Chapter 20

He had no idea how this person had got behind him or even come into the oasis so fast without anyone noticing, but Maximus knew who the man standing before him was. He was a pretty famous person and he had seen him on the big screen in the town square of the trenches many times. The screen was usually used to show important messages, and this was the man who normally gave them if the issue was of an international standard. He had wavy brown hair that looked messy and perfect at the same time. He was clean shaven and very good looking. Not the rugged kind of look Achilles had, but more of a playful and mischievous look. He looked like someone who could charm anyone with a smile and he had a smirk fixed on his face. His eyes were the colour of bronze and he was wearing a golden track suit with a matching pair of pants. He looked like someone who was going out for a morning jog. He even had sneakers on his feet with wing designs on them and a pair of earphones clipped onto his track suit. Oh, and he was also a god, the god of communications and messengers in fact, Hermes.

"Slow down kid before you poke someone's eye out with that," Hermes said with a smirk. He then let go of the sword and Maximus staggered back a bit. There was no mistaking it was him, he even had the symbol of his kingdom on the left side of his chest, a rod with two snakes coiling around it with a pair of wings on the sides. Hermes turned to face Achilles now, who had already drawn his sword.

"What do you want Hermes" Achilles asked. It was obvious from his tone that he was not happy to see him.

"Why, I was just taking a stroll around this neighbourhood. When I heard my good old friends Achilles and Daedalus were in town. So I just had to check up on you," Hermes said in a mocking tone "Besides you should know by now Achilles that if I want something I usually just take it."

For a moment Maximus thought he had disappeared, but then he realized he was standing right behind him. And that was not all, he was holding Max's blade in his hand. Hermes had stolen it from his hands and he barely had time to notice.

"You are called the god of thieves for a reason after all," Achilles said. Hermes had an annoyed look on his face at this comment. "I prefer to be called the god of speed actually. After all it is my speed which allows me to steal whatever I want," Hermes said, and then he started examining the blade. He turned to Maximus and said, "You know kid, this sword seems to be a bit out of your league. I could take it off your hands and give you a very handsome price for it".

Maximus didn't care if this guy was a god – that sword was the best weapon he had ever held. And he wasn't going to sell it because a sleazy sales-god just came asking for it. "No thanks, I think I'll stick with it for a while," he said.

"Ah, too bad, I could have given you good money for it," Hermes said and tossed the sword back to Maximus.

"Your hustling skills are getting a bit rusty it seems," Achilles said.

"Oh but I'm not here to buy swords now am I? I'm much more interested in all the trouble you two have been getting into".

"So are you here to take Daedalus back to Ares?" Rex asked.

"Oh no my dear Minotaur, my business is not bounty hunting, it's information. I merely want to know what's happening that's of interest around the world," Hermes said with a smile.

"And selling the information to the highest bidder," Achilles said.

Hermes had a grin on his face now "Well, I did say it was a business." Maximus didn't understand why a person like Hermes would want more money. He was the king of the land of Mercury and it was one of the richer countries of the world. Also he was the CEO of the company called 'swift-foot' industries. The company held the monopoly on a lot of things, almost all of which were communication related, including the post office, magic mirror messaging or M3s, and most importantly, the phone lines. Maximus wondered what kind of profit he could reap from being an information broker.

"Well we are not telling you anything," Achilles said.

"Put down your sword Achilles, I have no reason to fight. Besides, my biggest question was who had rescued dear old Daedalus, and I already got my answer to that," Hermes said. He then walked up to Daedalus and said "I just have to check one more thing, a rumour really that our good friend Daedalus here had gone crazy." He was right next to Daedalus's face now, "And judging by the fact that he has been so silent till now I guess the rumours are true."

"Or perhaps I merely do not enjoy conversing with an arrogant and pompous god such as yourself," Daedalus said with a smile.

"Why Daedalus, you're still your old and charming self. It just goes to show that you can't believe everything you hear," Hermes said. Then he began walking away from them and said "Well that will be all boys, my rides already here."

He pointed up and they saw a helicopter way up in the sky. "How do you plan to get up there though?" Hedger asked.

As if to answer his question the pair of wings sprang out from both his sneakers. "You can fly?" Maximus asked, somewhat impressed.

"No, I just use these to steer when I'm in the sky," Hermes told him looking at the wings "In reality I'm just so fast that I can run on air. Well got to run. I heard one of Athena's science geeks has invented a phone that requires no wires or anything. He's calling it a cell phone or something, and I just have to get in on that," Hermes said, and then he shot up into the helicopter. Within a few seconds he was in the helicopter. It began to fly out of sight after that.

"It seems our luck has not run out. I came back to my senses just in time," Daedalus said. "You never cease to surprise, Daedalus," Achilles said. Maximus on the other hand was in quite a shock, it was the first time he had actually met a god. He realized why the gods ruled the world now. The sheer power that he felt from Hermes was amazing. Though he tried to hide it from the messenger god he knew that Hermes could have killed him so easily that he wouldn't even have had time to blink.

"So that was Hermes huh. Any reason why he went out of his way to see us, or was he telling the truth about taking a stroll in the desert?" Hedger asked. Achilles looked up into the sky to make sure that the helicopter was nowhere in sight, only then did he put away his sword. "I have no idea but he isn't the type to do something without a reason. I'm sure he has his own agenda."

"But why would someone as rich and powerful as Hermes need to act as an information broker?" Maximus asked.

"Communication is his business and because of this a lot of information flows his way," Achilles said, "and it's not just money he's after. Having the right information gets him connected to the right people, gets him into places. And sometimes valuable information can be traded for favours, even among other gods."

Whenever Maximus had seen Hermes on screen he had never thought of him as someone so dangerous. He always just thought of him as a wealthy guy who enjoyed the high life. But now that he had met him in person he seemed more cunning and menacing than most monsters.

"It seems he wasted a lot of my precious time though. I merely have two minutes left with my brain," Daedalus said.

"I think we should start moving again. The faster we reach the Vulcan capital the better," Achilles said. Then he turned to the old inventor and asked "Any words of wisdom before you leave us again?" Daedalus thought for a moment and said, "Yes, actually. The sun is beginning to set and the desert is a much more dangerous place at night since most of its predatory species are nocturnal. It would be wise to camp for the night instead of continuing with the drive if we wish to avoid them."

"Just what kind of species are we talking about here?" Hedger asked simply. "Well, I believe there is a certain breed of desert serpents that may grow to over fifty foot long which is native to this desert," Daedalus answered.

"Well, that should help me sleep peacefully," Hedger said, clearly regretting he had asked anything.

"Well then, we will drive for a couple of hours and then set up camp once it gets really dark, agreed?" Achilles asked.

But it was too late, Daedalus had just returned to his mumbling mode. "I think if he could he would say that he would love to camp instead of taking his chances with a giant desert snake," Hedger said with a smile.