The Pirate And His Sea

Chapter 17: How Coulson Met Him & Found Out

(This is not my chapter and the credit of the characters goes to their respective authors)

Funnily enough, it was Coulson who met Percy first. He had been in contact with the demigod long before any of his colleagues. One could even say that their first meeting hadn't even been that odd!

Well, it was slightly odd, and not quite the best of meetings either, but still. That was life.

It was a sunny Thursday morning and Coulson was happily taking the newest of the Tech Department's gadgets out for a spin – their recently created armoured computerized "spy" car. In reality it was named the FRI-16.79 Vehicular Unit or something similar, but Coulson and the other childishly excited agents were happy to call it the "Bond" car.

Now, as a senior and trusted agent, Coulson got to be the first to take it out for an urban drive. The sleek car purred softly as it rolled across the pavement, and the man enjoyed the sensation of power under his hands. The techies were chatting in his ear over the comm, discussing the data they were getting from the sensors.

"Okay, Coulson, try out the computer-controlled mode," said the senior researcher.

Coulson's finger hovered over the button, but he asked doubtfully, "Is it really a good idea to let it go computerized in a city? There're obstacles everywhere."

The researcher scoffed. "We've already run it through simulations; it works perfectly."

Of course that just jinxed it.

The first few minutes were fine, with Coulson warily eyeing the manual takeover button. It was just when he was starting to relax that it happened.

A firetruck, with sirens wailing, roared through the intersection behind them. The car, programmed in 'civilian' mode to move out of the way, sped up to clear the road. Of course, the programming stopped there and it continued to speed along, heading straight for a moving truck parked at the side of the road.

"Shit!" Coulson switched the modes and grabbed the wheel as quickly as he could, but he couldn't completely avoid the collision. He clipped the truck, enough that it shuddered and skidded a foot, and he groaned as he came to a halt a few meters away. "Simulations my ass," he growled, and undid his seatbelt. He climbed from the car and looked it over – at least the techies had done the armoring right because there wasn't much more than a small dent and a scratch on the paint.

"Hey!" called a voice from behind him. Coulson turned and saw a man in a green T-shirt and black pants standing next to the truck, arms crossed and scowling.

"I apologize for the inconvenience," Coulson said, stepping forward and pulling a textbook face of innocence distress. "My car's driving capabilities fell short and I wasn't able to avoid your vehicle. I'd be willing to cover any damage costs." It'll be coming from those techies' pockets, he thought as he sent a glance at the truck. He hoped that if anything inside had broken it was insanely expensive.

"You better be. These shipments of mine cost money and effort," the man said, turning back to the truck's contents. Coulson followed and winced when he saw the mess inside. Glass bottles were thrown about, most of them shattered and their strong-smelling liquids on the floor.

Coulson wrinkled his nose at the mess and silently grumbled over the fact that he had to wreck the goods of a bartender of all people. Spilled alcohol was always so annoying to deal with. Picking up one of the unbroken bottles, he raised his eyebrow when he saw a completely unfamiliar label. Bloody Spear Mescal, Ambrosia Brewery it read, with a red background and, unsurprisingly, a spear with small flames licking around it. Underneath were the slanted words 'Unique to the Golden Fleece' and the little stamp that showed legal authorisation. A glance across the street proved that a bar of the same name was pressed to the quiet street. Huh, it was an odd day if the alcohol truck he crashed into didn't even have illegal alcohol.