Annabeth POV
My phone buzzing in my pocket woke me up from my sleep. Gods, I was exhausted today due to the sun, and I was simply standing around all day.
I could only imagine the difficulties of the prisoners.
The moon was shining brightly above us as I pulled out my phone.
It was an unknown number. I immediately thought about ending the call. I was sure that WiCKeD and BlodgeHarm must've had an electronic detection system.
However, the phone call might've been important.
The call ended in my contemplation. I looked at Reyna who was sleeping. Honestly, I was supposed to be on guard first, but I fell asleep.
Oops. As I said, I'm super tired after the day in the scorching sun.
The phone started buzzing again. I walked a few feet away while still staying in the safety of our alleyway. It was very crowded with the trash boxes in the narrow pathway.
"Hello," I whispered into the phone.
"Hey, Wise Girl, I missed you so much," Percy replied quietly.
Tears bristled my eyes as I took in his warm and comforting voice. I knew that he'd find me and reach out. Thankfully, he received my message.
"Seaweed Brain," I acknowledged.
I couldn't really say anything more at the current moment.
"Wise Girl, please tell me that you're okay. Chiron said not to call you in case you'd get in trouble, but I couldn't wait. I had to tell you that we're a few hours away," Percy said.
"I'm still disguised as a soldier. You won't believe what WiCKeD and BlodgeHarm have set up here. It's horrible," I informed quietly.
"I know. Leo's been scanning the location with high-sky drones since we received your message. I wanted to leave immediately, but we had business to attend."
"What've you been doing?" I asked curiously.
"We stopped the bomb transport out of Italy, which was the other main transport point. We cut off the entire bomb supply," Percy explained.
"That's amazing, but they still have a lot of bombs here," I said sadly.
I was so glad that I was speaking with Percy. Just hearing his voice gave me strength and courage in this hellhole.
"Yeah, we saw," Percy expressed. "Are you alone?"
"Seaweed Brain, I actually have an ally. She's from MI6, and she's also been undercover way longer than we were," I told him.
"That's good. Who is she?" Percy asked.
I could hear the relief in his voice. While Percy knew that I could take care of myself, he still cared about and loved me. That's just who he was as my boyfriend.
Percy wanted me to be safe, which came with help.
"Her name's Reyna. She's strong and intelligent, and we've been working together to scope the area and signal Lake Valor and MI6," I said.
"Both are on the way. Her name is Reyna Arellano," Percy said quietly.
"Percy, how do you know her last name? I didn't tell you," I asked in slight confusion.
"Jason and Reyna (during an undercover mission a while back) used to have a fling, Wise Girl. You could imagine why they would have a short relationship," Percy said.
I could imagine the smirk on his face.
"They are very similar, but they also live worlds apart," I said.
"I'm glad that we live in the same world. Even if we separate into different worlds, we always find ways to get back together," Percy expressed quietly.
"Wow, that was so cheezy," Percy finished with a chuckle.
It was so sweet and genuinely loving despite being a bit cheezy.
"I love you, Seaweed Brain. I'll see you when you get here, but please be prepared. We only have one shot at saving the prisoners and stopping the weaponry transport that will happen within the week," I said sternly.
"I love you too, Wise Girl. We already figuring out a plan. We got this," Percy said smoothly.
While confidence was key in our line of work, this was going to be hard. Very hard.
Regardless, we had to try.
With a few last words, I regretfully hung up the phone.
However, my smile didn't falter as I walked back towards Reyna and sat down. Just having Percy and my team again gave me hope and comfort.
***
A scream interrupted the trance that I was in. I was standing guard and watching over the prisoners who were working with the weapons.
My attention immediately turned towards the woman.
Two soldiers were dragging her away from the site. The young woman was screaming to let go of her. She was begging them to set her free.
I watched in sorrow as they dragged her away before I started walking towards them.
"Soldier, where do you think you're going?" a lieutenant barked.
A large, dominating man named Polybotes walked towards me. His footsteps were heavy and his face was stern. The leaders and lieutenants didn't wear masks. His mouth spat into my face as he stopped right in front of me.
"Sir, I was only going to use the restroom," I said smoothly.
"Soldier, I've had my eye on you since you've come back from Greece," the lieutenant said as his face caught a twisted smirk. I felt sick and disgusted.
His hand came forward and touched my waist.
I immediately backed away and slapped the lieutenant. Men like him didn't deserve any respect or encouragement from women.
"You bit-"
"Don't you freakin dare," I spat. "Unless you want to get reported to the bosses, I recommend that you step back, you bastard."
The lieutenant backed away with an angry expression.
"You're lucky that someone's here the protect you. Of course, our soldiers pick victims that cannot and will not be protected," he snarled.
Suddenly, my mind raced back to the woman that was dragged away.
It was horrible, and my blood was boiling with anger and venom. I watched in madness as the lieutenant walked away with a sickening chuckle.
I turned around and ran in the direction that the young woman was forcefully taken away. The woman must've known what was happening and that's why she was screaming and shouting and crying for help.
Of course, the prisoners were too scared to help.
And, the other nasty soldiers were probably accepting the situation with ease.
However, I was going to help that woman. No lady deserved that kind of treatment or punishment even in a darn terrorist camp.
Suddenly, I heard a cry.
I froze in front of an alleyway in between two warehouse buildings that were used for bomb and weapons storage. It was an isolated location close to the edge of the camp. Literally, the tall electric fence was 10 feet behind the warehouses.
I quickly rushed into the alleyway with my gun drawn.
The brunette woman was on the ground as one soldier slapped her to stay cooperative. Her dirty shirt was tattered as she screamed for help.
At that point, I didn't even care about my disguise.
This was one drawback that women had. The problem wouldn't be fixed until every man learned to respect women like they were his mother, sister, or daughter.
"Hey, step away from her," I shouted.
My gun was pointed at the soldiers. Both of them turned to me.
"Get lost, soldier, this is a personal business," one soldier barked. The other soldier responded by drawing his gun out.
"Please help me," the woman whimpered, which earned another slap.
I ran forward and kicked the gun out of the standing soldier's hand. My elbow whipped around and struck the man in the face. However, the other soldier came at me.
His hand scratched through my hair and yanked my mask off.
I didn't really care as I punched his jaw. The soldier staggered back as the woman clambered to her feet.
The second soldier kicked me across the waist. I fell back against the wall before quickly recovering. I could hear several shouts and yells in the distance, but I didn't care.
I kicked the first soldier across the head before elbowing the second soldier.
My knee struck the soldier in the stomach and then punched him. He crumbled onto the floor as I quickly grabbed the woman.
"You're okay. Please, come into a public space again," I said quickly.
We both rushed out of the alleyway and ran back towards the working stations again. Everyone's attention turned towards us as the woman ran back towards her allies, which were other prisoners.
Other women and men took her into their arms and covered her up.
The soldiers rushed towards us. Suddenly, I felt a barrel of a gun against the back of my head.
"Congratulations, soldier, you just blew your cover," a soldier exclaimed.
All of the prisoners were facing me. They had grateful and relieved expressions on their face as they stopped working. However, they were also scared (not for themselves but me).
A ring of soldiers surrounded me with their guns pointed.
Sweat beaded against my forehead as I dropped my gun and held my hands up in surrender position. I didn't care that I was caught because I just saved a woman.
That was all that mattered.
The lieutenant Polybotes struck me across my head, which knocked me to the ground.
"Kronos and Krios are going to have fun torturing a double agent blonde like yourself," Polybotes exclaimed. He grabbed me by my hair and started dragging me to the southeast sector.
My expressions remained strong as a few soldiers guided me towards Kronos and Krios.
I haven't actually seen the terrorist bosses since coming here because no one was really allowed in the southeast sector.
I watched as the other soldiers round up the prisoners and walked them back to the grounds. At least, they were done working for the day in the hot sun because of me. I hoped that the young brunette woman was all right.
Blood lightly dripped from the slice across my cheek.
I didn't feel any pain. Why did I have to? There was no pain, guilt, or shame from saving someone in need, especially a woman. That's why I did this job.
The ring of soldiers guided me towards the square of buildings. The layout was familiar since Reyna and I snuck in here a few days ago.
Polybotes dragged me straight to the main building.
At this point, my head was numb from getting dragged. Honestly, I could've walked myself, which I tried, but Polybotes didn't let up.
The large doors opened to the building.
The people inside quietened as Polybotes launched me into the building. I tripped and fell on the floor, but I quickly got up.
I wasn't some damsel, and I certainly didn't belong at their feet.
Kronos and Krios were in a meeting with a few other terrorist leaders. However, all of their attention was directed at me now.
"We found this spy amongst our ranks," Polybotes exclaimed.
Kronos stood with an angry expression. I gulped but remained strong as he approached me. The room was cool and marbled, so his footsteps were bold.
He stopped a few feet in front of me.
"I'll admit that I'm impressed with your skills," Kronos exclaimed.
"I'm only getting started, Kronos. Don't worry, there are a lot more surprises that are going to come your way," I said firmly.
Kronos laughed menacingly and everyone else joined him.
"Oh yeah, and what exactly do you have planned besides being pathetic?" Krios asked boldly. Kronos and Krios continued laughing arrogantly.
I gritted my teeth and my hands turned into fists.
"Seriously, you're caught, what can you do besides die?" Kronos said darkly.
Suddenly, a loud bang exploded outside. The whole ground shook with a vengeance and several soldiers lost their balance. The explosion was loud and powerful.
Everyone's expressions held shock and surprise.
It was all the leverage I needed to run. However, I didn't run out of the building because soldiers were all around the inside and outside of the doors.
The only option I had was to run towards the nearest room.
I could hear the terrorist soldiers run after me as I locked the closet door.
However, another shocking explosion shook the building. I fell to the ground just as a neighboring storage shelf fell over.
I screamed in pain as the shelf crushed my right leg.
A third smaller explosion vibrated the ground, and I couldn't pull the shelf off. It was too heavy, and I was stuck.
I was stuck with terrorist soldiers outside of my room and bombs exploding outside.
I had no idea what was going on, but a grave feeling settled in my chest. I was stuck, and I had to figure out how to get out.
Suddenly, I spotted something nearby.
It was an idea that I would never do, but Percy would accept it with open arms. Percy followed his guts no matter how dangerous it could be.
I didn't see any other option for myself.
Even now, despite everything, Percy and I together made the best team.
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