Author's Note: Hello, my beautiful readers. It's Chapter 10 of "The Angel Conundrum". Enjoy!
Many thanks to Space-Dweeb for the lovely comment on the last chapter. You are great and amazing and I am showering you with my special online thank you-glitter. 😊
Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer owns all the characters from Artemis Fowl, I only own my imagination and my characters.
Chapter 10
Holly shackled the last pixie to the water pipes at the wall. Wing Commander Vinyáya had once told her to find something positive in every situation. For some reason, that advice popped into her head as she regarded the three men. Stampa was biting people in the hospital, who in turn went crazy. That was bad. But at least they hadn't left. Yet.
Holly couldn't make any sense of the current events, but it had to be connected with the attack that Stampa had survived. Or something the woman had done, when she had cut him down from the tree. That possibility was slim, she admitted, but the Mud Woman was a Mud Person, after all.
The other more plausible option was that the attack had traumatized Sebastian so much that he was projecting the attack on his fellow citizens. But then why would the other people have such an extreme reaction to the attack? Shock, she would have understood. Even hysteria but not bloodthirst.
Locking the door behind her, Holly was once again back in the corridor. She would have to alert whoever was in charge here to lock every exit and she would need to have a look at the security cameras. Maybe they had picked something up. She hoped that Trouble was staying out of trouble. Or rather would get into trouble with her. It would have been nice to not have to sneak through a hospital on her own.
Root thought the same since the communication channel came back to life and his voice filled her ear. "Captain, I am letting Foaly into the hospital's video system. See if there are any irregularities. Stay safe!"
Holly exhaled. "Thank you, Commander."
There was a whinny in her ear. "Just a second and... here we are. Let me check if anything interesting is happening."
She heard some keyboard tapping, then silence. Holly was afraid to ask, what he had found, but she had to know.
"Tell me."
"Our man is still in the house," he started. "He is on the second floor, looks like he is drunk. Quite a bit of swaying around."
Holly groaned and started running. "Can you access the hospital doors from your end, Foaly? I'll go and stop him."
"Give me half a minute," Foaly neighed.
Taking two steps at a time, Holly reached the second floor and quietly hurried down the corridor, her trigger finger ready to strike. Stampa was nowhere to be seen, but one of the doors was open and there was a low voice coming from inside. Holly crept closer, pricking up her ears to hear.
"I need to get to you, my Lord. Aboveground, yes?" There was a pause before the same voice answered. "Not yet. Patience. Patience."
Holly peeked around the corner to get a look at the speaker. It sounded like Stampa, just more crazed than when she last interviewed him. He stood at the far end of the room, the artificial wind from the tunnels blowing the scent of dried blood into the corridor. Stampa had bent over a hospital bed, murmuring under his breath. Would he be biting another patient? Holly slipped inside.
"Freeze and put your hands up, Stampa," she ordered in her most intimidating voice.
The elf's face was ashen and more miserable than before. If she hadn't seen him half an hour ago, she wouldn't have believed it was him. Captain Short pointed her gun at his head.
"Step away from the bed."
He complied, albeit slowly. "You do not understand this."
The captain raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I understand very well. What is this? Some kind of trade that went wrong?"
Sebastian shook his head, his eyes suspiciously red. "I am trying. I don't want anybody to get hurt. But he is so strong."
"What are you talking about?"
"He is in my head. I can't... he won't stop. I need to get him out of my head," the elf babbled, getting more desperate by the second. He punched his head.
Holly hesitated. He did need help, that was clear. "Step away from the bed and we'll give you all the help, you'll need."
"You don't understand!" he shouted, throwing himself out of the open window. It happened so fast, Holly had hardly any time to react. She dashed after him and peered out of the window of the second floor.
Stampa wasn't laying on the pavement. He hadn't looked like the athletic type; the fall should have caused significant damage. Even if he had landed on his feet, he would have broken a few bones. It should have at least slowed him down so that officers could have taken care of him. But there were no police officers around. Why weren't they patrolling the area?
"Commander, is the whole building being monitored at the moment?" she asked into her helm mic.
"The whole building is under surveillance. There is no way anyone can leave or enter without us knowing."
"Hate to disappoint, but Stampa jumped out of the window a second ago and none of the squad is investigating."
Root cursed and shouted at the officers on duty. He had been busy phoning colleagues in different departments to make sure the events weren't leaked to the media. It was only a matter of time, of course, but the best fairies were working their butts off to give them as much time as possible.
"Get back to the headquarters, Holly. I'll put the hospital under quarantine. Position more patrols around the building. There are no more reports about bitten people, but I have ordered the doctors to treat everyone as a potential threat and to drug anyone they suspect of having the… condition," Root said.
"Do you think that's a good idea, Commander? We can't just leave them unprotected."
"I need you back at the headquarters, Holly. Finding Stampa is our most important priority. He will tell us what he has done to the people he's bitten. We have to find him before he goes around causing even more havoc. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Commander. On my way, Commander."
Most surprisingly, Butler had managed to avoid any traffic and was now parked in front of a remote house, surrounded by thick trees and an obscure forest. The modest house, a low red brick structure, had been in the family for a few generations. Nobody lived there, though. It was only used in emergencies and was regularly maintained by members of the Butler family. Fresh and canned food, as well as clothes, weapons and tools, were either stocked or exchanged. It wasn't luxurious by any means, but it was perfect for when you needed to hide for whatever reason.
Butler checked the premise, opening every room and doing a thorough check. Everything was in order. He hadn't suspected anything else. His cousins did a proper job when it came to these matters. Butler allowed himself to relax a bit.
Sofia dropped her backpack in one corner. While she wasn't missing the Major, at least he would tell her what to do. This whole Indiana Jones adventure wasn't for her. She was a scholar. Her place was in a library or an office or anywhere else far away from the danger. She trusted the Major enough to know she never was in real danger on those nights they were on the hunt for angels. He was the one doing all the fighting and the rolling in the dirt if it ever came to it. It never had, thankfully. Regardless, she wasn't particularly eager to creep through woods at night to chase up on angels to find out where they might or might not hide one angel's boyfriend.
Sofia checked her watch. It was 8 pm in New York. As if on cue, her stomach started to growl. Artemis heard it. "We should have dinner and call it a night."
Butler nodded and moved to the kitchenette, ready to start cooking.
"Would you like some help?" Sofia offered, but he shook his head.
"It won't take long. Feel free to rest. It has been a long flight."
All three rooms had the same grey interior that was wearing down even the happiest person like cement shoes of a Mafia victim in the East River. The general feeling of the Eastern bloc countries in the 80s, Sofia mused, as she sat down on the bed. Depressing and lonely. She wanted to call her brother, but Butler had told her not to use her phone, in case they were being tracked. She doubted that angels could track phones, but she didn't dare to take any risks. Instead, she studied the contents of the folder she had brought until the smell of food beckoned her back into the kitchen. She smelled fish and hoped Butler had thought of some edible sides. Butler finished piling new potatoes on Artemis' plate when he noticed her glance.
"I made fishcakes with spinach and potatoes," he said and Sofia felt her stomach churn as the smell got stronger. She tried to keep a straight face.
"Potatoes and spinach are my favourites."
Butler's lips twitched. Good thing he hadn't decided on making beef wellington. This conversation could have been so much more awkward.
"Apologies, I should have checked if you are vegetarian."
She held up her hand. "It's fine. Really. I am not a fussy eater apart from the animal bits."
Butler handed her a brown plate with green flowers printed on it.
"Have you always been a vegetarian?" he asked, trying to avert an awkward silence. Sofia shook her head.
"Not always. But after my grandfather butchered my pet rabbit, I decided to stick to the greens."
Artemis didn't even glance up from his plate. "To compensate for your feelings of guilt?"
Sofia sat down across from the boy and gave him a sour smile. "Are you always this annoying?"
"Professor," Artemis said, putting his knife down. His eyes darted to her hands. "We shouldn't keep any secrets from each other. Why don't you share your findings and in turn, I will help you and tell you what they mean."
His bodyguard frowned. He was used to Artemis acting superior, but this fixation on the professor's documents was new. They couldn't be that interesting, could they?
The professor studied him. "Are you scared you are going to miss out, Artemis?"
"That's ridiculous. I am simply trying to help you," the boy said, picking up his fork and focussing on his meal.
After dinner, the boy excused himself and went to bed. Sofia had offered to help in the kitchen, but Butler refused again. In the end, she had given up and gone to bed as well. Sleep, however, wouldn't come. The bed was hard and the unknown surroundings were making her uncomfortable. Finally, after tossing and turning for a while, she sat up. She would get a glass of water, maybe that would help. Wrapping the polyester bed cover over her shoulders she crossed the room and stepped into the corridor. The linoleum was cold under her bare feet and Sofia quickly plodded into the living room. She stopped in her tracks when she realized that someone was still in there.
Butler looked up from the book that he had been reading, his eyebrows lifting at the sight of the professor in the doorway with a big bedcover dragging behind her. She looked like a child playing princess. He closed the book and dropped it between the armchair to hide its title.
"Everything okay?"
She nodded. "Can't sleep. Might be the jet lag," she explained with a sheepish smile.
Butler nodded understandingly. "Would you like some warm milk?"
Sofia scoffed. "I am not a child, Mr Butler. I am not drinking warm milk to fall asleep."
"Are you saying this, because you don't want to look childish or because you think it won't work?"
She paused for a moment. She knew milk didn't work.
"There have been studies conducted, proving that milk doesn't help you fall asleep. So, no, I do not think warm milk helps. But, as I can see you are busy reading your love story, I am happy to get a glass of milk and leave you alone."
Butler froze and Sofia grinned knowingly. He had acted the same way her brother had when she had caught him reading Pride and Prejudice. In fact, she had never seen men act quicker. She waved him away. "I have three brothers. I know the signs."
A muscle began twitching in his jaw as he regarded her warily.
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. I don't care," she told him, dropping into the opposite armchair and curling her legs underneath her. She pulled the bed cover over herself until only her head stuck out.
Butler got up, taking the book with him and pushing it into his jacket pocket. He turned away from her widening grin, while he was heating milk in a pot.
Looking around the living room, her gaze fell on the chessboard on top of the fireplace. When he had brought her the mug with the piping hot milk, she pointed to it.
"Thank you, do you play?"
Butler nodded, even though he wanted to get back to his book. With his job he was on duty 24/7, he had been looking forward to some quiet time before going to bed himself.
She had been half right with the warm milk theory. He had tried to get Artemis to sleep with this trick countless times, but it had never shown the desired effect. Which didn't mean that he didn't experiment with his own powerful concoction. It was a mix of a generation old recipe for a night of restful sleep with some of his medicinal knowledge. It was perfect. He sometimes drank it himself. From experience, he knew the professor would be getting sleepy in about half an hour. He could wait that long.
He picked the board from the fireplace and placed it on the small coffee table. He never managed to beat Artemis, but he had become a good player.
"Do you play a lot?"
She nodded and took a sip from the hot milk. "Yes…, this is good! Is this turmeric? I play mostly against my father, but I am very good."
She wasn't. Good. She was awful at it. He defeated her in only seven moves. She chewed on her lower lip.
"How did you do that?" she asked, wrapping the bed cover tighter around her shoulders, sipping on the milk.
Butler raised an eyebrow. He was too polite to tell her she sucked. Instead, he pointed to her rook. "You left him without defence three turns ago. If you had moved him to the other side, your king wouldn't have been open for an attack in the last turn."
"You are not kidding, vero?"
He shook his head and she shifted her weight, holding her face in her hand.
"Man, I suck at this game. How do you think so far ahead?"
"It's not just thinking ahead, but about using your chess pieces to their full potential. You ignored your pawns. They could've helped you early on," he explained.
Sofia wasn't convinced. "But they don't do anything. They can't even do more than one move at a time."
"That's not the point. Every piece has a job. You need to put them to good use if you want to win."
He motioned to the pawns. "You want to protect your king early on. You need to have a basic protective wall. The job of your pawns."
He glanced at her to see if she was interested in what he was saying. She stared at the board as if she had never played before, so he continued.
"Try to use all your pieces and get them moving. Don't focus on one piece to dash ahead, otherwise, they will be without protection from your other players. And ignore your queen. Keep her safe. She can be helpful, but she is also vulnerable, especially at the beginning of the game."
Sofia looked up at him. "Can you show me in another game?"
Butler nodded. He was having fun. Mostly winning, but also showing why he was winning.
After another round of beating her while stopping every other of her moves, she had some idea of why her father loved the game so much. She wasn't getting much better, but she wasn't trying to go straight for the other king and ignoring the other chess pieces.
During the third round, she placed her hand on the rook, squinting her eyes as she looked Butler in the eyes to figure out if he approved of her choice. He kept his face blank.
"That is not how you win the game," he reminded her.
"I know, but it doesn't hurt to make sure," she sighed and moved the rook into the middle of the board. He moved his pawn, giving her an opening. Sofia paused. The opportunity was too good to be true. It had to be a trap she didn't know in which way, though. So, she stuck to her initial plan to move the bishop in front of her king. Butler was pleased. She had been listening after all.
He did defeat her, of course, but this match had been much more satisfying than the other two. Sofia curled both hands into fists and put them up to her chin with a heavy sigh.
"I want a rematch," she exclaimed. Then she yawned. Butler suppressed a grin. His recipe had worked.
"Are you sure you won't fall asleep halfway through?" he asked with a smile.
She made a face before yawning once again. She couldn't believe how tired she was all of a sudden. Could he have put a sleeping pill into the milk?
"Fine, you win. Again. But," she yawned mid-sentence, "this isn't over."
She got up from the armchair and swayed for a second. "The milk was good," she begrudgingly admitted. Butler accepted the praise with a nod. Sofia crossed the room and stopped at the corridor.
"Thanks for the chess lesson... I hope you get to finish that chapter," she added mischievously, leaving him. Still wrapped in the flowery bed cover, she was fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
A/N: And that's us! Hope you enjoyed it. This was one of the first scenes I wrote to figure out Sofia's and Butler's characters/dynamics and I still think that it's very telling. Anyways, comments and kudos are always appreciated and next time on "The Angel Conundrum" (imagine one of those presenters with a deep and sensational voice): The Major returns to be his usual gruff self and the LEP has to figure out what to do about Stampa. Will Vinyáya and Root make the right decision? Tune in to find out. Have a great day and see you next week.