Holly found the study without significant trouble, she'd been there
before. She was no wizard with computers but she thought she could hack
into a couple of files on one of Fowl's computers. The door was looked.
Holly shot the lock with an appropriate setting on her blaster and it
melted. Perfect. She kicked open the door with her boot.
"Holly, I'm afraid I can't allow you access to these files. They are confidential, you understand."
Holly gritted her teeth. This was not something she expected. She should have known he'd put some sort of bug in her room. Fowl was foul. "Away from the computer, Mud Boy." She'd been hoping to find out what he was doing skulking around E1.
"Please, Captain, put away the gun. No need to for hostility." Artemis discreetly reached inside his pocket and pressed the autodial to Butler's pager, just in case. He doubted the Captain would fire the weapon at him, but you never knew and he wasn't taking any chances with this fairy.
Holly moved ever so slightly to the left as Fowl spoke. That's right, talk 'til your blue in the face, you can't order me around. She started punches the keys on one of the computers.
"Holly."
The Mud Boy's voice was sharp. Like a knife. Holly kept typing.
"I've tried to be patient. Cease and desist." She was ignoring him. This was getting irritating. "I know I can't make you obey orders since you're wearing a helmet with a reflective visor but what I can do is call Butler in here and have him bodily carry you out of here and down to your cell."
Holly tried another password. Fowl had looked every file on the computer.
"You can walk back to your room of your own free will, or you can stay here. If you stay her Butler will come, handcuff you, and carry you to the cellar." Artemis saw butler standing in the doorway, he gave a barely perceptible nod. "What's your choice?"
Holly was frustrated. This wasn't working. She'd tried dozens of passwords including: greed, gold, money, Artemis, Fowl, exploitation, dinero, and winner. She wanted to tell Fowl that she'd take option number three: punching him out, and breaking his computers if she couldn't get them to work. But though she hadn't moved she knew Butler had entered the room. Through gritted teeth she replied. "I'll go back to the room." She turned and found Butler where she knew he'd be.
"Good. Butler, take her weapons. She obviously can't be trusted with them. She tried to shoot me."
Holly typed in one more password possibility: KEEP_OUT_HOLLY. Holly knew she was being baited with what Fowl had said but she turned back and lost it anyway. "No, if I tried to shoot you, you'd be unconscious right now!"
"Quiet, Captain. There are guests downstairs and I doubt you would like them to become aware of your existence. I've changed my mind. Butler, relieve her of her weapons and take her to her cell. By the way, Captain, I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know that I had it repaired and refurnished this year. You can't break out of there."
Artemis knew he was asking a lot of Butler. Butler was a man of honor and Holly had saved not only the lives of he and Artemis, but also Juliet, Artemis's father, and restored his mother's sanity. He didn't feel right treating her like a prisoner again after all she'd done.
"She keeps her helmet." Butler said this to Artemis, and he said it firmly. They owed Holly at least that much, not putting commands on her.
Artemis scowled. "Very well." Butler was right and they all knew it.
Butler leaned against the door to prevent Holly's escape. He crouched to the floor and brought Holly's hands behind her back. Artemis came over and handed him a pair of handcuffs, they were too big for Holly's wrists but they fit her slim ankles well. He also took out a pair of smaller handcuffs.
As Butler put them on Holly, Artemis informed her that they were custom-made. Butler knew what weaponry Holly had on her from the search earlier. He took her baton and her blaster. He left her helmet as promised.
"Artemis?"
"Can you give me a helmet?" Putting Butler's head into a fairy helmet would be like putting a thimble on a potato. But Artemis had torn apart several helmets and put the mechanisms inside construction worker helmets.
"I'm sorry, friend, but what would the guests think?"
Fair enough. He'd just have to make sure he didn't let go of her.
"Take the wings too." Artemis smiled at Holly, the ball was in his park and he knew it, he had control and she could do nothing.
Butler fumbled with the tiny locking mechanisms that strapped Holly to the wings; his fingers were large.
Artemis sighed. "Let me do it." He knelt down and separated Holly from the wings. Then he tried to take the helmet.
Holly immediately put her hands over it (both simultaneously, since they were cuffed together) and kicked forwarded with one foot, allowing her to fall and get out of Artemis's way. But Butler was too fast for her. He caught her, stood, and dangled her out of Artemis's reach.
"We said she could keep the helmet, Artemis," Butler reminded him.
"I suppose. I was merely going to make sure she shielded. I thought perhaps she might not shield in hopes of not being carried down there. Take her anyway, it's her own skin's loss if they see her." Artemis knew he had said just the right thing. She would comply; there'd be no trouble for now.
Butler hoisted Holly up on his shoulder, "Shield, miss. I'm leaving the room." Oddly enough, Holly did as she was asked. Butler crossed his arms across his chest. It was the perfect way to trap Holly's legs to keep her from leaving while at the same time retaining a natural pose. Artemis remained in the study; he complained it would soon enough be his unfortunate duty to see to the guests again. Holly and Butler exited, making their way down the stairs, through the first floor rooms, and down into the wine cellars. Holly and Butler went until they reached a small room. They stepped inside. The ceiling was cement, the floor and walls cement. In one corner lay a small mattress with a pillow and blanket. A camera was in an upper corner of the room.
The room was almost identical to when Holly had first seen it. The only difference was that the cot had been on a metal frame; obviously Artemis deemed it too dangerous. Last time Holly had smashed the frame of the bed repeatedly against the ground, breaking a hole in it. Holly had no magic at the time but she'd managed to smuggle an acorn in and she planted the acorn there in the little plot of soil she managed to uncover. It seemed Artemis did not intend for it to happen again.
Holly felt herself set down upon the ground. She unshielded.
"Holly, I'm sorry. About Artemis, I don't know what's gotten into him. I'll make sure he gives back the wings and weapons in one piece. "
She nodded. "And-thanks for keeping him from taking my helmet."
"We owed you at least that much. Truth be told we owe you a lot for everything you've done for us." Butler left.
Holly lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Trying to formulate a plan.
Artemis looked at the computer that Holly had been messing with. His eyes widened. She'd gotten the right password. That was a surprise. Artemis glanced at the document; relieved Holly hadn't read it. Artemis saved the document to a disk and erased any memory of it from the computer. No one would be seeing it any time soon. Artemis turned on a screen somewhere else that had been off for a long time, the one that monitored the cell. He saw Butler and Holly exchange parting words. He watched Butler exit and Holly lie down on the cot. Artemis went to see to his guests.
"Holly, I'm afraid I can't allow you access to these files. They are confidential, you understand."
Holly gritted her teeth. This was not something she expected. She should have known he'd put some sort of bug in her room. Fowl was foul. "Away from the computer, Mud Boy." She'd been hoping to find out what he was doing skulking around E1.
"Please, Captain, put away the gun. No need to for hostility." Artemis discreetly reached inside his pocket and pressed the autodial to Butler's pager, just in case. He doubted the Captain would fire the weapon at him, but you never knew and he wasn't taking any chances with this fairy.
Holly moved ever so slightly to the left as Fowl spoke. That's right, talk 'til your blue in the face, you can't order me around. She started punches the keys on one of the computers.
"Holly."
The Mud Boy's voice was sharp. Like a knife. Holly kept typing.
"I've tried to be patient. Cease and desist." She was ignoring him. This was getting irritating. "I know I can't make you obey orders since you're wearing a helmet with a reflective visor but what I can do is call Butler in here and have him bodily carry you out of here and down to your cell."
Holly tried another password. Fowl had looked every file on the computer.
"You can walk back to your room of your own free will, or you can stay here. If you stay her Butler will come, handcuff you, and carry you to the cellar." Artemis saw butler standing in the doorway, he gave a barely perceptible nod. "What's your choice?"
Holly was frustrated. This wasn't working. She'd tried dozens of passwords including: greed, gold, money, Artemis, Fowl, exploitation, dinero, and winner. She wanted to tell Fowl that she'd take option number three: punching him out, and breaking his computers if she couldn't get them to work. But though she hadn't moved she knew Butler had entered the room. Through gritted teeth she replied. "I'll go back to the room." She turned and found Butler where she knew he'd be.
"Good. Butler, take her weapons. She obviously can't be trusted with them. She tried to shoot me."
Holly typed in one more password possibility: KEEP_OUT_HOLLY. Holly knew she was being baited with what Fowl had said but she turned back and lost it anyway. "No, if I tried to shoot you, you'd be unconscious right now!"
"Quiet, Captain. There are guests downstairs and I doubt you would like them to become aware of your existence. I've changed my mind. Butler, relieve her of her weapons and take her to her cell. By the way, Captain, I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know that I had it repaired and refurnished this year. You can't break out of there."
Artemis knew he was asking a lot of Butler. Butler was a man of honor and Holly had saved not only the lives of he and Artemis, but also Juliet, Artemis's father, and restored his mother's sanity. He didn't feel right treating her like a prisoner again after all she'd done.
"She keeps her helmet." Butler said this to Artemis, and he said it firmly. They owed Holly at least that much, not putting commands on her.
Artemis scowled. "Very well." Butler was right and they all knew it.
Butler leaned against the door to prevent Holly's escape. He crouched to the floor and brought Holly's hands behind her back. Artemis came over and handed him a pair of handcuffs, they were too big for Holly's wrists but they fit her slim ankles well. He also took out a pair of smaller handcuffs.
As Butler put them on Holly, Artemis informed her that they were custom-made. Butler knew what weaponry Holly had on her from the search earlier. He took her baton and her blaster. He left her helmet as promised.
"Artemis?"
"Can you give me a helmet?" Putting Butler's head into a fairy helmet would be like putting a thimble on a potato. But Artemis had torn apart several helmets and put the mechanisms inside construction worker helmets.
"I'm sorry, friend, but what would the guests think?"
Fair enough. He'd just have to make sure he didn't let go of her.
"Take the wings too." Artemis smiled at Holly, the ball was in his park and he knew it, he had control and she could do nothing.
Butler fumbled with the tiny locking mechanisms that strapped Holly to the wings; his fingers were large.
Artemis sighed. "Let me do it." He knelt down and separated Holly from the wings. Then he tried to take the helmet.
Holly immediately put her hands over it (both simultaneously, since they were cuffed together) and kicked forwarded with one foot, allowing her to fall and get out of Artemis's way. But Butler was too fast for her. He caught her, stood, and dangled her out of Artemis's reach.
"We said she could keep the helmet, Artemis," Butler reminded him.
"I suppose. I was merely going to make sure she shielded. I thought perhaps she might not shield in hopes of not being carried down there. Take her anyway, it's her own skin's loss if they see her." Artemis knew he had said just the right thing. She would comply; there'd be no trouble for now.
Butler hoisted Holly up on his shoulder, "Shield, miss. I'm leaving the room." Oddly enough, Holly did as she was asked. Butler crossed his arms across his chest. It was the perfect way to trap Holly's legs to keep her from leaving while at the same time retaining a natural pose. Artemis remained in the study; he complained it would soon enough be his unfortunate duty to see to the guests again. Holly and Butler exited, making their way down the stairs, through the first floor rooms, and down into the wine cellars. Holly and Butler went until they reached a small room. They stepped inside. The ceiling was cement, the floor and walls cement. In one corner lay a small mattress with a pillow and blanket. A camera was in an upper corner of the room.
The room was almost identical to when Holly had first seen it. The only difference was that the cot had been on a metal frame; obviously Artemis deemed it too dangerous. Last time Holly had smashed the frame of the bed repeatedly against the ground, breaking a hole in it. Holly had no magic at the time but she'd managed to smuggle an acorn in and she planted the acorn there in the little plot of soil she managed to uncover. It seemed Artemis did not intend for it to happen again.
Holly felt herself set down upon the ground. She unshielded.
"Holly, I'm sorry. About Artemis, I don't know what's gotten into him. I'll make sure he gives back the wings and weapons in one piece. "
She nodded. "And-thanks for keeping him from taking my helmet."
"We owed you at least that much. Truth be told we owe you a lot for everything you've done for us." Butler left.
Holly lay down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Trying to formulate a plan.
Artemis looked at the computer that Holly had been messing with. His eyes widened. She'd gotten the right password. That was a surprise. Artemis glanced at the document; relieved Holly hadn't read it. Artemis saved the document to a disk and erased any memory of it from the computer. No one would be seeing it any time soon. Artemis turned on a screen somewhere else that had been off for a long time, the one that monitored the cell. He saw Butler and Holly exchange parting words. He watched Butler exit and Holly lie down on the cot. Artemis went to see to his guests.
