Chapter 3

Evening fell before I got into one of the big black F.B.I. cars with a driver who hated me a lot (yeah, it sucked, I couldn't drive yet). Her name was Clarisse and she was reckless, though I guessed General Corral kept her because she had crazy good fighting skills - I should warn you not to cross her path from personal experience… let's not talk about that.

Clarisse seemed especially jealous today that I got picked for the mission, though my nerves were pretty mixed up - I was nervous, but also honoured, and those two didn't mix together.

It felt like forever to get to the ball, but finally we pulled up in front of a huge building with a banner in the front that read, CHASE INDUSTRIES GRAND BALL. Ladies in sparkling ball gowns and men in tuxedos filed into the building, all talking with a formal touch.

"Well, I guess this is my stop," I said to Clarisse, trying to open the car door, which, oddly, was locked.

"Get out, punk." Clarisse pressed the UNLOCK button and I tumbled out, but caught myself right before I hit the ground. I spun around to give my fellow agent a glare but she was already driving away, cackling.

Thanks, Clarisse, I thought sarcastically, now only feeling worse. But I knew that I had to focus and keep my eyes open, so I mixed in with the crowd and headed for the hall's entrance.

There were two men at the doors, dressed in red velvety clothes, and unfortunately, they were taking tickets from the guests before they entered. I should put guests in quotation marks, because technically, I wasn't one and didn't have any tickets.

This was a normal drill for me, however; slinking around buildings as a secret agent. The only thing I had to do now was find an entrance to the building.

I walked around, trying to avoid the eyes of party guests, but they were too wrapped up in their conversations and talking poshly to notice me.

"I say, dear, that is a divine tie you're wearing," said one woman with a dark gold dress and a beauty mole on her face.

"Why, thank you," replied the man that she had been talking to. "Elaborate dress you have there."

I didn't know these kinds of people even existed in New York, but decided not to dwell on it. Only the gargoyles glared at me as I snaked around the building, and I saw that one was a pegasus. I kind of wished I could be riding that winged horse right now, straight into the building… no, nevermind, that would be weird.

I found a door at the side of the building, some of it held together by metal scaffolding. It was dirty around there, with trash bins and old garbage, but perfect for a criminal. I tried to push that thought out of my head.

As I predicted, the door was locked, so I reached into my handy-dandy tool belt that every agent carried, full of useful supplies, and pulled out a piece of thin metal. I inserted it into the doorknob hole, turned, and listened for the click before the door creaked open.

I could hear music from inside and started down a hallway, which led past other doors that led into other rooms - the kitchens, bathrooms, and storage rooms.

The hallway ended at another door which I guessed led straight into the ballroom, and when I pushed it open, I was right. And, I had to admit, the scene was pretty intimidating.

A huge glass and gold chandelier hung from the ceiling, radiating light across the room and catching on the ladies' dresses. The wallpaper was floral and elegant, matching the sets of bouquets on every table that held cookies, cakes, and other sweets. The ballroom floor was newly polished and the click-clack of dancers' high heels and boots could be heard from across the room.

I had never been to a ball before, not that I ever really wanted to go, but this was pretty amazing. Then I remembered my task; find the criminal.

Once again, nobody noticed me as I kept to the sides, walking in between the tables and behind pillars when I could. I didn't see anything strange; in fact, all seemed well, but I knew that the worst was always yet to come.

So, I decided to wait, going over my thoughts. I was still pretty worried, mostly that I wouldn't catch the criminal in time because he'd pull off some really sneaky scheme. Or maybe I just wouldn't find him at all; what if he disguised himself? That was what a smart criminal would do, although this one didn't seem so smart, considering he tried to rob Frederick Chase.

But was he actually doing something brave? I mean, doing something brave could also be stupid sometimes.

Either way, he was a criminal, and I had to find him. I just couldn't let General Corral down.

That's when someone walked up onto the dais that rose at the back of the room, which was just as decorated as everything else (if not, more so). He was a middle-aged man with blonde hair and twinkling brown eyes, who was wearing the fanciest tuxedo in the room. I guessed that this was Frederick Chase, the victim of the crime.

"Hello, everyone," he said into the microphone, and though I expected his voice to be deep with smugness, it was a little more humble. "I am glad that you could make it. As you know, this is a difficult time for my family and I, after what happened quite recently. For a time, we felt like we were living on edge, until tonight, where we are surrounded by many good folk."

I wished I could run up in front of him and yell, "But you're not safe! Gabe Ugliano is planning to attack you!" but that would be crazy along with ruining the man's happiness. He seemed so at peace tonight that I just couldn't break it… until he experienced what was going to happen.

The audience applauded before resuming to their dancing, drinking, or whatever they were doing, and I resumed to standing in a corner, my eyes flicking around for anything suspicious. And I stood there for a while, on edge, waiting.

So, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I never told you why I'm writing this - I just got the idea one day to take a classic Percabeth fanfic and mix it up, putting the characters in an entirely new life. Secret agents? I thought. That sounds fun, and here we are. Please review if you like it!