The Pirate And His Sea

Chapter 13: How Thor Found Out

Someone was in Percy's apartment.

It took barely any effort for Thor to creep around to one of the windows and pry it open. The window was stiff with disuse and the well-made locks that Percy had on every entrance to his house, but they were no match for his godly strength. He padded out of the kitchen, glaring at the offending coat as he went. The house was still and everything seemed to be in place. The armchairs by the fireplace were untouched, as was the oak wood dining table and its tasteful centerpiece. The clock over the mantel chimed softly, signifying that it was coming close to eleven at night, and Thor used the sound of the gentle ringing to cover his footsteps as he quickly checked the rest of the floor. No one was hiding in the bathroom or the pantry room. Percy's floor to ceiling fish tank was as flawless as always, and nothing seemed upturned near the stairs. He began to ascend them cautiously, treading near the walls so that the old wood would not creak.

In the silence of his movements, there was a thump from upstairs and muffled voices.

Thor stiffened and tried to glide up the stairs as quickly as silent movement would allow. What could be going on upstairs? Was Percy being interrogated? Was he trapped in a room with no escape? Was he being attacked?

He could just imagine him – his dear friend pinned to the ground, hands and feet held down by some inexplicable force and his head forced back. A knife point or gun would be held to his throat, and a shadowed figure looming over him, a malicious expression on his face. He could practically feel his friend's fear – held tight and locked in the back of his mind but still present!

Poor Percy.

(Never mind the fact that Percy was a hero with numerous legendary deeds to his name – including returning peace and godly artifacts to the Lord of Olympus, banishing the great Titan King Kronos, or his many adventures to that darkest depths of the Underworld, all in his teenage years.)

He reached the top of the stairs and examined the area. The open area with the second, always-unlit hearth off to the left was empty and still. The door to the office just across from it was open, and he could only see Percy's desk and its messed papers; no attacker. But there on the floor was an unfamiliar pair of loafers haphazardly thrown about – expensive, fine leather and just a few sizes too big to be Percy's. A few feet away was a sweater Thor knew to be his friend's, thanks to the distinctive water swirl on the front. It had been crumpled up and tossed aside carelessly.

Percy was never as careless as to leave clothes lying around on the floor. Maybe on the back of a couch, but folded neatly and never in the way of anybody.

Someone other than Percy had gotten their hands on him.

He crept down to the hallway where all the bedroom doors opened to. His shadow fell out behind him, cast by the light streaming through the window with the seat at the end.

There was another thump, coming from the master bedroom to his left, and more voices. They were low, indistinct and rough, but Thor managed to recognize one as Percy. He sounded much more strangled and pre-occupied than usual. The other voice answered, deep as it chuckled darkly.

That was it. Thor had reached the end of his stealth-tether; screw being cautious and silent. His good Midgardian friend was on the other side of the door, and he had no reason to wait when it was certain that he was being held under strenuous circumstances.

The door gave in with a satisfying crunch to the sole of Thor's boot. The heavy wood swung limply on the hinges that it had almost blasted off of and revealed the dark interior of the bedroom.

It was like Thor's imagined image had walked from his mind and taken form in reality, with only a few alterations. Two shadowed forms were on the floor at the foot of the bed, one's back pressed to the bed frame and the other kneeling at its feet. As the figure at the foot of the bed looked up, Thor caught sight of familiar green eyes – Percy. Next for him to notice was that Percy's' hands were not restrained; rather they were pressing tightly into the shoulders of the other figure. Maybe he was trying to push the other away?