𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 ! [percy jackson]¹

𝐱. fred the sun god !

𝐋 𝐎 𝐕 𝐄   𝐒 𝐓 𝐎 𝐑 𝐘   !

𝙲 𝙷 𝙰 𝙿 𝚃 𝙴 𝚁   𝚃 𝙴 𝙽   !

( 𝔣𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔲𝔫 𝔤𝔬𝔡 ! )

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

          "𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐔𝐒?"

They had gotten out of the museum without much trouble and got in the van. Everything was going fine, but when they were crossing the Potomac, Toni spotted a sleek, black helicopter that reminded her a lot of the helicopter that had shown up at Westover Hall. A chill ran down her spine as flashbacks from that night filled her head. The helicopter was coming straight to them.

"They know the van," Percy said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoë swerved into the fast lane, throwing Toni into Percy. He wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from hitting the floor and helped her back onto the seat. Four people in the three-person back seat was not their best idea, she'd admit. But they had other problems to deal with. The helicopter was gaining on them. Fast.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover said hopefully.

Toni shook her head. This is where her lovely amount of military knowledge would come in hand. "No. That's a CH-47 Chinook. The most common type of military helicopter. The military probably thinks that it's one of their own." The others gave her looks of surprise, and she felt her cheeks heat up. "Um, sorry."

"How do you know that?" Thalia asked.

"I didn't just learn about wars and fighting at Westover." Percy sent Toni a lopsided grin that made her blush grow a bit. Her eyes moved to her lap, where she realized that Percy still had his arms wrapped around her securely, like a seat belt. He didn't seem to notice, so Toni kept quiet, enjoying the warmth and comfort. "But I want to know how the General can use mortals."

"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?" Percy asked, seeming genuinely confused. Toni guessed that it wasn't normal for mortals to see the things that half-bloods and gods and monsters did. "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."

Toni knew that all too well. She bit the inside of her cheek when she caught Bianca looking her way out of the corner of her eye. The younger girl gave her an empathetic smile, knowing exactly what was going through Toni's head. The brunette smiled slightly and turned her attention back outside. The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than they were through D.C. traffic.