Chapter 3: Eye for an Eye
It would take a few days for the average person to wake up after that type of healing. Artemis though, had lower stamina then most so Holly couldn't predict how long he would be out. Foaly had tried to run searches in an attempt to narrow down the suspects, starting with all of Artemis' enemies up until that point. He had found a few, but none of them would explain the Irish boy's coded warning.
"I don't understand it," Foaly complained as he moved away from his computer and out of the screen on Holly's helmet. "What's so important about the video cameras?"
"You've got me." Holly was in the middle of making herself a sandwich. Artemis' father had come home shortly after the healing and Holly was currently staying in Butler's room so that she wouldn't be noticed. It was after midnight and the big guy was asleep right now. Holly, on the other hand was in the mood for a late night snack.
"You do know that I can't cover for you forever. Whatever Artemis has gotten himself into this time is his own problem."
Holly could just hear the hidden worry. There never used to be hit men out for the boy. Most of his enemies never knew the threat someone so young could be but he was getting older now. Snipers would have been the norm Holly would have expected as he aged if Artemis hadn't transitioned to legitimate ventures.
"I understand what you're saying Foaly, but I can't leave things the way they are."
"Two days Holly. That's all I can do." Foaly sighed. "On you're way back you'll need to pick up a pixy on an expired visa. That should give Trouble a reason for you staying topside for so long. Two days is pushing it, even with that. Don't get yourself in trouble."
"It's not like it's something new to me." Holly took a big bite out of the turkey and cheese sandwich. It wasn't bad. The food in Haven was so processed that it hardly had any flavor to it. As terrible as human food was on the system, what with the conditions it was treated in, it tasted great.
"Hmm"
Holly continued to eat, ignoring Foaly as he persisted on typing away. He didn't bother to mute his mike. Whatever he found, Holly was content to finish her meal.
"Fowl has been busy. You should see how he mixed my technology with his own. It's almost barbaric."
Holly let a small laugh escape her without interrupting. The centaur sounded like Artemis had taken one of his children and turned them into a stink worm. They were both well aware that Artemis had been playing around with fairy technology. The incident with the c-cube apparently hadn't put a stop to that.
There was a beep that indicated that the computer had picked up on something.
"Well now. This one isn't half bad."
"What is it?" Holly didn't really want to ask, but Foaly would start to hmm and oh, I see until she asked. She licked her fingers and put the bread away. Whole wheat. At least the Fowl's knew good food when they saw it. Holly doubted she would have found a better selection of ingredients in the country.
"I almost missed it. It slipped under my radar. If it weren't for a murmur of a reading that I accidentally picked up, I wouldn't have even made a blip. It must be made of some untraceable polymer."
"Did you just give someone a complement?" Holly raised her eyebrows and gave her helmet a mock shocked expression. She heard Foaly stomp on the ground.
"Most certainly not! This thing is still ages behind what I produce!" Foaly brought up a screen on her visor so she could see the sour look on his face. "I didn't think Fowl had gotten to nanotechnology surveillance yet! There's even an omni-sensor on it."
"Really?"
Holly jumped at hearing the third voice in the room. It was rare for someone to have been able to sneak up on her. Her stance fell back to a lax one and the adrenaline fed into her anxiety instead. "Artemis?"
The Irish teen smirked at her to show he was indeed real. There were dark lines under his eyes and his arms shook from where they were crossed in front of him. He'd been leaning against the wall for some time and Holly could see that he wasn't handling standing very well.
"Artemis, you just went through an extensive healing. You shouldn't even be awake right now."
The last Holly had seen of him, he was in his bed and his mother had fallen asleep at his side. Since Angeline wasn't in the room, it meant Artemis had not only snuck up on her but had slipped away from his mother unheard. It was an impressive feat for someone who couldn't even stand up straight.
"I'll rest when there's time. Right now I have more important issues than catching up on my sleep." Artemis shot what Holly almost believed was a worried stare at the computer generated image of Foaly on her helmet. "This nanotechnology you picked up was on the perimeter of the estate, correct?"
Foaly nodded. He looked angry at the prospect of Artemis hearing his almost compliment.
The teen smiled and closed his eyes. To everyone present it looked like he was about to go to sleep against the wall.
"It's not mine." Artemis' eyes opened slowly and focused on the other two. "The nanotechnology I've been working on is strictly kept in the confines of the safe. I haven't developed them to environmental standard yet. They short out if they're left for more than half an hour in the elements. This is someone else's."
There was a minute of silence.
"That's impossible, Fowl. There's fairy technology built into it. I can see several sensors that I personally built myself. Humans couldn't have made it."
"I know." Artemis sighed. "It passed completely under my own radar, but there's more to it then that. It appears that it's positioned on a weed from what I could gather. It scarcely releases energy. I can't pick up its shape from this distance. I had to check before I came down here, knowing what I was looking for this time. I believe the nanotechnology was actually manipulated to create an ambient life form."
More silence, this time leaving Holly confused. "What do you mean? It is alive or not?"
"Its physical composition is becoming part of the plant. It's integrating with the living cells."
Foaly's eyes glazed over as he stared into the distance. "That's ingenious. Soon nothing will be able to pick it up."
"Exactly." Artemis didn't seem as pleased with this information as Foaly did. "Spy cameras that can't be traced." The teen raised one of his hands, so that he could cover his mouth when he coughed. He swayed as his center of balance was disrupted.
"Artemis you look awful. Go back to sleep."
"I can't Holly. I don't think you understand the potential calamity this little machine could bring about. Fairy technology in the hands of someone is enough of an obstacle. Someone other than me, of course." Artemis' hand moved to his head and his eyes fogged over as he stopped seeing the occupants in the room.
"I've got you, Fowl, though I wouldn't say fairy technology in your hands is safe either." Foaly stomped around again, this time in aggravation. "But who is it? The only one who has had access to fairy technology is you! This nano-bot is revolutionary, to say the least, but I don't see how it proves to be much a problem."
"Maybe not for you," Artemis admitted. "Yet imagine what an omni-sensor could lead humans too."
This Foaly couldn't dispute. "Point taken. So what do we do? First we need to find out who's behind this."
"I've got that covered. I also know how they came into possession of the ingredients that were required for this little marvel."
"Of course you do, Fowl. Every time something like this happens, it's because of you."
Artemis looked like he was going to argue but stopped himself, closing his mouth. "You're right. I should have noticed the repercussions that would have followed the theft."
"Theft? You let someone steal fairy technology from you?" Holly was shocked. It was hard to steal form a thief, especially an ex-criminal mastermind.
"I allowed it to be stolen as an act of intimidation. I didn't think that they would hold onto it. Again, I take responsibility for the mishap."
Another surprise. Artemis was taking responsibility for something.
"You really must not be feeling well."
"In any case," Artemis continued, ignoring the jibes. "Our adversary is Jon Spiro. I haven't heard that he's been released from prison, but he must have pulled it off. Considering I also haven't heard of his break out, I'm assuming there's a lot of money being thrown around. I thought I'd emptied his accounts, but I was under pressure at the time. I admit to the possibility of overlooking a shadow account or two. Knowing the man, he most likely had it with an associate or under a false name."
"Spiro? The guy who you had us running circles around because of your mistake?"
Artemis raised his hands in surrender, or more likely a gesture to get them to quiet down without him having to waste energy on speaking.
"Yes him. I know it's him because the man hates me. He wasn't going to leave it up to someone else to kill me, considering the spectacular failures of his guards in the past, but also because of mesmer involvement, though he does not know that. I'm sure that even now he doubts that I'm dead."
"Why? I mean, you would have been dead if I hadn't come." Holly crossed her arms as stared angrily at him. There was something he wasn't telling them. Artemis was always keeping the juicy information to himself.
"First I know it was him because I saw him." Artemis blinked his eyes before settling them on her in an attempt to make himself appear more cognitive then he actually was. "He was wearing something that I have to assume had fairy technology built into it and was interfering with my video feed. I can tell you this because all I have recorded at the time is static. Furthermore, he will know I'm alive for two reasons. One, that bullet shouldn't have killed me. I made it to the hospital in time to be helped. Why complications appeared, I'm unsure. I was hoping to get some ideas from the two of you. The other reason is that Spiro saw me disappear right in front of him. He will think that I have capabilities that others do not."
"But you don't."
"No," Artemis agreed. "I don't. The fact is that he didn't see you, Holly. To him, I seem like an opponent he can toy around with, as he doesn't believe that I relayed on anyone during our last confrontation. I'm the challenge and he wants to prove in every way that he's superior to me. It's why he didn't kill me."
"Artemis."
Holly and the teen both turned to Foaly who had a grim expression on his face.
"I can understand how this would be a problem for us in the future, but the council will hardly take up their metaphorical swords in your defense. We'll need Holly to get rid of this threat. We can't waste our time watching out for you."
"I'm aware of that."
They waited but no argument followed. Artemis let out a small laugh. It sounded like a cough.
"I wasn't going to ask you to stay. I have no doubts that you have already assessed, as I have, that the best option is to use me as bait. As that can't be counted on, you'll track Spiro through the phantom account he must have opened and follow the paper trail."
"So you'll have no problem without our help?"
Here Artemis' smile matched his one of old. "I have no doubt we'll cross paths again. You may take the round-about way, but we're pursuing the same individual. I think it is pertinent to mention, that for once I have the greater resources. I imagine working around the obstacles, the way your council wants you to, will be quite difficult. However if that is the way they wish to proceed, who am I to deny them? "
"Artemis," Foal sighed. "You can't manipulate us."
"That was not my intention. Though, it is blatantly obvious that the best results will be achieved if we hit him with a coordinated effort of magical and non-magical strikes."
"While you're bringing up that magical bit, how were you able to keep a few sparks to yourself?"
Artemis frowned. "I wasn't. I don't have any magic left."
Holly thought to herself. If Artemis wasn't able to get to the portion he had left, would it affect his physical body? Was that why the blood transfer didn't work? She shot Foaly a look and the centaur shrugged.
"I don't know Holly. As far as I know, Artemis is the only human to acquire magic in over a millennia. I'd need to physically examine him."
Artemis raised an eyebrow and looked on as if he were watching and interesting chess match. "Something I'm missing?"
"There's time to worry about that later." Holly stared down Foaly. "So what are we going to do?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. I'd have to talk with Trouble, I mean Commander Kelp, and explain the situation. Protocol dictates you're to return to Haven until a decision is made but, and I'm sure you're going to listen to reason. It's probably a better idea for you to stay and monitor the situation. Keep in mind that this Spiro guy has at least one eye outside the house. Stay indoors or shield if you leave."
"I've got it." Holly let out a breath and saw Artemis do the same. The Irish youth still looked nervous, but less so at this point.
"Don't want to be left alone with the big bad wolf, Arty?"
Artemis allowed himself a smile. "Not in my condition. You're right. I need rest. Even now I can't think clearly and am overlooking things I shouldn't. My primary evaluation should be correct though."
"We should all get some sleep. You'll need me to track down Spiro tomorrow."
"Indeed. I'll be able to work on it from my end as well. Jon doesn't seem like the type of man to leave a traceable path, especially now that he's aware that there's someone bigger than him in the race. I can see him setting a trap. Playing naive worked once, but he won't fall for it again."
"Right, plans being left for tomorrow, I need to get some shut eye. You should see what my coat looks like when I don't get my beauty rest."
Holly sighed. "Yes, Foaly. There's a criminal maniac out there who's not Artemis Fowl and we all care how pretty you look in the morning."
Foaly huffed. "Caballine says I have a nice coat."
"How can we be sure that Spiro won't do anything while we're asleep?" Holly was surprised at how easily Artemis and Foaly were taking it. This man could have done anything with the LEP technology he has. Holly brought up a question she had been holding for a while and asked, "Artemis, you said it was your fault, but what did Spiro take?"
"My eye-cam, remember? You were there." Artemis placed a finger beside his eye. "It was when my eye wasn't naturally brown. He took it out before you retrieved me. As for why he won't act until he has more information, in the words of another physicist, 'If the price of avoiding non-locality is to make an intuitive explanation impossible, one has to ask whether the cost is too great.' Jon doesn't know what he's onto. Right now logic is telling him that the occurrences that played out in front of him were impossible. I believe I was brought in still injured. That won't make sense to him. I- I do hope you're following me because I'm too tired to delve into further explication." Artemis sighed, looking tired. Holly didn't care too much at that moment. She was getting answers and a fully-functioning Artemis would be keeping them to himself. "
"David Bohm. One of the reasonable thinkers that helped us stay hidden for so long."
"Most likely." Artemis let his eyes close again. "People don't believe in the impossible anymore, they put far too much faith in intuitive answers. Jon will wait until he has time, energy, and daylight in order to facilitate his uneasy mind. By then he should have some reasonable excuse and renewal in tracking me down. Before daybreak, striking would be foolish. If he does find the initiative for a preemptive attack, Butler will be watching for veiled movements. I may not be able to trace the devices while they're inactive or integrated, but I can get them while they're in motion."
"I'll keep an out too. I don't want you to cost Holly her job again."
"Thank you."
"Oh no, I think I've just been given credit for something." Foaly put a hand to his forehead as he feigned shock. Holly couldn't help smiling. Artemis and Foaly only found time to throw around their terrible humor in dire situations.
"Right. Goodnight." Instead of walking out of the room, Artemis took a step away from the wall, only to lean back against it and let himself fall into a sitting position on the floor.
"Artemis, the wall isn't your bed."
"I am well aware of that." The teen rested his head on one of his knees while the helmet screen clicked off to signify Foaly's departure.
"What am I supposed to do with you? You do know that you're twice my weight and there's no way I can carry you." Holly walked over, feeling the urge to brush Artemis' hair out of his eyes. He'd let it lengthen to a more ragged style recently.
"Don't." Artemis swatted her hand away and Holly felt insulted.
"What? Don't want me to look at you?"
"No, it's not that." Artemis turned his head to the side so his hair parted over one of his eyes, the ice blue one. "It's the touching. You may have gotten over your teenage days after we returned from our time excursion, but I'm still living mine. Hormones, you know."
Holly took a step back with what she would later deny was a blush on her face. "Why would you feel that way with me?"
The hair fell back in his face as Artemis attempted to stand up. "I have no idea. It seems to come upon me at the most inconvenient of times."
"Here." Holly came back and offered him a hand up. "Get to bed. I'll blame that on lack of sleep."
"I appreciate that." Artemis stood, though it was clear if Holly were to let go of his wrist he would fall again.
"How are you even awake? I wouldn't think even Butler would have been able to wake that quickly."
"Mind over matter. I had to make sure that my actions weren't being observed. If they were, there'd be a much more severe danger in letting you into the manor. I did a thorough sweep of the manor and picked up no energy readings, or negative readings. These things appear to repeal light waves, you see."
"I have no idea what you're talking about. Save the explanations for Foaly."
They came to the stairs and Holly glanced at Artemis' long suffering expression.
"I believe I'll sleep on the couch. Making it down was one thing, making it up is another. I doubt my mother will miss me when she notices that I've simply moved down here."
"No." Holly took the first steps and dragged him up with her. "You've scared your mom enough as it is in the last twenty-four hours. Come on, you can make it. We've been through worse."
Artemis sighed. His eyes seemed to want to stay closed with every blink. He had been through worse. Climbing the stairs couldn't be worse then climbing the ladder with drooling trolls at his ankles. The only difference was that he had incentive then.
"Artemis." Holly punched him hard in the arm. "Get moving."
Okay, there was his incentive. Artemis put out an unsteady hand on the railing and made slow work of the mountain of stairs with Holly's pulling and, when he stopped, prodding.
"You do know that poking me in the lower ribs is more likely to get me to fall over than continue, right?"
Holly poked him again. "I don't really care which you do."
It sounded like she meant it. Artemis knew Holly was still angry with him for lying about his mother's illness. It all seemed so pointless now. He still didn't believe that she would have assisted him if he hadn't fabricated the lie. She could leave him to a killer any second now, at the word of her superiors. It was why he found the need to be manipulative. If you didn't have the upper hand, you didn't have the support.
Thoughts weren't forming as easily as they should have and Artemis couldn't find a way to stay on top. It must have been a side effect of the healing, he thought. Soon, after he'd gotten some rest, now that he knew that his family wasn't in immediate danger, he'd figure something out. He always did.
It seemed to take all his energy to reach the top and Artemis would have collapsed right there if not for a hand under his arm.
"We're almost there. Hold on a while longer."
Her voice is so nice, Artemis found himself thinking. It was calming with sweet undertones of authority and empathy. It was the type of voice that would be used to speak to injured animals. The only difference was the unearthly quality her voice contained. The truth was though, that Holly was from this world. It was humans who had driven her and her people away. Why can't we all live together, like this?
Artemis shook his head. Hormones. He hoped they would pass quickly. His lips remembered Holly's against his, even if it had only been a second. He shook his head against the thoughts but they didn't fade. There had been a spark. Magic.
No. Not right now. There's someone out to kill me right now and I can't be distracting myself with these teenage emotions. Artemis blinked and saw Holly looking at him with open curiosity.
"Having trouble staying awake?"
More than a little, but that wasn't what was plaguing him now. "Yes. If my room wasn't around the corner I would have you let me go and I'd sleep on the carpet."
"The great Artemis Fowl sleeping on the floor. I'd like to see that."
Now that Artemis had regained his objectivity, he refused to let his mind wander from it. "I wouldn't."
"Then hurry up, already. I think it's taken us five minutes to walk down the hall."
Holly opened the door when they reached it and Artemis closed his eyes, hoping that, by not seeing it, his mother would remain asleep. It sounded foolish after he'd opened his eyes again to find her sleeping right where she had been.
"Thank you Holly. I'll see you in the morning." Artemis disentangled his arm, grateful that he was out of contact with the elfin girl, but also wishing, somewhere in the back of his mind, that he didn't have to be. Stop it, he chided himself.
"Good night, Arty. I'll be up before you, but I'm staying in Butler's room so your father doesn't spot me. Get me if you need me."
He nodded as the door closed, Holly didn't notice.
Artemis tired to make it back under the covers without disturbing his mother, but he soon found it a more difficult task than getting out had been. He settled towards the edge of bed and let his eyes close. Before they slid shut he was sure he saw his mother smile at his from where her head was resting sideways on his bed. Artemis didn't open his eyes again so he wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not.
