Foaly stared up at the impressive iron gates of Fowl Mansion and a shiver involuntary passed through his body. Did he really want to join Fowl? Turn his genius towards crime? An image of Root yelling at him for no good reason passed through his head and Foaly steeled his resolve. He'd passed his breaking point when Root has the nerve to yell at him. Summoning up his courage, Foaly began to break into the high security that belonged to the most intelligent 14 year old to ever cross paths with a fairy and come out on top.
Butler glanced at the monitor idly and froze. Centaur. He quickly glanced around to make sure his principal hadn't noticed. No, Artemis was concentrating on his latest masterpiece, this time in the form of a sculpture which he was going to put in the back garden to liven it up a bit. This of course, was not the young teenager's idea, but his mother had seen a way to kill to birds with one stone and was taking full advantage of it. A hobby for her Arty and something to place in the garden. Artemis had only begun to learn how to sculpt three days ago. He was already a master at it. But then, he was a genius...
Butler casually closed the monitor down, effectively hiding it from all prying eyes. In a movement that possibly not even Artemis would have detected as strange, he hit a small red button. He could not of course, see the look of surprise that crossed the fairy's face as the gates slowly creaked open, but he could imagine it pretty well. "Artemis I'm just going to check the perimeter, I shall be back in a little while." Artemis absently waved a hand in dismissal and acknowledgment as he continued to work patiently away at the marble.
Foaly stared in shock as the impressive gates swung open before he could even start to tackle it. That could mean only one thing. He'd been spotted. Foaly squared his shoulders and began to trot determinedly forward. The thought foremost in his mind was They brought this upon themselves. I'll show them.
Butler flicked the light switch and glanced around the large garage in which all the cars that were not used every day were kept. Normally he'd use the Bentley for travel purposes, but he doubted a centaur would fit in the car, spacious though it was. The huge manservant placed his huge bulk behind the wheel of a large transporting truck, used specifically for transporting horse kind. Artemis had seen fit to purchase a large horse racing track and the Fowls' had an extensive stable anyway. Driving the vehicle down the winding driveway, Butler thought back to the day he had received total recall.
"Ah Butler. Back again so soon? Contacts not what you were after?" Butler paused in the middle of greeting his old friend and the best optical expert in the Western Hemisphere and frowned slightly. "Contacts?" he asked carefully. He had come on orders of Artemis to try and discover who had a) designed the mysterious contacts which had been placed on his, Juliet's and his young principal and b) who had created them.
Damien Vitreus looked at his friend in bewilderment. "yes, the contacts you ordered just a few days ago. Butler frowned. That didn't sound right. Could someone have impersonated him? "Oh' continued Vitreus, not noticing that he'd just turned Butler's world upside down as he reached down below the counter. "you asked me to give this to you the next time I saw you. . Do you still want it or should I hold onto it for a little longer.'
Butler shook his head in silent denial and took the envelope hands shaking slightly as he tore it open. Inside was a letter, a computer disk and a small safety deposit key. He gave the letter a cursory glance and almost dropped it from sheer shock. He'd recognise this handwriting at a hundred paces. Well he should. It WAS his after all. "Yes, this is what I was after" he assured his old friend who was looking slightly upset and beat a hasty retreat. As he left, Damien called after him "By the way old friend, I don't know how you did it, but you're sure looking a whole lot younger today than you did just last time I saw you' There was nothing Butler could reply to that. He wasn't even sure what Vitreus was on about.
In the glare of blinding sunlight, Butler slowly began to read the letter again, scanning every detail and burning it into his mind.
Dear Domovoi,
No doubt you went straight to Damien after discovering the contacts placed into your eyes. I bet Artemis wasn't too happy about discovering those on his person. I can only hope you choose to come to Limerick although I can think of no reason why you, why I, wouldn't do that. Yes, it's me. Or to be more accurate, it's you. Ah, I can hear you thinking that that's impossible. After all, you haven't seen Damien in well over two years correct? Not since that incident but we shan't go into that. I haven't much time and there is so much you need to know.
Inclosed in this envelope is a disk. It's the duplicate of the disk Artemis gave, will give, to Mulch. It's possible that this will cause total recall. I hope so. If even this is not enough, I wasn't twiddling my thumbs whilst Artemis was in Chicago. Go to the Swiss bank around the corner from Vitreus'. There, ask for vault 234. If that doesn't cause total recall, then I have tried my best and there is nothing more I can do. Perhaps Mulch will have better luck, if Artemis' own plan to cause total recall succeeds.
But I know that although Artemis will defiantly be monitored for fairy references, it's possibly I can slip under the radar. After all, I am not as dangerous as my young principal. Not when it comes to games with the mind. My friend, if you do receive your memory back, what you choose to do with them is your own concern. I can only hope that you, that I, choose to do the right thing.
So long my friend. Try to stay out of trouble. You're not as young as you used to be. This is not a goodbye, I can hardly say farewell to myself after all. But, keep an eye on Artemis. He has the potential to be a decent person. He just doesn't have the desire to reach it.
The letter had ended rather abruptly and by this stage, Butler was extremely confused. He was half tempted to ring up young Artemis and ask him for his opinion. But he stifled that idea quickly. Artemis would not appreciated being called for something that appeared to be so trivial. He glanced down at the small disk. May as well see what all the fuss is about he figured. He pulled out the small portable computer from the Bentley's glove compartment. He frowned. Why would he keep a computer there? He thought he caught the shadow of reasoning behind it but it was elusive and wriggled out easily from his grasp. Frowning he tried to catch the memory as he plonked the disk into the holder and watched the information pore across the screen. As it turned out, he didn't need the safety deposit box after all.
Butler glanced at the monitor idly and froze. Centaur. He quickly glanced around to make sure his principal hadn't noticed. No, Artemis was concentrating on his latest masterpiece, this time in the form of a sculpture which he was going to put in the back garden to liven it up a bit. This of course, was not the young teenager's idea, but his mother had seen a way to kill to birds with one stone and was taking full advantage of it. A hobby for her Arty and something to place in the garden. Artemis had only begun to learn how to sculpt three days ago. He was already a master at it. But then, he was a genius...
Butler casually closed the monitor down, effectively hiding it from all prying eyes. In a movement that possibly not even Artemis would have detected as strange, he hit a small red button. He could not of course, see the look of surprise that crossed the fairy's face as the gates slowly creaked open, but he could imagine it pretty well. "Artemis I'm just going to check the perimeter, I shall be back in a little while." Artemis absently waved a hand in dismissal and acknowledgment as he continued to work patiently away at the marble.
Foaly stared in shock as the impressive gates swung open before he could even start to tackle it. That could mean only one thing. He'd been spotted. Foaly squared his shoulders and began to trot determinedly forward. The thought foremost in his mind was They brought this upon themselves. I'll show them.
Butler flicked the light switch and glanced around the large garage in which all the cars that were not used every day were kept. Normally he'd use the Bentley for travel purposes, but he doubted a centaur would fit in the car, spacious though it was. The huge manservant placed his huge bulk behind the wheel of a large transporting truck, used specifically for transporting horse kind. Artemis had seen fit to purchase a large horse racing track and the Fowls' had an extensive stable anyway. Driving the vehicle down the winding driveway, Butler thought back to the day he had received total recall.
"Ah Butler. Back again so soon? Contacts not what you were after?" Butler paused in the middle of greeting his old friend and the best optical expert in the Western Hemisphere and frowned slightly. "Contacts?" he asked carefully. He had come on orders of Artemis to try and discover who had a) designed the mysterious contacts which had been placed on his, Juliet's and his young principal and b) who had created them.
Damien Vitreus looked at his friend in bewilderment. "yes, the contacts you ordered just a few days ago. Butler frowned. That didn't sound right. Could someone have impersonated him? "Oh' continued Vitreus, not noticing that he'd just turned Butler's world upside down as he reached down below the counter. "you asked me to give this to you the next time I saw you. . Do you still want it or should I hold onto it for a little longer.'
Butler shook his head in silent denial and took the envelope hands shaking slightly as he tore it open. Inside was a letter, a computer disk and a small safety deposit key. He gave the letter a cursory glance and almost dropped it from sheer shock. He'd recognise this handwriting at a hundred paces. Well he should. It WAS his after all. "Yes, this is what I was after" he assured his old friend who was looking slightly upset and beat a hasty retreat. As he left, Damien called after him "By the way old friend, I don't know how you did it, but you're sure looking a whole lot younger today than you did just last time I saw you' There was nothing Butler could reply to that. He wasn't even sure what Vitreus was on about.
In the glare of blinding sunlight, Butler slowly began to read the letter again, scanning every detail and burning it into his mind.
Dear Domovoi,
No doubt you went straight to Damien after discovering the contacts placed into your eyes. I bet Artemis wasn't too happy about discovering those on his person. I can only hope you choose to come to Limerick although I can think of no reason why you, why I, wouldn't do that. Yes, it's me. Or to be more accurate, it's you. Ah, I can hear you thinking that that's impossible. After all, you haven't seen Damien in well over two years correct? Not since that incident but we shan't go into that. I haven't much time and there is so much you need to know.
Inclosed in this envelope is a disk. It's the duplicate of the disk Artemis gave, will give, to Mulch. It's possible that this will cause total recall. I hope so. If even this is not enough, I wasn't twiddling my thumbs whilst Artemis was in Chicago. Go to the Swiss bank around the corner from Vitreus'. There, ask for vault 234. If that doesn't cause total recall, then I have tried my best and there is nothing more I can do. Perhaps Mulch will have better luck, if Artemis' own plan to cause total recall succeeds.
But I know that although Artemis will defiantly be monitored for fairy references, it's possibly I can slip under the radar. After all, I am not as dangerous as my young principal. Not when it comes to games with the mind. My friend, if you do receive your memory back, what you choose to do with them is your own concern. I can only hope that you, that I, choose to do the right thing.
So long my friend. Try to stay out of trouble. You're not as young as you used to be. This is not a goodbye, I can hardly say farewell to myself after all. But, keep an eye on Artemis. He has the potential to be a decent person. He just doesn't have the desire to reach it.
The letter had ended rather abruptly and by this stage, Butler was extremely confused. He was half tempted to ring up young Artemis and ask him for his opinion. But he stifled that idea quickly. Artemis would not appreciated being called for something that appeared to be so trivial. He glanced down at the small disk. May as well see what all the fuss is about he figured. He pulled out the small portable computer from the Bentley's glove compartment. He frowned. Why would he keep a computer there? He thought he caught the shadow of reasoning behind it but it was elusive and wriggled out easily from his grasp. Frowning he tried to catch the memory as he plonked the disk into the holder and watched the information pore across the screen. As it turned out, he didn't need the safety deposit box after all.