WITCHY WOMAN - one shall be lost in the land without rain
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The group was crossing the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one they had seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward them.
"They know the van," Percy said. "We have to ditch it."
Zoë swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining.
"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?" he asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"
Zoë shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."
The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than they were having to drive through DC traffic.
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.
"He's probably just busy," Rory told her unhelpfully.
"Yeah," Thalia said weakly. "Probably."
"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"
"We'll be trapped," Rory 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. The six left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.
"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."
"Anything," Thalia agreed.
They each bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from DC. As the train came above ground, the helicopter was circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.
Grover let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."
Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in DC."
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."
