NOT ALLOWED

CHAPTER ELEVEN: GOLDEN GODS

ATHENA wished she could say she wasn't scared when she heard the jeep pull up the drive, and she wished she could say she didn't feel the tiniest bit guilty for what they'd just done. But instead of lingering on it she took a quick shower and dressed before heading back out into the living room where she found Aidan and Apollo lounging around.

Pietro was sitting on the corner seat of the couch, his eyes immediately catching Athena's as she entered the room, "sooooo," she drawled out as she came around to the back of the couch so she was standing just behind where Aidan sat, "what did you guys get up to?"

Apollo met her gaze then, and with the most disinterested face she had ever been talked to with, he spoke, "nothing much, what did you get up to?"

Her breath caught in her chest for a moment and she tried her best to remain calm, that was definitely pointed, but how would he know? Surely they didn't have cameras, and surely Mitch hadn't said anything.

She was almost positive that she'd know if they had cameras or not, but she knew her father, and she knew he would never admit to such a thing, she should've assumed the house had them, and now she walked a dangerous line.

"I just went for a swim in the lake, then I came back and showered," Apollo gave a small nod of his head and turned back to the papers in front of him, "nice," Aidan however, looked like he'd seen a ghost, he was pale, and his eyes wouldn't meet anyone, he looked as if he was going to be sick if he didn't lie down.

"Aidan?" she'd questioned, he didn't respond and instead of asking again she looked to Apollo, "what's wrong with him?" the boy simply shrugged his shoulders, "not sure, maybe he'll answer you."

Athena frowned and gently shook Aidan's shoulder, "hey, Aidan?" his eyes slowly met hers and she could see the chaos clouding them, but she didn't know what had caused it, "what's wrong?" he could only stare up at her before shaking his head, "we're not safe anywhere."

The girl's brows furrowed and she cast another look in Apollo's direction, "what the hell is he talking about?"

Apollo, seemingly annoyed over once again being bothered, set his papers down and turned to look at his sister, "she's dead, Mom's sister. Hisa, she was killed last night," Athena's brows dropped and she looked to Aidan, he'd been the closest with her, and she knew her loss was taking a toll, but if she wasn't safe, then who was?

"Then why are we still here? Surely they've got to know where we're located by now," Apollo shook his head, "nope, right now we're still under the radar, and that's how it's gonna stay, I hope."

Athena looked from Apollo to where Mitch was as he entered the room, the natural hardness of his gaze seemed to fade the slightest under the hardness of her own and he watched with a frown as she walked away from Apollo and to her room, which Mitch slowly followed her to.

Once the two were inside Athena turned to him with a fiery gaze and crossed her arms, "when did you find out?"

Mitch shook his head, and that seemed to be the final straw for Athena, she reached her hands out and roughly shoved his chest, "when did you find out?"

He shook his head again, but opened his mouth to speak this time, "last night, when your Father called it in," Athena's gaze turned red at the sight of him and she stared at him for a good long minute trying to decide what to do, "and you didn't think to tell me?"

He met her gaze and frowned, "I wasn't cleared to tell you," Athena's nose scrunched and her brows furrowed as she took a step towards him, "screw clearance, it's basic human decency, you owe me that much."

"I don't owe you shit," he muttered as he gazed down at her, "but you do, just you wait and see Rapp," he smirked then, a small one that didn't offer her much of an idea as to what he was about to mention, "so we're back to last names, Hurley?"

He took a step closer to her this time, and in turn, she took one back- or tried to- but as she did this, he grabbed her wrist and tugged her a step closer so that way he was looking directly down at her, "I think you owe me," he began in a ragged whisper, "because if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're not on birth control, and last I checked, I just pumped you full of my cum."

As much as she wished she could say she hadn't, she felt her face heat up and begin to turn a shade of red at the remark, and with a quick slip into his pocket, he produced a small pill in a small sealed bag, "what's that?" she questioned, although she already had an idea of what the white tablet was

"It's a form of Plan B, a bit more effective too," holding the small packet out to her, he watched as she very slowly took it from him, "go ahead and take it with some water," she frowned up at him as she ran her fingers over the seal, "are you seriously gonna watch me while I take it?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "the last thing I need is to be fired, and the last thing you need is for your Dad to murder you." With a glance in the direction of her bedroom door, Athena tugged on her wrist before Mitch finally released her, with no other words, she retreated to the bathroom and cupped her hands together beneath the sink before sipping from it.

Mitch- having entered behind her- took the small pill from where she'd set it on the counter and ripped it open before dropping it into her wet hand, with a small sigh Athena tilted her head to the ceiling and slid the pill into her mouth before swallowing it with a loud gulp.

"Happy?" she questioned as she slid past him  back into the main part of her bedroom, "very."

"Now," he began, Athena turned to face him with a scowl and crossed her arms once more, "we're gonna go back out there, and we're going to play it cool, you're gonna spark up those tears I know you're hiding and you're going to go console your brother."

With a small shake of her head, Athena made way for the door and slipped out before heading back to the living room, but instead of consoling Aidan she stared down at Apollo for a moment before gesturing to the door, "I'm gonna go make a call, maybe go for a walk," he frowned at her back as she walked in the direction of their father's office, "why are you going in there?"

Turning back to look at him, she let the corner of her lips turn up slightly, "it's the only protected line on the property," with an approving nod Apollo turned away from his sister and back to the papers, for a moment, Athena thought Mitch might follow her, and when he didn't she was relieved.

She let her eyes wander through all the different things in her father's office before she finally sat at his desk and picked up the phone, a part of her was scared to even touch the thing, and another part of her was filled with electricity as she dialed the numbers and brought the receiver to her ear.

When the ringing finally stopped she was met by a woman's voice, "This is the Central Intelligence Agency, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a Stan Hurley," a few clicks could be heard from the other side of the line and for a moment Athena thought they would hang up on her, "can you give me your name?" a frown slid onto the girls face and with a small sigh she spoke, "Athena Hurley, I'm trying to get through to my father."

She listened as the woman's breaths turned somewhat heavy and with a cracking voice she spoke "of course, I'll connect you to his extension right now," Athena awkwardly smiled, she was happy that neither of them could see each other right now because she was sure that if they could both of them would be bright red and standing as still as a statue.

The ringing she had first been met with started up again and within seconds it stopped, her father's voice broke through the silence and she listened to the edge in it, "hello?"

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

Athena bit her lip, she knew she was being stupid, but she didn't see any way of getting around it, "I heard about Hisa," her father made no sound from his end of the line and Athena felt that she had said something that wasn't supposed to be spoken, "and?"

She frowned, "and, I want to know, how close are they to us?"

Hurley ran a hand over his balding head and glanced across his office, it was a large room with only one window, being in the CIA was a big enough risk on his life, and having windows in the room was him asking to be sniped, but he couldn't care less.

"They're close, they're talking about relocating you guys, somewhere safer out in the country," Athena settled her head into her hand and stared at the wall across from her, "how do I stop it?"

A scoff came from the other end of the line and she found herself frowning again, "there isn't any way to stop it, they're coming for you Athena, and you ought to be scared, these are trained mercenaries, they're just like me, they have higher skill sets than our field operatives, they're basically invisible."

"I want to be invisible."

Silence followed, whether or not her father had heard her was floating around in her head, and then, in a quieter voice, she heard him, "don't say that, that's not what you want."

Athena sat up a little bit straighter in her chair, for what reason, she wasn't entirely sure, but a surge of electricity had made its way through her body, and it was currently driving her forward, "I want to be invisible, I want to be the scary one."

Stan didn't reply for several moments, he knew his chance to silence her was over, he knew all calls from the CIA buildings were monitored, and he knew that if she really wanted to Irene would send out agents to collect her for training and to sign on to a contract.

"Athena... honey, this is not what you want, our field operatives, they risk never coming back, they're invisible, and if they die they are not acknowledged, you would be just like them."

"I want to be the one they fear, not the other way around," with a small sigh, Stan glanced towards the door of his office, almost as if he was expecting Irene to bust through at any moment, "if you're serious about this, you have to know that you sign on for an automatic eight-year contract, and within that time you practically belong to the CIA."

When no response came from the girl he ran a hand over his chin and slid into the chair behind his desk, "Athena, do you understand?"

And even though he couldn't see it, she nodded to herself, "I understand."

"I'll talk to Irene about getting your paperwork drawn up and have her over to dissect it with you, you'd essentially start training with Rapp and Harst," Athena frowned at the names, "Harst?"

"Pietro," he added, nodding to herself she brushed a strand of hair out of her face, "what all does it include, the training?"

"All you should know is that you need to prepare for the worst because this is not cub scouts Athena, this is life and death."

NOT ALLOWED

CHAPTER ELEVEN: GOLDEN GODS