𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐄𝐏 ↦ E. Nakamura & L. Castellan

𝐓𝐰𝐨

There was silence, as I began to tap the top of my shoe on the carpet. 

"Send her in." Chris opened the door for me, sending me a nervous smile as I stopped beside him.

"Remember. If I'm not allowed to leave, I'll kill you."

He went pale once more, as I stepped into the state room of the Princess Andromeda. It was equally as expensive as the corridor outside, and I cocked an eyebrow. Setting my case against the wall, I left it unzipped and went to sit on the couch. Pursing my lips, I turned at the sound of movement, finding a tall man walking out of, what I assumed was, his bedroom.

My eyes narrowed, trying to workout where I had seen him before. He had a large scar running down the side of his face, pale against his tanned skin. 

"Hi. I'm Luke Castellan." He held his hand out, and I shook it firmly. 

"I know. Your little brother told me." Luke smiled at that, sitting in front of me and folding his arms. "You wanted to see me?"

"I did. I remembered you from camp." I hummed. "You horrified Chiron, if I recall correctly, because when you went for an archery lesson, you brought an assault rifle."

"I've upgraded since then." I sent him a cold smile. "How did you find me? As far as I know, you don't know my name."

"No, but I see the news. A sniper who's been taking out people for years now, leading the FBI on a huge manhunt with some impossible shots. That could only be a child of Apollo," Luke reasoned, before shrugging. "The only child of Apollo to go rogue, who uses a gun, was you."

"Clever boy." I fought a scowl. If it had been that easy for him, it would be equally as easy for anyone else at camp. "Orion Maddisons."

"Orion? Your mum like mythology or something?"

"My mum's dead. Wouldn't know." I shrugged. "Why did you want me here?"

"I want you to work for me." Luke cut straight to the chase, which was something I appreciated. "I'm raising an army against the gods. They don't care about their children, practically abandoned most of them, and they've got far too much blood on their hands to be trusted with any further decisions about us and our future."

I hummed, motioning for him to continue, which caused Luke to smile.

"They won't ever take responsibility for what they've done or caused over the years, not unless we make them." Luke leant forward, his eyes growing dark. "The only others in powers still praise the gods, too blinded to see what's right in front of them. They don't see that times have changed. The world doesn't need more child soldiers, or heroes as they label them. Demigods don't want to fight and die for the gods, we want to live peacefully."

"Have you, yourself, not got a child army outside?" I cocked an eyebrow. "That's a bit hypocritical, is it not?"

"Perhaps. But they are under no illusions." Luke shook his head. "I've told them what will happen if we fail. They know that they could die, that not everyone will make it through. They know my reasons for doing this, and I know theirs. Each one of them has stories that could have been prevented if the gods cared, but they don't."

"So how do I fit into this?"

"You're one of the best shots in the demigod world over long distance." Luke stated simply, causing my ego to purr. I really was the best shot, and I liked having people acknowledge it. "I also have a feeling that our cause is more your sort of thing than helping the gods."

"How would you know? You don't know me. Maybe I really like the gods."

"Then why did you leave Camp Half-Blood in the dead of night?" He cocked an eyebrow, as I laughed and stood. "Do we have a deal?"

"No." I smiled at him. "You wouldn't be able to afford my services, not even in your wildest dream."

"You don't work from the goodness of your heart?"

"What's that going to buy me?" I laughed at the notion. "Luke, long ago, I gave up caring what the gods did. I couldn't give two shits if they decided to come down to Earth to kill you themselves. Maybe it's time you learnt the same lesson."

"What happens if you owe me?"

"I don't."

"Are you so sure of that?" Luke cocked an eyebrow, an infuriating smirk on his face. "You see, when I left camp, I made sure to take all records of you with me. So, now I have everything on you."

Luke placed a thick wad of paper on the coffee table in front of him. Leaning forward, I pulled it towards me and began to flick through the pages, finding papers about me arriving at camp, my weapon, not to mention evidence that puts me in the place of two of my first kills after I left camp.

"Not to mention, you've got an FBI manhunt for you." Luke stood up, pulling a jacket on. "It would be a true shame if an anonymous call went in to the hotline, would it not?"

"Are you blackmailing me?"

"Perhaps." He stopped beside me, as a scowl grew on my face. He towered over me, and I wasn't sure whether I'd be quick enough to lunge for my gun. "I'll pay you, Orion, don't worry. Maybe it won't be your normal amount, but I will, and I'll let you continue to work on your fun, little, mortal projects when you want to and I don't need you here. In return, you'll help me take over Olympus and I'll make sure that the FBI never get a hit on where you are."

"This doesn't seem like a fair contract if you have total control over me with that." I glared at the folder from the corner of my eyes. 

"We make a contract, sign it and swear it on the Styx." Luke shrugged, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Then you can have the folder and there won't be any blackmail."

I longed to reach for the handgun at my back, but I could see that he was also twitching to reach for a holster. Maybe I could reach it first, but Luke was taller and stronger than me. I'd be overpowered in an instance.

"Give me a few days to think."

"A day and you can take someone with you." Luke sent me an infuriating smile. "I'm sure you and Chris will get on swimmingly."

"Fine." Turning away from him, I zipped my suitcase back up and turned to look back at him. "If your brother dies, it's on you."

"If my brother dies, so do you." He motioned to the file causing me to scowl. I didn't like being outplayed. "I'll see you tomorrow, Orion Maddisons."

Opening the door, I stepped outside quickly and slammed it closed. Unfortunately, I couldn't truly be annoyed with the man. If I was in his position, I'd do the exact same thing, and I had on multiple occasions, I just didn't like it happening to me.

"I'll put a bullet in between his pretty blue eyes." Chris was waiting for me, and I grabbed his collar and pulled him with me. "You're with me for the day."

☾☼☽☾☼☽

Hiya,

So, Luke wants her on his side enough that he's willing to blackmail her and Orion is not too happy about that. Also, she doesn't really care about anyone at this point in time, which I love for her. So yeah, we're going into Sea of Monsters, which is going to be fun.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx