Running Over Water

[10 - The King Has Fallen]

"Oh, hi," I give him a thin smile and he returns it.

"What are you up to?" He says, rolling closer to me. I take a step back instinctively but I realize that must've seemed rude so I stepped forward to my original spot.

"Just called my mom," I pulled the phone out of my pocket and waved it in the air. I know I could've called her on the phone without Iris Messaging, or Fleecy Messaging, whatever. But I always found IM-ing much more fun.

"How nice," he says, but his voice says the opposite. He adjusts his glasses and looks at me. "How is she?"

The question was so blunt and out of character, it took me a while to process what he said.

"Huh?"

"I asked how-"

"Oh, she's fine. Pregnant. In New York. Sorry, that's random. You don't need to know she's pregnant." I say in one breath, interrupting him mid-sentence. I almost hit myself, I can't stop myself sometimes.

"New York?" He asks, barely irritated.

"Yep," I said slowly, not understanding the purpose of these questions. But he asks me another before I can ask him for his reasoning.

"Fascinating. You're from there?"

I inclined my head in response.

"Good to know. Thank you."

"You're welcome?" I say but I can't help but blurt out, "I'm sorry, but why are you here? I know you didn't just come in here to ask me questions about my mom."

"You're right. I'm not." He pulls his glasses off and fixates his stare at me. A light smile teased on his lips.

"I'd like to talk, if you don't mind."

———

I did mind. I did not want to talk. I wanted to walk far, far away and never see him again. He definitely knows who I am. He's gonna turn me in to the police! Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods.

I don't know why we couldn't have talked in the room we were in before, but he insisted on doing it in his office.

I walked next to him as he led me through the building. And after many twists and turns, we reach his office. I expected it to be dark and creepy. Instead, light shone through from two windows on the wall. A chess set was already set up on his desk. Near the back wall were tables with a bunch of beakers and machines I wouldn't be able to name even if I tried.

It was actually quite lively to be honest, and not at all gloomy.

I sat in one of the black chairs near his desk and he turned to face me. "What's this about?" I look at him. My hand held onto Riptide in my pocket in case anything were to happen, although I'm not sure what I'd do if he was mortal. I mean, he's disabled. Am I supposed to hit a disabled man?

I look over at his chess set. I know how to play, but I'm not exactly an expert at it. All the pieces are already set up and ready to play, all except for the white's king who was placed in the middle of the board. I wanted to desperately put it back in it's designated position but in case Wells was a mass murderer, I didn't want my fingerprints on things in his office. You never know.

"Why are you here, Percy?" Wells finally asks me and then he pauses for a second. "Or should I say Perseus?"

My head snaps to him when he says my full name. There's no possible way for him to have known. I never told him that. How could he-?

"You see, I took the time to use our facial recognition system on you and Annabeth. Can you imagine my surprise, Perseus, when I found out about your unique history?"