A/N: I almost didn't get this up today, but after my last update was so late, I had to force myself to get this done. I seem to be running into a sort of reverse writer's block – I'm fine writing new material (and am having a great time writing some pretty crazy action that takes place later at the moment), but when it comes to proofreading and editing prewritten content, I just can't motivate myself to do it. Anyway, I still have a bunch of chapters for this fic already written, so providing I can force myself to edit them, there shouldn't be any more delays.
-Kio
Chapter 7; Mobilised
Police Plaza, Haven City, The Lower Elements
Once Foaly had reawoken him, Artemis sat and patiently listened as the centaur explained the situation regarding his memories. Holly stood awkwardly to the side, fidgeting. The bad news clearly wasn't sitting well with her.
There was a moment of silence after Foaly had finished speaking; Artemis gave no outward sign of emotion.
"Very well," he said calmly, rising from the chair. "I shall have to remember on my own." He brushed an imaginary speck of dirt from his suit. "Now, I expect Opal shall be in touch soon. It would be prudent to in position when she calls."
The youth made to return to the Ops booth, but Holly caught his arm.
"You're not upset?" she asked. The elf looked almost hurt that Artemis didn't seem overly concerned that he may never remember her.
Artemis turned to her, showing her the determination in his face. "I am not upset," he said. "Because I know that I will be able to achieve this."
Holly was only slightly reassured by Artemis's certainly, but nevertheless she let it go. She wasn't interested in arguing with him, and anyway, he was right about Opal. They needed to be ready for her.
Shrugging as though it wasn't a big deal, the elfin captain led Artemis to the Situations booth, where they were expecting to accept Opal's communications. Foaly trotted along behind them, reluctant to get in Holly's way. He had decided that today was probably one of the ones where it paid to give the elf some space.
The trio arrived only a few moments before Opal had promised to be in touch. K'Azir gave them a sort of gruff greeting, not bothering to hide his distaste for Artemis, who was already drawing quite a few curious looks from the various technicians and LEP officers in the room. Foaly set about making sure the technical side of things was all in order.
"We are detecting a signal on the same frequency as before," announced one of LEP technicians. "Displaying feed now."
Exactly as before, Opal's sinister smile filled various screens around the room.
"We have Nexus online," called another technician, a tad unnecessarily.
Artemis took a step towards K'Azir. "Remember," he told the commander. "Negotiate. Sound reluctant and leverage whatever you can to secure favourable conditions for the trade."
"I know what I'm doing, Mud Boy," growled K'Azir, giving Artemis a filthy look before turning his attention to the console in front of him and switching on the mic.
"Koboi. What do you want?"
On the screen, Opal gave a theatrical sigh. "Why do I always end up having to deal with the simple ones?" She shook her head. "Root was no different. At least he got what he deserved from my future self."
The pixie's eyes flashed with malice as she spoke, as if daring someone to disagree with her. Artemis could see Holly struggling to control her expression. Trying not to let the hatred show.
"Anyway," continued Opal. "I digress. You know exactly what I want. Agree to my terms to suffer the consequences."
K'Azir didn't respond for a moment, weighing up his options. "Forget your games for a moment, Koboi," he said eventually. "You know we can't trust you for a moment. What makes you think we would ever risk ending up with two Opal Kobois loose?"
Opal's nostrils flared. "Again with the stupidity. If you don't desist, I may be forced to request that my future self hurt you. You will agree to my terms because you have no choice. I trust you have someone cleverer than you there to explain why that is?"
K'Azir shot a bitter look at Artemis before responding. "It doesn't work like that. We need to be able to guarantee that this goes according to plan. Naturally, we will choose the location and time-"
"No!" shrieked Opal, her pretty features contorting in anger. "Do you take me for a fool? I will select the conditions; you will either be there with my future self or Haven will pay the price. No negotiations."
K'Azir flicked off the mic angrily. "And we lose our chance to get you back to your own time." He tried taking a calming breath. It didn't help. "D'Arvit," he muttered, grudgingly turning to Artemis and Foaly. "Thoughts?"
Judging by his uncomfortable expression, Foaly didn't have anything useful to say. Artemis, on the other hand…
"Let me talk to her."
"What?" spluttered K'Azir, starting at him. "You're not serious. This is a sensitive LEP operation – I'm not letting a human negotiate for us!"
Holly opened her mouth to object, but Artemis was already speaking.
"Because you were doing such a good job of it," he said, coldly returning K'Azir's gaze. "You don't have to like me, but as usual, the LEP needs me. I'm perhaps the only person capable of outwitting Opal Koboi; you know it's true. Even you wouldn't deliberately sabotage a mission out of sheer stubbornness."
The two stared each other down for a moment, but after a few moments K'Azir acquiesced. In spite of himself, he was curious, and if Artemis could actually succeed, that was just a bonus. And if he couldn't? Well, at least they could all have a good laugh at the conceited little Mud Boy.
Artemis stepped forward to the console, switching the mic back on. On the screen, Opal was growing impatient.
"Hello?" she demanded, drumming her fingers. "I don't have all day, so you are rapidly running out of time. It would be a shame if you missed your window of opportunity out of indecision."
Artemis took a breath. "Hello, Opal," he said evenly.
The pixie gave a slight start, but she recovered quickly. "Artemis Fowl," she replied, emphasizing her contempt. "What a pity. I heard that you were dead."
The human gave his most sinister laugh. "Death is little more than an inconvenience for me." Opal gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. She is trying not to be shaken, he noted with satisfaction. A good start. "Predictably, you refuse to take the LEP seriously. Understandable, really – they have demonstrated themselves to be incompetent on numerous occasions. I, on the other hand, am anything but. You have learnt the hard way that I am always to be taken seriously."
Opal gave a shrug that was a little too carefree, as though she weren't trying hard to ignore the memory of her humiliation the last time she had underestimated Artemis. From her research, her future self had also fallen victim to Fowl's schemes. The boy was right – she would have to take him seriously.
Artemis laughed vindictively as he watched her almost mange to keep her face unreadable.
"The memories hurt, don't they? Concentrate on that pain, and understand that you're now dealing with someone a lot smarter than the commander."
"You think your presence changes anything, Fowl?" Opal spat, no longer bothering to try and conceal her fury. "It doesn't. The situation remains identical. I am negotiating from a position of power, and you are forced to respect that."
"I am no simpleton like K'Azir," shot back Artemis. "I understand fully the situation. I understand what you are trying to do, the subtleties of the game you're playing. And so, under no circumstances, will I agree to exchange in a location that I am not comfortable with."
Opal stared unblinkingly at the camera recording her for a few moments, her eyes bright with hatred. "In that case, you must understand that neither will I."
"Of course."
On the screen, Opal was visibly surprised. But once again, it only took her a heartbeat to recover her composure, her expression returning to one of casual contempt.
"Fundamentally," Artemis continued. "It doesn't matter to either of us where the exchange takes place, not really. Just as long as we can guarantee that it is not a set-up."
Opal stared hard at the screen on her end for a few seconds, obviously wishing she could see Artemis like he could see her.
"You are not wrong, Mud Boy," she admitted. "So how do you suggest we proceed?"
Artemis spared a moment to shoot K'Azir a smirk, but then he went back to concentrating. This was the difficult part – convincing Opal to agree with what he suggested. Opal had been planning this for a long time – if he agreed to exchange at her choice of location, she could have spent months preparing a trap. He couldn't afford to let that happen.
But what could he suggest? The key, surely, was to appear reasonable to Opal, while simultaneously making sure that she couldn't lure them into an elaborate trap. Then it came to him.
"I choose the region. You choose the exact location. That way, neither of us could have prepared in advance."
On the screen, Opal looked thoughtful. "Very well," she said, her tone daring Artemis to say something she didn't like. "Suggest somewhere."
Artemis smiled to himself, but then caught himself. Even though this was going well, it wasn't over yet. He still needed to choose a region. I need a curveball, he thought. Something Opal couldn't have anticipated. Somewhere that would afford her no additional advantages.
"Russia," he announced after a moments consideration. "Siberia, to be precise."
Opal frowned, obviously surprised. The reaction was mirrored by several of the LEP personnel alongside Artemis in the Situations booth, including K'Azir. And Holly.
"Artemis, what are you-" the elfin captain started to ask, but the human youth silenced her with a wave of his hand.
On the screen, Opal was narrowing her eyes. "Why?"
Even though the pixie couldn't see him, Artemis shrugged noncommittedly. "That is for me to know. Now, you decide the exact location. Somewhere isolated, of course, but beyond that, it's up to you."
Opal cocked her head to one side, considering it. Artemis allowed himself a small smile, knowing in his heart that he had won.
"Polyarny," said Opal eventually. "In Chukotka. It's an abandoned mining settlement in the middle of nowhere."
Artemis deliberately paused, appearing to think about it, even though he knew it didn't matter much.
"Very well," he said finally, allowing Opal to believe that she had regain control over negotiations. "When?"
"Exactly two days," replied Opal, clearly satisfied with how things were now going. "We exchange in the village itself. Until then, it remains a no man's land. Anyone from the LEP enters, I call off the deal. Simple as that. Understand?"
Artemis didn't bother to respond. He simply cut the connection from the console in front of him and turned to face Holly and K'Azir, giving them a good view of his smug smile.
K'Azir didn't seem impressed. "Russia?" he hissed. "Russia? What in Frond's name are you playing at Mud Boy?"
Artemis shrugged, unfazed. "No reason. The actual location is unimportant; Opal would never have agreed to exchange somewhere where the LEP would have a significant advantage like Tara, and we couldn't afford to risk exchanging at a location that she had pre-prepared. What I have done is secure us a neutral location and a psychological edge."
"We don't want a neutral location!" exclaimed K'Azir, apparently nearing the end of his patience. "We want an advantage."
Artemis sighed. "You already have one. Several, in fact. Opal is a single fairy; the LEP is a vast and technologically advanced military organisation with extensive resources, weapons and numbers. Conditions favourable to Opal might be able cancel out those advantages, but now the location benefits neither party. As the favoured side, that is to your advantage. Additionally, Opal will be convinced that I chose the location for a reason, and so will likely second guess everything she does."
K'Azir opened his mouth to protest, but Foaly placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.
"I really hate to say it," the centaur muttered. "But I think Artemis is right. The key is to deny Opal an advantage, and he has done that."
K'Azir glared daggers at Artemis, but didn't challenge him further. After a while, he turned to the assembled LEP technicians and officers.
"Find the mining village and start preparing a forward operating base nearby. And contact Atlantis – tell them to be ready to release Opal Koboi."
Once he had finished, Holly went over to him.
"Sir," she said quietly. "Should I get Artemis back to the surface now or wait until afterwards?"
A faint smile tugged at the corners of K'Azir's mouth. "Oh no, Captain," he said. "I don't care what commitments you made to the man mountain – you two are going to Russia."
Tara Shuttle Port
Galadhon watched with apprehension as the LEP officers traipsed onto the shuttles at the Tara shuttle port. K'Azir was pulling out all the stops – every combat ready officer that wasn't absolutely essential in Haven was armed to the teeth and off to Russia.
Recon officers, retrieval officers, the surviving strike team members. All equipped with as much of Foaly's weaponry as they could carry. All trying to look harder than they felt.
The elf didn't like the idea that the fairy capital was being left almost defenceless. It was difficult enough keeping things under control at the moment without losing every spare body they had. Not to mention that the entire thing might simply be a ploy by Koboi to weaken Haven for an attack. But K'Azir was resolute, insisting that they had to take advantage of their one chance to deal with the Koboi problem once and for all.
Galadhon felt rather than heard Holly approach to stand by his side. For a few minutes the two stood in silence, watching the preparations. Now the officers were loading crates of equipment onto the shuttles. The LEP would need to establish some kind of forward operating base in Russia from which they could orchestrate whatever double cross they ended up planning.
"How is the Mud Boy?" he asked eventually.
Holly took a moment to respond, choosing her words carefully. "Difficult to say. He seems like Artemis, but he doesn't remember anything. I'm not sure what to think."
"Foaly can't do anything?"
Holly shook her head miserably. "He tried. Ran into some issues that even he couldn't explain."
"I'm sorry."
Holly didn't say anything. Galadhon seemed genuine, but sympathy wouldn't help Artemis.
"What do you think about Opal?"
Holly frowned, caught off-guard by the question. Galadhon was generally a man of few words; not someone who asked unnecessary questions or engaged in small talk. If he was asking Holly's opinion, it meant that he valued it.
"I think she's insane and needs to be put away for a long time. Preferably forever."
A thin smile formed on Galadhon's usually impassive features. "This doesn't bother you?"
"Not unduly," replied Holly honestly. "It's a risk, I know, but it's not really like we have a choice. Artemis and Foaly explained it all – we finally have a chance to deal with her, we'd be foolish to squander it."
"Perhaps."
Holly raised an eyebrow. "You don't agree?"
The other elf shrugged, as though he didn't really know what he thought. Holly sighed. She wasn't in the mood for evasion. If Galadhon didn't want to explain himself, he didn't have to. She had a mission to be preparing for.
"We should be getting ready," she said. "The first shuttles leave within the hour."
Galadhon nodded absently, eyes still locked onto the LEP officers loading the shuttles. He couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't all be making it home.
The Deeps Maximum Security Prison, Atlantis
The present-day Opal Koboi was making a futile attempt at levitating. Though it was something she had been able to accomplish as a child, she had been stripped of her magic by the human pituitary gland she'd had briefly attached to her hypothalamus.
Imagine it, she thought. I wished to be human. That was a mistake for which I will eventually find someone to blame. The centaur, Foaly – he drove me to it. I will surely find a way to enact revenge.
But though Opal spent several hours a day fantasizing about the revenge she wold one day exact on her enemies, she had yet to come up with a way to achieve it. Even her formidable intellect couldn't figure out a feasible escape plan. Last time she had made preparations with the Argon Clinic fund and the clone, but her last scheme had been executed with no contingency.
Opal was therefore totally nonplussed when one of the doors to her cell phase-changed from solid to gas. As the faint mist cleared, Warden Tarpon Vinyáya, a malleable pen pusher who had never spent a night outside under the moon, stepped across the threshold. He was flanked by two jumbo pixie guards, both armed with neutrinos.
"Warden," Opal said, abandoning her levitation attempt and instead trying to cover up her surprise. No-one ever came into her cell. Even her food was delivered automatically. "Has my pardon arrived?"
Tarpon was not amused. "There's a situation. Action needs to be taken."
Koboi frowned. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but this certainly wasn't it.
"Explain," she ordered contemptuously. "What situation? What action?"
The warden sneered at her. "Classified." He gestured to the guards. "Get on with it," he said emotionlessly, turning to leave.
The jumbo pixies smiled at each other. Jumbo pixies were a breed peculiar to Atlantis, where the particular blend of pressurised environment and algae-based filtration had caused them to pop up with increased regularity over the years. What the jumbo pixies gained in brawn they generally sacrificed in brains, and so they made the ideal prison guards, having no respect for anyone smaller than themselves who did not sign their pay checks.
One of them strode rapidly into cell and roughly grabbed Opal, easily forcing her to her knees and pinning her arms by her sides. The other jumbo pixie stepped forward and sunk his fist into Opal's stomach. Koboi grunted in pain and made to call for Vinyáya, but then another fist connected with her face, snatching the words from her mouth before they could be spoken.
Tarpon Vinyáya was waiting in the corridor when the guards returned from Opal's cell a few minutes later, leaving the pixie unconscious inside. The warden's eyes lingered for a moment on the jumbo pixies' bloodied knuckles, but he didn't pass comment.
"Clean her up," he ordered. "And prepare the cell for transport."
A faint smile decorated the warden's lips as he watched them walk away. After all, his orders from Police Plaza had only been to make sure Koboi was unconscious for transport. K'Azir hadn't specified how.
Opal Koboi was not popular in the Deeps.
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, North-eastern Siberia, Russia
Past Opal's chosen location for the exchange, Polyarny, was one of several abandoned mining settlements that littered the harsh wastes of Siberia. It was little more than a village, really. A cluster of derelict buildings and a mine that had not seen work in over a decade. The whole place reeked of decay.
The first LEP six shuttles arrived at dusk, shrouded by the People's advanced technology. But they passed by Polyarny, landing instead among the mountains to the west. The small fleet touched down, nestling themselves in an area of low ground between the peaks.
LEP officers were already disembarking, carrying equipment off their shuttles and starting to establish a temporary base. The mountain clearing was the perfect location – only a few kilometres away from Polyarny and with negligible chances of being discovered by humans.
While the low ground wouldn't be easy to defend from a direct assault, no-one expected Opal to be stupid enough to actually try and fight the LEP head on. Besides, they couldn't risk establishing a proper forward operating base unless it was away from prying eyes, so it was a base under the shadows of the mountains or operating from shielded shuttles. It wasn't a hard choice to make.
The base itself was, of course, designed by Foaly, and quite ingenious. During Holly and Artemis's three-year absence in Limbo, the centaur had set about developing a fabric-type material that could switch between being flexible and rigid. The project had been ludicrously expensive, but eventually a success, resulting in a complex polymer with electronic components woven into it. It was light and soft, but could at any time be toggled to harden into a solid barrier capable of absorbing bullets and explosions alike.
Foaly had designed a plethora of temporary "buildings" that could be erected at short notice by LEP operatives. They generally consisted of a metal framework wrapped in smart polymer. The frame gave them structure, while the advanced polymer gave them strength and provided shelter from the elements. They all had modified cam foil beads embedded in the fabric, granting some semblance of camouflage. They weren't invisible, but they were difficult to pick out from a distance, and the modified beads had the advantage of being waterproof, so a simple spot of bad weather wouldn't render them useless.
Within an hour of arrival, the LEP had already established four different temporary buildings: a dormitory, a dining area, an armoury and an operations centre. That would be where planning took place. The structures broadly resembled large marquees, but seemed more permanent, and shimmered in the moonlight as their automatic camouflage did its best to hide them.
Officers were now delivering equipment to where it belonged. Most of the crates were full to the brim with weaponry and destined for the armoury, but there were also computer banks for the operations centre, boxes of meals ready to eat for the dining area and crude camp-style beds for the sleeping area. The entire setup was completed quickly and efficiently; everything had been carefully planned in Haven, with every fairy having a designated role.
Once they were finished, most of the fairies were allowed to go and grab some sleep, but about a quarter were charged with security. Several shielded patrols were sent out to provide early warning of an attack, while others adopted defensive positions in and around the camp itself, weapons up and eyes searching for a target. If Opal was going to hit them head on, they were going to be ready.
Not that anyone actually thought she would. The pixie would need an army to free her future self from within the LEP camp itself. No, Opal wouldn't attempt something as crude and ill-conceived as a brute force attack. She was too clever for that. Wasn't she?
The night passed uneventfully. Holly, Artemis, Galadhon and the second wave of troops and equipment arrived early the following afternoon in another four shuttles. Galadhon, who had been placed in charge of the operation by K'Azir, was already barking orders as he stepped out into the bitter Siberian air.
Holly hung back in the shuttle with Artemis. Despite Foaly's words of warning, she couldn't bring herself to be suspicious of her human friend.
It's Artemis, she thought to herself, glancing at the boy. I know he made some decisions he wasn't proud of afterwards, but I know he would never harm me. Foaly is wrong. My friend is in there, somewhere. All I need to do is find him.
Galadhon paused his string of instructions to turn back to them, gesturing them to get off the shuttle and join him. Artemis seemed reluctant, glancing at Holly for guidance. The elf gave him a reassuring smile and led the way towards Galadhon.
"So what's the situation?" she asked the other captain.
Galadhon looked uncomfortable. "Present day Opal Koboi is due here soon. They're flying her entire cell directly from Atlantis, through the ocean, to the coastline. The armed shuttles here will join them as additional escorts when she surfaces before heading back to Haven."
Holly could appreciate his nervousness. This was by far the most dangerous part of the plan – Opal would spend several hours not contained in a secure facility. And though the waterborne convoy was heavily armed and largely undetectable, it was still a lot less secure than the Deeps. It would be past Opal's best chance to free her future self; once she was in the safety of the base, she would be almost impossible to liberate.
"Are we in contact with the pilots?" The question came from Artemis.
Galadhon barely spared him a glance. "Naturally. They haven't run into any problems so far, but until Koboi is here and secure I won't be happy."
"I doubt she will attempt a rescue from the shuttles," Artemis said softly. "It's too unpredictable. Too much could go wrong."
Galadhon frowned. "What do you mean?"
Artemis shrugged. "There are too many variables. Presumably she would have to somehow disable the shuttle, or board it while it's in flight. What if there was a complication? Her future self would either be crushed under the weight of the ocean, or sent spiralling down to Earth to explode against the mountains. Whether by water or fire, her future would be destroyed. She'll have a plan. A sophisticated one. She won't risk something as clumsy as a hijacking."
"I hope you're right, Mud Boy," said Galadhon. "We're counting on being able to get her here in one piece."
"What then?" asked Holly.
"We improvise," answered the other elf. "Opal will be more or less operating on her own. We have a massive firepower advantage and, essentially, a hostage that she won't risk harming. It shouldn't be difficult to engineer a favourable situation."
As he finished speaking, another LEP officer came rushing over.
"Sir," he said to Galadhon. "Opal Koboi's shuttle and its escorts are approaching the ocean surface. The shuttles here are prepped for launch, just say the word."
Galadhon nodded. "Launch them. I want so much firepower surrounding Koboi that Nexus won't dare to try and touch her."
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! The action I promised begins next chapter and culminates in the one after. I won't lie, it gets pretty violent – but hey, what were you expecting after Winter of Decay? Violence is kind of my speciality.
Actually, on second thoughts, it's probably not best to advertise that.
Anyway, obligatory plug for reviews – tell me what you thought and all that good stuff.
-Kio