Mischief NOT Managed

Chapter 2: I Almost Get Arrested by Cranky Businessmen

LEO

Leo weaved through the streets of London, watching the spinning device in his hand.

He had just ditched the two lovebirds before he had to suffer through any more of their PDA, and Leo laughed as he pictured what Percy's expression would be when he found out what Leo had done to his suitcase. He wished he could see it in person, but he did not want to see what was going on in Percy's hotel room.

Leo dodged a business man with a briefcase, and picked up his pace, glancing down again at his mechanical creation.

It was basically a celestial bronze tracker. He had wired it to be able to sense magical frequencies in the area, and since celestial bronze was as magic as metal could get, Leo was fairly confident he would find it soon.

The needle was pointing North, and the whole device was trembling dangerously, heating in Leo's hand.

"Stupid thing." He muttered, and tapped it on the side, hoping to cease the tremors. It really shouldn't be vibrating at all, he had no idea what could be causing it. Unless the systems were overloaded, but there wasn't enough celestial bronze in the area to do that.

Leo glanced up again, and groaned. Right in front of him was a huge office building, and the needle was pointing directly at it.

Great.

Leo sighed and opened the doors, ignoring the pointed stares of the professional looking business people, and walked up to the front desk.

"Do you have any suspicious bronze metal lying around anywhere?" He asked, glancing around to try and see if any was lying around.

"Excuse me?" The front desk guy asked, frowning slightly.

"Any metal at all? Maybe gold? Might be a bit more shiny than you would think?" Leo tried, still glancing around the building.

"No, I don't think so. Can you please exit the building? This is a workplace, not a playground." The guy said, gesturing to two security guards, who started forward.

Styx. This isn't good.

"Ok ok I'm going! Sorry!" Leo scrambled back, shooting a look at the two angry looking guards.

He turned and practically ran out the door, his hands raised in surrender.

Once he got out back onto the street, he sighed, and glared at the device in his hand.

"Useless piece of junk." He muttered, tapping the glass. The needle was now pointing in the opposite direction, and with another groan, he set back off, dodging cars that he swore should be on the other side of the road.

Most the afternoon went like this, Leo chasing down the magical frequencies that seemed to radiate all over London, sending Leo running all around the city, cursing his machine with increasing frequency.

"Oh come on!" He almost shouted, annoyed beyond belief at his device, which now pointed directly behind him, after he'd been walking this direction for two miles.

He sighed, and turned around, expecting another dead end or strange building. What he saw encouraged him this time. There was some type of pub or whatnot on the corner, and Leo could already see some bronze glinting.

He ran across the street, ignoring the curses of the cab drivers, and skidded to a stop right in front of the pub. He glanced up at the sign, reading the Leaky Cauldron. He shrugged. Strange name.

He pushed open the door, squinting in the dim light. The whole pub was lit by candlelight, which seemed a bit strange to Leo, but he ignored the twinge of unease he got and walked over to the counter. As Leo walked, he glanced down again at his device, and almost tripped. The needle was going completely nuts, spinning around wildly, and as Leo watched in disbelief, the entire thing exploded in his face. It sent a small cloud of smoke around the pub, and Leo heard people coughing.

"Sorry!" He called out, and he heard grumbles spreading like wildfire.

"Never mind them. So how can I help you?" Came a new voice, and Leo looked up.

An old man was standing in front of him, slightly smiling like he was amused. He took a towel from the counter and handed it to one of the ladies Leo had covered with ash.

"Oh yeah, thanks. So I was looking for some metal, do you have a backyard or something I could look in?" Leo asked, trying to be a bit more cautious and not get arrested this time.

"Oh yes, I think I have a bit of a backyard." Tom said, and he winked. He leaned in close, and whispered in Leo's ear "Do you know how to get in?"

Leo gave him a strange look, and said "Umm... No sorry. Never been here before."

"Oh? First time? I can tell you're definitely not a muggle. Are you knew to the country?" He said, leaning in closer.

Leo was starting to get creeped out. "Yeah. I'm American. So can you show me?"

"Oh, so a transfer. You'll be getting your school supplies then. You're cutting it a bit close, aren't you? Only two days left until school starts." He put his hand on Leo's shoulder and steered him to the back of the pub before Leo could figure out a reply.

"So you know what I'm talking about? With the magic metals?" He said, starting to get excited.

"Metals? I suppose you could find them somewhere, but for school you will be needing other things. Of course, you know that already, you have your school supplies list right?" He replied, fiddling with something in his pocket.

Leo was desperately confused. School? He sure as Hades wasn't going to school. This was a vacation for Zeus sake!

"Umm, no actually. I-" Tom cut him off before he could continue.

"No school list? I'm sure I have a couple extra copies somewhere around here. What year are you?"

"What? No, it's fine really-" Leo tried to protest, but he was drowned out again.

"No I insist! After last year, I make it a point to help anyone. You never know who it might be. So you are what? Fourteen?"

"What? I'm sixteen! But seriously, I'm just looking for-"

"Here we go!" Tom said, and he whipped out a piece of paper with a flourish, and he handed it to Leo, who tired to resist setting it and the barman on fire.

"Thanks, I guess. But about the metal?" Leo tried to interject a note of common sense into the conversation, which usually was not his job. He stashed the paper in his tool belt without looking at it.

"Of course. But I would focus on your school supplies first, you only have this evening and tomorrow to get them. Follow me." Tom said, opening a door and gesturing to Leo. Leo walked through, stopping when he saw a brick wall.

"I thought you said you had a backyard." Leo said, turning and arching an eyebrow at Tom. Tom grinned, and walked over to the wall, and pulled something out of his pocket.

"It just needs a touch of magic." He said, his eyes twinkling.

Huh. So it's like the Labyrinth. Gods Leo hated that place. If his 'backyard' was anything like it, then Leo was hightailing it out of there.

Tom took what looked like a stick and tapped on one of the bricks, and Leo's mouth dropped. The bricks rearranged themselves soundlessly into a doorway, and beyond that Leo saw a bustling alley lined with shops and people in strange robes.

"What the..." His voice trailed off. What the hades was this!?

"I remember my first time seeing this place. Amazing, right?" Tom chuckled, and he gently guided Leo towards the archway.

"You'd better get going, most the shops will close soon. Let me know if you need any help, and there are rooms upstairs if you need one. Good luck!" The man scurried back to his pub, and Leo turned and watched in disbelief as the bricks rearranged themselves back into a wall.

Leo stepped towards the wall, still in shock. He put his hand on it, and tried to sense for any mechanisms or metal parts, but there was nothing. It was pure magic. Just great. Magic drove Leo crazy. He wished Hazel were here, she would probably know what all this was.

Leo turned around again, and after a moment, grinned.

This could be interesting.