Happy Thursday, gang! Like old times, isn't it? Haha.

Thanks to those of you who reviewed last chapter, and welcome all new followers :D Broke 100 followers last chapter, and hopefully I can drag on a few more as we get going.

So we're back with Annabeth this chaper. Let's get our strike team together, shall we? Most of you guessed correctly who the new character will be (if not, it'll be obvious in like paragraph 3). You guys know me so well ;)

Enjoy!

This ain't a room full of suicides / We're believers, I believe tonight

"Um… Are you sure this is the right address?"

With a frown, Annabeth re-read the slip of paper Reyna had given them that morning for at least the twelfth time. The handwriting was neat and impossible to misread—2800 Main St., Highland Park, Detroit. She lifted her head and scanned the side of the building, on which the words 2800 MAIN STREET were hung in black iron shapes.

"The cab driver said this is the only Main Street in Highland Park," she replied with an admissive lift of her shoulder.

Thalia sighed shortly. "But why would Reyna send us to an auto shop? Besides, the place closed an hour ago. Look at the sign."

Annabeth stepped up beside Thalia, turning her head to either side and briefly inspecting the building. It was a two-story edifice that sat on the corner of Ninth and Main and spanned a good chunk of the block toward downtown. The front entrance was near the street corner, and to its left was a line of six garage entrances, though at the moment all of them were closed and barred. On the left end of the building was a driveway leading around to the back. Above the garage doors, the words "The Forge, Auto Repair and Customization" were emblazoned in fiery red, orange, and black lettering.

As she neared, Annabeth noticed that Thalia had been right—the shop's weekday hours were 9:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. Despite that, though, through the industrial glass door and surrounding windows she could see lights on inside.

"I don't know, but somebody's still here," she concluded. "Might as well try the door, right?" Thalia tilted her head apprehensively and Annabeth stepped past her, grabbing the silver door handle. It pulled open with little force, despite being after hours, so after exchanging a shrug with Thalia she led the way inside. As the door swung closed again, a high-pitched ding sounded in announcement of their presence.

Inside was an empty sitting area. Across from the door was the front desk, on which sat a square computer screen and two registers, among other random clutter and sheets of paper. The two corner walls were lined with black leather sofas and armchairs, dotted in between with tables bearing small stacks of newspapers and magazines. From the garage, Annabeth could hear the sounds of humming machinery.

"Shop's closed, ladies," a sudden voice interrupted, and Annabeth and Thalia jumped and turned around to see a man leaning on the front counter, evidently having just emerged through the open doorway behind it. He was about her age, maybe a little younger, dressed in dark gray pants and a cropped-neck T-shirt that had clearly once been white but was dotted with motor oil stains. He grinned at them and added, "But if you come back tomorrow, I'd be more than happy to personally give you any help you need."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, a little amused by the obvious but not too impolite come-on.

"Actually," Thalia said in a slightly tight voice, sounding annoyed, "we're supposed to meet a friend here tonight. Reyna Ramírez-Arellano?"

Annabeth fully expected the guy to scoff at them and send them away, so she was surprised when he raised his eyebrows and stood up straight, saying, "Oh, you're meeting Reyna here? In that case, come on back." He jerked his head toward the doorway behind the counter, then glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "She just got off work—should be here in under ten."

He turned and disappeared through the doorway and Annabeth exchanged a glance with Thalia before following him. Predictably, it led into the high-ceilinged garage, inside which a number of cars were waiting to be worked on—some on raised platforms, some resting on the ground.

"Take a seat over there," the mechanic told them, waving an arm at a row of cushioned metal chairs against the right wall. He strode over to a dark blue Cruze with its hood propped open and leaned under it, hands messing with something on the engine panel.

As she and Thalia slid their coats off and took his advice to sit down to wait, Annabeth thought back on what Reyna had hurriedly told them before leaving for work that morning. "Hey," she said in a low voice despite the noisy garage, leaning closer to Thalia. "Reyna said to come here because she wanted us to meet her boyfriend, right? Think that's him?"

"No way," Thalia replied at once, watching the mechanic with her arms crossed.

"Why not?"

"Because I know Reyna," Thalia said confidently. "And this guy is not her type. Trust me."

Annabeth chewed her lip, eyes on the mechanic as he pulled a lug wrench from the leather tool belt around his waist and flipped it in his hand, ducking back under the hood of the Cruze. He was a few inches taller than Annabeth, probably just south of six feet, and had a thin build. His sleeves were rolled up over his shoulders to show lean, muscled arms—unsurprising, given his profession. He looked to be some manner of Latino nationality, with swarthy skin and a mess of dark, curly hair, and his features were just a bit pointed like an elf's.

"How do you know?" she asked Thalia. "We barely met him. Besides, he's cute and all."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Sure, but Reyna isn't all about looks. She's serious and hardworking—always has been. And… you know, clean. And this guy…" She shook her head. "I don't know, I'm just getting a different vibe."

Annabeth lifted a shoulder and leaned back in her chair. Barely two more minutes had passed before a door at the back of the garage opened with a rush of cold wind and Reyna strode in, pulling her hood down and shaking out her long braid. As she pushed the door shut, she turned and said, "Good, you guys made it." Thalia leaned forward and Annabeth stood up as Reyna walked up to them and tossed her coat and duffel bag on an empty chair, then turned and shot a pointed look at the mechanic, who was still working. "Leo, would you get your head out of that car?" she said flatly. She placed her hands on her hips and started toward him with a sigh, prompting Annabeth to realize that Thalia was probably right about them.

That is, until the mechanic stood and turned around with an amused grin, saying, "Gee, nice to see you too, Reyna. Long day?" and her first response was to shake her head, smile, and lean up to press a brief kiss to his lips.

As Thalia stood up quickly, eyebrows drawing together very tightly in surprise, Reyna let go of the mechanic and said to him, "You're the one who only comes home once every three or four days."

"Hey, this place doesn't run itself."

"Yeah, yeah." Reyna turned to the others and said, "This is Thalia, a friend of mine from high school. And that's Annabeth. Guys, this is Leo."

Leo smiled and opened his mouth, halting when Thalia interrupted, "Wait, you're dating this guy?"

Reyna cocked her head to the side and Leo's grin angled to a bewildered frown. He glanced at Reyna and asked, "Meaning… what, exactly?"

When Reyna raised her eyebrows inquisitively in kind, Thalia shook her head and backtracked, "No, nothing, I just… So… you said he can help us, right?"

Annabeth hid a smile at the exchange as Reyna answered, "Yeah, I think so. I just wanted you to try before going anywhere else."

"What, you guys got car trouble?" Leo said, snatching a dirty rag from the table nearby and wiping the grease from his hands. "Then you're at the right place. Though I hope Reyna didn't promise you a free ride or anything just 'cause you got history. I am tryin' to run a business here."

"Reyna, I don't know about this," Annabeth admitted. It was true they needed transportation, but she didn't want to involve anyone more than absolutely necessary. "We appreciate the thought, but I'm sure we can find a car from… a friend." She exchanged a glance with Thalia, who nodded her understanding.

"No, I mean—" Reyna said quickly, "Leo's a freelance arms dealer."

Annabeth's eyebrows shot up. Well, that was a bit more relevant and potentially helpful.

Leo cringed and rounded on his girlfriend. "What the hell?" he demanded. "That's not information I just hand out like carnival balloons. They could be cops for all I know." With an odd look, he turned to Annabeth and Thalia. "In which case, might I add, Reyna here has a fantastic and overactive imagination—and she's also a pathological liar."

"Calm down, Leo," Reyna said with slight exasperation. "This is about Olympus."

Instantly the look of false amusement vanished from his face, replaced with one of wide-eyed anger. "What?" he growled, glaring at the two of them and causing Annabeth to tense in surprise.

"We're not with Olympus," she explained at once, realizing that some clarification was in order. She glanced sideways at Thalia. "Well—we're sort of… related to them, but we aren't—well, with them, exactly…"

Leo fixed her with an expression somewhere between annoyed and confused. "You lost me."

Rolling her eyes, Thalia stepped forward and said matter-of-factly, "The leader of Olympus is my father."

"What?" Leo repeated, though this time he arched an eyebrow in alarm. "Zeus is your father?"

"You know him?"

"Oh, yeah," he said bitterly, his expression hardening. "We go way back. So if he's your father, that means you are part of Olympus, aren't you?"

"I was," Thalia admitted. "I left when I was eighteen. Wanted my own life, you know? Not the one he had planned for me. So I moved to London with my band and I never saw him again. I was content to let it stay that way. But dear old dad, well… he had to go and ruin it."

Together, Thalia and Annabeth explained, just like they did to Reyna that morning, what they were planning and why. They recounted briefly what had happened in New York, how Annabeth had become involved, why they'd left the country, how they'd been attacked a few nights ago, and their decision to go after Ezekiel Grace himself. As they talked, Leo reached into his tool belt and produced a black Zippo lighter, which he absently started flicking on and off, his dark eyes fixed on the flame as he listened to their story.

"So now you need wheels and firepower to bring the big guy to his knees, right?" he summed up once they'd concluded. Annabeth nodded in affirmation, waiting apprehensively as he stared at his lighter, jaw sliding back and forth in thought. "Well, if you guys are going after Zeus," he said, snapping the lighter shut, "I want in."

Annabeth exchanged a relieved look with Thalia. "So you'll help us?"

Leo grinned, and Annabeth thought she noticed a particularly mischievous gleam in his eyes. "What's mine is yours. But on one condition—I'm going with you."

"Are you sure about that?" Annabeth asked seriously. "It's gonna be dangerous. I mean really dangerous. We're talking about the leader of Olympus."

"You think I don't get that?" he challenged. "I'm not just a mechanic, you know. I can handle myself."

He seemed confident and serious, and if Annabeth was honest they could use the extra manpower. She wondered what history Leo had with Zeke that would drive him to make such a decision, but at the same time she'd only just met him and wasn't sure it was her place to ask. She was momentarily distracted, though, when he snapped his lighter open and closed again with a smirk and the movement made something near his neck catch her eye—as his shoulder shifted, she noticed a tattoo on his right collarbone, three small, black circles arranged in a triangular formation.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "That's a Three Dots tattoo," she said, raising a finger toward it. She'd learned about it in agency training—the Three Dots tattoo was a mark commonly used by incarcerated Hispanic gangs. "You were in prison."

Leo's smirk vanished. "Yeah," he said dully. He nodded at Thalia and added, "Thanks to Daddy Dearest."

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked, tilting her head to the side.

Leo shook his head, but before he could reply Reyna placed a hand on his arm and said seriously, "They told you what happened to them."

With a short sigh, he shrugged and admitted, "Fair point. You guys really wanna know?"

"If you're gonna come with us and expect us to trust you," Annabeth said, "it would help to understand your motivation."

"Okay, okay," he conceded, leaning back against the open hood of the car behind him. "Gather 'round, kids. It's story time."

So Annabeth and Thalia sat back down and listened as Leo told them his story from the beginning. According to him, he'd always been good with hardware—his mother had owned a machine shop a while back and when he was a kid he'd hung around there almost constantly. Then when he was eight, his mother was killed in a shop accident and he'd gone into foster care. He'd worked on cars part-time in junior high and high school, helping out at different repair shops, and had gotten involved in weapon dealing when he was sixteen, thanks to a referral from his not-so-upstanding second employer. After graduation, he'd opened an auto shop in Houston, Texas, where he'd lived for most of his life, and also used it as a cover for his other business (the shop had also, as Reyna added, been how the two of them had met). As his weapons work had progressed and earned him more and more clients, he'd eventually caught the eye of Olympus. He sold to them a few times—small orders, nothing too complicated. Until once, when he was nineteen and Zeus contacted him to make a deal, placing a particularly large and advanced order for a stock of customized sniper-scope M18 autorifles. When the time of the exchange came, Zeus evidently decided to pay Leo for his services in a non-monetary way—by framing him for a crime he didn't commit. That same night, Zeus's exchange team had intercepted a bank transfer vehicle and made off with almost three hundred thousand dollars. It was obvious that the leader of Olympus had been planning to have Leo take the fall from the start, because they'd had the getaway car registered in his name. The police caught him that night, and he was convicted as an accomplice to grand theft and sentenced to two years in prison. When he got out, he and Reyna moved to Detroit with the money she'd kept safe for him and he'd been able to open his new shop, the one Annabeth and Thalia were still sitting in. And, eventually, he'd also picked up with his dealing business as well—which, Annabeth couldn't help but think, pretty clearly explained the multitude of expensive possessions in their house.

"He tricked me," Leo concluded in a low voice, flicking his lighter with a bit more force than was necessary. "That greedy, egotistical jackass framed me for something I didn't do, just because he wasn't in the mood to drop some cash. If he'd gotten me caught for dealing, then hey—I'd'a been pissed, but at least that was something I did. But going to jail for no reason other than some selfish jerk deciding not to pony up—I know he's your dad and all, but somebody like him should not have the kind of power he has. Way too many people get stepped on and shoved aside thanks to his insane power trip."

"I'm not arguing with you," Thalia said grimly. "Heck, this whole thing was my idea. I'm not about to stick up for him just because we share some DNA strands. There's no explaining what he's done—and there's no excuse for it, either."

"I wasn't planning to get him back," Leo told them, standing up straight and folding his arms. "I'm not stupid enough to go after Olympus on my own. But you guys coming here for help—that's gotta be some kind of sign. I've been avoiding Olympus for long enough. If you're out to make 'em pay, I'm with you. One-thousand-percent."

"Then I guess you're in," Annabeth decided. Judging by his story and the way he'd told it, he had just as much reason and desire to get back at Zeke as she and Thalia did. Assuming he meant what he said about being able to take care of himself, he'd be a welcome addition to the team.

"Great," Leo said with a contagious grin that made Annabeth unconsciously smile as well. "Most of my stuff's in a warehouse I've got just outside Highland Park."

"We should make a stop at home before we get going, too," Reyna added. "For some extra supplies."

"'We'?" Thalia repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Reyna stared back at her friend unflinchingly. "Yes, 'we'. When Zeus hurt Leo, he hurt me, too. What he did could've ruined both our lives. And I'm not sitting by while all of you hunt him down. I'm going with you."

Even though Annabeth barely knew Reyna, even she could tell that she wasn't the type of person to be argued with. Not that she was entirely sure she wanted to. This was starting to look like a pretty promising setup—she and Thalia were sure to benefit from having a weapons and mechanics expert and a martial arts instructor alongside them.

"Awesome," Leo said. "So we swing by the house, hit my storehouse, and head to… Wait, where exactly are we going?"

Annabeth glanced inquisitively at Thalia, not knowing the answer to that question. "Chicago," Thalia told them. "We need to get to Abraham Skye, the CEO of United Airlines. They own a cluster of floors in the Willis Tower."

"We have to get to the CEO of United Airlines?" Annabeth repeated, surprised. That didn't exactly sound easy. "Why?"

"Because," Thalia said calmly, "Abraham Skye is an alias—an alias for the guy we're after. United's CEO is actually Ezekiel Grace."

Alright, it's almost go-time! This seems so quick, but I promise there are actually gonna be 20 chapters again. I've still got a lot of wackiness up my sleeve. Heh heh.

So, review for me? Pretty please? Back with Percy again next chapter, which will be up sometime next week, depending on my mood and how many reviews I get.

Thanks, guys! Later days!

-oMM