Reyna grabbed Jason's arm and dragged him down the hallway. "This is not a conversation we have in front of prisoners."
"Prisoners? Do you normally take prisoners on walks around the senate building?"
Reyna raised her eyebrows. "Do you normally question my every move?"
"Fine," Jason said. "This isn't even what I want to talk about. I want to talk about how Hazel Levesque managed to escape just hours after our argument."
"Please. Is that really a mystery? She's a daughter of Pluto, Jason, it's a miracle we even caught her." Reyna was great at lying, but it still didn't feel good to lie to her old best friend.
Jason folded his arms. "It doesn't concern you that she escaped?"
"Of course not. She could have brought this whole camp crashing down, I'm glad the only thing she did was escape."
"You overestimate her abilities."
Reyna threw open the senate doors. "And you underestimate them." She took one look at the other figure in the room and turned back to Jason. "Oh gods," she murmured. "You brought Octavian?"
Jason held up his hands. "He's on my side!"
"I'm on your side. And coincidently, I'm not completely insane."
"Whatever."
Reyna tossed her knife on the table next to her jar of jellybeans. "Octavian. To what do I owe this pleasure."
The skinny blond grinned and stretched back in his chair. "I thought we could have a strategy meeting. The three most powerful people in New Rome."
"As fun as this might be," Reyna said, "I have stuff to do. Praetor stuff."
"Reyna, wait." Jason touched her arm. "Hear us out."
"Us? Since when are you two friends again?"
"Since Jason starting making sense," Octavian said. "I have a plan to wipe out the Greeks, and I think you're gonna want to hear it."
Reyna sighed and slumped into her chair. "Go on."
"I've been... having conversations with an associate. A, ah, friend of my family's."
Reyna nodded. Octavian's family had more wealth and influence over the legion than nearly any other family, and that didn't happen alone. Reyna wasn't sure she wanted to know who Octavian's associates were, there's no way to acquire that wealth without a little cheating and collusion.
"A good family friend? Or like that hitman you made us talk to back in Seattle?"
Octavian winced. "That was a misunderstanding. No one got hurt. I wouldn't say this is a bad family friend, but it probably isn't a good one either."
Reyna exchanged a glance with Jason. "Can you just tell me?"
"They're called Triumvirate Holdings," Octavian explained, "a company that provides financial and technical support to those who request it. Mythological or mortal. And my dad knows a guy who knows a guy and put me in contact with them."
"Triumvirate," Reyna mused. "I haven't heard that name in a very long time."
Jason frowned. "That man on the Carolina beach..." he glanced up at her, and Reyna knew he was recalling that quest too. After Jason killed that sea monster he was made a centurion.
"He was insane, blathering on about the triumvirate and an emperor," Reyna said, "I remember."
Octavian looked at Reyna, then Jason. "Anyway, they have a weapon they want to give us, a weapon that will wipe out the Greeks."
"Hold on." Reyna held up a hand. "They must have another motive, right? What do they stand to gain from this?"
"You mean besides saving the earth from obliteration?" Octavian said. "I don't think they need another reason."
"I don't trust a company that does something out of the goodness of its heart. Can I talk to them?"
Octavian shook his head. "Absolutely not. They're very wary of strangers knowing their business. Even with my connection I could barely get an audience."
"We only have a few days before the Greeks get here," Reyna said. "What kind of weapons are these?"
"They're called onagers." Octavian popped an orange jellybean in his mouth. "When loaded with right substance, say imperial gold, they can be calibrated and fire with incredible precision. They would end the war with no Roman casualties."
Octavian talked about mass murder so callously, but then didn't Reyna? She was fully prepared to wipe out the Greeks too.
"I don't trust them," Reyna said. "But you have my permission to look into this." She held up a hand. "But before either of you do anything, run it by me."
Octavian smiled and spread his arms. "That's what I'm here for. By the way, I'm sorry about Gwen."
Reyna's head snapped up, a burning in her gut. "You can't be serious." She leaned forward until she was nearly face to face with Octavian. "I may not be able to prove it, but I know it was you who stabbed her in the war games," she hissed. "So get out of my senate room before I make you."
Octavian met her gaze for a moment, his watery blue eyes matching her fire. A part of Reyna wanted him to challenge her, she was in the mood for a fight. But he didn't.
"Of course, praetor Reyna," Octavian said, his voicing dripping with false respect. "I'll go save Rome on my own."
"Yeah, you do that," Reyna muttered as he slammed the door behind him. Jason didn't move, but looked at her with a peculiar light in his eyes. Reyna frowned. "What?"
"I can't figure you out," Jason said. "I used to, but I can't anymore."
Reyna rolled her eyes. "Because I'm a multi-faceted person? I'm sick of you and Octavian and Annabeth Chase trying to figure me out."
"Sorry." Jason held up his hands. "But yesterday you wanted to destroy the Greeks, and then you didn't, and now you approved Octavian's plan for weapons of mass destruction."
Reyna grabbed a handful of jellybeans. "I didn't approve anything. I'm covering my bases. In case you're wrong, I can negotiate a deal with Annabeth. If she's wrong, I already have a plan to wipe out the Greeks. And in both cases, Hazel Levesque will be on my side which should give an edge against Gaea."
"Always a contingency plan," Jason said.
"I'd be a fool not have one."
Jason leaned forward. "But what I'm wondering, Reyna, is what you think is best."
"It's not about what I think. It's never about what I think." Reyna narrowed her eyes. "Why the interrogation?"
"I'm just trying to figure out who's side you're on. I used to always know."
"Jay," Reyna said, "we're not the people we used to be. The sooner you accept that the sooner we can move on."
Jason's hand rose to his scar, his fingers tracing it. "I don't want to move on. I wish I could take back the months, but I can't. And I can't ignore the friends I made there, but my loyalty will always be to Rome. And... to you."
Reyna swallowed. "Then that's your problem. I'm not Rome and this isn't an us vs them, not a choice between me and your Greek friends. You have to see the big picture."
"Of course." Jason wouldn't meet her eyes. "I um, I have to go check on something."
Reyna let him go in silence, wondering if she just ripped open an old wound.
She cleared her throat. "I imagine you heard all that?"
Frank materialized next to her, the beetle on the underside of the table hadn't gone unnoticed.
"Yep!" Frank said. "Hey, were you and Jason ever..."
"Frank!" Reyna interrupted. "Focus."
Frank blushed. "Right. Onagers, contingency plans, I got it."
"Good. Because I think I know how to get Jason on my side."
"I'm sensing some manipulation."
"You're not really a praetor if you can't manipulate someone. I have to manipulate the senate all the time." Was it really manipulation? Reyna liked to think of it more as presenting good ideas in a way that appealed to most people. Maybe that was manipulation, but what other choice was there?
"Frank," Reyna said, "I need you to follow Jason everywhere. I have to know exactly what he does every day, okay?"
"No problem." Frank tilted his head. "Does he hate flies? Because flies are the easiest for me to turn in to but I don't want him come at me with a fly swatter."
Reyna snorted. "Jason doesn't kill bugs. He traps them and releases them outside, even if it's the middle of a senate meeting. That said, don't be annoying."
"Great." Frank gave her a thumbs up. "What are you going to do?"
"I have some army drills to run," Reyna said. "And a war to prepare for."
"Then good luck with both," Frank said. "Anything you want me to pass on to Annabeth and company?"
"Not yet." Reyna stood and pulled her cloak over her shoulders. "Meet me back here tonight for a report. I have a feeling..." she shook her head. "Just listen and observe. And be careful."
"Of course. And if you happen to go past the dining hall, I'd love a slice of pizza," Frank said. "I can't exactly show my face there these days."
Reyna laughed. "Consider it done. If we get through this, I won't forget your loyalty. You're showing a lot of potential."
Frank smiled awkwardly. "Thanks. I'm just trying to save lives."
"If only that were everyone's priority."