Hello again, you people. I am having a wonderful time with this. Like I said at the end of the last chapter, you who live in South America or are very familiar with it will probably be more than a little frustrated with me at times. Those of you who don't, will not even notice. Forgive me for the sake of the story. I'm getting a little rushed. It's getting closer to the end of May.
I know most of you will roll your eyes, but though I did not research anything else, I did research the cities, though I don't know about the flights, and this is possible, so ha!
And the reviews... over one hundred now!
Ahava: Yes, your new email was lovely. ;) Thanks.
AgiVega: I had to put them together like that. It left room for sooo much complication later on. Besides, being a slightly naught child, I like to have fun. But too much tends to ruin plot, so I'm only... suggestive at the end. Plenty of tearful romance though. I love it. I can't help it. I have to have tears somewhere...
aperfectattitude: Yes, I know. Justin is sweet. And the trip will be wonderful.
Elyne: Though I don't understand why you gave me the same review twice, I do appreciate that it bumped up my numbers. Anyway, I know Dom is making romance look impossible, but it happens. I promise.
Holly Rox: I'm glad you didn't think it was a drag. I can't wait for Wednesday either. I'm getting bored with this part of the story. But I suppose that's from reading it over and over. Fanfiction won't let me review all the time either. Anyway, publish the last bit of your story. I'll review all the chapters when I get the time, so you have over seventy reviews.
Merayna: I haven't heard from you in a while. Don't worry, romance starts soon... Around Wednesday, I believe.
R.C.C.: Yes, things will be wonderful when the two families collide. Someone will be shot, and hurt very badly, and it almost elevates to a full-scale war. And then there will be a very stupid idea that turns out to be brilliant strategy. It happens soon. I promise.
The Blazing Blade: The TRIP, for you, but the rest of us will ignore your rants, and continue to be sane people. We're only writing it this once to passify you. And I'm curious. What naughty thing couldn't you write? (It's WHO! WHO, I say!) Update your story, David. I'm fed up with waiting for another chapter. Or can't you write, because you don't know how? (after all, they didn't accept you into the super SMART class) grinning wickedly, as David gnashes his teeth in rage
Trouble Kelp: Thanks. You ought to update your own.
Disclaimer: Juliet Butler and all references to the Artemis Fowl series are in the sole possession of Eoin Colfer. I do not own anything except everything else.
The plane trip to Santarém was uneventful. Juliet slept the entire time, except when they were changing planes. Then, she rallied enough to walk onto the next one, make herself comfortable, ask how much longer it would take, and go to sleep again.
It worked well. No one bothered her, and no one noticed her like they first had. She didn't look very threatening, curled up like a kitten on a seat, one arm still in a cast.
Juliet didn't really mind what anyone else though. That would change as soon as she wanted it to. Why have a heart attack over it?
Justin woke her up when they landed in Brazil. "Come on. Let's go. We're staying at a hotel tonight, and tomorrow we're flying out in a smaller plane to a more isolated spot."
After a few heavy blinks, she roused herself, picked up her backpack, and trotted off the plane after the rest of them. Despite her growing impatience with having to stay in the company of so may Anthonys, she was more than a little excited about the actual trip.
It promised so many chances to prove herself.
The hotel was actually pretty small, and Juliet doubted anyone else was spending the night. They took up most of the space.
The babbling was quickly hushed, as Chance began to pair off people to rooms. There were plenty of crossed fingers, too. Whoever he gave you, you were stuck with for the rest of the trip. They helped you with chores, they shared a tent, all of the junk.
Juliet didn't bother paying attention. She knew who her… 'partner' was.
Finally, Justin tapped her on the shoulder, as the men started to move off down halls, holding out a key. "It's the last room on the right. Make yourself comfortable; I have a few responsibilities, and things I need to take care of with Chance."
"Fine. Knock, before coming in, will you?"
Justin gritted his teeth, and moved off without replying. He didn't trust himself.
Laughing wickedly under her breath, Juliet watched him go, and then trotted towards her room. A few of the slower people standing at the end of the hall got pushed aside, but other than that, she managed not to get in any fights. There was a small scuffling, but that was quickly ended, and Juliet unlocked the door, and went in.
Quickly, she dressed for bed, and checked through her pack again. She knew everything was there, but it was a habit that Butler had taught her early on. You never knew what you might have dropped or forgotten, and the sooner you know, the sooner you can avoid situations in which you will need them.
There was a knock. "Come in."
Justin opened the door, and stepped inside, glancing over her cautiously, as she sat down on the bed, and started to brush out her hair. "Hi."
"What?" Juliet lay back on her bed, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing."
"Then go to sleep and leave me alone, please. And be very quiet. I hate sleeping in the same room as loud people. I can't sleep."
He grumbled something under his breath, and threw himself down on his bed. "It's pretty pointless brushing your hair. It's going to get messed up, and it's not like this is a beauty contest."
Juliet smiled thinly. "I take care to look my best at all times, because I am a professional, Justin. If you can't do your job, and keep yourself neat at the same time, you are not a professional. It takes talent. Talent that you apparently don't have?"
"Shut up."
"Someday," said Juliet cheerfully, and kicked back the covers. "Someday, maybe I will."
Justin stuck his head under the pillow, and pretended not to hear her.
Butler studied his map. Brazil, and Chile. Great. And they would be gone for a month. At least he had plenty of time to find them. Of course, he didn't know how many there would be, though he had a good guess, and he didn't know where they'd be going, and what they'd be doing, though he had more than one good guess. Just a few pieces of information.
A month's chance to get his little sister back.
Slowly, his finger traced the route he thought they would take. From Santarém up the river until they came to Manaus. Then, they would probably fly to Salta in Argentina, go across to the Andes, and through the Atacama Desert to the sea. They would still have a few days left. Maybe they would rest, maybe they would take the sea.
He sighed. He couldn't be sure about Brazil though. It was a huge country, and the jungle never ended. He would have a better chance in Chile, once they got there. There, they would move more slowly, hindered by the mountains and the sun.
Butler took a deep breath, picked up his phone, and called the Lodge. People would be willing to help. There wasn't a person there who wasn't fighting mad about things.
Juliet woke up at two thirty, dressed quickly, stretched, checked her pack, and sat down on the bed to meditate.
Almost an hour later, Justin rolled over with a yawn, as his watch went off. He started when he saw her already awake. "You're crazy! How long have you been up?"
Juliet shook her head at him. "Please, Justin. When I choose to wake up is my business. I did not bother you, and you slept perfectly well. I can function with a certain amount of sleep, that obviously differs from the amount that you needs. There is no right or wrong."
Justin swung out of bed, reaching for one of his bags. "Yeah, whatever. Not that I don't appreciate lectures anymore, but I'm not really in the mood. Not now, okay?"
"I think I might understand," said Juliet sweetly. "Please use the restroom to dress."
He swore at her under his breath. "What kind of perverted… would…"
"I'm sure you would, given the chance. Now go get dressed, we need to be out there soon. People are already getting up for breakfast."
Justin slammed the door to the bathroom, and stormed out a few minutes later, bumping into her, as she started to open the door to the hall.
"Watch where you're going, Justin."
"You!" He paused, suddenly interested by the backpack. "Is that all you brought?"
"Do you see me carrying anything else?"
"How did you fit everything in there? You couldn't have everything you need… We had to each pack our own tools for everything— the machetes, and rope, and all that stuff. And clothing, and— yeah. Everything. Don't tell me it's all in there."
"I'd say it was," smirked Juliet, opened the door, and shut it in his face.
The men avoided her, suddenly falling silent, as she walked into the front area of the hotel, where they were eating. They didn't trust her, and they certainly didn't know whether or not to ignore her. That, and the fact that she and Justin had shared a room.
They were curious about that. Curious to see if Justin was still alive, and what had happened.
Juliet picked up a bagel and an apple, slipped the apple into her pocket, and sat down to eat the bagel, studying the men carefully, one at a time. It would be best to have a good idea of how they would treat her, how they acted towards the other men, and them in general if she was going to be working closely with them for a month.
Until Dom came to take her away, that was.
A few minutes later, Justin and Chance walked into the room, as they had yesterday morning. Juliet realized that this was a thing they did. Justin and Chance were in charge together.
Chance nodded to the room. "Good morning. I hope everyone slept well. You won't get anymore sleep until twelve, and then only four hours, unless you're on watch tonight, which case it'll be two."
Grunts. They knew what was coming. They weren't looking forwards to it either.
"We're going to be driven a way up the river until the end of the road, basically. Then we start hiking. Be prepared. It's not light stuff. I'll hand out the papers you'll need to go over when we load up. Remember, this has to be memorized. The car is a great place to do it, because you won't have any other time, and you'll need it right away."
More grunts.
Justin nodded to the door. "Come on then, people. Move! We don't have all day. The vans are waiting. Alphabetical order, please."
Juliet shook her head, and trotted after Justin, as the men poured out the doors. 'j' 'u'. Not too hard to figure out that they were in the same bus together. This could get interesting.
In fact, she was looking forwards to things.
Butler is, for those of you wondering, going to break up the party, but it shall be lovely, and endearing, and in the end, of course, no matter what happens, they live happily ever after.
Those of you who read Dead Dreams, know that I have a thing about writing horribly sad scenes, and then leaving you wondering if that's it. (actually, I was nice, and said it wasn't really:)) I promise the same thing will happen here. Really, it will. I love the responses. Last time, people were so angry with me. I like evoking feelings in people. It means I actually wrote it quite well.
Anyway, review, and tell me what you think about this chapter, and about what should happen next. As always, I am happy to hear from you, answer questions, talk about nonsense, proofread, read, and all those other things if you email me. And I answer right away, except on weekends. I'm a Monday through Friday person, for those of you wondering. (Time: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Central Time, North America) :)