Agent Jackson

Chapter 9

Their next stop was in Denver, a day later, when Grover mentioned they should stop for food. It had been a while since they had finished their food supply with a breakfast of protein bars and it was getting to be lunch time. They got off the bus and found their way to a nearby diner.

"Hello!" a waitress chirped after they had taken their seats. "Welcome to the Blue Moon! My name is Charlie and I'll be your server. What can I get started for you today?"

Percy sent her a small smile and said, "I'll take a water, please."

Luke asked for a Coke and Grover asked for a Sprite. After she had left to get their drinks, Luke started quizzing Percy about his ability to read auras. Percy patiently answered his questions about its uses and how to get started on learning.

When Charlie came back with the drinks, Percy was just finishing explaining to Luke how to shield his aura from outside forces. She set the drinks down and smiled warmly. "Do y'all know what you'd like to eat?" she asked.

"I'd like the veggie wrap," Grover said.

Charlie hummed as she wrote it down before turning to Luke. "And for you?"

Luke glanced at his menu before saying, "A bacon burger please."

When she turned to look at Percy, he frowned at the menu in thought. Finally, he ordered his food: a healthy, but filling, salad.

While waiting for their food, the trio of questers discussed finding a safe place to stay the night, as Luke and Percy hadn't been able to sleep on the bus, paranoid that monsters would get them if they did.

"A hotel, maybe?" Grover suggested. "Do we even have that much money?"

Percy hummed. He had brought his debit card, just in case, but he had a better idea than paying for some cheap motel room. "My godfather has a place only a couple of hours from here," he said. "It should be empty right now."

"A summer home?" Luke asked.

Percy's lips twitched into a small smile. "No. He's pretty important in the government, so he needed a safehouse in case someone decided to try and put a bullet through his skull. I have access to all of his safehouses."

They all agreed to stop there and rest for the night, as it was much safer than a hotel room. They ate the food Charlie set in front of them and talked about random things to keep their minds off of the quest.

They had just finished and paid when a man slid into the booth beside Grover. He was tall and had bulging muscles. Both Luke and Grover's auras tinted red and their eyes glazed over. "You're Perseus?"

Percy frowned and tried to shield his companions, something he had never tried before. He was adept at shielding himself, but he'd never needed to try and defend another. "I am," he said with a scowl. "Release my friends."

The man smirked. "I don't think I will. I quite like having minions under my control. Besides, they obviously aren't really your friends. You haven't even told them your secrets."

"What do you want?" Percy asked, glancing at the two with concern. Luke was clearly struggling to shield his own aura, with little success. Percy cared less about Grover, but he still didn't want to leave him to this god.

"I need you to go on a quest for me," he said, casually picking at his nails. "You either do this for me, or you don't get your so-called friends back."

Percy gritted his teeth to keep in the sarcastic comment that was on the tip of his tongue. "Who are you?"

"The name's Ares, Punk. Now, you going to listen or am I going to have two new minions?"