Annabeth POV
I walked into Persephone's alone. Piper and Jason spent time together earlier, so they rode here together.
I was pretty sure that Percy didn't remember his birthday.
His memory loss would disable his ability to remember special dates. Plus, Percy never paid attention to his birthday even when nothing was wrong.
I still remember how I had to remind him of his birthday last year. I surprised him with a small homemade blue cake. It didn't taste the best, considering I wasn't a good cook, but we still enjoyed it a lot.
Gods, that was one of the happiest nights of my life.
I quickly shook my head to wipe my busy thoughts away. There was no need to get sad today; it was supposed to be a happy occasion.
Thalia and Percy were already at the dinner table along with a few other people. It was a small table with 8 seats.
"Hello, happy birthday, Percy," I exclaimed as I sat next to him.
Percy smiled as he nodded a 'thank you.'
His eyes were sparkling today, and the sea-green color was popping due to his turquoise dress shirt. He looked quite handsome actually.
"You cleaned up pretty well," I commented as I took a sip of water.
"And, you look beautiful," Percy said softly.
I felt warmth spread through my stomach at his words. I was wearing a simple gray dress. Persephone's was a high-end restaurant, so we had to dress up to come here.
"Thanks," I whispered with a smile.
Percy was smiling back, and for a few moments, the busy yet peaceful restaurant away. It was just me and Percy in this world.
Then, reality crashed down again as Percy's gaze flitted away.
My attention turned to the other people at the table. Thalai was there, of course. Jason and Piper were having their own conversation. Then, there were two new members (an African American woman and a black-haired Italian man) that I didn't know.
"Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase," I introduced myself.
The dark-skinned woman turned to me. She was attractive in a special way but very young. Her curly hair and golden eyes complemented each other.
"Hello, I'm Hazel Levesque. This is my brother, Nico. I'm Percy's psychologist that got invited to his birthday dinner," Hazel said with a chuckle.
"We're happy to have you here, Hazel," Percy said.
I nodded in agreement. I hit it off pretty quickly with Hazel because she was nice and conversational. I couldn't imagine her not being a kind soul.
Nico was different. He mostly stayed to himself throughout the night
It was still strange, considering he was Percy's friend, and Percy was so outgoing and social. However, I could sense a silent power and focus in Nico.
Dinner went by quickly, and we were all waiting for dessert now (i.e. a cake).
I decided to talk to Percy now for two reasons. First, I wanted to talk to him. Secondly, I wanted to ask him something to alleviate my own doubts.
"Hey, Percy, you want to go on a walk and talk for a bit outside?" I asked softly.
Percy looked at me in surprise. His eyes stayed on my face as he studied my expressions, but I did my best not to expose anything.
"We can't talk in here?" Percy asked.
"I'd prefer if we could talk in private," I said simply. Percy sighed before nodding. We excused ourselves from the table but reassured everyone that we'd be back soon.
We walked silently in the parking lot outside. The stars and moon were shining brightly above us, and the atmosphere was so blissful. The only sounds were of distant traffic and our own footsteps against the pavement.
"So, Wise Girl, you wanted to talk in private," Percy acknowledged with a soft smile.
"You called me Wise Girl," I said quietly as I looked at him seriously.
Percy's eyes widened as he looked at me. Then, Percy looked away and started walking again. I followed him skeptically.
"Yeah, it's not a big deal. I can stop if you want me to," Percy expressed.
"No, how did you-? Why did you call me that?" I asked sternly. I grabbed his hand to stop him from walking away.
Percy's hand meshed into mine easily, but Percy harshly pulled away.
His eyes were wild as he increased the distance between us. I could see pain and agony in his expressions.
"Your phone number is saved as Wise Girl. I assumed that it was your nickname, so I called you that. What's the big deal?" Percy asked in frustration.
While his explanation made sense, Percy was suspiciously evading me.
"Percy-"
"Let's just go back inside," Percy said firmly. His voice was elevated, and I could tell that he was desperately trying to pull out of the situation.
Percy didn't wait for my answer as he walked back to the restaurant.
I simply stared at his retreating figure.
I felt the emotional pain spread throughout my body.
This interaction did nothing to relieve my growing confusion. I hated not knowing things, and right now, Percy was a gigantic question mark in my mind.
I didn't understand what was going on with him. Sometimes, Percy acts like his old self. Other times, he's a complete stranger with memory loss.
Regardless, I still cared for him, so I had to figure this out.
***
I sighed as I put down another case report. This case report highlighted Agent Ethan Nakamura as the lead agent on a failed mission to rescue some hostages from a BlodgeHarm trafficking ring.
This was truly one of those awful cases that I didn't like reading about.
I turned my attention to Chiron, and I was ready to introduce another idea to figure out who helped Kronos escape.
"Chiron, I think that we should look into the security cameras," I said firmly.
"The cameras at the black site were slashed, Annabeth," Chiron informed me patiently.
"I know, Chiron. I'm not talking about the cameras at the black site. I want to look into the cameras at the front entrance of Lake Valor HQ," I said.
Now, Chiron seemed intrigued as he stared at me while waiting.
"Every staff member has to swipe their ID to get into the building. I know that it's a long shot, but we might see who has the damaged ID card," I explained.
I was confident that the cameras would show footage of the damaged ID card that's being used to swipe into Lake Valor.
As such, we could see who was the card's owner.
Plus, we found out that no active special agent requested a new card, which meant that the traitor/spy still had his old damaged ID.
"That's a good thought, Annabeth. But, I'm not sure if we can trust anyone from security enough to request the footage. This would certainly alarm BlodgeHarm and/or WiCKeD," Chiron said seriously.
Of course, Chiron was right.
However, another person came into my mind.
This person was a mastermind hacker and tech specialist, but he didn't work for Lake Valor. He would be perfect at swiping the camera footage for Chiron and me.
***
Leo Valdez lived in an old vehicle repair shop.
This shop was about 20 minutes away from Lake Valor headquarters, so the drive here wasn't bad at all.
I quick search into Lake Valor's ID system was enough to find his whereabouts.
Leo Valdez used to be a recruit in my class. However, he got kicked out of the program for hacking into the Lake Valor system when he wasn't supposed to.
His justification was that he wanted to see if he could hack into one of the best and most secure firewall systems in the world.
The repair shop was closed right now. The garage door was closed too.
I firmly pounded against the door.
There were some fumbling noises inside followed by the sounds of something or someone falling. Then, Leo cursed as he ran up to the garage door.
"Who is it?" Leo shouted.
"Uh, Annabeth Chase, I need to talk to you, Leo," I shouted back.
After a few seconds of silence, the garage door started sliding up to reveal the shop. Various vehicles were parked inside, and tools/machines were scattered everywhere.
Leo stood in navy overalls and an orange shirt.
Grease stained his clothes and hair as he gestured me inside. Even though it's been a long time since I've seen him, Leo looked the same.
He even had the same goofy smile on his face.
"It's nice to see you again, Annabeth, but what are you doing at my shop? Wait, did Lake Valor kick you out too?" Leo asked chuckling.
"No," I said with a laugh. "I honestly came to ask for your help."
"My services aren't free, Annabeth. Besides, I'm still a little mad at the fact that you rejected me several months ago," Leo said teasingly.
I rolled my eyes as I followed him to the table in the back corner.
He had multiple laptops, phones, and gadgets laid out. I could clearly see that Leo was still hacking different networks based on the screens.
We both took our seats at the table.
"Okay, Leo, but can you blame me for rejecting you?" I asked slyly.
"Ouch, that hurt my feelings," Leo pouted as he playfully placed his hand over his heart.
Leo was fun and funny to be around. He was certainly a good asset and friend to have at Lake Valor. I was so disappointed when he got kicked out.
"Anyway, what do you need help with?" Leo asked.
My expressions changed from humor to seriousness, and Leo certainly noticed.
"I need your help to hack into Lake Valor's security. There is some footage that I have to see for an investigation," I said firmly.
"An investigation against Lake Valor?" he asked in surprise.
"Yes, I'm trying to find someone who's in the wrong," I said simply.
"Whoa, Annabeth, you're telling me that there are spies or traitors in Lake Valor. That- How is that even possible? Lake Valor can't be compromised," Leo said
I sighed. If I was going to get Leo's help, then I'd have to explain this to him, which is exactly what I did for the next hour.
Leo started the hacking process while I explained Chiron's and my suspicions and plans.
"Wow, Annabeth, I can't believe this. This could be so harmful to so many people. Lake Valor is an institution meant to save people not hurt them," Leo said softly.
I nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, a ding interrupted our conversation. Leo smiled smugly.
"You already got into their system?" I asked in shock.
"Yeah, this is an easy game for Leo McShizzle hacker-boy supreme," Leo cheered. "What footage do you want me to pull up?"
I smiled in confidence as I continued to give him more instructions. I was so grateful that this plan was working.
However, Leo and I realized quickly that we celebrated too soon.
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I hope that everyone enjoys this story. I hope that everyone appreciates the slow introduction and progression of our favorite characters.
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