For the record, I prefer not to deal with monsters like the Chimera or his snake-faced freak of a mother.

Secondly, when I meet my uncle Hades, I swear I'm gonna give a wedgie so tight that he's gonna sing soprano for the rest of the next month!

Annabeth was lying down in her bed, reading a cheap magazine she got from the store at the end cart, though I knew she couldn't read it because of her dyslexia. Her leg was healing perfectly, though it clearly needed a bit more time before settling. She was now forced to wear one of my spare pairs of jeans, which was a little too big for her, but she didn't complain. She was just glad that she wasn't wearing tatty jeans like her previous ones.

Grover came into our cart, carrying three heaping trays of food. "Here, I got us some food. Percy, here's yours."

He passed me over a burrito, stuffed with barbecue pulled pork and jalapenos. I had no idea why, but suddenly I was feeling nostalgic. Perhaps it was because this was one of my favourite burrito mix when I was in Mexico with Omega. Boy, those were the days...

Annabeth chewed hers slowly as she started talking. "Okay, we're about an hour away from Denver - what do we do when we get there? You said you had a contact that can supply us with some transportation?"

I nodded, setting my burrito down. "Yeah. The guy that we're going to see is a retired member of my old squad. His name is Enrique, a demigod who was born in Madrid. He's a son of Hephaestus, the blacksmith god. He retire from the squad over twenty years ago. If you ever want to find a safe place to be, or just to get some supplies, Enrique is the guy to help the most."

"And you know this guy pretty well?" Grover asked curiously.

I grimaced. "Yeah. Unfortunately, I know him. He tried getting it on with my sister a while back before he retired. Didn't go so well."

"What happened?" Annabeth laughed.

I gave her a smirk. "Lets just say that Calliope is one of those gals that just won't go out with men. She only liked Omega the most, so when Enrique tried to ask her out...uh, well let's just say that Calliope can be seriously brutal when you get on her bad side."

Annabeth chuckled...and for once, I kind've thought that it was a cute laugh.

"Do you think he'll let us in?" Grover asked, after Annabeth stopped laughing.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Last time I saw him was when I asked him to look after my car. It ended on good terms - I normally get on great with Enrique and his senora."

Annabeth frowned. "Senora?"

"Mrs," I answered instantly. "Its Spanish."

"Oh, right," Annabeth blushed.

"Wait a moment," Grover said, doing a time out gesture. "First, you are the oldest Guardian in Olympian history. Then, it turns out that you are rich and worth more than two hundred million dollars. You can be able to fight off even the Chimera in a single combat fight, and now you own a friggin car?!"

I counted the points with my fingers. "Sounds about right."

Grover scoffed, yet smiled in awe at me. "You never seek to stop surprising me Perce."

"Something doesn't sound right," Annabeth said suddenly. "You make it sound as if going to this Enrique guy is a bad idea. Is there something we should know?"

I grimaced, seriously hating the next part I was going to say. "Enrique is... Omega's cousin."
==========

Finally, we managed to reach Denver. And the first thing I saw when I got off the train was the rising peaks of the Rocky Mountains, which looked more like a tidal wave about to strike down on the city. The whole city was covered in several feet of snow, which continued to flow steadily down from the sky.

Before we got into the taxi waiting for us, I pulled Annabeth and Grover to one side. Making sure no one was watching, I leaned in close.

"I'm only going to say this once," I said in a low voice. "Do not, under any circumstances, say anything about Omega's death. Those two were really close when it came down to any member of their family. Telling him that Omega was murdered would send Enrique through the roof."

Annabeth nodded at once. "Understood. But what if he already knows? What do we do then?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. Don't forget: I haven't seen Enrique since 1995. He could have been up to anything since then."

Annabeth and Grover shared a look. They both nodded. "Okay. Let's go then," Grover said, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

=========

"Enrique!" I shouted, banging the door. "Abre la puerta, hombre!"

We all stood outside his house, waiting almost impatiently for him to open the door. I could tell at any moment that Annabeth would collapse from exhaustion and from the pain in her leg. Grover was nibbling his reed pipes in hunger (seriously, the goat could eat for all America if he could) and the winter winds just kept getting colder and colder.

I banged the door harder. "Está incluso allí, Enrique?"

"W-w-what are y-y-you even sa-sa-saying?" Annabeth asked through chattering teeth.

"I'm asking if he's in," I answered. I turned back go the door, sighing through my nose. "Well, if he's not in, then I might have more chance of getting Rosetta's attention - she's a housewife. Rosetta! Rosetta, estás ahí? Tenemos que entrar!"

No answer. At this point, I was trying my hardest to control my annoyance. Either they were both in, or they were just being completely stubborn to let us in.

"Maybe if you told them who you are...?" Annabeth suggested.

I gave her a confused look at first, but then got the meaning of what she said. I cupped my hands to my mouth and shouted, "Enrique, soy yo, Percy Jackson! Ya sabes, defensor de Olympus y el líder de los guardianes?"

That got their attention. I heard the rattling of chains and the turning of several keys. The door opened up a little until I saw a middle aged woman in her early thirties, with brown silky hair and blue eyes.

"Percy?" she asked in a timid voice that had a thick Mexican accent to it. "Is that you?"

"Si, Rosetta," I said, smiling kindly. "Its me."

She smiled back and opened the door fully. She hugged me with one arm. "Oh, mama mia. Last time I saw you, you and your sister and Omega were having dinner with us. Where has all that time gone, eh?"

"Yeah, it's been a while," I chuckled.

Rosetta looked behind me, noticing Annabeth and Grover. "These are amigos, si?"

I nodded, going behind Annabeth and placing my hands on her shoulders. "Rosetta, this is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and a camper from Camp Half-Blood. This," I indicated Get over on my right, "is Grover Underwood, satyr and searcher of the Wild God. They've helped me out on this quest, big time."

Rosetta nodded and shook both their hands. "Hola."

She then noticed that we were all standing outside. "Oh, where are my manners? Come on inside, it's freezing out here! I got some hot chocolate on the go."

At the mention of something warm, Grover instantly shot through the door. Annabeth was about to go forward, but she inhaled sharply and clutched her bad leg, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

I immediately went to her side, placing a hand on her back and grabbing her arm. "You okay?"

Annabeth sighed. "My leg...it hurts."

I turned to Rosetta. "Can you help her?"

"What's wrong with her?" she asked, suddenly going into what I call her "serious doctor" mode.

"We got attacked by Echidna and the Chimera," I answered straight away. "Annabeth got bit by the Chimera; I managed to remove the venom from her blood stream, but her leg must've suffered some degree of damage."

"Not a problem for me," Rosetta said, waving her hand absently. "I can mend this - no problemo."

I sighed in relief. "Boy, if you didn't open the door we would have had a problem."

"You can always count on me."

==============

Enrique's house looked like a normal home, but in truth it was like a garage turned into a living room. The seats were made out of old car metal and leather cushions; the coffee table was a wooden work bench, with saw marks and everything; and the walls were covered with work tools and shelves. There were empty canisters of car varnish everywhere and the fireplace looked like an actual blacksmiths forge.

Yet despite that, I felt content and safe for the first time in three days. After helping Rosetta get Annabeth into the living room, I instantly took stock of our combined inventory - so far, so good but I gave Rosetta the medical supplies so she can help Annabeth in full. Rosetta (thank the gods) had some ambrosia and nectar handy.

Grover sat sat down on one of the couches. "Man, this place is so cool! Do you and Enrique use this as your own office or something, because it looks as if you've brought work home with you!"

Rosetta chuckled slightly, whilst wrapping white cotton around Annabeth's thigh. "Enrique likes it when he's in an environment he's more relaxed in. Though I have to say he needs to limpiar este caos sangriento arriba!"

Grover frowned, looking at me.

"He needs to clean this bloody mess up," I translated.

"Ohhhh," he said.

Annabeth looked around, her eyes finally landing on a blue print of a building. "Ain't that a schematic drawing layout of the Empire State Building?"

"Si," Rosetta replied, with a hint of pride in her voice. "Enrique was among the designers for the whole design of the building. Enrique was the one who designed the very peak of the building."

Annabeth's eyes widen in awe. "Your husband was responsible for the final layout of the Empire State? Incredible! How did manage to pull that off?"

Rosetta looked at Annabeth with a small smile. "A very long and very interesting story."

"Please tell me," Annabeth insisted. "I inspire to be a great architect one day - I would liken to get some inspiring ideas!"

Before Rosetta could reply, I interrupted. "Rosetta, you wouldn't happen to have any Guardian clothing anywhere, would you? We need a fresh change of clothing."

"Sure," Rosetta said, pointing towards the door leading to the garage. "Just in there with the Chevelle."

Grover perked up at that. "Chevelle? You got a muscle car? I so got to see this!"

I rolled my eyes playfully at Rosetta, which made her laugh. With that said, Grover and I walked out of the living, past the kitchen and into the garage.

This is where Enrique liked working most of the time when he isn't doing anything. In the far corner, there were several lockers filled with Guardian clothing and extra weapons. In some others, there were crates after crates of construction tools and various oils and paints. However, directly in the centre of the room was the grand prize of them all - which was underneath a dust cover.

"Grover, give me a hand," I asked, grabbing a fist full of the dust cover. Grabbing quickly onto it, Grover started pulling it off with me and suddenly, we were staring at my desired car.

(At three seconds, that's when we go to the shot of the car being shown)

It was a black 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle SS, with white strips going down the entire middle of the shiny black body. The interior was all black leather and some of the gadgets were some of my own design - for instance, the gear stick was in the shape of a sword hilt and the steering wheel was chrome steel covered with black leather.

"Pan Almighty," Grover breathed out in amazement. "This is unreal. You got a modified iconic muscle car. And you leave it here with your pal Enrique?"

I shrugged. "I know - not the best place to leave it, but I trust Enrique and Rosetta to look after it."

Grover nodded his understanding. "I suppose you needed someone to look after it, considering that you are the Leader of the Guardians and the Champion and all."

I shook my head. "Not for long."

Grover looked up from the drivers seat and frowned at me. "What do you mean 'not for long'?"

"I was planning on retiring before the end of the year," I answered. "Me, Calliope and Omega were going to end our career as Guardians of Olympus after spending over three hundred years doing the job. All three of us had been Guardians longer than most, since we were the best in the business. We were actually planning on getting our own homes and everything - I am still looking forward to living my brand new life in that little beach house I made for myself on one of the outer islands of Japan."

Grover shook his head, yet smiled kindly. "Man, I wish it didn't come to that. You're pretty damn cool in combat; you're funny as hell; you're kind and thoughtful to others and you are an excellent planner at strategic warfare. I have no idea what all of us are gonna do without you and Calliope around."

I chuckled. "Someone else will come. I'm just hoping the poor bastard doesn't have to deal with that nymphomanic ex-girlfriend of mine, because she is a handful as it is."

Grover burst out laughing, which made me laugh out as well. Maybe it was the tiredness I felt; or perhaps despite the dire situation of what was going on, but for once I felt glad that I could relieve some of the pressure off my shoulders.

Grover stopped laughing suddenly. "Where and when did you meet someone like Tisiphone?"

I grimaced. Grover held up his hand. "Actually, I don't want to know. Knowing Tisiphone in the way you see her sounds way too embarrassing...and raunchy."

"Yep, that's does describe her best," I agreed.

Just then, the door leading to the kitchen opened and Rosetta came in. She had a slightly worried look on her face but it was only a little.

"Percy," she said, "Enrique's home."

=============

As soon as I walked right into the living room, the first thing I heard was Enrique shouting:

"MY COUSIN IS DEAD?!"

I paused at the door frame, feeling sick and sad at what was going to happen next. Walking slowly into the doorway, I just stood there waiting for Enrique to bombard me with furious and grief-stricken questions.

Enrique glared at me with furious dark brown eyes. He was a tall guy at almost two metres tall. He had a black beard and long dark hair, almost reaching his shoulders. He had a muscular frame, which was clearly obvious from his t-shirt as it was slightly small, but none of that even mattered because he was giving me such a hateful look.

"Hola, Enrique," I said in a low tone.

He spat something out in Spanish, but it was too harsh to even translate.

"You got some balls to show yourself here, my friend," he snarled. "You better start explaining, otherwise I'll beat you to death with a hammer."

"Enrique, what are you talking about?" Rosetta asked, standing between me and her husband as if afraid that there was going to be a fight. "What do you mean that Omega is dead? That's impossible - Omega is too tough to be killed."

"You really think that, Rosetta?" Enrique demanded. "This Guardian of Olympus," he pointed accusingly at me, "failed to save Omega from getting killed by the lightning thief! He didn't even help him or anything!"

"Enrique, is wasn't like that!" I said, holding my hands out in a placating gesture. "We didn't stand a chance against the lightning thief, not while he had Zeus's Master Bolt! Omega tried attacking him-"

"SHUT UP!" Enrique roared, charging at me. It took both Rosetta and Annabeth to hold him back because he was that strong. "You should've saved him when you had the chance!"

"Enrique, hear him out!" Annabeth shouted, straining to hold him back. "You don't know the whole story of what happened! Leave him alone!"

Finally, Enrique stopped struggling and gave up. He still glared at me though. "You better start talking, or this will be your very last day to live."

I nodded instantly, feeling more sick than before to repeat my whole story of what happened.

=============

After an hour of talking of what had happened, I finally sat back feeling spent and drained.

Enrique and Rosetta looked at me in plain shock and despair, while Grover and Annabeth looked at me with sad and sympathetic eyes. Those two knew the whole story already, but telling Enrique and his wife was a lot harder and painful because they knew Enrique as well and it was going to be harder to for them to recover.

"My cousin murdered..." Enrique murmured. He clenched his fists tightly. "How could this of happened? Why Omega, my little cousin?"

"He died fighting," I said, my eyes starting to water. "I can tell you that right now. He died a hero."

Annabeth, sensing my sadness, limped over to me and sat down next to me. As gently as she could, she grabbed my hand as a way of reassuring me. I gave a grateful smile.

Enrique sniffed, rubbing his eyes. "When I got the news from Zeus, I was stunned. How could a demigod have gotten into the citadel, without being detected? It seems almost imposible."

"I don't know how he could've gotten into the citadel and take the Bolt, but the most important thing right now is making sure I retrieve the Master Bolt and getting back to Olympus," I explained to him. "Otherwise, the whole world endures another Ice Age and all life as we know it will perish."

Grover crossed over. "I know I'll help. I've haven't come all this way for nothing just to back out."

"No one said anything about backing out, Grover," Annabeth said, still holding my hand. "We made a promise to Chiron that we would help Percy out. He needs all the help he can get."

I looked at her, wondering what she was thinking. She seemed to be taking things calmly, but I caught I look of worry in her eyes. In that moment, I knew straight away that she was deeply concerned for me, which I was touched by. Recently, I kept on thinking over what the Oracle said to me before I left: that I would be betrayed the one who called me a friend, but I knew straight away that it wasn't either Annabeth or Grover - it wasn't in their nature.

Enrique and Rosetta stood up. "Well," Enrique said, "if you're going to hunt this thief down, then you better be equipped and dressed in a manner that would put him on edge."

I smiled slightly. "The spare Guardian robes you got? We can do with those. And we need to bring the Chevelle with us - we're on a limited window and we need to get to L.A as fast as possible."

Enrique cracked a smile for the first time in over an hour. "That I can give you."

He went into the garage and brought out two new Guardian uniforms - one for Annabeth and one for me (the one I was currently wearing was tattered and ruined beyond repair, so I needed a new one). Annabeth went into the other room where Rosetta helped her get dressed in it, while I fitted myself into a new light grey robe and cape, with a long-sleeved black top underneath and dark bluish grey jeans.

When we were ready, Enrique gave me the keys to the Chevelle. Before I got into the car however, I looked at Enrique.

"Enrique, I so sorry about Omega," I told him sincerely.

Enrique shook his head. "No, hombre. You did your best. I should be the one apologising - I wasn't there, when you were. I just hope Calliope is okay after all of this. She'll definitely miss Omega."

I nodded. Then, I took out Omega's spear, giving it one last wistful glance before extending it out towards Enrique. "This belongs to you."

Enrique shook his head, closing my hand around Omega's spear. "No, my friend. Oblivion belongs to a hero - not an ex-Guardian such as me. Omega would've wanted you to have it."

I nodded my head in sincerest thanks, then I got into the drivers seat and started the car up. It growled and rumbled, like a content lion purring after a large meal of meat.

Before I started going forwards, Enrique said, "Percy."

I looked back. Enrique and Rosetta gave me a salute and then he said something that I would remember:

"When you find the lightning thief, make him pay for what he's done."