Annabeth POV
"That is a lot of ammunition," Agent La Rue whispered harshly.
Agent Clarisse, Jason, Beckendorf, and I were hunched behind on few bushes on the west side of the warehouse that we were scoping.
This was Percy's last known location, and it was a terrorist hotspot.
"Those have to be related to the bombs," Jason said.
Everyone agreed with him. The WiCKeD and BlodgeHarm soldiers were loading boxes of nuclear bombs from the warehouse into large cargo trucks.
I took the binoculars from Agent Clarisse to get a better visual. The warehouse was in the middle of a large concrete field, bordered by a metal fence.
We were outside of the fence on the edge of the woods.
"If this is Percy's last known location, do we think that Percy was caught and brought here by the terrorists?" Beckendorf asked.
"That's the most reasonable explanation," Clarisse said.
I stared at my teammates. They brought up logical assumptions, but one point shied me away from the notion that Percy was caught.
"I don't think Percy was caught," I said confidently. "If Percy was caught, they would've removed the locator chip a long time ago. Krios is too smart to let any locator chip run till the site of the bombs is revealed."
Jason nodded in agreement. Even Beck and Clarisse considered this.
"So, what are you proposing, Annabeth?" Beckendorf asked. I scanned the warehouse, bombs, and soldiers again before answering.
"I think that Percy is in that building, but he is hiding inside. I believe that Percy turned off the locator chip himself to signal us to find him here," I said firmly.
"I agree with you, Annabeth," Chiron and Hazel's voices said into our earpieces.
Chiron and Leo were back at the plane. Technically, they were meant for the field. Hazel and Thalia were certified for minor fieldwork. They were in a van deeper in the woods.
They were going to be the command center. Leo and Thalia had already hacked into the surveillance system around this area. They had turned off the electricity coursing through the metal fence (so that we could cross).
Silena, Piper, and Frank were on the other side of the field, probably doing exactly what we were doing and listening to our conversation.
"Well, the purpose of the mission has now shifted. We will still retrieve Percy, of course, but we also have to stop the transport of those bombs," Chiron said firmly.
Everyone heard and agreed with him.
If Percy wasn't captured, then he should be temporarily okay. Hopefully, we'd run into him inside of the warehouse.
"All right, step 1: get into the warehouse. The cargo trucks are almost full, so they'll leave. Leo and I will follow them electronically. The soldiers at the warehouse will relax in that time, which is the ideal time for you all to sneak in," Thalia said.
It was a pretty good plan, but a diversion was also necessary just in case.
"As a diversion, maybe someone from the other side can cause an electrical discharge. The generator is in the northeast corner," I said.
"Already on it, Annabeth," Piper said. I could hear the smile in her voice.
My small team nodded in silence as we prepared ourselves to climb the fence and quietly sprint into the warehouse.
The cargo trucks left with the nucs, and Piper set off the discharge a few minutes afterward. The warehouse opened on the east and west sides, so any soldiers inside would be looking out to that side. After all, the generator discharge was fairly loud.
"Let's go," Jason said sharply.
This is where training came in handy. We all were practically experts at physical exercises like climbing, running, and combat.
We were hiding behind some crates in the warehouse in no time.
Agent Clarisse and Beck dispersed to the right while Jason and I traveled to the right. We were hiding behind some empty boxes, so hopefully, no soldiers come near.
My heart was racing with adrenaline and heat. It was hot in here.
"Annabeth, there's actually a lot of soldiers," Jason whispered. "We can't fight all of them if we're caught, so we gotta stay hidden."
I nodded in agreement and confirmation came from Chiron as well. They could probably see everything via thermal sensors that picked up on heat signatures.
"There are a lot more bombs in here," I whispered.
"Yeah, the cargo trucks probably only carry a fifth of the bomb capacity with each run. The warehouse is still 50 percent filled with munitions," Jason accounted.
Since Jason was a soldier, he had way more experience with scoping details.
The warehouse was mostly a large room. There were empty crates and wood around the border of the brick warehouse. The middle of the room had all of the bombs in stacks.
Two paths were cleared to allow transport of soldiers and bombs to the warehouse exits on the east and west sides.
We were hiding closer to the west side.
"Jason, there are a few rooms on the north side. That's where I would expect leaders or prisoners to be kept," I said.
We both knew that I was talking about Percy.
Jason nodded as we both started walking quietly towards the north side. Our guns were drawn just in case we ran into trouble.
However, the terrorists in the room were simply lounging around. They seemed to have a long day of hauling boxes. Of course, that was making our job easier.
"All right, I'll take those rooms over there," Jason said pointing ways down the north wing.
I knew what Jason was doing. He was taking the harder job, considering those rooms were farther away and more exposed.
However, we didn't have time to argue, so I nodded and he continued walking.
I silently opened the nearest door, but it was just a closet. Maybe, I was wrong about these rooms being important.
I sucked in a breath suddenly and leaned against the nearest barrel. A soldier walked past me, and he was so close. I let out a breath of relief after he walked away.
I silently walked towards the next door.
The path was pretty clear and well-hidden behind empty crates. I was assuming that this room was yet another closet.
However, as soon as I opened the door, a hand grabbed my wrist. Before I can even think, the soldier yanked me into the darkroom.
I staggered a little bit but didn't fall. I whirled around, and my elbow struck into his abdomen hard. Then, I jumped and kicked his masked face.
The soldier groaned quietly as I quickly kneed him in the gut.
"Ow, gods, you rescrambled my eggs," the soldier said as he clutched his stomach.
Suddenly, I froze. My body was still in an offensive position as my fists were in the air (ready to defend myself). But, I recognized that voice.
I stared at the masked man. he was in the same soldier uniform as the other terrorists, but I'd recognize that voice and especially those sea-green eyes anywhere.
"Seaweed Brain," I whispered.
Percy stood straighter and took his black mask off with his right hand. He was wearing all black and a padded vest similar to mine. He was under disguise, but it was him.
"Seaweed Brain," I said as I crashed into him.
His arms wrapped around me as he whirled me around. His smile was intoxicatingly bright as I kissed his lips. He kissed back with just as much passion and desire.
Suddenly, I pulled back in determination and grabbed his wrist.
Percy stared at me in confusion for a second before I judo-flipped him. I crouched down with my knee on his chest to keep him down.
"I swear if you ever leave like that without even telling me, I will freaking kill you, Seaweed Brain," I snapped quietly.
Percy had the nerve to laugh as he brushed my knee, making me fall on top of him.
"Okay, accepted, but we're together now," Percy whispered. He kissed me once more, which I happily accepted.
"Um, Annabeth, you're earpiece is still turned on," Leo said with an awkward cough.
I immediately pulled away from Percy and pulled him up. I surveyed the room we were in. It was a small storage room with weapons, uniforms, and other things.
"So glad that Percy's okay," Chiron said firmly.
Of course, Percy couldn't hear Chiron as he searched through a nearby box. "Seaweed Brain, everyone's happy that you're okay," I said.
"Yeah, in Mexico, I knew that I didn't have enough time to escape. Even so, I had to follow them. So, I traded clothes with an unconscious soldier and traveled with BlodgeHarm to Greece," Percy said before pausing.
Percy pulled out black clothes, a vest, and a mask just like his (but smaller).
"It was a good thing too because I found their bombs. However, this is only one of three stations that they have around the world," Percy informed us.
He handed me the terrorist uniform, which I accepted.
This would be the easiest way to blend in. I knew that there weren't that many females in BlodgeHarm and WiCKeD, but there were a few.
"Do you know the locations of the stations or the bombing locations? Where are these bombs going?" I asked as I changed outfits.
Percy's eyes looked over my body. He didn't even try to hide his wandering gaze.
"Um, I have some information. Unfortunately, the ordinary soldiers don't have the important intel," Percy said quietly as he looked at me fixing my hair.
Percy came towards me and kissed my forehead.
"I missed you," Percy whispered. Despite everything, he made me smile lightly.
"Yeah, I missed you too, Percy," Jason said sternly. I chuckled to myself as I hugged Percy, but I pulled away after a few seconds. The disappointment was clear on Percy's face.
"We have to hurry and stop the bombs from leaving," I said.
"Chiron, can you request reinforcements to lock this place down?" Thalia asked.
"I've already done that using my contact in the Greek government. Hazel is also talking with them right now. They'll be here in no time," Chiron said.
"Teammates who are in the warehouse, you all have to leave now," Hazel said before all hell breaks loose and you're trapped in there.
Percy gestured for me to follow him towards the door. I took out my earpiece and asked him what he was planning.
"Wise Girl, we already loaded the plane with 40% of the nucs. All of these nucs are going to the main rally station (where Kronos and Krios are). If the Greek government comes to shut this place down, that plane will leave soon," Percy said.
"You're saying that we have to get on that plane?" I asked firmly.
Percy nodded. Percy brought us this far by staying under disguise. It seemed like a good idea to follow the bombs to the heart of this terrorist organization. Then, we can stab and kill it.
"I agree with you, Percy," I said as I put my earpieces in.
"Leo, do you have a location on their plane?" I asked. "Can you hack the plane?"
"It's at a private runway a few miles away. Unfortunately, the plane is too secure to hack quickly. It'll take too much time," Leo informed.
Damn it.
"Also, the terrorists are aware of the Greek government coming their way," Piper said. "There's a lot of activity happening outside."
"They're already prepping the cargo plane. I think they'll take off with the bombs that they manage to get during the next load," Thalia said firmly.
Percy and I shared a look. We both left the storage room. For a moment, I froze but then I realized that I was under disguise. Soldiers were running all over the place, but no one was giving us a second glance.
I quickly followed Percy towards the west exit. A truck was there, and soldiers were loading a few bombs quickly. The cargo-carrying part of the truck had no roof.
It was literally a lid-less box on wheels.
The truck roared its engine and a bunch of black smoke exploded from its exhaust. Several soldiers coughed as they closed the truck's door hatch.
"Percy, we have to get in there," I said firmly.
The truck started driving immediately. Percy and I both started running after the truck. There was so much activity, running, and shooting happening.
The Greek law enforcement got here quicker than expected.
This would definitely be the last group of bombs to be loaded onto that plane.
Bullets banged against the truck that we were running after, but they did nothing to slow the truck down. Soldiers were shooting back from the truck.
They weren't shooting at us, but they were shooting at the police.
My heart pounded as I ran after the truck. this was too painful, and my legs were ready to shut down. However, determination took over my body.
The truck exploded through the metal fence.
"Annabeth, I'll hoist you into the truck," Percy shouted. We were running next to the truck now, but it was gaining in speed.
Percy's right arm came against my waist as we ran. I jumped as Percy pushed me higher. I barely caught the metal railing of the truck.
The metal sliced into my palm as I climbed aboard.
The soldiers on the truck were too busy shooting at the police or securing the bombs to pay attention to a suspicious soldier entering the large truck.
"Percy," I exclaimed as my arm reached out over the railing of the truck.
His hand clasped with mine. My arm stretched beyond imagination as I held onto his grip. The truck was driving too fast for Percy's sprint.
Percy suddenly jumped as my grip tightened around his hand.
My other hand caught his black vest as I pulled him against the truck. Percy fell into the truck and landed on top of me.
We were both breathing heavily as we laid next to each other on the floor of a speeding truck with a stack of nuclear bombs. Gunshots were still firing around us as we traveled through the dense woods.
This was a day in the life of Lake Valor agents.
Percy's face turned to me. We were both wearing masks, but I could hear his quiet laughing and I joined as well. I couldn't believe that we just pulled that off.
Now, it was time to get on that plane.