The One-Seven

Chapter 5: Different Perspectives

There was silence as Dinah listened in on Percy. She could hear the rustling of clothing as the man changed and the occasional hum of agreement or acknowledgment but for the most part, the man was silent. After a little while, the man sighed in disappointment,

"So you don't have anything for me then? No, no, I appreciate it man, we're just banging our heads against the wall here and I was hoping I might get lucky and the girl's parents were, I don't know, caught in some kind of Eyes Wide Shut party with known mobsters. Yes I understand that I'm hopelessly optimistic, it's one of my most redeeming qualities. Alright, well is there anyone you can think of in Gotham who might have some kind of beef with the St. Clouds, or even just might have known them? Wait, say that again, sorry I'm in the locker room and the reception's kind of spotty. Selina Kyle? Why does that sound familiar?"

Dinah nearly choked on her spit. Either this man had terrible luck, or something else was going on. There was no other way he would be casually running into so many different capes. Then again, this was Gotham, most of the big players did run in similar circles.

"Oh that's right. Wait why is she out of prison? Of-fucking-course, she did. Alright Jimmy, well thanks for the help man, I appreciate it. Next time you and Lois are in town, let me know, I'd love to meet up for a few drinks. Alright, you too buddy, take it easy,"

Dinah heard the connection end, and she pulled the communicator out of her ear. She sighed, that hadn't answered anything, only that Percy Jackson was very shockingly well connected for a young detective. Still, something about the man was rubbing her as off. You didn't just happen to run into this many people involved with the league by sheer bad luck. She wanted to run his name across the league database when she got back to the watchtower.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the man reemerged from the gym. He didn't say anything but he did throw a wave in her direction before stopping back at the desk to speak with Ted. He passed over the chain he'd been using and laughed at something the older man said. With a wave goodbye to the gym owner, the strange detective left the building. Dinah ran a hand through her hair, she didn't know what it was, but things didn't add up around him, and she was going to figure it out.

As soon as she calmed down the still pissed off archer standing in the ring.

BREAK

Percy woke up early the following morning. He went for a quick run, before taking a shower, changing into one of the few clean dress shirts he had left, he put on his black sport coat and left to grab a table at the diner for him and Montoya. He had been scrambling to find an apartment when he got his transfer notice, and had ended up with an apartment almost thirty minutes away from his department, granted he hadn't known what precinct he'd be in but still.

He found the diner without much difficulty, and was pleased to see that for the most part it was still empty. Despite having spent much of his youth in New York City, large groups of people in compact spaces made him nervous and so having the diner relatively empty would be a promising start to the day.

Pulling up to the curb, Percy parked the car at the furthest end of the street, parking far enough along where he could pull away unimpeded if the need should arise. Checking his watch, he saw that he was a bit early, about fifteen minutes, so he decided to just head in and snag a table.

The bell to the diner chimed lightly as Percy pushed through the door. The inside was about what he expected, a proto-typical diner, with booths and bar, and only a handful of pictures hanging on the wall. A sign by the door told him to seat himself, so Percy to a glance around before snagging a booth in the corner of the room, facing the entrance and backed up against a rear wall. Sliding into the booth, Percy chose the far side, so that he was looking at the door. Both as a precaution, and to make it easier for his partner to spot when she came in.