New chappie, new chappie, everyone go "woot" for the new chappie.

Yeahhh. This one isn't a big deal. The next one is pretty interesting though. ;P

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, but I sure do own the headache I'm having right now. Sheesh.

Thank you verryyyyy much to my beta: The fantabulous Annabeth Brady!


REYNA'S POV-

I had to hand it to Poseidon that he was great at last-minute planning. Our luggage had already been taken care of when we arrived at the International Airport of México city, and we'd even found a taxi near the entrance to drive us to our hotel.

All was completely fine…until we had to find the meeting place. Though I'd admit that Poseidon was a pro at travel, that skill didn't help him much in scavenger hunting.

"So let me get this straight," Ethan said once again. "Poseidon wants us to meet with someone very important at eight o'clock tonight, but he didn't bother to tell you who it is or at least where we had to meet them?"

I sighed. "He said to find the letter 'S' and look at it's reflection. That's the only clue he gave me. We have to figure the rest our ourselves."

"Oh, well great." Luke fell backwards onto his bed with a thump. "Let's send a bunch of kids on a mission and not tell them what to do! What a smart way of thinking!"

"Now, guys. Let's calm down for a second and think." Jason gestured to me. "What Reyna told us makes sense. Find the 'S' and look at it's reflection. That sounds logical! Maybe we could find something reflective, like a mirror or water and-"

"Speaking of water," Luke interrupted, "I remember seeing a sign that led to a pool here. I could use a dunk."

Luke jumped up and mock-saluted us. "I'll be back in an hour!"

Just as I was about to go after him, Ethan grabbed me by the arm and shook his head. "Don't."

"Why not?" I hissed. "We're on a serious mission, and he's out there enjoying the hotel. We need to find the meeting spot."

"Look, like Luke, I didn't want to come to this mission either. It's pointless that we split from the Olympians just to rely on them for work. In all honesty, I'm pissed off, but there's nothing we can do now." Ethan paused for breath. "I know how Luke thinks, and I know you want him to help, but it's pointless to chase after him. How can you expect to lead if you don't even know where you're supposed to lead us?"

"I don't want to lead." I leaned against the cream wall. "This is a group mission. We're all supposed to work together, but he's acting like he's the only one risking his life."

"It's no use trying to force him into something. He'll have to come around for himself."

"And what if he doesn't?" I asked Ethan. "What if he grows more…well…angry?"

"Then…expect the worst," He answered.

I frowned, but refused to keep the topic going any longer. Luke was the type of person who could switch loyalties very easily if given a good reason, and so far, reasons to hate this unnamed group was the only thing he was getting. There was still the chance to keep him from switching over, but Ethan's words weren't exactly reassuring me.

I glanced at Jason who stayed seated in one of the plush olive-green chairs. He seemed to be deep in thought about the clue I mentioned earlier.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"What's the name of this hotel again?"

I thought for a moment, and then remembered. "It's called the Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel and Towers. Why?"

"I think I know how we can find the meeting spot."

With that, he got up and walked over to our small bags of luggage and pulled out a laptop. Using the hotel Wi-Fi, he searched up the name of where we were staying.

I simply watched, knowing that, with patience, I'd figure out what he was doing.

After a few minutes he turned the screen in our direction, and pointed to a picture of a crystal-clear pool with a giant 'S' at the bottom. "There. I found the clue."

Ethan grinned. "It's a good thing we didn't stop Luke from going."

Jason nodded, agreeing, and then stood. "Come on. Let's go for a swim."


"Oh hey guys." Luke waved when he saw us walk in. "I was just about to tell you that I found the clue."

"Too late," Ethan smirked. "Jason beat you to it."

"Ah, well I tried." Luke backstroked over to us, having the sense to at least get out of our way.

Leaning down, I squinted into the water and looked up at the wall across from the pool. The entire thing was made up of one giant window that provided us with a perfect view of downtown México city and it's buildings. If I tilted me head to the side, I could see the faint reflection of an'S' on the glass. It was right over the brightest spot in the city.

"That's where we're supposed to meet," I said. "The Angel of Independence."

"It makes sense," Jason commented. "That's the first thing I noticed when I looked out the window. It's actually a very beautiful place to meet at."

"Maybe the meeting place being beautiful is a sign that the person we're meeting is beautiful too." Luke wiggled an eyebrow suggestively, floating around in the strangely empty pool.

"Don't start getting ideas," I warned. "Anyway, I'm heading back to the room to grab a coat and warm up. It's almost eight and it's supposed to be cold tonight."

"Sounds good," Ethan commented. "I'll make some hot chocolate from the packets they gave us."

Jason nodded excitedly. "Room service also left us some brownies with jelly spread. They taste really good."

"You ate without us?" Ethan asked. "Dude."

Jason scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I was hungry."

"Whatever. Let's go before they drop off the rest of our food."

At my mention of food, Ethan and Jason ran out the door, practically shoving each other out of the way

Seeing that they were out the door, I turned too look back at Luke. "You coming too?"

Luke opened his mouth and then closed it again, unsure of what to say. Throughout the entire talk about food, he'd been completely quiet and it made me realize that there was more to his attitude than met the eye.

The only times that Luke seemed to fit in were when everyone was arguing, and that was mostly because Ethan usually backed him up. Otherwise, he kept to himself and refused to offer any opinions to the group.

I thought it was time to change that, and stop judging him like I had for the past year.

"Sure," Luke answered. "I've been getting pretty hungry too."

Before he pulled himself out, I held out a hand, knowing full well that he could either pull me down with him or accept it and be helped up.

He smiled and grabbed my hand. "Thanks."

He let himself be pulled up.


"You weren't lying about it being cold," Jason commented, shivering beneath his four coats.

"It's not that bad," Ethan said. "You're just too used to California weather."

*"It's eighteen degrees Fahrenheit!" Jason clutched at his scarf and blew out a puff of white air. "How is this not cold?"

Luke scoffed. "Child's play."

Before they could walk into a group of girls, I shot out my arm. "Pay attention. We're here."

Though it looked amazing in the day, at night the Angel of Independence had it's own special shine to it. Standing 148 feet tall (according to Annabeth), and held high by an ornate pedestal, was the statue of a golden angel representing Victory. It's wings and body sparkled with the twinkle of city lights, and the equally majestic statues surrounding it shone.

For a second, neither of us spoke. If it wasn't for the tapping on my shoulder, I would've gaped longer.

Behind me, there stood a girl who was all too familiar. The last time I'd seen her was two months ago in New York when I had been paying the Olympians a visit.

"¡Hola!" She said. "¿Cómo estas?"

Hello, how are you?

"Silena? Beauregard?" Seeing that it really was her, my eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm your escort of course!" She giggled and spread her arms wide. "This was a nice place to meet, don't you think?"

Having heard a commotion, the other's turned around. Being the only other person who knew who Silena was, Jason jumped. "Silena!"

"My! You don't have to act so surprised." Selena pouted, baby-blue eyes twinkling. "We are part of the same un-named organization after all."

"Wait, you're the person we're meant to meet?" Jason asked, quickly getting rid of his surprise.

"Yup!" Silena turned and waved us to follow. "But let's go before it gets too late. We can't exactly talk private matters in public."

Though I trusted Silena, I didn't move. Something about this didn't feel right, and I couldn't place my finger on it. Though it made sense that Silena would be the one we were meant to meet, it didn't explain why we didn't know she was part of our mission. Poseidon made sure that we knew who was in our organization for the exact reason that someone might try to infiltrate it. But Silena wouldn't betray us, right?

"Alright," I agreed, and went to follow Silena. I gestured for the others to go ahead of me, but grabbed Jason before he could walk past.

"Stay here," I whispered.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"We'll be back," I turned around to make sure they hadn't gone too far. They were only a few feet away. "Something isn't right. I want you to wait here. If no one else arrives in an hour, then go back to the hotel. Trust me."

Jason hesitated, but then nodded. "Okay. I'll stay here."

I smiled, and then went after Silena, who still hadn't noticed that I was gone, or Jason for that matter. It wasn't that I didn't trust her, but I had learned long ago not to let my feelings get in the way of my thoughts. They were what held me back before being Praetor, and I wasn't going to let them hurt me now.

"There's our ride!" Silena pointed to a black tinted car to our left. She gestured for us to enter first. "Have a seat."

Sparing one final glance to the Ángel de la Independencia that still loomed over us in the distance, I stepped inside and made room for Ethan and Luke.

Somehow, I felt that the car was much too dark and cramped for a simple trip. The walls were closer than that of a normal vehicle and I could hear the other's breathing. Instead of sitting in the back with us, Silena made herself comfortable in the front, and even though she didn't do anything suspicious, the action didn't exactly reassure me.

I jumped, feeling cold fingers meeting mine. Realizing it was Ethan, I tried to pull my hand back, but he only held tighter.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed. Even with my low tone, I sounded loud in that silent space.

"I…" I heard Ethan gulp and then whisper something else. "I'm claustrophobic."

I considered snatching my hand back, but decided against it in the end. Ethan wasn't one to let his vulnerabilities show easily, and the fact that he was letting me know so plainly was an indicator that his fear was serious.

Instead, I intertwined my fingers with his and clutched his hand firmly. "This is completely platonic."

A forced smile crossed Ethan's face and he nodded. "Yeah."

Rather than make the situation more awkward, I turned to look out the window, and blinked when I realized that I couldn't. From the outside, it'd looked dark, but inside it was plain black.

I couldn't see a thing, and I had no clue where we were going.

I suddenly felt glad that Ethan had asked me for that favor…because he wasn't the only one who suddenly felt that something was very off.


From her spot in front, Silena glanced at Reyna and sighed.

That girl had no idea just how badly things were going to get.

She'd be sure to inform her.


*Sixty-five degrees Celsius to those not in the US (I think. I used google, but I dunno how to convert it.)

I'm putting the characters in such dire situations! It's so much fun. :D Next one is going to be the introduction of one of the most hated characters in PJO/HOO history. Guess who!?