IV

"Did you kill them? Who are you and what are you trying to recruit me for? Us for," Fēi Lín asked.

Luke knew he didn't need to hide the answers to those questions, but his mind still raced. What if she asked about something else? Something about Kronos that he wasn't willing to share?

"I'm ashamed to say I hadn't even heard of Jackie boy before today. Again, embarrassing considering that someone must have written about his healing, even if a wack journalist," Phil said, putting his hands up in a surrender position. Either that or showing off the ligaments that he might be about to lose. "Though, if he only sings in choir or hospitals, they could have attributed it to God or doctors."

"Same," Luke said, his mouth working before he could plan the words. "About not knowing Jack or his family. I don't read wack journals. We're recruiting you to help destroy the Olympic gods because I'm mad at my dad."

Hatred burned in Luke's chest. He did not like disclosing that last part so casually to strangers. That made it sound so simple; it undermined what he wanted to do to the Olympians and the pain he went through. What Thalia had suffered.

"Smooth, kid," Phil said.

Fēi Lín tapped the driver wheel, glaring at the satyr. "And you? Why do you want to recruit me?"

"Hey, I'm good at my job, lady, and I'm proud of dredging through your records. People that get in your way, they do things that they wouldn't normally do to hurt themselves. Recruiting you will put a shiny spot on my record and I'll get all the fuzzy feels about helping a kid, since I feel like you'll do way better at Camp Othrys than Camp Half-Blood. And as to why I'm doing this job—do you think all satyrs like being Dionysus' slaves?" Phil spat out the window. "I don't even care if we win the coming war and I don't really care about our boss. I just wanna be a thorn in that bastard's toe."

Luke made a mental note about how Phil didn't care if they won. That could be detrimental later.

Fēi Lín tapped her steering wheel again. "Everybody out," she said.

Luke jumped out of the car. Phil was half a second behind him. Luke bit his lip. He wasn't entirely sure if she'd forced him out of the car or if he'd hopped out on instinct.

Jack slowly slid out of his seat, hugging himself.

"Where are we?" Luke finally asked.

"Somewhere you will act respectfully and ask a minimal number of questions," Fēi Lín said. She jumped out of the car and flicked her keys around one finger, leading them towards a side door that looked more like an entrance to a scene from Scream.

In a small town like this, Luke had an uncomfortable feeling that this girl would know exactly where to hide their bodies.

"The Dǒng residence," Phil said, "Kid, I know you're dyslexic and all, but, uh, you can read the files that I slaved over making you, right? They're in Greek."

Luke scowled. With the Kronos dreams at night, directing Cabin Eleven during the day, and then sneaking out during his off hours to set up Camp Othrys and gather an army, he thought he deserved some slack. He couldn't exactly read files on potential campers at the pavilion with all the tiny Hermes hands hoping for some blackmail on each other. "You could also tell me about them on the way over here," Luke spat back.

Fēi Lín led them through the door and down a hallway that's carpet might have been cleaner if it came from a dumpster. Lights flickered and water stains seeped down the once-white walls. Each door was a faded color, perhaps originally bright greens and reds. There was a piece of trash here and there and, to Luke's disgust, a used condom.

This really did look like somewhere she would strap them into a chair and start a very different kind of interrogation.

She stopped at a bend in the hallway, in front of the single freshly painted red door.

Jack perked up and rushed to stand beside her.

Once Fēi Lín finished unlocking the door, Jack reached for the handle.

She paused and examined him. Her stern expression broke. "Jack…" she said in the best we talked about this voice.

Jack gave her the world's weakest smile. He cleared his throat and his tears. "After you, Ms. Davidson," he said, his voice shaking as he opened the door for her and gestured the three of them inside.

Fēi Lín's discolored cheeks lit up. It took Luke a moment to process that she was blushing and to realize Jack and Fēi Lín might not just be friends, or, at least Jack wanted them to be more.

Fēi Lín briskly entered.

Luke swallowed, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they weren't walking into some kind of trap. Not that she needed to trap him considering what she did to the cops.

He could hear running water and music. The room was brightly lit, nothing like the terror he'd been expecting from the earlier hallway.

Jack continued to hold the door and motioned them forward, that shaky smile probably the least encouraging thing Luke had seen.

Phil walked in without hesitation. Luke followed and also made a mental note to talk to Phil about his willingness to walk into situations that had "death" written all over them.

"Shoes off," Fēi Lín said, already setting hers onto a floor matt beside the door. She slipped on some smiling bunny slippers. Not what Luke was expecting. "Zài jiā! Zǎo shang hǎo, Nǎinai," she said, louder. "Jack hé wǒ de liǎng gè péngyǒu yě zài zhèlǐ." [footnote]

Phil frowned down at his hooves. He'd already kicked off his boots when he assaulted the cops. "Anyone got some plastic wrap that I can slap over these suckers?"

Fēi Lín shot him a glare.

Jack took off his neon orange converses and slipped on a pair of dragon slippers that must have been there for him. Luke followed Jack and Fēi Lín's lead and put his shoes on the floor mat.

The apartment was small and minimalist. There wasn't a hint of clutter. On the right, there was a small kitchen with plants hanging and nesting in every open space. The windows beside the counter were open and showed off the apartment building's modest garden. On the left, there was a table with four chairs and a small box TV that looked like it was from the 80's.

A massive framed mirror lined the left wall, reflecting the window's view. A tiny fountain gurgled beside the doorway.

There were two closed doorways in front of them, one Luke guessed was a bathroom and the other he assumed was a bedroom. Opera music came from under one of the doors.

Fēi Lín walked to the door with the music and slipped inside, shutting the door behind her without a word to them.

Walking into the apartment seemed to calm Jack. He stepped over to the kitchen and set a kettle on the stove. He hesitated, looking at Phil and Luke. "Um, do either of you want anything to drink? Flynn says that Mrs. Davidson, her grandma, doesn't really like me drinking soda, since it's bad for my voice, but…" Jack leaned forward a little bit, his weak grin becoming goofy. "I hide some Coke behind the extra trash bags in the cabinet if you'd like one. It'll be our secret."

Phil snorted. "Jeeze kid, the Coca-Cola scandal. How did a goodie church boy like you end up with Ms. Pleather Pants? And coke for the kid. I'll take a mug if you're making a pot of tea."

Jack's freckled face went bright red. For a split second, it was like nothing had happened to his family. "I—I don't know. Flynn can have anyone she wants, and does when it suits her fancy."

Luke stomach twisted at the way Jack said it, though the younger guy didn't seem to think it was a big deal. Something about that felt very wrong. Luke realized it would be dumb to point out how Fēi Lín's facial scars might limit her partner choices, especially to someone sweet on her.

One part stuck. "We could have been saying Flynn this whole time?" Luke asked, glaring at Phil.

Phil shrugged, smirking. "I thought a little enculturation would be good for you."

Jack pulled two mugs down from a cabinet and withdrew two Cokes. He brought the Cokes over to the table. He motioned for them to sit down.

Luke took a Coke from him and collapsed in a chair. Phil sat beside him.

This was proving to be a complicated day. Even though the drink was warm, it felt refreshing after how tense he'd been. Just having a break from Fēi Lín—Flynn?—was nice. How much time had they spent out though? He needed to make sure Mr. D wouldn't get suspicious. The Stolls, two of his most promising campers, could only cause organized chaos to cover for him for so long.

At least Jack would talk, even if he did seem a little absent. Luke imagined finding your family dead would do that to you. "So, you and Flynn?" he asked, unsure if they could uncover anything else about Jack's family and nervous Flynn would storm out the moment he asked where she went.

Jack's blush grew redder. "Yea. Her family was new to town. Everyone around here knows each other, so—uh—she was cool. She saved me from a monster attack. She—she's so awesome." His eyes turned wistful as he glanced at the closed door.

The kettle began to whistle. Jack robotically walked back to fill the two mugs. "She told me that I wasn't broken in the head, that I really could help people. Like…" Jack brought the two mugs over. Again, he conspiratorially leaned closer to Phil and Luke as he set the cups down. "She said her grandmother hadn't acknowledged anyone since Flynn moved in with her. Sometimes, after I sing for them, Mrs. Davidson will even smile at me."

Jack giggled in delight, grinning from ear to ear.

"Uh—huh," Phil said, glancing at Luke. "Kid, you can definitely heal people. I guess I'm just wondering… with Flynn's record, I take it your parents didn't like you spending time with her or her grandma?"

It was Luke's turn to kick Phil's hoof. This guy had just lost his family. Luke remembered how unstable he was before he found Thalia, when he ran from his mother, and how quick he'd come to tear people down if they criticized Thalia's clothing after they got close.

Jack frowned. He sat down beside them, his posture rigid. He stared at his untouched bottle of Coke. "Aston told them the stupid rumors going around the school about her."

Phil leaned back. "Is that what you guys argued about last night?"

Jack fiddled with the bottle. His eyes were so red-rimmed and sunken. "I…. I asked Flynn to prom yesterday, when I was carrying her books to her English class. She gets so mad when I fuss over her." He cracked a small smile. "But, I like, asked-asked her, not just as a friend."

Luke took another swig of his Coke. He had to wonder if Thalia would have hit him for asking her to a dance. He suspected she'd secretly be thrilled. He hoped, with everything they planned with Kronos, he'd get to find out one day.

It sucked that Jack asked Flynn the night before his family died. Ways to bum out an occasion.

"I'd been planning how to ask her for weeks—I mean, I didn't think she would actually say yes with how stupid she thinks that stuff is and—I mean—I'm just a junior," Jack continued. His bashfulness died with the next comment. "Mom and Steve already don't like me going out because of my condition, but the idea of me dating Flynn… especially since they don't like her telling me I'm not crazy…" Jack's hand shook as he peeled the label off the bottle. "They're wrong about her."

For a moment, only the fountain gurgled.

That was a motive for murder, but Luke still didn't buy it.

Jack set the bottle down, eyes wide. "B—but you can't tell her that's what we argued about. I don't want her to think—"

"Jack."

Jack's lips pressed shut and he ducked his head down.

Flynn stepped out of the room, giving them a critical look. There was a duffle bag over her shoulder. She walked over to Jack and held a hand out to him. "Mr. Sunny?" she asked.

Jack exhaled in relief. He fumbled around in his pockets and withdrew a—a weekly pill organizer? Luke blinked. They'd named it?

She snatched it and went to fumble in the cabinets. "This place you want to recruit us to, do they have access to Clozapine, Olanzapine, or Aripiprazole?"

Phil snorted. "Those aren't exactly interchangeable, but, yea, I can get them for you." He scowled.

Luke's stomach took a sharper turn as he visualized the inside of his closet, where lights flickered and his mother's scream tore into his hiding spot. The glow of her green eyes would still perforate through the cracks of the closet door.

She took pills like that. They didn't help his mother's "condition."

Extra saliva had built up in Luke's mouth. He swallowed it away. "Do you… see prophecies? Vision of the future" he asked carefully. He never wanted to be near someone that could do that again.

Jack blinked, looking confused. "No. I see monsters," he said.

"And your parents had you medicated for that?" Phil asked, anger making his voice shake.

"Well, yea. I see monsters," Jack said.

"Di Immortales," Phil muttered. "This is why kids should never tell their parents anything."

Luke's fingers began to shake around his Coke bottle. This was just like his mother. This is why the gods needed someone to put them in their place. "And your dad just let that happen? Let you think you'd lost your mind and didn't claim you or send any help?"

Like Hermes did to Luke and his mother.

When May Castellan did take pills and didn't have a fit, she was practically brain-dead: lethargic, drooling, and dizzy. Luke tried not to picture Jack like that. He wondered how recently the guy had taken his medication.

Jack stared at the table, the red-rims around his eyes growing more pronounced. "Steve was the one who drove me to the doctor. He said a boy my age shouldn't be afraid of silly things like monsters."

That must have been his stepdad.

"That's not who he means," Flynn said. She brought Jack's pill box back over. Her duffle bag rattled with his extra pill bottles. "We can't go back to Jack's house and this is the first place the cops will look for him."

For the first time since Flynn had opened her mouth to talk that day, Luke felt back in control. He knew how to do this pitch and now he knew, for sure, that he wanted these two at camp. He'd have to talk to Kronos to make sure Flynn couldn't usurp control, but Luke guessed that Kronos could easily read through her parlor trick. "The cops won't find Jack or you with us. We're small right now, but we're expanding. There's food and shelter. We're working to take down the gods so this—" He gestured to Jack. "—doesn't happen again."

Flynn nodded. She glanced around the small apartment. "I'll need to come back once a week and bring Jack." She stated it as a nonnegotiatiable fact.

Luke wasn't used to demigods wanting to see their family. He, Annabeth, and Thalia had run away from neglect and abuse. If neither of Flynn nor Jack had run away yet, and Jack was this at-home with Flynn's Nainai—whatever that was, grandmother?—then she must have been alright. Flynn and Jack would have to worry about private investigators and the cops early on, but he didn't see why they couldn't orchestrate their return. "We'll make it work."

Flynn gripped the strap of her duffle bag so tightly, her knuckles turned white. "So, we join your squad to kill our godly parents. Do we need to wear jackets or something that'll make us targets to monsters?" She glanced down at his bright orange sweatshirt.

Luke wanted to punch Chiron in the face. "No. We work with monsters that are under a truce. You just need to swear loyalty to Kronos and forsake the Greek gods."

Jack's lip trembled. "Swear loyalty to a false god to work with demons?"

Luke wanted to laugh. That sounded like a pitch that Thalia would have signed up for in a heartbeat.

"Technically he's a Titan." Phil blew on his tea. "And they don't really like being called 'demons.'"

"If you're swearing yourself to him, what happens to your soul after you die?" Jack asked.

Luke opened his mouth. He paused and glanced at Phil.

"Huh," Phil said, "I mean, I turn into a daisy no matter how this shit goes down."

"You swore fealty to a deity without asking what it would do to your soul?" Flynn asked skeptically.

"Once we take over, it'll all be fine," Luke said, shaking the thought off. He didn't know why they were so worried. They were talking about vengeance: here and now. Sorting out the Underworld could come once they had disposed of Hades and his crew.

Jack set his Cola down and hugged himself again. They would definitely need to come back to the whole religion thing later.

Flynn stared at Luke.

"Who do you think is my godly parent?" she asked slowly.

"Oh, with the power in your voice and that physique?" Phil snorted and took a sip of his tea. "Definitely Aphrodite."

Jack glared at him.

Luke had to agree.

On the wall, Luke had been trying not to look at a picture of a fifth grade girl. Although the distortion of features made it hard to tell, Luke was fairly certain that girl was a younger Flynn. Even at age ten, she looked beautiful and had facial features that would probably have matured to make her gorgeous.

It took Luke every ounce of self-control not to ask her if a hydra had spit acid in her face before she went to middle school.

Flynn frowned. She glanced back towards the door with the opera music, her expression blank and eyes hollow. "The goddess of sex and beauty, right?"

"Yea. Love, beauty, pleasure," Luke said, remembering how Silena scolded the boys and reminded them to leave the last one out when talking to younger campers.

Flynn released a laugh, one that contained no mirth and had no smile. Luke felt like he'd missed out on a joke that he didn't want to hear. His curiosity about her scars vanished.

"Yea," she said, "I'll help you kill my mom."

The conviction in her voice made Luke grin. He stood and held out a hand. "Let's restart this. I'm Luke Castellan."

Flynn gripped his hand tight enough to make him wince. "Flynn Davidson."

Jack swallowed. Uncertainly, he stood. He started to reach his hand out, flinched, then fully extended it. Luke took it. Jack had a gentle, comforting handshake, especially when compared to Flynn's. "Jack Flash."

Phil stood up and pinched his shirt like he was wearing overalls. "And I'm Phil: the trainer of fucking heroes."

Flynn scoffed and nodded to the exit. She made no indication of needing to say goodbye when she said, "Let's get out of here and fuck up our parents."

And, with that, Luke formed a partnership that would last their entire (very short) lives. He just didn't realize how soon after things would start to go wrong.

Thank you for the read! I hope you enjoyed the introduction to Luke's elite squad! Stay tuned next week for The Versatility of a Guitar String, where you get to see what happened at Camp Half-Blood when Percy was looking for the Master Bolt. Follow Luke and Jack as they go undercover to recruit more half-bloods and Phil gets to juggle a corpse—wait—Phil, that's unsanitary. Please wear gloves.

Footnote: I'm home! Good morning, grandmother. Jack is here, along with two of my friends.