CHAPTER 14

"So, you wanna tell me sometime why you were stalking me for the past one week?"

"Because I was asked to"

"Let me rephrase the question then. Why were you asked to stalk me by Zeus? Why did he choose you?"

Athena was looking at Percy nervously. She had no idea how he would take it if she told him that Zeus doesn't trust him. As for his second question, she herself had no idea. She always thought that being the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, she would know how to spy on people. However, recent experiences showed her how utterly wrong her beliefs were. She hoped Percy would see her pleading expression and drop his questions.

Too bad Percy was focussed on his chocolate milkshake, trying to eat the almonds separately.

Her eyebrows twitched when she realized that he wasn't even paying attention. She let out a deep sigh. I wonder what made me have a crush on him when I was young, she mused.

When she was raised by Triton, she was regaled by the stories of Percy's heroics. She always used to imagine herself as the damsel in distress and Percy as her knight in shining armour. Of course, when she grew up, she realized that there were no knights in shining armour and she definitely didn't want to be the damsel in distress. After witnessing many fights and getting into some of them, she realized that people like Percy were no heroes. They simply did whatever was needed to win the fight. For them, there was only one rule; victory at all cost. Heroes definitely didn't stab people at the back and massacred the others to win.

But she still couldn't help have a crush on him. She studied his role in the first Titan war. Saying that she was impressed would be a huge understatement. She was absolutely fascinated. She always had a soft spot for men who used their brains more than brawn. Percy was a master at it. He won battles with the least possible friendly casualties in the least possible time. His strategies and tactics were brilliant. He fought with a cold and brutal efficiency.

Later when she realised that Percy never really harboured any feelings of love or romance towards anyone, she was heartbroken. She took a vow of maidenhood. From then she had many brain-children, but she always remembered Percy as the one who captured her heart.

"I'm still waiting Minny" drawled Percy, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Fine. Zeus doesn't trust you. He thinks you are holding information from him that could be crucial to the war effort. So, he asked me to tail you and report back to him about your activities. I was supposed to report to him at the end of the week" she replied with a huff.

Percy chuckled in amusement. "Apparently, all that his favourite daughter would have in report is her date with the man she was supposed to spy on. I wish I could see Zeus's face when he hears this". Athena gave a frown. Zeus would be enraged with this.

"So, what were you doing this past week? And I'm sure I don't wanna know how you knew that I was following you when I couldn't even find you" Athena said in a huff. This is embarrassing, she thought.

"A little bit of this, a bit of that. Many places to see, many people to meet. It was quite boring really" replied Percy, shaking his glass "why don't you tell me about the son of Zeus, Minny?" he asked while beckoning the waitress.

"Can you refill my glass dear?" he asked the giggling waitress.

"Sure" she replied, blushing. Just as she was about to go he called out "Oh, and hers too, if you'd be so kind" he said pointing towards Athena. The waitress frowned at her and nodded tightly. Athena was throwing her dirty looks all the time, discreetly.

"He is like any son of Zeus. Power hungry, vain, attention-seeker, headstrong, dumb with no flair for strategy or tactics. Oh, and a sense of honour. One could almost say that he was a Roman" she said in a distaste. It was no secret that she hated Rome.

"Hmm, and here I had hopes for him. Well, we can still make a soldier out of him yet. Nico is too young and we don't have that much time" Percy mused.

"Things would have been easier if Bianca was still alive" Athena replied with a sigh. It was no secret that she didn't like the son of Zeus and desperately wanted Bianca to be the child of prophecy.

"I know. Well its too bad. We have to work with what we have" Percy said with a frown. "As much as it has been fun catching up with you Minny, I have lots of work to do. See you later. And don't worry about the bill, it's taken care of. Can't let the girl pay on a date" Percy smirked before walking out the door. Athena chased after him but he was nowhere to be seen.

LINE BREAK AGAIN….

The corridor was dark, narrow and long. The walls were damp and had a greenish hue. It appeared more like a cave than an artificial tunnel. The footsteps were ringing out ominously. A tall man with short grey hair and clipped beard was walking down the hallway. He looked remarkably fit for a man in his fifties. He was wearing a dusty brown travelling cloak and had a longsword strapped to his side. As soon as he came near the door he stopped. He closed his eyes and put his ears on the door, listening intently. After a few minutes, he reached inside his cloak brought out a loaded cross bow.

Silently opening the door, he stepped inside with crossbow aimed down his sights. He reached with his hands, grabbed the switch and swung it up.

As the various lights, monitors and gizmos blared to life, he saw that someone was already sitting on his sofa, his face covered in darkness.

"If you are who I think you are, then you have ten seconds to show me your face before I fire. Trust me, there won't be much left of you if I do" said the man while aiming his crossbow.

"And if I'm not who you think I am?" a voice emerged from the sofa.

"Then you have five seconds to show me your face. After that, I don't care if you are my mother. I will fire"

There was a tense silence. After a few seconds, a face emerged from the darkness. It was a face of a handsome young man in his twenties, with a raven-black messy hair and a pair of emerald green eyes. He was wearing a black trench coat and dirty brown combat boots.

"Well hello Percy. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you but then I'd be lying" said the man with a sneer, lowering his crossbow. "Oh c'mon, don't be mean. I didn't come here for trouble. I haven't seen you in a long time" Percy replied with a mock pout.

"Apparently not long enough" the man replied with a disdain. "What do you want from me now? Don't tell me you lost the ball of string and you want me to make another one"

Percy gave a snort. "What makes you think I want another ball of string? I still have mine. I'm here for a different reason"

"Well I haven't got all day. So spill it"

"It has recently come to my attention that you have been dealing with some rather unsavoury characters. In fact, you have now returned from a meeting with those characters" Percy replied with a smile which didn't quite reach his eyes.

The man froze. He wanted to keep these meetings secret. There was no saying what would happen if the gods came to know about these meetings. He hoped that Percy wouldn't come to know about his dealings. He should have known better.

"What do you want in exchange for keeping my dealings secret?" he asked wearily, keeping a tight grip on his crossbow.

"What do they want with you and your ingenious system of tunnels?"

"They want a way to navigate. They want a ball of string"

"So, you give them the ball in return for what?"

"You very well know in return for what Percy. I made the same deal with you before, remember?"

"Yes, I do. Very curious indeed"

"What's so curious about it?"

"The person from whom you trying to run from has made the same deal with them. So you, my friend, will be stabbed in the back the moment you complete your usefulness to them"

"And you won't?"

"Well, good point. But you will remain useful to me for a longer time than to them"

"Fair enough. So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to back out of the deal?"

"Absolutely not. Do give them the string by all means. We will get many birds with a single stone in that way"

Percy began walking towards the door, a disturbing smile on his face. As he opened the door, he paused.

"All I ask you is this. When the time comes, remember where your loyalties lie, Quintus or should I call you…. Daedalus?"

As he shut the door, the room went dark once more.

The End…

Hey guys! Deathstalker11 here. This story is finally complete. Please do read and review. I will start working on the sequel shortly. Deathstalker11 out. Take care.