DISCLAIMER: I don't own PJO or Avenger/Marvel. Neither do I own any of their characters. Only thing I claim to own is my characters and plot.
..::When You Need Help::..
..::Four::..
Everyone was astonished, no one expected this.
"He bought all those cards to throw us off his trail."
"And now we don't even know which way he's heading. . . Great." Albert held his head in his hands looking very exasperated.
"We've still got video footage from here to Salt palace on the main highways." Katelin reminded Albert. "Run facial recognition on all security cameras starting from the casinos where he got out of the cab."
"I'll get that." Fiona shouted in confirmation.
"Once you get a general location, Ruben, Kyle, Han and Austin go wherever they tell you." the commander said, nodding towards the small group of agents.
Kyle gave a quick nod in confirmation. "Yes, sir."
"Albert, what's the current positions of the border patrol squad?" Katelin had returned to pacing once again in front of the projected screen as she fired out commands in rapid fire.
He checked his large tablet set on his desk. After a few swipes and taps he got the information he needed. "They just started searching the cars on Veterans Memorial Highway. There saying it's 'Because of random choosing.'"
Fiona stood in the back of the room, sitting atop one of the desk with her arms crossed over her chest. "Another Twenty minutes and we still don't have a location?"
"Still looking," Albert grunted with a glare.
"Anyone got info on the credit card?" Katelin switched topics without even faltering in her step.
Fiona sighed but continued to a desk set a few feet in front of her to check on one of the tablets. "Purchases were made 5 minutes ago on a briefcase and tuxedo."
Albert rolled his eyes then huffed out a quick breath from his mouth. "Can we just agree to drop updates on the cards?"
"Agreed." Katelin pointed at Albert.
"Alrighty, Commander." Fiona swiped away the updates from the cards to cancel all further notifications.
The next few seconds were filled with each agent tapping, swiping or cursing at each of their tablets.
"We've got a hit!" one agent yelled whilst raising their hand.
Katelin made a swiping motion with her finger, pointing to the large screen. "Slide it up." she said. The agent nodded back and did as commanded.
A video started playing on the screen of Peter walking down the street towards a bus station, carrying a small duffle in one hand, and his back pack swung over his shoulders.
Albert pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he studied the video. "Looks like he decided to take the bus."
Katelin bobbed her head slightly in agreement. But she didn't voice any response to him. "'kay, Nando, Kyle, Han, Austin. You've got your location, head on out." she ordered, pointing at the said agents.
Nando saluted in a mocking manner, "Right on it, Katelin."
They all left the warehouse.
"Come on, Johnson." the commander mumbled. "I thought you'd do better than this." Katelin stopped pacing and watched the screen as the security footage continued playing the live feed. She watched as Peter bought a bus ticket -paying in cash- and place it in his back pocket. After he got a situated, he went over to the waiting station where the bus would arrive in thirty minutes.
"This is Kyle," A voice rang out from one of Albert's devices. "We're about 20 minutes away from the bus stop."
He looked at his tablet, "Okay," Albert replied. "the bus doesn't leave for another thirty minutes." the small engineer continued tapping more things on his tablet.
The video feed was still playing on the projected screen and showed Peter entering the bathroom in the main building carrying both of his bags along with him.
"He would've done better if he just made a break for the border." Albert scoffed, also watching the video.
"And we all can see how well that worked out for you." Stephan -The other co-commander- quipped back smartly.
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up." Albert shot the tall man a glare of disdain.
Stephan just rolled his eyes at Albert and faced the screen again. He'd gotten used to the moody engineer. After four years on the team, it kind of came with the territory.
"You know, It's funny," Fiona walked towards Stephan until she stood next to him. "After two years on this squad, I forget -with you would being a ginger and all- that you're not the moody one. But instead we got an Albert."
Katelin smirked from her spot next to the projector. "Not that your fellow commander doesn't swing from welcoming to cold in a heartbeat." she called over to the co-commanders.
Stephan stood with his arms crossed as he gave Fiona a suspicious glance. "I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or insult."
"Take it as an insult," she patted his shoulder. "It'll be interesting to see your face the same shade as your hair again."
Stephan rolled his eyes at Fiona now. She tended to forget that filters weren't only used for water.
He towered over the small purple haired woman by at least a foot. His position as Co-Commander was earned more by his wits than strength. But if you were to look at him you would be able to tell by his limbs. They resembled more of spaghetti noodles than actual human arms and legs.
The current topic of his hair was accurate. His hair was a bright red, and in certain situations his face did resemble a very similar shade of color. His full beard was very full and thick. He started growing it in support of some random cause, but over time he just stopped shaving and let it grow.
"I still can't figure out how do you do that." Fiona asked Stephan, using big hand motions.
Stephan look at her with a confused expression, then shrugged his shoulder helplessly.
"Do what?" he asked innocently.
She looked at him with a disbelief expression. "We'll all be having a normal human conversation, then all of a sudden you just drop out as if you were never a part of it."
"I'm not purposely doing it."
"Uh, I think we all know that, Stephan."
The ginger man just shrugged his shoulders with no response.
Fiona shook her head right before she purposely bumped into him with her shoulder, "There he goes again, Back into Stephan La-"
"-Commander," Someone called out to get the said commanders attention. "Peter just came out of the bathroom and is heading towards station 6." they pointed at the screen as the camera followed a tall man walk out of the bathrooms.
Katelin continued watching the screen as she tapped onto the tablet in front of her. "You got that, Kyle?" she spoke into it.
"Yep, loud and clear." Katelin heard Kyle answer back.
The female commander stepped back as she continued watching the video once again. The angle switched to a different camera to keep on following Peter as he walked passed the many waiting areas. He finally sat down on one of the benches to wait.
Albert was still doing something on his tablet when he spoke to Kyle and the gang through his Bluetooth. "How much farther until you get there?"
"Five minutes, top." Kyle answered quickly.
"Good," Albert tapped one last thing on his tablet before looking up at the screen. "he doesn't seem to know were on to him yet."
Stephan nodded slowly, then voiced a question that was running through his head. "So, this mean he's being put on muscle with Austin?"
Fiona shrugged her shoulders after giving him a side glance. "We'll see."
"So he went through all that trouble with the visa cards, just so he could wait at the bus station?" Cleo asked loudly. Not particularly speaking to one person. "Doesn't add up to me."
"Maybe it added up to him, and we all know how well he is at adding." Albert answered snarkily without looking away from the screen.
Katelin gave him a warning look,"Albert,"
"What? I'm just play'n." Albert looked back at the commander and raised his shoulders innocently.
Fiona-having heard all of his comments about Peter- glared at Albert right before she looked back at the screen. "It's not his fault he's dyslexic." she said quietly.
Albert rolled his eyes and waved her off before turning back to his tablet. "Yeah, yeah."
"We're here," Kyle's voice rang out in the commander's ear piece. "Heading towards station 6 now."
The video switched views so it faced the parking lot so they all could see the four agents walking towards the bus station.
"We can see all of you on camera." Katelin answered to the small group.
They watched the small blonde agent signal the rest of the team towards the bus station.
"Let's go, boys!" Katelin heard Kyle say to the other agents.
The four agents walked quickly towards the station. When they faced a small security station, they all just flashed their badges and were let through with a breeze.
The bus station was shaped like a "U". The two long sides had areas around them. Ten on each side. Equaling in twenty areas in this large bus station. The entrance was placed on the shorter end of the building along with the bathrooms and a large waiting area open to all of the inner areas.
The four agents now stood at the said waiting area as they scanned for the black haired agent. Areas 6-10 were on their left side, while areas 11-15 were on their right. The areas were numbered so areas 6 and 15 were farthest from them on the ends. Peter was last seen by area 6.
"This way!" Ruben said to the other agents pointing towards the left wing of areas.
They all followed in suit towards Area 6.
"Watch it!" Han hissed at a man that bumped into him.
The sharply dressed man barely bat an eye at the warning and continued walking towards the exit with a phone held to his ear.
Han brushed off his jacket while walking away with his fellow agents. "Some people." He muttered.
They passed areas: 10, 9, and 8 already without pause. Even when some people pulled out their phones ad started recording them walk in one clump. Guess they weren't exactly blending in with their matching black leather jackets and walking like the devil himself was following them.
They were at area 6 now. It was on the end of this wing so it was fairly large.
"He's on that bench by the light pole. You see him?" They heard Albert tell them through their ear pieces.
They each picked a different direction and started searching for a light pole.
"I got him!" Austin announced, pointing in his direction.
He was sitting with his back faced towards them so he couldn't see them walk up behind him. Lots of people turned and face the four agents approaching the unsuspecting man, but he was still oblivious to them. The female agent gripped his shoulder and he turned around in shock.
"Got'cha." Kyle said triumphantly.
The man looked at each of the agents with confusion written across his face until he finally asked, "Who are you?"
"Peter, cut the bull. We caught you." Nando huffed out his comment.
The green eyed man's mouth fell open as he tried find the right words to say.
"I'm not Peter." He finally said, standing up so he could face them without twisting in his seat.
Kyle raised an eyebrow in question. "What?"
"Everything alright, Kyle?" Austin interjected questioning curiously.
The man's eyes were wide as he tried defending himself. "I don't even know any Peters!"
Han finally stepped into the conversation whenever he realized this wasn't going as quickly as hoped. "What seems to be the problem?"
"He says he's not Peter." Nando explained simply.
"I'm not Peter!" He repeated, louder this time
Han looked at the man curiously. He then reached out and gripped his hair. Instead of pulling his hair, a thin layer of a mask came off instead along with a black wig.
"This is an older version," Han started explaining as he examined it. "It's a mask except it digital and can by pass any metal detectors. There's only about twenty of these left. 10 of them are back at the base."
The man that now stood in front them had brown hair and a much skinnier face than Peter's.
"What the hell is that?" he asked , looking at the mask in Han's hands.
Han lifted it so the general shape of it could be seen. "A mask, how did you get this?"
"A-a- mask?" he stuttered disbelieving. "I have know idea."
Kyle pulled out her phone from one of her pockets and pulled up a picture of Peter.
"Have you seen this man?" She asked while showing the picture to the man.
He looked at the phone and studied it closely. After a few seconds went by his eyes widen.
"That's the dude who tried mugging me!" he claimed, pointing at the picture. "He tried steeling my bag in the bathroom. He even hit my head against the counter. I think I blacked out for a couple of minutes, but my stuff was still there." he pointed to his black duffle on the bench where he was sitting to specify.
"Did you see where he went after that?" Austin asked him.
The man shook his head ,"No, I think he was long gone before then."
They each exchanged a look with each other before Kyle nodded. "Thanks for the info." she said to the man.
"Sorry 'bout bothering you." Nando apologized with a pat on the man's shoulder.
"No problem." the man waved it off, showing it didn't bother him much.
All four agents walked back towards the exit without Peter liked they had hoped for previously. When they made it to he parking lot Kyle talked into her sleeve to speak to their temporary base.
"Peter managed to slip out," She started explaining. "he put a mask on another man that copied his features while he was in the bathroom. Leading us on a wild goose chase."
"He put the mask on him in the bathroom because there's no cameras in there." Katelin thought out for herself. "He knew we would have been looking for him to come out of there, so he made sure we thought he did."
"Smart." Stephan commented with a nod.
Albert scowled at the video before speaking up. "Awesome. Now that we're all caught up on how smart the kid is, let's find him."
"Albert's right," Fiona agreed, "You four start making your way towards the border. If we find something here-" She paused after hearing a beep come from one of the tablets. "Hold on."
"What is it?" Katelin asked curiously.
"A purchase on the credit card." She answered still looking at the tablet.
Albert looked up at Fiona looking slightly confused. "I thought we agreed to stop with the updates on those."
"We did," Fiona confirmed. "But he maxed it out."
"Just now?" Stephan asked, raising both eyebrows in shock.
"As of 2 minutes ago, yeah."
"What'd he buy And where?" Katelin she asked, sounding like a commander once again.
Fiona tapped on the tablet a few times before answering. "Groceries, he bought, groceries."
"Ah, come on." Albert said exasperated.
"This is Kyle," The feminine voice rang out through the tablets. "We're about ten minutes from the base."
"Good, but get ready to go again. We may get something soon." Katelin told her, holding her forehead like she was trying to shake off a migraine.
"Copy that." was all Kyle said in response.
Katelin raised her head from hands and stared at the screen with a very serious expression before speaking one word.
"Good."
..::..::..::..::..::..
He road in the back of the taxi on his way to Utah.
It was getting late, he was going to need to find a place to crash for the night.
"Not to be nosey, but what takes you to Utah?" The male taxi driver asked from the front of the vehicle.
Peter took a deep breath in then released it before answering. "My parents live there." he started telling the man his already prepared lie. "My dad is in the hospital."
He could see the cab driver give him a frown in the reflection of the rear view mirror. "Aww, Sorry man."
"Thanks." he smiled back at him.
"Why didn't you drive there yourself?" the man asked, still keeping both eyes on the road ahead. "Not that I don't mind driving ya'."
"Cars in the shop, I wanted to get there as soon as I could." Peter lied again.
The driver didn't push to talk anymore, -Something Peter was very grateful for.- so he road in silence as he slipped into his thoughts.
He was about an half hour into this drive already, so he had another hour to go. One more thing he wasn't looking forward to do in a tuxedo.
His plan was to look as professional as he could so fewer questions were asked. It even worked on one of his own squad members.
He didn't intentionally bump into Han. He was trying to go around them without it making it look like he was avoiding them. Of course it didn't go as plan. Resulting in that said bump into his fellow agent.
Maybe it was his hair color. He got a couple of wigs at a costume shop o help hide his distinct hair color. Along with the wig he wore a electronic mask, It was one of two he'd brought along with him.
The other one was most likely already with the rest of the squad after he'd placed it on the unsuspecting man in the bathroom. Peter smiled slightly at imagining what their reactions were whenever they figured it out it wasn't him at the bus station.
Peter thought back to waiting at the bus station as he stared out the window from the back of the taxi. He had wanted to leave as soon as possible, but only so many people are over 6ft. He ended up having to wait 10 minutes before one man went into the bathroom that was almost exactly his height.
That's also when he put the mask and wig on himself. His current appearance was brown slicked back hair, and scruffy beard and blue eyes. He really hoped this would work for getting over to Utah.
Only thing left he had to figure out was where he was gonna sleep tonight. Maybe he wouldn't sleep at all. That plan didn't sound the appealing at the moment, but he had a good head start right now and he really didn't want to lose that.
"We'll be in Utah in about 45 minutes after cutting through Arizona. So just sit tight." The man told Peter with a nod.
"Okay," was all Peter said back.
He leaned his head back on the head rest in attempt to get comfortable. Maybe he get some shut eye before he made it to Utah. That should help.
He slipped into a dream state of mind. You know the kind where you can hear everything that's around you, but your dream seems to have taken a liking of switching around reality and fantasies. In this case, he simply just slipped back into the past to earlier that night.
He thought back to earlier in the night when he was walking around the streets debating what to do with the credit card. It had roughly about $800 dollars on it. He knew he wouldn't be able to use the card again while he made his way to Utah and the odds of them letting him keep it after words were as good as none.
He spotted a little girl in an ally way digging through a large dumpster with a little boy waiting dutifully outside of it. Judging by the boy's attire, they'd been on the streets for awhile. Peter had little indicator there was an adult looking after them out there.
He approached the kids in the least threatening way he could. Didn't want to scare the kids now? The boy's eyes widen when he realized Peter was walking towards them.
He started to pat on the girl's leg repeatedly in a panic and the girl lifted her head from the garbage. Her eye got big and round in shock. She pulled the boy behind her in way that made her appear very protective.
"Hi," Peter greeted softly as he crouched down to their level. "I'm Peter. What's your names?"
"Margret," Her voice sounded slightly like a small squeak. "What do you want?"
"Well, I saw you digging in the trash and couldn't help wonder where your parents were."
She scanned Peter up and down like she was sizing him up. "Moms' resting back at home."
"Then why are you dumpster diving instead of staying home?" He asked the girl. "You look a little young to be out here all alone."
The young boy peeked his head out from behind the girl and said, "We don't have a home,-"
"-Gabriel!" She scolded
"Mommy's sick." the little boy finished.
Peter raised an eyebrow at the boy's statement. "Is that true?" he asked the girl.
The girl stayed quiet for a second before nodding her head in confirmation. Peter took a deep breath in then released it; afraid to ask his next question.
"How long have you guys been out here?"
The girl -Margret- thought on this question before responding. "About three months,"
"That's a long time on the streets." Peter said, tilting his head slightly at the thought of spending that much time alone.
"It'snot so bad," Gabriel mumbled with a shrug. "Food stinks though."
Peter laughed a little at his response. "I'm pretty sure it does."
"Do you have food?" the little boy's eyes seemed to have lighten at the thought of food.
"Gabriel," Margret hissed at the boy behind her.
Peter looked at the two and knew what to do with his card now.
"Sorry, Gabe. I don't have any food on me." The boys eyes fell down in disappointment. "I do have something else on me you might be able to use."
He pulled out his wallet and took out the credit card given to him for the mission. "Do you guys know what this is?"
"It's a credit card. Mommy used to have one." Margret said eyeing the small piece of plastic.
"It is a credit card." He smirked. "Do you know what they do?"
"They're like, digital money. Right?" she answered with the slight question on the end.
"That's the basic gist of it." Peter laughed slightly at her very basic explanation. It was the first time he'd heard someone describe it like that. "This one had about $800 dollars on it," he held out the card in front of him. "I want you kids to take it."
"What?" She took the card slowly and cautiously. "Why?"
"You kids need it more than I do. Plus I think your Mom could use a doctor." he looked at Gabriel when he said that. Remembering what he said about their mother. "Those guys cost money. Which this card has a lot of it."
Margret studied the card. She kept on eyeing the card then taking quick glances at Peter. "Did you steal it?" she finally asked him.
"No I didn't steal it," Peter defended instantly. "Stealing is bad, don't steal." He pointed at each kid to make sure they understood. "but, no. It's a completely authentic credit card. That wasn't stolen."
Gabriel reached up for the card so he could have a look at it also. Margret gave it to him with a smirk, but then her face hardened when she looked back at Peter. "What's the catch?"
"'Catch?'" he questioned the little girl.
"Usually there's a catch to things this good." she took back the card from the young boy and looked at it closer.
"Well," He scratched the back of his head. "the only thing is it won't work anymore two days from now. So you'll have to spend as much as you can within that time."
"That ain't to bad." Gabriel squeaked, now standing next to his older sister.
Peter smiled a big grin. "Yeah, it isn't."
The small boy smiled back, showing his missing front teeth.
Gabriel might of been convinced that Peters motives were good, But Margret was still wary. "So there really isn't any catch to this?"
"Unless you want there to be one." He said as he stood up from his crouch. "Just make sure to spend as much as you can."
"I don't think that's gonna be a problem." Gabriel answered with another big grin.
"With you kids, I think you could manage." he gave them a wink as he placed his hands in his pockets.
"Thank you, mister!" Gabriel said to Peter, still smiling like a fool.
"Yeah, thanks." Margret echoed. She even smirked slightly in attempt to be friendly.
Peter reached over and ruffled Gabriel's hair. "Try to stay out of trouble, kids." he started walking out of the alleyway.
"We make no promises!" was all Peter could hear from one of the small kids behind him.
Peter shook his head, "Yeah, I guess that's required."
He stepped out of the alleyway into the busy streets once again.
..::..::..::..::..::..
43 minutes later . . .
"Ayo, sir!"
Peter popped his head up from leaning back against the windows. Shaking the sleep from his eyes in the process.
"Yes?" he questioned the driver.
"We're pretty much there," He informed him as he pulled the cab to a halt. "Just one set back."
Peter leaned forward in his seat so his head was right up against the dividing window. "What is it?"
The cab driver pointed to out the front windshield to outside. "They've got these Police guys checking each car. I radioed in to my boss asking what it was. He said 'they're doing a random search of some kind, they're checking each of the passengers also."
Peter leaned back against his seat and slouched slightly; showing his current mood. "Awesome." he mumbled under his breath.
He looked outside his window at the lines of cars outside. He knew they'd be here, he just hopped they would've stopped searching by now.
To help make the searching go faster, they had everyone divided up into two separate lines. Peter counted four pop up covers placed on each side of the highway. When a car reached one of the pop up tents, they were required for all passengers to exit the vehicle. Each of the passengers were then picked at random and asked a series of questions.
He should know, he'd been placed in that role multiple times with his last squad.
When the cab driver pulled up next to one of the pop ups, a agent tapped on the driver's window and signaled for him to roll it down. The driver rolled down his window just as instructed. The agent shined a bright light onto his face.
"License and registration please."
The driver did as he was told and passed his wallet through the window. The agent compared the picture to the driver and handed it back to him.
"What takes you to Arizona?" the agent asked professionally.
He gave the agent a big grin. "Dropping off this lad at the hotel over in Utah. This is the quickest way there." he jabbed a thumb back towards Peter in the back row.
The male agent raised an eyebrow, "Someone else is in the vehicle?"
"Yep," he confirmed, popping the 'P'. "Right there in the back."
The agent shined the flashlight onto the back window where Peter sat. He walked over towards the back door and said something to the driver the Peter was unable to understand from the back row.
"He wants you to step outside for a moment." The driver told Peter.
He hesitated, He really hope this worked. After opening the car door, he stepped out and stood in front of the agent.
"What takes you to Utah, sir?" the agent asked Peter off the bat.
"Dad's in the hospital," He explained as quickly as he could. "Trying to get there as soon as I can."
The agent studied Peter for another full minute. It was times like this Peter was thankful he was not always the most patient person.
"Is there anything else?" Peter asked a little more sharply than intended.
"Nope." The agent answered without changing his facial expression. "Be on your way."
Peter rolled his eyes, "Thanks." he said dryly.
He pulled open the cab door and slid back into his seat in the back of the vehicle. The agent continued watching Peter as he slammed the door shut.
The cab driver put the car back on drive and put pressure on the gas petal.
"Good day, officer!" he called out as he drove away.
The agent just tilted his hat down in respect as the cab crossed over the state line.
"The motel is only about 10 minutes away," The driver told Peter, looking at him through the rear view mirror. "Maybe a little less since it's late."
Peter nodded, "Great."
Peter watched as the desert like landscape passed by out the window. A small sign on the side of the road let him know he was officially in Arizona. After that, his only entertainment for the next 10 passing minutes was the stars spilled across the sky. The road had few street lights so even the Milky way was visible on the quiet drive.
One other thing was visible in the night sky. A constellation of huntress. Some days when he looked at the arrangement of stars he liked to think she was somehow looking out for him.
The driver pulled to a stop in front of a small hotel.
"Here we are," he grunted as he shifted the car into park. "Your total is: $84.35."
Peter handed him a fifty and two twenties to pay for the ride. "Keep the change." he said when the driver took the cash.
He opened the car door and stepped out with his briefcase. That was all he cared to carry with him, he had another set of clothes and a few other things in there in case of emergencies stored away in it.
"Goodnight, sir." The driver said to Peter from inside the yellow car.
Peter gave a small wave in goodbye. "Goodnight."
The cab driver pulled into the road and u-turned back towards the way they had came. Once they were out of his sight, he entered the motel.
The lobby was fairly small. But considering the place was a run down motel, that much was expected. A cheap desk was set on the back wall with a small lady slouched behind it.
"Excuse me," Peter asked the women as he approached the desk. "Is there a phone I could use? My phone just died and I need to call a cab."
The receptionist grunted and slid a old fashioned telephone in front of him.
"Thank you." Peter smiled her way as he took a hold of the phone.
He had checked during his ride here in a Yellow Book thrown on the floor of the cab what the local Taxi company's number was. He had written down on his hand so he wouldn't forget.
He pressed in the ten digit number into the the phone and waited as he listened to it ring until someone answered.
"Yellow Cab of Arizona, how may I help you?" A mono tone voice answered the phone.
"Yes, I'm calling for ride." Peter told the person on the other end.
"'kay," they said shortly. "Where'd you like to be picked up?"
"The Sunset Motel on Veterans Memorial." He told her. He could hear typing come from the other end of the line as she typed in his location.
After a few more moments of listening to her type out a few more things and click something with her computer mouse. She finally spoke back into the phone. "We'll have a cab there within 20 minutes."
"Okay, thank you." Peter said in reply.
The woman hung up on him with no answer.
He placed the phone back on it's base and slid it back to the receptionist. "Thanks for the phone."
"Yeah, yeah." she said with a hint of annoyance as she put the phone back to it's original place.
Peter checked the clock on the wall behind the receptionist for the time. It was currently 11:53 and the cab would be here in about twenty more minutes.
"Is it okay if I wait out here?" he asked the lady, pointing to the chairs by the front door.
"Yeah, just don't make to much noise." she grunted in reply and then proceeded to read a book that Peter hadn't noticed before.
He nodded, "No problem."
A few old fold out chairs were set out. He sat down in one of those that were placed in the corner.
From his spot in the corner he could get a better look at the lobby. Old fashioned wallpaper was plastered up against all four walls. The flooring was a rough gray carpet that was also covered the lower half of the walls.
It barely matched the strange patterned wallpaper. Only around six fold out chairs were in the small room; including the one he was currently occupying.
The women behind the desk appeared to be about twenty years old. He couldn't see her face behind the book she was reading from his spot on the chair.
Still waiting for the cab to arrive, Peter opened his suit case to make sure all of his supplies were still right where he left them. After confirming this he closed it again; locking it for safe keeping.
The receptionist wasn't the friendliest person. But that could also be a side affect of a late night job. Speaking of late night job, Peter was really fighting the sleep as he sat there in the corner.
A small part of his brain told him just to check out a room for the night and sleep for the remainder of the night. But the rest of his brain knew that was a bad idea. He could sleep in the cab. He checked his watch and realized 16 minutes had already passed by. There was a good chance he dosed off for a little while. That was okay.-In this instance.
Peter rose from his spot in the stiff seat and straighten his suit. When he looked over at the women behind the desk, he could see the title of the book she was reading. It was called "The Storyteller". A small purple rose was all he could make out of the cover besides the title.
One more random fact to store away.
"I'm going to wait outside for the cab." he announced to the receptionist as he stood from his seat.
The woman lowered her book slightly so only her eyes were visible to Peter. Also just enough to shoot him a death glare. "Thanks for the update narrator." she snapped, then returned to her book.
He rolled his eyes at the women's reply then headed out the door. In all honesty, he was waiting outside for the cab. He just wasn't doing that right at this moment.
There was a gas station across the street that had a outdoor bathroom. Not that it mattered it was outdoors, But it did help in this situation. The chances of the door being locked was more likely than it not.
Luck was on his side tonight- for once.- and it was unlocked. He slipped into the bathroom and locked the door closed behind him.
He checked his appearance in the old dirty mirror and could see a brown haired man staring back at him. Peter could leave the mask and tux on, but this suit was stiff and the mask was getting itchy.
He pulled from his hair line and the mask flickered when is was no longer over his face. The brown wig was pulled off along with the mask and his black hair spilled over his forehead. He took off the fake nose that was attached to his; placed there to help pull of the fake appearance.
Holding one eye open with one hand he took out the colored contacts that disguised his green eyes as blue. Once it was out, he repeated the action on the other eye.
As he had took off all of the items used to disguise himself, he stacked it on the counter next to the moldy sink. That is very disturbing. he thought to himself
The trash can was over filled to where trash was spilling around it. He just added to the pile and threw his small pile on top of the trash can.
His hair looked flat and out of place so he ran his hand through it a couple of times and shook it out. It wasn't the best his hair had been, but then again, his hair was never the best.
In his briefcase held the remaining amount of his money, a change of clothes, and a couple of energy bars. Because, let's face it, No one wants to get caught eating at a shady Burger King.
He pulled out his change of clothes and stripped down out of his suit. He could see the white button up get smudge marks once reaching contact with the floor.
All well, he let out a loud sigh. It was cheep. He pulled out his extra change of clothes of a loose black t-shirt and washed out jeans. He also packed a black beanie with a fashion brand logo printed on it; and slipped that on. This would suit him for the rest of his travels.
He grabbed his briefcase and opened it to where it laid flat against the counter. After moving around a few switches, he continued opening his case until the inside was out. He pulled the fabric on the inside to until it came off the the frame.
The frame expanded to match the now circular bag shape and a strap was released on the top. He reached in the bag and pulled out the covering to create a flap over the opening of the bag.
What was once a briefcase was now turned into a messenger bag. Quite handy, indeed.
He stuffed the remaining items into the bag, and checked his reflection one last time. He knew they'd be checking all traffic cams. Which is what he was hoping for. He checked his watch on his wrist. Taxi should be here soon.
He headed out of the poor excuse of a bathroom and crossed the street to wait for his ride. Only a few minutes passed by before the cab pulled up in front of the hotel.
Peter jumped in the back of the yellow vehicle; taking off his bag while sitting down.
"Where too?" Th cab driver hollered.
"Salt Palace, please." Peter answered as he got situated in the back seat.
The driver raised an eyebrow at him in the rear view mirror. "Long drive, sure you got enough to pay for that?"
Peter looked up at the man in the mirror. "I'm sure." he confirmed.
"Okay," the driver shifted in his seat as he changed gears on the car.
After a few squeaks and pops, The car pulled forward towards the open road. And towards the end of his mission. Something he was really looking forward to.
Edited 9/14/2016
So there's chapter four!
I'm trying my hardest not to make this A/N super long like some of mine usually do, so . . .
THANK YOU SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOOO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS! Have some cookies. (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)
And also for following and favorite-ing. It make my heart melt with so much happiness. _ (See, that's my heart. It has melted.)
I really do apologize though for the long wait. I actually had this whole chapter -And the next one- written out at the end of July. But I sent it to my Beta and she hasn't even sent it back to me yet. (Don't worry, she busy. She has a life too.) So any mistakes are mine alone.
So thank you for being so patient with me! :D
Now, if you read my A/N last chapter you would know that I'm suggesting books/series that I've read that aren't that popular that I think would be if people knew about them.
Next up we have:
"The Orphan Queen" and "The Mirror King" By: Jodi Meadows (These are in the same series.)
Guys, these books made me cry. That's how awesome this woman is. I actually own the first book. So let that be a indication on how good it is.
She has a website if you would like to know more about them.
That's all for that. Next chapter will be posted once I get it back from my Beta. Shouldn't be too much longer.
Thanks for reading!
Have more cookies (::)(::)(::)(::)
RFF! I'm planning on doing a shout-out sort of thing next chapter for those who follow/favorite. ;)
Bye Bye
-MFM
(P.S Who's seen tour dates for Magnus Chase yet? I can't go to any. *tear*)