Chapter 7
Artemis had been stalling for an hour before the solution came to him. He knew how to stop the Opals, how to get him and Holly out of there, and how to prevent the Opals from suspecting anything.
He hid a grin. Opal was still watching him like a hawk, and to look too happy would certainly give him away.
Opal, grumpy that he was taking so long, snapped at him.
"Hurry it up, Fowl! We only have so long before the LEP figure out where we are."
"I wasn't aware there was a deadline." he said innocently. He estimated that it would take the LEP maybe another four hours to figure out where they were and to get there. He could stall for four hours.
Opal pointed the gun at him.
"If there wasn't a deadline, then I'd do it myself. It'd take too long for me to figure out the workings of this mechanism, that's the only reason we need you alive. However, if it emerges that I could do it just as quickly, then you become dispensable. You don't want to be dispensable, Fowl."
Artemis turned back to the bio bomb, weary. He'd been awake now for roughly twenty-five hours (excluding the time he was sedated), and his body was crying out for sleep. Opal noticed and scowled. She wanted the bomb ready as soon as possible, but she also didn't want it to blow up in her face because the engineer had been dozing at the workbench. She compromised, telling Artemis to get to his feet and leading him back to the prison room.
"You have an hour, Fowl. Then it's back to work."
She slammed the door behind him. He sank onto the mattress next to Holly, who was looking at him, concerned.
"You look dead on your feet, Artemis."
"I'm alright. I need to tell you something."
"It can wait, Artemis. You need to get some rest."
"No, Holly, this is important…"
She touched his chin, turning his head so she was looking into his eyes, and spoke in a voice laced with the mesmer.
"Sleep, Artemis."
Artemis was too tired to fight it. His eyelids drooped and he went limp in her arms. She lowered him gently onto the bed, then, on impulse, kissed him on the forehead.
"Sweet dreams, Arty." she muttered.
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Past Opal went back to the surveillance room, meeting her older self in there. Present Opal was asleep in the swivel chair, snoring lightly. She tiptoed past, and glanced at the camera in the prisoners room just in time to see Artemis slump in Holly's arms. She watched as the elf lay him on the bed, then kissed his forehead. There was no sound, but the picture was damning enough. She stared for a second, open mouthed, then woke her older self up. Beauty sleep be damned, she needed confirmation of what she'd just seen.
Present Opal awoke moodily, but annoyance turned to mild shock when she saw the footage. An evil grin split her face, and she stroked the screen,
"Oh, Captain. Not so perfect after all, are we? Naughty naughty, the LEP aren't going to like this. Not at all!"
She giggled, then told her younger self to copy the footage. If you were going to destroy someone, you may as well do it properly.
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Foaly was working on compiling a list of all Koboi residences when the email came through. It was labelled 'Holly Short'. He ran a quick virus check, then opened it. It was a video clip showing Holly and Artemis. Foaly sighed in relief. They were still alive. He was about to call for the Commander when Artemis went limp. For a second Foaly panicked, but then he caught sight of Holly's expression and realised that she must have put him to sleep. The boy looks like he needs it Foaly thought. Then the video showed him something completely unorthodox. He paused it, decided that it wasn't enough, and shut the email down. It must be tampered with he decided. Holly wouldn't have kissed the Mud Boy, even just on the brow. She couldn't possibly have feelings for him…could she? There had been things that she hadn't told him about when she and Artemis were in the past - had something happened? He hadn't pushed the issue, but now maybe he would. No. Holly knew better than that - it was more of Koboi's trickery. It had to be.
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Artemis had only been asleep for abut half an hour when Present Opal unlocked the prison door and stepped inside, smirking. Holly didn't like the expression.
"What?" she snapped. Opal just grinned wider.
"Oh, nothing. Just looking at an elf who has sunk to an all-time low."
"Either tell me what you mean or leave, Opal."
"You and the human. You're more than just friends, aren't you? I saw you kiss him. Extra-marital romance is one thing, but romance outside your species? Oh, Captain. Aren't there rules about consorting with Mudmen?"
She laughed, delighted at the stunned look on Holly's face, and skipped out of the room. Holly sank onto the bed. If this ever got out, she'd be kicked out of the LEP for sure. It was entirely innocent, of course, but Opal would blow it out of all proportion. Holly groaned. Just what she needed. More bad press.
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Artemis awoke to see Holly sitting by his knees, head in hands. For a second, he couldn't think why he'd be lying on the bed but then he recalled Holly's eyes, the compulsion in her voice. He sat upright, annoyed.
"There was no need to do that, Holly."
She looked up.
"You're awake."
"Well observed." he snapped. He didn't like relinquishing control, even if it was for his own good. Holly sighed and shuffled over so he could put his feet on the floor.
"I'm not going to apologise, Artemis. You needed it, whether you admit it or not."
She sounded in a bad mood. At that point, Artemis didn't much care.
"You manipulated me!"
"Like you've never done that to me!" she retorted angrily. She had a point, even if it was made in anger. He held his hands up, cutting off the row before it could get too heated.
"Fine, let's just forget it. Like I was saying before you mesmerised me…"
Holly bit her tongue to keep from yelling. Displaced anger was no help to anyone, and Opal would just love to see the two of them fighting on the camera. She nodded at Artemis to continue.
"I have an idea. It's dangerous, but it should work. It relies on you, though. How fast can you run?"
She frowned.
"How fast do you need me to run?"
"As fast as possible."
He outlined his plan in undertones so the microphone couldn't pick up their voices and give away to the Opals what they were going to do. When he was done, Holly looked at him like he was crazy.
"Artemis. Are you suicidal? No one can run that fast."
"Then we'll have to dodge."
At that point, Past Opal entered the room.
"Alright, Mudman. Naptime's over. Come and finish the job."
Artemis looked at Holly, who was desperately trying to think of anything they could do that was less suicidal. Nothing came to mind. Reluctantly, she nodded. She'd go along with his plan.
Abruptly, she hugged him. Artemis was a little surprised, especially given that Opal was in the room, but put his arms around the elf's shoulders and hugged her back.
"Be careful, Arty." she muttered into his ear, then stepped back and let him walk out the room. The door slammed behind him, and Holly found herself praying that she would see him again.
