"Have you got the supplements in here ?" Mentor pressed. We were sweating in the front seats of a Toyota Avalon while he gripped my satchel. Despite the unbearable humidity of a New York summer, he chose to pick the one car from our base with no A/C. He claimed it was because the Avalon saturated the market. Everyone and their mother was riding in a light blue Toyota Avalon and he figured the better we were able to obfuscate ourselves the better chance we'd have of pulling this off. However from the way his knuckles bleached as he held onto my bag, I had my doubts about his confidence.
"Always," I affirmed, "once every 12 hours right?" Mentor scowled, his already wrinkled face warping into a visage of disgust.
"You say that as if you'd be taking that while you sleep. Once every 12 hours you are awake, understand? These things cost a fortune to produce. I told you to stay focused and don't mess this up or they'll-" his sentence was punctuated by a sharp gasp for air. He tenderly stroked his left side and swallowed the rest of his condensation down his throat.
I took over for him. "Don't hurt yourself lecturing old man. I know what I have to do. 1 supplement for 12 hours of demigod enhancement. Anymore and I risk killing myself. Any less and I risk getting myself killed by the guys in there." I motioned my hand towards the seemingly empty hill. I knew over that hill and in the valley was a camp of hardened warriors, who'd willingly maim me if my ruse was discovered.
"And the glasses work right?" Mentor pressed again, "double tap the rim just to be sure." I did as he said and almost instantly what appeared to be a small village came into view. Seated on the hill was a massive gold and ivory statue of the goddess Athene. It radiated pure energy throughout the valley, but as I gazed upon its face the only thing I could make out was a sneer of cold command.
"Nothing more than a veneer." I thought to myself.
"They work fine Mentor. But I'm wondering when the R&D division even came up with these? I thought M.A.D.A.M.E. just used clear-sighted field agents when we wanted to see through the mist. Or UV telescopes where we're at base."
"We had some contacts in the House of Life develop these, Sarah Jacobi I believe, in exchange for a temporary relocation from Antarctica. She says they're good for peering through the Duat, but it's all the same bloody thing anyways." he insisted. "Don't toss them around like your glasses, these are the only ones we have in our possession. If you lose them R&D won't be able to reverse engineer a second pair."
I wanted to protest but I knew he was right. My room in HQ was usually sloppy, so much so that one of the sanitation admins got on my ass about it. Scrubbing all the toilets in HQ with a toothbrush would cause just about anyone to turn a new leaf, but I seemed determined to maintain my sloppy ways.
Mentor was clearly nervous, and the fact that he was dressed in a full tracksuit during the New York summer wasn't helping him. Many agents at M.A.D.A.M.E. have tried and failed to get him to wear something else aside from his extensive collection of tracksuits, but he wouldn't hear it. The tracksuits reminded him of his youth, he claimed. He ran his fingers through his very obviously dyed, jet black hair.
"It's just that we've never tried infiltrating the actual camp, my boy. An extended assignment into the base of the Amazons, sure. A quick surveillance trip to the entry of the Underworld? No problem. Even a decade long observation mission into Vanaheim? Totally within our grasp." But this sort of deception is unprecedented. We have to be cautious with our-" he broke out into a coughing fit again, softly clutching his side. I hated to get the old man riled up but he was doing it to himself for the most part.
"Don't worry about it Mentor," I reassured him, "I triple checked before we even left HQ. You can count on me not to mess this up, you have my word." Mentor shook his head.
"I need more than your word my boy. I need your life. It's much more than death. If you're discovered you'll be subjected to the worst torture imaginable. An eternity in the fields of punishment, an eternity of sorrow and anguish. An eternity of the most unimaginable physical pain, while you beg to be released from consciousness." A celestial bronze dagger seemingly materialized in Mentor's hand. He struck it through my left hand, down into the cupholder. Pain seared throughout my hand up into my arm but I didn't dare to cry out. I was trained for this.
"Are you prepared to suffer for this cause?"
"Yes."
"Are you prepared to kill indiscriminately, including children?"
"Yes."
"Are you prepared to terminate yourself if captured?"
"Yes."
He twisted the dagger further and further after each question, his wild eyes looking for any doubt in my own. It seemed a little hypocritical considering his apparent state of panic a few moments ago but I wasn't in a position to voice any bold opinions.
"Are you prepared," he paused for dramatic effect, "to avenge your deceased parents? Are you prepared to commit the ultimate crime, unprecedented in the history of mankind? Are you prepared to murder an Olympian?" He studied me once more.
"Yes." I said, without any hesitation.
He nodded, satisfied with my resolve, and slowly drew the dagger from my hand. I was 13 years old, too old to cry over little things such as getting stabbed, but the pain was still unbearable. He reached into my satchel and grabbed a canteen and one pack of supplements.
"Take ONE of these supplements" he said, wildly waving 1 finger like I was a moron, "and pour some of the nectar in this canteen over the wound. Should heal up quickly."
I did as he commanded, and instantly felt rejuvenated. True to his word my wound disappeared, blood and all.
"Once you get inside the camp you should be claimed by our friend no later than nightfall. Ensure that you get your own cabin set up inside. I'll handle getting the rest of the division inside the camp."
"Alright then," I said to Mentor, "I suppose this is goodbye for now." He snorted, repulsed by the sentimentality.
"No goodbyes. We'll be in touch by the end of this week. If you're still alive by then." Mentor studied my face one more time, still furiously checking for any doubt. But the truth was there wasn't any. I've been ready for this since 2004.
"Best of luck Agent H. For mankind." Mentor gave me a half-hearted salute.
I got out of the car and stretched my legs. The light blue Toyota Avalon roared to life and barreled down the dirt road towards the city. Alone at the foot of the hill, I slung my satchel over my shoulder and ventured towards the lion's den.