Chapter 15

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Chapter 15

He was waiting for us in the diner parking lot when we arrived.

 "Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."

"No thanks to you," I said.

Ares gave me a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled black-smith was surprised when he saw a stupid kid like you on TV, and by the way,” He said looking at me appraisingly and with a hint of grudging respect. “You looked really good on TV."

I looked at him for a minute, absolutely speechless.

Annabeth and Grover caught their breath in surprise, not expecting that.

“I uh…thanks?”I said uncertainly.

He just grunted in response and grabbed the shield. He spun it in the air, like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.

"You guys see that truck over there?" He said pointing to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia:  KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

“You're kidding. That isn’t humane zoo transportation, just look at the truck." Grover growled in anger.

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck was unlatched.

"Free ride west, punk, so don’t complain. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.

Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

"...thanks," I said reluctantly.

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover said. “Thanks a lot."

I gritted my teeth and grabbed the bag, knowing that I will need it if we want our quest to succeed. I sighed and reluctantly slung the backpack over my shoulder.

I looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served us dinner was watching nervously out the window like she was afraid Ares might hurt us. She dragged the fry cookout from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera, and snapped a picture of us.

Great, I thought. We'll make the papers again.

‘Great going Percy, we are going to get nowhere if we get caught.’

‘We didn't get caught last time, why would we get caught this time?’ i mentally asked myself.

‘Maybe because you just tempted fate you dumbass.’

I sighed, knowing that it would be my luck to get caught.

 I looked up after having a mental battle with myself just in time to see Ares revv his Harley, then roar off down Delancey Street.

"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but ..."

He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.

“Grover's right, we should get going. C’mon.”

 "If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."

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