CHAPTER SIX
(afraid of her)
"Open the door. Open the door. Open the door."
The feeble croaks resonated, almost hypnotically. It would have been enough to mesmerize someone like . . . say, a weak-willed investigator. But 'almost' never got anyone anywhere with either Anthony or Nicholas, two men so stubborn and hard-headed that it was a wonder they had even acknowledged the faint reverberation in the female voice that insistently pierced damp basement door.
"It's still talking in that strange voice?" Nicholas asked, not bothering to get up from where he was slumped on the kitchen table.
Anthony nodded, reentering the kitchen from having checked up on the basement. He was weary. He and his editor had been up all night and all day, alternately bickering and lapsing into silences, guarding the 'creature' in the basement. Or at least Nicholas was guarding it. Anthony was trying to figure out how to release the girl without upsetting the obviously mentally unstable Nicholas.
"She keeps telling us to open the door." Anthony began pacing. "I think we should do what she says."
Nicholas' head snapped up, and he glared at Anthony. "I keep telling you, you don't know what you want to let loose."
"An innocent human girl victimized by a sick old man?" Anthony winced. He really had not meant to say that.
Remarkably, Nicholas kept his cool. He only said, "One, it's not human. Two, it's not a victim. Three, I'm not sick. And four -" here he looked almost wounded. "I'm not old."
Anthony stopped pacing. Nicholas was still suffering his midlife crisis (he had been going around dating young girls for a while now, since he had turned forty-eight). Maybe he wasn't insane.
"So what? Do we keep her locked up indefinitely?"
Nicholas glared at Anthony. "We'll take it to the newspaper office."
"When?"
"When it's unconscious again."
That kind of indecisiveness was rare for Nicholas. His job required him to make fast, sure decisions constantly. Anthony studied him. What was wrong? People from the newspaper office had been calling all day, and even Anthony was starting to believe that maybe they had written up some stuff and taken some pictures of the thing, and maybe all that stuff had been erased. But if they had been one hundred percent sure that it wasn't human, they would have taken it to scientists. They hadn't.
Then Anthony figured it out.
"You're afraid of her?" and his tone was incredulous.
Nicholas snorted, but feebly. Anthony stopped pacing and slumped into a kitchen chair next to him. "One hour. Awake or not, we're getting her out of there."
~~~~~^~~*~~^~~~~~
"May I ask what you are so occupied with?"
Lianne jumped, startled by the familiar voice. She glanced down at the pen and paper in her hand, then up at Artemis. Stalling, she said, "No, you may not."
Foaly had nearly wept when she asked him for pen and paper - "Technology has advanced to the point where computers can translate vocal vibrations into written text in any known language, and you ask the pioneer of said technological advancement for crude caveman tools like pen and paper!" His braying had been annoying, but when he was done being a pain in the ass he produced the 'crude caveman tools' easily enough.
And the pen was a Parker. You could say all you wanted about Foaly, but the centaur did have classy taste in some things. Lianne had started to ask where he got the pen, but then decided not to.
Artemis' voice - too deep, in Lianne's opinion - sliced through her reverie. "Writing a love letter to - er - John?"
"Letters of condolence to your starstuck lovers," Lianne said, matching his dry tone.
Foaly snickered from a corner of the room, where he was engaged in a conference with Butler, Root, and Trouble.
"You're not listening!" Commander Root bellowed at the centaur.
Artemis resisted the immature urge to stick his tongue out at Foaly.
"And his name is Jake. You can say what you want, but you'll never convince anyone that you forgot his name. You just can't play dumb, Artemis. You're a genius, remember? Or do you want to pretend that you forgot that too?"
Artemis pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. "I've never met anyone who likes to argue as much as you do."
Lianne decided not to reply. She had a feeling whatever she said would be labeled an 'argument.'
Artemis surveyed her, his blue eyes glimmering with a calculating light. "I disposed of all the letters. There were fifteen."
Lianne folded the piece of paper, deliberately shielding it from Artemis' view. It was actually nothing but a drawing of Foaly - she was just one of those people who liked to doodle. In her opinion, she wasn't too good at it. Foaly looked like a bloody mule. But hey, at least she had brains, if not artistic talent, right? And who could pass up the opportunity to draw a centaur from real life?
She had swallowed their tale of an underworld fairy civilization. It wasn't like she had any other choice: the proof was being waved like a red flag in front of her. Foaly, the little men (one of them had an alarmingly ruddy complexion, but the other one was sort of cute, in an undersized sort of way), Butler's nods, and Artemis' steady, confident flow of explanations. In the end, it was Artemis who had convinced her, even more than Foaly. You just couldn't imagine him lying - it seemed to be below him, somehow, the escape of those who weren't quite as smart as he was.
And she understood what was happening. Basically, a fairy, Holly Short, had been captured by humans yesterday afternoon, after killing a troll who had killed a Mud Girl in Disneyland. (Lianne found it funny that humans were called Mud Men. Foaly told her that she was the only Mud Girl he'd met who didn't find it the least bit offending. Lianne told him that she did, a little, but in the end amusement won out.) Holly was then taken to a newspaper office, from which she was taken to a residence some way off. That night, the LEP had two choices: either they erased the data already gathered on Holly, or they rescued Holly. Both couldn't be done at the same time, there had to be at least a twelve-hour interval.
They erased the data. Now it was over twelve hours later, and they faced the same choice. The only thing that kept the fairies from going completely ballistic was the video feedbacks from the fairy who was spying on Nicholas' house. Holly hadn't been taken out of it.
"Were there?" Lianne snapped. "I thought there were thirty-seven." Then the rest of what he said sank in, and she barely concealed her surprise. Disposed of the letters? As in, threw them into the trash can? A few of those letters had been from some very pretty girls, from the large, enchanting eyes to the tall, curvaceous bodies. And since it was Artisan Cliff, they were also talented and quite intelligent. (Lianne had always thought it unfair. You either had beauty or brains, it just wasn't right to give a person both. Unless that person was supremely nice. She knew she belonged in the 'brains' category. Artemis fell under 'both,' which annoyed her to no end. He was not nice. Definitely not.)
Hm. Maybe he didn't know that some of the letters came from worthy candidates for his affection. She almost told him, but decided not to. She assured herself it was only because she didn't want to give the already too- egotistical Fowl the knowledge that pretty, popular girls liked him.
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Now who's playing dumb? I distinctly remember you asking me to read 'letter number sixteen' when you thought that Jake's letter to you was for me. And if memory serves me - and mine always does - you said something like 'fifteen of your damsels' in the commercial shuttle that took us down here. Those are clear indicators of the fact that you counted all the letters."
Lianne tapped her foot soundlessly on the thick crimson carpet and tried to keep her elbow from sliding on the slippery, polished surface of the wooden table. Her grip tightened on the pen and paper in her hand as she said, "So what's your point?" a bit more nastily than necessary. Then she gave up on bracing herself and slumped onto the table, burying her head in her arms. She mumbled something indistinguishable under her breath.
Lianne suddenly felt miserable. She didn't want to be a part of this. She just wanted to go home, perhaps e-mail her brothers, and eat something her mother cooked. She could only imagine how long it would take to smooth over this catastrophe for the fairies. She probably wouldn't be allowed to go home in all that time.
Artemis looked at her. Her long black hair spilled down her back and onto the mahogany table, which was too low for them, but just right for the fairies. Her slim arms, partially obscured by her hair, were bare. But she had been wearing a bracelet earlier. She had lost it sometime during Trouble's capture and their stay here.
The prodigy felt a swift - and rare - stab of regret. Despite everything he said, he knew that it was because of him that Lianne was here, instead of at home, where she was safe and happy and she didn't have to worry about the possible downfall of civilizations. He awkwardly reached out to pat her on the back, but drew away at the last moment. He didn't know why. Perhaps he was afraid to touch her - afraid of her? He frowned and stuck to his first conclusion: he did not know why.
That aggravated him, not knowing. He considered himself a master of his own mind. And of his emotions.
So he said coldly, to cover up his discomfiture, "If you have exhausted yourself with your self-pity, perhaps you'd like to join me in talking to Commander Root. No doubt we are at the center of whatever plot he comes up with to save Holly, and it would be to our benefit if we participated in the making of those plots."
Lianne's head shot up, and she glared at him. "Self-pity? You really do take a perverse pleasure in irritating me, don't you?"
Artemis, his bad mood assuaged by the sparks in Lianne's eyes, said mildly, "Do not flatter yourself."
Lianne seethed. Artemis hid his smile. He said casually, "So what were you writing?" He gestured to the paper and Parker still clamped in her hand.
Lianne said, carefully enunciating each syllable to be sure he understood, "None of your business, Fowl." Then she stood up and made her way over to where Root, Foaly, Butler, and Trouble were huddled.
~~~~~^~~*~~^~~~~~
"Here's what's going to happen," Root announced. "We're not even going to try to get an invitation. Fowl and the girl are going to break into Nicholas Stafford's house, render the Mud Man and the boy with him unconscious, and take Holly out of the house. No time stop there. Because at the same time, there will be a time-stop over the newspaper office, and Butler will break in with a team of fairies, and erase the data. We'll be doing this at around six in the evening. Everyone will still be in the newspaper office. Then they'll all be mindwiped. Stafford, the newspaper people, all of them. They'll be mindwiped."
Artemis caught Root's eye and held it. "Will we?"
Root coughed. "We'll discuss that later." Foaly busied himself removing something from his hoof.
Artemis nodded. "I see."
Lianne didn't enjoy being referred to as 'the girl' but all she said was, "I don't." Still, the cool way she looked over the Commander gave him pause, and made him decide to minimize his dealings with her. Not that he was afraid of her. But he already had his hands full with a prodigy and a bodyguard, and he didn't need more.
Trouble clapped his hands. "We're wasting time! Let's go!" He started ushering Lianne and Artemis out the door. "Me and my brother, Grub, will be the only fairies with you. Everyone else will be at the newspaper office with Butler. And it's past five now. We have to be in California by six . . . "
Root and Butler left after them, talking. "That tactic won't work." "You're right." "If we modify that plan a little, we'll get through this faster." "Yes. So we'll do this . . . "
Outside, Lianne could be heard saying, surprised and delighted, "You mean this will be over by tonight?"
Foaly was left alone in the LEP meeting room.
"If everything goes according to plan," he said aloud. Then the centaur clattered out of the room and into the Operations Booth, to hold everything together, as usual.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: This took me long enough! Hehe ^_^
To all my lovely reviewers out there, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!! Keep reviewing! I really appreciate it!
DARK PUCK: If I ever figure out what inspired this story, I'll share it with you first. ^_^
BLOODY DEAD ROSE: Thank you! Except, uh, I didn't exactly update soon. But 'soon' is relative, right? I mean, it could have taken me ten years! Or twenty! ^_^
THAT AERIN: Horny toasters? That's the funniest thing anyone's ever put in a review to me! Hehehe . . . ^_^ Thanks for pointing out that flaw in Root! I hope to remedy it as soon as he gets more lines. ^_^
DARKLIGHT ASCENDANT: Thanks for the review, and the suggestion! I do so love suggestions! ^_^
KALARIAH: Your review made me feel squishy and happy, like I accomplished something as a writer. Hehehe. ^_^ Thanks! Keep reviewing! Please? ^_^
GRIFFIN&SABINE: I love your name! (I think I've said that already, but repetition never hurts.) ^_^
JACK THE RIPPER: You know what? I've reread your review a million times by now. I find it highly interesting. Your perception of Mary Sues is very unique. You ought review BFW or Blue Yeti or Ice Raider. I'm sure they'll give you a powerful response. ^_^ As for me, thank you for the compliment! And I'm impressed by the way you think. You don't give in to conventions - "everyone hates Mary Sues, so I should too" - and I like that. ^_^
THE SPAMINATOR: Your reviews are the highlight of my week! They're so amusing. I find wacky people wonderfully exhilarating. ^_^ Keep reviewing!
THE UNNAMED ONE: Thanks for the compliment on my writing! But although the next chapters are not all written, *looks uneasily around, trying to avoid the glowering stares of everyone who said that they hate cliffhangers* I think Lianne and Artemis will get together. Hopefully. If they can stop arguing. I'm sorry if you don't like that. Check out Blue Yeti's works. They're well-written, and they seldom have romance. ^_^
A/N: Until I get around to updating again! ^_^
(afraid of her)
"Open the door. Open the door. Open the door."
The feeble croaks resonated, almost hypnotically. It would have been enough to mesmerize someone like . . . say, a weak-willed investigator. But 'almost' never got anyone anywhere with either Anthony or Nicholas, two men so stubborn and hard-headed that it was a wonder they had even acknowledged the faint reverberation in the female voice that insistently pierced damp basement door.
"It's still talking in that strange voice?" Nicholas asked, not bothering to get up from where he was slumped on the kitchen table.
Anthony nodded, reentering the kitchen from having checked up on the basement. He was weary. He and his editor had been up all night and all day, alternately bickering and lapsing into silences, guarding the 'creature' in the basement. Or at least Nicholas was guarding it. Anthony was trying to figure out how to release the girl without upsetting the obviously mentally unstable Nicholas.
"She keeps telling us to open the door." Anthony began pacing. "I think we should do what she says."
Nicholas' head snapped up, and he glared at Anthony. "I keep telling you, you don't know what you want to let loose."
"An innocent human girl victimized by a sick old man?" Anthony winced. He really had not meant to say that.
Remarkably, Nicholas kept his cool. He only said, "One, it's not human. Two, it's not a victim. Three, I'm not sick. And four -" here he looked almost wounded. "I'm not old."
Anthony stopped pacing. Nicholas was still suffering his midlife crisis (he had been going around dating young girls for a while now, since he had turned forty-eight). Maybe he wasn't insane.
"So what? Do we keep her locked up indefinitely?"
Nicholas glared at Anthony. "We'll take it to the newspaper office."
"When?"
"When it's unconscious again."
That kind of indecisiveness was rare for Nicholas. His job required him to make fast, sure decisions constantly. Anthony studied him. What was wrong? People from the newspaper office had been calling all day, and even Anthony was starting to believe that maybe they had written up some stuff and taken some pictures of the thing, and maybe all that stuff had been erased. But if they had been one hundred percent sure that it wasn't human, they would have taken it to scientists. They hadn't.
Then Anthony figured it out.
"You're afraid of her?" and his tone was incredulous.
Nicholas snorted, but feebly. Anthony stopped pacing and slumped into a kitchen chair next to him. "One hour. Awake or not, we're getting her out of there."
~~~~~^~~*~~^~~~~~
"May I ask what you are so occupied with?"
Lianne jumped, startled by the familiar voice. She glanced down at the pen and paper in her hand, then up at Artemis. Stalling, she said, "No, you may not."
Foaly had nearly wept when she asked him for pen and paper - "Technology has advanced to the point where computers can translate vocal vibrations into written text in any known language, and you ask the pioneer of said technological advancement for crude caveman tools like pen and paper!" His braying had been annoying, but when he was done being a pain in the ass he produced the 'crude caveman tools' easily enough.
And the pen was a Parker. You could say all you wanted about Foaly, but the centaur did have classy taste in some things. Lianne had started to ask where he got the pen, but then decided not to.
Artemis' voice - too deep, in Lianne's opinion - sliced through her reverie. "Writing a love letter to - er - John?"
"Letters of condolence to your starstuck lovers," Lianne said, matching his dry tone.
Foaly snickered from a corner of the room, where he was engaged in a conference with Butler, Root, and Trouble.
"You're not listening!" Commander Root bellowed at the centaur.
Artemis resisted the immature urge to stick his tongue out at Foaly.
"And his name is Jake. You can say what you want, but you'll never convince anyone that you forgot his name. You just can't play dumb, Artemis. You're a genius, remember? Or do you want to pretend that you forgot that too?"
Artemis pulled out a chair and sat down beside her. "I've never met anyone who likes to argue as much as you do."
Lianne decided not to reply. She had a feeling whatever she said would be labeled an 'argument.'
Artemis surveyed her, his blue eyes glimmering with a calculating light. "I disposed of all the letters. There were fifteen."
Lianne folded the piece of paper, deliberately shielding it from Artemis' view. It was actually nothing but a drawing of Foaly - she was just one of those people who liked to doodle. In her opinion, she wasn't too good at it. Foaly looked like a bloody mule. But hey, at least she had brains, if not artistic talent, right? And who could pass up the opportunity to draw a centaur from real life?
She had swallowed their tale of an underworld fairy civilization. It wasn't like she had any other choice: the proof was being waved like a red flag in front of her. Foaly, the little men (one of them had an alarmingly ruddy complexion, but the other one was sort of cute, in an undersized sort of way), Butler's nods, and Artemis' steady, confident flow of explanations. In the end, it was Artemis who had convinced her, even more than Foaly. You just couldn't imagine him lying - it seemed to be below him, somehow, the escape of those who weren't quite as smart as he was.
And she understood what was happening. Basically, a fairy, Holly Short, had been captured by humans yesterday afternoon, after killing a troll who had killed a Mud Girl in Disneyland. (Lianne found it funny that humans were called Mud Men. Foaly told her that she was the only Mud Girl he'd met who didn't find it the least bit offending. Lianne told him that she did, a little, but in the end amusement won out.) Holly was then taken to a newspaper office, from which she was taken to a residence some way off. That night, the LEP had two choices: either they erased the data already gathered on Holly, or they rescued Holly. Both couldn't be done at the same time, there had to be at least a twelve-hour interval.
They erased the data. Now it was over twelve hours later, and they faced the same choice. The only thing that kept the fairies from going completely ballistic was the video feedbacks from the fairy who was spying on Nicholas' house. Holly hadn't been taken out of it.
"Were there?" Lianne snapped. "I thought there were thirty-seven." Then the rest of what he said sank in, and she barely concealed her surprise. Disposed of the letters? As in, threw them into the trash can? A few of those letters had been from some very pretty girls, from the large, enchanting eyes to the tall, curvaceous bodies. And since it was Artisan Cliff, they were also talented and quite intelligent. (Lianne had always thought it unfair. You either had beauty or brains, it just wasn't right to give a person both. Unless that person was supremely nice. She knew she belonged in the 'brains' category. Artemis fell under 'both,' which annoyed her to no end. He was not nice. Definitely not.)
Hm. Maybe he didn't know that some of the letters came from worthy candidates for his affection. She almost told him, but decided not to. She assured herself it was only because she didn't want to give the already too- egotistical Fowl the knowledge that pretty, popular girls liked him.
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Now who's playing dumb? I distinctly remember you asking me to read 'letter number sixteen' when you thought that Jake's letter to you was for me. And if memory serves me - and mine always does - you said something like 'fifteen of your damsels' in the commercial shuttle that took us down here. Those are clear indicators of the fact that you counted all the letters."
Lianne tapped her foot soundlessly on the thick crimson carpet and tried to keep her elbow from sliding on the slippery, polished surface of the wooden table. Her grip tightened on the pen and paper in her hand as she said, "So what's your point?" a bit more nastily than necessary. Then she gave up on bracing herself and slumped onto the table, burying her head in her arms. She mumbled something indistinguishable under her breath.
Lianne suddenly felt miserable. She didn't want to be a part of this. She just wanted to go home, perhaps e-mail her brothers, and eat something her mother cooked. She could only imagine how long it would take to smooth over this catastrophe for the fairies. She probably wouldn't be allowed to go home in all that time.
Artemis looked at her. Her long black hair spilled down her back and onto the mahogany table, which was too low for them, but just right for the fairies. Her slim arms, partially obscured by her hair, were bare. But she had been wearing a bracelet earlier. She had lost it sometime during Trouble's capture and their stay here.
The prodigy felt a swift - and rare - stab of regret. Despite everything he said, he knew that it was because of him that Lianne was here, instead of at home, where she was safe and happy and she didn't have to worry about the possible downfall of civilizations. He awkwardly reached out to pat her on the back, but drew away at the last moment. He didn't know why. Perhaps he was afraid to touch her - afraid of her? He frowned and stuck to his first conclusion: he did not know why.
That aggravated him, not knowing. He considered himself a master of his own mind. And of his emotions.
So he said coldly, to cover up his discomfiture, "If you have exhausted yourself with your self-pity, perhaps you'd like to join me in talking to Commander Root. No doubt we are at the center of whatever plot he comes up with to save Holly, and it would be to our benefit if we participated in the making of those plots."
Lianne's head shot up, and she glared at him. "Self-pity? You really do take a perverse pleasure in irritating me, don't you?"
Artemis, his bad mood assuaged by the sparks in Lianne's eyes, said mildly, "Do not flatter yourself."
Lianne seethed. Artemis hid his smile. He said casually, "So what were you writing?" He gestured to the paper and Parker still clamped in her hand.
Lianne said, carefully enunciating each syllable to be sure he understood, "None of your business, Fowl." Then she stood up and made her way over to where Root, Foaly, Butler, and Trouble were huddled.
~~~~~^~~*~~^~~~~~
"Here's what's going to happen," Root announced. "We're not even going to try to get an invitation. Fowl and the girl are going to break into Nicholas Stafford's house, render the Mud Man and the boy with him unconscious, and take Holly out of the house. No time stop there. Because at the same time, there will be a time-stop over the newspaper office, and Butler will break in with a team of fairies, and erase the data. We'll be doing this at around six in the evening. Everyone will still be in the newspaper office. Then they'll all be mindwiped. Stafford, the newspaper people, all of them. They'll be mindwiped."
Artemis caught Root's eye and held it. "Will we?"
Root coughed. "We'll discuss that later." Foaly busied himself removing something from his hoof.
Artemis nodded. "I see."
Lianne didn't enjoy being referred to as 'the girl' but all she said was, "I don't." Still, the cool way she looked over the Commander gave him pause, and made him decide to minimize his dealings with her. Not that he was afraid of her. But he already had his hands full with a prodigy and a bodyguard, and he didn't need more.
Trouble clapped his hands. "We're wasting time! Let's go!" He started ushering Lianne and Artemis out the door. "Me and my brother, Grub, will be the only fairies with you. Everyone else will be at the newspaper office with Butler. And it's past five now. We have to be in California by six . . . "
Root and Butler left after them, talking. "That tactic won't work." "You're right." "If we modify that plan a little, we'll get through this faster." "Yes. So we'll do this . . . "
Outside, Lianne could be heard saying, surprised and delighted, "You mean this will be over by tonight?"
Foaly was left alone in the LEP meeting room.
"If everything goes according to plan," he said aloud. Then the centaur clattered out of the room and into the Operations Booth, to hold everything together, as usual.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: This took me long enough! Hehe ^_^
To all my lovely reviewers out there, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!! Keep reviewing! I really appreciate it!
DARK PUCK: If I ever figure out what inspired this story, I'll share it with you first. ^_^
BLOODY DEAD ROSE: Thank you! Except, uh, I didn't exactly update soon. But 'soon' is relative, right? I mean, it could have taken me ten years! Or twenty! ^_^
THAT AERIN: Horny toasters? That's the funniest thing anyone's ever put in a review to me! Hehehe . . . ^_^ Thanks for pointing out that flaw in Root! I hope to remedy it as soon as he gets more lines. ^_^
DARKLIGHT ASCENDANT: Thanks for the review, and the suggestion! I do so love suggestions! ^_^
KALARIAH: Your review made me feel squishy and happy, like I accomplished something as a writer. Hehehe. ^_^ Thanks! Keep reviewing! Please? ^_^
GRIFFIN&SABINE: I love your name! (I think I've said that already, but repetition never hurts.) ^_^
JACK THE RIPPER: You know what? I've reread your review a million times by now. I find it highly interesting. Your perception of Mary Sues is very unique. You ought review BFW or Blue Yeti or Ice Raider. I'm sure they'll give you a powerful response. ^_^ As for me, thank you for the compliment! And I'm impressed by the way you think. You don't give in to conventions - "everyone hates Mary Sues, so I should too" - and I like that. ^_^
THE SPAMINATOR: Your reviews are the highlight of my week! They're so amusing. I find wacky people wonderfully exhilarating. ^_^ Keep reviewing!
THE UNNAMED ONE: Thanks for the compliment on my writing! But although the next chapters are not all written, *looks uneasily around, trying to avoid the glowering stares of everyone who said that they hate cliffhangers* I think Lianne and Artemis will get together. Hopefully. If they can stop arguing. I'm sorry if you don't like that. Check out Blue Yeti's works. They're well-written, and they seldom have romance. ^_^
A/N: Until I get around to updating again! ^_^