❦𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓮❦ - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷

𝒳. 𝒜𝓅𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑜 𝒢𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝒶 𝑅𝒾𝒹𝑒... 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒰𝓃𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒫𝑜𝑒𝓉𝓇𝓎

𝓣𝓱𝓮𝔂 were crossing the Potomac when they spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one they'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward them.

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

Nightshade swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining.

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

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Zoe said.

"Wait, how can the General use mortals?" Percy asked.

"Mercenaries," Nightshade 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. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Nightshade 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..." Zoe grimaced, "mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than the six of them were through D.C. traffic.

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

But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm.

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

"We'll be trapped," Nightshade said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

The hunter shot across 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 some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind them for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As their train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

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

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here 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.

Zoe knew the subway system couldn't be less than twelve years old. She guessed everyone else was thinking the same thing, because they all looked very confused.

"But the D.C metro opened in 1976," Zoe furrowed her eyebrows. "That doesn't make sense."

"Bianca," Nightshade said. "How long ago..." Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," Percy said. "Next station."

Over the next half hour, all they thought about was getting away safely. They changed trains twice. Zoe wasn't sure where they were going, but after a while they lost the helicopter.