Olympus: The Agency (Book One)

9. Bad Boys

There was no specific mission for Thanatos, Tartarus and Apollo, so instead of searching for something to do, they did what most soldiers do after a lethal mission. They sought relaxation.

And they found it in the Hellfire Club, a busy hot spot for activity day and night. As the three agents approached, a bouncer stopped them, keeping his attention on Apollo.

'ID.'

Apollo rolled his eyes. Again, his youthful look stopped him from having fun.

'I don't have ID,' Apollo said truthfully, and the bouncer's brow furrowed. He took out a little DNA reader.

'Finger,' he said calmly. Apollo complied. A spike extracted a drop of blood, and the machine whirred. The bouncer checked the screen.

'Huh,' he said, unphased by the words flashing on the screen. 'Alright, you can go in, but I don't care who you work for. You cause trouble I'll throw you back out. Got it?'

Apollo nodded and walked in. Tartarus and Thanatos sniggered and followed.

Inside, they were greeted with the light strumming of a ukulele from a woman on the stage. Thanatos groaned.

'Great, it's karaoke day.'

Suddenly, the woman dropped the ukulele and stamped on it with a heeled boot, and rock music filled the venue. People roared and cheered for this woman. Her garnet-red hair swished with her movements, and Tartarus noticed the pointed ears.

'Alice, confirm race.' Tartarus asked quietly.

'That is an Elf,' Alice said with a simulated smile. 'According to the club's programme, her name is Allyra Sparkrage, the main attraction. She performs a combination of rock music, gymnastic stunts and stand-up comedy.'

'A woman of many talents,' Apollo said, walking over to the bar. 

Tartarus kept his gaze on Allyra, captivated by her song. 'Reminds me of home.'

Thanatos had found a pinball machine. He touched it gingerly, trying to figure out how the contraption worked. Tartarus shook his head and pushed Thanatos out of the way. Alice paid with Tartarus's details, and the pinball machine whirred to life.

Tartarus showed Thanatos how it was done, scoring higher than most ever did on this antique. When the final ball sunk, the machine played a fanfare, and Tartarus grinned as he applied his name at the top. "BADSOB".

'Oh, definitely reminds me of home!' he roared.

The time passed quickly. Apollo drank too much, Thanatos argued with himself in the mirror, and Tartarus got several phone numbers he discarded in the toilet. The three were now seated in a booth.

Apollo had his head on the table, slowly feeding salt and pepper squid into his mouth. Thanatos was watching Allyra perform ballet for cheers, impressed with the diversity of acts she had. Tartarus, however, had noticed something the others had not.

For years, the assassin had trained himself to expect trouble, to the point he knew when it was coming. He could feel eyes on him and his partners. Powerful eyes.

'Alice, who owns this club?'

'Hellfire is owned by Isaac Ezekiel Daniels.'

Tartarus ran the name in his head. It was so biblical it was either an alias or this guy's parents loved religion too much. Tartarus being who he was, knew it was the former.

'We're leaving,' Tartarus said quickly, standing up. Almost on cue, the bouncers and wait staff shot glances at Tartarus, cementing his suspicions. His hand fell to his holster.