Holly POV
I thought I was doing pretty good until Pippin screamed, "Look out for the semi!" I had to get on the sidewalk to avoid it.
When we were back on the road, Pippin said, "No offense, but you suck at this."
I laughed. "Honestly, you're right. But hey, I see the airport!" The airport was further down the block.
"Hit the breaks!" Pippin screamed as we got closer.
"Where are the brakes?!" I screamed back at him. Since I couldn't find them, (I'm not the smartest person alive, I'm related to Percy...)
I did the most natural thing possible. We drove into a nearby alley.
"What are you-" Before Pippin could finish I grabbed his arm and jumped off. As soon as we landed the motorcycle crashed.
"Thanks." Pippin sounded somewhat terrified.
"For what? I couldn't find the brakes," I pointed out.
He grinned. "No, for your quick thinking."
"Oh." I hadn't really thought at all. It was like one big action.
"Well, let's get out of this alley," Pippin said. After we got out, we looked for the mall.
"Found it," I said, pointing to a giant building with a bright neon sign. I couldn't read it because of my dyslexia, but I could assume that it said something like, "The Mall."
Pippin grinned. "Well let's go."
"Wait," I muttered, taking the note out of my pocket. "There's a storeroom nearby. Hopefully it's outdoors." Thankfully, I didn't have to go inside.
There were two very tall African American guys guarding the storeroom. They looked like bodyguards. I knew there was only one way to do this right, and that was to have me talk and keep Pippin quiet.
"I'll do the talking," I whispered to him. "When the time's right, sneak in and grab the gem." He nodded.
I walked up to the bodyguards and flashed them a smile. "Hi."
The one on the left looked down at me. "Who are you?"
"I found this," I said, avoiding their question and handing them the note. "The person who had it gave it to me before going to the hospital."
They looked confused. "He's in the hospital?"
"Yes, sir." I replied.
"Which one?" Suddenly my phone buzzed. I looked at it and saw a text from Lily. It read, "There's a hospital near that McDonald's."
I grinned. That McDonald's was far away from this place. I loved Lily for eavesdropping.
"The one near the McDonald's by the park."
The bodyguard sighed. "Well I guess I can trust a kid. How old are you?"
"Eleven, sir."
"Yeah, you look trustworthy. How old is your friend?" He nodded at Pippin.
"Also eleven, sir." Pippin looked confused until I mouthed, "Play along." He nodded.
"Really? He looks a little older." The bodyguard studied him. Pippin's expression clearly read, "Help me."
"He's mature for his age," I said smoothly. The bodyguard nodded. Pippin thanked me with his eyes. I winked.
"You two watch the storeroom. Watch out for some demigod brats."
"What's a demigod?" I asked innocently. It was better to act oblivious.
"Never mind. Watch out for some mean kids." They left. When they were far away, Pippin reached in and grabbed the gem.
"It has writing on it!" I noticed. I couldn't read it though, it was too faded.
"So did the other one," Pippin said.
"It did?" Well I feel like a really oblivious idiot.
He smiled. "You probably didn't notice because of your concussion."
Yeah. That's totally it.
Lily ran over with Turner and Ashton. "Hey! Looks like you got my text."
I nodded. "Thanks. Where are the other two?"
Hank and Daniel came up behind them.
"Never mind," I said. "Do you guys have a car or something?"
Daniel grinned. "Actually, yeah. It's right there." They managed to get a limo. How, I will never know.
We all filed in. "Who's driving?" Hank asked.
Daniel was in the driver's seat.
Lily, who was in the passenger seat, called back, "If any of you live, say something at my funeral!"
I nodded in agreement.
Actually, Daniel wasn't that bad of a driver. He was much better than I was driving the motorcycle. We quickly filed out of the car and into the airplane, in case the bodyguard freaks reappeared. Turner took off, and we headed to Tokyo.
