Chapter Four
Early the next morning, Percy awoke suddenly, covered in a cold sweat from the nightmares of Tartarus still plaguing his sleep. Wondering why he was awake so early, he rose, glancing at the clock. It was only six in the morning, and he felt oddly alert as he quickly dressed in his camp T-shirt and jeans. A sudden crack filled the air, and he wondered if that was a gunshot. It was incredibly close to camp, but he thought nothing of it, since mortals couldn't get past the barrier. He exited his cabin to find Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, and several others stumbling from their cabins, looking curious at the sound. Percy stifled a yawn before another loud crack tore through the air. This time, there was no denying that it was a gunshot. Everyone turned at the sudden noise, running down the hill to the outskirts of camp just as several more shots rang out. They watched as bullets ricocheted off the barrier and flew toward the men aiming weapons at the demigods. Confused, they ducked their previously fired projectiles, and one of them tried to fire a three-round burst at Percy but died horrifically instead, coughing up fountains of blood from punctured lungs.
"Cooper! Where is Cooper!" Will shouted.
"We can fight them," Clarisse barked, drawing her knife.
"No, we can't," Annabeth replied, looking at the daughter of Ares coldly. "They are mortals; Celestial Bronze would be useless against them."
"She's right," Chiron agreed, rolling up behind the startled group. "Cooper's on his way. Thankfully, he gave me his phone number, so I snuck off to contact him. Don't worry, no monsters should be headed this way."
"How does it feel," a man spoke up from outside the camp borders, "to be absolutely powerless, young demigods?"
"Well," Nico said casually, "I would say it's scary, but, you know, you can't do anything unless you want to shoot yourselves. That would save Mr. Cooper from doing it for you."
"My, my, young hero! You do make a good point; we can't directly attack you, but you have no idea who you're dealing with! This Cooper will be an easy target. But hey, he can try and fight us, and you all are going to watch as we destroy him, and then we'll reveal your secret to all. When your world unravels, then we will sit idly by and watch as you are destroyed."
The demigods paused, thinking of the horrific consequences if the mortal world found out about them. That would plunge the earth into chaos to the point that demigods could be destroyed, or civilization would wipe itself out. There was no more time to think about that because the stutter of a submachine gun grabbed their attention. The men aiming guns at the group of demigods turned, one of them spirting blood from his neck as he fell. The surviving men spread out, and one of them threw a grenade at the camp. It hit the barrier with enough force to explode in midair, killing a few more attackers. They watched as the Executioner charged from cover, dressed for war with weapons dangling from his combat harness.
While the soldier was busy fighting the men with guns, Percy wondered how they could help. Annabeth was right; their swords and knives were useless. A sudden rumbling deep in the ground made him pause, and both Annabeth and Clarisse shouted for the camp to get armed. Wasting no time, Percy uncapped Riptide and listened as the rumbling drew closer.
"Hellhounds," Percy heard someone growl. "We can't let them get into camp."
Several demigods were sprinting back down the hill several seconds later, with Annabeth in the lead. She was carrying a shotgun, and Percy wondered why she even went to the armory in the first place; most demigods always carried their weapons with them, so it wasn't like they had to grab them every time there was an attack.
"Percy! Get outside the border! We're going to have to fight them out there, so they won't try and get in! Mr. Cooper, take this!" Annabeth shouted as she tossed the shotgun and several bandoleers of shells to the Executioner.
Bolan had just finished the last of the smiling terrorists when the rumbling in the ground began to concern him. Annabeth tossed him the shotgun, and he knew they were probably facing a large army of monsters. Checking the shotgun, he saw that it was well maintained and was already loaded. The gun featured a thirty-round tube, and it was capable of firing in semi-automatic or three-round burst mode. He slung the gun over his shoulder as he began running, following the line of demigods as they prepared for battle. Footsteps from behind told him he wasn't the last one in line, and he turned to see Percy, Hazel, and several others sprinting the rest of the way down the hill, their weapons at the ready. Bolan saw Chiron bringing up the rear, his hooves pounding the ground as he raised a large bow, an explosive arrow tipped with Celestial Bronze nocked and ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"What are we facing," the Executioner called, jogging up to Annabeth.
"The monsters we're facing are probably hellhounds, but I don't know for sure since we can't even see them yet."
"Here they come," Jason said as he jogged up beside them, raising his gladius.
Bolan listened as the rumbling became a crescendo, and the first of the hellhounds came into view. It was the size of a grizzly bear and was covered in black hair. He raised the shotgun, flicking the selector switch to semi-auto, and sited in on the doglike monster. The gun wasn't a long-range weapon, by any means, and he knew this would be a tricky shot, but the army of hellhounds were moving fast enough that at least a few buckshot pellets would hit it even if he missed. Taking a deep breath, he made sure he had the perfect shot, quickly doing some calculations based on windspeed and his higher position before letting half of it out. He made one more small adjustment before slowly squeezing the trigger. The weapon bucked against his shoulder a few seconds later, and he watched as the monster turned into dust.
The rest of camp sprinted forward and charged into battle, Bolan among them as he triggered shot after shot, cutting down hellhounds with each one. Percy was right next to the soldier, slashing monsters with his sword. Bolan couldn't help but wonder how they would get through the battle, because they were severely outnumbered. The soldier had faced impossible odds before, but he wasn't foolish enough to believe that they wouldn't take losses. A sudden whistling sound made him drop prone, taking Annabeth and Percy with him as an explosion tore through the air. Monsters disintegrated due to the force of the blast, but more kept coming. Someone shouted for them to stay down before several more explosive arrows hit monsters, blowing them into dust and blasting small craters in the ground.
"We need some people watching our backs! We can't let them shadow travel!" Nico shouted from a few feet away.
Bolan and Percy turned just as a couple dozen hellhounds appeared a few feet behind the main battle. Both fighters, along with Annabeth, Piper, Hazel, Jason, Frank, Nico, Will, and Chiron split up, taking on the group of monsters from several angles. Bolan put a three-round burst into a monster who tried to leap at Frank, and it turned into dust in midair, several pellets striking the creature behind it and killing it too. Another hellhound leapt at the Executioner, and he sidestepped as Percy rolled under it and slashed upwards with Riptide, dispatching it and sending it back to Tartarus in one fluid motion.
Chiron yelled for everyone to take cover as he launched a hailstorm of explosive arrows, decimating the smaller army of hellhounds in seconds and creating small fishers where they had once been. They all turned back to the still raging battle just in time to see Jason call down lightning. Bolan triggered a burst at two monsters who tried to attack the son of Jupiter, and he summoned the winds in time to avoid the soldier's shots that struck the hellhounds squarely in the chest. Jason's lightning bolt struck several creatures, obliterating them before striking the ground and burning dozens of hellhounds into ash. The surviving monsters were no match for the angry demigods, and they were slain mercilessly by a few younger kids with knives. Bolan, Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, and Nico ran forward, quickly surveying the damage and ensuring there were no casualties among the campers. Connor Stoll received a flesh wound, but it was nothing major and was quickly healed when he ate some ambrosia.
The battle served as a reminder to all of them that something big was on the rise. Annabeth first thought that Chiron's phone call to Cooper could have summoned the monsters, but only demigods couldn't use electronics, and Chiron was not a demigod. Further, after talking with him, she knew that he had snuck away as an added layer of protection, so perhaps the attack was already planned, but by who? There had been a brief meeting with the War Counsel, but there was nothing concrete, so nothing could be done. Professor Dumbledore arrived immediately after breakfast, and the camp was already back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Bolan, Chiron, and the demigods were all waiting for him in the Big House.
"Oh dear," he said by way of greeting. "Did you guys just have a battle? I saw a lot of craters in the ground near the camp border."
"Yep," Bolan spoke up. "We just fought a bunch of hellhounds."
"Well then, I believe it most appropriate to begin training as soon as possible."
"That is why," Hecate said, appearing out of thin air, "I will provide each of you practice wands and a training facility. Once you are fully trained, all demigods will receive their wands in Diagon Alley prior to the start of the school year. Mr. Cooper, you are the exception; you will be given your wand now, and you can keep it. You are not under the age restriction for magic, which means you can use it freely. With that being said, I would like you to stay at camp for the protection of the demigods and the camp as a whole, so I will provide you with living quarters in the training facility. Everyone else, you are to live as you normally would. I will have all your stuff transported to your living quarters here, Mr. Cooper, so do not worry about your belongings or hotel bill; please allow me to take care of everything. Best of luck to you all!"
The goddess waved her hand without another word, then with a pop she was gone again. The soldier felt something in his pocket, and after a moment, he and the demigods all removed wands. As soon as Bolan grabbed his own, there was a sudden warmth that rushed through him. Dumbledore and Chiron led the way outside, where they could see a large building that was not there before in the center of camp, adjacent to the arena. Apparently, it was invisible to most of the kids because they were running right through it in their rush to do whatever it was they were doing at the moment, paying no attention to the behemoth. Entering the monstrous structure revealed a large lobby, equipped with a fully stocked buffet, drink cooler, and several plump recliners. To the left, the lobby turned into a narrow hallway with only two doors labeled 'Classroom' and 'Living Quarters'.
"My goodness, Mr. Cooper! You're set," Leo exclaimed as they entered the classroom.
Bolan couldn't help but smile when they walked into the open room. He nodded at Leo before turning to Chiron, who cleared his throat to speak.
"Well guys, I suppose this is where I leave you. You've got a lot to learn but do keep me in the loop so that I can start preparing your papers. Professor, do you want me to prepare something for Mr. Cooper?"
"Thank you, Chiron, but you may leave that task to me."
"OK, just wanted to make sure. Good luck guys! See you at dinner; Mr. Cooper, you are certainly welcome to join camp for meals if you so desire."
Everyone chorused a brief goodbye as Chiron rolled away, closing the door to the main entrance behind him. Professor Dumbledore shut the classroom door before waving his wand, creating desks, chairs, quills and rolls of parchment out of thin air.
"Everyone please be seated. This class will not be textbook heavy, as I am responsible for teaching you four years of material so that you will be all caught up with the other fifth years. However, I would ask that you take as many notes as you can, and the parchment will be enchanted to record everything I say for later reference. You might ask the most obvious question of why you should take notes if everything will be recorded, but I would answer by saying that whatever you write down, you will more easily be able to retain. Finally, we will also be doing a lot of practical training, especially when it comes to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Any questions?"
With no questions to answer, Dumbledore wasted no time diving into the lessons. He was right, Bolan mused as he copied information down on his parchment, there was a lot to learn, and they hadn't even begun practicing spells yet. After several hours of taking copious notes, they broke for lunch, Leo making a beeline for the buffet.
"Mr. Cooper, before you head to lunch, may I have a moment more of your time?"
"Of course, Professor Dumbledore," Bolan replied, walking up to the wizard.
Dumbledore waited for the demigods to leave before shutting the door.
"Please, come sit," he said as he walked to a desk.
Bolan took a seat across from the man. He looked calm and collected, as if he were meeting with an old friend. Still, the soldier could tell he had a lot on his mind.
"Remind me of something, will you? You are from a government agency, correct?"
Bolan took a moment to think before answering.
"No, I am not officially part of any known government agency, although I do have a friend who is a high-ranking official of the Justice Department. What I am about to share with you is something that I have never told a living soul; I have only told one person who is no longer here because he died in a firefight, and I ask that, for the moment, this be something not shared with Percy and the others."
"You have my word," Dumbledore promised.
"My name," he began, "is Mack Bolan. I work with a covert agency called Stony Man Farm. The only people to know of its existence are the President of the United States and my friend in the Justice Department. I am a soldier, and I fight terrorists outside the confines of the law, and because of that, when I do work with law enforcement, my methods are often criticized. To put it simply, I don't bother building a prosecutable case. I don't bother arresting anyone. I take them off the streets forever to make sure that they can never harm anyone ever again."
"That is a noble cause," the wizard replied. "I am very glad you told me. That puts my mind at ease for what I have been thinking about doing regarding your role in this mission. As I mentioned in class, I need to get our friends from Camp Half-Blood caught up enough so that they can meet the requirements of a fifth-year student at Hogwarts, and once they meet that requirement, Chiron and I can prepare transfer papers. In your case, you are legally allowed to use magic with no restriction because you're an adult. If you were from a government agency, that would make my proposal much more difficult to implement, but what I am thinking is that I can give you private lessons that will bring you completely up to speed in the wizarding world, and with your background, I can train you to be an Auror, which would give you the ability to fight dark wizards effectively. Auror training is usually three years in length post Hogwarts, and the field in general is extraordinarily difficult to get involved in. However, with your extensive experience in combat, that will help greatly. Further, I can get you authorized to use deadly force, and I would like to hire you as a full-time faculty member at Hogwarts. I don't have any teaching positions open, but there is always the potential option of hiring you as added security. I have been informed by some Aurors in the Order that some of them will be stationed around Hogsmeade and the school this year to Protect Harry. I am thinking we can set you up as an independent contractor of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and hire you that way. In addition, since you have the most combat experience and will probably learn advanced magical combat even quicker than the demigods, you are automatically a member of the Order of the Phoenix, which is a secret organization I founded during the First Wizarding War to fight Voldemort. What do you think?"
"Professor, I think you have put an incredible amount of thought into this. Just let me know how I can help," Bolan said.
"Excellent! Now, let's go get some lunch, shall we?"
When the two men exited the classroom and walked toward the buffet, Bolan couldn't help but laugh when he saw all the demigods with multiple plates in front of them.
"Hey! It saves us from having to get up and fill up another plate!" Annabeth cried, seeing Bolan's amused expression.
The Executioner picked up a plate and piled it high with an assortment of food staples ranging from pasta to seafood. Though he truly found it funny that the demigods were stuffing themselves to the gills, he also knew the value of eating as much as he could during a meal. In his line of work, it was rare for him to enjoy a casual meal, and it was even rarer for meals to be consumed on a regular basis. A good soldier knew to take any opportunity to eat seriously, because he never knew when the next opportunity would come around. Taking a seat between Jason and Nico, he tucked in.
"So," Nico asked through a mouth full of mashed potatoes, "what do you think?"
"About?" Bolan prompted.
"Well, you know, us, wizards, and fighting monsters. I mean, isn't all this a shock for you? I'm still shocked that wizards exist, but I wonder because you're not a demigod or a wizard. It must be mind boggling for you!"
"If I'm being honest, Nico, I really am not shocked at all. I've seen a lot in my day, and I'm not just talking jungle warfare. I've seen viruses that create zombie-like humans, I've seen drugs that control and reprogram minds, and I've not only killed people like that, but I've been in mind-controlled trances. I've been tortured, and I've seen the effects of torture. So, although I have never encountered demigods or wizards, I just don't get surprised anymore."
"Fair enough, I just couldn't help but ask, since you're a mortal I was really curious. It's no wonder you didn't react when Annabeth first explained everything! You really have quite a story, don't you?"
"I guess you could say that," Bolan replied thoughtfully.
The soldier continued to make small talk with Nico and Jason, with the others chipping in here and there when there was lapses in their own conversations. Several minutes passed before everyone was done eating, then they were back in the classroom for practical training. They first worked on basic charms, then moved on to transfiguration, potions, and various other topics. They all excelled in each topic, although Percy and a few others struggled at first with charms and potions. Defense Against the Dark Arts was the final class for the day, and Dumbledore frequently referenced their notes as he told them to copy down incantations for offensive and defensive spells for about half an hour. Next, he had everyone memorize the spells and practice the pronunciation several times before officially announcing that it was time to duel.
"I need everyone to pair up!" He proclaimed, waving his wand.
The desks and chairs disappeared, creating a fully open space. He conjured several trunks out of thin air and instructed everyone to store their notes, quills, and other weaponry inside. A final wave of his wand created matts that covered the floor. With the stage set for an all-out duel, Bolan was paired with Hazel in a corner of the room. Percy and Annabeth were directly to their right, standing a few feet apart with their wands raised. When Dumbledore gave the word, Hazel was ready, sending a stinging hex directly at the Executioner. Bolan blocked the hex with a well-executed shield charm, causing it to bounce back toward the demigod. She sidestepped, avoiding the hex before Bolan sent a stunning spell at her. She smiled as she blocked the spell, then went on the offensive again as she tried to disarm the soldier, but Bolan sent another spell at her just as she finished muttering the incantation. The two spells collided in midair, dissipating on impact.
Bolan dropped prone as to his right, a ricocheting jinx bounced off Percy's very powerful shield charm and flew in his direction. It passed over his head and hit the wall, blasting a whole the size of a basketball where it impacted. Dumbledore waved his wand and repaired the damage. In the moments the soldier was distracted, he didn't notice all nine demigods circling him, smiling as they raised their wands. The Executioner rose in a crouch, just in time to block a flash of red light Percy shot at him.
"Hey, Mr. Cooper?" Piper began sweetly. "Give me your wand, please."
Bolan had a strong impulse to obey and was halfway toward Piper with his wand extended before forcing himself to stop in his tracks and instead fire a stinging hex that struck her directly in the chest, wiping the wide grin off her face in a split second. Wasting no time, he temporarily immobilized both her and Frank with an impediment curse before stunning Nico, Will, Jason and Hazel in one fluid motion. With four of the demigods officially out of the battle, and Piper and Frank temporarily down, he had just enough time to dodge a mini fireball that Leo shot directly from his hand, extinguishing it with a water charm. Percy sent a more powerful stream of water at him, which he froze, causing the ice to shatter as it impacted the wall over his head. He muttered an incantation and thick ropes flew from the end of his wand and bound Annabeth as she tried to send another spell at him. He felt a powerful stinging in his back and regretted not taking Piper and Frank out of the fight as he barely avoided their twofold attack. Casting a powerful shield charm, he spun and stunned Frank, meeting Piper spell for spell as she went on the offensive. He immediately knew what she was doing when he saw Percy and Leo split in different directions out of the corner of his eye, trying to flank him. He reinforced his shield and sidestepped Piper's stunning spell, sending ropes in Percy's and Leo's direction. He didn't care if they bound the demigods, as he did that only to keep them distracted, if only for a moment; the ropes must have done their job, however, as they didn't attack him again. Bolan and Piper sparred for several more seconds, their wands a blur of motion as flashes of light were all that surrounded them. The duel ended dramatically when, in an attempt to disarm Bolan, Piper tried to use charmspeak to get her way. Resisting the incredibly powerful urge to obey her polite request, he turned the tables and disarmed her instead, her wand flying high over her head and landing several feet away.
"I am sure glad we're on the same side," Bolan said.
"Same here," Dumbledore added as he flicked his wand twice.
The ropes binding Annabeth, Percy, and Leo vanished, and Jason, Hazel, Frank, Nico and Will awoke with a start, standing with the help of Bolan and Dumbledore. Piper retrieved her wand, glancing at Bolan with an amazed expression.
"Mr. Cooper," she began excitedly, "you are a very strong individual. Not only did you just defeat all nine of us, but you resisted my charmspeak!"
"I bet you didn't use the full strength of it," Bolan replied. "You almost had me with that little trick!"
"No, I didn't use the full power of it, but let's face it! The fact that you can resist such power is remarkable because only extremely powerful beings or people who are aware of it can fight it. When we fought the war against Gaea, I used charmspeak to lull her back to sleep. It's even more amazing because you're a mortal; you just have a very strong will!"
"Well, to be fair, it wasn't easy! I almost gave in the first time," Bolan answered thoughtfully.
"I must say," Dumbledore chimed in, "all of you did an exceptional job! Mr. Cooper, wonderful job casting your shield charms; that is not an easy task and most adult wizards can't cast a decent one. I commend all of you demigods for your spell work as well! I think a few more days of learning, training, and fine-tuning will be all before we can start working on your papers. Keep training hard; you are dismissed! Remember to rest tonight; we start early tomorrow!"
Bolan checked the time, noting that they still had half an hour before dinner. He decided to go to the arena to train and ended up sparring Travis Stoll and a few others, as well as perfecting his archery technique. He was just finishing up his work with javelins and spears when Dumbledore appeared at his side. Glancing around, both men made sure no one was around before the wizard spoke.
"Are you good for a lesson tonight?"
"Absolutely, professor. Does after dinner work?"
"That's fine, and please, call me Albus. You'll soon be on staff at Hogwarts, and that is how we address each other; there is no need for formalities!"
"In that case, you don't have to call me Mr. Cooper either," Bolan said with a smile.
"Well, enjoy your meal, and just so you know, I'm going to give Hal a call before our lesson," the wizard replied.
The Executioner turned fully to face the man, stunned, but he was gone before he could say anything else. Not bothering to worry about it, he cleaned up the arena since he was the last one there and headed to dinner. He sat with Percy and for a while, they ate in silence, lost in thought. Eventually, Percy spoke, striking a conversation about his past experiences at camp. He told Bolan the story of how he first discovered camp a few years earlier and how he could never stay in one school for very long.
"Man, what, were you a troublemaker or something?" Bolan said, winking.
"Well, if you think that causing trouble means that I fought and killed a teacher who turned out to be a monster one year, killed some empousi disguised as cheerleaders, or battled a group of Laistrygonian Giants who turned an innocent dodgeball game in PE into a deadly match with flaming dodgeballs, then sure, I am a troublemaker," Percy said with the ghost of a smile.
Bolan was lost in thought for a moment before continuing the conversation, listening as Percy told more of his story. After a while, dinner ended, and the son of Poseidon returned to his cabin. The soldier walked back to the training facility, where he met Dumbledore in the classroom. He wasted no time teaching him a series of more complicated spells, charms, potions, and other forms of magic. He managed to master the material quickly, and where he had more trouble, Dumbledore patiently slowed the pace of the lesson and made sure he mastered that bit of magic before moving on. Several hours had passed when the exhausted warrior was dismissed for bed, his internal clock alerting him it was nearly midnight. Exiting the classroom, he retraced his steps until he found the only other door in the hall that led to his living quarters. He walked into his massive living space and shut the door behind him, taking a quick look around. The room featured a large bathroom, a walk-in closet stocked with towels, and a very spacious open area with a bed in the center. He saw his bags on top of the bed, and walking over, he thoroughly inspected all of them, ensuring all of their contents were still there and in good condition. As tired as he was, he took the time to field strip and clean his weapons, reload empty magazines, and sort through his class notes he retrieved from his trunk in the classroom before repacking the bags. That done, he got ready for bed and was about to turn off the light when he spotted a shiny object on his pillow. Picking it up, he could tell that it was a belt, and looking at his pillow again, he found a note tucked away between it and the wall. He unfolded the paper and read the note thoroughly, memorizing the details.
Hello Mr. Cooper, I'm sorry this isn't a very formal looking note. I just wanted to let you know that I have given you a utility belt that you can use to store all your battle gear in. Just wear it like a normal belt, and when you put something in it, simply stick the object into one of the pockets, and the item will disappear inside the belt. To pull something out of it, stick your hand in and think of what you want to retrieve. I have modified your weaponry to use Stygian Iron, that way you can kill monsters and mortals alike without having to keep track of what kills what; this includes your combat knife, grenades, plastic explosive, and the rounds for your sniper rifle and the machine gun hidden underneath the false bottom of the trunk of your car. You also don't need to worry about running out of ammo; the boxes are enchanted to refill, and so are your magazines should you not have time to manually reload them. The belt also has support for hip holsters, and it will blend in with anything you wear. I hope the utility belt will be helpful to you! This is Hecate signing off.
Bolan examined the belt more closely, noticing the pockets and loops before unpacking his bags again, storing his weaponry and his wand in the magically enchanted belt. He tested it out, and to his surprise it looked like a normal belt until he willed a pocket to appear, then he tried summoning his Desert Eagle. Discovering that the belt worked filled the soldier with a sense of amazement, and his final task before going to bed was to call Hal Brognola.
"Hello, Striker," the man greeted.
"Hal, it's nice to hear from you. My goodness, do I have some updates for you, pal. Sorry I woke you up, by the way."
"Go on," the Big Fed prompted. "I wasn't sleeping anyway. I need to fill you in on something as well, but let's hear your story first."
The Executioner told his longtime friend about the events of the past few days, beginning with the fight just under a mile from Half-Blood Hill. He spared no detail, pausing only when the Big Fed asked a question for clarification.
"You know, Hal, I hope you don't think I'm going crazy, but I won't blame you if you do," Bolan said once he finished his monologue, allowing himself to grin slightly.
"No," Brognola replied, "I don't think you're crazy. I received a call from Albus Dumbledore earlier today, I mean yesterday, you know what I mean. Anyway, he told me about your current ventures at Camp Half-Blood and what he wants you to do on the mission."
"Do you know him? He seemed to know you, and I also informed him about my real identity."
"Yes, he told me that as well. I have known Albus for a long time; we met at least thirty years ago. I saw him perform magic when I was on vacation in London one year, but I managed to befriend him and he got my case with the Ministry closed without any repercussions for either of us, although the only thing that would've happened is that my memories would have been erased. I've been in touch with him, but since the wizarding world has what's called the International Statute of Secrecy, I, though I was not formally instructed to, kept the information private. When you informed him of Stony Man and gave him your name, he put two and two together, and that's how he knew to call me."
"OK, that makes sense. Well, that's all the updates I have for you; as far as I know I don't believe I'll need a weapons drop, since Hecate has modified all my weaponry and explosive charges with Stygian Iron. Are there any updates from the Farm I should know about?"
"Yes, there are two things you should know. First, Albus and I talked, and I have agreed to help him with your paperwork. Before he gets you working as an independent contractor of the Auror office in Britain, we are going to make you an independent contractor of the American Auror office, that way it is more believable when you head to Hogwarts. I will email you with further instructions once you and the demigods have completed training. Second, we have found our man behind the recent attack against the police in New York. He's a man we've been watching for a while, mainly because he's known for drug and firearms trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking. His name is James Robison, and he's hiding in Colorado. I'll send you the details after you're done training, but I think he also might be behind the attack on Half-Blood Hill yesterday morning."
"Why," Bolan asked.
"Because, while Bear and his team were browsing through their usual channels, they came across a secret chat site where Robison, not even bothering to use an alias, claimed responsibility for both attacks. The site is a private server hosted on the TOR network that requires administrator approval to access, so that leads me to believe that everyone on the site are soldiers of James's private army. Oh, and by the way, just between us, he posted several pictures of when you guys fought the hellhounds. I'm the only one who could see them though; everyone else thought they were guard dogs. So, to answer your question, that's why," Brognola explained.
"It sounds like he is scoping us out," Bolan answered. "Interestingly enough, the reason the demigods are headed to Hogwarts in the first place is because Albus asserts that Voldemort has partnered with an army of monsters. Do you think there's another player in the game?"
"That's what it looks like, Striker. I will keep watch on that chat site and let you know of any other developments. In the meantime, keep doing what you're doing, and we can go from there. How long does Dumbledore think it will take to get you guys fully trained?"
"Based on everyone's progress, he believes that it will only take a few days."
"Alright, that sounds good. Let me know how it goes, because I think this is much bigger than we think."
The line clicked, indicating that the Big Fed had terminated the call on his end. The soldier plugged his phone into an outlet and left it to charge for the remainder of the night as he climbed into bed, his last thoughts before sleep took hold of him on the radical change his everlasting war was about to take.
Author's Note: My, my! Things are getting quite mysterious now, don't you think? Do you like it? Hate it? What do you think will happen next? What would you like to see? Thanks for reading, and feedback is encouraged!