Annabeth POV
I didn't have time to feel bad about leaving Percy behind.
The plane was having a lot of turbulence, and I had to strap in immediately. Since it was a cargo plane, all of the cargo (ie bombs) was strapped in the center. Meanwhile, the seats were located on both sides of the plane.
Only four soldiers including myself made it onto the plane.
We all sat side-by-side, but no one talked. Maybe, that was a pattern within terrorist organizations: the actual laborers didn't talk.
I wanted to distract myself with a conversation, but I didn't want to be the first to speak. As such, hours went by, yet no one spoke.
Gods, I really hoped that Percy was okay.
I shook my head with a sigh. Percy had gotten hurt from being dragged by the plane, but I really prayed that my Seaweed Brain was all right.
Suddenly, the plane jolted causing the bombs to shift.
They weren't strapped in properly, so two male soldiers got up to secure the cargo. I didn't know any of them. They all wore masks and black uniforms.
"You almost blew it for us," the remaining soldier said.
My head whipped around to face the only other female soldier that I've seen in BlodgeHarm in the past few hours. I couldn't see her face, but she had long black hair and dark eyes.
"What do you mean? We all helped load the bombs," I said confidently.
She simply chuckled as she faced the other soldiers strapping the bombs down. Then, she turned back to me.
"Lake Valor called law enforcement too early," she said firmly.
I froze as I stared at her. She seemed to know everything, but she wasn't alarmed or raising alarm.
"Who are you?" I asked quietly. "How do you know about us?"
"I'm not supposed to give out my information, but I suppose we are both in the same situation. My name's Reyna Arellano, and I'm a part of MI6 under the British government," she said calmly.
I relaxed as I analyzed the situation. Reyna did have a foreign accent, and she seemed like a good, determined individual.
"Are you a spy or traitor?" I asked suspiciously.
"I heard that Lake Valor was having trust issues," Reyna said chuckling. "But no, I have been undercover for several weeks now, tracing the activity of the bombs."
"And, you're team came in and almost screwed it up," she finished.
"Well, we didn't. We stopped almost 50% of the bombs from getting on this plane while still getting this flight to launch to its final destination," I said firmly.
Reyna simply nodded as she stretched in her seat.
"I suppose that's true, but the main work is ahead of us," Reyna said.
Of course, Reyna was right. We were heading towards the main rally point, but our main goal was to stop the bombs' dispersal. Saving the world was our job (it didn't matter whether we were employees at Lake Valor, MI6, the army, CIA, etc.).
"Anyway, what's your name?" Reyna asked calmly.
The other two soldiers were struggling with the bombs, which gave us a few more minutes to talk. I hesitated to tell Reyna about my identity. However, she told me her name and ID.
"Annabeth Chase, a special agent at Lake Valor," I replied.
Reyna and I both nodded as our attention fixed to the bombs.
"We have to stop those bastards," she muttered. Her tone emphasized that she had personal issues with the terrorist groups. That made me like her more.
She was determined to stop the bad people. We were very similar as she was also intelligent, powerful, and a leader.
"It's a pleasure to be able to work with you and the MI6 to do just that," I said firmly.
Reyna turned to me and nodded firmly. I could imagine a smile on her face because it was on mine. I think that we were both relieved that we weren't walking into this alone.
...
The plane landed after several hours. The whole point was to get here to the secret main rally point of WiCKeD and BlodgeHarm.
I had no clue where we were. Neither did Reyna.
Regardless, there were dozens of terrorist soldiers waiting at the runway. We had to regretfully help them unload all of the nuclear bombs into trucks.
Apparently, this plane had to leave again to the other major bomb station in Italy.
It took five massive trucks to load the bombs safely. It was hard work, but Reyna and I had to maintain our covers. We stowed away in one of the trucks rather than getting back on the plane like many of the soldiers did.
Obviously, we had to follow the bombs to find Kronos and Krios.
We were on a private runway in the middle of a forest, so there was no indication of our location. I was looking around before getting into one of the trucks.
Suddenly, a voice boomed for us to stop.
Reyna and I both froze outside of the truck's open door.
"Soldiers, you were ordered to get back on the plane. Your purpose is to help secure the bombs in Italy as well," another soldier boomed.
He didn't wear his mask, which indicated that he was of higher rank.
"Yes, sir, however, we were told to get in the truck," Reyna recovered quickly. She certainly had more experience than I did with being undercover.
After all, I was still a recruit in training.
"Who told you this information?" the lieutenant boomed as he came closer. His gun was in his hand as he stomped towards us.
"Sir, this truck has no straps. The other lieutenant ordered us to stay and secure the bombs during the drive," I said firmly.
It was a complete lie. I didn't even know if there was an additional leader here. However, I was going to do anything to cover my tracks.
This lieutenant immediately came forward and raised his gun, but I was ready for it.
My arm slashed forward as I caught his wrist and kneed his stomach. The lieutenant groaned before I knocked the gun out of his hand. The gun clattered against the asphalt. I didn't waste any time in jump kicking the lieutenant across the head.
He crumbled to the ground as I quickly grabbed his gun.
However, the soldier was unconscious.
"Good work," Reyna said in an impressed tone. Reyna quickly dragged the lieutenant to the truck, and we hoisted him into the truck.
I holstered the gun into my pants in the back. I used my shirt to cover the gun and then fixed my padded vest. A weapon was always useful in an undercover mission. Reyna and I quickly entered the truck and closed the doors before anyone else can find us.
We heard the truck's engine roar to life, which helped us relax.
"Good work, dropping the soldier," Reyna said again. "You got the gun, correct?" she asked as she searched the lieutenant for any other useful resources.
"Yup, I got it," I said in affirmation.
I sat down and leaned against the wall of the moving truck. Reyna pulled out an ID card and a walkie-talkie from the lieutenant's pockets.
"Reyna, do you know how to send out a signal to MI6 or Lake Valor?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, I do not have experience in technology, especially with outdated technology such as this," Reyna said as she tossed the old walkie-talkie to me.
I analyzed the walkie-talkie. Reyna was right that this was very outdated. It was the type of walkie-talkies that was only used for communication between a few sources.
It was different than a radio that can broadcast through different channels.
The truck hit a massive bump causing us and the bombs to jump. Every time a sudden bump or stop came, I'd have to hold my breath.
These terrorists were transporting these bombs like they were pillows. Stupid.
"Reyna, can I hold onto this talkie? I'm gonna try how to figure out how to send a beacon signal," I asked.
"Be my guest. Wait, Annabeth, can't Lake Valor signal you via your earpiece. Please tell me that Lake Valor is intelligent enough to use communication systems," Reyna said firmly.
"Of course, we are," I said defensively before pausing.
It was a common stereotype that the English (ie the British) have an aura of being better than everyone else. I didn't believe in stereotypes. However, I could tell that Reyna and the MI6 have a reputation for being the best.
"The earpiece was damaged during a fall," I said.
Reyna wasn't using an earpiece. If she'd been undercover for weeks, then she probably wasn't using a technological communication system. They were easier to detect.
As I said, we were both on the same page.
"Gods, I hate when that happens. Just our luck to figure things out the hard way," Reyna said chuckling with a serious expression.
I couldn't help but laugh along. She was so right about our situation.
...
Concentration camp, but without the genocide.
Those were the best words to describe where the trucks dropped me and Reyna. We got out of the truck atop a hill that overlooked a valley.
The valley was a concentration camp filled with innocent, trafficked humans who were being put to work mantling weapons and bombs. There were even torture cells and morgues inside of this horrible camp.
Just looking at the site made me want to vomit.
My blood was boiling as Reyna and I watched the camp from the woods.
"Annabeth, the camp is surrounded by an electric fence. That's probably how they keep everyone in. The only entrances are the two gates in the north and south," Reyna informed.
"Well, then, that's how we get in," I said firmly.
Reyna nodded in agreement. There was no point in us hiding in the woods outside of the camp. The innocent people were inside, the soldiers were inside, and the leaders were also inside.
The camp was laid out so that the hostages were on the west side of the camp. They had tents and rags to sleep on. That's where they were probably served scrappy food as well.
Near the middle of the camp were the working stations.
That's where the weapons and bombs were being made by the hostages. They were forced to work. Otherwise, they'd take beatings or threats of death probably.
The buildings were on the east side of the camp. I had to presume that's where the leaders and soldiers not on duty stayed. That's where we'd find answers if we could get there.
We'd potentially find a way to beacon signal Lake Valor or the MI6 as well.
It would've been easier for Reyna and me to stay in the truck to enter the camp. However, we needed a full layout of the camp. We had to go into this hellish place prepared.
"All right, step 1 is to enter the camp and blend in," Reyna said firmly.
"Yes, and step 2 is to signal for backup with this location. Then, we'll be able to free all those hundreds of hostages and stop the dispersal of all those bombs," I expressed.
With that said, as leaders, Reyna and I created a coherent plan.