Scattered

50

Art of War

Olivia sat down on the uncomfortable waiting chair, letting Mr. Fluffington curl up on her lap.

With everything that was happening around her, she strangely felt numb. She did not panic or think twice before switching off her phone when she saw Praxidike's caller ID. It was as if she were handling a minor inconvenience; as if it was an emergency as small as a jammed printer or coffee machine that she just needed to think objectively to solve.

It was so unlike her natural tendency to panic at every little thing.

Olivia's mind was busy whizzing with hundreds of thoughts as she slowly caressed Mr. Fluffington's silky coat.

To start off, her own vision was confusing to her; which, according her, misses the whole point of a vision. Thànatos was quite sure that the clause "silver heart bleeding gold" was pointing towards a traitor, to which Olivia agreed but she felt as if there was a meaning hidden beneath those words. She looked down at the large ring in her thumb that was brilliantly catching the harsh florescent bulbs' light. According to Keres, silver is what represents Dark Clan as gold is to Gaia's Clan. Could it be hinting something deeper than the presence of a traitor? If that was the case, it meant that the traitor was from both the Dark and the Earth Clans.

What if it was hinting to something deeper, like inter-breeding?

It was a terrifying thought; but not impossible. Just like how Themis decided that Zeus must sire her children for political leverage, such a child would amass a good chunk of that said political prowess. But then again, she might be overthinking the whole thing because as far as she knew, Dark Clan and Earth Clan cannot stand each other's presence without a verbal fight from at least one side. A baby is totally out of question, considering the level of hostility they exhibited.

But she didn't delve the possibilities of her doubt as a far greater worry plagued her mind.

Why didn't Typhon kill her?

Olivia shuddered at all the possibilities as to why she was left alive. Although she was a human immortal by the time she encountered Typhon, there was no way he knew that. Hell, she didn't know! Then there was the fire that nearly did kill her. But Olivia was not dumb to ignore the fact that the fire started from Mrs. Reed's side of the house, not hers; when she was the ultimate target. When she stood defenseless against wall in Apollo's apartment basement, Typhon reached for her wrists when he could have reached her neck and ended it all.

She was the threat against his plans, she was the loophole that might ruin his attempt; yet he spared her with just a broken wrist.

Why didn't he eliminate the threat altogether?

It all felt at odds. Olivia looked down at her hand which was supposed to be broken now, had it not been for Keres. She then looked up at the few busy humans that surrounded her as they worked late hours; all talking into ear-pieces and shuffling along with papers and screens and seemingly ignoring her presence.

Sight preceded trust.

Ergo; do not trust what she feels. Do not trust what she sees. And most importantly, do not trust what her emotions told her to.

Selene, whom she thought was the most loyal of Themis' disciples was the mole. Who is not to tell that one of the people in this very hall was not a human?

She gently placed Mr. Fluffington to the hard-backed chair and slowly stood up before making her way to the few short but familiar steps to her right till the silver ring on her thumb clanked on the glass door as she pulled it open. She hurried towards the desk to open it as she had a million times before and pulled out a roll of heavy-duty plaster bandages.

Olivia glanced up at the near deserted hall outside and Mr. Fluffington sleeping on the waiting seat peacefully. She jerked into action and unrolled it as quick as she could. Her expert fingers started wrapping it around her perfectly unblemished right wrist in a simple cast and hurriedly taped it in place before shuffling out of the room in a rush.

Just as she was nearing her sleeping cat, the woman who had been talking to the detective came out of his office and looked up at Olivia.

Olivia stilled.

'Oh hey, Liv!' The woman whom she identified from the recovery team greeted. 'You can go in now. Sorry for keeping you waiting.'

'It is alright. I just came back from the toilet.'

Olivia casually looked to her right where the sign hung and picked up her sleeping cat to adjust him on her shoulders. The woman's eyes fell on her bandaged hand.

'What happened to your hand?'

Olivia looked down at her fake plaster and smiled coyly to herself. She looked up at the woman who was frowning in concern.

'Oh nothing, I just had an accident and sprained my wrist.' Olivia lifted up to inspect the make-shift cast and hummed in approval. 'Don't worry, the doctor said I will be fine in a week.'

'That is great to hear.' The woman smiled. 'You can go in now. Keller called in to tell that you were waiting so we wrapped up the discussions pretty quick. Detective is waiting for you.'

Olivia nodded sharply and thanked the woman with a smile. She walked away after a wave leaving Olivia to her devices. She sighed and patted Mr. Fluffington's back when he chirped nervously.

'It will be fine, boy.'

Olivia opened the door to the office after a short, customary knock and stepped into Tucker's well lit office. But she frowned when she found it empty.

'Detective Tucker?'

A sudden, sharp sting on her shoulder made her gasp out in shock. She whirled around in panic and was met with a grinning face of Tucker.

'Hi, Summers. A pleasure to see you again.'

Olivia staggered back, her palms pressing against her throbbing shoulder and eyes wide in shock. Mr. Fluffington jumped out of her grasp to make a mad dash though the closing doors and out of the office.

Black spots were dancing in Olivia's vision as she stared up at Tucker's tall frame in confusion and fear. She stumbled down to the floor in a heap; feeling like her limbs, tongue and eyes weighing a ton.

He had drugged her.

'D... Detec... D-Detective....' She slurred willing her limbs to work and follow Mr. Fluffington.

'No.' The stranger in front of her whom she thought she knew for the last five years smiled sardonically. He kneeled in front of Olivia to watch her succumb helplessly to the drug in her veins. His grimly mocking smile made Olivia want to throw up.

'Wrong, sweetheart. It's soon-to-be King of Olympus.'

NEXT UPDATE: 3 January 2020