Chapter 621
Percy smiled, guess the illusion worked after all. "Well you did mention
something about a trip down to the forensics lab?"
The cop nodded, "yeah...yeah...I'll have to make a few calls, but it
should be possible. Anyway, it's time for you to leave Percy, it's getting
late."
"Right," Percy grabbed his jacket and closed the files he was reading
up, he would pick up where he left off tomorrow.
The two men walked out of the records room as Esposito walked Percy
out, "so your staying with your mom while in New York?"
Percy nodded, "yeah. I go to a school in the country, but whenever I
come to NY I stay with my mom."
"Right, well I'm guessing you know your way around this city then?"
they exited the building walking towards the car park across the road.
"Yeah, I was born and brought up here detective, I can handle myself,"
Percy chuckled.
"Good to know kid," Esposito stopped in front of a Honda civic, he
unlocked it and turned to Percy, "oh and call me Espo, everyone does."
Percy nodded, "got it Espo, see you tomorrow." And with that the two
went their separate ways. As soon as Percy was far enough he opened
up his inventory and pulled out an orange case file he had smuggled
out of the records room.
He slipped into his time ID and walked back into the now empty
precinct and sat down on one of the random desks in there.
This was a folder that was tucked in the very edges of the records
room. From what Percy could tell it was one of the oldest unsolved
cases in this place.
30 years ago a man was found butchered in the middle of Central park.
Three days after that another body showed up, this time it was a
woman. Three days after that came a boy and three days after that a
little girl at the age of 12.
Each murder was unique. The man was beheaded, the woman rapped
and ripped limb from limb. The boy was…..was torn apart from the
inside. Percy didn't even want to think about how a human could have
possibly do such a thing. And the last little girl…..she died of internal
bleeding. They found semen in her, but it wasn't enough to identify the
killer.
Percy was seething, who ever this monster was he killed, raped and
was now freely running about this city. The only piece of evidence the
killer left behind was the semen and a white piece of cloth that seemed
to belong to his shirt.
Percy closed the file and sighed, when he started this he just assumed
his gaming powers would help him out and solve the crimes for him,
but now he realised how foolish those thoughts were.
But he wasn't going to give up, he couldn't let this go. It may have been
30 years ago, but Percy knew that the criminal, this monster, was still
free. And he couldn't let that stand. Not when he could possibly stop
him.
The first thing Percy did was walk back into the records room. He had
to break down the door, since you know, no electricity inside an ID,
meaning no digital lock. Once inside Percy searched through the files,
which were identical to the ones in the real world, and found the ones
about the victim's personal lives and notes compiled by the cops on the
case.
Percy quickly read through them all and was honestly baffled. The
victims had no connections at all. None. The man was a doctor, the
woman a housewife, the boy a teenage student in highschool and the
girl….well she was just that, a girl.
The only reason the police even connected them all to the same killer
was because of how close in time the bodies appeared and the fact
that all of their left pinkie toes were cut off using a pair of, what seemed
to be, garden clippers.
Percy quickly began looking through the detective's notes. From what
he gathered they were onto something, something big. There were two
officers, one Richard Parkins and one Robert Lamp. Lamp was the
more enthusiastic of the two while Parkins just seemed like he was
doing his job. And now Lamp was dead while Parkins lived.
They had one lead, an older man named Travis Deliver, but they didn't'
get enough on him to make it stick. But ether way that didn't matter. If
Travis was an old man back then, he was probably dead by now.
Regrettably Percy closed the files and put them away. He still kept the
main one in his inventory, maybe he could look it over some other time
and it could jog his memories, but for now this was one cold case
Percy couldn't solve.
Percy wished he could, he wished for a way, but it wasn't to be.
Percy moved on to another case file, this time it was about a killer that
killed one woman by stuffing her into a drainage pipe. Percy didn't even
want to think how he had managed to do that.
Then there was one about the 'Red Tape' killer, struck in the 80's, tied a
red tape around each of his victim's neck. Total know murders, 12, no
leads and no evidence.
The more Percy looked through the more horrified he got. All these
people dead, all of them brutalised, and their attackers were still lose.
They were out there, and no one was looking for them, no one except
Percy. He remembered, he wouldn't forget, he didn't allow himself to
forget. Maybe this information would be useful in the days to come,
maybe, just maybe, he would catch these people.
The Next Day;
Percy was lead to the basement of the 12th Precinct by Espo. He had
arrived early in the morning and spent what free time he had looking
over old case files. When Espo found him Percy was practically buried
under a mountain of old paper pouring through each and every one of
them.
Eventually Espo managed to drag Percy out and they were now
heading to the forensics lab. They quickly entered it and immediately
Percy was hit with the smell of chemicals, mostly embalming fluid and
the like.
Chapter 622
Standing before them was a corpse laid out on a flat operating table. It
was an older man with white hair on his chest, and what else?... Oh
yes, he also had his chest cavity open exposing his internal organs.
Percy figured that the sight of a dead body might disturb him, but it
didn't. Gamer's mind didn't even have to activate, Percy had seen so
much horrible shit that a dissected dead body didn't even phase him
now.
"Your early," a woman walked out of the back room of the lab wearing
white gloves stained with blood and a blue nurses uniform. She had
dark skin with a curvy figure and curly black hair. Percy figured she
was the medical examiner/forensic specialist.
"Hey Lanie," Espos smiled as they walked to Lanie.
"So you just going to drop him off with me for the day?"
"Well I figured you could use the extra set of hands," Espo shrugged.
"Really? Is that what this is? It isn't you handing me your problem for
the day?" Percy raised an eyebrow.
"Trust me Lanie this kid is a miracle worker, he organized the entire
records room in a day," Espo said in a tone of disbelief, "a day Lanie!"
The medical examiner rolled her eyes, "yeah yeah. So, this is the boy
genius Kate and Castle have been raving about huh?" Lanie looked
down at Percy giving him a smile, "I'm Lanie by the way, Lanie Parish."
"Percy, Percy Jackson," Percy offered his hand but then stopped
looking down at Lanie's blood and gore covered gloves, "ah, on second
thought maybe we should just wave."
Lanie chuckled, "nice. Anyway I hope you have a good stomach kid,
because the stuff you'll see here….well let's just say it's not for the faint
of heart."
Percy nodded, "it's cool. I have a pretty good stomach."
Lanie shrugged, "fine, don't say I didn't warn you. Now, what do you
know about the human body?"
Percy recalled all he knew. It wasn't much, it barely warranted it's own
branch in his knowledge skill set. "Not much, but I'm a very fast learner.
Like give me a book and I can have it memorized."
Lanie raised an eyebrow, "okay….." she turned to Espo, "you owe me."
"I know, thanks babe!" Espo turned to Percy, "and you, behave."
"What could I possibly do?" Percy asked.
"I spoke to Kate last night, she told me how you went behind her back
and basically interfered with an ongoing investigation."
"Well in my defence I didn't really go behind her back, that would mean
I was her partner or something. I was just a third party individual that
just happened to have the skill set to save lives," Percy gave Espo a
shit eating grin.
The ex-soldier laughed, "yeah yeah kid, just don't go out and try to
solve crimes on your own or something. See you tomorrow!" And with
that the cop left.
"Here," Lanie said as she handed Percy a large text book that dealt
with the basics of the human body, "go sit in a corner and go through
this."
"Wow," Percy grabbed the book. It was huge, easily going up to 2
thousand pages, and the print was small, like font 4 size small. "I
somehow get the feeling you don't want me here."
"It's not you sweety, it's the job," Lanie pointed at a desk, presumably
hers, and it was filled with folders, "I've just been backlogged for a long
time. I can't afford to waste time on a trainee, no matter how cute he
is."
Percy smiled at the last comment, "well maybe if I learn this fast
enough I could help you."
Lanie smiled, "that would be nice. Now go and study, we can talk about
it over lunch."
And with that Percy went and sat in Lanie's desk, she wasn't using it,
so might as well right? Percy opened the book and quickly began to
look through it.
Whenever Lanie got a moment to spar she would look over to her desk
and spot Percy sitting there reading the book. She was surprised at the
speed at which he read, his eyes didn't last for more than a few
seconds on each page. She doubted he could actually memorize all of
that, but even if he only had a vague understanding of the human body
then it would be good enough for her.
Some time later:
Lanie had just come back from finishing her lunch, she had offered to
take Percy out but the boy was far too distracted. He insisted that he
wasn't hungry, which made sense considering he spent the first hours
of the day looking at dead bodies and reading about the 'miracles' of
the human body.
But when Lanie entered her office once more Percy wasn't at her desk
pouring over a book, no, he was currently over the corpse she was
performing a medical examination on with the corpse file open in his
hands.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lanie asked.
"He died because of mercury poisoning," Percy stated as he turned to
the medical examiner, "the way the nerves are rected and the blue
lines running across the victim's body indicates as such."
Lanie blinked, "wow, that's pretty good. But that isn't the cause of
death."
Percy blinked, "what?"
"The mercury poisoning was there, but it didn't kill him, something else
got to him first. If you notice the mercury hasn't spread too far, so
something else happened that killed him."
Percy formed as he glared at the body like it had offended him in some
way. He stayed silent for a few minutes, his eyes constantly shifting
from one organ to another, before finally he smiled.
"Kidney failure," Percy claimed, "he died because of a kidney failure."
This time Lanie was genuinely surprised, "what?" she put on a pair of
gloves and looked over the corpse. She hadn't noticed the
discoloration of the kidney's underside, it wasn't normally the first thing
anyone looks for.
The female forensic analyst turned to Percy, "how did you know that?"
Percy grinned, "I have a good eye."
Human Body, Percentage known- 65%
You knowlegde about the human body and how it is affected by
various substances. It is currently above average than the normal
person, on par with physicians.
This new skill helped Percy individually analyse the victim's corpse and
find out what was wrong. Now that he actually knew what all those
complicated terms meant he had a much easier time knowing what to
do.
Organ: Liver,
A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates,
involved in many metabolic processes.
Status: Liver failure (Death)
The medical examiner whistled, "damn….okay I'll take it back. Espo
just might have given me the best birthday gift ever."
"Oh, it's your birthday?"
"Figure of speech honey," Lanie smiled as she grabbed an extra set of
gloves, "now put these on. Let's see if we can use that genius head of
yours and that sharp eye to find out just what the hell happened with
these people."
"Yes ma'am," Percy grinned as he took the gloves and stood behind
Lanie. She slowly began to pour over the body, dictating aloud
everything she was doing. Percy stood there taking mental note of all
that she said. It payed to have an intelligence level of over 100 points.
Chapter 623
By the end of the day Lanie had finished over half the of the ongoing
cases she had piled up. Percy had been a machine, moving from one
file to the next. And often times his predictions were spot on, of course
he often times needed help, he was doing this for the first time ever,
but it was almost supernatural the way he knew exactly what was
wrong with the dead bodies.
"I have to say Percy, I'm very impressed, were you lying when you said
you had no prior experience with this kind of stuff?" Lanie asked as she
sat back on her desk enjoying a hot cup of coffee.
Percy smiled,"no Lanie, I wasn't. I told you, I'm a quick study."
"Well you better be, or else I just might think you were an angel sent by
God or something," Lanie smiled as she drank the brown bitter drink.
"Wrong religion," Percy muttered.
"I'm sorry what?"
"Nothing!" Percy smiled.
Just then the doors to the medical lab were thrown open as Castle and
Kate walked in. Percy smiled, "hey guys!"
"Hello Percy, Lanie," Kate smiled at her friend, "you seem pretty
relaxed."
"I am," the dark skinned woman smiled.
"Weren't you just complaining this morning about how much work you
had to go through?" Castle asked as he and Percy shared a hug.
"I was, and now I'm not. And it's all thanks to this miracle boy over
there," Lanie pointed at Percy who blushed.
"It was nothing."
"Yeah, sure," Lanie rolled her eyes, "I honestly don't know what's going
on here Becket. I gave him a medical journal to read, and in a few
hours he was done. I then asked him to help out, and the next thing I
know half off my work pile is finished and I'm sitting here drinking
coffee, thanks for that Castle."
"Don't mention it," Castle turned to see Percy's confused look, "I
bought them a new coffee machine a few years ago," he explained
causing Percy to nodd.
"So when were you guys going to tell me you two adopted a genius?"
Lanie asked looking at Castle and Kate.
"Really? A genius?" Kate asked.
"Well he did learn in one afternoon what I learnt in over three months.
Sure it's not perfect, he needs a lot of experience, but damn if that still
isn't impressive!"
Kate turned to Percy, "you know Espo told me a similar story, one
about you filing and arranging the entire records room in a single day."
Percy chuckled, "I told you I was awesome."
"The king of video Game and menial tasks," Castle patted Percy on the
shoulder, "you my young friend are very impressive."
"Thanks Castle," Percy smiled.
"Now why are you two here?" Lanie asked, "I assume it's not just to
check up on the boy genius over here."
"Did you get the body we found in Central park?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, I was just about to go over it after my break," Lanie went to the
morgue, "Percy pick up the 'John Doe' case file please."
"Got it," Percy grabbed the file as the small group of people moved to
the wall containing all the bodies. Lanie opened up one of the
refrigerated compartments and pulled the table out. The body on the
slab was off a 25 year old male, no tattoos, no marking of any kind.
The police and Lanie had no idea who he was. But Percy….well Percy
had a different problem.
Adam Lohus, Lawyer
Lv- 14
HP: 0/0 (Dead)
MP: 0/0 (Dead)
Race- Human
Str- 0
Vit- 0
Dex- 0
Int- 0
Wis- 0
Luc- 0
The corpse of one Adam Lohus. In life he was a successful
defense lawyer for the criminal underworld. He was unmarried
and has no one close to him.
Likes: Golf, Money, Sex
Dislikes: African Americans, Dodgers.
He doesn't know Percy
In life he was a great lawyer and excelled in thinking up airtight
defence arguments.
He doesn't have any feelings, he's dead
Percy knew exactly who this man was, and he couldn't figure out how
he could tell Castle and Kate how he knew this.
As Lanie was explaining to Castle and Kate what all she found while
operating on the body Percy looked over the body. The man died from
strangulation, there were rope marks around his neck. But it wasn't a
suicide, the dozen stab wounds on his sternum suggests otherwise.
Adam here was a lawyer, and that meant his prints must be in some
system somewhere, but the killer must have already thought about that
and Adam's fingers had been burnt with a torch. Lanie hoped that she
could find something out using his dental records, but that wasn't really
a promising lead.
Just then Percy noticed something, something he hadn't seen before.
He didn't realise how he could have ever missed it, Adam's body as
missing something, it's left pinky toe.
"No fucking way," Percy gasped, this was exactly like the bodies he
was reading about last night.
"Got something for us Percy?" Kate asked looking at Percy's surprised
face.
"Yeah….but even I don't' believe it," Percy didn't understand, just last
night he was reading about this case, and today boom, a body with the
exact marking of the killer he had wanted to find. Could he be that
lucky? Wait…
Percy pulled up his stats and looked at his luck;
LUC-100
Unfortunately today wasn't Friday, so that meant he didn't get his luck
day +25 bonus. But that still made it too farfetched, it was almost like
Percy was….granted a wish… 'No, no, no!'
Percy quickly pulled up his perks and looked through them;
Wish- Make one wish a week. 40% chance of success, less the
more ridiculous the wish is. (Used. Waiting time- 6 days and
counting.)
'Great, just great. The first time this thing actually worked and it did so
to provide me with a dead body.' Percy was worried, did he cause this
man to die? Did he doom this man because of his wish? Or was the
wish simply easy to grant and that's why it was the only one that
worked?
"Percy," Castle questioned in a concerned tone, "are you okay?"
Percy snapped his head up, "y-yeah. Lanie, when did this body die?"
"Ah, from what I can tell the 'John Doe' died sometime around 5 in the
evening last night. At least that's what the decomposition tells me."
Percy sighed, 'good, that means he died before I made the wish.
Meaning the only reason my wish was granted was because it was
easy to grant. But that begs the question if I never asked for it, would I
be standing here right now with the opportunity to solve this case?'
Chapter 624
The implications were mind boggling for Percy, just as he was about to
think about the ability for him to affect the actions of the world around
him Kate spoke up, "Percy are you okay? You seem very distracted."
"I'm fine," Percy pushed the thoughts away to the back of his mind, "I
need a few minutes."
Kate and Castle nodded and Percy quickly ran out. As he left he could
here Lanie speaking, "I don't' understand why he reacted like that. He's
been here all day, he's seen way worse things."
Percy however didn't care, he quickly ran to the bathroom and checked
it. Once he was sure he was alone he opened his inventory and pulled
out the file he nicked the day before. This was the case file they
needed, with this Castle and Kate could track down the killer.
Percy was tempted, very very tempted to just run off on his own right
now and get this man. All he would have to do is wait, if this killer
followed the same pattern then another body would show up
somewhere in central park tonight.
But at the same time Percy knew the difference between justice and
vengeance. If it was Percy's mom who was killed, and he couldn't find
the killer, then he would want justice for the crime. He wouldn't want
some random third party to take care of the killer, Percy would want to
do it himself. And the family of the victims...they deserved that.
So Percy sighed and walked out of the toilet. He walked back to the
morgue, "here, you guys will need this."
Castle took the file and quickly poured over it with Kate reading over
his shoulder Castle finished first as he looked at Percy, "where did you
get this Percy?"
"Yesterday while in the Record's room I looked over a couple of cold
cases," Percy explained, "a few stuck out to me, this was one of them."
"So you think the same person who killed these four people is back?"
Kate asked as she passed the file to Lanie who went over the corner
reports of the bodies.
"Yeah, well either that or a copy cat," Percy pointed at the missing
pinkie toe, "that is a very specific trophy. It has to be one of those two."
"Well then maybe we are looking at a copycat," Castle offered, "after all
it can't be the original killer, he must be what? 80 something by now?"
"No, it's not a copycat," Lanie spoke up, "this reports match exactly up
with what I'm seeing over here. The angle of the cut, the missing bones
in the pinkie that were removed after the cut. It's way too close to be a
coincidence."
"So maybe the new guy knows the old killer," Percy supplied, "maybe
the older killer wanted to leave behind a legacy."
"We need to track down the officers that were in charge of this case,"
Kate said, "from what I can see we only have one lead, Parkins."
"What about that travis guy?" Castle asked.
"Dead," Percy supplied, "I know, I checked last night. Do you guys
have Parkinson's address in the database?"
"If he's getting his pension from the department then yes," Kate took
out her phone and dialed in a number, "this is detective Beckett, I need
the address of one retired police officer..."
While Kate arranged for that Percy turned to Castle, "I'm coming with."
"Yeah, no can do," Castle shook his head, "it's way too dangerous for
you."
"You came in here with nothing Castle, I'm the one who gave you not
just a clue, but a lead. Without me you would have had to pile through
the entire records room, which I remind you I arranged and catalogue
just the other day. You would have had to look through all of them, by
the time you did that the killer would have struck again."
"...If I didn't know you were Sally's son before I sure do now," Castle
sighed, "look it's not up to me."
"It's up to me," Kate walked to them as she put away her phone, "I got
the address, come on Castle."
"I'm coming with," Percy grabbed his coat.
"No you're not," Kate argued back.
"Kate if you don't let me come with you I will go behind your back and I
will find this man on my own. If you don't think I will, then you don't
know me at all."
"Percy I'm grateful for your help, I am. But any interference from a non
department individual and any case we make against this guy won't
stick."
"And why is Castle allowed to go?"
"Because' he's a consultant," Kate glared, "you are not coming, that's
final."
"Fine….but if one more body appears tomorrow and you two aren't any
closer to finding the killer I'm stepping in."
"You know it's almost cute when you behave like that," Castle
chuckled, "it's like seeing a mini me."
"Expect more handsome," Percy turned back, "now go, before I change
my mind."
The couple rolled their eyes and quickly turned away. They waved
goodbye to Lanie and walked out of the morgue.
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Find and Stop the serial killer!
Rewards:
+10,000 Exp
?
Failure:
3 more people will die
Do you accept?
YES/NO?
Percy pressed yes without hesitation.
He walked to the phone on Lanie's desk and picked up the receiver
dialing up the central database. Cleared his throat deepening his voice,
"hello, this is detective Esposito, badge number 2232D, I need the
present address of one Rickard Parkins."
Lanie's eyes went wide as Percy took down the offered address. He
put the phone down and tucked the piece of paper with Parkin's
address away.
"When did you get Esposito's number?" Lanie asked.
"I got a glance of his badge yesterday," Percy shrugged, "figured he
wouldn't mind."
"You realise you are going to be in big trouble right?"
"Are you going to try and stop me?"
"No, frankly I think Kate was being a little dense by not bringing you
along," Lanie admitted earning a couple of brownie points in Percy's
book, "but she did have a point. If you interfere with a police
investigation then you are risking letting this guy walk free."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Percy promised as he walked out the door,
"don't wait up!"
The demigod quickly walked out of the present and into an alleyway.
The address he got was pretty far way in Queens. Castle and Kate
were taking their car, meaning they were going to be delayed by traffic.
So Percy already had a head start on them.
He slipped into his Time dilaton ID and ran across the city. He crossed
the bridge from the island and into Queens. He approached a sub
urban area in the very edge of the area, it was the kind of place where
every building looked like every other building, the kind Percy hated.
He quickly reached the address of the retired cop and slipped out of his
ID. the house was an independent building with two stories and an
unkempt front lawn. Percy looked around, he couldn't see anyone
inside, and his mana wave only worked on people with magical
abilities. Mortals most often don't have any magic to detect.
Chapter 625
The best thing for Percy to do right now would be to wait for Castle and
Kate….neah.
He quickly thought off a couple of ways to talk to the man and find out
what he would need to know. Since he was old and retired now the
man would have a lot of free time. Percy could just walk up to the man
and ask about his case, he was a policeman though, and those guys
wouldn't talk about cases unless there was a reason to.
Percy quickly formed a plan, the direct approach would be the best.
He walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. He waited for
a few moment before the door swung open revealing a thin elderly man
standing up with a cane. He smiled, "yes, can I help you?"
Percy opened his mouth and was about to answer, but his voice got
caught the moment he saw the man's title;
Richard Parkins, Serial Killer
Lv- 17
Percy couldn't believe it, he had found him. This guy was the killer, no,
that couldn't be, he needed to be sure. So Percy Observed him;
Richard Parkins, Serial Killer
Lv- 17
HP: 300/300 (-400 due to old age)
MP: 0/0
Race- Human
Str- 4 (-13 due to old age)
Vit- 5 (-12 due to old age)
Dex- 6 (-10 due to old age)
Int- 15
Wis- 19
Luc- 21
Parkins is a retired police officer that now lives with his son,
Jared. He served the department for over 30 years and was a
decent cop, however he used his time there to get away with
murder as Parkins often was struck with the tendency to kill
people. He so far hasn't gotten caught
Likes: Killing, women, TV
Dislikes: Beautiful women, Old age, his son
He is aroused by Percy' face
He is a smart killer that knows how to cover his tracks.
He is feeling aroused and excited
Percy couldn't believe it. It wasn't solid proof, this just said he was a
killer, not the killer. He didn't know for sure if this was the man he was
looking for. But Percy had a way to make sure.
Immediately Percy brought his hand up and began manipulating the
Mist. Parkins' eyes began dazed, his older age and dull mind made it
easier for Percy to manipulate him.
"Did you kill those four people 30 years ago?" Percy asked.
"What? No," the man answered. Percy couldn't make the man tell him
the truth, but he could confuse him, make him less jumpy to the
questions asked.
Lie Detected!
Percy frowned, "where did you keep them?"
"I don't' have to tell you," the old man was slowly breaking out of his
dazed state, but Percy held on.
"If I search your house will I find evidence to convict you of those
murders so many years ago?"
"No."
Lie Detected!
Percy didn't have much time, the man was slowly fighting back, he
needed to end this now. He snapped his fingers wiping away the past
five minutes from the man's memories, replacing it with a memory of
sitting in his living room watching TV.
Ping!
You have leveled up a skill!
Mist Control, Lv-4 (20%)
The user can control the mist to create illusions and effect the
perception of reality of victims.
Can be used on- Mortals
Percy quickly slammed down and prayed to his dad that his 80%
believability rate on his acting skills would be enough for what he was
going to do.
The old man shook his head, the false memories were setting in. He
looked up at Percy, "who are you?"
"Hi, I'm new to the neighborhood and just thought I should introduce
myself," Percy smiled as he extended a hand.
"I see, well I'm Richard Parkins," the man smiled as he shook Percy's
hand. The demigod could feel the lust roll off the man's body, he was
sick in the head, but not the kind that Carol was, no, he couldn't be
healed. He actively looked for victims and used his job to cover his
tracks. He needed to answer for his crimes.
"Well I'll see you soon Mr. Parkins," Percy turned to leave.
"Oh please, don't leave, come in," Parkins stepped aside inviting Percy
inside, "I'll get you something to drink."
'Yeah, sure so that you can roofie me I'm sure,' Percy didn't let his
smile falter, "please I don't want to be a bother. Plus my parents want
me to come home right now."
Lie succeeded!
"I see..." the old man scanned Percy for any sign of deceit, but found
none. "Well where do you stay?"
"A few streets down. The house with the red roof," Percy recalled
passing the house when running here.
Lie succeeded!
"I see, well don't' be a stranger, come and visit when you wish,"and
with that the man closed the door.
Percy walked away, he looked over his handler and saw Parkins
looking at him through his window curtains. Percy smiled and waved,
the man waved back. Percy turned the street corner and stopped, he
needed to tell Castle and Kate this.
A few minutes later:
Their car pulled up and he two partners walked out. They waked
towards Parkin's house when Percy spotted them.
"Pst!" Percy hissed. He managed to get Castle's attention who looked
surprised to see Percy there. Percy waved him over, Castle tapped
Kate's shoulder and pointed at Percy. Her jaw dropped, and Percy just
waved them towards him.
Percy stood away from the line of sight from the Parkin's house, he
didn't want to risk the old man seeing him.
Kate reached him first, "how the hell did you get here before us?"
"Train, plus you guys drove here on a Saturday afternoon, it's like you
wanted to get caught in traffic," Percy rolled his eyes.
"I'm not even going to question this," Castle sighed, "fine, I assume you
already interrogated our one lead?"
"No," Percy replied, "I pretended to be a new neighbor that popped in
to say hello, and…." Percy had spent his free time thinking of how to
tell the two that the old man was the killer, "and I think this guy was the
killer."
"What?!" Kate had a look of complete disbelief on her face, "why?"
"Well for one he was checking me out," Percy shivered.
"So that would make him a pedofile, not a killer," Castle argued.
"Yeah, look I can't describe it okay, when I looked at im I saw the eyes
of a killer. And believe me when I say I know a killer when I see one."
"Really?" Kate asked, "why is that? Because your a cop with years and
years of experience? Percy you can't just throw around accusations
like that."
"Look Kate I get it, but trust me, please, he's the man we are looking
for. And the evidence you need will be found in his house, I promise
you."
Kate and Castle shared a look before turning to Percy. "Go back to the
Precinct Percy," Kate told him, "we'll talk when we get back."
Percy sighed, "fine. But please, trust me Kate. That man isn't a nice
guy, he's hurt people."
"Percy he's a cop, we have seen a lot in our time serving," Kate's eyes
became unfocused as if she was recalling a darker time, "we all have."
"Yeah, but yours isn't filled with bloodlust, his is," Percy sighed, "fine,
do what you want. I'll see you later."
Percy turned and walked away. Castle looked at Kate, "what do you
think?"
"I don't know Castle…..your thoughts?"
"I've seen Percy do some pretty amazing things, and that's not
including his amazing video gaming skills," Castle chuckled, "he
tracked down two missing kids in less that 12 hours Kate with nothing
more than a gang name and a single witness. And then...and then
there are times when he seems so much older than he is. There's this
whole other part of him and Sally that we have never gotten to see….I
think we should at least consider Parkins a suspect."
Kate sighed, "damn it, if you're saying it….fine. Let's go."
With Percy;
Perc couldn't go back to the Precinct yet, if he arrived too early then
the timings wouldn't match up and Kate would get suspicious. After all
there was no way a kid could go from Queens to NY in a few seconds.
Chapter 626
So Percy did what any good wannabe crime fighter would do, he went
to the scene of the crime.
The place where the body was found was a few feet away from a
runner's track on the South side of the park. Yellow tape was still up,
Percy couldn't get too close, so he slipped into his ID.
Since everything in the real world was copied into the ID world all the
crime scene was also done so. That meant Percy had the entire scene
for himself.
He slowly levitated himself into the air, there wasn't any use, the
officers who came to take the body probably already messed up any
tracks, but at least Percy won't be adding to the damage.
Percy then began to abuse the shit out off his Observation skills. He
scanned the entire area and found nothing, any evidence of anything of
importance found here was probably already at the precinct.
Percy was about to leave when he had a thought, how did an old man,
walking with a cane no less, manage to carry a 130 pound health man
all the way into Central Park? And that too without being noticed?
Realisation dawned on Percy as he immediately slipped out of his ID
and began running through Central Park. He pulled out his cell phone
and called up Kate.
"Hello?"
"Kate! There's two of them!" Percy yelled into the phone, "there are two
killers! He couldn't have done it himself! He's too weak!"
"Percy what are you-" something happened, she stopped speaking,
Percy heard mumbling on the other side of the phone. Suddenly Kate's
voice was heard again, "Percy, I need to go. Something came up."
"Kate wait!"
"Percy!" Kate snapped, "me and Rick have to go and meet Sally, you
remember Sally right? That old woman with the bad leg and her son?
Well you see the son kind of got into trouble over the week in his
school and she wants me to talk to him, give him the old 'if you keep
going down this path you'll end up in jail' talk. Understand?"
Percy blinked, "ah, yeah."
"Great. I'll call you soon, oh and when you come home bring Espo and
rest."
Percy nodded, "yeah, got it." The phone cut off. Percy understood what
was going on.
Kate was in trouble. Percy remembered reading about the man's son,
Jared, he must be the one helping the old man out. Carrying on the
family tradition. The old man and his son must have them at gunpoint
or something. Kate dropped far too many hints for it not to be the case.
Percy dialed up Esposito's number quickly, "hello? Detective
Esposito?"
"Who is this? Percy?"
"Yeah it's me, listen Kate and Castle are in trouble and they need our
help, now."
"Wait what? What happened?!"
"They were going to talk to a suspect when they got jumped, I
managed to call Kate beforehand and she indicated that she was being
kidnapped. I'll text you the address, get there as soon as you can."
"Wait where are you now?!"
"I'm a few blocks away from them," Percy lied as he began to run out of
Central Park, "I'll see you guys there."
"Percy don't try to-" Percy cut him off. He quickly texted Espo Parkin's
address and put the phone away. The demigod slipped into a shady
part of the park and took off in a blur.
He reached the same creepy ass street in a few seconds. Kate's and
Castle's car was outside, meaning they must still be here. The old man
didn't have a car, not one Percy could see, so he would have had to
take theirs.
He immediately slipped into his ID and ran into the house. He tore
down the door and began to search the place, Parkins had to be
keeping Castle and Kate here, people would notice if he walked out
two cops with a gun pointed at their heads.
Percy quickly found a secret backdoor in the laundry room. He tore
down the door with his super strength and walked down.
Inside was a dungeon of sorts. It gave Percy flashbacks to his time
with Carol. There was a single steel cage in the center of the room with
a metal table in the side. A tray of torture tools were lined up next to it.
Percy didn't have to be a genius to guess what the old man was about
to do.
The demigod immediately slipped out of his ID and the real world fell
into place. Parkins stood over the metal table with Castle strapped into
it. Kate stood horrified in the steel cage as Parkins and a younger man
with a big belly, presumably Jared, his son, had Castle knocked out.
"And now you'll scream," Parkins looked at Kate as he raised a dagger
high into the air ready to plunge it into Castle's heart.
"Fuck no!" Percy roared as he charged. Jared turned and fired the gun
in surprise at Percy' sudden appearance.
"Percy no!" Kate cried out. The bullet hit Percy in the chest, but instead
of piercing his skin the lead ball bounced off Percy's jacket.
Percy didn't even slow down, he grabbed Jared by the throat and
slammed him into the cage where Kate threw her hands between the
bars and grabbed the man by the neck choking him.
Percy then turned to the old man, "it's over."
"How did you get here!" the man tried to move closer to Castle, he was
going to threaten his life, but Percy was faster.
Percy caught the man's knife hand and pulled it up so fast it popped
the old man's arm out of it's socket.
"ARGH!" the older man roared as he held his now useless arm in pain.
Percy threw a punch clipping him in the jaw and knocking the man out.
He also knocked out a couple of teeth, but considering that he wasn't
dead Percy figured it was a job well done.
"Percy! A little help!" Kate called. Jared was struggling away from her
grip as he tried to reach his gun a few inches away from him.
Percy sighed as he walked up to Jared, drew back his foot, and kneed
him right between the legs sending the older man into shock.
"Thanks," Kate said as she let go of Jared's prone form, "can you open
this?"
Percy nodded "one second," he bent in front of the lock hand covered it
with his hands. He then began to move it, pretending to be working on
it when in reality he slowly unlocked it using his ring of Alcyoneus to
manipulate the metal lock.
Chapter 627
The cage opened up with a click and Kate jumped out wrapping Percy
in a hug, "thank God you came when you did."
"I would have been here sooner, but I was calling the cavalry."
"Where are they?"
"Probably still traveling from NY to Queens," Percy shrugged as he
moved to unstrap Castle from the table he was on, "I didn't actually
return back to the precinct, I stuck around, just in case."
Lie Successful!
"Right," Kate moved her hand to Percy's chest where the bullet hit him,
"how are you walking right now?"
"My jacket isn't just for show detective," Percy smiled, "it's a new type
of armour a friend of mine invented. Like kevlar, but better."
Lie Successful!
"Amazing," Kate felt the fabric, "where can I get one?"
'Well all you have to do is date the daughter of Zeus, and then you can
get your very own!' Percy smiled, "unfortunately it's very expensive. My
friend gave this because I saved his life."
"I see...fine, for now let's just get Castle upstairs," Kate went to pick up
Castle but Percy grabbed the man carrying him fireman style, "you
sure you can carry him?"
Percy rolled his eyes, 'woman I can deadlift buildings, I'm sure a
slightly pudgy writer won't be a problem,' "I'll be fine. Anyway, tell me
what happened."
"Well after you left Castle and I went to talk to the man. At first it was
fine, he spoke about what he did during his case, who he talked to. But
then Castle noticed something, the old man was softly insistent on the
fact that this murder had nothing to do with the older ones.
"And then….and then I pushed, I realised you might be right, it was
stupid of me, I know. But I started to question the man, treated him like
a suspect, and he noticed. Then you called, I picked up and the next
thing I know his son had a gun trailed on my head. Thank god you
noticed something was wrong."
Percy nodded as they walked to the living room and put Castle on the
couch, "right...I'll go down to check up on the two, you stay with Castle,
here," Percy tossed Kate his phone, "call up Espo and Lanie, they must
be worried sick."
Kate nodded as Percy tied Parkins and his son up with a rope he found
in the dungeon. They wouldn't be able to run away any time soon.
The swat team arrived in the house five minutes later, truly amazing
considering the traffic. Obviously this swat team was from another
nearby percent, Espo and the rest only arrived after a good 20
minutes.
By the time everything was said and done Percy had gotten a new
notification;
Quest Completed!
Find and Stop the serial killer!
Rewards:
+10,000 Exp
New title!
Congratulations! You unlocked a new title!
Junior Detective- While active you will gain + 2 INT and WIS. +10%
bonus on rewards from all crime related quests!
Some time Later;
Percy and Castle stood side by side as they looked through the one
way mirror in front of them. On the other side was Kate and Espo both
currently interrogating Parkins. The old man had a giant bruise on his
lower jaw with several missing teeth and a disjointed arm.
"Damnnn," Esposito whistled, "didn't know Percy was such a badass."
"He mentioned something about self defence classes," Kate smiled,
"didn't think we would get such great results from them so soon."
"Well whatever, I'm just happy he's on our side, a kid that smart, I can't
imagine how it would be if he turned on us," Espo shuddered.
"Yes, but he won't, he's one of us now, like you were Richard," Kate
glared at Parkins. The old man had his head down, he didn't meet her
eyes. "You were a cop, one of us, and you abused the power you were
given."
"We found the trophies you kept in your basement," Esposito explained
as he tossed a folder of pictures onto the interrogation table, "the left
pinkie's of all your victims. You kept them in little jar of stuff I can't even
begin to pronounce. But luckily you did such a good job at preserving
them we were able to extract DNA from them and match it to the
victims found 30 years ago."
The old man said nothing. Kate continued, "listen Richard, you are
going away for life. You will die in prison, but it doesn't have to be alone
in a jail cell."
The old man looked at Kate, "what do you want?"
"A list of all the cases you tampered with over your entire career."
"You want me to destroy my own legacy?"
"You already did that when you killed people," Espo cut in, "do this, and
we can think about reducing your son's sentence by just a little bit."
The old man chuckled, "no detective, no. If I do this, I want you to send
that useless brat away for life!"
Kate raised an eyebrow, "you would do that to your own son?"
"He isn't my son!" the man snapped, "he's an overweight
disappointment! I want him dead, I would have done it myself, but then
I would have no one to clean my shit."
Percy felt like puking, he was so glad Poseidon didn't treat him like
that.
"Fine, we get your son more time in jail, sounds like a plan, you ready
to play ball?" Espo asked.
The old man turned to Kate, he sighed as a look of confusion overtook
him, "I was so careful. So many years without getting
caught…..how...how did this happen?"
"You got cocky," Kate supplied.
"No, no I never get cocky. I'm not one of those killers that need to show
how smart I am detective. I know how smart I am, I don't need to be
recognized for it. No….maybe it was my old age, maybe..." the man
looked like he was trying to remember something, something long
since forgotten.
"Maybe you missed it," Espo rolled his eyes, "or maybe it's because
you just got bored. Or maybe you finally grew a fuckign conscious and
wanted to get caught."
"No...no I didn't want to get caught….I never wanted to get caught. I
can't explain it….it was like...like something turned on in me.
Something I thought I switched off."
"And when did this happen?" Kate asked curiously.
"Three months ago."
Percy's eyes widened as he gasped. Castle noticed as he looked at the
boy, "what? What's wrong?"
"I-I….nothing, nothing," Percy replied.
"Percy come on, it's obvious something's gotten to you."
Percy waved his hands altering Castle's memories, "I'm fine Castle.
Move on."
The writer looked dazed before nodding, "right...tell me if something's
wrong." Percy sighed, it looks like he was going to have to use his Mist
Control a lot more these days.
Chapter 628
Percy turned his attention to the interrogation currently going on.
Parkins was currently telling his sad story of how he was abused as a
kid. How his father used to threaten to cut off his pinky toe if he didn't
obey. In the end Parkins seemed to only kill when it suited him, he was
careful, and very very methodical. The more Percy thought about it the
more it seemed strange that such a man would just jump up one day
and decided 'hey let's go kill someone!'
'Maybe it has to do with Kronos rising….he did say he started feeling
the urge to kill around the same time Kronos got revived so….'
Percy looked at the man, he really looked. Before he was always
distracted, he needed to read his info card or save Castle's life, but
now Percy had more than enough time to look at the man.
The older man had many lines across his face, he lived a very sad life.
But there, right in the middle of his forehead, Percy could see
something. Something was there, but it was hidden, almost like….
Percy's eyes widened, 'like the Mist.'
Immediately Percy focused as he glared a hole into Parkin's forehead.
His eyes kept gazing over the forehead, his mind unable to process
what he was seeing, but Percy pushed on, he refused to look away.
And then like glass shattering, the illusion broke.
Suddenly a black crescent moon appeared on Parkin's forehead. Even
now the black mark seemed to fade in and out of reality, there was
some powerful magic in play here, the kind even Percy had trouble
breaking.
Percy didn't know what it was, he couldn't even see it long enough to
Observe it, he needed help. If this illusion was strong enough to
muddle the sight of a demigod, then Percy would need the eyes of a
God to help him. Fortunately he had one on call.
Percy turned to Castle, "hey Castle I'm going to hit the john, be back in
a second."
"Right, I'll call you in case we have a runaway gorilla or something. You
know, in case we need your help subduing it," Castle chuckled. Percy
rolled his eyes and he walked out of the room. He quickly went outside
the precinct and into a nearby alley.
He looked at the silver ring around his finger, the sma ring Artemis
gave him. He never took it off, well most of the time. He focused on the
ring, 'Artemis, I need you.'
Suddenly a silver circle appeared above the ring and Artemis's face
appeared. It was similar to an Iris message but Artemis told Percy it
was sort of her own personal method of communication, "Percy? What
is it?"
"I need you help Arty, it's urgent and it won't take more than a few
minutes."
"I see," the redhead looked around and talked to someone Percy
couldn't see. She then turned to him, "alright, I assume you're in a
place I can teleport to without any witnesses?"
"Yup."
"Then wait a few seconds." Artemis cut the call and the silver circle
disappeared. The very next moment the goddess appeared in a flash
before Percy dressed in her usual silver parka. Now however Artemis
looked a bit older, 16, maybe 17, she also had her hair braided with
just the hint of vanilla rolling of her scent.
"What's with the older look?" Percy asked.
"Why? Don't' like it?" Artemis raised an eyebrow.
"Not at all, just curious," Percy waved it away.
"Well if you must know we had a new hunter who was a bit older. I
thought that if I age myself up to her age it would help her adapt
quicker."
Lie Detected!
Percy blinked, 'why is she lying?' Percy was curious, but it honestly
didn't matter. "Right, well, anyway thank you for coming. I wouldn't
have called if it wasn't urgent, but I really need your help."
"Sure Percy, what's the matter?" Artemis asked as he guided her into
the police precinct.
"So yesterday I started my job here," Percy motioned to the police
department, "and we ran across this serial killer that reemerged after
over 30 years of silence."
"I see, and you caught him I presume?"
"Goddess please, who the Hades do you think you're talking to?" Percy
grinned, "the old man didn't stand a chance."
"So what did he do."
"Well, he….he killed a bunch of people."
"How many?"
"Five that we know off. Two grown men, a woman, a teenage boy
and…..and a little girl."
Artemis scowled at the last one, "did you hurt him?"
"I popped his arm out of his socket."
"Good. Now why do you need my help?"
"I noticed something when we were interrogating him. Something I
didn't realise was even there. In all honestly it was pure luck that I even
spotted it in the first place."
Percy lead Artemis into the room where Castle and he were looking at
the interrogation from before. He waved his hands wrapping the Mist
around Artemis rendering her invisible to Castle.
"Hey Percy, back so soon?" Castle asked.
"Yeah, what did he say?"
"Nothing important, just rambling on and one about what he did with
them before….you know."
Percy nodded, he then altered the Mist around Castle blocking out his
and Artemis's voice. "You're getting better at that," Artemis commented.
"Thanks, it's not a skill I'm proud off, but it's necessary," Percy sighed.
"So this is the man?" Artemis glared.
"Yeah, now, I want you to look at his forehead."
Artemis narrowed her eyes, "okay, what am I looking for?"
"A black mark on his forehead. It would be right in the middle of his
forehead," Percy pointed, "it was a little difficult for me, so maybe-"
"Got it," Artemis cut in as he eyes glowed silver, "it looks like….like a"
she gasped, "a black crescent moon."
"Yeah, any idea what that is?"
"Percy don't you realise what this is?!" Artemis snapped, "that's the
mark of Kronos!"
Percy's eyes winded as he looked the man. His mind began to spin
faster and faster. Random thoughts theories and ideas began to mix.
"Artemis come with me," Percy walked out with the Goddess following
him.
They stood in the middle of the police station and Percy turned to
Artemis, "how many of the people here have the mark?"
"I can see…." the Goddess looked around, "one, two…..ten…..twenty,
easly."
"Do any of the police officers have it?"
"No, none of them have the mark. But most of the criminals behind
bars do." Percy immediately turned and ran to the front. "Percy wait!"
The Goddess and demigod now stood outside. Percy turned to
Artemis, "how many now?"
Artemis turned her silver gaze on the general populace. At least a
hundred people were walking in front of them. It was Saturday night
and people were out to party. Artemis began to count, and kept going
and going and going.
Chapter 629
She gasped when she was done, "h-half."
"What?"
"I said half," Artemis turned to Percy, "at least half of the people before
us have the mark of Kronos."
"Artemis what exactly is the mark?"
"It's...it's a representation of Kronos's domain."
"Which one?" Percy asked but he already knew the answer.
"Evil, it's a mark of evil," Artemis turned to the people, "everyone with it
become a part of Kronos's domain. They…..they power him. He's using
them as a battery, drawing his energy from them."
Percy's eyes winded as realisation dawned on him, "three months."
"What was that?"
"The old man, the serial killer, he mentioned that around three months
ago he felt something turn on in him, something that pushed him to
return to his killing ways."
"You think the mark had something to do with it?"
Percy nodded, "yeah, but not just that. Ever since Kronos arrived crime
has been slowly increasing, it's now at an all time high,even the
mortals have noticed it. They believe that some kind of crime kingpin is
responsible, but we know better."
"Kronos's influence on the world is affecting the people in it," Artemis
quickly caught on, "meaning the more people become evil, the stronger
he becomes."
"And if he has already infected half the population of New York
alone…." Percy didn't want to think about how strong the Titan was.
"We need to notify Olympus now," Artemis warned.
Percy nodded, "right, give me a second." Percy quickly told Castle that
he had to leave, he gave an excuse about his mom being worried.
Artemis was waiting for him outside, she looked worried, and had good
reason to be.
As Artemis flashed Percy to mount Olympus only one thought ran
across Percy's mind, if half the people were infected, they why weren't
they all killing?
Only one answer came up.
They weren't killing because they didn't want to. The mark turned a
killer back into a killer, so it enforced the evil that was there already. But
if an infected didn't want to hurt anyone then they wouldn't.
But that also meant that half the population was currently now a
walking time bomb. One slip up, one moment of weakness and they
would explode, maybe figuratively, maybe literally. But Percy knew one
thing for sure, he had no idea how to stop this.
"We need to strike back now!" Ares roared as he got off his throne,
"Kronos is already amassing his strength and we need to gather ours."
"We can't just jump into battle Ares," Athena stepped forward to meet
her half brother head on, "we are fighting an invisible army here. An
army I remind you that has no problem finding out where we live. If we
gather our forces now, with nowhere to attack we would just be sitting
ducks. It would be equal to putting big red target on our back!"
"So you want us to just sit here and do nothing?!"
"No! I don't say that! We need to fight back, but we can't afford to call
our armies yet! That would just give targets for Kronos to attack!"
"Then what do you suppose we do woman?!"
"Plan a strategy of attack!"
"I do have a strategy, attack!"
Poseidon sighed as he looked down at Percy standing besides his
throne, "this is the problem of having two Gods of war."
Percy chuckled, "honestly I don't really care. This is some first class
entertainment. It's like a spanish soap opera, only more magic and
monsters."
Poseidon rolled his eyes as the two water lovers turned to their
dysfunctional family.
"Enough!" Zeus finally stepped up stopping the two war god from
wagging war, which seemed kind of redundant. "We will not settle
anything by arguing about this!"
"Then what do you propose we do father?" Athena asked.
"Artemis," Zeus turned to his daughter, "you said nearly half of the
humans have the mark of Kronos?"
The silver eyed Goddess nodded, "indeed father. Half, at least from
what I have seen so far."
"Percy," Zeus turned to the son of Poseidon, "you have the most
experience with these marked mortals, are they a danger to us?"
Percy hummed, "from what I gather, no, not really. If that was true then
we would currently be living in a city filled with killers all out to get us.
They way I see it these marks just push the bad people to do bad
things, while leaving the good ones unaffected."
"I see… Athena," Zeus turned to his daughter, "have your children
investigate these markings, find out how they spread and find out how
to stop them."
"They are going to need help," Percy spoke up, "and lots of it."
"And why do you think you exists Percy?" Zeus asked with a chuckle.
"They are going to need people far more powerful than me," Percy
clarified stopping Zeus mid sentence.
"What? More powerful than you?"
Percy nodded, "yeah. I could barely even see the mark, and that was
with my best effort. The only reason I know what it even looks like is
because Artemis managed to see it."
"I see..." Zeus scratched his beard. 'Huh, has anyone noticed Zeus is
saying 'I see' a lot? No? Just me? Okay.'
"Artemis, what task are you and your hunters currently engaged in?"
Zeus asked.
"The…." Artemis turned to look towards Percy. Zeus noticed what he
daughter what looking at and sighed.
"It's fine, he's the impromptu leader of the demigods, he deserves to
know about this," Zeus rubbed his temples.
"Well then, father, my hunters and I are currently hunting for the
Ophiotaurus," Artemis explained.
"Wait, is that the thing you have been looking for for the past half a
year?" Percy asked remembering his talks with Artemis during the
beginning of his summer.
"Yes, it is."
"Damn, what type of monster is it that it can hide from you?"
"A very powerful one," Hera explained, "it's part bull and part serpent. It
is said that if one harvest the entrails of the beast they will possess the
power to overthrow the Gods."
Percy blotched, "shit! That sounds both awesome and horrible!"
Poseidon nodded, "indeed, if the Titans ever got ahold of that…. I
shudder to think of what they would do."
"So wait if Artemis herself can't find it what hope do the rest of them
have?" Percy asked, "I mean is there like a titan of hunting or
something?"
"Well there is uncle Lelantos," Apollo spoke up, "but no one has seen
him over centuries, and besides, he's on our side."
Percy looked confused when Artemis spoke up, "Lelantos is our
mother's brother. As such he is our uncle by blood and is
quite...attached to us."
"Yeah, Artemis is his favorite," Apollo chuckled at his sister.
"Enough," Zeus snapped, "either way it is clear we have much to do.
Kronos may be silent for now, but I promise he will not remain that way.
He gathers his powers through these marks of his. We also have the
problem of the Ophiotaurus to deal with, not to mention Argo."
"Why Argo?" Percy asked, "did he like hack into the Pentagon and
steal nuclear launch codes or something?"
The Gods all started at one another before Hermes spoke up, "ah well
you know how it is. Argo is a man who can use Haki, so obviously he is
of concern."
Chapter 630
Percy realised his mistake, this was about that secret that happened
2000 years ago. The same secret the Gods would kill over, the kind
that Hermes was protecting him from. Now that he understood what
was going on Percy realised how the Gods were looking at him.
Ares looked positively pleased, like he was just waiting for Percy to slip
up so that he could kill him. Hermes was begging Percy with his eyes
to shut up, the same could be said for both Artemis and Poseidon.
Athena looked curious as to what he would do, while Hera, Zeus and
Hephaestus just looked surprised he would even ask such a question.
Aphrodite kept on not giving a fuck while Dionysus and Demeter
followed in her footsteps. And then there was Apollo, the only one who
wanted Percy to slip up more that Ares.
"I see," Percy said stroking his chin like Zeus had done several times
just a few moment ago, "very well carry on."
The Gods on Percy's side gave a sigh of relief while Apollo and Ares
looked like someone had just kicked their puppy.
"Well I have a suggestion," Athena stood up.
"Don't you always," Ares grumbled.
Athena glared at her fellow God of war, but didn't take his bait. "I
propose a three front assault. One team, lead by Artemis and her
hunters will search for the Ophiotaurus. The second will be lead by me
and my children, we will research and find out more about these
markings. The third team will deal with finding and locating Kronos
army."
"Wait won't you helping your children interfere with some ancient rule
or something?" Percy asked.
"A brilliant question Percy," Athena was positively beaming with pride,
"such wisdom from a child of Poseidon."
"He get's it from his mother," Poseidon chuckled.
"Clearly," Athena glared, "either way, no. Since Kronos is affecting
humans we are allowed to interfere as well."
"So because he broke the rules first you're allowed to break them as
well?"
"Indeed yes," Athena nodded.
"But won't Kronos suffer the consequences of his actions?"
"Yes, but I don't really think he cares," Zeus muttered, "either way this
is a brilliant plan daughter. Set to it immediately. Who will lead the third
team?"
"I was hoping Hermes father," Athena turned to the messenger God,
"he is the fastest deity we have."
"I could take a couple of demigods from camp half-blood," Hermes
spoke up, "it could be like a quest, expect well it would be a mission."
"Who do you have in mind?" Percy asked a little tense. This meant that
his friends would have to fight, he knew they were ready, after all why
else did he spend an entire summer training them? But still he worried.
"I was thinking a couple of my kids, maybe even that one son of
Hades, what's his name?"
"Nico?"
"Yeah, him. Maybe if you're free-"
"-No," Athena interrupted, "I don't think it would be wise to have Percy
come along for a mission regarding stealth."
"Hey I can be sneaky!" Percy protested.
"No, you can't," Poseidon rolled his eyes.
"Hey! Whose side are you on anyway?!" Percy yelled at his dad who
laughed it off.
"Fine, good point, but then what is Percy going to do?" Hermes asked,
"he is way too valuable not to use."
"I was thinking we use him to find the Ophiotaurus," Athena suggested,
"Artemis did not have much luck on her own, maybe with Percy's help
she just might find it."
"Ah that's all good and all, but I kind of have school and well…..a
normal life," Percy shrugged, "well I try anyway. I can't just push all that
aside. Plus if people bearing the mark do go crazy you need someone
who can stop them. With my job in the police department I can do just
that, keep an eye on things."
"Boy we are in a war for the very soul of the planet," Ares snarled,
"your friends and work can be pushed aside for a later time."
"Really? Is that what you did? Is that why you're a lonely little shit stain
now that only cares about war?"
"Why you little brat! I should skin you for that!"
"Bring it ugly!" Percy drew Waverider, "I need a reason to release all
this pent up anger!"
"Enough!" Zeus threw a lightning bolt into the ground calming
everyone, "there will be no fighting in this throne room! Do you both
understand?! One more stunt like this and I'll give you both to Hades
for a week!"
"Yes Lord Zeus," Percy grumbled forcing himself to add th 'lord' part.
He didn't like it, but Zeus was his girlfriend's father, and Percy knew the
God was doing his level best not to simply evaporate him on the spot.
"Yes father," Ares grumbled and sat down, but didn't stop glaring at
Percy.
"Either way Percy has a point father," Artemis spoke up, "I don't need
his help. He is a fighter, not a tracker. Plus if he joins my hunt his mere
presence would cause the other hunters, beings who have actual
experience in tracking, to get distracted."
"Why would I distract your hunters?" Percy asked.
"You're a man," Artemis shrugged, "if you were there they would spend
their time trying to kill you instead of finding the Ophiotaurus."
Percy nodded, "point taken."
Zeus sighed, "very well. For now Percy remains in reserve, but the
other three teams are to be set up and operational in a week's time. I
don't want delays, we need to be ready for the war, or it will come to us
when we least expect it."
"What about the demigods?" Ares asked.
Percy glared, "what about us?"
"They are a vast and powerful army, especially the Romans," Ares
smirked, he noticed how angry Percy got when Ares called the
Romans better, "we can use them to fight Kronos's army."
"We need to first locate the army Ares," Athena spat.
"Yes….but maybe we can use them to lure the Titans out," Ares smiled.
Percy narrowed his eyes, "I don't like your tone."
"Tough kid."
"Just what are you implying son?" Zeus asked.
"Kronos wants the support of the demigods, but lucky for us Percy here
stopped that from happening," Ares grumbled as he acknowledged
Percy's help, "but what if the demigods had a change of heart?"
"You would risk our children to set up a trap for Kronos?!" Athena
roared.
"Yes, I would!"
"How dare you! These are our children Ares!" Hermes began to yell
with a fury Percy had rarely seen displayed by the Messenger God.
"And that's exactly why they should do this!" Ares argued, "they can
handle it!"
"And why do you think that?!"
"Because I believe in them!" Ares snapped, "they are warriors, not
children. They have been raised to do one thing, fight. And I believe
they are strong enough to fight this war, I believe in them. Why don't
you?!"
"Because he and Athena don't see us as just warriors," Percy stepped
in, "they also see us as what we are supposed to be, children."
Ares glared at Percy, "you are not a child."
Percy nodded, "agreed, but there are still some amongst us that are."
"Is that worth dying for? That innocence?"
"Did you just ask me if it is worth dying for the innocent?" Percy raised
an eyebrow.
Ares scoffed, "you hero types are all the same. All talk, no back bone."
"And you give Gods a bad name Ares," Percy snapped.
"Enough!" Zeus snapped, he knew an argument was coming when he
saw it, "there will be no talks. We will not under any circumstances
endanger the demigods, they are our main fighting force!" Percy
coughed into his hand, "and-ah, and our children." Percy smiled.
"Fine!" Ares roared as he got up, "if you all don't want my advice on the
matter then far be it for me to deny you your deaths!" Ares charged out
of the throne room throwing the doors open behind him.
Zeus grumbled as he rubbed his temples, "this meeting is over. Leave,
all of you!"