Chapter Text
Percy splashed his face over the running tap water. The cold shock served to instantly bring him back to full alertness. Leaning heavily on the sink, he peered into the mirror. The face of a young, disheveled man with overgrown hair, bad skin, and bruises under his dull eyes stared back at him. It was hard to tell if the bruises were from lack of sleep or the punch he got—one from a street vendor, the other from a nightclub bouncer. Both, most likely.
He wasn’t focused on any of that though. Instinctively, he noticed something he could steal. The mirror wasn’t attached super securely. It would be all too easy to take it off that dirty, graffitied wall with just his pocket knife and take it to the pawn shop with anyone not even so much as sparing him a second glance. It wouldn’t be worth much, that’s for sure. But money was money and Percy had no qualms about being that guy that brought in a fucking mirror from a public restroom.
“Dude.” Rodriguez, one of his accomplices, burst in. “The hell is taking you so long? Come on. It’s time.”
Percy dragged his ass out of the smelly restroom and walked into New York’s subway station. The hairs on his forearms rose, so he put his hood up and shoved his hands in his pockets although his hoodie with its broken zipper and torn-off sleeves and the many T-shirts underneath did little to protect him from the late autumn cold.
Their train was waiting, so he and the rest of the guys sprinted to catch up to it. They were already on the move when the door slid close behind them. Splitting into two groups, they prowled the train cars like a pack of wolves on the hunt. He trailed after the guys, silent, as they chattered obnoxiously, making a nuisance of themselves. Not that there were many people here at this hour to be bothered by it. There were maybe two to five passengers per car. Percy’s group continued to pass through them until they found who they were looking for.
It was a woman with neatly done up blond curls, wearing a fine beige coat over elegant designer clothes. Adorning her hands and ears, there twinkled priceless jewelry that was just begging to be picked. A large sports bag was resting at her feet. As per usual, she sat alone in an empty train compartment. She valued her privacy. How foolish.
Casually, the boys took their seats, not clustering in one corner but spreading out to occupy the entire space. Surrounding her.
Connor sat beside her, leaning back, hands in his pockets, legs splayed out; feigning nonchalance though the anticipatory looks in his eyes betrayed him.
“Hey, princess,” he said to the woman, who did not look up from her phone, not noticing anything amiss with the situation. Odd. At this point, most people started to clutch their bags, or pockets and look for the nearest exit. “Aren’t ya a brave little bird, taking the subway all alone at night.”
She continued to scroll idly through her phone. For a moment, as the tension grew, it seemed she was going to ignore Connor’s scummy comment completely but then, she drawled, “I’m not worried.”
“Really?” Genuine surprise colored his features. He smirked, thrown and grasping for any semblance of control. In a low voice, he said, “Are you sure about that?”
The woman calmly put her phone in her coat’s inside pocket and turned to face Connor. With a blank face, she said, “Quite.”
No sooner has she said that than she swiftly ducked under Ethan’s lunge from behind. How had she seen it coming, no one knew. Everyone sprung into action. Percy took out his knife, but before he could even get close, bodies flew backward and away from the single lady that was somehow holding them off. Ethan's inciting attack was followed up by Chris, who didn't even get the chance to switch the safety switch off his handgun before their target had it out of his grasp and had the man bleeding from a hit to his nose. The other guys fare any better.
Percy was frozen where he stood, baffled. Quickly, he reassessed the situation. The guys weren’t idiots. They knew how to fight, how to use their numbers to their advantage. The fact that this random chick not only firmly stood her ground against them but was also beating them seven to one told Percy all that he needed to know. They picked the wrong target.
“Bitch,” Chris spat through the blood that was streaming down his broken nose.
The rest of them were in no better state. Most of them were either already down, or otherwise incapacitated, like Travis—dumbass got his hands tied around the handgrips, leaving him hanging there uselessly, struggling and cursing up a storm.
Percy turned to see the woman standing over Connor. He was sprawled on the floor, looking up at his attacker with unconcealed terror in his eyes. Percy moved without thinking. He grabbed her shoulder from behind. Before he knew what was happening, the ground was swept from under his feet, the world swirled, and he suddenly found himself crashing down onto the floor beside his comrade. He groaned as the air was punched out of his chest at the impact. The lady judo-flipped him so hard he saw black spots.
This is what he gets for trying to help...
“Fuck it.” Chris and a few others that were previously feigning unconsciousness fled the scene the second the train doors opened. Grabbing the woman’s bag, they shamelessly left the rest of them behind.
“Gee, thanks, guys,” Percy muttered to himself. Connor who was halfway underneath him moaned dizzily. Oops. Percy must have hit him accidentally when he fell.
But it seemed the unexpectedly savage lady wasn’t done with him just yet. Percy felt himself be pulled up by the collar of his shirt. Instinctively, he took reached for the nearest point of stability—her hands. He stood on shaky feet, relying mostly on the iron grip to hold him up. Once the blackness faded from his vision, he was looking straight into the wrathful storm brewing in her grey eyes.
Huh. Where had he seen those before?
Frowning, half-delirious from the exhaustion and the growing concussion, Percy rasped out, “Anna… beth… ?”
The woman widened her eyes in surprise.
“Who…?” she uttered before slow realization cleared her angry scowl. She opened her mouth but before she could say it, Percy used her momentary distraction to escape. He headbutted her. Not expecting it, the woman loosened her grip. Percy took the opportunity to shove her through the open doors right before they closed. The subway left the station. He could've just as easily turned around and bolted, but instead, he chose to stick with his group. They may abandon him but Percy wasn’t one to leave his men behind.
Turning around and seeing the mess the mystery woman left behind, he almost regretted it.
Percy sighed. Luke’s going to have a field day with this one.
“What in the ass…” said Piper. She looked up at the boys, wide-eyed. “The hell is this?”
Chris Rodrigues was equally stunned. Upon their return to base, they immediately spilled the contents of the stolen back to reveal… sex toys. An unholy amount of them. Why?? What does one even do with this many phalluses and tools and obscure torture machines?
“You know what?” she said. “Nevermind. I don’t want to know. The important thing is, it can be sold, so… good job. Here’s your payment as promised.”
The boys put down the floppy dildos they were sword playing with and got in line to accept the wads of cash Piper was handing out. When it was Chris’s turn, she asked coldly, ”Where’s the rest of ya?”
“Oh, the others?” he said innocently. “Yeah, they got hold up. No need to worry your pretty little head about it. You can just hand over their share to us. For safekeeping.”
Piper gave him a withering look. Casually, she took out a taser from the drawer under the table and zapped it once in warning. Chris held up his hands in mock surrender.
“Suit yourself.”
They filed out of the apartment just as Percy and his group walked in. The two halves of the group gave each other dirty looks but they would have to settle their scores later. No one would dare start a fight in here.
“Hey,” Percy threw half-heartedly.
“Hey,” Piper said, counting the dollar bills before she passed them to the other guys. “Rough night?”
“Don’t ask.”
“Well, look up, cuz there’s a treat waiting for you.” Piper pointed towards the next room with her head, giving Percy a meaningful look.
“Great...” Percy muttered sarcastically under his breath. He considered leaving. Making up an excuse and worrying about it later. But he knew the longer he’d stall, the worse it will be.
Reluctantly, Percy opened the door without knocking. In the side room, Luke and some of his buddies were smoking, sitting around a low table beside a large bed while the radio was playing in the background. Once Luke saw him walk in, he ceased the conversation and promptly barked at the others to get out. They did. Something told Percy it wasn’t out of the goodness of his heart that he provided the two of them this privacy.
“Ey, kid.” Luke peered at him lecherously. He looked especially menacing in the lowlight, though maybe it was the smoke, the sleep-deprivation talking. “Heard about your failed jump today.”
“From who? Rodriguez?” Percy said bitterly. “Yeah, I’m not surprised seeing that he was the one that ran and took all the credit while others did the dirty work.”
Luke clicked his tongue. As if he didn’t hear him at all, he said, “This isn’t your first failure, Jackson. You promised me you’d pull your weight this time around.”
Percy clenched his jaw.
“You know, you still owe me,” Luke reminded, a cruel smile playing at the corner of his lips.
“I don’t have the money. You know I don’t,” he said through pride and through gritted teeth. Of course, Luke already knew that. Every little penny he makes goes straight to Luke and that’s still not enough for the bastard to hop off his dick.
“I know a way you can repay me.” Luke smiled wickedly. He put out his cigarette. “C’mere.”
Percy looked away, a faint flush coloring his chiseled cheekbones. “I’m tired.”
He really was. The missions were taking much out of him and he hasn’t gotten a good night of sleep in a while.
Luke’s expression visibly darkened. Sensing the change in the air, Percy resigned himself to his fate. Forgetting all his previous reservations, he approached the man where he was sitting on the armchair. Better make it quick. Luke doesn’t like to argue.
He moved to kneel in between Luke’s spread knees, but the older man stopped him. Instead, he motioned for Percy to sit on his lap. Gritting his teeth, Percy obeyed, rising to sit stiffly on Luke’s lap sideways. Luke gripped him under the arms to scooch him closer so that Percy was pressed flush against his chest.
Percy hated this. More than when Luke made him do obscene things. At least, then it was clear that this was nothing more than a business transaction. This, however, made him feel like something he was not; a pet, a willing participant.
“Tired, huh?” Luke raked his fingers through Percy’s hair, pulling at the longish strands at the back of his neck. Percy went with the motion, obediently laying his head on Luke’s chest. It reeked of weed. “Why don’t you take a nap then, hm? I’ll watch over you just like old times,” he murmured into his ear, sending shivers down his spine.
Percy shifted in discomfort. If Luke thought what he was doing was relaxing, he must be mad. Percy couldn’t fall asleep like this if he was hit by a tranquilizer.
“N-No, I’m fine,” he said in a small voice. Somehow, Luke always managed to reduce him to such a pitiful state. If anyone else saw Percy like this, they would not see the light of day ever again.
Luke hummed in acknowledgment. “Where are you staying these days?”
“Um, I’m rooming with Leo...” he said, voice faltering as Luke began to fondle him. At the mention of his friend, Luke tightened his grip on Percy’s hip. His other hand snaked under his multiple shirts, tracing his abs, tweaking his nipples.
“Are you, now?” he said in a dangerously low voice. “So, tell me, what do you and Valdez get up to behind closed doors?”
“Nothing. Nothing,” Percy hurried to say, flinching when Luke twisted one of his nipples. “We barely even talk.”
It was true enough. Leo and he had clashing schedules, so they only ever saw each other in brief intervals throughout the day. But there was no reasoning with Luke when he’s like this.
“Really,” he said, dubious. Retreating his hand from under Percy’s clothes, he instead wrapped it around the back of his legs. In a dizzying instant, Luke rose to his feet, lifting Percy in his arms, prompting the younger man to grab ahold of him, alarmed. In the next moment, Percy found himself being dumped on top of the bed.
Guess, we’re doing this…
Luke made quick work of stripping him, tactless, manhandling Percy this way and that like a brute. Percy let him place and position him roughly like a ragdoll. He was just thankful he didn’t have to be particularly active when this happened. All he needed to do is bear down, clamp his eyes shut, and pretend he was somewhere else.
This time, Luke had him on all fours. He kneaded his large, ungainly hands up and down Percy’s slender body, slapping him once on the ribs as though Percy was an actual dog. What does that say about Luke’s sexual fantasies, Percy would rather not think about.
Percy braced himself when he felt something nudging at the entrance, but to his horror, it wasn’t Luke’s finger, but something considerably larger.
“Luke?” he said in a weak voice. Instinctively, he clenched his channel, refusing access, but this didn’t deter Luke in the slightest. He kept pushing, producing guttural moans, not listening to Percy’s protests and stuttering noises of strain, ignoring him in favor of his own pleasure. “Wait—”
He yelped as he felt a stabbing pain starting from his pucker and shooting up his spine.
“Luke,” Percy growled in rising annoyance. This didn’t feel good. It wasn't usually like this.
Luke pulled out but before Percy could celebrate, he seized him by the hips and jerked him towards himself, causing Percy to stumble and drop to his elbows, leaving his ass high and presented for Luke’s viewing pleasure.
Percy groaned and hung his head, thoroughly humiliated. Luke must be enjoying this.
Luke spread his cheeks further, impertinently digging his thumbs into the firm mounds of flesh as he pulled the entrance apart. Percy heard the man spit and in the next second, there was an uncomfortable slimy sensation covering his twitching hole. Percy cringed, trying not to think, trying not to feel.
Luke guided his dick back inside, the makeshift lube easing his way in and infinitesimally making it less painful for Percy. Though even that was short-lived since the spit dried quickly yet Luke continued to hammer his way into Percy’s aching insides as he lost himself in his pleasure. The moans were punched out of him. Luke beat his ass with every thrust, jostling his entire body as he did so. He wouldn’t be surprised to see it red and tender from the constant onslaught, only a tad less painful than the bruising hold he had on Percy’s narrow hips.
Eventually, Luke got bored of this position. Mercifully, he lowered Percy’s hips, shifting him so that his knees were spread, pressed to his sides, his forearms still flat on the mattress. Percy probably looked as though he were prostrating himself before some cruel, unjust god. Luke then laid himself down on top of him, caging him under his larger body and covering Percy almost completely. He wrapped his bulging arms around him in a Nelson hold, his hands clasped at the nape of his neck, keeping Percy firmly in place. The weight and the firm hold served to make Percy feel more claustrophobic than ever; he felt trapped, absolutely suffocated, consumed by the rising notes of panic.
In no time at all, Luke was back to fucking him. Like this, it was even harder to breathe. Squeezing his eyes shut, Percy gathered the sheets in useless fists as he endured each hard thrust. With how Luke was nailing him to the bed, his trembling torso ended up being almost level with his spread thighs. His own tender cock rubbed against the sheets frustratingly but he couldn't even focus on it. The other sensations—the rising notes of panic, the pain in his inner thighs, unused to the stretch, the bruising hits delivered straight to his guts—were all too overwhelming.
After an eternity it seemed, Luke finally came in hot spurts. Percy could feel it tainting his insides. The older man took his sweet time recovering in post-orgasmic bliss and that’s great and all, good for him, but could he maybe not do it on top of Percy.
“Consider yourself debt-free,” Luke breathed into his ear. Eventually, he did roll off him, releasing Percy from the confines of his body, but not before he delivered a sharp slap to his ass. “Slut.”
Percy clenched his teeth.
He wondered privately as he started to dissociate if Luke made all his subordinates pay this way.
Not likely. Percy’s just lucky like that.
The very next day, Percy is apprehended by a man and a woman in suits.
He was walking downtown in a sour mood. Luke’s ‘payments’ usually left him feeling like shit so that was nothing new. What was new, however, was the fancy black car tailing him.
There were few instances when the people they stole from or otherwise sabotaged had come to take revenge, but they never targeted Percy specifically.
He took a turn, not giving any indication that he knew he was being followed. Deliberately, he took a path where it would be hard to go by car, forcing his stalkers to chase after him on foot. It suited him better this way. He knew these streets better than most. He was confident that he can lose them.
Except that these guys must be paid overtime because even after he had led them through winding paths, through backdoors and various establishments, and even across a low roof, he still managed to fall right into their clutches.
Just as he thought he was out of the woods, the two suits met him at the back of a bodega. Percy tried to run but they restrained him despite his cursing and thrashing. One of them covered his mouth while the other cuffed his hands behind his back. They even threw a burlap sack over his head. Bit dramatic for his tastes but okay.
Percy heard a car door open before a hand on the back of his head pushed him down and into the car. He felt a pair of hands put his seatbelt on which was nice, he supposed, but if they thought he was just going to sit there obediently the whole ride, they were idiots. He kicked at the two sitting in the front seats, heedless of the fact that he might just cause an accident.
Listen, he was in cornered wild animal mode. He was running on pure instincts alone and his instincts were shit.
He proved to be such a nuisance that they had to stop the car and move him to the trunk of the car. Percy took the split second he was outside to run but his efforts were for naught. One of the suits easily caught up to him and threw him into the trunk unceremoniously. As for the people that saw this and could have helped, well… it was New York. For all they knew, it was a Youtube stunt, a poorly executed social experiment, or some such thing. No one had time for such nonsense and besides it was hardly the strangest thing you’d see on the streets of Manhattan if a bit amusing.
Percy had to wonder whether it was all planned. Did they purposefully make him appear like an idiot so no one would butt in and ruin their kidnapping attempt? If so, it was lowkey genius.
It was a short drive, thank the gods because any longer and he’d have a panic attack. He hated small, cramped spaces. Once they reached their destination, they pulled him out of the trunk and frogmarched him inside a building. They stopped at what he assumed was an elevator by the sound of the sliding doors and shitty elevator music. He felt the floor rise without stopping, without letting other passengers in or out. It only brought them straight to their intended floor. From there, they continued to forcefully drag him somewhere until they stopped in a nice-smelling room.
“We have brought him in, ma’am,” the woman in a suit said.
“Good,” said another female voice. There was a sound of a chair swiveling. A chuckle. “Let me see him.”
Someone finally takes that stupid sack off of Percy’s head. The brightness of the room blinded him for a second. When his visions cleared, he was welcomed by the sight of a spacious modern office inside what must be a skyscraper miles-high considering the view of the city visible from the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the middle of the room, behind a big glossy desk, sat a woman.
It was the woman from the subway.
Annabeth.