Chapter 11: Mansion, Mine
Artemis sat in deep reflection. He would tell Theris the truth once they were out of danger. Something kept disrupting his concentration, a mild headache. Perhaps it was Theris's continuing repetition of 'Six years!'?
"Move and I'll put a bullet where your brain is."
Artemis opened his eyes, one of the security personnel had entered the room and was currently pointing a handgun at his head. He had a slight Glaswegian accent with an auburn crew cut. Sunglasses, despite the recent sunset.
"You," he barked.
"I have a name," Theris said indignantly. Artemis had an idea. It had worked for No1. despite his inexperience in magic use.
The guard looked a little phased, as far as he was concerned the only creature which spoke English was a human.
"Take whatever spell you put on Alexis off," he demanded.
"Not me, Mud Man, him," Theris replied pointing at Artemis.
Artemis concentrated, ignoring the headache, on his memories created no more than six months ago, the enclosure in which Opal had hoped to enact her revenge. Eleven Wonders of the world. Artemis focused on the memory of the particularly violent Troll that had snapped at the others, then he wrapped the memory in magic, much as he had with the memory of Holly's temporary death.
"What are you doing?" The guard demanded of Artemis.
The memory grew -cold- like his blood had turned to ice which, despite cooling the developing migraine, was uncomfortable. When he could tolerate it no longer he let the magic rally and brought forth the image.
A massive bull Troll appeared beside the security guard. Who, despite numerous years experience, had never encountered a Troll before. He was, at the time, keeping a very close eye on Artemis and with the sunglasses limiting his field of view he saw the Troll's shadow first. He turned expecting to see a tall human.
He swung his firearm around to face the Troll but the creature opened it's mouth to reveal large tusk-like serrated incisors. Dripping with venom.
He wasn't the first human to wet his pants when confronted with a Troll but he might be the last. Alexis would later terminate his contract but at the moment security guard Duncan McAndrews was being welcomed into the silent embrace of unconsciousness as he fainted.
"I'm impressed Mud Boy. I'm impressed," Theris said.
"Thank you," Artemis replied, drained by the effort.
"Artemis?" Theris asked, "what did Alexis mean earlier? About Mister Nguyen being useful and paying twice as much as you?"
"I- I made some very foolish mistakes in my youth and people got hurt. You were one of those people, you just don't remember."
"That's why you said amnesiac earlier."
"Yes," Artemis admitted, "its my fault you spent the last six years here."
"As much as I'd like to blame you, she is the one who kept me locked in a cage," Theris said, pointing at Alexis, "I may not remember what you did to me but you are trying to help me now. We should leave before more guards come."
Artemis was surprised, we wasn't expecting to be forgiven, at least, this easily but Theris didn't remember the betrayal so she didn't know the full story.
--0--
Holly watched the guards collapse, seemingly of their own accord. She was shielded but it felt different somehow, she couldn't explain it but she was willing to put up with the discomfort given the situation. She drew her Neutrino something (she hadn't asked Foaly what model the new Neutrinos were) it was made of super-light polymer casing Foaly had called 'Opal-proof'.
Then she saw it. A shadow. The lights on the roof of the mansion illuminated the roof and the grounds surrounding the building but something was casting a shadow on the roof. A humanoid shadow but there was nothing standing where the shadow began.
Holly flipped down her helmet filter for fairy shield when she realised it was already down. Holly flipped down all the filters, none of them revealed what the humanoid was.
It moved and entered the mansion through the roof entrance. Holly landed and peered in the door after it, she couldn't see in the lower light of the mansion but she couldn't go in any further without invoking the ancient magic.
Holly removed her helmet, sometimes it helped to see things with your own eyes.
It appeared as she removed the helmet, like a liquid shadow, ink black but somehow fluid. In the shape of a short human or tall fairy but it couldn't be a fairy, it didn't have an invitation. It beckoned. An invitation to her!
Holly jammed her helmet under her arm and followed the shadow inside. No sickness, the invitation held.
"Knock, knock," Holly said sarcastically as she turned the corner in pursuit of Artemis and the mysterious shadow.
--0--
Juliet buried half a clip into the hinges of the eighteenth century front door, literally shooting them off their hinges.
A well timed flash bang took out around seven armed men and Domovoi kept her in his sight while she restrained the incapacitated men with plastic cable ties. His P90 was a little older than Juliet's FN F2000 and it felt a little unwieldy since he was used to his Sig. He was with Minerva behind a grass verge in the grounds and his little sister was in the doorway of the mansion.
Through the sight, Domovoi saw Juliet tense and drop her rifle. Someone, out of sight, was holding a gun at her. Domovoi could only see, and hence only shoot, Juliet. Then he saw something. Juliet was making a gesture, small enough to go unnoticed but significant. Although she had been told to put her arms up she was pointing downwards with her left hand.
Domovoi understood what his sister was telling his so he took careful aim and fired.
--0--
"Freeze!" One of the guards had come round the corner of the long, pristine corridor that lay on the other side of the door, just as Artemis and his friend were closing it behind them. Alexis now sat bound in the chair but in her mesmerised state the restraints were quite unnecessary. Artemis was reluctant to mesmerise her anymore due to the condition of her pupils.
"Put your hands on your head now!" This guard was a little more professional, ex-military maybe.
Theris, strangely, did as asked. Artemis had other plans.
"Do it now or I start shooting!" The guard said for emphasis.
--0--
Juliet hoped her brother got the message. Otherwise this was going to get messy…
A security guard, holding a very powerful handgun was standing twelve feet from her, pointing it at her head. Bad move, aim for the chest. Bigger target, if you hit, you get the heart, miss and you puncture a lung.
"Cut the ties!" The guard shouted, he must've been deafened a little from the flash bang.
When she felt the bullet hit it's mark she did a mental lap of joy.
The bullet went through one of the gas grenades secured to her belt and immediately copious amounts of white smoke poured out. Juliet dived into the cloud removing the remains of the grenade in mid-leap. She disappeared immediately, the guard was too stunned to react but regained his composure swiftly. The remains of the grenade were 'hissing' as the chemicals were consumed by the reaction.
He swung his handgun into position and emptied three shells into the cloud where the hissing emanated from but Juliet was already circling round behind him.
"Missed me," Juliet said, taunting, immediately before she disarmed and pistol-whipped the guard with his own gun at such speed, it approached fairy shield vibration.
--0--
Artemis had point blank refused to use a gun, despite Butler's recommendation that he should, at least, learn to shoot after the incident with Mr Spiro. Minerva, was a different matter, she accepted Juliet's berretta with no comment. Both Butlers had learned early on that Minerva was very headstrong.
While the Butlers were taking care of the front door, Minerva took the opportunity to enter the mansion by her own means. She had left Domovoi when he was taking aim and walked around to the back door keeping down low and near cover.
The back room had large French doors covered by a guard with, what looked like a sniper rifle, propped up on a couch. She couldn't contest with the sniper rifle but she could contest the sniper…
Once she discovered the fact, Minerva endeavoured to master ambidexterity but didn't quite have the finesse Artemis possessed and so still favoured her left. She very carefully took aim from behind her cover, a bush, and fired.
Minerva had adopted Artemis's non-harm policy and so didn't shoot the sniper, she shot the chandelier hanging above the sniper.
--0--
Holly pursued the shadow to a room off a rather grandiose corridor, full of tapestries and suits of armour with - would-you-believe-it - gold or gold plated lances and swords.
She was still curious why she could see the shadow while the best filters fairy science could devise were left useless. Then it suddenly struck her, her eyes. Or more precisely, the combination of her eye - and hence optic nerve - with Artemis's. The capture rate of the fairy eye was different than that of a human. The effect was similar to merging the image of two different cameras.
Flicking her Neutrino to stun, she re-shielded and peeked round the oak door. It was a gallery of some kind, more tapestries, cases of swords and crossbows and other ancient, priceless artefacts.
The shadow was extracting something from a case at the far end of the gallery. Holly walked up towards it. It turned and Holly saw what it had came for; a large, thin stone tablet with indiscernible writing.
"Hey," Holly called. The figure turned and nodded towards something a distance to Holly's left.
Holly turned quick enough to see another shadow aiming something at her, it fired. She felt the dart puncture her suit and imbed in her side but it was the electric shocks emitted by the device that caused the most pain and loss of motor control. She was incapacitated for around a minute before she recovered sufficiently to remove the offending device. The shadows were gone along with the tablet.
Author Note: Sorry this chap & my last weren't up to the highest of standard. I'll probably re-write them at some point in the near future. It's just I've got a lot going on at home right now. Not to mention Uni work... I'll try to keep up.