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As it turned out, Percy didn't buy Blackjack donuts in Jersey.
Zoe drove south like a crazy person, and they were well into Maryland before she finally pulled over at a rest stop. Blackjack nearly tumbled out of the sky, he was so tired.
"Stay here," Percy told him. "I'm going to scout."
Percy put on his cap of invisibility and walked over to the convenience store while Elaine followed, trying her hardest to be discrete. It was difficult not to sneak. No one even knew to look out for her.
Elaine thought she'd go inside and warm up, maybe get a cup of hot chocolate or something. She had a little change in her pocket. Then her whole plan was ruined by Zoe, Thalia, Bianca, and Grover all coming out of the store.
She ducked behind a payphone and imitated having a phone call to blend in with the bustling sidewalk.
"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked, like she couldn't believe it.
Grover looked offended. "It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right."
"D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I..." She frowned. "We used to live there. That's ... that's strange. I'd forgotten."
"I dislike this," Zoe said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."
"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.
Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!"
"Oh, scullion. You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"
"Whoa, you two," Grover said nervously. "Come on. Not again!"
"Grover's right," Bianca said. "D.C. is our best bet."
Zoe didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep moving."
"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do."
"Perhaps," Zoe snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."
As Blackjack, Elaine, and Percy continued south, following the van, Elaine wondered whether Zoe had been kidding. She didn't know exactly when cars were invented, but she figured it was roughly around the 1920s—how old was Zoe?
As they got closer to Washington, Blackjack started slowing down and dropping altitude. He was breathing heavily.
