A/N: Hello peoples. Here's my new fic. I hope you like it.

Just so you know, the plot is half-based on The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, so you might find some similarities to that, although there are plenty of differences too. Anyway, please enjoy this first chapter and please review!

By the way, in this story, there are no demigods. All the characters are human.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or The Theif Lord.

Chapter One

"Nico, run!" Bianca di Angelo shouted.

"I am running!" her little brother shouted back.

As the two siblings ran through the streets and alleys of New York City, Bianca once again contemplated on the wisdom of bringing the ten-year-old to rob a bank. But Percy had been right when he'd sent them— Nico was good at distracting people while a job was getting done. Until the police showed up, of course. They were always ruining everything, those cops.

"How much farther is it?" Nico called. His breaths were coming in pants, and Bianca knew that before long, he'd be too exhausted to run any more.

Bianca gripped the money bag tightly in one hand and grabbed her brother's hand with the other. "Not much farther," she promised.

After a minute or two, Bianca risked a glance back at their pursuers. The six police officers were no longer running after them, but were climbing into a car.

Bianca's eyes widened, and she started running faster, pulling Nico with her. The officers would definitely catch them in a car.

Luckily, they reached their destination before the cops could even turn the key. Bianca pulled her little brother into a remote alley too small for cars to enter (smart thinking on Percy's part). The siblings collapsed to the ground, one on either side of the door cleverly hidden in the wall.

"We made it," Nico gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah," Bianca agreed.

"You still have the money?" Nico then asked.

"Of course." His sister held up the sack.

"Cool. I hope Percy buys new food soon. I'm hungry."

Bianca smiled at her little brother. She was proud of him—more so than she ever had been. Life must've been hard for him over the past month—running away from the orphanage, getting used to living with Percy and the others. Even now, he'd just robbed a bank and he looked totally fine with it; almost… happy.

Before she could ask her brother about this, though, he jumped up and knocked on the door, anxious to get inside. Bianca stood as well, and pulled her floppy green cap lower over her face as the voice came from inside.

"Password question: Who is the Greek god of the skies?"

Bianca sighed. Percy took way too much pride in his Greek mythology. Luckily, Nico also took pride in his Mythomagic.

"Zeus," he answered. "6500 attack power, plus 30,000 points for lightning strikes."

The door opened and Percy sighed. "You see, this is how I know it's really you guys," he told them. "No one else puts Mythomagic stats at the end of their answers."

Nico just grinned at him. Percy rolled his eyes and ruffled the kid's hair. "You guys got the cash?"

Bianca nodded and held up the sack. "But the cops were right behind us. I don't know if they saw us go into the alley or not."

Worry flickered in Percy's eyes and he glanced nervously at the alley entrance. "Go on inside, kids," he told them distractedly. "I'll take care of the cops."

Nico shrugged. "Okay. You got any food?"
Bianca pushed him inside. "Ask Annabeth for food."

Nico ran down the long hallway to their hideout. Bianca hesitated, watching Percy carefully. He was leaning against the wall just inside the alley, waiting for the cops to catch up. Bianca watched him pull an expensive-looking cigarette out of his pocket and stick it unlit between his teeth. As the police officers hurried towards him, Percy spoke.

"What're you looking for, Officers?"

The officer who seemed to be in charge of the group stopped short and held out his arms to hold back his men. "Mr. Jackson! What are you doing here?"

Bianca frowned. How did the cops know Percy's last name?

"I was about to take my little cousins home," Percy replied coldly, his voice slightly muffled by the cigarette in his mouth. "But they were crying about the scary men chasing them."

Bianca's eyes widened. What was he doing? The head police officer's face took on the same horrified expression. "Well, uh—Mr. Jackson, we—we saw those children r-robbing a bank," he stuttered.

Percy took the cigarette out of his mouth and glared at the cops. "Are you suggesting my cousins are thieves?"

The man gulped. "W-well, sir, th-there were witnesses, and—"

Percy threw his cigarette to the ground and squished it under his foot. "If my father found out about this, this cigarette would be your head. You understand, Officers?" They all nodded quickly. Percy glared at them all. "My cousins aren't thieves. Now get out of here."

Within half a minute, they were gone. Percy sighed and shook his head, waiting until they were completely out of sight before he turned back to the alley. Bianca had been staring at him and therefore couldn't get out of the way before he saw her standing there. But Percy didn't look angry at her for eavesdropping. In fact, he just looked tired.

"Here's a tip, Bianca," he said softly. "Next time you do something that's against the rules… don't get caught."
With that, he strode past her into the hideout. Bianca hesitated to follow him, wondering if his comment had been referring to the bank robbery or her watching his conversation with the cops.

Somehow, she had a feeling he'd been talking about both.

A/N: There's that. I hope you liked it. On a completely unrelated note, I'm watching the Lightning Thief movie. It's so good, but so bad at the same time! Lol, I can't wait for Sea of Monsters in August! Tyson's played by a Canadian and Chiron's played by the British guy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer! It's gonna be awesome! Anyway, never mind that. Please review!