"Is everyone here?" the blonde woman asked. She tied her hair back in a ponytail as she sat down in front of a large table.
"We're just waiting on Piper" replied the man sitting on a chair near the back of the room. The blonde woman turned around to look at the man. The little scar on his lip disappeared as he smiled at her in greeting.
"It's okay, she'll catch on when she gets here," she said nodding back. She then returned her gaze to the screen in front of them.
"Catch on to what exactly? What's this all about Annabeth?"
That was Frank Zhang. Former soldier with a long family history in the military. He had quit the military after his mother had died in the battlefield, and travelled the world. During his travel he had studied and learnt a myriad of different fighting techniques, earning him a reputation as a jack of all (combat) trades and master of...well, everything.
Frank had asked the question that was on all of their minds. Normally when the crew did jobs they worked in smaller subgroups depending on what Annabeth decided was the best combination of skills for that particular job. It was unheard of for her to have called all of them to meet up for a job debriefing.
She ignored Frank's question.
"Alright Hazel, start." Annabeth Chase laced her fingers together and leaned her chin on them.
Hazel nodded at Leo, who turned on the projector. "Our mark this time is..." she paused for dramatic effect. "The Athena Parthenos."
The room was silent.
"You have got to be joking."
They all looked at Frank, who had spoken.
"The Arthena Parthenos? Seriously?" He looked at the crew in disbelief. "The Greek statue that's been missing for hundreds of years? Everyone's heard of it but no one has ever come close to finding it ever since it went missing. We're going after that?"
"Yeah yeah, we all know the story," Leo drawled, "Come on Beast Boy! A treasure that no one's ever even had a whiff of in a couple hundred years, highly likely death for most of us, not to mention having to shift a giant statue through customs without every single criminal or government trying to steal it from us...what more could a guy ask for?"
He grinned wickedly at Frank who glared back and muttered, "I hate it when you call me that."
"What would you prefer I call you the Hulk? After the way you charged those goons on our last job I've been holding back on waving a red blanket in your face and yelling 'Toro!'"
Frank growled and started to stand up when Annabeth put her hand up in front of him. He sat back down and kept scowling at Leo.
"Valdez, can it" she ordered.
Leo had a tendency to get out of hand, but he respected Annabeth and she recognised his usefulness. While having ADHD may have frustrated most, Leo relished in the burst of energy and quick thinking. He'd learnt at a young age to utilise his ADHD to give him the edge on what he did best. Hacking. His fingers flew a mile a minute across a keyboard, sometimes several keyboards. His mind moved faster than the average computer and that, along with his natural gift for trouble making, was what made him the best hacker Annabeth knew. Leo had hacked into the Pentagon when he was twelve.
"Alright... well, back to our big, not so fat, Greek lady. The Athena Parthenos, used to be in Athens, disappeared several times after the city was looted, yada yada. Hazel here," the hacker said, winking at the girl, "has been doing some research after our wise leader found some new information for us."
Hazel continued the story. "One of the stories about the disappearance of the Parthenos is that the Romans took it as a warning to the Greeks and hid it away so that no one could find it. Well, an informant of Annabeth's found a clue in Rome."
Leo pressed a button and the image of an old silver coin appeared on the screen.
"It's called the Mark of Athena." Hazel explained, "Several of these have been found over the past couple of centuries, but they've been damaged or lost. This is the first one that's been found in almost its original condition. The owl on this side of the coin is a symbol of Athena, and the other side has what seems to be some sort of engraving. I've had Leo cross-reference it with all types of codes, hieroglyphics, algorithms, but nothings come up so far."
Annabeth stared hard at the image on the screen.
"Valdez, zoom in on that part of the engraving there" she said, narrowing her eyes. She continued to look at the screen in silence.
"Alright...now zoom out again."
Again, silence and staring.
Leo wanted to say something, but he knew better than to interrupt Annabeth when she was thinking. The way her grey eyes hardened when she had her thinking process interrupted reminded him of storm clouds on a rainy day, and he hated the damp.
"Grace, you have contacts in Rome don't you?" Annabeth turned to the blonde man who had a scar on his lip.
Jason Grace. Former Black Ops soldier turned freelance bodyguard. During his time in the army he'd gained numerous contacts and an incredible reputation as a combat specialist, similar to Frank. His reputation had continued to grow after he quit the army and had taken up freelancing as an elite bodyguard for whoever paid the highest price. He had a particular talent for piloting any type of aircraft, a skill that had proven extremely useful in numerous jobs that required an unexpectedly quick getaway.
Jason looked at Annabeth quizzically. "Yeah, from back when I was in the military. Served with the Italian Air Force for a couple years. Why?"
"I know that look Wise Girl, what are you thinking?"
Annabeth raised an eyebrow, her grey eyes meeting with sea green ones belonging to the man sitting next to her. Those eyes always seemed to have a mischievous look in them.
Those eyes belonged to one Percy Jackson, Annabeth's long time partner in crime. He grinned at her as he folded his arms, leaning back in his seat. They kept staring at each other until Annabeth let her lip curl slightly. Very slightly. It was hard for her to be angry with Percy; they'd met in the foster care system when they were twelve, had run away together, and had been running ever since. She provided the brains of the operation planning their small crimes and learning the tricks of the trade, while he had provided the muscle. He had also provided the humour that had kept their spirits afloat when things took darker turns in their lives. She trusted him with her life.
Annabeth looked back at her team, and this time let her lips turn into a sly grin.
"That engraving isn't a code or a clue. It's a map."
"A map? How are those lines and dots a map?" Frank asked.
"It's alright, never mind the details. I'll explain late because that map is no good until we know what it's a map of. That's why I need you to make some calls Grace." Annabeth leaned back into her chair.
"Wait, so that's it? We don't know what this is a map of but we're just gonna go after this thing anyways?" Frank said.
"I agree with Frank, this is a big risk Annabeth."
Everyone turned to look at the woman who had just walked into the room. It was hard not to. There was something about Piper's voice that made people listen to her. That's what made her such a good grifter. That, and her amazingly good looks. Piper had a way of making anything look good. She walked over to where Jason was sitting and plopped herself down on the arm of his chair, ignoring the slight flush in his cheeks. Her handbag dropped to the floor. It was designer, which meant that it was either stolen, bought with stolen money, or given to her by some foreign dignitary who had probably never realised that he had been conned. The fact that the bag was designer also meant that Piper had just come back from a job. She normally down played her looks in order to avoid drawing attention. She'd made more than a few enemies from her occupation as a grifter who specialised in art theft.
While Annabeth was all brains and planning out how the operations worked, she wasn't so good at the jobs that needed someone to flirt and win a stranger's confidence. She used to have Percy do that, but it rarely worked. He was good looking, though she'd never tell him that, but he also had a tendency to get on people's nerves with snarky comments. Those he never seemed to be able to keep from falling out of his mouth. Piper was an incredible asset to the crew.
"You know me, I've been chasing down artwork and artefacts for years, the Athena Parthenos included. I thought I found it twelve years ago in France, and then five years after that in Botswana." Piper sighed, looking at the image of the coin on the screen.
Jason spoke up. "Five years ago in Botswana huh... Did you happen to be working near a movie set by any chance?"
Piper smiled prettily at the blue-eyed man. "Perhaps... Did you happen to be guarding a certain movie star at the time?"
Jason smiled back slowly and replied, "I thought I recognised you."
"Anything else you'd like to share with the class Grace, or is this a private story telling?" said Percy innocently. Jason blushed slightly, and cleared his throat. "Well uh, if something as big as the Arthena Parthenos has come up then we can't be the only ones to know about it. We're going to run into other people who are after it too."
"Nice save Jason," said Leo grinning at the flushed man, "and yes, we're not the only ones with this intel. Several other agencies, private collectors, and crews like us are preparing to go after it, but the one that we need to watch out for the most is this one."
"They're called the Titans. Big group with international connections. Arson, weapons, drugs, money laundering, ay crime you can think of, they have a part in it." Hazel explained.
"Yeah, Annabeth and I had a run in with them a while back" Percy commented. He leaned forward in his seat to get a better look at the information on the screen.
"So it looks like they have a new boss in charge, some lady who calls herself Gaia. Never heard of her before, but rumour has it that she's really nasty. Been waiting in the shadows orchestrating stuff for a long time before seizing control of the entire organisation. She knows how to bide her time and that's what makes her dangerous. Patient enough to wait no matter how long it takes if it means sealing the deal." Leo pressed a key and a blurred image of a woman appeared on the screen. "This is the best image I could get of her. She's real thorough in keeping her identity a secret, hides underground a lot. Though if she's going around calling herself Mother Nature, I say she's better off being called Dirt Face."
"Alright guys." The crew straightened up hearing the determination in Annabeth's voice.
"I've got a good feeling about this one. My information comes from a good source and if we pull off something as big as this we'll be set. No more running, no more hiding. You could even buy that Mediterranean island you've always dreamed of with your cut Valdez. I'm calling it, but if any of you don't feel up to it, I understand. No hard feelings, we'll take up another job." She looked at each member of the crew in the eye as she spoke.
"You know I've never turned down a chance to cause a little trouble with you Wise Girl." That was Percy, of course.
"You'll need me to dig up more information about the Parthenos" said Hazel. Annabeth had been a little wary of the young girl being part of the crew at first. Her heart was in the right place, but it was hard for Annabeth to condone a girl as young as her to take up a life of crime. Hazel had found her place on the team by finding nuggets of information that had proven worth their weight in gold on jobs. The girl also had an uncanny ability for spotting forgeries, particularly ones made of precious metals or jewels. Percy had also vouched for Hazel, as he'd been the senior member in charge of the small group he ran with Hazel and Frank for the girl's probationary period.
Annabeth looked at Jason. He had been staring at his hands after Leo had poked fun at him for his flirtations with Piper. The blonde man felt her eyes on him and looked up, staring straight back without blinking. That was the thing about Jason Grace - he was reliable and unflinching in the face of anything.
"My contacts will be necessary for this operation to work. Without them it'd take too long for you to set up a network and I'm not letting you go in blind. In fact, the Hunters might know something, I could call Thalia" he offered.
She nodded. Annabeth and Percy had worked with Thalia back in the day, before the older woman had joined an elite, all-female group of retrieval experts. Thalia had offered for Annabeth to join, but she had refused. Someone had to look after Percy.
Piper twiddled with a braid in her hair before she spoke up and said, "Well I know that you're all hopeless at anything that needs a delicate touch. Someone of my expertise will be necessary for a job like this. I'm in."
Frank stood up, crossing his hefty arms. "You're gonna need someone to protect you all. No offence Jason."
"None taken buddy." Jason did have years of experience in the military, and more as a freelance bodyguard after he decided the soldier gig wasn't for him, but even he didn't want to cross Frank when the guy got angry. Leo was right; the guy was a beast.
"Well, since it seems you're all bent on getting killed for some shiny statue, I might as well join you! Besides, you wouldn't get far without me to deal with any security systems and databases you might come across. Actually, I have some new things I've been tinkering with that might help!" said Leo excitedly.
The whole group winced slightly. Leo's little gadgets usually worked, but you could never shake off the feeling that they might explode in your face.
Annabeth stood up. "Alright, looks like we're heading to Rome. Best place to start is the beginning. Grace, call up your contacts, I want information as soon as we land. Piper, pack whatever you think you'll need to charm some Italians. Make sure you being enough clothes this time Frank. Valdez, I need tickets and a base of operations set up, as quickly as possible."
The curly haired man grinned impishly at her. "Oh I can do better than that. One of the things I've been tinkering with is...this!"
Frank was the first to speak.
"You've been working on a plane? Is that...is that dragon on the tail?"
"Yeah!" Leo exclaimed, "Cool right? You guys'll love it. Private rooms for all of you, mini bar, garage, and the engine room is sweet."
"Uh, I don't do so good with planes," said Percy looking concerned. Jason on the other hand, was silently staring at the image on the screen, a glimmer of excitement in his eye. He was muttering something about engine power and aerodynamics to himself.
"Don't worry, all taken care of cause this baby isn't just a plane. Just in case it'd be best to stay out of the air, it can also retract the wings and wheels to turn into a first-rate ship," replied Leo who flipped a couple of switches and displayed an animated video of the plane hitting the ocean to transform into a ship.
"The plane is a ship?" Frank said in disbelief.
"I know big guy, hard to believe, but that's just how things work in Leo World." Leo earned another scowl from Frank for that comment. "Haven't named it yet, but I'm thinking the Argo II might be appropriate considering the whole Greek theme to this operation," he continued.
"I like it," Annabeth said. "One more thing though. Hazel, I need you to contact Nico."
The younger girl's face brightened, which was noticeable in comparison to the looks being exchanged by the other members of the crew. Annabeth knew that the others didn't feel comfortable around Hazel's stepbrother, but they needed all the help they could get for a job this big. Di Angelo's skills - his uncanny way of melting into shadows and showing up without a sound – made him one of the best thieves out there. Nico normally worked alone, but Annabeth knew he'd help out if his sister asked. He was the one who introduced her to the group before slipping away after all, and he owed Annabeth for taking Hazel under her wing.
She looked around the room, waiting for someone to object, but they all knew better than to argue with Annabeth. After all, she always knew what the smartest thing to do was."Well," she continued, "since we all know the plan, go prepare what you need for the job now. We leave first thing tomorrow morning." The crew knew a dismissal when they heard one. They all started packing up to leave, while Percy sidled up to Annabeth.
"You sure you know what you're doing Wise Girl?" he whispered.
"Are you really asking me that Seaweed Brain?" she whispered back. Percy raised an eyebrow at her for using the childhood nickname she'd given him after discovering his love for the ocean. Well, she also started calling him that after he'd messed up on one of their first jobs and ended up falling into an aquarium that the mark owned.
"I trust you. Always have, always will" he replied, turning to look at the crew exiting their base.
Annabeth looked up at him, staring thoughtfully at his profile. Percy glanced back at her after noticing her eyes on him. "Something on my face?" he asked teasingly.
"Just the usual dumb look, nothing out of the ordinary" she retorted, putting on her Yankees baseball cap. "Come on Seaweed Brain, we've got a statue to steal."