Chapter 2

Usually on her day off, Annabeth would take her time getting up. Once she was awake, she would make herself a nice cup of coffee and enjoy it with her breakfast while working on a crossword puzzle from the day's newspaper. She would often take the day to herself and if necessary, looked at any Daedalus Tech projects that needed a full Board of Directors approval. If Percy happened to get the same day off, they would eat breakfast together and spend the day in each other's company. Sometimes it would mean a day in the city or at the beach, or maybe a visit to camp or to Sally and Paul, or they would spend most of their day in bed before ordering take-outs.

Today, however, was an early rise for both of them. They had wanted to visit Olympus together and consult the gods before Percy had to head back to the precinct.

The trip from their apartment to the Empire State Building was a quick one this early in the morning. Once upon a time when they were younger, to get up to Olympus they had to borrow a special key card from the guard at the front desk to access the six hundredth floor. With Annabeth's status as the official Architect of Olympus and their shared title as Heroes of Olympus, Annabeth and Percy were given their own key cards to Olympus, a very special privilege they were often reminded, though it also made it more convenient for Annabeth while she was still working on Olympus. This proved particularly useful at the moment since they were there an hour before the Empire State Building opened.

The sight of Olympus in the clouds never got old for Annabeth even after all these years. As they passed through the magical city to the gleaming white palace ahead, Annabeth felt a sense of pride surged within her every time she caught a glimpse of her work, forever immortalized in the city of the gods. Her crowning glory was the giant throne room that housed the seats of the gods and the beating heart of Western Civilization.

Twelve massive and unique thrones placed in a reversed-U arrangement - unfortunately, all empty - greeted Annabeth and Percy as they entered the ever-daunting room. A strong fire was burning in the hearth at the center, tended to by a familiar figure.

"Lady Hestia," greeted Percy as they approached the goddess. Annabeth offered her a short bow when the little brown haired girl, the immortal being's preferred form, smiled at them kindly.

Laying down the metal stick she was using to stroke the fire, Hestia made a sweeping gesture at the floor in front of her. "Please."

Annabeth traded a subtle look with Percy. Unlike Annabeth who was wearing, along with her shoulder handbag, a light blouse and her favorite pair of jeans for her day off, her husband was dressed for work in a suit and dress pants, hardly comfortable clothing for sitting cross-legged on the floor. True to his easy-going nature though, Percy have her a small shrug and took a seat in front of the goddess, leaving Annabeth to follow suit.

"Now, to what do we own the pleasure of your visit to Olympus," Hestia asked once they were all settled on the floor by the hearth.

"We're not sure if the gods are aware, Lady Hestia, but someone is hunting demigods in Manhattan, and we've come to ask for your help in finding out who's behind this," said Annabeth hesitantly. Monsters coming after demigods were not unusual and an unfortunate side effect of being a demigod after all. While Annabeth and Percy believed that this wasn't the work of any monster - well, any mythical ones at least because anyone willing to kill innocent people were monstrous and cruel - they could only hope that the gods agreed and were willing to help, fickle as they were.

Before Hestia could answer, the air around them grew strong with the scent of flowery perfume. A beautiful woman, one moment blonde, the next raven haired, ever fluxing and changing, appeared in front of them by Aphrodite's throne. Her designer yellow spring dress embroidered with moving doves fluttered in the nonexistent wind as she walked towards the three sitting on the floor by Hestia's hearth.

"Ah, Percy and Annabeth! I can feel your love the moment you walked on to Olympus," she greeted them. Aphrodite sat down beside Hestia in front of the two demigods; the bottom of her dress spread out around her, creating an elegant, beautiful picture.

"Lady Aphrodite," choruses Annabeth and Percy.

"About your problem," Aphrodite began as if she had been there since the start of the conversation. "A daughter of mine, dear Evelyn, has been praying to me about her boyfriend's kidnapping yesterday, the son of Ares, Liam Kearney."

"Like mother, like daughter," Annabeth mumbled under her breath.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Hestia's face before it was wiped away and a sharp glare from Aphrodite told Annabeth that her whispered statement was heard by the goddesses. She gave the two an embarrassed, apologetic smile.

"Anyway," Aphrodite continued, deciding to ignore Annabeth's little comment. "Since their love is genuine, though not quite as strong as yours, I decided to lend a hand so to speak and search for Liam's presence. Unfortunately, I can't sense his presence anywhere."

"No. Whoever is doing this already killed him?" asked Percy despondently.

"No," Aphrodite answered as she gave him a reassuring smile. "Not dead, but his presence is hidden from me - us. I had Ares checked in on his son after I couldn't locate the boy, and while he could feel enough of his presence to determine that Liam isn't dead, he wasn't able to pinpoint the boy's location either."

"Is that even possible? Hiding our presences from the gods?" asked Percy.

"It's not impossible," Hestia answered after a moment of silent. Annabeth could only assumed it was because the gods and goddesses hate to admit they weren't infallible.

"We've been around long enough for there to be a possibility of some charm or spell that could do the trick." Hestia carried on, unawares of Annabeth's thoughts.

"That makes sense," said Annabeth. "Sally was able to hide your demigod scent by making sure you were near an overwhelmly human scent that could mask yours for years." Annabeth pressed close against Percy's side, snaking her hand into his to give it squeeze, wordlessly comforting and apologizing to him for drenching his troubled childhood.

One corner of Percy's mouth briefly lifted up into a small half-smile just for her, letting Annabeth know he was okay. She gave his hand another squeeze.

"Is there any way around the interference?" she asked the two goddesses.

"If we know what's causing it, perhaps," answered Aphrodite with a secret smile that Annabeth didn't think had anything to do with their current conversation. She assumed the smile was more for the silent conversation she and Percy had just had. Sometimes Annabeth couldn't help but wonder if Aphrodite was watching every little private and intimate moment Annabeth had had with Percy, having had declared them as her favorite couple a few years back.

The goddess was speaking again, reminding Annabeth to focus on their problem at hand. "I did a quick check on my children, even the ones I haven't claimed yet, after I was unable to find Liam. There were a couple whose … passings I was unaware of," she said with a grimace. The concept of time was meaningless to those who were immortals, after all unfortunately. She shrugged off her uneasiness and continued on. "One of my boys is unaccounted for. He's only eleven and I haven't official claim him yet, little Jonas Ohevet from Hamden, Connecticut. I want you to find him and figure out if his disappearance is connected to our current situation." Aphrodite tasked Percy and Annabeth.

Annabeth would like to tell the goddess exactly what she thought of demanding godly quests, especially now that she and Percy were grown-ups, but the thought of missing innocent children stayed her tongue.

Perhaps Percy could sense her frustration because he ran a soothing thumb over the back of her hand that was still in his. "We'll do our best," said Percy. "Is there any other help you can give us?"

"No, I'm afraid you're on your own," answered Hestia. "Do take care that the secret existence of our world is not compromised during your investigation."

Sensing that their visit was over, Annabeth stood up and brushed any lingering dirt from her bottom and pants. Her husband was quick to follow her as they bowed to both goddesses and left the throne room. The surrounding magical city was bustling with life as they walked through on their way back to the elevator, but Annabeth didn't give it any of her attention. The trip back down to the Empire Building lobby was uneventful and quiet as both Annabeth and Percy became lost in thoughts.

It was when they finally reached their car that Percy spoke. "Hey, are you all right?" He was facing Annabeth now, both hands on her arms, rubbing up and down, slowly and soothingly.

Annabeth realized that she had been frowning since they'd left Olympus. "I'm okay. Sorry," she replied with a sigh as she looked into Percy's eyes. They were a lovely shade of sea-green that always seemed to calm her. "They're as helpful as ever like always. I don't know why, but any prolonged interactions with the gods recently have just left me in a less than ideal mood. I'd just thought we are past questing age!"

Percy pressed a kiss between her furrowed brows. His lips were a little dry, but Annabeth didn't mind. The two of them stood there on the sidewalk as people walked by them on the way to work. They stood there in silence with Percy still kissing her until Annabeth let out another small sigh and closed her eyes as she leaned into his embrace. As soon as he felt her relaxed, he moved his lips down to hers for another kiss.

Annabeth wasn't sure how long they stayed like that until Percy's phone gave a little chirp, warning them of their expiring parking meter. They pulled away from each other, but Percy's hands stayed on her arms.

"I need to head to the precinct," said Percy, "before my presence is missed too much."

"I'll head to camp then, and talk to Chiron, any demigods there right now, and the satyrs in charge of demigod recruitment to see if anyone has any idea what's happening."

"Do you want me to drive you?"

Glancing at the watch on her wrist, Annabeth shook her head. "No, you go on to work before you're late. I'll take a cab to camp."

"Mortal or the Gray Sisters'?" Percy asked.

Just the thought of the Gray Sisters' Taxi turned Annabeth green, but she wasn't looking forward to sitting in the back of a cab for nearly three hours either. "Ah, while I really don't want to lose my breakfast today, not when we're already dealing with the nasty topic of missing or dead demigods, the Chariot of Damnation is the fastest way to camp."

"Okay," said Percy before he and Annabeth turned down a nearby alley. Fishing out one of the golden drachmas he always carried around for emergency, he threw his coin into the street. "Stêthi," Percy shouted in Ancient Greek. "Ô hárma diabolês!"

The coin sank right through the asphalt and disappeared. The spot where the coin had fallen darkened and melted into a bubbling rectangular pool of red liquid like blood. A gray car erupted from the ooze a moment later.

The gray cab looked like it was woven out of smoke with the words GRAY SISTERS printed on the door. The passenger window rolled down, and a familiar old woman with a mop of grizzled hair over her eyes stuck her head out. "Passage? Passage?"

"One to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth answered as Percy held the door of the waiting cab open for her to climbed in.

He bent down and stuck his head in after her. "Be careful."

"You too," she said before giving him a quick peck on his lips. "I'll text you when I get there."

With a nod, he stood up and closed the door. Before Percy could even give the roof a slap to let the Gray Sisters know they were ready to go, the cab had already sped around the corner with Annabeth hanging on inside for dear life.

xxxxxx

They arrived at the boundaries of Camp Half-Blood in no time at all. She got out on wobbly legs, and before Annabeth could fully close the door of gray cab behind her, the Chariot of Damnation had already disappeared, leaving her alone. She took a few minutes to regain her balance and send a text off to Percy to let him know she had arrived safely at camp, thankfully without losing her breakfast.

The hike up Half-Blood Hill was short, and a forty-foot-tall golden statue of her mother greeted her at the top. While the Athena Parthenos remained cold and unyielding, an enthusiastic roar came from the nearby dragon Peleus to welcome Annabeth back to her first home. She gave the guard dragon a little scratch behind his scaly ear as she walked pass him and Thalia's Pine Tree, adorned with the Golden Fleece.

Camp was always a little deserted when it was not summer with most of its campers away at school. Annabeth exchanged a little wave with a year-round son of Hecate and nodded at two passing cleaning harpies on her way to the Big House. She hoped that Chiron was around and hadn't gone out to make any house call; she needed to talk to her old mentor.

When the Big House came into view, Annabeth saw that her prayers were answered. Chiron was sitting out on the porch in his collapsible human body wheelchair playing pinochle with their residential wine god Mr. D and her old friend Grover.

"Good morning!" Annabeth called as soon as she was in hearing distance of the group.

Grover looked up at the sound of her voice and dropped the cards he was holding onto the table in front of him in excitement. "Annabeth!" He rushed to pull her into a tight hug. "What are you doing here so early? - Not that I'm not happy to see you. - Is Percy with you?"

Annabeth returned Grover's hug and let out a cheerful laugh; all the tension that she had been unknowingly holding in her body since waking up that morning left with it. "Good to see you too, Grover. No, you'll have to make do with just me today."

They made their way onto the porch. Annabeth gave Chiron a small hug and Mr. D an extravagant bow, - she had been with Percy for too long - receiving an eyeroll from the god in return.

"Just because I haven't bothered turning you lot into dolphins, doesn't mean I won't, Annabell," said Dionysus as Annabeth took the empty seat between Grover and Chiron across from the wine god.

She nodded and smiled at the god's half-hearted threat, used to them by now and unfazed. They had strangely become a way for the god to show that he cared for his charges. Although if anyone mentioned it, Dionysus would be quick to state that he couldn't wait to get back to Olympus and that his three remaining decades at camp couldn't be over fast enough.

"It is lovely to see you, as always, my dear. What brings you to camp today?" asked Chiron.

"Unfortunately, nothing good," answered Annabeth. "I assume that you're all aware of the situation in Manhattan, the kidnapping and killing of demigods?"

"Sadly, yes." Chiron ran a hand over his tired face which seemed to have aged ten years at Annabeth's reminder. A can of Diet Coke materialized in Dionysus's hand and was quickly finished and passed over to Grover to munch on.

"Of the campers staying year-round, we've asked Demeter and Hermes' cabins to prepare burial shrouds for their siblings for when George and Barrett's bodies are released to their families." Chiron hesitated before continuing, "Ares's cabin is asked to the same for Liam, in case...in case…"

"Liam is still alive...at least for now." Chiron and Grover's eyes widened in surprise at Annabeth's statement. "Percy and I made a trip to Olympus this morning. Aphrodite told us that Ares can still feel his son's presence, though they won't be able to help find him. She thinks whoever is doing this has some sort of charm or spell that's blocking their presence from the gods."

Grover continued to chew on the aluminum can Dionysus had given him earlier as the wine god and Chiron traded a troubled look. "That is very troubling indeed."

"There's another thing," said Annabeth. "Aphrodite encountered the same blocking feeling when she tried to look for one of her sons. A Jonas Ohevet, 11 years old from Hamden, Connecticut, he hasn't been officially claimed yet. Do the satyrs have anything on him, Grover?"

"Ah, I have to access the database," replied Grover. "Mr. D, if you would." At Grover's request, Dionysus vanished all the cards from their forgotten game of pinochle with a wave of his hand.

With the table cleared, Grover pressed his thumb onto a delta symbol carving at the center. Once his thumbprint was recognized, a holographic keyboard and three-dimensional screen - the latest model from Daedalus Tech - appeared in the area above the table, visible for all those sitting around it to see. In the middle of the screen was the familiar image of a Pegasus with the words "Camp Half-Blood" above it and a box asking for login information below it.

Grover quickly typed in his login information to access the camp's mainframe database and pulled up the files on potential demigods the satyrs were keeping an eye on. "Jonas Ohevet," Grover said slowly as he typed in the name and then clicked open the corresponding file.

"Okay, he's 11 years old from Hamden, Connecticut as you've said, Annabeth. Suspected demigod - though I guess it's confirmed now - with a very faint demigod scent to start with according Rowan, his satyr keeper." Grover scrolled to the bottom of the file before he let out a nervous baaa!

From her seat, Annabeth could read what caused Grover's reaction.

Status: Missing
Last seen four weeks ago in a neighborhood park after school before an Amber Alert was issued by mortal local law enforcement the same evening.
Satyr Rowan Oak conducted his own search of Jonas Ohevet for two weeks with no result. Jonas Ohevet's faint demigod scent was unrecoverable.

"Oh dear," whispered Chiron. "It seems whoever is responsible for the events in Manhattan is more knowledgeable of our world and has been kidnapping demigods for longer than we realize."

"Grover, can you see if there is any other cases of potential demigods reported missing?" asked Annabeth.

After updating Jonas's file to including "son of Aphrodite," Grover added the parameter of "potential demigods labeled missing" into the search engine. In addition to Jonas, two other names came up. Grover clicked on the name below Jonas's and the file for Angela Musoke opened.

"Angela Musoke, 12 years old, went missing six weeks ago from her hometown of Easthampton, Massachusetts. Amber Alert was issued with no results, and her satyr keeper was also unable to pick up her scent either," read Annabeth.

Exiting out of Angela's file, Grover clicked on the remaining name, Julia Young. "It seems that Julia is our first missing demigod," said Grover as he scrolled through her file. "Eleven years old from Halifax, Vermont. Foster family reported her missing eight weeks ago. Suspected kidnapper's her biological father, Jacob Young, after he was seen around her school a few days earlier. Again, her satyr keeper couldn't pick up her scent after she went missing."

From the corner of Annabeth's eye, she saw Chiron massaged at his temple with one hand; his face drawn. "If the person responsible for all of this is a demigod's father, then it's very likely that he knew the real identity if young Julia's godly mother," said Chiron. "This isn't something that I've encountered before," he confessed. "Is there any hope that the mortal hasn't killed his daughter?"

Grover pursed his lips in thoughts. "He's killed George and Barrett," he reminded the group.

"True, but according to Aphrodite, Liam and Jonas are still alive, so maybe Julia and Angela are too" countered Annabeth.

"You can rule the girls out as my daughters," said Dionysus nonchalantly as he finished another can of Diet Coke.

Annabeth gave the god a glare, annoyed that that was the only thing he had to offer. "Right, so we might have to consider that he's after the location of Olympus since he's circling around Manhattan," she said grimly.

"Maybe even the location of camp itself," added Grover. "He switched from going after potential demigods to confirmed demigods, so whatever information he's after, only they could provide."

"In that case, we need increase our defense. I will ask Hecate's cabin to weave an extra mortal deterrent enchantment around camp," said Chiron as he left behind his wheelchair and galloped towards Cabin # 20 .

"We need to update Percy on what we found," said Annabeth as Grover typed a command onto the holographic screen to call Percy.

xxxxxx

The BAU started the day early after a brief night of rest, and as they walked through the 19th Precinct to the conference room reserved for them, Hotch half expected Detective Jackson to already be at his desk, toiling away. Yet the detective's desk was empty, his desktop not yet turned on, and the precinct was in a quiet lull between shift change.

As his team took their seats around their temporary round table, Hotch closed the conference door behind him and dialed in Garcia's numbers on the waiting speakerphone. He sat down and took a sip of his black coffee as he listened to the ringing phone.

"Our diligent detective isn't here yet," commented Rossi as he too must have noticed the detective's empty desk. "Interesting."

Before anyone else could reply, Garcia's cheery voice rang throughout the room. "Good morning, good morning, my fellow crime fighters!"

"Hey Garcia," said Reid. "What did you find?"

"Straight to business, I see. Well, fear not, Boy Wonder, because I've gotten the goods. Although, whether or not you like what I've found is a whole different matter because there's no way one Detective First Grade Perseus Jackson is our Unsub," said Garcia.

Hotch was a little surprised at Garcia's resolute tone, and he could see the rest of his team was as well. While their colorful technical analyst was rarely ever too serious, she was usually an astute judge of character.

"What makes you so sure?" Prentiss asked the question on everyone's mind.

"I'm not saying our detective is perfect, because no one is perfect and anyone saying that they are is seriously hiding some bad juju, but in going through his background, I saw an misunderstood kindred spirit so I want you to reserve your initial judgment as I tell you about his "delinquent, troubled" childhood. And I say that in very loose terms because he was just a victim of the system."

"Garcia, get to the point," said Hotch. It was a little too early for him to follow Garcia's tangents, as entertaining as they are sometimes.

"Right. Like our victims, Detective Jackson was raised primarily by a single parent - which I guess is one reason why he's so personally invested in this case - except for a couple of years when his mother was married to a Gabe Ugliano. Ugliano was a nasty son of a bitch who was suspected of abusing his wife and stepson, but no complaints were ever officially filed." There was a venom in Garcia's voice as she talked about Jackson's stepfather that Hotch was not used to hearing from her.

"When he was twelve, Perseus and his mother went missing for a few weeks. Their car was found fried to a crisp in Montauk, and Ugliano had the gall to say that Perseus had killed his mother. There was this whole national manhunt for poor twelve-year-old Perseus based on the words of his abusive stepfather, which is like unbelievable. Turns out, some crazy terrorist had kidnapped Perseus and two other teens, blew up the St. Louis Arch, and they had a gun fight on the shores of Santa Monica Beach where Perseus and the other two were able to escape."

Hotch's face was twisted up in surprise and disbelief that mirrored the faces of his teammates as they listened to Garcia continued her update.

"That's not all! When he was sixteen, Perseus went missing for nearly an entire year, and no one had any answers about it. When he came back, it was like Superman reborn. Maybe it was because he was older and had more control of his life, but he returned and was a model citizen, or as close as can be." There was a silent as Garcia took a breath.

"Perseus graduated high school at eighteen, double majored in Ancient Greek and Political Science at Hunter College there in New York City, before he joined the NYPD Police Academy. Spent only two and a half year as a patrol officer before he was promoted! During that time, he received the Honorable Mention - the highest of the Meritorious Police Duty Award - and married his childhood sweetheart, one Annabeth Chase.

Can I just say, power couple right there? Annabeth Chase was one of the two other teens kidnapped alongside Perseus by the crazy terrorist when he was twelve. She graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University Undergraduate program and Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. And while Annabeth was an undergraduate, she co-founded Daedalus Tech, which you know I worship at the altar of -"

"- Garcia -"

"- Yes, yes. She's no longer involved in the day-to-day operation of Daedalus Tech, but she is still on their Board of Directors. Instead Ms. Annabeth Chase - her professional name - is an architectural design director for the Perkins + Will New York office -"

" - Garcia, focus on Detective Jackson -"

"- I was just coming back to him; I swear! He made Detective Third Grade at 25, spent two years with Narcotics, and earned a Medal of Valor, before he was transferred to the Major Crime Squad and promoted to Detective Second Grade. He was promoted to Detective First Grade three years ago after he received the Medal of Honor from the NYPD. Like I said, a stellar, decorated career with the NYPD and no chance to be your Unsub or have a connection with him."

It took a moment for Hotch to process all the information Garcia had just given them. He took a breath to clear his mind and tried to see if there was any other clues they might have missed. "What about the t-shirt, Garcia?"

"Um, the t-shirt...the t-shirt." The BAU waited in silence as the clack, clack of Garcia's keyboard filled the room. "Okay, you remember the gun fight I mentioned Detective Jackson had on Santa Monica Beach when he was twelve? Well, according to some old photos of the event, he and the two other teens with him were wearing those familiar orange t-shirts with a black Pegasus outline, but that's all I could find. I couldn't find any manufactures or any stores that sell those t-shirts. They're a dead end; I'm sorry."

The riddle that was Detective Perseus Jackson seemed more tangled and complicated the deeper they dug. "Garcia -"

Before Hotch could finish, the door of the conference room slammed open and the object of their discussion towered in the doorway. The temperature in the room plummeted and the team froze. Hotch hoped they didn't look like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"We got to go. There's another Amber Alert." The detective was gone again before anyone else could say a word.

xxxxxx

AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited the previous chapter. I'm sorry if this one felt like a lot of info dumping. I wasn't sure if I should include the last scene with the BAU because of that, but I figured best to get it over with. I'll try to include more showing and less telling in the next chapter.

Originally posted 5/8/2017