007

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007




THEY WERE CROSSING THE potomac when they spotted the helicopter. it was a sleek black military model just like the one they'd seen at westover hall. and it was coming straight towards them.

ivy had taken a piece of ambrosia, just enough to bring her energy back after taking down the nemean lion.

"they know the van," percy said. "we have to ditch it."

zoë swerved into the fast lane. the helicopter was gaining.

ivy squinted her eyes at the flying transport. "we should get one of those," she mumbled.

percy having heard what she said, snorted. "yeah? we get the helicopter and then none of us know how to fly it."

"i could learn," the brunette said with a shrug. "instead of doing quests on vans we could do them in the air."

percy shook his head in amusement.

"maybe the military will shoot it down," grover said hopefully.

"the military probably thinks it's one of theirs," percy said. "how can the general use mortals, anyway?"

"mercenaries," zoë said bitterly. "it is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"but don't these mortals see who they're working for?" the son of poseidon asked. "don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

ivy shook her head. "it's impossible to know how much they see through the mist. chances are they wouldn't care if they knew the truth."

"sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters," zoe said with conviction.

the helicopter kept coming, making a much better time than they were through d.c. traffic. ivy couldn't help but think how convenient it would be for camp to have one. beckendorf probably knew how to fly one, at least in theory.

thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "hey, dad. a lightning bolt would be nice about now. please?"

but the sky stayed grey and snowy. no sign of a helpful thunderstorm.

"there!" bianca said. "that parking lot!"

"we'll be trapped," zoë said.

"trust me," bianca said.

zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. they left the van and followed bianca down some steps.

"subway entrance," bianca said. "let's go south. alexandria."

"anything," thalia agreed.

they bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind them for any signs of pursuit. a few minutes later they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from d.c. as their train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

ivy send a nod to bianca, "nice job, that was quick thinking."

bianca looked pleased with her compliment. "yeah, well. i remembered that station from when nico and i came through last summer. i was really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in d.c."

grover frowned. "new? but that station looked really old."

"i guess," bianca said. "but trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

OH, CHÉRIE!¹     percy jacksonWhere stories live. Discover now