Chapter Two
It was a windy night. Butler was certainly glad to see Artemis had turned the heat on in the dining room. And the...food...was good as well, although it looked like an explosion in a batter factory. After eating three of the...attempted pancakes...he started to fill Artemis in.
"I talked to my contact, Artemis."
Artemis looked over at his trusted servant and friend. "What did you find?"
Butler swallowed. What he had found was inexplicable, and Master Artemis did not like the inexplicable. "Well," he began, "my friend was very surprised to see me again so soon, according to him, and asked if the lenses were satisfactory or not. When I asked him what he meant, he told me that...that I had ordered the lenses. Exact specifications, too. He had diagrams, and they looked like your handwriting."
Artemis was speechless. This had never happened before...hadn't it? He seemed to think there had been another time, not long ago...
"What else did he say?" he asked, when he had sufficiently recovered.
Butler passed the receipt to Artemis. "I've already checked, the amount on here was deducted on that date. That's why I got back so late. I had an audit conducted. There were other purchases, dating back months. Again, all signed and checked out."
Artemis sat back and rubbed his eyes. "How can this happen? Someone must have hacked into the account—"
"The contact recognized me the first time, Artemis. The cameras confirm that I left, I just don't remember it."
Artemis was stunned. After all, how could a boy genius expect to win against...himself?
It was a windy night. Butler was certainly glad to see Artemis had turned the heat on in the dining room. And the...food...was good as well, although it looked like an explosion in a batter factory. After eating three of the...attempted pancakes...he started to fill Artemis in.
"I talked to my contact, Artemis."
Artemis looked over at his trusted servant and friend. "What did you find?"
Butler swallowed. What he had found was inexplicable, and Master Artemis did not like the inexplicable. "Well," he began, "my friend was very surprised to see me again so soon, according to him, and asked if the lenses were satisfactory or not. When I asked him what he meant, he told me that...that I had ordered the lenses. Exact specifications, too. He had diagrams, and they looked like your handwriting."
Artemis was speechless. This had never happened before...hadn't it? He seemed to think there had been another time, not long ago...
"What else did he say?" he asked, when he had sufficiently recovered.
Butler passed the receipt to Artemis. "I've already checked, the amount on here was deducted on that date. That's why I got back so late. I had an audit conducted. There were other purchases, dating back months. Again, all signed and checked out."
Artemis sat back and rubbed his eyes. "How can this happen? Someone must have hacked into the account—"
"The contact recognized me the first time, Artemis. The cameras confirm that I left, I just don't remember it."
Artemis was stunned. After all, how could a boy genius expect to win against...himself?