When Annabeth was awoken, the plane still looked like a normal passenger plane. That would usually not come as a shock, but she remembered the last time she had been in the plane, the back had turned into a high tech command station. She looked to her left and saw that Frank was still sitting there. He had the tray table down and looked like he was drawing something in a notebook. Annabeth looked for her tray and found that they were more like desks in an lecture auditorium. They came up from the side of the chair and then down resting flat on the armrest. Annabeth didn't put her tray table up, but she found it interesting when she saw how it worked.
Annabeth then turned to look out her window. She couldn't quite tell the time of day based on the sun because of the angle the plane was going. She felt like the plane was descending. She didn't know what gave her that feeling because it wasn't exactly an obvious descent if it even was a descent. They might have been turning for all she knew. She wasn't a child of Poseidon, but she didn't exactly make flying a hobby either. She wasn't used to the different feelings one gets when in a plane. She wasn't quite sure how to identify each one at that point either.
The PA system then crackled to life with Leo's voice, "Hello passengers! This is your awesome copilot who is a lot better at making public announcements than the pilot. We have began our descent and will be arriving in Xi'an by seventeen-thirty at the latest. Although with Mr. Impatient up here it might be sooner. Thank you for listening to the better public speaker and prepare yourselves for descent because it's already began."
Frank shook his head as Leo signed off. He put the tray down and closed his notebook. He stuffed the notebook in a little mesh pocket that was on the wall of the plane that Annabeth hadn't even noticed. There was a notebook in her pocket as well.
When the plane pulled through the clouds, Annabeth was able to see clearer skies. Not to be insulting the skies around Beijing. She had simply noticed that it wasn't as hazy around Xi'an as it had been around Beijing. Granted that didn't mean the air was as clean as it could be. In the summer there was less of a breeze which allowed the haze to stay lingering over the cities as well. Being around New York for such a long time, Annabeth was used to haze. That didn't mean she had to like it though.
The plane landed without so much as a bump. Annabeth wondered how Percy had learned to fly so well when he was a son of Poseidon. Granted he began to fly with the Navy, but at the same time, it was an impressive landing even for a professional pilot.
Percy's voice crackled over the PA system. "Attention passengers! We have landed safely and smoother than Leo could've done, in Xi'an."
The door that they had closed that separated the cockpit from the rest of the passenger compartment slid open. Leo crawled out first then Percy followed. Leo looked out one of the windows and nodded to Percy. In turn Percy looked out to the others and gave a sharp nod and took a step back, allowing them to pass from the aisle to the hatch which Leo was opening.
"Let's go, then." Leo said as he led the way out the hatch.
The men stood to file out. When Frank's head was disappearing out the hatch, Percy turned to look at Annabeth who had not gotten out of her seat. He raised an eyebrow and jerked his head to the hatch. Annabeth gave a small sigh and stood.
Percy grinned and said, "For a second I thought you didn't know we are getting out the same day we came in."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. She walked past Percy just like the others. As she passed, he put his hand on her lower back, gently pushing her out the hatch. She descended the stairs that were placed at the hatch. Percy followed close behind.
When she got to the bottom, Annabeth wasn't completely sure where she was supposed to go. They were in the same type of abandoned area that they had landed in and departed from in Beijing. It was almost exactly the same, except when Annabeth looked at the entire airport that she could see from her standpoint, it looked smaller than Beijing by a lot.
Percy reached the bottom seconds after Annabeth and placed his hand on her lower back again. He guided her to a door that was similar to the one in Beijing. There were two guards standing on either side of the door. Annabeth didn't know what to say to them when one held up a hand in a stop gesture.
Annabeth ended up not having to say or do anything. Percy gave the guard something and held his own hand up. He seemed to wave the guard off when he looked like he was going to say something to her. Annabeth wondered what he gave the guard because they didn't seem like people who could be bribed.
Once they were both inside the building, they met up with the rest of the group. Annabeth was surprised that they all were just relaxing. They seemed to be lounging on all the chairs and whatnot. They even had what looked like coffees in paper cups that one might get to go from Starbucks. When Percy came in, Connor held one out to him. He took it and sipped it.
Percy then offered the cup to Annabeth. Travis and Connor both chuckled a bit. From their actions, Annabeth assumed that the drink was either very strong or tasted bad or something similar. She looked down through the drinking slit. It looked like straight black coffee. She gave it a sniff, but couldn't identify what the scent was that she was smelling. She looked up at Percy. He had an amused look on his face, but gave no assuring or otherwise signs.
Annabeth looked over at Travis and Connor. They were still chuckling quietly. When they saw her looking, they looked up and watched her closely. Looking directly at Connor, she raised the cup to her lips and drank. She drained about half the liquid before Percy took the cup away with a chuckle of his own.
"Jesus, Annabeth. Save some for me." Percy said.
He drank the remainder of the liquid and tossed the cup to Connor hitting him in the face. Everyone else laughed. Annabeth sent a questioning look to Percy. He just shook his head merrily and moved to sit by Frank. They started talking in earnest, so Annabeth decided not to intrude. She instead went over to Travis and Connor.
"You two wanna tell me what was in that drink that I was supposed to cower away from?" Annabeth asked them.
"Not particularly." Connor answered.
Annabeth glowered at him. He shrugged and Travis stepped in saying, "I think that's a question for someone else."
"Who do you suggest that I ask?" Annabeth asked in a voice that sounded as if she were humoring them.
Connor shrugged again and said, "Your husband would be the first person I would think you would've asked. If he isn't giving answers, then the rest of us certainly won't."
Travis kicked his brother in the leg. Connor looked over at him to see a look of irritated warning. Connor and Annabeth were both confused by this look. Leo seemed to realize what was going on and called Annabeth over to sit by him at the window.
"Don't worry about them." Leo told her, "Connor doesn't know our unofficial protocol that Percy and Nico partially came up with. He doesn't know how much you've been told. Percy is trying as hard as he can to keep you safe. He is loyal as he was when we first met and your safety has taken his priority. In the middle of this mission, that's very dangerous. Nico has been trying to get him back to the Captain that we know in the military. Back to the chairman that we know in the business."
Annabeth absorbed this information. She knew that Percy could be too focused on protecting her that he didn't look at the bigger picture. She wasn't quite sure why Leo was telling her all of it though. When she looked up at him, he was looking back intently.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Annabeth asked.
"I'm not sure. All I know is Nico definitely thinks you are the only one that can convince him of all we're trying to tell him. That he isn't acting as our Captain should be because he's always so preoccupied with you. You're the only one he's going to hear out on this matter. He turns a deaf ear whenever we bring up the subject. It has to be you to convince him to see you as just another one of the A2 inner circle at max. If he thinks of you as anything more, his priorities get all messed up. You have to screw his head back on right." Leo said. He gave her a moment then stood up to go over to where Travis and Connor were sitting.
Annabeth looked over to where Percy looked like he had finished talking with Frank. Percy didn't look too happy. He look frustrated and annoyed. Annabeth looked at Frank who was standing up and walking over to where Annabeth was. She didn't know if he wanted to talk to her or if he was telling her to talk to Percy. He could also just be coming over to sit down away from Percy.
When Frank dropped into the seat that Leo had been sitting on with a great sigh, Annabeth looked at him. He just shook his head the jutted his chin at Percy. Annabeth took that as a sign to go and talk to Percy. She wasn't sure if she wanted to approach Percy after what Leo had told her, but she knew she had to sooner or later.
Percy looked up as Annabeth approached. He looked weary; not a look Annabeth was used to seeing on his face. She slowly lowered herself into the seat beside him. He gave a small sigh through his nose and turned his body slightly towards her. She noticed that he was still clutching the paper cup that had held the unknown drink earlier. He looked like he was waiting for her to tell him off for being caught in wrongdoing.
Annabeth decided to break the silence between them and asked, "Are you okay?"
Percy gave a humorless laugh and said, "Just say whatever Leo and Frank sent you over here to say and get it over with."
Annabeth stared at Percy for a few seconds then stood and said, "I was just offering some comfort because you look tired! I'm not a messenger."
Percy studied her, then his shoulders slumped. He sighed again and bowed his head. Annabeth wasn't keen on having a conversation in what seemed to be an unused airport gate. She didn't want the entire group to hear or see her and Percy possibly get into an argument. Granted, Annabeth knew that they had probably all seen the two of them fight before, but she considered them something that was to be done in private.
"I'm sorry." Percy said in a low voice. He hadn't raised his head, but his voice held remorse for jumping to conclusions.
Annabeth lightly rested her hand on top of Percy's head. She looked around at the gate. There were two rows of seats back to back in the center. There was the standard desk that the clerk would help people, scan boarding passes, call boarding groups, etc. at in front of the center two rows of seats. A blank screen was hanging on the wall behind the desk. The door that they entered from was next to the desk leading Annabeth to assume that the gate was only for smaller planes that were boarded off the tarmac. The three windows surrounded the gate, but only two had rows of chairs next to them. The other was behind the desk and beside the door and blank screen. Leo and Frank were sitting in a row of seats by the side window near the door. Percy and Annabeth were in the opposite row by the window. Travis and Connor were speaking in low voices in the center row farthest from the window Percy sat at with Annabeth next to him.
Finally Percy lifted his head up and said, "I'm just stressed out."
"I can tell." Annabeth replied without contempt.
Percy looked directly into Annabeth's eyes. She noticed his eyes had a certain pleading look to them. Like he was begging her to understand his feeble reason for seeming so out of it and snapping at a little question.
Annabeth sank down into the seat next to Percy again, raking her hand down his back. She sighed and said quietly, "Don't worry about it right now, Percy. We'll talk later when we have a bit more privacy."
Percy glanced over at her. He nodded in agreement and his head sagged on his shoulders again. Annabeth knew there really wasn't much she could do for him. She knew that little comfort would work until they were able to talk out whatever was biting at him. All she did was stroke his back in a soothing manner, hoping to ease his tensed muscles.
The group didn't spend more than ten minutes total in their gate until Leo stood up. The rest of the men looked up at him. He looked to be watching something outside. A black van just like the one in Beijing pulled up beside the plane.
All of them stood up and Leo led the way out of the gate through the same door they came in. Leo went to the back doors and opened the first one and Connor opened the other. They stood back as Percy led the rest of the group into the van.
When Annabeth stepped into the van, she was shocked to see it was an exact replica of the one they had used in Beijing. Then she turned to the driver's seat and Nico was sitting in it with the appearance of one who needed sleep badly. Frank lowered the screen separating the back from the front of the van. He clambered into the space between the two front seats and tapped Nico on the shoulder.
"Nico. Hey! Nico. Come on, wake up." Frank said alternating between shoving and whacking Nico's shoulder.
Once Percy's tolerance level could take no more, he stood from his chair and walked behind so he was directly behind the driver's seat. He rapped harshly on Nico's head with his hand limp and all the power delivered from the arm. Nico jolted then put a hand on his head. He shook his head a few times then looked up to see Percy hovering just behind his seat. He glared at Percy for a second then opened the door and got out.
Annabeth assumed that Nico would come through the back doors and join them in the van, but instead he went over the the plane, that was still on the tarmac, climbed up the stairs and into the hatch, then shut the hatch. The plane began to taxi out as the van engine started up.
Percy grabbed Annabeth's arm and pulled her into the seat that she had been sitting in every time in the van. The van was speeding away with Frank at the wheel. Percy raised the screen with a switch in one of the disguised panels. When he sat down again he seemed to be listening to something. The rest of the men did too.
Eventually, Travis said, "Yes. Let's get going. We're already running behind schedule."
"Just get going." Percy added in case the point wasn't clear in Travis's explanation.
After Percy added his command, it seemed like two seconds passed and Frank stepped on it next to the plane which was swiftly driving down the runway. It looked like they were trying to race. Annabeth thought that Frank should know they would never be able to reach the speeds of the plane, but she was quickly proved wrong when he hit one of the buttons and they sped ahead taking the lead on the plane as it left the ground.
The men were all shouting what sounded like encouragement to Frank as they were being thrown around by the speed of the van. Granted, none of them were sitting down either, so it was their fault they all kept being abused by the walls of the van.
Annabeth just sat back and laughed as she watched the race. It brought her great joy when she saw Percy back as his old carefree self cheering Frank on. Annabeth enjoyed it much more than the moping Percy. Much easier to deal with.
When the plane had left the ground, Frank began to throttle down at least to the speed limit. He hit the same button that made the van go supersonic and it cut the extreme speeds that they had been going. When the speeds were cut Connor flew forward and whacked his head into the screen separating the front from the back. Percy and Travis roared with laughter while Annabeth tried to cover hers up.
Connor turned around and flipped his brother and Percy off. It didn't help their laughing fit, but it made Annabeth kick him because he was standing near her chair. Percy and Travis had managed to prevent themselves from flying forward when the supersonic speed stopped because they were practiced at how to prepare for it. Because at the speeds they had been going were so fast they were able to jump up and turn partially horizontal as the sudden stop approached. That motion allowed their bodies to just be turned vertical and give them a slight stumble, but nothing that would send them flying forward.
As Percy got over his laughing fit he said to Connor, "You aren't used to supersonic stops are you? Should we go back to calling you Rookie since you're back on ground traveling?"
"Shut up, Percy. I know how to stop myself. I was just, ah, experimenting with the effects that would happen if I didn't stop." Connor said. His bright red face didn't exactly help him with the case he was making.
Percy chuckled again saying, "Why? You found out when you were the rookie. You and Travis both found out your first time when we went supersonic and didn't do a gradual throttle down. The fly you did then wasn't even as bad as the one you just demonstrated."
Connor's face gradually resembled a tomato as Percy kept talking. "I just get tired of always being grounded or flying in a machine sometimes. I wanted to fly without having to be supported by something." He responded weakly.
Travis was also turning red, but it seemed like he was because of lack of oxygen. He looked like he was trying to hold his laughter in so he could hear the feeble defenses his brother tried to make to cover up his embarrassing flight.
"Come on, Connor. Annabeth didn't try to take a brief flight ending with a crash landing. You're supposed to be the more practiced one." Percy said. Annabeth shook her head as Connor tried to form a response.
"Well it's been a while since I did my last supersonic stop." Connor said trying to shrug nonchalantly. It didn't fool any of them.
"Well Annabeth has never done a supersonic stop and she barely slipped out of her chair." Percy said smirking.
Connor said, "She grabbed the armrests and was facing sideways instead of towards the front!"
"She also put a foot down to prevent the chair from turning towards the front, however she still slipped enough to tell you that it was her first supersonic stop and she didn't fly into the screen." Percy replied with a light shrug. He knew he would win the pitiful argument that Connor was putting up.
Connor said and said, "You're never gonna let this go, will you?"
"Nope!" Travis responded cheerfully.
A/N: This chapter was a bit of a filler leading up to the next one.
Hope you enjoyed and thanks for the feedback through reviews and PMs.