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SOMEHOW, AFTER GETTING jumped by a gang of miscreants and almost getting the cops called on them for being the Juvenal delinquents on the news, Percy and his friends found themselves standing on Valencia Boulevard, the golden letters of DOA RECORDING STUDIOS staring back at them.
It was almost midnight, but the building buzzed brightly with light and life. Well, no . . . definitely not life.
Through the windows and clusters of what seemed like people, they could see a tall and tough-looking man seated behind a security desk, overlooking the crowds in the room.
"Okay," Percy said, taking a deep breathe. "Remember the plan."
"The plan, mhm." Grover gulped, turning about three shades paler and looking ready to throw up. "Yeah, I love the plan."
"And what do we do if the plan doesn't work?" Annabeth inquired, not totally on board with Percy's idea.
"Don't think negatively."
"How are we supposed to think positively when we're walking into a lobby full of the undead?!" Laurie asked hushedly.
"By riding on the fact that your mom lives down there so maybe they'll be lenient. Now come on!" Percy insisted, gesturing towards the door with a harsh tilt of his head.
"Wow, lenient. Another big word for you, Jackson." Laurie remarked as she looked back at him with a falsetto laugh, the boy nudging her closer to the door.
"You two are going to have to get along if we're gonna pull this off." Annabeth scolded the two, pointing an accusatory finger at them.
Laurie wanted to remark on how that was rich coming from her, who'd also fought with the both of them in the earlier times of their quest, but there was no time for that.
The pair grumbled an agreement without sparing the other even a glance, and Percy grabbed hold of the door handle.
"Let's whoop some underworld butt."
Holding in her laughter at his expense, Laurie followed her friends in.
Despite its clean and expensive appearance, the room itself cast an eerie feel inside the kids the minute they were inside. Maybe it was because they were walking amongst spirits of the dead, or maybe it was just because the man at the security desk they were approaching towered over them and practically cast its own shadow.
The man was dressed in a silk Italian suit, the color matched with his bleached blonde hair. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses, but something told Laurie she didn't want to see what they looked like underneath.
