Feeling the breeze on the back of his neck, Artemis Fowl II brushed his raven black hair back and turned around. The front door to Fowl Manor was wide open the door swinging gently on its hinges.
Strange thought Artemis, I never opened that, and nor did Butler for that matter. Juliet!
Muttering to himself about the low standards of modern-day maids, Artemis walked towards the front door. Artemis was about to reach for the door when Butler called him from the kitchen.
"Master Fowl, your dinner is ready."
Artemis stopped and replied, "Yes I'm coming, old friend."
As he reached for the handle of the front door, a muscular arm whipped out from his left and grasped him firmly round the neck. As Artemis strained to breathe, he saw another person standing over him and heard a familiar jangle of jewellery on his wrist as he clapped.
The man tutted. "Dear Arty. As intelligent as you may be, you're still just a naïve child."
He leant over so that his face was in front of Artemis and Artemis gave a sudden gasp.
"That's right little Arty," the man said. All this was said cheerily and in an almost kind way. But the man's eyes showed his real ice cold hatred. "It's me."
It was Jon Spiro.
Butler carried the full plate of sirloin steak and roast potatoes to the dining room. He had taken the liberty of preparing a heavy meal for his charge as Butler though that after a lot of work in the study, Artemis needed slight fattening up or at least muscling up.
As Butler laid the table he suddenly paused. He heard voices. With the thought barely registering in his mind he grabbed Artemis' steak knife and ran silently to the front door, only to hear a car door slam.
He raced out onto the drive and saw Artemis unwillingly being forced into a black unmarked Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster and instinctively threw the steak knife at the man trying to bundle Artemis into the open top car. He howled in pain as it struck him in the deltoids his shoulder muscles. But the Lamborghini still sped off swiftly with a roar of its mighty V12 engine a spray of gravel.
Butler sighed. Once, when he was a younger man, he would have enjoyed a car chase. But now, now he was too old to bother. Snatching the keys to the fastest car in the barn, Butler grabbed an old African hunting rifle and looked at the one car that Artemis Fowl Senior had insisted upon having, almost apprehensively. Then he jumped in and revved the engine of the Bugatti Veyron.
Butler felt the powerful W16 engine thrum below him, just in front of the rear axle, as he accelerated forwards. Although Butler knew very well how to handle a car, he wasn't what anyone would call an avid fan of them. Still, it didn't take long to admire the amazing handling and beautiful interior. However, Butler was only interested in how fast it would have to go in order to reach his principal, Artemis.
Now onto the Fowl's private road, Butler pressed the pedal straight down until he felt it touch the floor. The engine screamed in protest but almost flew across the road. After less than 5 seconds, Butler was at 100mph and he caught sight of the black carbon fibre spoiler of the Murciélago disappearing over a steep dip in the road. 15 seconds later Butler was there and at 200mph. The Veyron soared - literally was in the air, tires spinning – until it landed with a thump onto the tarmac.
Butler actually swore out loud whilst still marvelling at the suspension. At less than half a minute later, the Bugatti Veyron was screaming past the Lamborghini at its maximum speed- 253mph. Butler saw the slip road onto the main road and knew he had to make his move. Now well ahead of the Murciélago, Butler yanked on the handbrake, jerking the steering wheel left. The car's rear end swung round and before it could even stop, Butler hit the accelerator and the tyres spun on the ground, for a precious two seconds, not moving the car forwards until it found grip in the tarmac.
Butler had naturally read about this car, especially since it was the fastest car in the world. Bugatti had said that the car would brake from 252mph to a stop at 0mph- in less than 10 seconds. However what was more important, was that Bugatti had also said that the braking system was so secure, that even if you were to brake from about 250mph, and took your hands off of the steering wheel, the Bugatti Veyron would stay in a straight line and not swerve or turn at all.
Butler hoped to God that this was true. If not, Artemis and Butler would surely die. It was a huge gamble. A gamble that normally, Butler would not have taken, but considering the circumstances...
Butler jammed on the brakes and threw his massive bulk out of the car door and fired with the rifle, just twice. His shots found their marks. In the throats of the two men guarding Master Artemis.
The driver of the Lamborghini opened his mouth in shock as Butler leapt out of the still moving at 50mph Bugatti Veyron and neatly landed in the passenger seat.
Butler's only comment was, "Turn the car around and drive back to the Bugatti- slowly."
In the back of Lamborghini, unusual by the way for a two-seater car, Artemis wrenched free his gag. Obviously Mr Spiro had had some custom features added to his latest car.
"All rather melodramatic, don't you think Butler?" was Artemis usual sardonic remark.
Butler, holding his customary Sig Sauer to the driver's head, rolled his eyes and sighed.
FOWL MANOR
The whirring of one of Fowl Manor's several CCTV cameras could be heard as it slowly rotated to train its watchful ion beams on Jon Spiro's head. Spiro turned lazily and nodded at Carla Frazetti. She sent three thickset men to the surveillance booth and checked her black Rado watch. Spiro sighed happily as he chewed on an unlit cigar. Life hadn't changed much. A few bribed officials, already well-connected to the Chicago Mob, and Spiro was out on good behaviour and as free as a bird.
"Hurry it up, Spiro," she snapped, impatiently. "Unless you want an excuse to pay me more of your money."
Well, not entirely free.
"Blunt," grunted Spiro. His doctor had recommended that he shouldn't speak too much. Apprehensively. Very apprehensively.
Arno Blunt grinned a blue smile as he crossed the hall with his gun outstretched. Arno Blunt's smile was not the kind of smile that you show when you are indicating friendship. It was the kind of smile you show when you want to make a certain person's knees shake. It was more than scary- especially since his smile consisted of two rows of jagged blue teeth.
At the Surveillance Booth of Fowl Manor, Blunt took out an Electric Screwdriver Lite and unscrewed a small panel from the wall where he could here tapes whirring. Blunt stared at the complex wiring connecting the tapes to the screens in the booth, gnashing his teeth in thought. Then he shot a tape. And another. And another, until they were either blown to pieces or trampled underfoot.
Carla Frazetti sighed, tapping her black stiletto heels on the smooth floor.
"Get on with it Spiro, if you still want a head when this is over."
Spiro grunted and spat out the cigar, crushing it with the heel of his black Armani shoes. He was trying extremely hard to tolerate this sort of verbal abuse, even from Spatz Antonelli's goddaughter.
Grudgingly, Spiro strode across the Fowl Foyer and Carla Frazetti followed him up the stairs. Bruno the Cheese had managed to unearth the blueprints for the house and Spiro headed straight for the Fowl study. Quickly his nimble fingers had switched on all the Macintoshes and Spiro was busy tapping away on the keyboard. He called up the Netscape and typed in the URL of his own modified site. It had been built to his exact specifications, designed with only one purpose in mind- vengeance.
A JavaScript pop-up flashed on screen saying "Welcome". Spiro clicked the "Next" button and "Download?" beeped on the blank screen. Grinning venomously, Spiro clicked it with a flamboyant jangle. Carla tapped Spiro and Spiro turned around, extremely irate. Nothing was going to stop his triumph today, not even her.
That was until he saw Carla Frazetti with a muscle-packed arm across her throat and a shiny Sig Sauer pressed against her temple.
Artemis winked from beside Butler and grinned his vampire grin.
"Never mess with a boy genius, Jon."
Jon sighed, the kid was persistent, what else could you say? Apart from the fact that he probably had the highest IQ in the world. He didn't have to deal with this now, not while he was basking in glory anyway.
"Hey Arty," he said cheerfully. "So what's with the eye again? You got another electric thing in there? I'll buy it off you, Arty. You remember the last time we were dealing in business, little guy?"
Artemis did remember, and beside him, he felt Butler stiffen, ever so slightly. The last time Artemis had tried to sell Jon Spiro a little something, Butler had ended up getting shot. Fatally.
"Yes, Spiro. I do," he replied coolly. "However, this time, I think we might try a little role reversal. This time you are the one in danger. Not me, Spiro."
"I don't think you understand, Fowl," he said coldly back, his mood changing quicker than Artemis could do trigonometry. And trust me when I say that's pretty quick. "What I meant to say, is that my friend Arno here is gonna put a bullet in yours and Butler's brain if I decide to click my fingers."
Both Artemis and Butler wheeled, stunned. Artemis, because he had been outwitted by the same man twice and Butler because he had not even heard Blunt come into the study. Sure enough, there was Arno Blunt, grinning his porcelain grin.
"Butler seems to be getting a little old," continued Spiro, laughing softly. "Blunt might have missed last time" (Blunt gritted his teeth at this) "but believe me when I say he won't this time."
"What do you want, Spiro?" intervened Butler.
"Release Miss Frazetti here, and then we talk business."
Butler's mind raced. With Frazetti, he was momentarily safe, but there was always the chance of either Artemis getting shot, or himself, as they were at such close range. Reluctantly, he let go of Frazetti, and she stumbled away clumsily.
"Now what?" demanded Butler. Artemis in the meantime, was pondering his next steps and possible consequences of them. As he did so, he twisted his fingers thoughtfully.
Spiro clapped his hands excitedly and his jewellery jangled loudly in the tense silence. "Well..."
Even Artemis wasn't prepared for what Jon Spiro said next. And so for the third time, he was left speechless. This was becoming a habit.
The Mac beeped.
TARA
She was happy here, in the sweet air, feeling the wind on her face as she powered through atmosphere. Her auburn hair swished from side to side as she skimmed the treetops and she landed gracefully into a quick run to the huge oak tree that towered above her slight 1 metre build. For some reason, Tara was almost deserted. Only a few people were there. The fairy frowned slightly: she had wanted company.
Then she heard it. The quiet rustle of leaves and yet, the wind was utterly still. Her sensitive ears picked up the crunch of footsteps on the lush grass. Slowly walking forward as if she had heard nothing, she tried to pick up more signals of the location of this elusive person. The footsteps kept coming closer. There was no doubt now, that she was being followed.
And closer...
And closer...
And closer...
She turned and lashed out with her fist just as a familiar voice yelled out, "Surprise!". Then she recognized the groan of pain coming from her "attacker".
The male fairy on the ground looked up wincing, and rubbing his jaw. It was Trouble Kelp.
"Well it wasn't the greeting I was hoping for but..." started Trouble. She laughed and helped him up smiling slightly embarrassed and extremely apologetic.
"Sorry," she replied grinning. I guess I'm slightly paranoid these days."
"Oh right. So, how are you Holly? Are you working out? 'Cos that was one hell of a right hook."
Holly laughed, "Not really. Section 8 likes me to keep fit."
Trouble grinned teasingly, "So how good are your reflexes then?" And launched himself straight at her in a flying tackle. Holly stepped backwards smartly and used Trouble's momentum to pull him behind her. The two of them tumbled down the hill and landed next to each other, panting and laughing. Holly looked into Trouble's eyes and found something in their depths that made her stop laughing. Trouble stopped also and looked back.
Their heads moved together slowly at first, then eagerly and quickly. Holly melted as their lips touched and around her time slowed to a halt and her surroundings faded away as she lost herself in their kiss. A sort of warm fuzziness slowly enveloped her and inside she soared with exhilaration. She felt... she felt right doing this, as if somehow, she was doing the right thing and making the right choice. The pair had never revealed any feelings about each other before but the kiss came naturally to them and they broke apart after what seemed like an hour of pure bliss. Trouble looked at her, half amused and half amazed whereas Holly looked at him tenderly and almost relieved that this had happened. It felt to her like she had had to get this off her chest, because she couldn't keep it a secret any longer. It was bad enough that they didn't even see each other that often as Holly worked for Section 8, but even then, there was no telling when they would be able to get off work to even talk to each other as friends. It was, Holly thought, a kind of emotional release for her.
"Wow."
"Yeah, wow."
Then they clung together and pressed their lips against each other desperately as if the world would end if they didn't. It seemed to them, as though they had fused into one being and that they had become each other as a whole entity. Again they broke apart and Holly sighed with satisfaction and lay on her back, staring at the moonlit sky.
"Holly," started Trouble. "I think you should know that I... that I love you."
Holly smiled and replied. "And I-"
A shrill ringing sliced through the air with a piercing urgency. Trouble groaned inwardly. Holly looked at him longingly and then spoke into her communicator.
"Yes Fowl?" she sighed heavily. She listened and then sighed again before muttering: "D'Arvit."
Again, she looked sadly at Trouble and then swooped upwards. She raised her hand in a formal salute and then changed her mind and dove back down again and hovered for a minute above Trouble, placing a light kiss on his forehead, tenderly before arcing into the air again.
Boy, did Fowl have a lot to answer for.
Spiro glanced at the computer for a second, and so did Blunt. Butler however, used the distraction to his advantage and unclipped a silver orb from his belt, twisting it with a barely audible click. Captain Short had given it to him before Hybras. He concealed it in his huge palms just as Blunt and Spiro turned back around.
Artemis on the other hand, was doing something far less "physically demanding". He was still in shock at what Spiro had said. What he had said would ruin Artemis, one financially and two as a person. He vividly remembered the grin Spiro had worn when he had told Artemis: smug and slightly insane. Then he remembered what he had said. That fateful sentence that had got him into this whole mess.
"I have recreated the C Cube and I have discovered your little friends under the ground. And I want vengeance. You know what that means Arty? I thought so. I'll wipe all of your accounts and introduce your friends to us humans."
Artemis shuddered as he remembered the insane glint in Spiro's eye. That was when he heard a soft click and noticed what Butler was doing. Immediately, hope flushed into his system and his mind whirred as he began plotting the next few moves that would checkmate Jon Spiro.
"Spiro, wipe my bank account for all you want, but leave the People be. Take this, it unlocks my accounts: it has each password inscribed on the surface," said Artemis. He nodded at Butler who handed over the silver orb. What worried Artemis was the amused look on Spiro's face as he took it.
"Oh look here Artemis," said Spiro, emotionlessly. "What inscriptions?" To Artemis's extreme dismay, Spiro managed to dismantle the orb in less than two seconds. Butler's heart sank, as he listened to Spiro's latest melodramatic speech.
"Recreating the Cube wasn't the only thing I did, little Arty. I hacked into that paranoid consultant's database and a little research of my own. I know how to operate his nifty little gadgets and I've created a few of my own." He held up what looked like two silver minidisks, except a few inches thicker.
Butler stepped forward but wasn't quick as Spiro, who threw the discs high into the air. Artemis only wondered and in the few seconds that the discs arced upwards, Spiro laughed and said, "They're programmed to target your genes and your genes only. You don't have a chance."
Even as Butler dived forward to Spiro, the disc thudded into his back. Spiro collapsed underneath the still flying Butler and Blunt rushed to assist his employer. Artemis however had quickly formulated a plan. He'd cut himself the day before, while he had been meditating funnily enough: an extremely annoying pigeon that had flown directly at him.
Gritting his teeth while running across the study he silently thanked Butler for his diversion as he peeled off the plaster on his cut elbow. As he had expected a steady stream of blood spurted out of the little wound. He had little time to marvel at how much blood was flowing now because the silver disc was now pursuing the blood. Repeatedly it slammed into the floor where the blood had stained the Persian carpet; but repeatedly it rose and slammed into the next bloodstain. It kept following the trail, each time, slamming into the blood.
Artemis swung his elbow everywhere, staying ahead of the trail and in turn, forcing the device to zigzag all over the long study. He sprinted out of the reinforced steel door and slammed it back panting heavily. On the other side, a split-second later, he heard a loud thud as the weapon smashed itself repeatedly against the steel door. For the little disc, it was about as effective as a three year-old trying to punch Butler. Artemis grinned in sweaty satisfaction, as he covered up his elbow wound and heard a sort of explosion on the other side of the door, indicating that the machine had broken, just like the three year-old's knuckles would have.
He grinned in spite of the fact that Butler was unconscious on the other side of a five centimetre thick steel door. Soon Holly would be here and then they could take on Spiro and Blunt. They would think of something. For the moment, though, he was safe.
However, even child genii such as little Artemis tend to overlook certain factors in their contentment after executing an extremely clever plan. Unfortunately for Artemis, he didn't have to look for this particular factor, because it came looking for him. And again, unfortunately for Artemis, it came in the form of a black stiletto heel rushing towards his temple.
Artemis's last thought before he sank into the welcoming blackness was:
Frazetti
Holly sighed as she flew in the cool breeze. She missed Trouble already. She could sense the playfulness inside them both that made them so alike and so...
A lighter buzzing sound filled Holly's sharp, pointy ears. Less than three seconds later, none other than Trouble Kelp flew past her at such a speed that the wind that followed threw Holly sideways. Trouble swerved back, mischievously with a grin on his face.
"You're not the only fairy good with wings, you know!" he called. Holly smiled and replied,
"What are you doing here?"
Trouble looped around her. "I was feeling a bit lonely so I thought you might like some company," he shouted over the wind. The next few minutes were a blur of flying around each other like two playful dolphins frolicking in the sea. Then Trouble asked, "Where exactly are we going?"
Suddenly Holly remembered the importance of the situation she was in and felt slightly guilty that she had not sped up. "Fowl is in trouble [no pun intended!," she said.
The rest of the journey continued in silence.
Artemis awoke with a throbbing headache. A quick look at his surroundings told him that Butler was not with him. Not that he could see much anyway. His vision was blurred and vague as he struggled to sit up in his chair. Although Artemis wasn't a huge fan of pain; having experienced far too much of it in the past few years, he was no stranger to it.
He heard a familiar clap, as usual accompanied by a jangle of jewellery.