After the traffic jam was cleared up, and the traffic enforcer gave Mulch a
stern word, Artemis beckoned the two to come with him to explain what's
going on. On the way back to the hotel, it was Holly who broke the silence.
"So, Mulch, our favorite kleptomaniac," she began, " how, and why did you
come here?" Mulch, not daring to say anything stupid, replied, "Plane ride.
Reverse mind-wipe. You?" Holly leaned back and gave her answer. "Magma
flare. Rode the hotshots. Vacation. Planned to clobber him on the nose."
Artemis cleared his throat and said, "I presume this 'him' would be yours
truly? I expect a lot of explanations when we're safely back at the hotel."
When they were back at the hotel, Butler noticed the door was ajar, and told them not to come inside. Drawing his Sig Sauer, he burst into the room and pointed at the nearest person there, just in time to see ten sets of Neutrinos pointing in his direction. The one in the middle shouted, "Short! Get your darned backside in here! NOW!" A very reluctant Holly Short slowly slid through the door and walked over to Julius Root's side.
Root gestured for all of the LEP officers to withdraw their weapons. Somewhere outside, they heard a floorboard creak, and Root yelled yet again, "CONVICT! You're not getting away this time! IN HERE NOW!" Creeping into the room in the same slow motion was Mulch, followed by Artemis, who was becoming very baffled with every second he spends with his "newfound" friends. The LEP unit, who gasped when they first saw Butler enter the room were equally shocked when they saw Artemis, if not more. Most of them were new to the job, and didn't really expect to come face to face with the legendary Artemis, who was once one of the most dangerous Mud Men the People encountered.
Artemis folded his arms and tapped his foot on the floor, saying, "Well, Ms. Holly, is it? I'm waiting for that explanation you owe me." Mulch, after breaking free from Root's grip on his collar, staggered forward and said, "I think I should be the one to do the talking. You see, you gave that job to me, before your memory went zap along with this medallion with a CD on it which, I, uh, pawned, back at, Jamaica. Gulp." Holly was already taking on the same color as Julius the moment those last words came out, but Root still has the word as he threw down his cigar on the floor in anger. "Curse-you-imbecile!" he yelled.
Then he turned to Holly and yelled, "And what've you done to your face? You look like a Mud Man!" Holly, forgetting about the device, pushed a button and immediately reverted back to her old self. "Sir, it was just a device constructed by Foa - someone I know." Well, she thought, at least Foaly would get away with it. But the activation of the "chameleon's" com-link reminded her she spoke too soon. "Hey Holly-tosis," Foaly said for everyone in the room to hear, "is Fowl nose-bleeding yet?" Julius grabbed Holly's wrist where the device was attached to and shouted at it. "Oh, Foaly, I swear when we get back at HQ, YOURS WILL DEFINITELY BLEED!"
The pawnshop owner, let's call him Walter, took the CD to a nearby computer specialist, who examined it. "Hmm, very interesting plot," he mumbled. "Well, what is it?" Walter asked. The specialist said, "From what I see: fairies, futuristic technology, and a young crime genius, I'd say this is a very ingenious novel plot. Wait no, it's not a plot, the novel is already completed. Who is the owner of the CD?" Walter checked his customer list and said, "This guy's called Mark DeGaume, and by the looks of this guy when I saw him, he doesn't look like a novelist to me." The specialist fixed his glasses and said, "Well, looks are deceiving, sir. Maybe he simply forgot this was attached to the medallion he pawned. Maybe it would be better for me to copy the contents of this thing and post it in the Internet, so Mr. DeGaume could claim it." A few taps on the keyboard and a few more on the computer mouse and the "story" was saved in the computer. "See how he wrote this novel, Mr. Walter? It's as if he was in the story himself."
When they were back at the hotel, Butler noticed the door was ajar, and told them not to come inside. Drawing his Sig Sauer, he burst into the room and pointed at the nearest person there, just in time to see ten sets of Neutrinos pointing in his direction. The one in the middle shouted, "Short! Get your darned backside in here! NOW!" A very reluctant Holly Short slowly slid through the door and walked over to Julius Root's side.
Root gestured for all of the LEP officers to withdraw their weapons. Somewhere outside, they heard a floorboard creak, and Root yelled yet again, "CONVICT! You're not getting away this time! IN HERE NOW!" Creeping into the room in the same slow motion was Mulch, followed by Artemis, who was becoming very baffled with every second he spends with his "newfound" friends. The LEP unit, who gasped when they first saw Butler enter the room were equally shocked when they saw Artemis, if not more. Most of them were new to the job, and didn't really expect to come face to face with the legendary Artemis, who was once one of the most dangerous Mud Men the People encountered.
Artemis folded his arms and tapped his foot on the floor, saying, "Well, Ms. Holly, is it? I'm waiting for that explanation you owe me." Mulch, after breaking free from Root's grip on his collar, staggered forward and said, "I think I should be the one to do the talking. You see, you gave that job to me, before your memory went zap along with this medallion with a CD on it which, I, uh, pawned, back at, Jamaica. Gulp." Holly was already taking on the same color as Julius the moment those last words came out, but Root still has the word as he threw down his cigar on the floor in anger. "Curse-you-imbecile!" he yelled.
Then he turned to Holly and yelled, "And what've you done to your face? You look like a Mud Man!" Holly, forgetting about the device, pushed a button and immediately reverted back to her old self. "Sir, it was just a device constructed by Foa - someone I know." Well, she thought, at least Foaly would get away with it. But the activation of the "chameleon's" com-link reminded her she spoke too soon. "Hey Holly-tosis," Foaly said for everyone in the room to hear, "is Fowl nose-bleeding yet?" Julius grabbed Holly's wrist where the device was attached to and shouted at it. "Oh, Foaly, I swear when we get back at HQ, YOURS WILL DEFINITELY BLEED!"
The pawnshop owner, let's call him Walter, took the CD to a nearby computer specialist, who examined it. "Hmm, very interesting plot," he mumbled. "Well, what is it?" Walter asked. The specialist said, "From what I see: fairies, futuristic technology, and a young crime genius, I'd say this is a very ingenious novel plot. Wait no, it's not a plot, the novel is already completed. Who is the owner of the CD?" Walter checked his customer list and said, "This guy's called Mark DeGaume, and by the looks of this guy when I saw him, he doesn't look like a novelist to me." The specialist fixed his glasses and said, "Well, looks are deceiving, sir. Maybe he simply forgot this was attached to the medallion he pawned. Maybe it would be better for me to copy the contents of this thing and post it in the Internet, so Mr. DeGaume could claim it." A few taps on the keyboard and a few more on the computer mouse and the "story" was saved in the computer. "See how he wrote this novel, Mr. Walter? It's as if he was in the story himself."