"You know it's almost cute when you behave like that," Castle chuckled, "it's like seeing a mini me."
"Expect more handsome," Percy turned back, "now go, before I change my mind."
The couple rolled their eyes and quickly turned away. They waved goodbye to Lanie and walked out of the morgue.
Ping!
Quest Alert!
Find and Stop the serial killer!
Rewards:
+10,000 Exp
?
Failure:
3 more people will die
Do you accept?
YES/NO?
Percy pressed yes without hesitation.
He walked to the phone on Lanie's desk and picked up the receiver dialing up the central database. Cleared his throat deepening his voice, "hello, this is detective Esposito, badge number 2232D, I need the present address of one Rickard Parkins."
Lanie's eyes went wide as Percy took down the offered address. He put the phone down and tucked the piece of paper with Parkin's address away.
"When did you get Esposito's number?" Lanie asked.
"I got a glance of his badge yesterday," Percy shrugged, "figured he wouldn't mind."
"You realise you are going to be in big trouble right?"
"Are you going to try and stop me?"
"No, frankly I think Kate was being a little dense by not bringing you along," Lanie admitted earning a couple of brownie points in Percy's book, "but she did have a point. If you interfere with a police investigation then you are risking letting this guy walk free."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Percy promised as he walked out the door, "don't wait up!"
The demigod quickly walked out of the present and into an alleyway. The address he got was pretty far way in Queens. Castle and Kate were taking their car, meaning they were going to be delayed by traffic. So Percy already had a head start on them.
He slipped into his Time dilaton ID and ran across the city. He crossed the bridge from the island and into Queens. He approached a sub urban area in the very edge of the area, it was the kind of place where every building looked like every other building, the kind Percy hated.
He quickly reached the address of the retired cop and slipped out of his ID. the house was an independent building with two stories and an unkempt front lawn. Percy looked around, he couldn't see anyone inside, and his mana wave only worked on people with magical abilities. Mortals most often don't have any magic to detect.
The best thing for Percy to do right now would be to wait for Castle and Kate....neah.
He quickly thought off a couple of ways to talk to the man and find out what he would need to know. Since he was old and retired now the man would have a lot of free time. Percy could just walk up to the man and ask about his case, he was a policeman though, and those guys wouldn't talk about cases unless there was a reason to.
Percy quickly formed a plan, the direct approach would be the best.
He walked up to the front door and knocked on the door. He waited for a few moment before the door swung open revealing a thin elderly man standing up with a cane. He smiled, "yes, can I help you?"
Percy opened his mouth and was about to answer, but his voice got caught the moment he saw the man's title;
Richard Parkins, Serial Killer
Lv— 17
Percy couldn't believe it, he had found him. This guy was the killer, no, that couldn't be, he needed to be sure. So Percy Observed him;
Richard Parkins, Serial Killer
Lv— 17
HP: 300/300 (-400 due to old age)
MP: 0/0
Race— Human
Str— 4 (-13 due to old age)
Vit— 5 (-12 due to old age)
Dex— 6 (-10 due to old age)
Int— 15
Wis— 19
Luc— 21
Parkins is a retired police officer that now lives with his son, Jared. He served the department for over 30 years and was a decent cop, however he used his time there to get away with murder as Parkins often was struck with the tendency to kill people. He so far hasn't gotten caught
Likes: Killing, women, TV
Dislikes: Beautiful women, Old age, his son
He is aroused by Percy' face
He is a smart killer that knows how to cover his tracks.
He is feeling aroused and excited
Percy couldn't believe it. It wasn't solid proof, this just said he was a killer, not the killer. He didn't know for sure if this was the man he was looking for. But Percy had a way to make sure.
Immediately Percy brought his hand up and began manipulating the Mist. Parkins' eyes began dazed, his older age and dull mind made it easier for Percy to manipulate him.
"Did you kill those four people 30 years ago?" Percy asked.
"What? No," the man answered. Percy couldn't make the man tell him the truth, but he could confuse him, make him less jumpy to the questions asked.
Lie Detected!
Percy frowned, "where did you keep them?"
"I don't' have to tell you," the old man was slowly breaking out of his dazed state, but Percy held on.
"If I search your house will I find evidence to convict you of those murders so many years ago?"
"No."
Lie Detected!
Percy didn't have much time, the man was slowly fighting back, he needed to end this now. He snapped his fingers wiping away the past five minutes from the man's memories, replacing it with a memory of sitting in his living room watching TV.
Ping!
You have leveled up a skill!
Mist Control, Lv-4 (20%)
The user can control the mist to create illusions and effect the perception of reality of victims.
Can be used on— Mortals
Percy quickly slammed down and prayed to his dad that his 80% believability rate on his acting skills would be enough for what he was going to do.
The old man shook his head, the false memories were setting in. He looked up at Percy, "who are you?"
"Hi, I'm new to the neighborhood and just thought I should introduce myself," Percy smiled as he extended a hand.
"I see, well I'm Richard Parkins," the man smiled as he shook Percy's hand. The demigod could feel the lust roll off the man's body, he was sick in the head, but not the kind that Carol was, no, he couldn't be healed. He actively looked for victims and used his job to cover his tracks. He needed to answer for his crimes.
"Well I'll see you soon Mr. Parkins," Percy turned to leave.
"Oh please, don't leave, come in," Parkins stepped aside inviting Percy inside, "I'll get you something to drink."
'Yeah, sure so that you can roofie me I'm sure,' Percy didn't let his smile falter, "please I don't want to be a bother. Plus my parents want me to come home right now."
Lie succeeded!
"I see..." the old man scanned Percy for any sign of deceit, but found none. "Well where do you stay?"
"A few streets down. The house with the red roof," Percy recalled passing the house when running here.
Lie succeeded!
"I see, well don't' be a stranger, come and visit when you wish,"and with that the man closed the door.
Percy walked away, he looked over his handler and saw Parkins looking at him through his window curtains. Percy smiled and waved, the man waved back. Percy turned the street corner and stopped, he needed to tell Castle and Kate this.
A few minutes later:
Their car pulled up and he two partners walked out. They waked towards Parkin's house when Percy spotted them.
"Pst!" Percy hissed. He managed to get Castle's attention who looked surprised to see Percy there. Percy waved him over, Castle tapped Kate's shoulder and pointed at Percy. Her jaw dropped, and Percy just waved them towards him.
Percy stood away from the line of sight from the Parkin's house, he didn't want to risk the old man seeing him.
Kate reached him first, "how the hell did you get here before us?"
"Train, plus you guys drove here on a Saturday afternoon, it's like you wanted to get caught in traffic," Percy rolled his eyes.
"I'm not even going to question this," Castle sighed, "fine, I assume you already interrogated our one lead?"
"No," Percy replied, "I pretended to be a new neighbor that popped in to say hello, and...." Percy had spent his free time thinking of how to tell the two that the old man was the killer, "and I think this guy was the killer."
"What?!" Kate had a look of complete disbelief on her face, "why?"
"Well for one he was checking me out," Percy shivered.
"So that would make him a pedofile, not a killer," Castle argued.
"Yeah, look I can't describe it okay, when I looked at im I saw the eyes of a killer. And believe me when I say I know a killer when I see one."
"Really?" Kate asked, "why is that? Because your a cop with years and years of experience? Percy you can't just throw around accusations like that."
"Look Kate I get it, but trust me, please, he's the man we are looking for. And the evidence you need will be found in his house, I promise you."
Kate and Castle shared a look before turning to Percy. "Go back to the Precinct Percy," Kate told him, "we'll talk when we get back."
Percy sighed, "fine. But please, trust me Kate. That man isn't a nice guy, he's hurt people."
"Percy he's a cop, we have seen a lot in our time serving," Kate's eyes became unfocused as if she was recalling a darker time, "we all have."
"Yeah, but yours isn't filled with bloodlust, his is," Percy sighed, "fine, do what you want. I'll see you later."
Percy turned and walked away. Castle looked at Kate, "what do you think?"
"I don't know Castle.....your thoughts?"
"I've seen Percy do some pretty amazing things, and that's not including his amazing video gaming skills," Castle chuckled, "he tracked down two missing kids in less that 12 hours Kate with nothing more than a gang name and a single witness. And then...and then there are times when he seems so much older than he is. There's this whole other part of him and Sally that we have never gotten to see....I think we should at least consider Parkins a suspect."
Kate sighed, "damn it, if you're saying it....fine. Let's go."
With Percy;
Perc couldn't go back to the Precinct yet, if he arrived too early then the timings wouldn't match up and Kate would get suspicious. After all there was no way a kid could go from Queens to NY in a few seconds.
So Percy did what any good wannabe crime fighter would do, he went to the scene of the crime.
The place where the body was found was a few feet away from a runner's track on the South side of the park. Yellow tape was still up, Percy couldn't get too close, so he slipped into his ID.
Since everything in the real world was copied into the ID world all the crime scene was also done so. That meant Percy had the entire scene for himself.
He slowly levitated himself into the air, there wasn't any use, the officers who came to take the body probably already messed up any tracks, but at least Percy won't be adding to the damage.
Percy then began to abuse the shit out off his Observation skills. He scanned the entire area and found nothing, any evidence of anything of importance found here was probably already at the precinct.
Percy was about to leave when he had a thought, how did an old man, walking with a cane no less, manage to carry a 130 pound health man all the way into Central Park? And that too without being noticed?
Realisation dawned on Percy as he immediately slipped out of his ID and began running through Central Park. He pulled out his cell phone and called up Kate.
"Hello?"
"Kate! There's two of them!" Percy yelled into the phone, "there are two killers! He couldn't have done it himself! He's too weak!"
"Percy what are you-" something happened, she stopped speaking, Percy heard mumbling on the other side of the phone. Suddenly Kate's voice was heard again, "Percy, I need to go. Something came up."
"Kate wait!"
"Percy!" Kate snapped, "me and Rick have to go and meet Sally, you remember Sally right? That old woman with the bad leg and her son? Well you see the son kind of got into trouble over the week in his school and she wants me to talk to him, give him the old 'if you keep going down this path you'll end up in jail' talk. Understand?"
Percy blinked, "ah, yeah."
"Great. I'll call you soon, oh and when you come home bring Espo and rest."
Percy nodded, "yeah, got it." The phone cut off. Percy understood what was going on.
Kate was in trouble. Percy remembered reading about the man's son, Jared, he must be the one helping the old man out. Carrying on the family tradition. The old man and his son must have them at gunpoint or something. Kate dropped far too many hints for it not to be the case.
Percy dialed up Esposito's number quickly, "hello? Detective Esposito?"
"Who is this? Percy?"
"Yeah it's me, listen Kate and Castle are in trouble and they need our help, now."
"Wait what? What happened?!"
"They were going to talk to a suspect when they got jumped, I managed to call Kate beforehand and she indicated that she was being kidnapped. I'll text you the address, get there as soon as you can."
"Wait where are you now?!"
"I'm a few blocks away from them," Percy lied as he began to run out of Central Park, "I'll see you guys there."
"Percy don't try to-" Percy cut him off. He quickly texted Espo Parkin's address and put the phone away. The demigod slipped into a shady part of the park and took off in a blur.
He reached the same creepy ass street in a few seconds. Kate's and Castle's car was outside, meaning they must still be here. The old man didn't have a car, not one Percy could see, so he would have had to take theirs.
He immediately slipped into his ID and ran into the house. He tore down the door and began to search the place, Parkins had to be keeping Castle and Kate here, people would notice if he walked out two cops with a gun pointed at their heads.
Percy quickly found a secret backdoor in the laundry room. He tore down the door with his super strength and walked down.
Inside was a dungeon of sorts. It gave Percy flashbacks to his time with Carol. There was a single steel cage in the center of the room with a metal table in the side. A tray of torture tools were lined up next to it. Percy didn't have to be a genius to guess what the old man was about to do.
The demigod immediately slipped out of his ID and the real world fell into place. Parkins stood over the metal table with Castle strapped into it. Kate stood horrified in the steel cage as Parkins and a younger man with a big belly, presumably Jared, his son, had Castle knocked out.
"And now you'll scream," Parkins looked at Kate as he raised a dagger high into the air ready to plunge it into Castle's heart.
"Fuck no!" Percy roared as he charged. Jared turned and fired the gun in surprise at Percy' sudden appearance.
"Percy no!" Kate cried out. The bullet hit Percy in the chest, but instead of piercing his skin the lead ball bounced off Percy's jacket.
