A STORM IS BREWING | PERCY JACKSON

Chapter Nineteen

Peter crawled along the ceiling of the parking garage until he was right above his target. The man, who Karen had identified as Aaron Davis, was putting groceries into his car. Peter shot a web at his hand, effectively trapping him. He watched as the man looked around before trying to unstick his hand. It reminded him of the cliche horror movie where the main character looked everywhere but up and then got jump scared. He silently dropped down behind the man and a smirk overtook his face.

He pitched his voice slightly lower when he said, "Remember me?"

Davis jumped slightly and tried to turn around before his arm stopped him. Peter flipped onto the roof of the car and hoped he looked intimidating. "I need some information and you're going to give it to me."

Davis' face turned from alarmed to confused. "What happened to your voice?"

"What? Nothing happened to my voice. Now, I need to know. Who is selling these weapons?" Percy tried to get the 'interrogation', if you could call it that, back on track.

Davis slammed the trunk of his car shut, causing Peter to startle. The older man shot Peter an unimpressed look. It was obvious that his current tactic was failing miserably so Peter tried a different strategy. His voice took on a pleading tone. "Look, man, these guys are selling weapons that are crazy dangerous. They can't just be out on the streets. Look, if one of them can just cut Delmar's bodega in half-"

"They destroyed Delmar's?"

"Yeah, these weapons, they're dangerous. Come on, man, please." Peter stared at Davis for a moment before turning and walking away. He didn't plan on leaving without answers but he figured that if he seemed more approachable then Davis might be more forthcoming.

"The other night," Davis started. Peter smiled slightly and walked back towards the man. Davis continued, "you told that dude, 'if you're going to shoot someone, shoot me.' That's pretty impressive. I don't want those weapons out on the streets. I've got a nephew who lives here. And judging from your voice, you're only a couple years older than him.

"I can't tell who or where the guy with wings is. But I can tell you where he's going to be. Try the Staten Island ferry at eleven."

Peter pumped his fist in the air in excitement. He started to walk away, already muttering to himself about possible plans to catch the guy.

"Hey!" Davis shouted behind him. Peter turned to look at him. The criminal gestured to his hand, that was still stuck to his car. Peter contemplated just leaving the man there before his conscience won out.

"Yeah, okay, I'm coming."

***

Peter managed to catch the ferry right as it was pulling out of the dock. He clung to the side of the boat and peeked through the window. The ferry was full of passengers and Peter activated the reconnaissance mode in his suit to find the man that he was after. Karen picked up on the conversation of two men across the boat. They looked ordinary but they were having a conversation even though they were facing away from each other.

'It looks like something out of one of those old spy movies,' Peter thought.

"Peter," Karen said, breaking through his thoughts, "there's an incoming call from May Parker. Should I reroute to your heads-up display?"

Peter bit his lip in thought. On one hand, Hestia rarely called and he would feel bad if he didn't answer. On the other, he really needed to follow this guy if he wanted to get him.

"Audio only, Karen. Droney, stay here and watch the other guy."

A small icon popped up on his display, letting him know that Hestia was now patched into his comms. There was also a small box showing the live video feed that the Spider-Drone was recording. He crawled along the outside of the boat, following the man who had gotten up.