I remembered. Whoop whoop.

Chapter 13

Nico's crossbow was level with Percy's chest. At such a short distance, there was no chance of dodging and even less of a chance of survival. Heavily, Percy let a deep breath go. The vapor danced in front of his face before dispersing.

He couldn't feel the cold anymore.

"Do I get to know why I'm being killed? Or is this just a Di Angelo's way of having fun," Percy asked.

"This wasn't the original plan."

"No shit you little cunt. We've been roommates for almost five months."

"Yeah. And I'm sick of waiting. So it's time for an ultimatum." Nico jabbed the point of the crossbow forward, towards Percy's abdomen.

Percy felt nothing. His headspace had descended like a fog. Coating him in such a thick layer of cold emptiness, he could splice Nico's head off in one motion and swallow the blood splatter off his own lips without thinking.

Or perhaps it wasn't his headspace that was making him fearless. At standing height Nico was still a full head shorter than him. Not to mention with his sickly constitution, and bag rimmed yet louring eyes he looked already dead.

"Am I supposed to be intimidated by that?" Percy deadpanned. "I feel like I'm being threatened by the embodiment of scurvy."

Nico scoffed indignantly. "I'm pointing a loaded crossbow at you! You're bluffing. There's no way you're not scared right no-"

"Scared? I want to kill way more than you want to kill me. " Percy said. Prickles raced over his skin as he remembered the arrow sticking out from the porch. Embedded in the wood that was still warm from where she sat. Where she would've been if he hadn't…

Percy's fists tightened, sending lines of tension up his forearms.

He was aiming for her. The fucker was aiming for Annabeth.

"Yeah? What makes you say that."

"If you really wanted me dead, I'd be dead. You tried to kill Annabeth so I really really want you fucking dead." Percy set his eyes on Nico and didn't waver. Feeling the fire of anger shatter his peaceful headspace in slow orchestrated swings the longer he thought about it. "That crossbow is your only protection right now. Better not miss if you want to keep your fucking throat in your neck."

Nico scowled. His lower lip twitched once before he made a very decided step backwards.

It was hard not to see the nervousness rise in his form. The way he regripped his crossbow, the slight shine that began to grow on his hairline and brow, the hard set look in his eyes that flickered with uncertainty.

"I wasn't trying to kill her," he finally said. "I was just trying to get your attention. Think I'd be stupid enough to use loud arrows around you?"

"Saying something at home wasn't enough for you, you uneducated twat!?"

"Enough," Nico lifted his lip in a sneer. He had to gall to sound frustrated. "I want your contact. Your agent. Whoever gets you those clients. If you don't, I'll kill your girlfriend."

Percy's brain felt like wet sponge cake for a moment. Or maybe it was his concussion slowly liquidizing his mind. "I'm sorry, you want what? You want Ethan?"

"Yeah."

"You've had five months to kill me and take my phone, force Ethan to accept you as the new puppet but you didn't and instead you're just going to threaten me over it and leave me alive?"

This guy… Percy thought slowly. Is a fucking idiot.

"You were supposed to kill Annabeth," Nico grumbled as if it explained everything.

Percy blinked. "So I'm told... But what the fuck does that have to do with the price of eggs?"

"I was going to kill you after you collected her blood money, and make off with your phone, and the money but you never did it. Your. stupid. Ass. fell. In. love. So now I'll settle for just the agent. And if I don't have to kill you to get it, then that's a perk too."

Percy took a deep breath and held it. He had the sudden urge to maniacally laugh at the absurdity of it. The absurdity of him. The crossbow felt like a hallucination now. Or a rubber prop being held by a clown.

Instead of laughing, Percy focused on the red brick surrounding him. The pale morning sunshine was slanted against the rough walls and fell just shy of the trio of green rusty dumpsters. Perhaps, he thought, he might be able to use the green metal edge to leap onto the strip mall roof. But he'd have to leave his gun where it lay on the ground, and from there on he'd be a deer in a field.

He wondered if he just walked away, would Nico actually shoot?

Sighing, Percy hung his head. "I thought the Angel crime family only had one hitman."

"They do."

"You are not Bianca."

Nico pulled a small chain out from under his shirt, revealing the weird metal ball and the arrow pendant with a collection of letters. "Bianca's dead. I'm her replacement."

That's where it was familiar from. It was Bianca's necklace. He remembered making a comment on it as they scaled the side of a building. How its reflective shine was going to give away their position.

"Dead huh." Somehow Percy's eyes rolled up to the watery blue sky. A simple memory of a fierce shallow eyed girl played in his mind.

Are you sad?

No. He didn't know Bianca well. They had a truce once. They worked together on a kill once. In the assassin industry, faces faded like cotton candy in water.

"So what'll it be? I don't have all day. Either I kill your girlfriend or you pass over your phone-"

"Who are you exactly? Just some shmo who wandered into the Angel crime family? Or is there like an actual relation. Are you just pawning off their name? I don't remember any 'Nico' amongst the Di Angelo's."

"You sure about that?"

"Mmmh, pretty sure."

"I'm Hades' son."

That. That was a spark of shock. It webbed in Percy's brain and he shifted his weight on his frozen feet. This changed the dynamic. This changed everything. Suddenly Nico di Angelo was untouchable.

Hades' wrath was legendary.

"Why haven't I heard of you?"

Bianca's brother. Why hadn't he seen the familial similarity? It was there in the skin complexion, in the hair colour, in the eyes as well. Why wasn't he ever mentioned in the seedy pubs plagued with convicts and mobsters? More importantly, why didn't he get suspicious the moment Nico introduced himself as Di Angelo? That should've been the first giant red flag.

But apparently I'm losing my touch.

There was something so unassuming about Nico. So unthreatening. He was, at worst, a pissy little hamster throwing a tantrum for being put back in his cage. Even with his crossbow aimed diligently at Percy's heart, he still seemed nothing more than a kid.

"Give me an answer about-"

"Your dad hid you away because he's not proud of you." Percy realized. It was obvious. "That's why I've never heard of you. You suck at this."

"I do not-"

"You let me talk right over you, let me steer the conversation away to other topics besides your goal. Done right, this interaction should've taken less than five minutes, and we've been standing here for six. The cherry on top is that you're about as intimidating as a field mouse holding a toothpick. You don't have what it takes to be an assassin. You lack that murderous quality."

"How dare you-"

"Well, prove it." Percy challenged quietly. "Shoot me. Kill me."

Nico's jaw tensed. Percy kept his eyes level with him as his slender fingers gripped the crossbow a little tighter. Rigidly, he raised its point a little higher to align with the perfect spot on Percy's chest.

Percy didn't even flinch. Eyes are as readable as books. When you're an assassin you get used to looking people in the eye as they scramble to try and kill you. You know which ones want to destroy you with all of their existence, and the ones who just don't have their hearts in it at all.

If bloodlust was gasoline, Nico would be an electric car.

The crossbow dropped down again defeatedly. It's point still trained on Percy, but relenting in lethality at where it was aimed.

"So the assassin occupation was your Dad's idea," Percy said. "And you're just trying to fill his expectations."

"You don't know that."

"You hunted for power, not for kills. Any assassin would take up offers to kill for money. You sat in a living room for five months playing video games, and waited for the right moment to snatch a phone that would give you the status without all the gore."

Nico's silence was an answer enough for him.

"Want my advice? Stop. Right now. If you don't want to be an assassin, then you won't survive as one."

"You don't seem too thrilled to be an assassin, and here you are living as one," Nico snarked. Not unlike a teenager told to go to his room, Percy thought.

"I became an assassin to survive," Percy said darkly. "And surviving is not living. It's just not dying. So whaddya want? Because kid, you're in over your neck right now. "

It wasn't really a risk sidestepping the crossbow and going around Nico. The runt didn't have it in him, he knew as much now.

As Percy scooped his gun up off the pavement, tampered with the idea of putting a bullet through Nico's head. Scarcely missing Annabeth with that arrow was sin enough in his eyes. But no, Hades' wrath was indeed legendary. No matter how little he thought of Nico, family pride was too big in that ring to mess with. Taking out one Di Angelo would mean bringing on a legion of mobsters dedicated to torturing any little thing in his life. Targeting anyone he so much as talked to.

The short of it; they would attack Annabeth in the most gruesome ways before killing him.

So he lives on.

Just as he was brushing past Nico, his little voice growled again. Dark and sulking.

"You can't have both."

Percy stalled. "What?"

"You can't be an assassin and be with a girl like Annabeth. If you truly want her, then you might as well just give me your contact."

Percy pocketed his gun. A flame of anger sizzled in his gaze when he glanced back at Nico.

"She's not mine. She's not anybody's," he spat. "Besides, Ethan wouldn't want you. Just go back to your daddy."

An arrow whistled past his head. Whispering threats into his ear as it sang by. The little shit actually had some guts after all.

In two seconds Percy had wheeled around and marched straight at Nico. Fearfully, his crossbow clattered to the ground and he held up his hands with a whimper on a bed of apologies. Percy rammed him against the brick wall, his hand secured around his tiny neck, the barrel of his pistol was pressed against his temple.

"Wanna try that again?"

"What do you expect me to do?!" he choked pathetically. "If I don't become an assassin I'm stuck in a place worse than death. But if I do become an assassin I'll probably still die. Just like my mom. Just like Bianca."

Percy weighed his words in his head. Loosening his grip.

"What can you offer me? What are your specialties?"

No, he wasn't sympathizing with the crime family brat. He just knew what it was like to be in an impossible situation. That was it. Nico didn't have the luxury of a choice, so maybe all he had to do was broaden his options.

"P-poison," Nico gagged out. "Long… distance… weaponry."

Crossbows, arrows, sniper rifles, sling shots. Those were useful when you needed someone to cover you.

"What kinds of poisons?" Percy clenched again. Feeling the gurgles of air try to flow under the flesh of his flimsy neck.

"Any… all. Anti-dotes too." Squirming, Nico brought out his necklace again. Holding out the little ball pendant this time with a desperate air.

It was blinking. A tiny LED in the side flashed red. Too tiny for a bomb, too close to Nico to contain poison.

A tracking device. One that conveyed information on the wellbeing of the wearer to a third party. Heart beat, activities levels, location. Like a fitbit, but more inconspicuous.

Hades is tracking his son.

Percy released his death hold, and Nico coughed one long sputtering breath. Sinking to the ground to brace himself against the concrete. One of his hands clawed at his neck as he retched.

"You work for me now," Percy hissed. "From now on you do exactly what I tell you when I tell you. Got it?"

"Doing what?" he wheezed.

"Surveillance. You know that dick who called a hit on Annabeth? I want to know his every move. I want to know what he likes and what he doesn't. If he so much as breathes differently, I want to know. Clear?"

Nico nodded. Sinking to his knees as he still tried to regain his wind. "Am I… am I still your roommate then?"

Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.

"Yes. But slip up once, and I'll upholster a chair with your skin. I'll ship your bones back to your father in pieces."

Nico squinted up at Percy as if he were a madman. "He would torture you for weeks for that."

"I'm so pissed off at you right now," Percy hissed, lowering himself to Nico's level. Sharing the hatred in his eyes. "That I'll take my chances."

"Why?! Because I wanted to take your agent?

"Make even the tiniest threatening gesture at Annabeth ever again and I'll fucking kill you." Percy said, reeking of rage in every word.

Nico shivered, but still had the gall to meet Percy's gaze. "And you say you're not in love with her."

.oOo.

"I'm sorry sir, this area is off limits due to an investigation." An black clad officer was holding his arm in the way. Blocking Percy from getting back on Annabeth's street.

Already, a little crowd of neighbours and concerned pedestrians had gathered at the edge of the dandelion yellow caution tape to ask questions.

"But-"

"Sir, are you a neighbour?"

"No but-"

"Then you can't pass. Please. Our investigation crew will be finished promptly. Just wait."

Percy stumbled back. His head throbbed from the run. Cold was eating out his lungs and stuffing up his nose. Every little flash of red and blue lights dazzled off the windows and thin puddles of ice in the street intensified his headache.

The officer shifted away to haggle some other boisterous rubberneckers, and Percy saw his chance.

Ducking under the tape, he took off down the street. A shout went up behind him and then the patter of someone running on the pavement tailed him. He slipped past two police cars, lights flashing, before he saw the ambulance parked dead center in Annabeth's driveway. His heart fell right through to his toes.

"Annabeth!"

He couldn't make her out among the mingling herd of paramedics and police officers. A few people gave him weird looks before a small line up of three officers confronted him. Pushing him backwards, towards the tape again.

"This is a crime scene!"

"You can't be here!"

Percy pushed against them. "Annabeth?"

"Percy!"

There. She was standing on the tail end of the ambulance. A light blue blanket daintily fluttered around her shoulders and down her back. Her eyes pinched in concern.

"PERCY!" She dropped to the ground and staggered into a run. Shoving her way past medical personnel waving her down to stop. He had just registered the glassy look in her eyes when she broke past the two officers, and body slammed him.

In vain he tried to save his head from hitting the concrete, but it knocked anyway. Feeding more pain in the core of his brain and making his head feel like it was in a hydraulic press.

"Ahgh. Annabeth." Percy rubbed the back of his skull. The hot prickles that pinpricked over his scalp fell away.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!" Annabeth screamed. She was sitting on his chest. Gripping him by the collar of his coat. A thick slick of tears were swimming in her eyes. "You can't just RUN off after that- after that PSYCHO and NOT come back! You LITTLE SHIT! YOU MORON!"

"But I did come back?"

"After an hour?! SIXTY MINUTES?!" She spoke through clenched fists. Smacking his chest with her palms in unrhythmic slams. Winding him slightly, but that was okay.

"It was a long chase?"

"I didn't know if he killed you. I didn't know if you were dead because I wasn't- because I- I-" Annabeth crumbled forward into his chest. A broken shuddering breath split past her lips. She shook her head slowly, sullenly. "You weren't supposed to chase him, you ass. You weren't supposed to chase. You said you'd just try and find out where he was. You said-"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Annabeth." Percy swallowed. A tense lump was forming in his throat. Unconsciously, his hands went up to cradle her back and her head. Tremors reached from the tips of his fingers all the way down his arm.

Cold. Clear. Cool. Water. Water.

Why couldn't he calm down? Why was his heart doing circles in his ribcage like a manic pigeon trying to find its way out of a trap? Why was holding her like this so right?

You can't have both. Nico's words came back to him.

Percy's grip tightened.

He couldn't give up his assassin life. He'd dug it too deep. Skeletons don't stay in closets. Sooner or later, he'd have to give her up. Step away from her life.

But not yet. Please. Not yet.

"Excuse me sir?"

Chills played embroidery on his spine when he realized the police officer was addressing him. Slowly he cracked his eyes open and stared up at the man holding a tablet in front of his prominent gut. His stiff jowls pulled his lips down into an ever growing frown.

"Yes?" Annabeth was still on his chest. He didn't want to move regardless of the smattering of emergency crew who were staring at him.

"Were you cut at all at any point? Did one of the arrows nick you?"

"No. Why?"

"Our investigation suspects the arrow heads are dipped with poison. A sample has already been sent to the lab."

Nico that son of a half bred moronic coconut brained-

"Also, could you join Miss Chase down to the station? We have a few questions we'd like to ask you."

About me. About why I've moved around so much. Where I've come from. What my job is.

Piper Mclean was bound to have already voiced her dislike of Percy. Dislikes spoken to the right people are carried a long way.

"Sure." His voice didn't crack. Thank goodness his voice didn't crack.

And so it ends.

So any predictions? Any impressions you want to share? Criticism? I'm thinking that if maybe I interacted with this story more, I'd be more excited to post chapters of it.