"She's gone…" Artemis muttered under his breath as Butler drove as fast as he could back to Fowl Manor without being pulled over; dealing with the authorities would waste precious time.
Artemis replayed the scene over and over in his head; Tinsley started to run. Liam withdrew a gun, a tranquilizer gun as he whispered something to Tinsley. Then the next second later, Liam morphed into a sprite. A winged, flying, sprite and took to the air, managing to carry Tinsley until suddenly they disappeared above the drugstore. A shielded shuttle above the building, that was the conclusion Artemis came to.
"Artemis-" Minerva began, forced to ride back with them.
"Don't speak, please." Artemis branded a scarily formal tone that was cold as ice. "I am trying to think of a plan of action, and you are the reason we are in this mess in the first place, so, if you would be so kind as to-"
"It wasn't me! I just got the note from someone who called themselves O. I had no choice!" Minerva, having regained her composure after what she deemed a horrendously embarrassing meltdown at the café, was realizing she now needed to pull Artemis together.
Artemis snapped out of his inner torment in a second.
"O?"
Minerva didn't see how it made a difference. "Yes-O. You think you might know this person?"
Artemis remembered Holly telling him Opal escaped. He also remembered the morbid fortune he received that night. It sent a shiver down his spine.
"Yes, I may. And she isn't a person. Unfortunately."
He pulled out his communicator to contact Holly, not even caring about Minerva seeing the technology at the moment. She would never have to know what it was capable of, anyway.
He put his fast typing skills to work, his fingers becoming a blur across the tiny keys.
I have a rough Idea of where Opal is. And, Holly-she has Tinsley.
*AF*
"Hello?" Tinsley called in a muffled voice. The computer screen had gone completely blank. It was pitch dark. Tinsley found it hard to breathe, to think, to remain calm. She felt her sanity slipping away, consumed by the fear of being left to die a slow, painful death.
She tried to pull her legs toward her, but the chain around her ankles held fast, as it had the past countless times she'd tried.
"What is it, stupid mud girl?" The computer screen glowed to life, fueled by the same mechanical voice as earlier.
"Hey, that's-not nice…" Tinsley mumbled, because really, she'd had no idea what she wanted to say to her kidnapper, whoever that was. She just couldn't stand being in the dark anymore. She needed the light. Her eyes began to scan the room, though she knew anything she could possibly use to escape would be out of her reach.
"Well then, if that's all you had to say-"
"No! No, I-just-okay, you said something about me-not having to-um-die. What did you mean by that?"
"Ah, a halfway intelligent question. I mean, you aren't really who I want to get to. You know Artemis Fowl, I presume?"
Tinsley's throat became horribly dry. "I…don't…no, I don't know him."
"You're a horrible liar. I know you know him. So let's just skip to the next question. Would you be willing to die for him? Would you like to trade places with him right now?"
Tinsley felt the tears beginning to flow again; she thought she'd cried so much wasn't capable of crying anymore, but they started anyway. Fear does that to a person sometimes.
"No," she whispered, so quietly she wasn't sure her kidnapper would even be able to hear it.
"You don't sound so confident with that decision."
"No! Of course I would-die-for…"
"You can't even say his name."
It'd hurt me too much, Tinsley flinched as she squinted her eyes together to try and stop the tears to hold herself together.
"I don't think you're certain. I think there is a small inkling of doubt. And I'm going to delight in manipulating that until it consumes your mind, until you scream, 'Kill Artemis! Kill him instead of me!'"
Tinsley couldn't suppress her tears anymore. The heaving sobs shook her entire frame until she couldn't think straight anymore. "No…"
"And we'll start now. Liam."
All at once the lights went up. The sudden brightness of the room momentarily blinded Tinsley and she saw stars around the corners of her eyes as they adjusted.
"Liam…" Tinsley whispered as she saw him. He looked mournful, unstable. Tinsley knew at once he didn't want to be here, to be standing before her. He didn't want to kidnap her in the first place.
"Pick up that knife, Liam," the mechanical voice ordered.
Liam picked it up with trembling fingers.
"You're a dancer, aren't you, Tinsley? Such a pretty face you have too." The cold computerized voice continued.
Tinsley squirmed in her chains, desperately trying to break free. She could feel her skin chaffing and swelling, or maybe the cuffs were becoming tighter. She couldn't tell. She didn't care.
"Please…" she whispered to Liam, now standing over her with the knife. He looked soulless.
"Make the first cut, Liam," the voice ordered.
Tinsley couldn't breathe, she was paralyzed with a mixture of fear and helplessness as the blade hovered two inches in front of her face. Liam mouthed the words I'm Sorry, and then the cold metallic blade touched her cheek. It sent a shiver down her spine.
She didn't feel the pain. She thought she would, be it was as if she'd been numbed. Or maybe her body was so overworked now emotionally and mentally she couldn't even register such insignificant things like pain anymore. She felt the trace of the knife from the top of her cheekbone to the bottom of her chin, that was all.
She thought maybe he didn't even cut her.
"Alright, Liam. Leave. You're other things to do now," the heartless, emotionless voice commanded.
Liam did, his footsteps echoing on the steel floor. Tinsley's sanity almost snapped as she watched him shut the door behind him. Escape was so close, that door was…so close.
"Now, Tinsley, do you understand your situation? Do you still want to be the hero and save the mud boy scum, Artemis Fowl?"
"I can…I can handle…a little pain. I can handle a scar, and being so scared its hard to breathe. I can…handle...this is…nothing…"
The voice cackled with obvious laughter. "How delightful! I'm going to see just how much you can handle then.
