I automatically straightened in my seat as Dike’s coolly pleasant voice drew me out of my thoughts.
“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?”
Tomorrow was a Saturday. We weren’t supposed to have work on Saturday. Or were we? “I, umm—-”
“Cancel it.”
“Absolutely.” I might be some hotshot neophyte in other agents’ eyes now, but Dike would always be Dike, and I’d never be stupid enough to stop being afraid of her.
“I’ll expect you to be here before 0800H,” Dike instructed, “and we’ll depart for Mt. Olympus at 0810H.”
My jaw dropped.
“Zeus wants to meet you.”
My jaw kept dropping.
Dike’s gaze narrowed. “Whatever happens, donotdisappoint me.”
I couldn’t answer. My jaw was still doing its best to reach the floor.
“Agent Vavrin!”
Okay, that would work.The Daughter of Justice’s sharp tone had me recovering from my shock, and I said quickly, “Understood, Director.”
“Dismissed.”
I walked out of the conference room in a daze, wondering if I had dreamt the past five minutes. I would be visiting Mt. Olympus tomorrow.Mt. Olympus!It was an immortals-only zone, and it had been so for centuries. How in the world did I end up suddenly being invited to the mythical dwelling of Olympians?
Tristan and Maria were waiting for me by my cubicle, and Maria burst into speech as soon as I collapsed on my seat. “What did Dike tell you?” she asked eagerly. “Did you get a reward? A promotion?”
“I...got invited to Mt. Olympus?”
Maria squealed in delight, loud enough to have other agents glance at us in curiosity, but she paid them no heed. “Oh my Gaea, that’s completely unheard of, Blair,” she exclaimed. “That’s like being invited to the White House or Buckingham Palace! Only it’s a thousand times better!” She peppered me with questions –what did I intend to wear, what did I plan to say, could I take photos...
On and on it went that I had to raise a halting hand even as I couldn’t help laughing. “We still need to work, you know.”
“Let’s talk more about this over dinner tonight, promise?”
It was impossible to resist Maria when she was smiling like that, and I tossed Tristan a look of shared commiseration. “Do you ever get your way with her?”
“I don’t even try,” was the droll reply.
Even so, Maria’s excitement was infectious, and come lunch break I was in a similarly giddy state and wondering about of all those things she mentioned. Whatdidone wear to Mt. Olympus?
“You look happy,” Lana observed when I joined her at our usual cafeteria table. “Does it have something to do with the fact that Dike asked you to stay behind this morning after your meeting?”
I almost choked on my soda. “Where did you get that?”
Lana rolled her eyes. “Agents thrive on gossip, Blair. You should know that by now.”
“No, actually, I don’t,” I said with a grimace, “but I’ll keep it in mind from now on.”
She looked at me expectantly after feeding herself a forkful of pasta. “Well?”
I bit into my sandwich. “What?”
“Dike? Private conversation? Hello?”
