SAFE . . . reyna ramirez-arellano

40 - simps

BRIAR HATED IT here. But, sadly, she had to reassure Leo that he could do whatever was happening, because she didn't know what was happening. And also because Jason made her do this.

Jason looked cool and confident as usual — all surfer-dude handsome with his blond hair and sky-blue eyes. The scar on his mouth and the sword at his side gave him a rugged appearance, like he could handle anything. But the sparkle in his eyes showed that he was secretly melting down inside at the sight of Leo, which was always there since they'd started dating. The worry in his eyes was always there, but it was constant when Leo was around. Jason Grace is a fucking simp.

Leo was not feeling the same way Jason was. He was storming around Bunker Nine, cursing in Spanish under his breath. His hair was disheveled, and there were bags under his eyes. Briar rarely saw him, mostly because he was always working on the Argo II. Maybe if he wasn't such a workaholic, then he'd be a full-time simp.

"It's okay," Jason said. "We're here to help."

"Just tell us what happened," Briar drawled, and he hit her arm. "Ow! Jesus Christ! But seriously, I'd like to know whatever happened here to tear me away from my nap. I was having a perfectly normal dream before I was rudely awakened by your stupid boyfriend, Leo."

Leo took a deep breath. "Okay, guys. This is serious. No comments. Briar Rose. Buford's gone. If we don't get him back, this whole place is going to explode."

Briar's eyebrows rose. "I know you said no comments, but explosions are usually something to comment about. But, seriously, calm down and tell us who Buford is, otherwise Jason's gonna think you're cheating on him."

"Hey!" Jason argued. "I wouldn't think that of Leo. He knows I'm the only one for him, and vice versa."

Leo's ears turned pink. "Jason, you already know what Buford is," he said. "But come here."

He led them across the hangar floor, carefully skirting some of his other projects. Briar felt uncomfortable here, even after a couple of months. She's rarely visited, after all.

Built into the side of a limestone cliff deep in the woods, the bunker was part weapons depot, part machine shop, and part underground safe house, with a little bit of Area 51–style craziness thrown in for good measure. Rows of workbenches stretched into the darkness. Tool cabinets, storage closets, cages full of weird equipment, and stacks of construction material made a labyrinth of aisles so vast, Briar's irrational fear of this place was valid. Overhead ran a series of catwalks and pneumatic tubes for delivering supplies, plus a high-tech lighting and sound system. A large magical banner hung over the center of the production floor. The banner read: Merry Christmas! All your presents belong to Leo!

Christmas was two months ago. Briar didn't know why Leo hadn't changed the thing, but he was busy, and she respected it.

Leo ushered them to the center of the bunker. There, he was building the Argo II.

At the moment, it didn't look like much. There was a length of Celestial bronze curved like an archer's bow, two hundred feet from bow to stern. The lowest hull planks had been set in place, forming a shallow bowl held together by scaffolding. Masts lay to one side, ready for positioning. The bronze dragon figurehead — formerly the head of Festus — sat nearby, carefully wrapped in velvet, waiting to be installed in its place of honor.

Leo climbed the scaffolding and jumped into the hull. Jason and Briar followed.

"See?" Leo said.

Fixed to the bronze, the engine looked like a high-tech jungle gym made from pipes, pistons, bronze gears, magical disks, steam vents, electric wires, and a million other magical and mechanical pieces. Leo slid inside and pointed out a part of the machine.