Chapter 13

Percy didn't see any cops outside the store. Annabeth was behind him, her hand on the small of his back as she looked around with him. The only things Percy saw were pedestrians walking on the sidewalk and cars driving up and down the street. Not a single cop car or officer in sight.

"I think we're good." Percy said over his shoulder.

Annabeth nodded, "Alright, be careful."

As soon as they were on the street, Percy and Annabeth swiftly walked away from the store. The last thing they needed was for someone who saw them kill Kelli to see them and call the cops.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked Annabeth.

Annabeth kept walking, "Well, we need to leave this damn city."

"Yeah, but how?"

She pursed her lip, "Well, a train would be ideal but if we have to take a bus, then we can."

Percy had just managed to spot the signature black and white of a cop car driving past them a little too late. His eyes widened as the car pulled over to the curb and stopped. He looked over at Annabeth, whose eyes were wider than his.

Percy had never been to jail before and he really never planned on going. He knew they weren't going to juvenile corrections or anything like that, both him and Annabeth were 18 now and not to mention they were being accused of murder. He hoped Annabeth had a plan to get out of this.

The door of the cop car opened as a cop climbed out. He had his hand on his gun as he walked towards them.

"Hey, you two!" He said, "You match the descriptions of two young adults we're looking for. I need you to come to the station with me."

"Annabeth." Percy whispered to her.

Annabeth looked at him. For a few seconds, they locked eyes. Even though they weren't speaking, they were planning something. If Percy was reading her eyes correctly, she had a plan and he needed to go along with it.

"Oh, um, us?" Annabeth asked, "What did we do wrong?"

"I'll explain that at the station." The cop said, "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

That's when Annabeth raised her hand and snapped her fingers, "Or you can go back to your station and take the day off because you aren't feeling well."

Percy thought they were about to get tazed any second and catch a resisting arrest charge but instead, the cop's eyes glazed over. He stiffened like he'd been shocked before rubbing the side of his head.

"Um, yeah, sorry to bother you, miss." The cop said before walking back to his car and climbing in.

"How did you do that?" Percy asked, turning to Annabeth as the cop drove off.

Annabeth smiled, "That was old-fashioned mist manipulation."

Percy couldn't help but think that was one of the coolest things he'd ever seen. He saw Thalia do it before when they were younger but Annabeth did it with so much confidence, like she'd done it before or something.

"You gotta teach me how to do that." He said.

"You never asked Chiron?" She asked.

"I did but he said that he'd do it when I was older. Apparently, I'm too immature to learn it."

Annabeth snickered, "Probably because he knew you'd try to use it to cheat in school."

"You don't know that." He said.

"You're right but I do know you, Percy." She smiled, "You totally would've done that."

Percy looked away because technically she was right, he would've definitely done that. The mist would've definitely helped him in class.

Annabeth took his phone out and opened up the map to find the nearest train station. He was debating whether he should suggest that they go to a café and just use one of the outlets to charge her phone but he wasn't sure if that was a great idea. Just because they made one cop leave them alone didn't mean they'd be so lucky next time around.

They started making their way towards a train station. Percy watched as a postal van came around the corner and stopped right next to them. He wondered why because there weren't any mailboxes nearby, maybe one of the stores had a package or something.

The post man climbed out of the van. Percy couldn't help but feel like he'd seen this guy before. He was tall and fit, like he'd ran for fun. His blue eyes twinkled with mischief and his lips curled into a smirk. He just looked like a troublemaker.

"Percy, Annabeth, thank gods I found you!" He said, strolling up to him.

Percy narrowed his eyes and reached for his sword. He would've taken out Riptide if it weren't for the fact that he saw the nametag read 'Hermes'.

"Lord Hermes?" Annabeth said.

"Yeah, it's me." Hermes said, "Listen, Athena sent me, you guys need to be careful."

"Why?" Percy asked.

"Because that Jason kid told Zeus that you guys are gone from camp. Now Zeus is pissed, he's ordered a hunt on you both." Hermes said, "This was yesterday. I would've told you guys but you were moving too damn fast."

"Well, have they actually done anything?" Annabeth asked.

"Not yet but Jason put Nico in charge of camp. He's coming after you both personally."

Percy wasn't sure how much time they had left. Jason was by no means incompetent, the guy had led the Romans during the Titan War and judging from everyone's opinion of him at Camp Jupiter, he was good. Percy knew Jason knew some tricks.

"Wait, you said my mom sent you. Why don't you just turn us in?" Annabeth asked, "I'd assume he'd send the gods to capture us too."

"He did." Hermes sent, "But Athena told me her plan to have you both find the missing items so I'll help you both as much as I can. I owe you, Percy. You helped me when I asked for it and as far as I'm concerned, you are a friend of mine. I'm afraid Ares and Artemis don't share the same opinion."

"Artemis?!" Annabeth nearly yelled.

"Yes." Hermes nodded, "She's ordered her Hunters to be on the lookout for you. Ares has started to search for you both personally but I wouldn't worry about him, he gets distracted rather easily."

"What about the other gods?" Percy asked, "Like Hephaestus and Apollo?"

"They've elected to not get involved in the hunt." Hermes said, "Poseidon has outright opposed it and had promised to delay them if they try to chase you by sea."

"Does my dad know about Athena's plan?"

"No." He shook his head, "Athena plans on telling him soon but not right now. Zeus's eye is locked in on him right now. He expects Poseidon to help you both and if he sees him plotting with Athena, the whole plan might get blown out of the water."

"Alright." Annabeth said, "Is that all?"

"No, I came to deliver this too." He reached into his pocket and took out a celestial bronze key. He held it out to Annabeth.

"What's this?" She asked as she took the key.

"There's a chariot in a lock-up not far from here. The key unlocks the door so you guys can ride out in style. Just look for garage eleven." Hermes said, "Hephaestus gave it to me as a gift but who needs a chariot when you can just teleport? Anyways, it should help you guys out but that's about all I can do for now."

"This chariot, can it fly?" Percy asked.

"Of course!" Hermes said with a smile, "Goes as fast as a passenger plane. Just don't fall asleep at the controls, Hephaestus didn't program a autopilot in it."

Percy nodded, "Thanks, um, Lord Hermes."

Hermes gave him a smile, "Good luck."

Ω

As soon as Percy saw the alleyway, he had a feeling he and Annabeth weren't going to able to take the chariot smoothly. The alleyway was crowded with a bunch of telekhines who were trying to break into the lockup. He figured they must've smelled the celestial bronze of the chariot inside and they wanted it.

"Bite it again!" One of the telekhines snarled.

"My teeth hurt!" The one trying to open the door howled.

The other telekhines let out barks as they tried to open the door in vain.

Annabeth tapped him on the shoulder. He looked over at her, "What?"

"There's another entrance on the other side, we should try that way first." She said.

Percy nodded and started to follow her. He didn't mind killing the telekhines but he knew fighting them was risky due to their numbers. Sure, he and Annabeth would've killed them all but he doubted they'd be able to do it with no injuries whatsoever. Getting injured would drain their supplies quickly so Percy would rather they don't do that.

When they reached the other side, Percy found Annabeth was right. There was another door. He watched their backs as she started to unlock the door.

"Okay, we're in." Annabeth told him, pushing open the door and going inside.

Percy followed her and shut the door, locking it to make sure the telekhines didn't open it. He flicked on the light and was surprised to find the lockup was quite small. Aside from a shelf of tools and manuals, the only thing in there was the chariot which took up almost all the space.

"This thing is sick." Percy said as he walked around it.

The chariot wasn't horse powered but instead it had a jet engine in the back with rocket thrusts on either side for what he assumed take off and landing. The main body of the chariot was a glass dome, which meant they were protected from the elements during their flight. The seats were made of some blue fabric that felt like velvet when Percy ran his hand over it. One of the seats had the controls, which looked way too complicated for him. It was like a mix between a fighter jet's controls, a computer, and a car. There was a gear shift from a Camry on one side while the stick of a fighter jet was right in the middle of where the driver's legs would be.

Annabeth climbed into the driver's seat and started pushing buttons and flicking switches. At first, nothing happened. Then the engine started to whine before roaring to life, nearly blasting Percy's eardrums in the process.

"Get in!" Annabeth yelled while she shut her door.

Percy climbed in and shut the door on his side. He stared at the metal garage door in front of them, "Uh, Annabeth, how are we supposed to take off."

"Like this." Annabeth said as she pushed a button to open the door.

The telekhines outside jumped back in fright. Their eyes widened as they stared at Annabeth and Percy in the seat of the chariot. Annabeth shifted the chariot into drive and started steering with the stick. The telekhines shrieked and ran off, mainly to avoid being run over as Annabeth started to speed up.

"Alright, here we go." Annabeth said as she flicked a switch.

The sound of the rocket thrusters roaring to life made Percy jump. The chariot jolted before flying forward and taking flight. Once they cleared the alleyway, the thrusters shut off and now he could only hear the roar of the jet engine as they flew through the skies of Chicago.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" Percy asked, more than grateful he brought Annabeth along. If he had been driving, he probably would've crashed.

"Just kiss me, moron." Annabeth said with a smile.