, and instead of a sleeping bag, it was my clothes.
I stomped towards my apartment. Everywhere I went people laughed and snickered and some even snapped pictures. They were all rewarded with a glare. I never realized humans were so mean. Who took pictures to humour themselves to others' miseries? I promised myself, if any of those pictures went viral and labelled me as "crazy coffee spiller gets angry", the poster would get assassinated. I had the power, or I'd do it myself if necessary.
The burn of the coffee was horrible. My skin felt like it was going to peel off but I resisted it since being in the crime business made me do dangerous things which allowed me to be familiar with emotional and physical pains. I remembered getting my first bullet in my leg when I was eighteen and stabbed the first time in the shoulder when I was sixteen. The pathetic heat from the coffee looked like an ant in pain levels.
"Woah, slow down buster." Thalia jogged beside me with her unfinished beverage in her hand.
"What the hell is took you so long?" I asked.
"I was hungry. I bought some chips. And, oh yeah, I got the number of the guy who spilled his coffee on you," she said.
"Why?" I entered my apartment building, turning to the staircase and taking them two at a time with Thalia trailing behind.
"Because he was offering us money, Annabeth. Or just your laundry bill, but still."
I resided on the second floor, second apartment, so it wasn't a long climb. The hallway was lit with these lamps that were scattered everywhere. They were equipped with these light bulbs which really revealed the ugly beige paintwork and this shade of green on the doors that didn't match the walls.
"And," she continued, "he's kind of cute too."
I scoffed, "To others like you, he is. Maybe you're part of the clumsy community as well."
I unlocked my door and we entered my messy apartment. I tossed my jacket aside. Thalia waited while I changed and then sat on the couch.
"Give me the number," I said.
"You're not going to rip it, are you?"
"No, just pass it!" I snatched the card from Thalia's waiting hands.
Percy Masters, I read.
"His name is geeky," I insulted.
"You think everything is geeky," she replied, taking the remote and turned on the television.
"How can he make a living as a teller?" I said. "I thought geeks worked in libraries and museums."
She exhaled in annoyance, "Again, he is not a geek, and he is head teller, Annabeth, read properly. I guess he's like the boss and gets paid more."
I tossed the card on the table. I knew I sounded arrogant but I really didn't like this guy.
"Do you want to stay here for the night so we can get that car bright and early in the morning?" I asked and she agreed.
"What time is it?" Thalia asked, impatient.
"Almost ten," I replied.
Thalia followed a bunch of rich folks and their cars for a while now. She tracked the location of each vehicle and for how long it was there and how frequently and analysed the best times to steal them. She said there should be one coming soon. It would be parked in the back of this convenience store. A black Audi, according to her. The owner went in daily to buy cigarettes and newspapers.
We were sitting across the street in a tow truck. Thalia had a pair of binoculars pressed on her eyes, as it never occurred to me to bring one for myself. I had already blocked a few cameras nearby so we could go and leave without the acknowledgements of others while she paid the convenience store clerk to stall the owner of the Audi for at least ten minutes.
"I see him," she called. I waited until she told me the man had parked and entered. She signalled me to drive. He would not have been able to see his car from inside the store, which was a great advantage.
I waited for cars to move. This was the part that took a long time. As soon as there was an opening, I slammed on the gas and stirred left and then right into the parking area in the back. I spotted the black Audi near the middle beside another car.
"Go, go!" Thalia urged.
"Don't rush me!" I handled a stealth tow truck, very speedy, which allowed me to work in daytime as bystanders would think I was taken a broken car or collecting from a debtor. My truck looked like a regular pickup truck with this powerful engine, appearing nothing like a towing vehicle. I started manoeuvring the stinger arm under the car and carefully slid it behind it. The stinger captured the tires with its arm.
"Done?"
"Not just yet," I said. I secured the brackets so the tires cradled comfortably and lifted the tow boom and the front wheels of the Audi came off the ground.
"There," I boasted. "Thirty-seven seconds."
"Forty-one seconds," Thalia corrected. "I counted properly."
I drove out the truck from the parking area and waited for a clearing once again and merged into the traffic.
"Success!" Thalia said, opening a soda.
"Who do you want to sell this one to?" I asked.
She thought for a while. "How about Will's? The other guy is getting cheap with us."
Will's was this warehouse where a man named Will sold and bought cars. It was made for criminals like us really, because we were one of his only customers. We brought him vehicles, stolen obviously and he knew, and he purchased them for a good price. He would either sell some cars there but most of the time he would tear them apart and he auctioned the parts on the internet.
When we arrived there, Will quickly gave us some quarters and cents so we were able to scratch off the anti-theft markings and peel the stickers. I disabled the devices that may give away our position while Will pried off the licence plates. Thalia found some change which she kept for herself and I grabbed a few business magazines from the glove compartment.
"Now who's geeky?" she mocked.
There was a briefcase in the back which included a few pens and highlighters and random scribbles that read "Lunch at twelve with Jane" or "Say happy birthday to Richard". I thought it would have contained a laptop or some important files, instead it settled with worthless stationery. Will took it since he called it.
He opened the truck to discover nothing but a few water bottles and an ice scraper. He thanked us and gave cash.
Percy's Point of View
Flinton was a small little bank on a street corner beside a gift shop. Few people ever went in there since other bank giants dominated in market, but it still managed to survive from services it made in other countries. I worked there. Or rather I worked for the FBI but they appointed me this one as an undercover job for my new identity.
I stood behind a counter. It was almost noon and it would be my lunch break soon. When I joined the intelligence agency, I thought I'd be shooting down bad guys and do car chases like on TV, but I've only been in a few dangerous situations. Heck, I never even had a bullet pierced inside of me before, which I guessed was a good thing, but all the great field agents have been shot at on TV! And I hadn't even been gun pointed by a serious threat.
A client entered, finally. He wanted to pay a few of his bills. Phone bills, specifically. They were over a few hundred of dollars of them, but I didn't ask why.
"Would that be all for today?" I said.
He nodded and left.
This man didn't even say anything, he just gestured. I would have thought it was rude, and then it occurred to me that the man may have been a mute. I didn't care anymore because finally twelve rang and my lunch break came. I could take a rest from doing nothing to doing something.
I dropped my nametag on the counter and speed walked to the nearest Subway and ordered. I was starving since I hadn't eaten breakfast. As I sat down by the window, I unwrapped my sandwich. I dialed a number on my cell phone while eating.
"Di Angelo," the other line answered.
"Nico, where are you?"
Nico Di Angelo was my partner, or sidekick even, because his official title was Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge. He was this kid, only a few years younger and me, who was very useful but clumsy at times.
"I'm still in D.C."
"When are you coming here then?"
"I don't know. Could be days or weeks," he said.
Last time I heard from him, he was helping with a forensic case in Washington D.C., where our headquarters were. Partners weren't supposed to be separated but our Operation Manager Chiron made an exception. Nico graduated with a degree in osteology but somehow he became a field agent like me by pulling a few strings. He was very handy in the lab which was why they needed him there.
"Do you have anything to report?" he said.
"No, not really. I am planning to follow her after. Last night, I also got her to know me."
"Well, continue- wait, Chiron wants to speak to you."
"Mr. Jackson," Chiron's deep boring voice said, "we have gotten new information about the gang and we believe we can take down the organisation if you can get closer and learn anything useful."
"I know. That's what I've been doing this whole time."
I admired this man greatly for the service he had done for the country and his ability to speak like a million languages and for holding his position in the agency longer than I have lived, but he had to retire. He was getting really old and redundant.
"I know that," he continued, "but I want you to get even closer. Do you understand?"
I frowned, "I honestly don't."
Chiron sighed, "I need you to have fake relationship."
"Huh? Who? Why?" I was disgusted by this idea, because being a stalker was apparently not good enough.
"In order to gather information obviously, Mr. Jackson. And to earn their trust." I heard papers shuffling. "You shall be the boyfriend of Ms. Annabeth Chase. If she already has a boyfriend, think of something. Do you know her?"
"Yes, but I don't think she likes me very much sir," I said.
I could almost hear him scowl. "And why is that?"
"Let's just say I had a coffee accident."
"Too bad, but you're a clever boy Jackson, you'll think of something."