mastermind - percy jackson

vii. apologies

"heroes do not love!"

They were crossing the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter. A sleek, black military model just like the one at Westover Hall. And it was heading straight for them.

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

Zoe swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining on them.

"Gods, Zoe. There are people in this van" Cassandra muttered, pushing herself away from Percy who she had fallen into.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down" Grover said hopefully. He was an optimist. The glass was always half full.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs" Percy said. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries" Zoe said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but most mortals will fight for any cause as long as they're paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working with?" Percy asked.

Zoe shook her head "I don't 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."

"Amen" Cassandra said.

The helicopter kept coming, making much better time than they were with the D.C. traffic

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

There was no thunderstorm in sight. The sky was just gray and snowy.

"There!" Bianca said "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped" Cassandra deadpanned.

"Trust me" Bianca said.

Zoe shot across the two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. They left the van and followed Bianca down a few steps.

"Subway entrance" She said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything" Thalia agreed.

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, checking behind hem for anyone who was in pursuit. A few long minutes later they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C.

"I hate the subway." Cassandra said with a disgusted look on her face. "Do you know how many rats there are? And the amount of people who get murdered on here," Percy laughed at her ramble and she narrowed her eyes and elbowed him.

As their train came above ground, they could still see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't go after them.

Grover let out a sigh "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

She looked pleased "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remembered being really surprised by it, because it wasn't there when we used to live in D.C."

Grover frowned "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess" Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

Everyone looked confused.

"Bianca" Zoe said "How long ago..." Her voice faltered. The sound of helicopter blades became louder.

"We need to change trains" Cassandra told them.