The Fleece Job (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Chapter 5: Piper of California

Reese

"I just want to come home," I sigh, into the phone, as I stare out over San Francisco Bay. It's a calm night and the water chops inky blue black against the side of the ship.

"I know you do buddy, but the custody agreement is the custody agreement. Your mom gets to have you all summer," my dad says, gently. There's noise in the background, he's at work.

"But I miss you. And I'd rather be home, I hate it here," I mumble, rubbing tears from my face.

"I know I miss you too, but it's important you spend some time with your mom."

"She won't let me play music in the house. Or in the yard. She says I'm a freak."

"Son, we are freaks."

"She took away my guitar and she won't let me sing around the gremlins either."

"Please stop calling your step-siblings Gremlins. If you keep doing it, I'm gonna start doing it and that would not be good."

"It's just not fair. She had me first," I say, picking at algae or something on the railing absently.

"I know. I'm sorry. Hey, I think you're the greatest, all right? Now tell me about band camp."

"She hardly even notices I'm gone." In a moment of guilt my dad signed me up for day camp so that I could get out of my mother's house. Since nobody's called the police she has yet to notice I'm not there.

"I'm sorry."

"I'd just rather be home with you."

"I know, I know. I'm really sorry. Look—I've got to go, Zephyr is making weird gestures at me and I don't know why it was clearly a one person surgery—"

"Okay, bye," I say, very pathetically.

"Love you starshine, try to have fun okay? Love you---I really should probably go—"

"Love you too dad, bye," I say, sighing dramatically before hanging up. I smile contentedly and stuff the phone in my pocket. Done. He won't worry about me now.

I hear a noise from behind me. I turn around, slowly, readying my bow. I can hardly see on the dark ship. I don't have any lights on. Don't draw attention to yourself, Jason said. Well now I can't see.

I notch an arrow and step forward. It's only wood. People are generally just surprised to be shot at, not overly cross.

I shoot at the source of the noise.

"Not cool," Penny steps out of the shadows, knocking the arrow out of the air easily with a metal baton. She catches the baton and puts it back in a loop on her belt.

"Don't do that!" I cry, lowering my bow. Every time I forget how actually terrifying she is in person. Unwavering steel eyes, five foot ten, light gold hair pulled severely out of her face, always armed with various deadly pieces of metal. Finding out that she's my cousin did not make me feel any better about her. It doesn't help that if you manage to overlook the fact that she looks like (and in fact could) kill you in the blink of an eye, she's actually rather pretty.

"Do what? Walk on my own ship?" Jason asks, annoyed.

"Oh, hey guys!" I say, happily, putting down my bow completely.

"Okay so---dude—next time you meet someone who says they're planning a robbery could you NOT give them my name and address? Thanks," Ev says, coming to lean against the rail carelessly, rainbow hair drifting in the night air.

"But you love stealing things," I say, frowning.

"Yeah, but that's what cops act and look like," gesturing to Jason.