CHAPTER SUMMARY

Will testifies in front of a military tribunal. Nico and Hades find out about Bianca's murder.

BEGINNING NOTES

Word Count: 2087

Rating: General Audience

Content Warning: Cursing, Mild Violence

I'm a few days late, but here's the next chapter!

And all the characters are owned by Rick Riordan.

April 3, 1943

My dearest husband and stepson,

I regret to bring you the most tragic of news. Not an hour ago when I write this, our beloved Bianca has passed away. She was murdered in cold blood by an unknown attacker, found by her beloved Colonel Octavian and Miss Chase's dear Lieutenant Solace. According to what Miss Chase heard from the Lieutenant, a knife fight resulted in wounds too great to heal. The Colonel put up a valiant fight, he certainly had plenty of marks on him, from what Miss Chase said.

May her blood be avenged and those responsible be brought to justice.

All my love,

Your Persephone

_WILL_

Octavian said not a word the entire walk back to the Old Chancellery. I took him to his room. He shoved me off without so much as a thank you, limped in alone, and slammed the door behind him. I was left reeling. What had just happened? What had just happened? What had just happened?!

I walked through the halls back to my room in a daze. Nothing seemed real. How could Bianca di Angelo be dead?

No. Murdered.

I shoved that thinking aside. What an ugly word.

It didn't matter, anyway. It didn't matter what had happened, because it did happen; now all I had left to do was pick up the pieces. And I was good at that, that was all I'd ever done since the day my mother died.

"Lieutenant Solace?" I saw Miss Chase in front of my door. "I came to wish you a good night. Are... you all right?" she asked.

In response, I grabbed her arm and pulled her into my room. For whatever reason, she didn't protest. She seemed to understand how serious the situation was by my face alone.

"What's going on?" she asked me, her voice low. I quickly shut the door, careful to check no one saw us enter together. I couldn't do that to a lady's reputation, especially one I had already been seen with.

"You can tell no one," I warned her.

"I want to know what troubles you."

"Bianca di Angelo is dead," I whispered. "She and Octavian were out in the garden, they didn't see me... he hit her one time too many and... I don't know, she cracked. She- she had a knife on her, but he turned it on her before she knew what was happening and..." My voice trailed off. Tears were already running down Miss Chase's face. Her hands covered her mouth. There was horror in her eyes. "Octavian threatened me," I finished. "He knows something that will get me killed. He knows where my younger siblings are, in America. He has a hitman watching them, he'll kill them and me if I don't cover for him."

She grabbed my hands as tears ran down her cheeks. "Then cover for him! Oh, Lieutenant Solace, I can't imagine..." She hesitated. "I can't imagine what I would do if I lost you and my best friend in the same evening."

"Will," I said. "Call me Will, Annabeth." And I kissed her. I felt nothing, as always, but she clung to me in her grief. I pulled away after a moment. "You won't lose me," I assured her. "Don't worry."

"We'll find a way to save you and your family from that monster," Annabeth spat through her tears. Her grey eyes sparkled with a fury I'd yet to see on any woman. I knew it was nothing but talk, but she sounded so sure of her revenge that it almost gave me hope.

Almost.

The next morning, I stood in front of Adolf Hitler and his tribunal, a jury of military officers ready to decide my fate. Octavian stood beside me, his bruises and injuries on full display. He wore them like badges of honor. In the land of the Nazis, they were.

Admiral Nakamura was among the military officers present. The rest were made up of Nazi officials I knew by face but not name. They entered the meeting rooms to speak with Hitler while I stood outside the door. They passed me in the halls when I traveled for meals. They were high-ranking, I knew that from the amount of time they spent with Hitler, but I could say nothing else about any of them. I doubted any of them had spared a glance at me until this very moment.

Octavian spoke first; it was something or other about how he'd fought off an attacker, but been too late to save Bianca. I did my best to pay attention; I'd had hardly any time to get my story straight and it was essential ours matched up. But my mind was occupied elsewhere, with the broken body of Bianca di Angelo, and the furious eyes of Annabeth Chase.

"Lieutenant Solace?" came a Nazi's voice, shocking me back to reality. "What did you see?"

"I was out on a walk," I began. I was shocked by how emotionless my voice was. "After my duties were done. I wanted air. I came across the courtyard, where I saw a struggle. I didn't see who it was, but I saw a knife in someone's hand. I heard Miss di Angelo's scream-I didn't know it was her at the time, but it was a woman so it must be-and she fell to the ground. The other man-the Colonel-

"Colonel Octavian?" one of the men clarified.

"Yes, Colonel Octavian, he beat the man half to death that pulled the knife on Miss di Angelo, but he escaped in the dark. It all happened in less than a minute. The Colonel-Octavian-chased after the murderer, and I went to Miss di Angelo to see if I could help her. I used to be a medic in Greece, so I thought I could help. But I couldn't do anything for her. She was already dead. So, when Colonel Octavian returned, injured, I helped him inside instead."

"And why didn't you alert any officers?" one of the Nazis asked.

"I was too concerned for Colonel Octavian's safety to make a detour, and we didn't pass anyone on our way," I said. "By the time I'd escorted him home and was ready to make a report, Miss di Angelo's body had already been found."

"You should have alerted your superior straight away!" one of the Nazis said. "A degenerate criminal on the loose, and you are more concerned by babysitting a capable officer than the good of the nation!"

Octavian looked a little too smug for his own good. I tensed. He murdered a woman, and here I was taking the fall for it. Any false move could be a death sentence in Nazi Germany, and that officer looked furious at my perceived disobedience. And he wasn't the only one.

"Fredrick," Admiral Nakamura said to my tormentor, "would you rather have lost the Colonel to exposure so Lieutenant Solace could follow proper procedure? I can vouch for the Lieutenant, he has a good head on his shoulders, he would not have broken protocol unless the situation called for it. In fact, we are lucky a man with medical training was on the scene. Without his quick thinking, we may have lost two instead of one."

A few men nodded in agreement. Hitler rose from his seat, eyes on me. He peered right down into my soul, freezing it with his stony gaze and causing goosebumps to form over my entire body. My heart felt like it was about to be crushed within my chest. I forced myself to keep from hyperventilating.

"Lieutenant Solace," Hitler said. "The Admiral is right. You did well."

"Thank you, sir," I choked out.

"Colonel Octavian, did you give a description of Miss di Angelo's attacker to your superior?" Hitler asked.

"Not yet, sir. I was waiting to see what the court would decide, sir."

"Go. Do it now. The rest of you, dismissed. Admiral, with me."

The room emptied until it was just me and Octavian left. He slapped me across the face, hard, and, through gritted teeth, hissed, "You're lucky I held my tongue."

"I did exactly as you asked."

"You made me look bad in front of the Führer! I did not ask for that!"

You did that to yourself, I thought, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. I had too much riding on this. I had to stay on Octavian's good side. For Austin. For Kayla. For me. Maybe Miss Chase, too.

"Colonel!" I heard a man shout.

"This isn't over," Octavian hissed again, then marched out of the room. I was left standing there, as alone as I felt.

_NICO_

I knew something was wrong when I saw Papà cry.

Not once in my life had I ever seen my father cry. Not once. He had always been the strongest man I knew, as tough and immovable as a boulder. He was my rock, he always had been, even in our worst arguments, when his stubbornness and pride became too much.

I'd come into the living room, and there he was, a letter open and tears falling freely. I limped over to him but he didn't seem to notice me. I sat next to him on the couch, and, slowly, he took my hand and pressed it to his lips.

"What's wrong?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Bianca is dead."

My vision went red. Hot tears swelled behind my eyes, then flowed freely without my permission. I snatched the letter from Papà's hands, read it, and by the time I reached the end, my anger exploded.

"I'll. Kill. That. Octavian. With. My Bare. Hands." I spat. I tore up the letter and threw it into the nearby fireplace. Papà grabbed me and pulled me into a hug, and I screamed a primal scream until I could scream no more. My sister. My kind, beautiful sister was gone. The one who'd practically raised me every time Papà had traveled to work, who'd helped me through Mamma's death, Papà remarriage, and, eventually, divorce. She'd pulled me from melancholy more times than I could count, and now she was gone. Dead serving her country. I was supposed to be the one to die a hero! Not her. She was supposed to come home and live a long, happy life. That's what she'd promised me when she went to Berlin. That she would live. That I'd see her again.

"I'll kill him! And that fucker Solace too!" I screamed through my tears. "I'll bet he didn't lift a finger when Octavian pulled that knife! Fuck him! Fuck all of them!"

"Chiron called from Venice," Papà told me. "He wants you at headquarters to discuss next steps."

"You mean he wants to babysit me so I don't storm off to Berlin to avenge my sister," I spat. "Well, too bad! He can't stop me!"

"Nico!" Papà yelled. "I just lost a daughter! Don't take my son from me, too!"

"You didn't lose a daughter! She was murdered! Murdered by the Nazis! I'll tear the German Empire down brick by brick, inch by inch, if it means we can take her home! You hear me?!"

"Nico..." Papà said quietly, his tears returning. "You think I don't feel the same? You think I don't want my wife back, to meet my infant daughter, and to see Bianca's body buried at our villa to rest in peace? But we have to listen to those who know better than us. We can't see the forest for the trees right now. So, please. Do your duty, and go to Venice. Go home; give Hazel my love. Be safe. If not for me, for Bianca and your mother. Please."

"Who's going, then?" I asked. "To bring those murderers to justice? Mrs. Jackson can't do it alone."

"Frank Zhang. Apparently there's a Japanese admiral that took a liking to Bianca and Lieutenant Solace. Getting close to him is the best way to do what needs to be done."

"Fine," I said. "I'll go to Venice."

"It'll be good to see Hazel again, won't it, Nico?"

"Always," I said, and I meant it. I loved my little sister. But I had no intention of staying in Venice for very long. At first opportunity, I'd be on the next train to Berlin, no matter who wanted what. I could placate for now, but nothing would keep me away from Erich Octavian. And when I met that Will Solace... there would be hell to pay.

END NOTES

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