Hello you all! Thank you tremendously for hanging with me. I appreciate it more than you know. As always, I own nothing but all the mistakes are mine.

Chapter 7

The final straw for Mr. Chase happened early, almost before the sun rose over the horizon. Early mornings at the office weren't out of the ordinary, since he preferred to get down to work when the day was fresh. There was a contract with one of the larger churches that needed to be finalized before noon, which would obviously help increase cash flow. That was a win for everyone. Additionally Annabeth was going to join him for a conference call after two. She had communication skills that were impeccable.

Yet even though the past few weeks had been quiet, Mr. Chase stayed vigilant in communicating that Chase Architex was under no threat. Business was going on as usual, until a certain email arrived in their inbox.

"What the hell…" he spoke out loud.

The subject line read 'You Can Panic'.

An uneasy sensation ran up and down his spine, but after living enough life, he recognized bull shit for what it was. Not one for taking chances, though, Mr. Chase shrewdly refused to open the document. The sender's name, JohnDoeRevenge, popped up one again seconds later in another message.

'Is This Your Password Mr. Chase?'

Whoever sent the emails underestimated him. The second one was sent, possibly, to establish authenticity, but it was far better to err on the side of caution.

One final message from the same sender came through.

'Look What Annabeth Has Been Doing!'

He wanted to shove his fist through this person's teeth now. Mr. Chase shoved his chair backwards, where it collided with the wall in a loud thud. As far as he knew the sick fuck, who created all of the past chaos, had chosen to go the route of cyber crime, in order to terrorize and intimidate. White hot anger simmered in his veins while dialing the all too familiar sheriff's number. He was gripping the phone with enough pressure to almost break it apart.

-BER-

Luke, with much certainty, knew he was clever, but to manipulate a few pornographic pictures was a new height. Learning the new skill wasn't that difficult, and the time he allowed to pass was just long enough. Besides, his thorough knowledge of CAD became ultra convenient, in a way he never anticipated. One could certainly say Luke was resourceful.

He scratched at his unkempt beard while considering a career change, specifically when he moved. Exactly how hard would it be to move into IT?

Architecture had been his first love but he was burned out and bitter, to say the least. Hearing that his talents at draftsmanship were, in the words of his former boss, 'substandard and mediocre,' lit a fire. Mr. Chase didn't ask, but instead demanded that Luke enroll in some remedial drafting mistakes he made in the past few months weren't excusable.

One of the engineers, who was employed for a major project for the university, nearly walked off the site. The measurements on the drawings for windows didn't line up with measurements for supplies. More time would be necessary to correct mistakes. Construction came to a stand still for a brief period, which meant more money was required.

Frederick Chase had to bear the brunt of the university's board of directors unpleasantries, but he let Luke know how much of a predicament his actions caused the company. While he didn't think that he was on shaky ground, a pink slip was waiting for Luke, and the next day, a brown box appeared in his office.

Getting revenge on the old man, as well as his precious daughter, became the reason he got up in the morning.

Annabeth got under his skin in the worst possible way. She was too friendly, too bright, and too blonde.

Luke despised the very ground upon which she stood. Putting her disgusting face on a few porn pics made him laugh until he was coughing.

Unfortunately, the time had come for him to ditch the laptop he used to send emails. He walked to the trash dumpster with a hammer, in order to destroy the evidence. No one paid him attention at that hour either, but he kept his hood up anyway. Most people were either getting ready for work or still sleeping at six a.m. While smashing the object, small pieces flew off through the chain fence. Then he shoved parts of the trash into various garbage bags, before sliding off the gloves on his hands. After congratulating himself for a job well done, Luke grabbed his pack of smokes and the lighter from his jeans pocket. He flicked the ashes onto the ground while walking back to his place, with a smile.

-BER-

"Yes sir. Of course I will explain everything. You can be assured that I will keep her safe. We'll be here until you arrive." Percy set his phone down and was relieved that Annabeth was presently taking a shower. A little time would be beneficial in order to explain why that day wasn't going to be like most.

Telling her that her father received a sextortion email, that was also going to be sent to every client of Chase Architex, wouldn't end well.

Annabeth's mental health improved lately. There were fewer anxiety attacks, thanks in part to her medication. She was definitely sleeping better and having fewer nightmares. Her appetite returned to normal, but none of that kept him from being as near as possible.

They had grown closer to each other. He discovered the adorableness of her laughter over Chinese take out. Both of them preferred hazelnut creamer in their coffee. Annabeth shared her love of Audrey Hepburn movies, which she said no one else knew. Percy admitted that his parent's divorce was the hardest life event he'd lived through, until she was in the hospital.

They were sitting together, on her bedroom floor, that evening. He'd been cracking her up with silly jokes and one liners, but the tide of the conversation had turned. She lacked the words to describe how deeply his confession touched her. While he hadn't met to tell her the last few words, at least not in that moment, the intimacy of the moment nearly took them over.

He'd slipped his fingers away from hers and let them linger close to her lips. She didn't pull away. They were right on the precipice of unlocking a personal Pandora's box.

Did he want this as much as she did? Her eyes, half closed, spoke volumes. He inched closer and rubbed his thumb over her lower lip. Soft. Unbelievably soft. He licked his mouth knowing what was coming.

"Hawk, mmmm, oh God, I…I need a minute please." The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush. He regretfully watched as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

"Yeah, that's…fine," Percy replied and exhaled.

Torture. Pure, infinite torture.

Later on he thought about that nearness when she fell asleep, and it still haunted him presently.

Now he was going to be the bearer of untimely news.

"Fuck a duck!" his mind screamed.

The sound of the shower being turned off reminded him that he still lacked the best method to tell her about hell breaking loose. He began his usual habit of pacing while thinking, across the wooden plank floor.

Right now, Percy only wanted to pack some bags and take Annabeth away from Columbia, preferably to her favorite place. It wasn't the most logical solution plainly, but letting his mind settle in that daydream released stress momentarily. She'd mentioned that the beach was heaven on earth, which sounded like the perfect getaway.

Then an idea began to form in his brain.

There likelihood of Mr. Chase saying no to his suggestion would be rather low. They could get out of town discreetly while the police investigate. Her father could inform all the businesses they worked with that Annabeth needed a leave of absence, and if anyone ever needed a vacation, she certainly qualified.

Yes, that plan was ingenious.

His next step was to call Mr. Chase to inform him of said plan.

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