Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Chapter 28: Thieves of Love Part 1
Thalia's POV
I awoke the next morning ready to go. We had a plan that I thought would work and so did the Stolls. I prepared myself for the day and went down to the kitchen to make breakfast. This may sound odd, but I felt a little motherly to the Stolls. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy, me motherly. I felt responsible for them and I hoped they appreciated that because if they screwed this up I would make them pay. Now I do feel more like myself. I finished cooking and sat down to eat breakfast. After about ten minutes I heard the Stoll brothers run down the steps and head for the kitchen.
"Good morning." They said in that weird twin brother way of theirs.
"Good morning, I made breakfast." I said as I pointed to the food on the table. They both grabbed a plate and devoured it all.
After they finished eating I was ready to get today's work started. "How are the preparations?" I asked curiously.
"Great, we have rented an office on the top floor of the four story office building on the north side of the warehouse. We should be able to use it as a on-site base of operations." Travis said. That sounded pretty good.
"How are we going to move all of our gear?" I asked anxiously. I saw Travis smile as he nodded toward Connor.
"Yes, I rented us a moving van it should be here within the hour." Connor said. Where did the money come from, I thought?
"How could we afford all of this?" I asked. Travis and Connor both started to laugh.
"Well, let's just say that it was pretty easy to break into Aphrodite's bank account, much easier than breaking into the warehouse." Travis said with an evil grin on his face.
"You broke into a bank account and stole funds. Do gods have bank accounts?" I said completely shocked. Now that I think about it I should have expected as much.
"Sure, we thought since Aphrodite caused this mess, she should help pay to fix it and yes gods have bank accounts. Well, at least some of them do for special projects" Connor said.
"I don't agree with stealing, but in this case I will make an exception." I said. I could tell that they both were relieved. I guess they thought I might kick their butts. 'Tell me again the reason for the office space."
"Well, since we do not have the time to do a thorough casing of the joint I think one of us will have to stay in the base to keep an eye out for trouble why the other two steal the antidote." Connor said. Yeah, he just said case the joint, I thought I was in some bank robbery film. As soon as Connor finished talking I heard a horn from outside the mansion. We all ran outside and saw a black moving van. The driver handed the keys to me and Connor signed the paper work. The driver walked away like this was a usual occurrence.
"We need to get our gear loaded." I said. Connor and Travis smiled when I said our gear I guess they think I'm just one of the gang. I guess I am for right now and by the way one of the gang is definitely appropriate for this situation. The three of us began to load the moving van. With all three of us working together we had the van loaded in two hours. It was now ten in the morning we had two hours to setup the office and then eight hours until it was dark outside. For those eight hours we would prepare for the evenings activities. I just hoped that my father and uncle would be able to keep Aphrodite busy enough. We left the mansion and made our way to the office building that was across the street on the north side of Aphrodite's warehouse. After two hours of unloading the van and two more hours of setting up our new field base as the Stolls called it, we were ready for the evenings work. For the next six hours we completed our plans and prepared for a very unusual mission, at least it was unusual to me.
Five Hours Later – Throne Room – Olympus
Athena's POV
I sat on my throne waiting for my father and uncle to arrive. I was a little worried about the confrontation with Aphrodite, not for her sake, but we had to give Thalia and her team time to retrieve the antidote. Suddenly a brilliant light filled the room and dissolved into my father, Zeus the king of the gods. I stood and walked over to him, he gave me a light hug and I could tell that he was worried.
"Tell me that Thalia and her team are ready?" Zeus asked expectantly. He was dressed in his usual pin striped business suit with his hair down to his shoulders and his long beard. His piercing electric blue eyes sparked with energy, but I could tell he was concerned about this confrontation with my sister.
"Thalia and her team are set they will start their operation as soon as the sun sets." I said reassuringly. My fathere sighed a little and I could tell that he felt slightly more at ease with this mission. Suddenly a large ball of fire appeared in the room and exploded, when the dust settled Hades was standing if front of us.
"Brother, my dear niece." Hades said as he walked toward us. No matter the that Hades was on much better terms with my father and me I still couldn't get over the fact that this was the same god who ruled over the underworld and Tartarus in particular. Hades was dressed in all black his dark hair hung over his ears and down to his shoulders. His short curly beard was neatly trimmed and he was smiling fiendishly as usual.
"Hello Brother, are you ready for this ordeal?" Zeus asked hesitantly. I nodded at Hades and I could tell that my father's question amused him.
"Ah, brother I know you're not afraid of your daughter, besides I think I'll rather enjoy this." Hades said. I could tell that he was looking forward to our conversation with Aphrodite.
"I'm not afraid of her, I'd just rather have her behave and not have to deal with this kind of a mess." Zeus said sadly. Hades walked over and put his hand on my father's shoulder, it was almost like he was consoling him, weird I know.
"If you want I can do most of the talking." Hades said wickedly.
My father just shook his head. "I know you would like to, but she is my daughter, I need to deal with her, you're here because this concerns you and your son." Zeus said incredulously.
"As well as you're youngest daughter." Hades reminded him. My father nodded in acknowledgment.
"Athena, how are the two missions coming along?" Hades asked with true concern in his voice.
"Thalia and her team will start their plan in roughly forty-five minutes. I have not heard from Annabeth or the others since they left, but don't worry Percy and Annabeth will get the job done, they always do." I said.
I could see Hades processing this information and he smiled at me with a hopeful grin. "I'm sure they will, I must agree that these missions have gone smoother than I would have imagined." Hades said cautiously. Suddenly a pink cloud that smelled of a sickly sweet perfume appeared in front of us, when the cloud dissolved Aphrodite was standing in front of us.
"Hello dear father and sister. Why is he here?" Aphrodite said. I could see the fire explode in my uncle's eyes.
"Hello daughter, your uncle is here because this discussion concerns him and his family. Also, the last time I checked I seem to remember you siding with the Titans against us with your step-mother, while Hades remained loyal to Olympus." Zeus said. I could see Hades smile happily at my father's words.
"Hello sister, I also seem to remember that you as well as your conspirators were placed on probation due to your actions." I said sarcastically. Hades nodded toward me in approval.
"I'm hurt dear niece, is that anyway to talk to your loving uncle?" Hades said every word was dripping with venom. Aphrodite just looked at him turned up her nose and made a little noise that clearly meant you're not worth my time. Hades was about to yell when my father raised his hand.
"Aphrodite you really need to explain yourself before my brother decides to teach you a lesson. Why have you caused this mess?" Zeus asked curiously.
Aphrodite just smiled and said, "What mess father?"
A huge flame shot out of Hades hand as he said, "You little witch you no damn well the mess you caused."
Aphrodite looked at Hades like he just slapped her. "Father, you cannot allow this creature to talk to me that way?" Aphrodite said arrogantly. I saw lightning flash in my father's eyes.
"How dare you insult my brother in front of me and how dare you lie to me. You know exactly what you have done to Thalia and Nico. Now before I forget that you're my daughter, explain yourself." Zeus demanded.
The arrogant smile was wiped off of Aphrodite's face and she just stared at our father blankly. "Nico asked for my assistance and I helped him." Aphrodite said innocently.
"That's a load of Minotaur dung you turned him into one of your sons. He didn't ask for that, he's a completely different person now." Hades said angrily, I could see the concern in his eyes for his son. I never knew he cared that much for Nico.
"Ah, don't feign concern for your son, you've only used him as a pawn. He's no more to you than a servant or a slave." Aphrodite said accusingly. Hades exploded and turned into the epitome of the mortals vision of the devil himself. His skin was red with horns on his head. He had a forked tail and fangs that extended from his mouth. His eyes were completely red and pulsated as if they were filled with lava. Aphrodite jumped back in surprise and was visibly shaken. Zeus and I were completely surprised by this outburst, but I was actually rather happy on the inside to see my sister frozen with fright.
"I will not stand by and let anyone talk that way to me or tell me the way I treat my son. I love my boy, if I treat him rough it is because he has a tough road ahead of him, that's all." Hades said. As he finished speaking I could see the anger fade from his face and he changed his form back to his usual appearance.
Aphrodite was clearly speechless now. I could tell she was ready to run out of the throne room as fast as possible.
"Don't worry sister, you can't leave, father initiated the security protocols, no unauthorized transport from or to the throne room." I said happily. Aphrodite stared daggers at me and all I could do was smile back in return.
"Well daughter I gave you a chance to explain yourself, but as usual you chose to plead innocent to actions that we already knew you caused. Therefore, Hades and I must discuss what your punishment will be for your actions." Zeus said. I could tell that he wasn't happy about this, but Aphrodite had her chance to explain herself or even plead for mercy. Now that chance was lost and I'm afraid she will suffer for it. I suddenly thought of the two missions currently under way, I hope everything is going as planned.
In the next chapter we will see how Percy is doing.
