AN: So the last chapter was a bit more serious then the previous installments, but dude, Percy's gone! How is that not serious? Anyways, this should be more of the usual. I own nothing, and certainly not an AC-130 Spectre Gunship.

Camp Life, Chapter Five

Firepower Questions/Paranoid Questions

"What do you mean, I'm not on the list? What list?"

"I mean, there's a list that Chiron gave me, which says which people at camp get weapons. And you aren't on it."

Leo is normally a pretty chill dude.

Leo wants to murder the Camp Armorer.

"Listen," he says, trying to keep his voice even, "I'm building this ship, right? And it needs weapons. Lots of them, preferably."

"And while I admire that sentiment," says Steven Rust, smiling cheerfully, "I can't just go giving every random kid at this camp whatever they want! Imagine what would happen if I gave Clarisse a mortar! Or that sword there-" he points at a massive bronze broadsword hanging on the wall- "which causes whatever touches the blade to disintegrate! Into a pile of ashes! It would not be pretty!"

"Okay, I understand that," says Leo, gripping the hammer in his tool bag so hard it hurts, "but -"

"No buts!"

Leo loses it.

"I'll kill you-"

"I'd like to see you try."

Annabeth appears in the doorway.

"Is there a problem in here?"

"This jerk," spits Leo, "won't give me the weapons-"

"Chiron says-"

Annabeth reaches out and grabs Steven by the front of his shirt, dragging him toward her. "I speak for Chiron now," she snarls, "So listen up! And get that knife away from my ribs! Now- you're gonna give Leo the biggest, baddest weapons you have! Any one he wants! And if he isn't satisfied, you're going to get more until he is! Got that?"

Steven glares balefully but nods.

"Good! Now get on with it! We don't have any time to waste!"

She turns and stalks gracefully out of the Armory.

Steven and Leo watch her go in silence, then look at each other.

"I don't like her," Steven growls. "You know she gave one of my best pieces to that Cherokee friend of yours? A gorgeous dagger, three thousand years old. Gone, just like that."

"Oh . . . sorry."

Steven sighs. "Don't worry about it. So- let me take you to the back . . ."

They move through the shelves and racks and barrels of weapons. Leo sees golf clubs, swords, axes, nets, sniper rifles, lances, a couple of grenades, an animatronic stallion with what look like Gatling guns attached to its flanks. Leo almost trips over what Steven informs him is a Heckler and Koch Universale Selbstladepistole .45 caliber (an excellent weapon, carries eighteen rounds per clip, I could part with it for twenty drachmas . . . No? You sure?).

Eventually they come to a shelf in the back that contains bottles of gun oil, rags, sword polish, a whetstone, and various other care supplies.

"Look," says Steven, suddenly looking uncomfortable, "You gotta keep this away from Chiron, okay? He doesn't know I've got this stuff."

Leo looks at the shelf of bottles in front of him.

"What stuff?"

Steven reaches behind a box that, according to the label, contains high-density bronze polisher, to be used only on highly magical artifacts that don't self-polish. The label goes on to warn that the an ounce of the polish will melt through any non-magical surface less dense then five solid tons of pure titanium.

He must have touched a hidden button, because abruptly the floor Leo is standing on rumbles and begins to drop slowly.

"Dude, you've got a secret room?" Leo exclaims. "That is so boss! What do you keep . . . What the fuck is that thing?"

Piper trudges up the path that leads to Bunker Nine, feeling despondent.

Which makes like no sense, because everything has been working out recently- her father is finally safe, Jason is paying more attention to her then ever, they are beginning work on a ship that flies-

And yet she doesn't feel too happy, or even particularly content, which sucks. She supposes maybe it's the other Aphrodite kids- and Drew- because apart from Mitchell and Lacy, none of them talk to her. Oh, they've stopped betting on the other kids' dates and meddling with their relationships, but she's pretty sure they still don't like her.

They just have a sort of anything-is-better-than-Drew attitude about her leadership.

Speaking of Drew, Piper thinks suddenly, where has she been? The girl doesn't spend any time with the other campers, Aphrodite kids or no, she's never in the arena, or the art buildings, or at the lake- the only times she ever appears are occasionally at the pavilion for meals, and at the cabin, late at night, way past lights out, though Piper never says anything. And she is always gone, her bed made neatly, when everyone else wakes.

Piper would say it was suspicious, but really, that just makes her sound paranoid. Which she's not.

So she shrugs the feeling away and walks through the massive open door of Bunker Nine.

Steven's hand wanders over the surface of the massive death machine.

"Isn't she lovely?" he asks fondly

Leo gapes at him. "What is it?"

"This, my young friend, is a Bofors 40 mm autocannon. Until quite recently it was onboard an AC-130H Spectre Gunship at Hurlburt Air Force Base in Florida. Actually," Steven chuckles, like he's telling an amusing story about a little dog or something, "It was originally designed as an antiaircraft weapon . . ."

Leo glances around at the rest of the underground chamber, which is slightly bigger then the building above it.

"What's that one?" he asks pointing to a large, misshapen tube with several pieces of what look like some kind of multibarreled cannon sticking out of it.

"Ah- that beatiful lady is a GAU-8 Avenger and its ammunition tank. Or it was. I haven't managed to rebuild it all the way yet- I had some problems removing it from the rest of the A-10 Thunderbolt it was attached to."

"You don't say?"

"Yeah . . . turns out the Air Force doesn't appreciate it when you borrow their stuff without asking."

"No kidding."

"Yep. But anyways, I'll help you carry anything you want out; I've got a forklift around here somewhere . . .

Leo sighed as Steven wandered off. He's beginning to regret this.

The rest of the demigods in the know about the Argo II, plus Rachel Dare, stood in a semicircle facing the large blackboards that display the sketches of the flying ship Leo had drawn.

When Piper nears, she listens as Annabeth, a pair of reading glasses on her face, explains their options while pointing at various places on the blueprints.

"The beams will be the hard part. Leo wants them to be made of a very particular wood- Afromosia, a subspecies of teak, and that's going to be extremely difficult to get our hands on. Any suggestions?"

There was silence for a minute, then Jesse spoke up. "This may seem like a long shot, but I could talk to Travis and Connor- I mean, they might be lazy and not super stealthy or original, but they are good thieves. They might be able to help."

Annabeth nods. "Okay, good idea, Jes, get on that. Now, the rocket thrusters I'm leaving to you, Jake . . ."

Jesse breaks away from the group, smiling when he sees Piper and high-fiving her on his way out.

Piper slips unobtrusively into the circle next to Danny, a stern-faced but unusually pretty daughter of Ares, who nods, and Jason, who smiles and gives her a playful elbow.

". . . and Piper, I want you to start recruiting campers to help with construction. We need to start casting these sheets of celestial bronze plating immediately, and that's going to take a lot of hands. . . ."

Piper sighs and prepares herself for another long walk back to camp. As she turns to leave, Annabeth adds, "Oh, and could you check on Leo? He should be talking with Steven Rust about the weapons, but he should have been back by now, and I have some questions for him . . ."

Piper waves a hand in acknowledgment and starts the jog back down to camp, wondering if she can manage to find out what Drew's been up to the last few days.

Travis and Connor glance at each other for a long moment, seeming to communicate telepathically.

Jesse, well used to their mannerisms, taps his foot patiently.

After another moment they seem to come to a silent agreement, and turn back towards him.

"You're telling us," Connor says condescendingly, "that you want us to steal you some wood."

A passing dryad shoots them a dirty look and hurries away.

"Yes, exactly," Jesse agrees "Rare wood, and a lot of it. Stuff we can't get around here."

The Stolls exchange looks again, then ask the question Jesse was, frankly, expecting sooner than this.

"What's in it for us?"

The younger boy sighs. "I won't tell Amanda to come down here and beat you senseless?"

Travis and Connor frown.

"Well, y'see, maybe," says Travis, "maybe that might work, but I mean, no matter how scary she seems, there are two of us, and we've been fighting way longer, and let's face it, son of Hades or not, Nico isn't actually that big-"

"Yes, okay," snaps Jesse. "You're big heroes and all, Percy Jackson's Forty, my dear brother, all of that- I get it. Fine. Whatever."

Connor smiles encouragingly. "Good, good! So maybe you should up your offer, and you know, I just hate being on KP duty; maybe you could-"

"If you don't help, I'll tell Amanda and Annabeth."

The twins freeze instantly.

"What!" Travis protests, "You can't do that! That's like, cruel and inhumane or some-"

"And I'll tell Danny."

Travis and Connor stare blankly at him.

"Who?"

"Clarisse's little sister."

The blood drains from the two Stoll's faces.

"Now let's just back up a minute here-"

"Yeah, no need to blow everything out of porportion-"

"But the main reason you should help me," Jesse thunders, anger shining in his eyes, "is it will help get Percy back."

There is a moment of silence.

The twins exchange silent glances. Again.

"What," says Connor, "really?"

"Yes. Really."

The Stolls stare at him, and then break out into relieved chuckles.

"Jesse, bro," says Travis, "That's all you really had to say."

"Yeah, seriously! Percy's our homie! So . . . what is it you want us to steal again?"

Jesse sighs. He loves his brothers, he really does, but sometimes he wonders why.

Loud electronic music is pounding in the garage, the first building from the path into the forest, so Piper sticks her head in, wondering if there are any potential recruits she can snap up for the war effort.

Inside she finds four large white vans with the words 'Delphi Strawberry Company' written on the sides, a sweet Honda VFR1200F racing bike (Piper only knows this because her dad loves motorcycles), a rusty old pickup truck that doesn't look like it's left the building in at least a decade, and in the center, surrounded by demigods, a large war chariot that is apparently being remodeled, judging from the cans of paint, worn wheels, and deadly weapons strewn around the work area. Leaning against the wall, watching the chaos, is Argus the Security Chief, who nods at her as she walks toward the chariot renovators.

Will Solace notices her first.

"Uh uh," he says raising a hand to stop her, "No way. This is our chariot. We are not losing the race again because Travis and Connor have no sense of fair play-"

"What? I'm not here for that," Piper says, frowning. "I'm not even from Hermes Cabin!"

"Ah ha!" Will responds, tapping the side of his nose, "That's what you want us to think-"

"Will," says Piper wearily, "I don't care about your chariot. I need your help. All of you."

The Apollo children mutter to each other, then turn back to her.

"What do you want us to do?" asks one of the older boys, smiling at her in that certain way that guys who know they're good looking smile at girls. Piper resists the urge to roll her eyes.

"Look," she says, addressing the group, and Argus watching her quietly from the corner, "This isn't just about me. Annabeth needs your help, and Leo and Jake, and Jesse and Amanda and Kara and Vinnie- we need you."

The children of Apollo turn and confer quietly. Argus winks reassuringly at her.

One of the kids glances at her from within the huddle.

"Will we get to kill stuff?" she asks hopefully.

"Er . . . not immediately," Piper answers cautiously.

The group considers this.

"I can live with that," the girl says, shrugging.

"Look, I get the idea," says Travis patiently, "But what I don't get is why we don't just steal you an actual boat. I mean, we do have a beach right over there."

"No, that wouldn't work," says Jesse, shaking his head, "we would only wreck the hull trying to install the rocket engines."

The twins stare at him.

"Rocket engines?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Rocket engines. I mean, it's supposed to fly."

More staring.

"It flies," Travis says flatly.

"Well, yeah. I mean, how else are we gonna get to California? The Strait of Magellan? I don't think so. Anyways, we need that wood, pronto. Can you do that?"

Connor snorts.

"Please," he says, "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Um . . . Travis and Connor?"

"Well, yes, but- you know what? Forget it. We'll get you your super-rare lumber in a week or so."

Jesse sighs in relief. "Thanks, guys! We owe you one!"

As he runs back up the path towards Bunker Nine, he suddenly wishes he hadn't said that last bit.

Piper finds Leo outside the Armory, talking with a tall, older kid she doesn't recognize.

". . . the problem is, that Avenger gun can fire more than four thousand rounds a minute. It costs, like, four hundred thousand dollars to fire that thing for twelve seconds. And that's with normal thirty millimeter rounds. Think how expensive celestial bronze bullets would be. All I'm saying is," the guy adds when Leo opens his mouth, "is that it might not be practical. That's all."

Leo looks upset.

"But man, everyone told me you were the one to come to if I needed, like, weapons of Mass Destruction and stuff! And now you're telling me it isn't practical?"

The guy who must be Steven Rust draws himself up to his full height.

"What," he says, his eyes flashing dangerously, "exactly do you people think I'm running in here? Yes, I've got a few bug guns! A few swords that set dudes on fire! But it's not a Soviet weapons depot! I don't have any underground missile silos! I'm not trying to take over the world! I've just got a few conversation pieces, is all!"

"Conversation Pieces? That gun fires four thousand rounds a minute-"

"Boys," Piper interrupts, feeling very annoyed- why do men always have to argue about things that they can't change?- "I think it's time to stop yelling now."

The two break off their argument and stare at her.

"Oh, it's you," Rust says, glaring at her, "I thought I smelled a thief around here . . ."

Piper blinks. What the fuck?

Leo rolls his eyes. "Dude, lay off. It's not her fault Annabeth gave her your super-fancy butter knife. And it does look good on her, you have to admit." He gives Piper a double thumbs up.

Rust sighs. "I suppose you have a point," he mutters sullenly.

Piper sticks her tongue out at them. "Gee, thanks, guys. Leo, Annabeth wants you. Oh- before you go, have you seen Drew anywhere?"

Leo frowns. "The hot Asian chick? Your arch-nemesis, or whatever? No."

Rust gives her a sharp look. "What do you want with Drew?"

"Uh . . . I just want to know where she is, that's all . . . she's hardly ever in the cabin or with our other siblings. I was getting worried, that's all." About what she's been up to, but he doesn't need to know that . . .

Rust subjects her to a long, searching look, then his gaze hardens. "She's fine, don't worry."

Turning to Leo, he says, "Valdez, when you want those guns, or anything else, just tell me."

He strides off without another word, glancing over his shoulder at her.

Leo and Piper watch him go.

"What a weird guy."

"Yeah, no kidding . . . Hey- did I ever tell you about the one where King Midas, Apollo, and Medusa walk into a-"

"Not the time, Leo."

"Oh . . . right, right. Er. When is the- "

"Never."

"Oh. Gotcha."

"Yep."

It's dusk, and Piper is making one final trip up to the Bunker to see what they have managed without her. A whole day organizing labor groups of unruly demigods, she thinks, well- give her a bloodthirsty cyclops family in an abandoned factory any day. Seriously. The fact that Clarisse assailed her around two o'clock, wanting to know why Piper thought she could order the Ares campers around (or at least that was the gist of the sentence, it was originally populated with enough swearwords to make Samuel L. Jackson weep), which almost got very, very bad for her until Danny arrived at the nick of time to save her from a fate probably worse than death, didn't make it go by any quicker.

So in other words, Piper is bone-tired. It has been a long day, and she's about ready to collapse in her bunk and sleep for a few weeks.

Then she hears the soft voice, just barely audible over the sound of the wind rustling through the woods, that makes her weariness fade instantly. She quickly hides behind a tree and listens for it again.

" . . . care what she says . . . not important anymore."

Pipers pulse quickens. Drew. What is she talking about? What who says?

A deeper voice answers. " . . . what she said. But I think she thinks you're up to something."

Piper frowns. That voice sounds familiar.

Drew's voice, softer and less audible, sounds frustrated and angry. ". . . don't care about the leadership anymore , just . . . and finding Percy, I guess."

"What about Jason Grace?" the deep voice asks, and Piper starts. That voice- that belonged to Rust, the Armorer! No wonder he'd acted so strange when she'd mentioned Drew's name!

There's a long pause.

"She can have him," Drew says bitterly, then adds, "He's too good looking, anyways, not at all my type."

"Ouch. Should I be offended?"

"Oh, shut up."

Both Rust and Drew laugh softly, and Piper is surprised at the warmth in their voices; it's not an emotion she would have expected from either of them. Abruptly she realizes that she can hear every word they are saying, and even though she can't hear any footsteps, she knows they must be getting closer. Having no desire to be caught eavesdropping- who knows what those two might do to her- the daughter of Aphrodite quickly scrambles back to her feet and begins jogging up the path. About fifty feet up she stops and turns, and watches as two shadows, one tall with light hair, the other shorter with dark hair, walk slowly across the path, disappearing into the trees.

Piper smiles a little, certain the two shadows were holding hands.

Maybe she doesn't have to worry about Drew after all.

When Piper nears the planning blackboard, now filled with schedules and rotations and resource quotas, the other demigods are all still in a semicircle, as though they haven't moved since this morning. She stands next to Jason, who slips his arm around her shoulders; on her other side little Amanda winks and leans her head on Kara's shoulder. Annabeth is talking about joint pressures or something, looking stronger and more confident then Piper has ever seen her. Across the circle Leo gives her a surreptitious thumbs-up and Jesse waves shyly, and suddenly that feeling of melancholy that has been hovering over her shoulder all day fades away like it was never even there.

AN: As it is currently 1:33 AM PST, I'm heading to bed. Reviews are appreciated, as always. Are there any characters you would like to appear? Or ones you want to see more of? Please tell me! - Chalk

Next time: Travis and Conner plan to steal necessary supplies for the Argo II and a girlfriend for Connor in one fell swoop, while Malcolm and Tyson bond over their love of peanut butter.