¹𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 ! - percy jackson

-007

THEY SPOTTED THE HELICOPTER when they were crossing the Potomac. It was a sleek, black military model, just like the one they had seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight toward them.

"They know the van," Percy said, "we have to ditch it."

Zoë swerved into the fast lane. The helicopter was gaining.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Grover said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," Stella suggested.

"How can the General use mortals, anyway?" Percy asked.

"Mercenaries," Zoë said bitterly, "it is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" Percy said, "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoë shook her head, "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than they were through the D.C. traffic.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard, "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm. Leave it to Zeus to save the day...

"There!" Bianca said, "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoë said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

Zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. They left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said, "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

They bought tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind them for any signs of pursuit.

A few minutes later, they were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As their train came above ground, they could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after them.

Grover let out a sigh, "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased, "Yeah, well, I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Grover frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said, "but trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

Now, Stella knew nothing about D.C., but she didn't see how their whole subway system could be less than twelve years old. She guessed everyone else was thinking the same thing because they all looked pretty confused.

"Bianca," Zoë said. "How long ago..." Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," Percy said. "Next station."

Over the next half hour, all they thought about was getting away safely. They changed trains twice. Stella had no idea where they were going, but after a while, they lost the helicopter.