Neal and Peter meet Percy at a case and think he's suspicious. (Neal isn't a Demigod). Set after BOO, Annabeth is with Magnus.
"Golden Drachmas," Peter announced as Neal ducked under the police tape and into the Greek-Era section of the museum, looking impeccable as ever. "They were stolen last night despite round-the-clock security in the building, cameras, and top-notch alarm systems."
"Never stopped me from getting what I wanted," Neal answered calmly as he studied the artwork around the gallery. "Allegedly." He added with a smile towards Peter, who gave him a look.
"11 o'clock last night, all the cameras simultaneously stop working for two minutes on the dot. Per security regulations, each of the five security guards made their rounds throughout the building, and then head to the most expensive artifacts. We've already talked to all five of the security guards, and they're being taken t the bureau for further questioning." Peter explained as he watched Neal walk around.
"Are you going to actually look at the crime scene or gaze at those statues and paintings for another five minutes?" Peter asked impatiently, and Neal quickly turned to face him, his signature smile painted across his face and his hands up in a 'you caught me' manner.
"I was listening."
"Yeah, and now we're working," Peter bit back, and gestured to the empty glass case. "Tell me, how would one get the coins out without triggering any alarms?"
Neal stepped up to the case and bent down to inspect it. After a minute of pondering he turned back to Peter and pointed to a small piece of wood stuck between the pressure plate and the lip. "A simple yet genius move, really. Some pressure plates don't use scales but move up and down. If an item is taken off, the plate moves up and triggers a scanner that sets off the alarm. This guy just wedged something in between the scanner and the plate so it couldn't move up the whole way."
"And for the alarm on the glass case?" Neal shrugged.
"If he could disable the cameras, I'm sure he could disable the alarm," Neal explained as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I just don't get why they would go for this specifically."
Peter raised his eyebrows in curiosity and gestured for him to go on. Neal rolled his eyes.
"Out of all the things in this room, the drachmas would be on the lower end of the price range."
***
A few hours later, Neal and Peter were sitting inside a small cafe, coffee in hand and files spread across their table. They already ruled out the guards - they were all in the break room when the cameras cut out, so they were each other's alibis. And they were the only ones in the building, even the janitors had gone home at that point. There were no signs of forced entry, so they were assuming that the thief had come during the day, found a place to hide, and waited.
Now, they were just stuck on who. Facial recognition could only work so well in crowds.
After watching security camera footage for hours - or at least it seemed that way to Neal, even with the coffee - they finally spotted something. A kid, maybe 16, with black hair, blue eyes, and a mischievous smile, who was pickpocketing anyone he found. After following him in the footage, they also found that he didn't leave the building. They had a pretty good idea it was him.
Peter was running the kid's picture through facial recognition when the door to the cafe opened, and a teenager of around 17 walked up to the counter.
"Hey, can I get a decaf - Uh, why are you staring at a picture of Connor?" The kid asked, and Neal tilted his head at the colour of his eyes - seafoam green. Very unique.
While Neal was pondering eye colour, Peter went into business mode and flashed his badge. The kid winced. "FBI. You know this kid?"
"Uhhhh am I supposed to say anything? Do I need a lawyer or whatever? That's usually what people do when the FBI asks them something, right? Maybe I'll just-"
"Only if you have something to hide, kid. Why don't you join us?" The kid realized it was not an invitation and pulled up a chair. As soon as he sat down, he grabbed a pen out of his pocket and started fidgeting with it. Peter and Neal sat silently, studying the kid in front of them. Shifty eyes looking around for exits, constant fidgeting, no eye contact. He was guilty of something alright.
Neal glanced at Peter then asked, "What's your name?"
Peter cleared his throat.
"I'm the professional here Caffrey, you're the criminal." Neal rolled his eyes. "What's your name kid?"
Neal looked at Peter and gave him a 'seriously?' look. Peter just smirked and turned back to the kid, who had a small smile on his face.
"Percy." The kid - Percy - said. Peter paused, clearly waiting for the last name, but when it never came, he sighed and continued.
"Mind telling me how you know a kid who isn't even on the federal database?"
"Uh... Yeah, I do mind actually. Listen, I just made a mistake. I don't know him after all, a trick of the light I guess." Percy waved it off, waving his pen in the air. "Maybe I need glasses or something." Neal was not impressed with his lying skills, and clearly, Peter wasn't as well, who handed him a bug under the table, obviously to slip onto Percy.
"Alright, Percy, you can go." Peter sighed, giving Neal a discrete look. Neal took it as a cue to do his thing. He picked up his empty coffee cup and passed Percy, slipping the bug into his jacket pocket as he headed to the garbage. He gave Peter a thumbs up and a smile before heading back to their small table, where Peter was handing Percy his card.
"-think of anything, or need something, just give me a call." Percy gave a tentative smile and walked to the door before pausing and walking back to the counter with purpose.
"decaf coffee, please."
***
"Perseus Jackson, 17. Living with his mother, step-father, and half-sister. Father unknown." Peter announced to the conference room comprised of Neal, Jones, Diana, and himself, "He has a history as well. Kidnapped and part of nation-wide manhunt had a gunfight with the said kidnapper, suspected of blowing up the Gateway Arch, seen near Mt. Saint Helens before it erupted, disappeared for six months last year, and throughout all that, he's managed to get expelled from a different school every year." The conference room was silent, taking in the new information. Wasn't this guy only 17?
"Blew up a gym, nice," Neal remarked, reading the (fairly thick) file he took from Peter when he had thrown it on the table. The others glared at him, and he quickly defended himself. "What? He's got style!"
Blank stares. Neal shook his head and turned to Peter.
"Are you going to arrest him?" He asked, and the agent huffed in exasperation.
"We have nothing on him right now, all the charges he could possibly have were dropped. Jones, any progress with the bug?" Jones shook his head, jostling his headphones playing the feed.
"Nothing. As far as I can tell, he's having lunch with his mom. Wait - I think I have something. He told his mom he's going to call someone."
Peter rushed to his side. "Turn up the volume. You recording?"
"Always am."
They all huddled around the computer, eager to hear who Percy would call.
"Hey Fleecy, do me a solid and get me Connor, will you? Thanks." No one knew who Fleecy was, but they kept listening. Connor was the name Percy had said earlier - their main suspect. Percy was silent for a couple of seconds before there was a rush of sound on Connor's end.
"Percy! To what do I owe the pleasure? Why would the Supreme Lord of the Bathroom himself be calling little old me?" A male voice said, and Neal could practically hear Percy's eyes roll.
"Connor," Percy replied in greeting, clearly unfazed by the Supre Lord comment. "You blow up the camp yet?"
"Did you blow up your school yet?" Percy snorted.
"Touche"
"Seriously though, what can I do for you? Does someone need pranking? 'Cuz I got an idea involving itching powder, an electric eel, and a whole lot of-"
"Nah, no pranking, sorry dude. I saw your picture on an FBI agent's laptop, you have anything to do with that?" Peter grinned at the small group of agents - and criminal. This was it.
"Uhhh yeah, funny story man. See, you know that dude that killed my mom and stole all of our stuff before Travis and I ran? The guy I've been searching for since I came to camp?" Neal raised his eyebrows at Peter, whose brow was furrowed.
"I may have heard of him a few times," Percy said sarcastically.
"My obsession is justified!" Connor defended, and Neal agreed, frankly. "Anyway. One of the things he stole was the drachmas. They were my mom's, an heirloom if you could believe it." Percy snorted lightly. "So a when I heard they were given to the museum, I thought I could... get ahold of them and have Lou Ellen work her magic and use them to find him."
"So you did steal them?" Percy asked.
"I can neither confirm nor deny, my dear friend. But let's just say when the name Gabriel Corton anonymously reaches the FBI and they arrest him for being the terrible mortal he is, I'm having a party."
Peter closed the laptop and rubbed his face. "Jesus."
Neal watched his handler closely. "Are you going to arrest him?"
"I don't want to, now that I heard that, but he still stole the things, Caffrey. Doesn't matter if it was justified. I may be able to get him a reduced sentence though, especially if he's as young as he sounds," Peter sighed, then turned to Diana. "Bring in Gabriel Corton for questioning and get me everything we have on him. I'm going to go talk to Mr. Jackson to see if he can get us in contact with Connor. Neal, let's go."
***
Percy Jackson opened the front door of his apartment with a smile and a blue cookie in hand.
"Agent dude! And criminal dude! What brings you to my humble abode?" Peter raised an eyebrow, and Neal was offended to be reduced to a 'criminal dude'.
"May we come in Mr. Jackson? Is your mother home, or step-father?"
"They're at a doctor's appointment, actually." He answered and opened the door fully to reveal a small, slightly run-down apartment. Despite the size and cracked ceiling, it was very homey. Pictures of family and friends were scattered across the living room on every surface, making the space feel like, well, a home. Neal felt his body relax instantly from just stepping inside.
Percy plopped onto the couch and put his feet on the coffee table, clearly comfortable despite having a federal agent in his house.
"So what do you think I did this time? Because I'm pretty sure I didn't do it."
"So are you saying you didn't come back home and call Connor after telling us you didn't know him?" Peter said as Neal wandered around. Percy's eyes followed Neal around the room as his smile morphed into a smirk.
"Ok, so I did do that. Listen, Connor has his own problems, but he's a good dude. Just been through a lot, as I'm sure you heard from that lovely device you put in my pocket. I convinced him to give the Drachmas back though, he said you should find them back in the museum after his mom's murderer is brought in."
Peter narrowed his eyes.
"How do you know about the bug?" Percy gave him a look.
"I put my hand in my pocket and found a black device that wasn't there when I left the house. You people need to find better hiding places for listening devices."
"Noted," Peter said with a sigh, and Neal suddenly cleared his throat. He was standing near the mantle with some coins in his hand that looked suspiciously like Drachmas.
"These are real," He said matter-of-factly and tossed one to his partner. Peter caught it with one hand and turned to face Percy.
"Care to explain these?"Instead of looking terrified or guilty, Percy just shrugged.
"They're mine. Got them from my dad. He's Greek." Strangely enough, Peter didn't think the kid was lying.
"Alright well, just in case, I'm taking these back to the museum to see if they match the ones stolen. If they aren't a match we'll call and you'll be able to pick them up at the bureau, sounds good?" Percy waved his hand noncommittally.
"Sure, I have tons more - Uh, I mean... those are the only ones I have, oh no!" Peter gave him a disbelieving look and gestured for him to get up.
"We'll need your 'tons more' as well." Percy ran a hand through his hair and then walked down the hallway followed by Peter and Neal.
He lead them to the end of the hallway and opened a blue door, and they followed him into what was clearly his room - clothes strewn across the floor, pictures of Percy with a group of kids, and a blonde girl with intense gray eyes featured in the majority of them.
"Girlfriend?" Peter asked, pointing to a picture of Percy and the girl. Percy's face lit up and he grinned brightly.
"Yeah, that's Annabeth. She's a genius," He said, adoration clear in his statement. "She's visiting her cousin in Boston right now actually." Peter nodded and turned to the weapon wall that Neal was studying intently - wait.
"You have a licence for those weapons kid?" Before Percy could answer, Neal started to speak.
"This is amazing craftsmanship. Especially on the shield, the detail is very intricate. I don't recognize the work, where did you get this?" Neal was studying a large, very dented shield. What had hit that thing, a missile?
"Uhh, my brother made it for me actually." Peter raised an eyebrow
"You don't have a brother. At least, he isn't in your file." Damn it, this kid was suspicious. He has Drachmas, seems to be well acquainted with a skilled thief, and has an entire wall of weapons in his room.
"Half-brother, on my dad's side," Percy explained, and there it was again, the mysterious father. Something was fishy here, and Peter wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"Mr. Jackson, I'd like to bring you down to the bureau for some further questions."
Percy sighed, "Why?"
"Well, for one thing, lying to a federal agent. For another thing, I'd like to make sure all these haven't been stolen," Peter said, walking over to one of the swords and reaching out to touch it.
"Are these things sharp?" He asked, and Percy quickly ran over.
"Wait don't-!"
Peter's hand reached the surface of the sword, but instead of feeling cold metal, his hand went through the sword and touched the wall. He quickly recoiled and turned to Neal, whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates.
"- touch that." Percy finished, and facepalmed and said something under his breath that sounded a lot like 'why me?'.
Peter turned to the kid, studying his hand to make sure it didn't fall off or something.
"Ok, I need an explanation, now."
Percy grinned weakly.
Let me know if you'd like a part two (Although I'll probably end up doing it anyway)