What Happened After Happily Ever After

#10 - On The Grounds Of

Chapter 10 - On The Grounds Of
published: Thursday, 27 May 2021

"Okay, so let's just revise the case again—"

Percy groaned. "Everyone told me not to marry a lawyer," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I was told never to get involved with drugs. So I mean. Call it even."

In the mirror, she saw Percy roll his eyes. Though he did have the decency to blush.

She had pulled up multiple Safari tabs on her phone, trying to find everything she could. Case files from the actual lawyers had been emailed to her by the firm — of course, they thought she was just enquiring for the job.

The risk of their phones being tracked while they were moving was lower than when they were staying put, and Annabeth decided that when it was weighed out, it was better to be in the know.

"You don't need those, I was there," Percy reminded.

"Yes, but I wasn't," she corrected. "I need to know everything, and I mean everything, if we're even gonna have a chance."

In the back of her mind, the small sliver of logic left behind told her she was being insane. Sitting in the passenger seat while Percy cruised through Pennsylvania as if they were taking a leisurely road trip. What she should be doing now was freaking out. Except the time for that had passed and they couldn't afford any slip-ups.

So here they were, discussing running from a crime lord as if it was just a typical Sunday.

"I've got about fifty pages of paperwork here," Annabeth declared, squinting at her phone screen and fervently missing her laptop. "September 2014. They had Persico in pre-trial detention without bail for a month before the trial began. That's quick."

"Think the FBI was ready to jump at any chance they could get to get him," Percy murmured, turning the steering wheel to ease them onto another road.

"So there were five witnesses," Annabeth read.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Percy nod. "Including me," he said. "Zoë, Carter, Pollux and Michael."

"Any chance you could get in touch with the others?" Annabeth asked. "Carter, Pollux and Michael — I mean."

"Yeah, it'd be pretty hard to ring Zoë up about now."

Annabeth glanced at Percy. His eyes were trained on the road ahead, the joke falling flat in the tense silence.

"I'm sorry about Zoë," Annabeth said quietly, feeling the atmosphere shift.

Percy didn't reply, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Annabeth looked back down at her phone. She cleared her throat. "So, contacting the others?"

Fortunately, Percy brushed past the momentary awkwardness. He shook his head. "Already thought about it. Back when I got the call from someone in Bianca's team, telling me to keep a lookout. I didn't keep their numbers, and I doubt they did the same. None of us really wanted to be reminded of it."

"Really hope Grover Underwood is as useful as you seem to think he is," Annabeth grumbled. "We could really use some help." She pulled up a summary article on the trial. "The trial lasted two months. Carmine Persico was found guilty. The jury's vote was unanimous. He was sentenced to 40 years for drug trafficking, possession of illegal substances, and a bunch of other assault and battery charges."

"I don't even think they got all of it," Percy mused. "Evidence was too circumstantial for all his other operations."

"That's always the case with the Five Families," Annabeth explained. "That's why they've never been taken down. They've got decades of experience in skirting around law enforcement." She released a sigh. "This just keeps getting better and better for us, doesn't it?" She scrolled further down. "That's all there is on the actual trial. And a bunch of legal jargon I assume you don't want to know."