Hell And High Water 22 (pt. 2)

A continuation. Again, my sincerest apologies.

Days continued to pass on, some fast, some slow, and Percy had slept very little during them. He was utterly exhausted, but he had way too much on his mind to actually sleep. It had been a long few days for all of them but Percy felt like he had it the worst. He was still pretty unaware of things and, by the following night, he would be facing his biggest enemy.
Hours passed on and it was pitch black outside the windows and even inside the room, but the son of Poseidon still couldn't sleep. He had tried everything. It was late, he was tired, and the day ahead was bound to be a hard one. But sleep was putting up a fight with Percy.
He threw his covers off of himself and made his way into the bathroom. He didn't waste any time in stripping down and climbing into the shower. Nico heard the water turn on and rolled over in his bed to find Percys empty. He sighed, knowing what was going on, and flopped his head back down on the pillow. What had made him think this was actually a good idea, he didn't know.
Percy finished in the shower quickly and found his way back to bed. This time, though, he didn't find it nearly as difficult to fall asleep.
Hazel woke everyone later than usual the following morning and was sure to bother Percy last. He needed as much sleep as he could get and Hazel was going to make sure he had enough. But, by ten o'clock in the morning, she couldn't put up with him being the only one still sleeping anymore. The daughter of Hades went to make her way into the other room to wake him but was stopped by Nico.
"I'll get him." The son of Hades' voice was low and his half-sister responded with a simple nod.
Nico sighed and shook his head as he looked at the sleeping demigod. He crouched onto the floor but made sure to stay away from Percy the best he could.
"Percy?"
The older males eyes fluttered open with just the one word.
"It's time to get up."
He nodded gently and watched as Nico walked away. The son of Poseidon tossed his blankets off of himself and grabbed clothes before locking himself in the bathroom to change. He was really hoping things wouldn't be too awkward among the five but he figured it would have been, considering how things had gone over the last few days.
The day seemed to drag on in silence. The only sounds were the ringing of phones and shuffling of papers. Frank gathered all the weapons so the clicking of cartridges into guns could be heard occasionally, too. The sound made Percy slightly uncomfortable.
The hours ticked on and everyone went about there daily business silently and alone. The only words that were spoken were from Hazel to Percy saying that the son of Poseidon should eat something. He tried but couldn't manage to keep it down. But, at least he tried.
At one point, Percy passed out on the bathroom floor and came to with Frank standing over top of him.
"You alright?"
He nodded.
Frank sighed and wished he would have thought through everything a little better. He felt stupid for putting Percy in so much danger. After all, the men he was dealing with weren't stupid and the son of Ares wasn't sure if they would believe that Percy had begun working with other people.
"It's almost time."
Percy drew a shakey breath and nodded. He took the hand Frank offered him and used it to help him stand. In the room, everyone else was getting ready. Hazel was toying with a sniper rifle, Leo was putting a bulletproof vest on, Nico was laying a number of knives and blades on the bed and there was a laptop with a video chat playing on the desk. The man on the image was gathering together a number of wires and boxes with switches. The whole thing seemed well put together but Percy still didn't want any part in it.
In short time, everything was together and everyone was packed into Hazel's car. Percy clung to the door of the backseat as if it were the only thing that could keep him safe. In his mind, he was going over all the things they had talked about; from how to talk to how to sit as well as what alcoholic drinks Percy would be able to drink without having his judgement too impared. They told him certain things that could lead to problems and typical key words that could mean something dangerous. There was a lot.
At one point, Nicos phone went off. He spoke quietly and then relayed the message that Charon would be at the restaurant within ten minutes. Then things fell silent again and Percy was left to his thoughts.
After hours of driving, Hazel pulled her car into the parking lot of the crab shack and looked back at the son of Poseidon.
"This is it."
He nodded and everyone piled out of the car. As Percy went to leave, Nico grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the seat. The son of Hades reached up and locked all the doors so none of the others could open them without the key Hazel had, and Hazel wouldn't give it up easily. He just hoped Leo wouldn't go as far as breaking the window or something.
Nico turned to Percy. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wish there was something else we could do. I need you to understand that putting in danger now, is going to keep you out of even more later. I know that may sound stupid but you'll know what I mean in time." He took a deep breath. "I know we've already talked, but I still feel the need to apologize. I feel like an a*s and I know I'm crazy to think you'd ever forgive me. But you can't go in there holding a grudge." He sighed. "And I can't let you go in knowing you're holding it against me." It had, truthfully, taken Nico the entire car ride to come up with all that and he was very pleased with how it came out. He just hoped it would be enough for Percy.
Percy nodded. "I forgive you." His voice was barely a whisper.
Nico closed his eyes and a small smile crept onto his lips. "Thank you, Percy." Nico leaned forward awkwardly and kissed Percys head. He pulled back and reached up to unlock the doors but halted when he felt a hand around his arm. Percy pulled the son of Hades back into the seat and forced the younger to look at him. The son of Poseidon had tears in his eyes.
"I'm scared."
Nico swallowed and dropped his head. He lifted it after only a few seconds and reached out to wipe Percys tears away. And there those strange actions were again... He let his hand linger on Percys cheek for a few seconds until the son of Poseidon closed his eyes and leaned into it. That's when Nico pulled the older closer with the same hand and locked their lips with one another. He was sure Percy would be fine but, just in case, he wanted to kiss the elder before he lost his chances to do it again. Percy leaned into the kiss and let out a light moan when Nico bit his lip and pulled him closer.
The younger pulled away quickly and leaned up to unlock the doors before ushering Percy out. Nico clung tightly to the olders hand, feeling the demigods pulse with the base of his palm. Leo eyed the connection but he was the only one who paid any attention to it.
The five went over the plan one last time before they went their separate ways and rounded the corner of the building so they could reach the front door. It was almost dark and the meeting time was drawing very near. Percy saw a man approach his friends and acknowledge Nico right away. No doubt that was Charon.
Leo walked to Percys side and smiled at him.
"Alright," Hazel's voice pulled Percys attention from Leo. "Leo goes in first. Frank and Charon take the doors. Charon front, Frank back. Nico, rounds. Try to keep an eye on everything through the windows but don't get too close. I'll be on the rooftop. If things go wrong, get out. That goes for all of you."
Percy took a shakey breath. "What if-"
"We'll all make it out, Percy. I know that was your question. Go."
He nodded. Hazel smiled at him and he watched as they all went their separate ways. Hazel made her way to the roof of the building next door, Frank made his way around the back while Charon stayed close to the front door. Nico squeezed Percys hand once before letting it go and making his way around the building. Leo smiled again and spoke a quick "This'll be fun" before entering.
Percy waited for about five minutes before entering the building. Apparently, it wasn't just a restaurant but a crab shack, bar, club, sort of deal. There weren't many people, and Percy was glad for that, but he couldn't find the men he was looking for.
The son of Poseidon allowed a waitress to seat him and hand him a menu. Within a few seconds, the waitress returned being followed by two men. Two men Percy recognized quite well.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
Percy looked at the two men.
"Right on time." The son of Poseidon stood.
"You work with Persephone?"
Percy nodded, knowing that was the name Hazel had given the two men.
"Is she another one of your assistants?"
Percy smiled. "It's the other way around, actually."
Both men recoiled. "What about the big guy?"
Percy shrugged. "He got too cocky, so I fired him."
"Fired him?" Typhon questioned.
Percy chuckled. "Well, kind of. I mean, he doesn't work for me anymore so I guess you could say I fired him."
That comment earned smiles and chuckles from the other two men. Percy took a sip of his drink and looked around for the son of Hephaestsus. He wasn't hard to find and Percy felt himself relax a little when he saw the other demigod.
"So, the girl said you had some things you wanted to talk to us about?"
"That's right"
The Manticore lit a cigarette and spoke through the smoke. "Talk away."
Percy took a breath and tried to recall the things Hazel told him to say. "Well, you're not the only ones who want the Hades kid dead."
Both sets of eyes widened. "Is that so?"
Percy nodded once.
The bigger of the two men, The Manticore, shrugged. "Would you care to elaborate on that?"
Percy chuckled. This was where he got to have a little bit of fun with everything that was planned. Hazel wanted to make sure there was as little stress as possible so she told Percy he could play with the words a little to make them suit the conversation. And that's just what Percy planned on doing. "He owes Persephone his life."
The two men chuckled. "I hope she knows it's not worth much."
Percy shrugged. He hated the fact that he had to talk about Nico like this and agree with what the men were saying about him but there was really no other option, unless he wanted to give himself away. "Apparently not. But talking about her isn't why I'm here."
"Of course not." Typhon agreed.
"I'm here because I, and Persephone, would like to know what you have planned for Hades."
Manti cocked his head. "And why would we tell you that?"
"She wants to have a part in it, but stay as far away from it as possible, if that makes sense."
Both men nodded. "She doesn't want to get her hands dirty, right?"
Percy smiled in agreement.
"Typical girl." Manti scoffed.
"Does she have anything put together?"
Percy shrugged, remembering Hazel's words once again. "Sort of. She has plenty of very creative ways to tortue him yet doesn't actually want to be the one to carry any of it out. That's part of the reason I'm here; she was hoping I could relay her plans to you and have you put something together with her thoughts as well as your own."
The two men seemed amused. "Who's to say we have anything planned? We're men, and men don't plan. We just kind of think things up as we go."
Percy sighed. "I understand. But there has to be something you have in mind for the kid."
The two looked at one another. "I suppose. I mean, I wanted it to be pretty brutal."
Typhon nodded in agreement with Mantis comment. "He deserves it."
Percy nodded, this time. "Would you care to hear her ideas?"
The two men shrugged yet again.
"She likes torture. She was thinking water boarding, electrocution, acid drips, ripping out finger nails, things like that. She also likes mid-evil forms of torture, but I'll spare you the details on that."
The two men nodded. "Well, as brilliant as all those seem, we're not really thinking torture for this one. We'd like to get in, get the job done, and get out. The less time we spend around the guy, the less likely we are to get caught."
Percy nodded.
"What about actually killing him?"
The son of Poseidon shook his head. "That's where she fell short. She's more into making guys feel pain and hoping they die during all of that. She really doesn't have any creative ways to kill them. If they don't die during torture, she usually just shoots them. But, if there's no torture, the death has to be a little more interesting."
Both men nodded again. One took a sip of his drink and the other puffed on his cigarette. "Well, you should remember what we said before about it. Granted, we talked about torture during our first meeting, but that's not quite on the agenda anymore."
Percy nodded again, an action he was repeating simply because he didn't know what to say. In his opinion, he had heard enough and was ready to leave but he still had plenty of things to talk to the two about. He took a sip of his own drink before speaking. "What about poison? It's quick, it's quiet, it's clean."
The Manticore shook his head as he spoke. "Poison's a girls weapon. They like things quick, quiet, and clean. I don't have a problem with it if it's carbon monoxide poisoning for a large group or arsenic or something like that but poison isn't a guys thing. We like brutality, and blood, and guts, and gore." The Manticore snorted a laugh. "This is what you get for working with a woman."
Percy chuckled.
Typhon tapped the son of Poseidon on the arm to turn the boys attention to himself. "You should work with us." His voice was kind of whispery.
Percy tensed. This was one of the things he really feared about meeting with the men, and Typhon hadn't even sugar coated things. He hoped this wouldn't have been brought into the conversation and hadn't figured out what to say first so he was lost. "I-I" Percy coughed to cover his studder. "I think I'll pass."
"Oh, c'mon," Typhon pleaded. "I think you could be good for us. After all, you don't strike me as a ladies man, if you get what I mean. You're time would be better spent on me."
Percys stomach churrned. He looked at The Manticore and saw that he, too, was waiting for and response to Typhons offer. So, he was serious. Percy thought he might have been joking, but apparently not.
"I like working with Persephone." The son of Poseidons voice shook as he spoke. He had never imagined it being so hard to speak. "She's the smartest woman I've ever met."
The two men nodded, although they were teasing the teen. "Whatever, kid," Manti said. "Just don't get in our way when we go after Hades."
Percy nodded. The conversation had escalated pretty quickly and it was now focused somewhere Percy didn't want to be. But his work wasn't done yet. "I just have one more thing I want to know from you."
The men nodded and motioned for Percy to speak.
"What will you do if he has people with him?"
One man chuckled. "Why does that matter?"
"Persephone wants the least amount of bloodshed possible. She's a little... crazy and likes to clean up when she's done. If there's a lot of blood, the clean up is harder."
Both men scoffed and spoke and few derogatory comments about women. They both chuckled before one spoke. "You can tell her we don't plan on killing anyone but Hades, but if someone else gets in our way, we won't hesitate."
Percy nodded. What he had just heard was 'When we come for him, you'll die if we see you'. Those may not have been the words the men spoke but they were good enough.
"Well," Percy took and deep breah "I think it's about time I get going."
The son of Poseidon spoke loud enough for his words to be heard by Leo and the other demigod readied himself to move in a hurry if he needed to.
"You're leaving?" Typhon asked. "We just started getting to know each other."
Percy cocked his head to the side.
"I was gonna ask you to be my plus one at a party I'm going to a little later. It'll be fun, I promise."
Percy could feel his stomach flip and churn even more. He was getting himself into something he would have preferred to stay away from and Hazel hadn't walked him through what to do in a situation like this.
Percy smiled weakly. "No thanks. Parties aren't really my thing. I don't like a lot of people." The son of Poseidon kept looking at the Manticore, wondering if he was going to say something that might get Typhon to back off. But the larger man said nothing.
"Well, then we'll skip the party. We can head to my place and it'll just be you and me."
Percys heart pounded. He could see well that Leo was watching intently as the three interacted and he tried to give the other demigod a sign that he was ready to leave but needed some kind of help getting out.
Leo nodded in apprehension and took one last sip of his drink before standing and making his way toward the bathroom but passing the table first. The son of Hephaestsus purposely tripped over Percy's foot and stumbled to the floor.
Percy stood and managed to catch the male before he fell.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."
"It's fine; don't worry about it."
A clear blush spread over Leo's face as Percy fixed the hair on Leo's head that had been messed up.
Typhon and Manti snickered and looked at one another. The kid was pathetic. They both were, actually.
"Listen, kid. If you keep your arms around that guy for much longer, I'll take my offer back. And, let me tell you, you'd be missing out on the best day of your life."
Percy looked at Leo and then back at Typhon. "I'd rather spend my time with him."
Typhon scoffed. "Oh, please. The guy's too pathetic to just talk to you. He has to trip over your foot like an idiot."
Leo spoke up, although his voice was kept low. "Says the guy trying to seduce someone through a party offer."
Typhon turned his gaze to Leo. "Excuse me?"
Right away, the son of Hephaestsus knew he had messed up big time, but there was no sense in taking back his comment. He should have thought about the consequences before he spoke. "You heard me. He's just a kid and you're trying to get with him in the most pathetic way I've ever seen." He scoffed. "And you say I'm pathetic."
Typhon smirked. "Are you calling me pathetic?"
"So what if I am?" Leo knew he was signing his own death warrant and digging his own grave all in one go.
"I'm gonna give you to the count of three to apologize to me and get your a*s outta here. Ready? One."
Leo shuffled his feet but didn't go anywhere.
"Two."
A smirk spread across the son of Hephaestsus' face.
"Three."
And that's when the man charged Leo and tackled him to the floor. He wrapped his long fingers around the teens throat and whispered in the demigods ear. "Insulting me is not a good idea." He tightened his grip around the boys neck and Leo was really finding it hard to breathe.
A few seconds passed and Leo's eyes rolled into the back of his head. He stopped thrashing under the other male and his hands loosened their grip on Typhons wrists.
The Manticore sighed. "That's enough. Let him go."
It took a few more brief seconds for Typhon to release the grip he held on Leo's throat and, once he had, the demigod took a deep breath. He blinked a few times until he could properly see again and heard Percy talking to him.
"Are you alright? Hey! Can you hear me? Are you okay?"
Leo nodded gently and the son of Poseidon let out a very real sigh of relief. "Can you get up?"
Leo nodded again and managed, with Percys help, to get to his feet. He stumbled a little but the son of Poseidon kept a very tight grip on his arms.
Percy looked back at Typhon and the Manticore and shook his head before leaving with Leo. Apparently, the two men didn't appreciate the motion very much and were quickly angered enough for one of them to pull the hand gun from his belt. The few people who were left in the building stood and Percy realized, for the first time, that all these people worked with the two.
"Hey!" The voice very clearly belonged to the Manticore. "I don't like being walked away from."
Percy turned back around to look at the man. "You'll live."
The son of Poseidon didn't spend enough time facing the men to see their reactions but he couldn't imagine they were too thrilled. Just as he and Leo stepped outside the building, loud banging could be heard behind them. Leo knew exactly what it was and Percy had a very good feeling.
Leo pulled on Percys arm as he quickened his pace to a run. Nico, Frank, and Charon were quick to show up beside them and try to pull the two to safety, but the two really wished they wouldn't have. Bullets ripped through the air one after another after another and the sound was deafening. If Hazel hadn't already left her post, she would have been shooting back. Beside Percy, Leo let out a yell of pain and crippled to the ground. Pain was the first thing that registered in his thoughts but next was the fact that he was wearing a bullet proof vest. Still, getting shot in the back hurt.
Charon leant down and lifted him to his feet so the boy could keep running. A split second of silence filtered through the air as the two men reloaded their weapons but was quick to end when the firing resumed. Percy jumped at each bang of a hammer pushing a bullet down a barrel.
Over the sound of flying bullets, a loud yell could be heard. Percy couldn't tell who's voice it was, exactly, but he could figure since he heard Nico yell a loud "No!" and Hazel respond with an even louder "Nico, we have to go!". Percy went to look behind him but stopped when Franks words, "don't look", resonated in his ears.
It was only a minute, maybe a little more, from the moment they left the restaurant until the moment they reached Hazel's car but it felt like much longer. Frank pushed Percy and Leo into the backseat and climbed in after them. Hazel pulled away before the doors were even closed and she tossed a black box to her boyfriend. He clicked a button and Typhon and the Manticores car errupted into flames.
Percy's mind was spinning. He wasn't sure when things had gotten so serious but it was extremely overwhelming. Leo was groaning a little as he slipped his hoodie and vest off. Nico and Hazel were yelling at one another, saying something about Charon, although Percy couldn't tell exactly what. There was a fire alarm sounding soon and that was the last thing Percy heard before everything became too much and his thoughts went dark as he passed out in the back seat of Hazel's car.

Author's Note

There's only three sections left until Hell And High Water is completely finished.