CHAPTER SUMMARY

Nico plans to save his father. Will gets closer to Admiral Nakamura.

BEGINNING NOTES

Word Count: 3253
Rating: General Audiences
Content Warning: Cursing, Violence, Domestic Abuse (mentioned only)

Yes, yes, I'm bad at updating. I think I'm going to nix the write-each-chapter-then-publish thing and go back to writing the entire story and then posting. So, I'm going back to my usual system: write a chapter a day until I reach the end and then start posting again. So, give me 2-3 weeks to update, but when I do it'll be weekly like I keep saying I will.

And all the characters are owned by Rick Riordan.

April 2, 1943

To Mrs. Persephone di Angelo,

I took the liberty of reaching out to you this morning to warn you about your step-daughter's fiancé, the Colonel Erich Octavian. I dined with him and Miss di Angelo last night, and I did not sense harmony between the two.

The moment I was greeted by the Colonel, I knew he was power-hungry, and this impression was only strengthened last night. I will not bore you with the details, but it's needless to say that he was pursuing my favor with a ruthlessness that I cannot condone. Ruthlessness is for the battlefield, not the dinner table. Those who think of nothing but power have no honor, and they do not serve anyone but themselves. I have noticed this is a common German trait. It is not so in Tokyo.

Miss di Angelo is a kind and charming young woman. During the dinner, the Colonel handled her in a way that is far from honorable or even decent. I suspected something more than what I saw and followed the two of them after dinner. True to my thoughts, I heard the unmistakable sounds of shouting and, eventually, violence. I suspect he is beating your step-daughter. Some men may be comfortable with this practice, but I am not.

I know every parent wants a match for their daughter that will secure her future and legacy, but, ranked though he is, this is not a union that will end in anything but trouble. So, I offer you this solution to bring to your husband: I am happy to take Miss di Angelo's hand in marriage. She would be well-cared for, honored, and her children's legacy will be secure. I urge you all to accept this proposal. I do not want to see such a woman harmed any further.

With regards,

Admiral Ethan Nakamura

_NICO_

I had to save my father.

He meant everything to me. He had been there through it all: when my mother died, when the Nazis invaded, when Bianca took it upon herself to spy on that German colonial. He'd been there for me through the tears, the anger, the stress... everything. What was I if I couldn't return the favor?

I ran faster than I'd ever run before to Papà's office in the Palazzo Braschi, but he was nowhere to be seen. I darted around the halls, thinking of every possible place he could be, but to no avail. Finally, finally, I heard his voice through the door of a conference room. I reached for the handle without hesitation, without thinking about the danger of spoiling Luke's plot in front of the fascist Italians, though I knew full well that some nobody accusing a member of King Victor-Emmanuel's court would be nothing less than suicide. I didn't care to think. All I knew was that my father needed me.

But, it turned out that, even if I had worried of the danger, it would not have mattered. The handle of the door wouldn't turn. It was locked.

I was about to scream and bang on the door when a security guard shouted, "Hey!" and sprinted to me. Before I could blink, the guard grabbed me from behind, saying, "No trespassers!"

"Let me go!" I screamed. "I have to get in!"

"What is your business here?!" he demanded. I struggled to free from his grip, but he was too strong. He kept shouting, "What is your business here?!" but all I could think to respond what, "Let me go! I have to get inside!" My voice got more shrill and desperate each time, and his got more and more aggressive. I hoped Papà could hear our voices, but the walls were too thick for that. Security reasons, blah blah blah.

The security guard locked me in a chokehold, a silent threat in his eyes. I stopped struggling, though it killed me. But I knew that it was no use getting myself killed or maimed. I was the only one who knew about the assassination attempt. If I died, Papà would die too.

"Listen here, kid," the security guard hissed. "Il Duce and his Majesty are both in that room. Authorized. Personnel. Only."

"You think I want to stab the leaders of our country?" I managed, though the pressure on my throat was unbearable.

"The Resistance is made up of men your age," he said. "I saw Lucetti fire at Il Duce in '26. Adolph Hitler was nearly bombed less than a month ago. You think that'll happen on my watch?"

"I'm not goddamn Lucetti," I said. "My only crime is being around his age."

"So, you just happened to sneak into the Palazzo Braschi and find the one room with our nation's greatest leaders in it on the one day they are together?"

I rolled my eyes. That I could still do in a chokehold. "You think if I was a freedom fighter trying to assassinate Il Duce and his Majesty, I'd try the front door? Are you honestly that stupid?"

His hold on my neck got so tight I thought my eyes would pop out of my skull. I knew I'd made a mistake talking back to him, and now I was going to die. Why could I never control my tongue?

"Please," I gasped with my remaining breath. "Assassination attempt... evening... trying to warn-" but I ran out of air before I could continue.

"Uh-huh, and I'm his Majesty's son," the security guard whispered in my ear, dripping with sarcasm. His grip tightened even further, and I blacked out.

I woke on the floor of a cell. I was in jail. The security guard had thrown me in jail. The clock read quarter-past three. I had less than two hours to save my father, and I was stuck behind bars. I scrambled off the floor as fast as I could and made my way to the front of the cell. I grabbed the bars and screamed, "Let me out! Let me go!" I was desperate; I sounded crazed. But I didn't care. I had to get out of there.

It was a small place, the kind with only a handful of cells and the police officer's desk in an alcove in the same room. And, sure enough, a single officer was sitting behind the desk. He looked up at me, unfazed by my screaming. He looked bored more than anything else.

"So the terrorist awakes," he mused. "There's no need to shout."

"Please," I begged, tears in my eyes. "I have to get out of here!"

"Sorry, kid," he said. "You pissed off the wrong people."

"But I'm innocent!" I protested.

"Innocent or no, I am required to keep you locked up until his Majesty's address this evening. Err on the side of caution and so forth."

"There's going to be an assassination attempt at that address!" I protested. "Please, please, if you can't let me out, tell someone! Do something!"

"Assassination attempt from whom? the police officer asked. He clearly didn't believe me.

I hesitated. I couldn't accuse Castellan without getting myself in even more trouble. He was a nobleman, and I wasn't. Even if my family had money and power, we weren't a part of the aristocracy. "I can't tell you," I said.

"And why is that?"

"You'd never believe me."

"Try me, boy."

Well, I've got nothing to lose, I thought.

I told him a summary of the conversation I'd overheard between Castellan and Kronos. The police officer looked mildly interested but quite unconcerned. "Just put extra security around!" I begged. "What's the harm in that?"

"Money. Logistics. Inducing panic for no good reason."

"Then let me go," I begged. "I know you know that all I did was talk back to a security guard. There's no reason to keep me here. If I tried to kill anyone, I failed. If I'm lying about the assassination attempt, no one will know. But if I'm right, and you keep me, you'll be the one to blame. I can stop it, I know I can, but you have to let me go!"

The officer thought about it for a moment. Then, to my shock, he walked over and unlocked the cell. "Go," he said. "You've got an hour-and-a-half to work your magic. At least it'll be interesting."

I breathed a sigh of relief; I couldn't believe my luck. Now, all I had to do was come up with a plan and execute it. An hour and a half until the reckoning... and my little adventure had given me an idea.

_WILL_

The morning after the Admiral's feast, I woke with a pit in my stomach. I'd accidentally won Admiral Nakamura's favor, and, moreover, Colonel Octavian's jealous rage. That could only spell trouble. Admiral Nakamura may be a powerful man, but he wouldn't stay in Berlin forever. Without his favor, without his protection, the Colonel would be free to do as he pleased.

I had two secrets he could exploit. All he had to do was find them, and I knew that if I played my hand wrong, he'd stop at nothing to do so. There was a small chance that Miss di Angelo could warn me of any foul play, of course, but could I count on her to betray her fiancé for me? Perhaps she'd tell Miss Chase, and she would pass it onto me, but those were a lot of if's... and counted on the fact that neither woman would be disgusted if they found out I had been a freedom fighter or a homosexual.

All I had ever wanted was to keep my head down and stay away from the action until I could find a way home to my brother and sister. Was that too much to ask? Why was I here? Why was I forced to watch what the world had come to?

I had barely gotten dressed when the man in question barged into my room. "Lieutenant Solace!" Octavian snarled through grit teeth. He looked downright murderous. "The Admiral has asked to see you."

"The- the Admiral?" I stammered. My heart sank. Any slight doubts I'd entertained, the reassuring thoughts that I hadn't won his favor, that Colonel Octavian's ire was a fantasy, died with those words. Someone like Admiral Nakamura would only ask to see me if he'd selected me for a task or if he was about to hand out capital punishment. And I couldn't see what I would've done between yesterday evening and this morning to qualify for hanging.

"Yes, the Admiral," Octavian hissed. "Are you deaf as well as dumb? I hope you don't show such stupidity in front of the Führer."

I seriously doubted he hoped that. If anything, he was rooting for it.

"I don't interact with the Führer much," I said quickly, hoping to ease his fears. I didn't want him to think I had favor with Hitler as well as Nakamura. "In fact, I cannot think of a single time we've conversed."

"Go on!" Octavian shouted. "Get dressed! Get going! Do you think the Admiral is a man who is to be kept waiting?!"

"I- I am dressed," I told him.

Octavian's lip curled, sadistically amused. "You call this mess dressed? Very well. Come then. I just hope Admiral Nakamura is a fan of sloppiness."

We made it to Nakamura's office without incident, though the silence between Octavian and I was deafening. I had hoped that Miss di Angelo or Miss Chase would meet us there, but I was sadly disappointed. Not that I was surprised; the girls had no reason to be there.

Colonel Octavian gestured to the door. "Step inside," he said, his voice sickeningly sweet. It was clear he was hoping for capital punishment.

A part of me wanted to defend myself, to explain that I wasn't trying to impress him, that I just wanted to go back to Greece and forget this all had ever happened, but I was smarter than that. He'd never believe me; he'd assume I was as ambitious as he was. It would make no difference.

He wanted me dead, and there was nothing I could do about it.

So, alone and silent, I walked through the threshold to Admiral Nakamura.

His office was twice as big as my bedroom. It was tastefully decorated, though pretty standard: a large desk with three sides and a swivel chair in the center, a couch pressed against the wall, some filing cabinets, a typewriter, and two lounge chairs across from where Nakamura sat. Light streamed in from multiple windows, enough that Nakamura hadn't bothered to turn the lamps on.

"Sit," Nakamura said pleasantly. It was odd, hearing a man in uniform address me with respect. The one thing every Nazi I'd met had in common was that they hated me for my position with the Führer. Nakamura was hardly friendly, but he clearly seemed to like me, or, at least, wasn't bothered by me. For a fleeting second, I was optimistic about winning his favor. Maybe it wasn't so bad to have someone so influential on my side.

Then, I remembered Octavian's rage, and the fear crept in again.

I sat in one of the lounge chairs and waited. "One moment," Nakamura said, then scribbled a signature on the paper he'd been reading when I walked in. He folded it into an envelope, sealed it shut, the cast it aside. "My apologies, but I have work to do."

"Of course, sir," I said. "No apology necessary. It's an honor to be called by you, even if all you needed was some silent company."

Nakamura chuckled. "No, no, I intend to talk to you."

"You speak German quite well," I complimented him. It was true; he sounded completely fluent. "In fact, I think you speak more than I do."

"Is that so?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes. And I've studied all my life."

Nakamura leaned back in his chair. "Where are you from, lieutenant?"

"All over," I said. "America, at first, then Greece. Now, I'm here."

"And your family?"

"Back in Texas," I said, though my heart had started to race. Why was he asking me such personal questions? Was he trying to determine if I was a traitor? Did he know how my older brothers died? Was his good humor all an act? "My parents have passed. My brother and sister were sad to leave Europe, but business brought them there, and they were both too young at the time to serve in the military." It was half true. I hoped he didn't ask what business I was talking about because I had no answer for that.

"So you are the head of your family," Nakamura concluded. I nodded. "Admirable, especially for one so young. You shoulder the responsibility well, it seems, making your way to such a high position."

"I'm honored to serve the party in any way I can," I said automatically. "Honor comes from that, no matter the task. Winning the war is of the utmost importance, and if I play a small part in Germany's success, that is enough."

"To help Germany is to help Japan," Nakamura said. "But, enough with the niceties. I have a task for you, lieutenant."

"Of course," I said. The pit in my stomach weighed heavy on my mind.

He handed me an envelope, tightly sealed. "Deliver this to room 208, in the west wing. Discretion is of the utmost importance."

"Yes, sir," I said. "Is this urgent? Because the Führer expects me in fifteen minutes."

"You may deliver it this evening," Nakamura assured me. "And come back tomorrow before your duties."

I gulped. It seemed like I was about to become Nakamura's personal assistant as well as Hitler's guard. That would only add fuel to the fire of my enemies' hatred... Octavian's most of all.

_NICO_

The second I got out of jail, I snuck back into the Palazzo Braschi to look for the afternoon's event's security plans. I knew the place well enough that, within minutes, I reached the security office. Armed with a rock I'd picked up outside on my way, I threw it at the nearest wall. The resulting bang! was enough to make the security guard in the office leave to investigate. I rushed in and read the security brief.

I quickly realized why Luke had chosen today of all days to assassinate Papà: he was the head of King Victor-Emmanuel's security force. He'd know where everyone would be at all times, which would give him ample opportunity to shoot at the leaders of Italy without getting caught.

I knew there was no way anyone would believe me if I warned them about Luke's plot. The day's events had proven that. No, talking would solve nothing. Violence would. It was the only option. It was the only way.

The CIA had taught me how to make a bomb during training a year prior. I snuck out of the Palazzo Braschi to grab all the materials I'd need from here and there. I was careful to steal rather than buy so no shopkeeper would recognize my face. For my plan to work, there couldn't be a single trace that would lead the police back to me. When I had everything I needed, I snuck into an abandoned warehouse I knew the Italian Resistance frequented, and assembled the explosive. I hid it in some bushes near the sight of King Victor-Emmanuel's upcoming address, then ducked into a nearby gym to shower and change, in case my clothes or body carried traces of the bomb. Back to the warehouse, where I burned my old clothes and stole a gun. Not a trace. Not one clue.

I hid in the bushes where I'd stashed my bomb. I was in close proximity to the security tower where Luke was stationed for the few fifteen minutes of the event. He was going to make rounds throughout the evening; I suspected that he'd aim for Papà while en route from one location to the next so he wouldn't get caught. That meant that if I got him at the very beginning, he wouldn't have a prayer.

The minutes crawled by. I held the bomb in one hand and the gun in the other. I dared not breathe, lest I get caught. Finally, the clock struck five, and Luke was within range.

I kept my eye on my watch. I couldn't fire until King Victor-Emmanuel started his speech. At ten past five, his Majesty stepped onto the podium. I set the fuse of my explosive and then used the blind spot behind them to place the bomb under the tower. I backed away, back into the bushes, but close enough to the bomb that I could see the fuse burn. With five seconds to go, I disguised my voice and shouted as loud as I could, "FOR THE RESISTANCE!"

In the last few seconds, I aimed my gun at Luke and shot twice. I saw him fall, I heard the crowd scream at the sound of the gunshot, and then...

Boom.

At this stage in the plan, I'd expected the tower collapse, Luke and the other guards blast to bits, and what was left of them, bullet included, buried so deep in the rubble no one would ever find them. And that did happen. It's just that I didn't see it. I'd misjudged my position.

To put it simply: I was caught in the blast radius.

END NOTES

Ha ha ha, the title has two meanings! The fallout from last chapter, but also... you know... Nico...

Please comment so I know what you think! See you next week!