When Freedom Falls

Chapter Eight

"Blackjack, great to see you," Percy greeted. He rubbed his black mane.

"The pleasure is all mine, boss," he replied. Percy gave him a pat.

"We should get going. We don't want that plane anywhere near the city." Percy climbed on top of Blackjack, and he started sprinting hundreds of miles an hour. A lake quickly approached them, and Blackjack jumped in the air and never landed.

Percy missed flying with him. He saw him at Camp Half Blood but never had the chance to explore the sky since he was younger.

They quickly approached the plane. It was a large, military-grade bomber plane. Percy had only seen these in the movies and history class, and it was even more menacing in real life.

"There, go towards the left wing!" Percy shouted. Blackjack zoomed behind the plane, and the draft of the engines sent them flying back. Blackjack recuperated, and flew to the other side. Percy used his nautical senses to find his location. He wasn't too far from the sea. All he had to do was destroy the left wing of the plane, and the offset balance and draft would cause it to crash in the ocean.

Percy willed the water from the atmosphere to crystallize around the wing, until it was well below zero. Then, he grabbed Riptide and slashed at it with the power of an Olympian. The wing crumbled to pieces, as it was made of aluminum.

Blackjack followed the plane as it splashed in the water. They landed at the shore.

"That was easy. Thank you so much Blackjack," Percy said while stroking his mane. "I'd love to stay and hang out with you more, but I should go and see if Artemis needs help."

"No problem boss, but uh, if, you know, you wanted to bring some sugar cubes next time you go to Camp Half Blood..."

"Will do that, no problem bud." Blackjack neighed.

Percy warped back to Olympus. As he entered a throne room and looked at the map, he saw that all of the planes were still in the air except for his. He wondered why they were having a harder time stopping them than he did.

"That would be because I let you destroy the plane," a menacing voice spoke behind his throne. Percy grabbed Riptide and pointed it out.

"Show yourself," he called out. No one just walked into the Throne Room without a good reason. Percy tried to ignore the bad feeling stirring in his stomach. He sensed a strong aura in this room. Perhaps the strongest one he ever felt, here on Olympus.

"Not a problem, Percy," the voice called out. Out of the shadows came a man with styled, dark brown hair, a pink polo shirt with all the buttons unattached, khaki cargo shirts, and Sperry's. On his wrist was a Rolex studded with diamonds. He looked like the male equivalent of Aphrodite. He wore a proud smile and held his arms up, as if waiting for Percy to attack.

"Who are you?" Percy asked, Riptide still pointed at him.

The man chuckled, as if the question was somehow the funniest thing he had heard all day. "Oh, Percy, Percy. I'll tell you everything you want to know. After all, I have you to thank for my arrival. Without you, well, I'd be a lost cause really. But you saved the day for me, and that's why I sent you the lovely little gift at the Empire State Building," he said, crossing his arms out of satisfaction.

"You sent the bomb?" he asked. He took a step towards the man, and he didn't even flinch.

"Well, it wasn't a bomb, really. A fake one, sure. No, all I wanted was for you to get a little foreshadowing with the poem I wrote you."

"Are you the one behind these planes with the bombs in them?" Percy asked, a bit of nerve escaping his voice. The man definitely noticed it and gave a cocky grin, showing his pearly, white teeth.