[gloriosus et liber]

If the flash-drive didn't hold such valuable information, Eli would have chucked it at the nearest wall by now. But despite his seething rage at the negating screens of death on his monitor, Eli maintained a death grip on both the flash-drive and his sanity. But really, couldn't the General make the password 'password' or something?

            "How's it going, Eli?" Charlie Bowman's voice chimed in Eli's ear, sending the son of Ahklys spiraling back to reality. "We need you to hack this thing."

            Eli blinked. Right. He was supposed to be supervising a mission right now. He kicked away from his monitor, skidding across the platinum floors to the opposite side of the central platform. Displayed on this computer were the camera footages from the new high-tech war helmets that Charlie Squad—eloquently titled because Charlie Bowman was leading it—was donning. Eli watched as they moved into position in the abandoned office building, where a group of rogue storm spirits was reported to be hiding out.

            "On it," Eli reported to Charlie, his fingers already flying over the keyboard. Windows upon windows filled his monitor, but Eli broke through the encryptions on the building's security system, and before long, he'd unlocked the doors.

            "Have fun, make good choices," Eli admonished, stretching his arms behind his head as he watched Charlie Squad invade the office building. Sounds of battle filled his ear, and Eli turned off his earpiece. If Charlie and the others needed him, they knew how to get through to him.

            The sound of the elevator doors opening snagged Eli's attention, and he turned to see Alex Deven and Lukas Abbott come sauntering in. It still struck Eli as odd to see Alex walking around, seeing as he'd been dead for a time, but being a demigod, Eli had seen a lot of strange things. A former praetor coming back to life didn't even top the list for strangest things.

            "Eli, mate, how've you been?" Lukas Abbott greeted with a grin. Eli got to his feet, getting swept into Lukas' one-armed hug.

            "I've been alright," Eli shrugged. "How are you and Sierra?"

            Lukas made his signature smug face. "How do you think?"

            Alex clapped the Australian son of Neptune on the back, meeting Eli's gaze. "You both can catch up later, but we've got important business. Eli, what's your progress on the flash-drive?"

            Something within Eli deflated at the mention of that damn flash-drive. "I managed to get through one encryption in the past four hours."

            "So, well, I presume?" Lukas chimed, a mischievous glint in his stormy eyes.

            Alex set his jaw, and Eli felt nerves begin to form in the pit of his stomach. The son of Mars had his own superpower: the ability to intimidate everyone and everything. And despite being civil one another, there was something in Alex's authoritative disposition that made Eli feel like he was always doing something wrong.

            "How are the missions going?" Eli asked, his words running into one another. Anything to get Alex's glowering attention off of him for a moment.

            "They're going," Alex blew out a sigh. "Still haven't found much of anything."

            Eli glanced over at the monitor displaying Charlie Squad's footage. Judging from the lack of screaming in his ear and the blank screen, things were either going very well or very wrong.

            "What are these missions for anyway?" Lukas asked, drawing his eyebrows together.

            "Well," Eli began. "Until I break into the flash-drive, we need to disable as much of Menoetious and Typhon's forces as possible. Right now, Menoetious is MIA and Typhon is still asleep, but the storm spirits that made up their forces aren't. So that's what the Squads are for."

            "Not only that," Alex continued. "But we need information on Vinny and Matthew. If we can figure out where they are, we might have a chance to find Menoetious and Typhon."

            A shadow fell over Lukas' face, distorting his features. "Sounds like sunshine and rainbows."

            "You have no idea," Eli muttered, walking over to Charlie Squad's monitor and typing a quick command in. Before long, Charlie Bowman's face appeared in one of the boxes.

            "Status update." Eli asked.

            "Well, we found one storm spirit," Charlie sighed, wiping a hand over his forehead. "He felt very threatened, to say the least."

            Eli frowned. "What happened? Did you catch him?"

            "No," Charlie reported flatly. "He screamed and disappeared down a toilet drain."

            "Oh."

            Alex made a sound of exasperation, stalking over to Eli's side. "Charlie, where are you guys?"

            "On our way back to Camp Jupiter," Charlie responded. "We're a half hour out."

            "See you then." Alex said and reached over to disconnect the signal. The screen went black and Eli stammered for a moment.

            Alex frowned. "What?"

            Eli gaped, suddenly defensive. "Don't touch." He pointed a finger, "This computer system is worth more than you."

            Alex's eyebrows shot up, and Eli immediately regretted what he said. But before much of anything could happen, Lukas slid in. "Anyways," He sang. "We should get back."

            "Back where?" Eli asked in confusion.

            "Senate meeting," Alex said gruffly. "Julius thinks he knows how to handle this situation, and everyone in the history of Rome believes otherwise."

            Eli fought back a snort. "I'd imagine."

            Lukas and Alex started for the elevator, but Lukas held back for a moment, watching Eli carefully. "Eli, do you want to come with us? Y'know, out into the light?"

            "I'm perfectly content in my evil lair, thank you very much," Eli patted the metallic table. "But I do have to stop by the Forges for something, so don't worry, I'll make sure to get my Vitamin D intake for the day."

            Lukas' signature smirk laced his lips, and he nodded to Eli in parting before disappearing into the elevator with Alex. Once they were gone, Eli slouched back over to the flash-drive's monitor, casting an evil look at the pop-up encryptions on his screen.

            "I have half a mind to punch you," Eli said to the screen, watching as the numerous red symbols and letters blinked away at him, like they were laughing.

            "Now, what would that accomplish?" A feminine voice drawled. Eli's electric blue eyes widened, and he spun around.

            Leaning against the far wall, one leg propped up against it with her arms across her leather-jacked clad chest, was Kiara Fairwolf. Eli's childhood friend smirked at his reaction, her bright eyes glinting in the fluorescent lighting.

            "What? No welcome back?" Kiara cocked her head to the side, strands of her dark hair slipping from her messy braid.

            Eli shook himself out of his reverie. For the past few years, Kiara had slipped in and out of his life, running secret missions by herself. And now she was back. But for how long? And why?

            "Kiara, it's...wow," Eli managed.

            Kiara raised a contemptuous eyebrow. "Eloquence was never your forte, Allistairs, but c'mon."

            Eli grinned at the jab. "What are you doing here?"

            Kiara pushed away from the wall with the grace of a cat. "Offering my services to the war cause." She spread her arms in a sarcastically benevolent manner, like she was the Pope.

            Eli crossed the room, and stopped when he was hardly a foot before her. He had some height on Kiara, but her attitude alone added about a foot and a half to her short stature. The daughter of Asteria glanced up at him expectantly, and Eli fought every ounce of his will that was telling him to kiss her.

            But before Eli could get the chance, Kiara slipped away, towards the elevator. "Come on, Allistairs. We've got some catching up to do."

~~

            "So why, exactly, did you feel the need to break into the National Archives? Please don't tell me it was because you watched National Treasure too much," Eli said from behind his ice-cream cone.

            Kiara punched Eli in the arm playfully with her free hand. "Oh, come on." She met his gaze. "Give me a little more credit than that."

            Eli shook his head. "Prove that you didn't steal the Declaration of Independence."

            "Eli."

            "Prove it, Nic Cage."

            Kiara scoffed and dug out her phone. She rifled through some pictures before turning the screen towards Eli. Immortal in Kiara's camera roll was a photo of a dusty old prison cell. "That, my dearest Eli, is the prison of Mnemosyne, Titaness of memory."

            Eli's eyebrows shot up. "That's what you've been doing? Keeping an eye on the Titans?"

            "Well, yeah," Kiara muttered, stuffing her phone back into her pocket. "They ran rampant on the other side, so I want to make sure that they're far from gaining power over here."

            "Fair enough," Eli concurred. "But number one on our Most Wanted list is actually a Titan."

            Kiara stopped in her tracks for a moment, but continued. "That torture guy, right?" Her voice was quiet, faraway.

            Eli chewed on his lip, remembering how Kiara had been Flynn's cellmate in the alternate universe. Menoetious had indeed been the one to carry out their punishments, condemning Kiara to silence.

            "That's the one," Eli said sheepishly. "He was posing as some lacky to Tessa's half-brother."

            "Lukas?" Kiara's eyebrows flew up.

            "No, no," Eli said hastily. And before he knew it, he was recounting all of the past few months to Kiara. Even though the Masked Battle had been three weeks ago, it felt like longer for how much stress Eli and his comrades had been through.

            By the end of Eli's story, Kiara was quiet. Her starry eyes flickered in the daylight, and as she and Eli wove around camp, Eli wondered if the knowledge of her torturer free on this universe was pushing her back towards silence.

            But Kiara was exactly the creature of her name: a wolf. She was ferocious and wild. If anything, she'd hunt Menoetious down and kill him before Eli and the others so much as got a location.

            "Interesting," Kiara spoke at last, the word coming out like it was in a foreign language, and the girl was testing it out. Kiara averted her gaze up to Eli. "So that's what that whole flash-drive thing is about?"

            Eli frowned. "How'd you—"

            "I was lurking," Kiara shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "Boys are oblivious to their surroundings. Even demigod boys."

            Eli shook his head, a laugh on his lips. "And you demigod girls aren't?"

            Kiara smirked, holding up a finger to stop him. "Demititan, Eli. Demititan."

            Eli snorted, but his attention caught on a nearby building. The Forges. "While we're out..." He muttered, jogging over to the large building by the Little Tiber. Kiara, small but speedy, kept by his side.

            "What're we doing here?" Kiara sniffed as they walked in.

            "I need something," Eli answered, glancing around. Camp Jupiter's Forges were working nonstop since the battle, with every able-bodied mechanic and blacksmith working to create new weaponry and technology for the impending war. And right now, the steamy room held a certain piece of tech that could help his cause.

            "Eli!" A voice chimed amid the clanging and hissing of the Forges. Before Eli knew it, Adriana Oliver was sprinting towards him and Kiara.

            "Got it?" Eli asked, his voice hopeful.

            The daughter of Vulcan nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. "Of course." She held up a device that looked similar to a scarab, but made of techy bits and gadgets. "This should help you get through the firewalls and such."

            "Let's hope it does," Eli said with a relieved sort of sigh, gingerly taking the scarab from Adriana. "Thanks, Adriana."

            "No problem," Adriana smiled, and then disappeared back to where she was working.

            "So this little doohickey will hold the answers to our problems?" Kiara reached for the scarab, but Eli pulled it out of her grasp.

            "No," Eli said. "This little doohickey will open the door to the place that holds the answers to our problems."

            "Ah, right," Kiara said sarcastically. "How foolish of me."

            "Indeed."

            Eli swerved out of the way of Kiara's lackadaisical fist. "Careful. Hit me and you'll have to babysit more Titans."

            "Yeah, well," The daughter of Asteria huffed a breath as they headed down the Via Principalis. "I have a feeling I'll have to do that anyway."

            Before long, they'd reached the Principia. Eli started up the immaculate marble steps, but stopped when he realized Kiara wasn't at his side. "You coming?"

            Kiara shook her head, stretching with feline grace. "I'll meet up with you later. I've got some business to attend to."

            Eli arched a skeptical brow. "More heists?

            Kiara pinned him with an exasperated look. "No, ya nerd. But don't worry about it. I'll be back in a few hours."

            Eli chewed on his lip, nervous to let Kiara go traipsing off again. Even though she said she'd come back, what if she didn't? It'd been so long...

            But before Eli could attempt to stop her, Kiara was gone.

~~

            Eli had achieved hyperspeed. He was sure of it. His fingers flew over the keyboard with expertise, command after command spiraling onto the screen before him.

            He'd been at it for two hours now, working with the Scarab. It was helping, there was no denying that, but Eli still had a lot of ground to cover. It was like the Scarab told him where he was in the middle of the desert, but he still had a long way to go.

            Daring a temporary lapse in his stride, Eli reached for his drink. However, just as his hand grazed the condensation on the outside of the cup, Eli's phone began to ring. The son of Ahklys jumped in his seat, his heart flaring. He took a moment to mentally rebuff himself before reaching for his phone. He opened the call without checking the Caller ID, frustrated from head to toe.

            "What?" Eli snapped.

            "Wow, snappy," Kiara said on the other end. "Maybe I shouldn't have called."

            Every ounce of frustration disappeared from Eli's body. "Kiara!" He exclaimed. "Where are you? Wait, I'm putting you on speaker." He tapped the button and set his phone back down on the table.

            "Don't worry about where I am," Kiara chided. "But what do you guys know about Vinny Mawell's location?"

            Eli's fingers froze over the keyboard. "What do you know about it?"

            "I know that he was spotted somewhere in Fresno." Kiara mused.

            "How?"

            "Because I'm the one spotting him."

            Eli, managing to continue some more commands, froze again. "Kiara, get away from there. He's dangerous."

            "Relax, he has no idea I'm watching him," Kiara began.

            "Kiara, I'm serious. This guy is a psychopathic murderer."

            "So am I."

            "Kiara!" Eli exclaimed as he continued typing. "Don't engage."

            "Don't you want him out of the picture?" Kiara countered. "I can take care of that."

            Eli huffed a breath, snatching up his phone and removing Kiara from speaker. "We need him for questioning but he won't come quietly. Please, do not try and engage him."

            "Eli, come on. Do you think this is the most dangerous thing I've done in my life?" Kiara scoffed.

            "Can you focus please?"

            "Can you?"

            A beeping noise began to chime, but Eli couldn't focus on it over the roar of his heartbeat in his ears. "Kiara, please."

            Kiara swore into the phone. "He's gone. I had him, but he's gone now."

            "Maybe it wasn't even him." The beeping noise continued, and Eli cast an annoyed look around the room.

            "No, I'm sure it was him."

            "What would Vinny want in Fresno?"

            "What's that beeping noise? I can hear it from here."

            Eli turned around in his seat, his gaze skipping over the computer, until he realized where the beeping was coming from. The red symbols on his screen had all turned green, and a flickering message appeared.

            ACCESS GRANTED.

            "Oh my gods," Eli breathed.

            "What?" Kiara demanded. "What is it?"

            "I'm in." Eli said, his voice faraway as files upon files began to appear on the screen. "I'm into the General's flash-drive."