Hi, gang! Happy Hump Day. Nice long chapter for you today.

Thanks as always for reading. Enjoy!

Hey young blood / Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?
I'm gonna change you like a remix / Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Percy was worried.

That wasn't anything new, of course. He'd spent a debilitating amount of time lately dwelling on problems and fears, letting them exhaust his brainpower to the extent that few other emotions were physically possible anymore. But this time was different.

It was true that he'd been waiting to hear from Annabeth, but now that she'd finally called he had to admit part of him wished she hadn't. At least not that morning, early in what would turn out a very important day for the success of the organization's crusade against the CIA. Her news wasn't good—none of her team had been hurt, which was heartening, but they'd lost Duke Atlas's trail. She suspected he was headed back to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, which was distressing enough. Percy was further alarmed, though, to hear that she didn't intend to give up the chase yet—for whatever reason, she had it in her head that the next logical thing to do would be to break into CIA HQ.

For a second, he'd thought she'd completely lost touch with reality. He was all for a chance for revenge against Kronos's organization—especially with his father's condition still looming over his head like a storm cloud—but as Grover had said, an immediate counterattack would likely only end in disaster. Still, Annabeth had promised that she had something of a plan, and judging by her tone of voice she'd sounded completely sane when she'd said it. Thankfully, she seemed to have already decided not to head off without first coming home and discussing the operation, which did provide some consolation. She, Piper, and Reyna were flying into Chicago to meet with him that afternoon.

Unfortunately for his nerves, however, theirs wasn't his only meeting that day—wasn't even his first. No, before he could hear how plausible or life-threatening Annabeth's plan was, he had to try not to dwell on it while he met with Jason Sharpe, the man who was apparently trying to overthrow him from within the organization. On the one hand, it was a good sign that Sharpe had agreed to see him so quickly. On the other, it would've been nice to clear things up with Annabeth before focusing on internal problems.

A knock on the door of Percy's borrowed office in Chicago jolted him out of his absent reverie and brought his focus speeding back to the present. He stood from where he'd been leaning on the edge of his desk and straightened the tie beneath his shirt collar, feeling rather strangled by both fabric and nerves.

One thing at a time, he repeated firmly to himself as he steeled his expression, walked across the room, and pulled open the door.

Waiting in the hall was a trio of men in business suits, all with rigid posture and even more rigid facial features. Their ages spanned what looked like three fully separate generations—the one in the middle was about Percy's age; the rightmost appeared to be middle-aged, maybe mid-forties; and the leftmost had to be at least sixty-five years old. The immediate effect was a little strange.

"Percy Jackson?" the middle man greeted him in a tone perfectly light and emotionless. He extended a steady hand and offered his name in return: "Jason Sharpe."

"Nice to meet you," Percy replied, matching his visitor's empty inflection and accepting his proffered handshake while taking quick and careful note of his appearance. Sharpe was maybe two inches taller than he was (an observation which he tried not to expend irritation on) and noticeably broader-shouldered, with square, angular facial lines, a clean-shaven jaw, naturally-highlighted blond hair cut short and neat, and calculative, wide-set eyes so bright blue they barely appeared real. Somehow, the guy looked more like a cover shot of GQ than a potential crime lord, which helped to dull the threat of his supposed claim a considerable amount.

Percy stepped sideways to clear the doorway and said politely, "Come on in."

The oldest man started forward but was barred at once by the arm his boss held out before him.

"You two wait out here," Sharpe ordered his companions calmly.

The elder on his right frowned and protested, "But sir, we're—"

"—Not part of this discussion," Sharpe interrupted, sparing the man a sideways glance. "It won't take long. There was a sitting room down the hall—go relax for a bit."

The two men exchanged disgruntled glances behind their superior's back, but neither challenged their instructions. Percy felt a slight frown twitch his features as United's CFO strode past him into the office, and as he closed the door on the two silent men he took note of the warning bells sounding in his head. That had certainly been unusual.

The surprises weren't quite done, though. He turned to face his visitor and opened his mouth, but Sharpe silenced him by holding up a hand, blue eyes staring past him at the closed office door. Perturbed, Percy followed his gaze with narrowed eyes. What was up with this guy?

When the sound of footsteps had retreated down the hall, Sharpe released his breath in an aggravated sort of sigh and dropped his shoulders, his pin-straight posture drooping instantaneously. "Sorry about that," he said, and Percy was slightly taken aback by how different his voice suddenly sounded—tired and dry, no longer light and stoic. "I told them I didn't need an escort, but for a warmongering support team they can't listen worth a damn."

"Uh…" Percy muttered blankly, unable to think of a better response. His first impression of his challenger had suggested that this would be a no-nonsense, all-business kind of meeting. Had that just been an act? Or was this the act? Was this guy trying to trick him?

When Sharpe reached up to unbutton his suit jacket, Percy's mind snapped back to attention. If the guy was looking for a fight, he wasn't about to let himself be caught off guard. Stepping sideways across the office toward his desk—which had a firearm stashed in the middle right drawer—he said, "Look, Mr. Sharpe, you and me—"

"Jason," the other cut him off, rolling his eyes. "I'm sick of hearing 'Mr. Sharpe'."

Percy had reached his desk, but rather than step around it he froze, staring at his visitor. "Jason," he corrected himself uncertainly. The guy had removed his suit jacket, but beneath it he wore no weapon holster, and his arms didn't seem tensed to start throwing punches. Percy breathed out shortly in mild irritation and asked pointedly, "What exactly is this?"

Jason paused in the action of folding his jacket over his arm and looked up with a frown, probably sensing the suspicion in Percy's voice. The two locked eyes for a long and silent few seconds before Jason nodded and said, "Okay, first of all… I owe you an apology."

Percy blinked. "What?"

"This whole 'secret uprising' thing was not my idea," Jason explained without pretext. So they were skipping formalities, heading right to the matter at hand. Why not? "I didn't even know the company board was trying to gather external support until just recently."

"Wait… What?" Percy repeated, successfully caught off guard despite his determination to avoid being so. It was technically true that Brunner had spoken of being approached by one of the CFO's subordinates rather than the man himself, but logically Percy had assumed the order to do so had come direct.

"I don't mean to be blunt, I just want to get this cleared up as soon as possible. The truth is, they went behind my back with this and lied to people about it," Jason went on, an edge of residual frustration hardening his voice and creasing his brow. "Trust me or not, but if it'd been up to me, this wouldn't be happening. Especially not now."

Percy rotated his jaw in thought, unsure whether or not to believe the stranger. "So… Zeke didn't name you his personal heir."

Jason tilted his head to the side, lifting a shoulder. "I didn't say that," he replied with an air of reluctance. Percy raised his eyebrows expectantly and Jason added, "It's kind of a long story. That part is true enough, though."

Percy folded his arms. "I've got time. Let's hear it."

"Alright, if you say so." Jason set his jacket on the edge of Percy's desk before diving into an account of his history with the former Don of Olympus.

Jason Sharpe had first met Ezekiel Grace his senior year of college, when he'd interned at United Airways for a semester and a half as a floating personal executive assistant. During that time, he'd accompanied the top brass on various meetings and business trips, becoming very familiar with the company's inner workings. He'd been ignorant of their criminal side, however, until graduation and the subsequent end of his internship, when Zeke had personally met with him and offered him a choice. He could take the glowing recommendation the CEO had written him and leave in search of a different job, or he could stay at United and become a full-time employee. The only stipulation—he would have to stay for life. Zeke didn't tell him why, but he promised a high-level position and a starting pay grade that would make any first-year graduate's head spin. He saw potential in the intern, he'd said, and he had a mind to see more fully what he could bring to the company. After a few days of thinking it over, Jason had decided to remain with United, and Zeke had rewarded him with not only an executive title and a six-figure salary, but also the startling news that he'd just become a member of the country's largest organized crime syndicate.

It had taken Jason some time to accept this information. He'd come from a rather strict background—his parents had been wealthy, societal types who believed in a strong upbringing, which resulted in his spending most of his childhood in a boarding school hundreds of miles from their home in San Francisco. All throughout that time he'd been surrounded by people who operated under the principle that a single toe out of line was grounds for immediate disciplinary action, sometimes on extreme levels. He'd been orphaned at age eighteen when a car accident had claimed the lives of both his parents, and suddenly being forced to make his own way in life had only stressed harder upon him the need for success. All his life, he'd worked hard to keep his record and his reputation spotless—he hadn't even a parking ticket to his name. And yet somehow his tireless work ethic had resulted in his getting hired by the most influential crime lord in the United States. Despite any misgivings, though, he'd made a promise to Zeke—an agreement to remain with the company for life. He knew there'd be no getting out of it, not unless he wanted all of Olympus coming after him. So all he had left to do was accept it.

And accept it he had. He'd quickly learned that there was a lot more to organized crime than the actual crime. It was a business, just like United Air, just like any other legitimate corporation. And business was something he was good at, something he understood. He worked closely with Zeke and the other executives over the next couple of years, even being promoted to chief financial officer at Zeke's personal request. It became clear that the oldest Grace brother had taken a liking to his new recruit, which both surprised and pleased Jason.

The real surprise, however, came last July, when Zeke had scheduled a private meeting with Jason to convey his intentions to legally claim him as his son and heir. He'd explained about his daughter Thalia, how she'd abandoned the family and left him without a successor as organization head. He stressed that he wanted someone he could trust to take his place, with only brief mention of other family members who were eligible for the spot. Honored that Zeke thought him seriously capable of running the organization (and expecting it to be some time before the position would actually be his), Jason had agreed, and all the legal work was done that same summer. He was instructed to keep his own last name for the time being, but for all intents and purposes, Jason was a true member of the Grace family.

"He wanted to keep the whole thing secret for a while," he summed up, eyeing Percy with a tentative sort of gaze. "I think in part because of you."

"Me?" Percy repeated, startled at the conversation's turn back to him.

"You had a better claim than I ever could have—blood relative, and all. I think his plan was to get you out of the picture first, then go public with me. Guess that didn't exactly go the way he wanted it to. Thing is, a lot of his guys already know, and they aren't happy with what you and that ex-CIA agent did. They think whoever takes over for Zeke should be someone he actually chose, not someone who helped take him out."

"He tried to kill me first," Percy pointed out defensively.

Jason held up his hands. "I know. I didn't say I agree with them." Running a hand over his short hair, he said, "Look, I'm sorry this all came out of nowhere. I always thought it was weird that I never got to meet Zeke's brothers, with how much he told me about the organization and how involved he kept me with everything going on. But I never understood why until he sent those assassins after you. He was scared."

"Scared?" Percy scoffed. "Zeke?"

"Maybe 'paranoid' is a better word. I think he was worried you'd try to get rid of me like you did Thalia and your other cousins."

Percy balled his hands into fists, a white-hot streak of anger suddenly spiking inside him. He was sick and tired of being blamed for what happened to the people he loved.

"None of that was my fault," he growled. "Thalia wanted to leave. My brother was an accident. The CIA killed Bianca and Nico. The only reason I ever went after Zeke was because he killed and threatened people I care about. I turned on him because he turned on me. That's it."

"I've heard the facts, I know," Jason insisted. "I wasn't about to argue the issue with Zeke, as you can imagine, but that didn't mean I just took everything he said. Granted, it was a little suspicious when you did show up with the CIA to take him out."

"We didn't know they were gonna be there. That was just as bad for us as it was for him. They almost killed us—they nabbed a friend of ours, for God's sake, and are doing who-knows-what to him now. My fiancée's been gone for weeks trying to track 'em down."

"That's… the former agent, right?"

"Yeah."

"If you don't mind my asking… What's the story with you two?"

Percy considered brushing the matter off, but having heard Jason's explanation, he realized it wouldn't exactly be fair for him to hold things back. So instead he told Jason the truth—how Annabeth was the daughter of Zeke's former head expansion engineer and had joined the CIA in an effort to clear her muddied family name. He recounted how she'd been sent on a rushed and top-secret mission by her agency superiors to kill him, and how things hadn't gone at all as intended from then on.

"My dad warned me that Zeke was gonna try something," he recalled, "so we left the country rather than stand and fight him. We hoped that would be the end of it, you know? That he'd just keep on doing his thing and let us be. But he didn't. He tried to kill me, and while I was stuck in the hospital Annabeth and Thalia came back to get revenge. I wanted to stop them at first, but… I ended up helping them instead. I know I probably should've tried harder. What we did wasn't right. But Zeke was… he was poison to the family. He was trying to start a civil war."

Jason winced like he'd been poked with a needle. "I know," he admitted.

Percy shook his head. "I couldn't let that happen. That's why I did what I did. And… I thought it'd be over after that, after he was dead. But then you showed up."

"A civil war is not what I want here," Jason asserted. "Not in the middle of this war with Kronos. That's why I was glad you called this morning. I've been trying to keep things quiet like before, but I realized maybe it was actually more dangerous that way. Better to talk to you myself and get everything out in the open. Percy, whatever you heard, I… I don't want to overthrow you. Not like this."

Percy studied Jason's expression critically, but he found no indication that the CFO was lying. "You're serious."

"Heart-attack serious," Jason promised, raising a hand for effect. "I don't know the full extent of what's happening with the CIA—Zeke's brothers don't know about me, after all, so it's not like they've been keeping me in the loop—but I know things are getting rough and I want to help out any way I can. You and me are legally cousins, after all, so…"

"We're family." Percy frowned, the words somehow feeling strange on his tongue. Rationally he wanted to remain skeptical, but some gut feeling was telling him to believe in this guy. And if he was honest, he actually needed a bit of trustworthy help at the moment. He'd been so careful lately, and all it was doing was stressing him out. Maybe he needed to take a leap of faith this time.

"I understand if you don't trust me—"

"No," Percy interrupted Jason, holding out a hand in a placating gesture. "I mean… Thanks. For… telling me everything. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, sorry if it's coming off that way. I'm just… I have a lot to deal with right now. To tell the truth, I could really use a business expert."

A smile tugged at the corner of Jason's mouth. "You've got one," he said. "Just let me know what I can do."

Percy returned the smile, but before he could answer another knock on the door drew both of their attentions. The intruder didn't wait for a reply, pushing the door open immediately following the short knock.

"Annabeth," Percy said in surprise, recognizing his fiancée easily—despite the fact that her usually-blonde hair was now dark brown.

"Hey," she said with a warm smile as she stepped into the office. She froze a few steps later though, gaze traveling to Jason. "Oh—sorry. Are we interrupting?"

"No, come in," Percy replied, taking note of Piper and Reyna behind her. "I just didn't expect you to be early."

"We're not early," Piper argued, checking her cell phone. "We said four, right? It's like ten after."

"What—it is?" Percy glanced at Jason, unaware that they'd been talking for so long. Jason shrugged.

"We can come back," Annabeth suggested, though the look in her eyes was reluctant.

"No, it's okay," Percy decided without much thought. It was already taking a high amount of his willpower to keep from crossing the office and throwing his arms around Annabeth—he didn't think he'd be able to tell her to leave if he tried. "This is Jason Sharpe, he works for United. Jason, meet Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, and Reyna Ramírez-Arellano. They're the ones who've been tracking Deputy Director Atlas and our man he has in custody."

"So you're Annabeth Chase," Jason said as he shook hands with all three women in turn. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Um… thanks," Annabeth responded with an awkward sort of smile. "You know me… how?"

"Zeke talked about you. Not really in the nicest way, but… I got the general picture."

Annabeth took a step back from Jason, possibly remembering her few encounters with Ezekiel Grace—including the time she'd emptied a magazine of nine-millimeter rounds in his chest and knocked him out an eighty-story window. "You were… close to Zeke?"

"You could say that."

"He's Zeke's adopted son and heir," Percy elaborated.

"What?" Annabeth stammered in surprise as beside her Piper whistled in appreciation, kaleidoscopic eyes glancing Jason up and down. "I thought Thalia was his only heir."

"So did I, until a little while ago."

"How—?"

"I'll explain later," Percy promised. "Right now, you're the one with explaining to do."

Jason grabbed his jacket and said, "Guess I'd better get going and let you guys catch up."

"Actually," Percy stopped him before he could go, "why don't you stay? Tell me if this idea she's got really is crazy or if I'm just overreacting."

Annabeth shot him a pointed look as though silently scolding, You ARE overreacting. He ignored her.

"Okay," Jason agreed, again setting down his jacket and leaning against the desk. "So what's going on?"

Annabeth glanced inquisitively at Percy, who told her, "It's okay, you can trust him." She surveyed his expression for a second, apparently concluding that he meant what he was saying—which, surprisingly, he did. He'd decided to go with his gut feeling, the one telling him that this guy was dependable despite his relationship with the former codename Zeus. It was possible he was making a dangerous mistake, but things were already a mess. An important new ally within the upper echelon of Olympus was worth whatever risk he was taking in trusting him.

So Annabeth re-told an abridged version of her story to bring Jason up to speed—how Reyna's boyfriend had been taken in by the CIA during their assault on the Willis Tower and how the three of them had been following Atlas across the country in an effort to get their friend back. She recounted how they'd lost Atlas in Las Vegas when he'd suddenly changed course, and how a friend had helped her track his last location.

"I think he's gone back to HQ in Langley," she said confidently, in a way that suggested she was actually quite sure. To Jason, she went on, "The guy we're trying to rescue isn't just a friend, he's a valuable ally. We couldn't have ever gotten to Zeke without him. You tell me—what's the next logical course of action here?"

Jason frowned thoughtfully, studying the carpet. "I guess the next logical thing to do would be to sneak in and break him out."

"Ha!" Piper laughed, pumping a fist in the air. She'd strode around Percy's desk during Annabeth's story and was now lounging in his chair with her feet on his desk. "That's one more point for Operation Infiltration. I knew you were the brilliant-but-daring type the second I saw you." She winked at Jason, who blinked uncertainly and offered an awkward smile.

Annabeth turned to give Percy a triumphant smirk and he rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright," he conceded. "You win. I just wish there was a way to make sure he's there before we risk this."

"I can take care of that," Jason suggested, surprising everyone at once. In answer to the four questioning glances he received, he explained, "I've got a man inside the agency. After Zeke died and I took over as acting CEO, I figured it'd be safer to keep in touch with what they're doing. I can send word and find out in the next couple days if your guy's there."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "Agreeable and handy."

"Have I mentioned how glad I am we're on the same side?" Percy said with a grin.

"Wait, if you're doing that," Annabeth cut in, "could you check on something else for us ahead of time? We need to know when the next tech trash day is."

"Why?" Percy asked her.

But she brushed it off for the time being. "It's part of the plan. I'll tell you later."

"Sure thing," Jason promised. "I have a check-in with the guy later tonight. I'll pass all this on. Okay if I give him your number?" he asked Percy. "For backup, in case he can't reach me when he finds out."

Percy nodded. "Of course. Thanks, Jason. For meeting with me, and for your help."

This time when Jason picked up his jacket and prepared to head out, Percy didn't stop him. "No problem. We're all in this war together, after all. I'll be in touch."

"You'd better be," Piper responded as Jason let himself out of the office. When Annabeth arched an eyebrow at her, she shrugged and said, "What? He's hot. Hey, Perce, if you need like a personal liaison between you and him—"

"I'll let you know," Percy told her dryly. "For now, though, don't you have other people to be catching up with?"

Piper smirked, dropping her feet to the floor. "Sure, sure, I can sense when I'm not wanted. Come on, Reyna. Let's leave Bonnie and Clyde to get reacquainted." She grabbed the conspicuously-silent Reyna by the arm and led the way out of the office, finally leaving Percy alone with the fiancée he hadn't seen in over six weeks.

"Man," he observed as he watched them go. "One talks too much, one doesn't talk enough. I don't know how you stayed sane the past two months."

Annabeth laughed, her stormy gray eyes sparkling as she stepped up to Percy and gently pushed him backward against the edge of his desk. "Speaking of talking too much," she said, fingers pulling at his tie as she leaned comfortably into him. He felt an unconscious smile stretch his lips at the sight of her eyes so close to his and, sliding his arms around her waist, he leaned down and kissed her, slow and soft, taking in her presence and letting it fill the void her absence had left in his heart. Her right hand crept up to brush his jaw as she tilted her head and pressed her lips against his, making his skin tingle with warmth.

When they separated, he touched his forehead to hers, watching as she bit her bottom lip and kept her eyes closed, breathing out slowly. "I missed you," she murmured in a low, breathy voice. He felt his brow crease as he took note of the slight waver in her tone—a tiny hint of worry, possibly even fear. Part of him thought that was silly—he wasn't the one on a dangerous hunt for one of the CIA's most notorious agents. Why had she been worried?

"I missed you too," was all he said in response, pulling her into a tight hug. She buried her face in his shoulder, arms twisting around his back, and he realized then how tense her muscles were. He brushed a hand soothingly through her tangled hair, glad she couldn't see his troubled expression.

"I like the brunette look," Percy said in a weak effort to lighten the mood a little.

"Don't lie," Annabeth grunted into his shoulder.

"Alright, fine. I miss the blonde. But you're killer gorgeous no matter what, so I wouldn't worry too much."

She gave a muffled chuckle and he smiled in satisfaction. After a long minute of silence during which Percy was content to listen to Annabeth breathe and feel her body slowly relax against his, she whispered, "We're really gonna do this, aren't we? I'm really going back."

Percy felt a lump form in his throat at the thickness in her voice. "You can always call it off," he suggested.

"No, I can't. I have to make this right. I promised."

He knew better than to argue. He'd made promises of his own in the past, and the steel determination to keep them was something he and his fiancée had in common.

"You aren't going alone this time," he said instead.

"I wasn't alone last time," she pointed out, still addressing his suit jacket.

"You know what I mean. You aren't going without me."

Finally she pulled backward, standing upright and glancing up at him in apprehension. Her gray eyes were damp and glassy, the watery sheen making them shine like aluminum. "Are you sure that's a good idea? You're the head of Olympus."

Percy cringed. "Don't remind me."

"I just mean… They want you as badly as they want me. If things go wrong, we'll both be turning ourselves over to Kronos. And we're…" Her sentence trailed off and she shook her head. A slight stitch had tightened her brow at the mention of Kronos's name, so subtle Percy probably wouldn't have noticed had they not been standing so close. She must have been more afraid of the Director than he'd realized.

"Don't care," he replied firmly, confidently. "If you're going, I'm going. We're better together, and you know it."

A tiny smile seemed to pull unconsciously at her lips, but it tilted sideways to a frown as she searched his eyes. "There's something else," she observed, cocking her head just barely to the left.

Percy felt his muscles tense. She was right, of course. Though he wasn't thinking of it directly at the time, he did have another reason for insisting upon inclusion in the trip to CIA headquarters. He wasn't going to bring it up, but now that she was suspicious the last thing he wanted to do was lie.

Feeling the tendons in his jaw tighten uncomfortably, he admitted, "…I owe them."

A wash of sadness passed over Annabeth's expression. "You mean for your dad," she realized. "Percy…"

"Don't give me that look," he warned. "I'm not a kid, Annabeth, I know how dangerous this is. I'm not going just so I can gun down a few CIA dogs—not that I'd shy away from the opportunity." Her look hardened pointedly and he insisted quickly, "Don't worry. My head's in the game, I swear."

She breathed a deep sigh, wrapping her arms more tightly around his waist. The edge vanishing from her voice, she asked softly, "How is he?"

"Stable," he replied, a hand tightly gripping his heart at the thought of his father, lying helplessly in a hospital bed back in New York. "At least he was a few hours ago when I talked to Lee. …He still hasn't woken up yet."

"He will," she said, sounding so sure that Percy almost took it as a statement of fact. "Just give it time."

"Yeah. Because I've got so much of that to spare nowadays."

Annabeth smiled, some mirth returning to her stormy eyes. She retracted her arms and again reached for his tie, this time pulling the knot loose. "I know something we can do to take your mind off things."

Percy's eyebrows jumped. "I could definitely use a little distraction."

"Lucky for you," Annabeth went on as she unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt and slid a hand under his collar to curl around the base of his neck, "I can be very distracting." To prove her point, she tightened her grip and pulled him into another kiss, this one noticeably more forceful than the last. Her tongue pushed through his lips and effectively drove all unpleasant thoughts and doubts from his mind, monopolizing his focus. Her hands shoved his jacket from his shoulders and he let it drop to the floor before blindly tearing off her coat and cinching up the hem of her cotton shirt to touch the skin of her back and waist as she wrapped her right leg around his left in an effort to press herself more tightly against him.

Man, was he glad she was back.

A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that the door was still unlocked and someone could walk in at any second, but he didn't dwell on it. After all, since when had either of them been the type to shy away from danger? If Annabeth was worried she too didn't let it on. Her teeth snapped at his bottom lip as her fingers swiftly unhooked the rest of his shirt buttons and he tucked his hands beneath the waistband of her black jeans, tilting his head and leaning forward so his tongue battled hers with increased aggression. He used his grip on her jeans to pull her hips even closer and felt more than heard her groan against his mouth as her fingernails dug into the center of his chest.

She'd been right—some distraction really was what he needed most in the midst of so much worry and stress. Percy's last sane, conscious thought as Annabeth yanked his shirt from his shoulders was that the two of them were never going to spend so long apart ever again. Not after everything they'd been through, how close they'd come to losing each other.

From then on, whatever they had to do they would do together, as a team. He would make sure of it.

I think they really are together for the rest of this book, haha. Novel concept, I know.

So hey look, I found a way to work Jason in like some of you guys wondered before! Hazel will show up later too, but he was the one I was more worried about given that we already killed Zeus. Hopefully it doesn't seem too forced, even though I'll admit it kind of was, haha.

Anyway, how about a review? Ugh I can't wait until we get to the action... Chapter 10 is the next action chapter, that's when they infiltrate CIA HQ. Gonna be a fun time, haha. Next chapter has the return of some fun characters from Fire at Will, though, so there's that.

Later days!

-oMM

(Total side-note, anybody read Sword of Summer yet? Any thoughts? I loved it, personally. Read it way too fast, lol. Makes having to wait a whole dang year for Hammer of Thor pretty daunting :P )