Annabeth POV
I stared at Percy's retreating figure. He looked angry and upset at the same time as he quickly stormed off. It was strange.
It was strange unless Luke and I being together irked him in the wrong way.
However, if Percy had memory loss, then why should my relationship with Luke bother. I didn't understand what was going on in Percy's head.
Was he implicitly remembering some things--maybe not memories but emotions?
"Annabeth," Luke interrupted my thoughts.
My head snapped back to face Luke. I hadn't even heard what he last said because I was thinking about Percy too much.
"Sorry, I zoned out. What was that, Luke?" I asked.
Piper was already starting to train with the punching bags. Right now, she was practicing her lower body combat skills (i.e. kicking).
Luke huffed in slight annoyance.
"Annabeth, I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner again this Friday," Luke said.
I stared at Luke for a few seconds. While I was okay going to dinner with him, I didn't want to go this Friday.
This Friday was August 18th.
"I wish that I could, Luke, but I have another dinner with friends scheduled for Friday," I said.
In reality, I had no plans on Friday. No one planned anything yet, but I was sure that Jason and Thalia would do something, especially since it was Percy's birthday.
"No worries, Annabeth. Maybe, some other time," Luke said with a smile.
"Yeah, sure," I said firmly before Luke left. My gaze returned to the direction that Percy left. He went to the shooting ranges because that was the next station.
Percy was a great shooter. The skill was ingrained in his muscle memory.
I joined Piper in practicing combat drills on the punching bag next to Piper's. She was already working up a sweat, and I was ready to get a workout in as well.
"So, Annabeth, did you see how Percy reacted to you and Luke?" Piper asked.
I punched the bag hard before throwing an immediate kick. I let out a huffed breath before turning to Piper.
"Yeah, it was weird," I said.
"Percy was definitely jealous," Piper said with a chuckle.
I coughed out in surprise. Piper was very good at analyzing people's emotions, so it was strange that she noticed something off too.
"What are you talking about, Piper?" I asked incredulously.
Piper stopped kicking her punching bag and turned to me in annoyance. She stood there staring at me while she tapped her foot on the floor.
"What?" I asked.
"Annabeth, can you stop playing dumb? Modestly speaking, I'm better than most people when it comes to deciphering people and relationships. Besides I'm your best friend, so I've known about you and Percy for a long time," Piper said firmly.
I sighed as I turned back to punch my bag. I already knew that Piper knew about my secret relationship.
We just never talked about it.
"What's there to know, Piper? He doesn't remember our relationship anymore. We started a secret and ended the same way," I said.
Piper sighed. "I think that Percy still has feelings for you."
"He doesn't even remember me. There aren't even any feelings in his mind anymore."
"Yeah, but you were happy with him, Annabeth. I remember how you were just a couple of months ago. Besides, Percy could remember the past," Piper said assuringly.
I sighed. Technically, he could remember, and he did show signs of remembering something. However, my suspicions were rising about Lake Valor and about Percy.
Piper and my conversation died as we went back to skills training.
Did Percy actually remember? Probably not because why would he pretend to have memory loss. It didn't make any sense.
Regardless, I couldn't stop the conflicting suspicions from invading my brain.
***
"Hello, Chiron, can I speak with you?" I asked cautiously.
We were in the Lake Valor cafeteria. It was a large room with a kitchen and service section to one side. The opposite side of the room was lined with large glass windows. The room was filled with tables, and we were at about half occupancy.
"Sure, Annabeth, please have a seat," Chiron said gesturing to the seat in front of him. He was sitting alone at a small table.
"Actually, I need to speak to you in a private space," I said firmly.
Chiron studied my facial expressions for a few moments before nodding. Chiron had mostly finished with lunch anyway, so he followed me through the cafeteria back door.
It opened into a peaceful grass field.
Lake Valor headquarters was very technologically and aesthetically pleasing. We quickly walked from the east wing to the west wing, where Chiron's office was located.
"What's the matter, Annabeth?" Chiron asked once we got into his office.
I looked up at his wise face. If there was one person that I did trust at Lake Valor, it was Chiron. He was literally like a second father to me.
Still, I felt the nerves rise at the prospect of revealing my secret about the clue that I found revolving around Kronos's escape. If Lake Valor was compromised, I had to be very clever in my mission to figure this out.
However, I needed help because I was just a recruit.
Finally, I looked back at Chiron's concerned face.
"Chiron, I think that there are traitors at Lake Valor. I think that some sort of conspiracy is happening, and I need help to figure it out," I said firmly.
The director stared at me before nodding.
He took a seat at his desk and instructed me to do the same. I sat down after pulling out the clue from my pocket.
"What made you suspicious, Annabeth?" he asked sternly.
I stared at him. I thought that he'd more be surprised by my suspicions, but he was very calm and analytical.
"I found this at Blacksite X25," I said as I showed him the clue that I found.
He took the clue and analyzed it quickly.
"This is a part of a special agent badge. It's strange that a bullet-damaged would be found at the black site following Kronos's escape," Chiron said.
"I think that someone or some people within Lake Valor helped Kronos escape. I just don't know how many people or how deep this conspiracy goes," I expressed firmly.
"The truth is that I've had my own suspicions for years," Chiron said firmly.
Now, I was a little confused. He suspected something but didn't do anything about it.
"I've noticed that a large proportion of missions, specific to BlodgeHarm and WiCKed, fail compared to other secret missions," Chiron explained.
"So, you also believe that there's a conspiracy here revolving around BlodgeHarm and WiCKeD?" I asked quickly.
Chiron and I both nodded at the same time.
He sighed as he gave the plastic-sealed clue back to me.
"Why didn't you do anything, Director Chiron?" I asked.
"Annabeth, I'm in the same situation as you. I don't know who the traitors are in Lake Valor, but I do know that this conspiracy is deep and complicated."
"Lake Valor cannot be compromised. We have to fix this," I said as I stood up in anger. We were supposed to save the world not help in destroying it.
"We will, Annabeth, but we need to be careful now," Chiron said.
I nodded in agreement.
Having Chiron as an asset would be great for figuring out Lake Valor's conspiracy and WiCKeD/BlodgeHarm's next steps.
We would start by going through old case files. We would figure out which agents/staff were more involved in the failed missions (regarding WiCKeD and BlodgeHarm). Maybe, we'd find a pattern that would highlight our compromised agents.
Furthermore, I was going to scope out special agents' badges. The traitor that helped Kronos would have a damaged badge.
An intelligent and dangerous plan was already brewing in my mind.
***
The week passed by in a blur.
When I wasn't in Lake Valor training, I was looking through old case files. Honestly, there was still so much more to go through before we could actively identify a pattern.
It made me so angry that Lake Valor could have spies and traitors.
This place was dedicated to saving the world. How could there be individuals working with terrorists here? I hated it.
I was currently reading a case file in the research room. The report was about a group of BlodgeHarm terrorists who had escaped capture. Agent Silena Beauregard was one of the lead agents on the case, and she failed to capture the terrorists.
Silena Beauregard was one of the agents that went on Percy's last mission with him. She was one of the few agents that escaped that mission.
Many other good agents were killed, and Percy was captured. Yet, she escaped without any serious injuries either. I noticed that Silena wasn't too excited about Percy being found on the day that we saved him.
She was definitely one of the agents that I had serious suspicions about.
I sighed as my phone rang.
"Hello, Annabeth, it's Thalia," her voice said.
"Hey, Thalia, what's going on?" I asked. I immediately got worried that Percy was having another nightmare.
"Nothing bad, Annabeth. As you probably know, Percy's birthday is tomorrow. We're not doing anything big, but you should still come to dinner with us," Thalia said softly.
"You know, I thought that you didn't like me," I said slyly.
"I didn't like the way you treated Percy when he loved you," Thalia said flatly.
I sucked in a guilty breath. I honestly agreed with her. I pushed the person who loved me the most away. And, it happened to be on the same day that his life changed forever.
"But, I realized that Percy loved you, regardless. he must've loved you for a reason, right? So, I have to treat you as such," Thalia said.
"Percy totally deserves better," I said quietly.
"Perhaps, but he certainly didn't feel that way. Percy was so happy and in love with you. It's such a shame that he doesn't remember the happiness and love," Thalia said sadly.
"It's been over a month and till no progress," I said softly into the phone.
The conversation paused for a few moments.
"Anyway, I'd love to come to dinner, especially on Percy's birthday," I said brightly.
"Good, we'll be going to Persephone's," Thalia informed me before hanging up. It didn't surprise me that we'd be going to Persephone's. It had the best quality of food.
I opened my phone and looked at a picture.
It was one of the only proofs that Percy and I had a relationship. It was a selfie of Percy and me. We were sitting on Percy's couch, and his head was leaning against my shoulder.
Percy called my nickname to get my attention and then snapped the picture.
I loved this picture, and I couldn't delete it even though I should've. Oh, how I wished that Percy and I could go back to that moment.
Everything was so much simpler and happier.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope that everyone enjoys this story. Sorry, it's taking me longer to update this story compared to usual.
Please check out my other stories of y'all haven't already.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE: READ + VOTE + SHARE + COMMENT + FOLLOW