this fic is rated M for mild violence and mature situations.
Beckendorf woke up in a dark room. A terrible throbbing instantly started up in the back of his head, and he grimaced. As he shifted slightly, he realised both his hands were bound behind him. The dull pain he'd been feeling all over momentarily went forgotten as his recent memories rushed back to him—
The restaurant. The park. Silena.
With a growing sense of alarm, he turned his focus to his surroundings. A pale beam of light shining from above illuminated a circular area around him. About ten metres ahead, he could vaguely make out the shape of an unconscious figure in a chair.
His heart calmed a little at the sight. She looked unharmed, but he started to worry about what her presence would mean when their captors arrived. Inside, his gut turned with guilt. He thought it'd been long enough. Was he wrong for wanting a normal life? It appeared now that he was, and his heedless actions had put the person he cared about in danger. How could he have let himself get complacent?
Beckendorf slowly moved to straighten up, only to fall back in his seat feeling like his muscles had become non-existent. He grunted in frustration. He tried moving his hands. The bonds were stiff around his wrists, and he knew he wouldn't be breaking them anytime soon.
Another pulse of pain shot through his temples. He slammed his eyes shut and winced.
Somewhere in the darkness, a rusty door creaked open. Two sets of footsteps shuffled inside. Then the door closed, and the footsteps approached.
Bleary-eyed, Beckendorf blinked to see one man step into the light. He hadn't bothered to hide his face, though Beckendorf didn't recognise it. He wore a green cargo jacket over a black shirt with loose jeans and brown leather boots. He stood with his arms crossed as he regarded him, a slight smirk outlining his hard features. The way he was dressed, Beckendorf would have never imagined he was working for an underground corporation if he passed by him on the street, but he supposed blending in was the biggest part of the job.
"Glad to see you're finally awake," his captor said.
Beckendorf felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. Apart from Green Jacket Guy, someone else was watching him. Whoever it was must still be standing in the dark, where Beckendorf couldn't see him. That made him grow twice as wary, but for now he focused on the man in front of him.
"What did you do to me?" he demanded. His body felt like a sack of bricks, and it was as if all his muscles were paralysed. He could still feel his limbs, but the only thing he seemed to be able to actually do was speak.
"We're testing out a new formulation cocktail Boss had designed," Green Jacket Guy said without hesitation. "It's said to affect people differently in terms of side effects and so on, but any rate, there won't be much moving around on your part." A satisfied smile spread across his face at that particular statement. "Anyway, I'm sure you already know why you're here. As for what's at stake…"
He looked pointedly over his shoulder. Beckendorf followed his line of sight to the unconscious figure of his girlfriend lying in the metal chair who hadn't moved at all from before. His heartbeat sped up slightly.
"I understand," Beckendorf said, playing calm. "I'll tell you what you want to know."
"Marvelous. You're already being a lot more cooperative than your friends were. Then again, having an incentive does come in handy."
For a split second Beckendorf thought about how much he wanted to bash the smug look off his face. He tried to rein in his anger. For one thing, he realised the guy liked to talk. "All things considered, how do I know you won't still hurt her after I give you the information you want?"
"Well, honest answer is: you don't. But I give you my word. We'll deliver her back to her house once this is over and done with, and her last few memories will be hazy at best. Though I'm afraid by then she'll be quite confused, not to mention devastated when she finds out what has happened…"
Beckendorf ignored his taunts. He kept his expression steely. "Not sure if you know this, but I stopped working with Olympus years ago. I might not have the kind of up-to-date information you need from me."
Only after the words had left his mouth did it occur to Beckendorf that that might not have been the right thing to say. Would they decide he was useless and dispose of both him and Silena right then? Before his mind could stray further, his captor interrupted him.
"Oh, that won't be an issue. We've gathered the other pieces we needed over the past months, so we just need you to tell us one thing: where your ex-boss keeps his custom equipment."
Beckendorf's spine tingled. If he revealed that information, Olympus would be horribly impaired. But if he didn't, they would most likely hurt Silena, or worse. His heart was torn, but he knew he couldn't let Silena die. She was innocent. He had to trust Olympus would figure out a way to bounce back.
"Hey buddy, don't keep me waiting. I'm not sure how much longer the drug will keep your little girlfriend down. I expect it won't be pleasant if she wakes up a little too early, eh?"
"All right," Beckendorf gritted out. "There's a warehouse in Seaport along Fulton Street where Olympus stores its completed projects. It's usually locked, obviously, but you can enter without triggering the silent alarms by disabling the power box two blocks down from the building. It should be red in colour with the logo of Poseidon Enterprises on the inside panel. Of course, all this considering Olympus hasn't switched locations or renovated the place itself."
Green Jacket Guy grinned. "Wonderful. You've been very helpful, Charles."
Guilt roiled in Beckendorf's stomach, but he couldn't regret his decision. For a moment he worried about the 'other pieces' they had supposedly already obtained. He could only hope he hadn't just ruined Olympus, and that his trap would work…
He glanced at his girlfriend's unconscious form across the room. He tried to commit her face to memory one last time, but even so he didn't need to see her eyes to remember their precise shade of blue.
"What are you planning to do?" he asked, unable to help himself.
The other man's smile quickly extinguished. "Oh, don't you worry about that. There's no reason you have to let yourself worry about anything anymore, really."
He seemed to gesture to someone behind Beckendorf, and his co-conspirator finally walked into view. He turned around, and a look of betrayal crossed Beckendorf's face.
"Ah, you remember Ethan… This must be awkward for you."
Ethan's stare pierced through him, but he stayed silent. Beckendorf's thoughts raced. All along... He couldn't believe he had fallen for their ruse. Then he realised it no longer mattered.
He tore his eyes away from Ethan and focused back on his associate to see him pulling something out of his jacket's inner pocket. It glinted in the light as Green Jacket Guy turned it in his hands.
Beckendorf's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?"
"Boss sent a mole into Olympus. As you might know, those can be pretty useful."
Beckendorf clenched his fists behind his back. The man stepped up to him and pinned the bronze-coloured pen to his collar. Then he stepped back, almost as if to admire his handiwork.
"A message for your friend," he said, looking amused. "So, it was nice talking to you, but I'm afraid we've come to the end. Got any last words?"
Beckendorf glared at him hard. "As a matter of fact, I do. You can go tell your Boss that he can design whatever new tech or interrogate as many of us as he wants to try and get a leg up, but in the end it'll all be for nothing. He'll still fail, and by that point he'll realise it was a mistake that he ever tried to go up against Percy Jackson."
Green Jacket Guy feigned applause. "Such a rousing speech. A shame no one heard it—not anyone who matters, anyway. And I hope you can forgive me, but we can't allow any goodbyes or anything like that. Since you've been so cooperative though, you can rest assured that your beloved will stay unharmed and be returned right to her home as promised. I am a man of my word."
Beckendorf steeled himself. He knew what was coming. He tried to think about the past few months of his life, all the happiest moments he'd shared with Silena, but as he watched Green Jacket Guy reach for something behind him, his mind inevitably drifted to his old friend. He wondered if he'd managed to recruit any new people, and how much progress he'd made with their plans since he'd left. Deep down he hoped Percy could forgive him for what was going to happen.
Standing behind Green Jacket Guy, Ethan studied him with an expression Beckendorf couldn't place, but he tore his eyes away as his accomplice revealed a polished metallic object and aimed it straight at Beckendorf.
"You know, I'd say it was nice knowing you… but I'd be lying."
This time, Beckendorf made sure his last thought was of Silena. He prayed that they wouldn't hurt her.
He heard a deafening bang which echoed in the large, empty space, and a flash of light burst from the gun in Green Jacket Guy's hand. Pain flared in Beckendorf's chest. Soon after he felt his consciousness slipping.
Then he descended into darkness.
since I don't live in America, I use Google Maps to reference specific street names or locations. sorry in advance if something doesn't make sense in the future, but I'll try to make it work!
thank you for reading!