Chapter 10

Fun was not really how I would describe the situation. Annabeth and I found out that we were being held in a room that was part of Gabe Ugliano's hideout. So, we had been correct; he was currently in the depths of Grand Central Station. But, unfortunately, Annabeth and I had found this out the hard way.

He left the room soon after our little talk, saying that he needed to get some things, all with an evil grin on his face. What he got out of keeping two teenagers tied up and locked in a room, I still didn't understand.

But I knew he hated us, especially me. What else I didn't know was why he killed my mother, but was too upset to think about it at the moment. I leaned against the wall, trying to hide the tears streaming down my face, while Annabeth watched me, clear pain in her eyes.

"D-Don't worry, Percy," she assured, holding back a sob herself, "We'll find a way out of here, no matter what it takes."

I should have been comforting her, but right then, some of the anger had drained out of me and was replaced by grief. The loss of my mother came back to me all over again, and this time, it was even harder to bear, knowing that her killer was keeping me captive.

But at least, that little spark of hope told me, you're not alone.

And Annabeth seemed to be trying to make this clear. She inched closer to me, not saying anything, but her presence did warm me, at least enough to let me speak.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," I murmured. "I dragged you into this. If you hadn't found me at the ball, you would have never -"

"I would have come after Gabe Ugliano myself," Annabeth replied, "and might have gotten hurt."

The tiniest smile played on my lips. "Knowing you, I don't think so."

She chuckled, and truly, it was nice to hear. Maybe… maybe everything would be alright… Annabeth and I had come this far, after all, and surely we could escape some stupid criminal. When I thought of him again, anger bubbled inside me, which I knew I could use to my advantage. Yeah, he was stupid…

That's when he came in, grinning wickedly. "Well, well, well," he hissed. "Looks like you two lovebirds and trying to make yourselves feel better. It's not going to work, you little brats."

"And what makes you think that?" Annabeth shot at him, her eyes narrowed.

He gave a sinister chuckle and raised his hand. I saw that there was something shiny in it, and when it caught the light, I saw that it was… my insides dropped.

He was holding a knife.

Annabeth managed to keep her brave face. "What are you going to do with that?"

"What do you think, smart girl? Cut someone! Oh, and not just someone. Your boyfriend." Gabe Ugliano aimed the knife at me.

Well, at least he wasn't going to hurt Annabeth… but he was going to hurt me… I had never gotten seriously hurt by a criminal before, maybe scratched once or twice, but that was it. Sure, they had been holding weapons, but so had I. Right then, my hands were tied behind my back, and - I had discovered not long ago - my tool belt was gone, as was Annabeth's.

"No," Annabeth whispered. "You can't… he doesn't deserve to -"

"Shut up, girl." He picked her up, though she put up quite a fight, and tied her to the far wall, so that she couldn't move very much, let alone help me.

Gabe Ugliano came up to me, his disgusting yellow teeth showing as he smiled, waving his knife around in his hand. I glared back up at him, anger still welling up inside of me, trying not to think of what was to come and putting on a brave face.

"Go ahead," I told him. "Hurt me. That's what you did to my mother, wasn't it? In fact, you killed her."

"That's right, I did," Gabe Ugliano replied, and cut me on the arm. It stung, but not that bad; I could take it. I wasn't finished talking, either.

"Why?" I wanted to know. "Why did you kill her? What did she ever do to you?"

"So you want me to tell you the story," Gabe Ugliano growled, cutting me on the other arm. Blood trickled down it. "Fine, then. Your mother and I knew each other not so long ago; when she first started working at the candy shop. I thought she was beautiful, and immediately fell in love…"

I scrunched up my face with disgust. "Did you really think that you'd ever have a chance, you ugly old -"

"Be quiet!" Gabe Ugliano snapped, slashing his knife across my leg, but I was too intent on listening to notice the pain. "That was the problem. Though your mother was always nice to me, when I went to visit the candy shop just so I could see her, my feelings eventually went to far and I proposed to her."

I couldn't believe it. This awful man could have been my stepdad? In what weird world could that have happened…?

"But," Gabe Ugliano continued gruffly, "she refused."

"Well, obviously," I grumbled.

My captor let out an angry yell of rage and cut me again. This time, it was deeper, and I grit my teeth from the pain. "So I got angry! And I started my career as a criminal."

"You started stealing things and drunk driving," Annabeth murmured from the corner of the room. "You killed Leo's mother."

"Oh, right, that Esperanza Valdez," Gabe Ugliano grumbled. "What a nut."

"You're the nut! You took a parent away from an innocent child -"

Our kidnapper waved the bloody knife in her face. "You want to get hurt?"

"Don't touch her," I growled, my voice icy cold.

Thankfully, Gabe Ugliano ignored her and turned back to me. "And eventually -"

"You killed my mother," I finished.

"Yes!" And Gabe cut me again. My body sizzled with pain; it was really starting to hurt now. But now I knew; I knew who had killed my mother, and why he had done it…

"And then I discovered that the F.B.I. was coming after me for my latest crimes," Gabe Ugliano yelled, now on a spree of slicing me, "especially you! And when I discovered who you are… I was madder than ever!"

"Stop!" Annabeth yelled as Gabe Ugliano once again took his anger out on me. My vision was starting to blur. "It's not his fault! You don't have to hurt him!"

"Shut up, girl!" Our captor shouted in reply at her. "Soon, I'll take you down next, and I'm pretty sure you're boyfriend won't be too happy about that, am I right?" He turned to me.

"I'll already be dead," I croaked.

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you," Gabe Ugliano sneered. "I'm going to make you suffer a fate worse than death."

Once again I was reminded of those Greek myths, that a face worse than death could only be one thing - Tartarus, the place where the most damned in life would go. I wished I could send this evil git to Tartarus…

"Just know," I told him, "that this is all for my mother… that I'm letting you torture me for her…"

"Don't speak of her!" Gabe Ugliano thundered, getting really angry now, and getting worse with the knife. But I was getting angry, too.

"Why not?" I yelled, with all the strength that I had left, "If anything, you don't deserve to speak of her!"

"That's it!" Gabe Ugliano screamed. "You, Percy Jackson, will never see the light of day again!" And that's when he did something I hadn't been expecting. He pulled out a gun.

And at that moment, something else that I hadn't been expecting happened. The door opened and people in dark clothes came in, lead by someone utterly familiar…

"Stand down, Ugliano!" he yelled, but it was already too late - the bullet had come soaring straight at me.

And at that moment, I blacked out.