Agent Jackson

Chapter 12

Percy woke up to someone shaking him awake. He sat bolt upright, head butting them in the face.

"Ow," Luke complained, leaning back and holding his nose. "Why is your head so hard?"

"Sorry," Percy apologized.

"It's fine," Luke grumbled. "Your aunt sent me to tell you that breakfast is ready. Grover's already eating and so is your family."

"Give me ten minutes," Percy said with a sigh as he got up, his mind still whirring from his dream, trying to figure out the identity of the voice in the cavern.

Luke left the room and Percy got ready for the day, pulling on a Camp shirt and jeans before grabbing his bag and heading out to the kitchen to eat. When he got there, he raised an eyebrow at the amount of food. Phil really went all out. He chuckled and filled a plate with bacon, eggs, breakfast potatoes, and a couple of hotcakes before sitting at the table with Grover, Luke, and his family.

He pulled out his map and spread it out on the table, temporarily ignoring his food in favor of planning out their route to Los Angeles. "If we hurry, we can catch the 10:00 Greyhound to San Francisco," he suggested, highlighting the route. He continued to highlight, narrating each step aloud.

Halfway through planning, the highlighter was snatched from his hand. He looked up to glare at the thief, but she said, "Don't you give me that, young man. You need food. You can plan more after you've eaten."

Scowling at Natasha, he picked up his fork and began to eat at a reasonable pace, knowing he would be scolded for eating too fast if he tried.

"What do we do when we get to LA?" Luke asked. "I mean, how do we even find the entrance?"

"We could try to pray to our parents," Percy suggested, knowing Hermes would respond at the very least. Poseidon, he wasn't sure about, but he trusted Hermes.

Luke looked uncertain, but Grover shrugged and said, "It couldn't hurt to try."

Percy nodded and volunteered to be the one to pray. Hermes, I need to talk to you.

What's up, Perce? he asked. Is Luke okay?

Percy refrained from rolling his eyes, aware of everyone watching him closely. In the time that Percy had known Hermes, it was clear that he cared a lot about his children, especially Luke. Luke is fine, Hermes. We just need to know how to find the entrance to the Underworld.

Oh, that's easy, Hermes said. Just find DOA Studio, and be sure to bring plenty of drachmae. Charon's a stickler, but he loves his Italian suits.

Alright, you have redeemed yourself, Percy decided.

Hey! What's that supposed to mean?

It means I forgive you for letting Nick know where I am.

Oh, that. In my defense, I just wanted him to know you were alive; I didn't think he'd actually call you about it.

Whatever, Hermes. Now, I've got to go before Luke suspects something.

Tell him hi for me!

Will do. He cut the connection and looked over at Luke with a smirk. "Lord Hermes said to find DOA Studio. He also wanted me to say hi to you for him, Luke."

"So, this studio place is the entrance?" Grover asked while Luke sat silently, processing the fact that his godly parent just acknowledged his existence, even indirectly.

Percy nodded. "Apparently. I'd say out best bet is to call a taxi once we get there. I know we're supposed to be avoiding technology, but how else do you propose we find one small studio in such a big city?"

The two glanced at each other nervously but nodded. "I suppose you're right, Perce," Grover reluctantly agreed.

"Besides," Percy said with an overly cheerful grin, "we can take down a monster or two."

"Or die trying," Grover muttered.

Percy chuckled and went back to eating his food to appease his aunt.

"Why do you have to avoid technology?" Phil asked.

Percy gestured to Luke to answer, as his mouth was full of food.

"Technology attracts monsters," Luke said. "Especially for someone like Percy, whose scent is very strong. That's why demigods tend to avoid cell phones and computers. It's like sending up a beacon of yumminess to the monsters that hunt us."

Phil made a noise of protest in the back of his throat at the thought of Percy, or and kid, being eaten. "Romanoff, remind me to talk to the director about setting up a safety net for demigods."

Tasha's blank mask was on, but Percy could tell she was as upset as Phil as she nodded and set a reminder on her phone.

Percy swallowed. "Not all of the mythological monsters are all bad, though," he said in an attempt to calm them. "Medusa was nice enough. She let us go without a fight and even gave me some cool new swords."

Natasha took a deep breath before standing and stalking off away from them.

"Just give her a minute," Phil said to Percy, who was watching her go with concern.

"Was it something I said?" Percy asked.

"Telling your aunt you met Medusa probably wasn't the best idea," Luke said with a grimace.

Percy frowned. Natasha had seen him do worse things than face Medusa, so what was really bothering her?

"Sorry," Natasha said as she sat back down several minutes later. She sent a stern look at Percy. "You met Medusa and you didn't kill her?"

Percy flushed and nodded. "She was nice and gave me swords," he defended weakly. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

Tasha sighed. "Perseus Achilles Jackson, do your job and neutralize threats before they can hurt an innocent."

"She wasn't a threat anymore!"

"You don't know that," she retorted.

"Fine," Percy said with a pout. "It won't happen again."

Natasha nodded in satisfaction and allowed Percy to continue his planning of their trip.