Salutations, and many happy returns of the day. Someone told me I could respond. If I'm not supposed to, nobody tell on me.
AgiVega: Yes! You again. (in a good way) You will have to wait and see, though I promise that I cannot pair them as well as you can. (A/H) Madam is driving me insane! I'm on my fourth or fifth draft! (I can't remember which. I have a headache) I've written hundreds of pages, and none of the stories are quite right.
avovisto: Thanks. You have to wait and see.
brennQT: I knew that, but rumors had it that we'd get kicked off or suspended or something if we answered. Anyway, it's fairy nukes. They probably won't kill everyone.
CheshireHare: Thank you very much. I update once a week.
Daughter of Moonlight: Hello. You might find it interesting to know that I had a breid scare, and thought you were my cousin, when I first saw your review. (she's a horrid prig) When she was little, she wanted to be called that all the time.But you're not, obviously. Yes, Holly/Demon would have been horrid. So it's not. And you'll have to wait and see. I don't mind A/H if it's well done, though obviously not many people do it well. I advice you to read AgiVega's story.
Helltanz98: Updates are once a week, deal with it. Last year, I was forced to go with every day, because I was rushed. I am not rushed. I have nine months to publish this. But anyway, thanks for reading, and thanks for liking Sool's idea. You will see what Artemis does.
Identitycrisis: I agree about the lenses. I thought about it a long time, and finally concluded Artemis was clever enough to figure it out, and decided to stop hurting my head. I'll look at your stuff when I can. The librarians here are vicious about keeping us off sights like this. And you have full permission to use the stewards.
Lady Marian: I too enjoy harmless flirting. There will be slightly more, I believe. The story's already written, but I can't remember what I wrote, if you'll believe it.
me-obviously: If the places weren't difficult, where would the fun be? Glad to see your review. I like your pen name.
Queen Dragon: Thank you. I too enjoy sinister plotting.
Trouble Kelp: If you'll believe it, it's spelled four different ways, through the books. Once a week updates.
Back to Artemis, now.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the things I own. The things I own are the things not owned by Colfer. Colfer owns everything except the things I own. The things Colfer own are the things I do not own. :) Try that one, all you people who think you're the next Artemis Fowl.
Artemis got to his feet slowly, and moved across the room to his computer. All he really wanted right now was rest. The drip Sool had put him on was a lot stronger feeling now that he was on his feet. He wasn't sleepy, just tired. Sore, and worn out.
He could be sleeping, since he'd been given six hours, but that would have to wait. The nukes had to be stopped. And they could only be stopped if he had a plan.
Artemis seated himself, turning on the computer with a touch of his fingers. Against, he thought of Holly. Either way she could end up dying without knowing the truth. Believing that had done it… killed her. He thought of Julius. There would always be that doubt. That 'what if'. And perhaps here to. The only chance of winning was to keep playing.
Sool would be watching, or one of his henchmen. He shut his eyes, and began to type out his supposed speech for the UN. But he wrote it with a small, detached part of his mind. The rest of him focused wholly on plotting.
Two hours later, he had the outline of his plan. It wasn't very probable, but there were no other options. The whole thing, of course, was based on assumptions— that he could earn Sool 's trust, and most of all: that Holly would show up when he thought she would. Oh yes, and that he would be able to handle the unforeseen problem.
There was a pattern to saving the world. First, the bad guy puts his plan into action, somehow involving Artemis or Holly. One or more of the good guys are captured. Help shows up at the very last minute: Holly or Mulch. And of course, somewhere, would be an unforeseen problem. But it was nice to know it was coming, anyways.
Juliet. What about her? Artemis broke his trance, rising hastily, and hitting the call button on his wall.
"Yeah?" The thing that answered looked a lot worse than Mulch ever had. Artemis couldn't even tell what it was.
"My bodyguard— where is she?"
"Secret."
Artemis worked hard to maintain control of his temper. "Is she alive?"
"Secret. Why?"
Big words might work. "May I speak with someone at least capable of holding a comprehensible and intelligent conversation?"
"Uh… Why don't you talk with him?" There was a moment's silence, as, no doubt, the nitwit worked on keeping his brain from overloading. Then, static, as the satellite searched for a signal.
"What is it?" Sool.
"Commander. May I inquire about my bodyguard?"
Sool's cackle came through as more static. "But of course! Anything for little Arty. She's alive."
"And?"
"Oh," said Sool carelessly, "she's unconscious. Helpless, you understand; very vulnerable. She was a bit of a demon to handle when she woke up, so I had them put her back to sleep. It wouldn't be a good idea to mess with me. I'm sure you can guess what would happen to her if you did."
"I understand." Artemis seated himself, massaging his temples with long, delicate fingers.
"I find it very… amusing." There was another cackle. "Two females who I'm sure you care about. You're being forced out of options. Caring about other's traps you, Fowl. It really does! Julius was my cousin, for example. If I had cared, I wouldn't be doing this. But I didn't let it get in my way, and look where I am. You're trapped Fowl— trapped in your pathetic caring. Caring is a trap." And he cut his connection.
Artemis set his head on his desk. Sool was right about one thing. Caring was trapping him.
Holly swung around, trying to figure out what was happening at the LEP shuttle port below.
"You could have asked for help, but no." Foaly's voice startled her.
There was that same old annoying tapping of keys in her ear. Somehow though, it was comforting. Odd. Then, her visor zoomed in on the west ventilation system.
"Foaly? How did you—"
Crunch. "Alright, alright. Don't get agitated interrogating me. I listened to the recording. It was real sweet, Holly. Real sweet."
She growled something at him.
"Honestly, though. I had no idea you could act like a player when you really wanted to! You were getting plenty touchy-feely, weren't you? I especially liked the kissing."
"Don't push it, Foaly! How do I get in?"
"Through the vent."
Holly hovered like an anxious sprite. There was no one in the west ventilation's roof pit, and no one coming near it. But there were cameras all over the place.
"Um… Holly?"
She turned her head, looking at Foaly's face on the screen. "Drop a carrot?"
"I've been listening in. Sool's just sent someone over. I have to destroy all evidence. He's been waiting to nail me for years. Even before he had Julius's job. Don't even call me. They might have someone listening. I'm sending you the access codes for all the controls. Like your visor. And your wings. You'll have to collapse them to get into the vent and pod."
The codes flashed across her wrist screen, and a digital control panel appeared.
"Bye Holly. Good luck. I ah— I'm sorry I can't help you more. But like as not, they're going to lock me up."
"Yeah," said Holly softly. And she reached up, touching Artemis's ring as Foaly's face faded to black. She hadn't felt so alone since— since Artemis had kidnapped her and she'd thought she'd betrayed her People.
She began pressing buttons experimentally, finally finding the one that showed her the camera beams. There was no way through.
After a moment of fumbling, she drew out her phone, pressing autodial.
"How much?"
"Demon?" Holly hesitated, uncertain.
"Oh. It's you, chickadee. What's the matter?"
"There's no way through. I can see the cameras. The whole thing's covered." Holly dropped slowly. "I don't have much time. About twenty minutes, and Mulch'll make things hot."
"Mm… Yeah. Ok. Go away from the port, and down. There's a path through, that you can't see from above. Take it through to the vent, and—"
"I need gadgets, don't I?"
"Yeah. Tell you what; I have a spare, if you can worm your sweet baby fingers under the wire. It's live, so be careful. I nearly fried myself that last time I used it. Was in a hurry."
Holly had already dropped, and was following a winding path through, searching her panel for something to insulate her suit. There was some way to do it, but Foaly usually controlled that. For incidents with high voltage power lines and what not. "I got it."
"Right then, chickadee. Once you're inside, just keep pointing yourself south, and you'll get there."
"Thanks. Ah… Demon? You— you know I'm not going to sleep with you if I get out alive, don't you?"
"Yep. In fact, I'm a little surprised you let me go this far. You're known better for the chip you've got for men that all your skills out together. On this side, and probably that. Besides, someone'd hire me for you again sooner or later. And I'd have to take you out. I've got to pay my rent too, you know. Same as everybody else."
"Yeah." Holly jammed her fingers under the wire, and pulled out a small magadriver for the screws. "So you use this vent for what?"
"To hide. Cops look everywhere but their own facilities. It's a good place to camp."
Holly caught the cover, and slipped inside, popping it back into place, and squeezing her fingers through. She only put two screw in, just in case she had to go back.
Fifteen minutes. "Demon? I have to go. Thank you."
"Anything For you, chickadee. I'll see you on the news, day after tomorrow. And if you need more help with anything, call me, and I'll do my best to get you what you need."
Holly hung up, and began to press more buttons, finally folding her wings to nothing. Then, she began to crawl.
The system was cramped, to say the least, and several times she had trouble turning. It got hotter and hotter, and she began to feel trapped. It was stifling— suffocating. Sweat trickled over her, pooling on her neck and between her shoulder blades, and making her itch.
At last, she reached the floor vent into the hanger. She paused, turning on Mulch's connection. "Where are you?"
"Waiting for you. I'm in a vent under one of the pods."
"It's a one person thing." Holly took a deep breath. Alone. Once she got into that pod, she really would be alone. Why was she doing this? She had to rescue Artemis. Her friend. "I need to go on alone. Try to detain Sool. Anything. Kidnap a Council Member. I don't care. Just do something! Something extraordinarily drastic!"
"What do you want me to do now?" asked Mulch in a slightly disturbed voice. For kidnapping a Council Member, he could be locked up with a goblin gang in Howler's Peak for the rest of his life. Which probably wouldn't be long, once he got there.
"Make a huge diversion in the back of the room. When I tell you to. Not before."
"If I get caught," pointed out Mulch, "I can't kidnap anyone."
Holly gritted her teeth. "Mulch… burst the hydrator. Flood the place. Then crawl through the vents. Go back the way you came, and hide. Stay hidden. They'll be looking for you. Wait— how—"
"Never mind. I'll stay in the vents, and camp out with Cahartez once I get him. Until you've saved the world and can explain for me, mind you. These things are tight."
"Right." Holly looked out through the vent. There were guards all over. A double watch. And there were others bringing the prototypes in. It would have to be a really big diversion. Her camouflage wouldn't work in such bright lights. She's have to be fast.
"And find out about Foaly. I think he's been arrested because of me."
"Not to worry," said Mulch cheerfully. "The interrogation officers are probably insane by now."
"I might need his help." Holly studied the guards' basic patterns, trying to calculate her best route through to the pod in front. The one closest to the chutes and freedom.
"There's not really any way through, Holly. Just run, and body slam anyone in your way."
Holly gulped. It seemed impossible. Absurd. Stupid. Not good technique at all. "Oh Mulch?"
"What?"
"When they find out I got in through the vent, they're going to do a check to make sure there's not anything I left behind. No one else. They'll figure you might still be in here. They know I work with you."
"I'll be fine. What're you waiting for? It's not like we have time to waste. Just go and be careful."
Holly finished unscrewing the cover. "Take care of yourself, Stinker. You ready?"
"When you are."
Her heart thudded and throbbed against her chest in a rhythm her feet were impatient to run. She wasn't afraid— just excited. Thrilled. The feeling swelled up, and Holly found she was shaking. "Ready."
There was a very loud hiss, and the hydrator on the opposite wall burst, taking out part of the ceiling as water cascaded to the floor. Mist filled the room and alarms began to go off throughout the building.
Holly dropped the cover, charging across the cement. She had no time to find her wings controls, and with so many people, she would be more vulnerable in the air.
Someone in front of her turned, raising their gun. In self-defense, no doubt. Holly's shiny black and silver suit stood out from the LEP's dull green.
Bam. Her fist connected with Newt's face, and she wrenched the gun from his grasp, hurling it across the room as she ran on. But now others were running to cut her off, and the exits were closing. More and more of them were realizing the hydrator was a diversion.
Faster. She needed to go faster. Holly drew her gun and access chip, putting on a burst of speed.
From around the corner of one of the pods, stepped out Major Kelp. Without even thinking, Holly body slammed him. He went down with a groan of protest, succeeding in tripping four of his men into a neat pile of bashed heads, bruises, and scrapes.
Holly winced, and stopped suddenly at the door of the pod, huddling against it as it processed the chip to make her target smaller.
They thought she was trapped, and were approaching slowly. With caution. Holly wasted no time, however. She jumped in, slamming the door behind her, and turning on the engines.
Eyes wide with shock, the surrounding guards scattered. The prototypes weren't supposed to work. Not yet. The chips hadn't been made. With one hand, Holly guided herself to the edge of the chutes. With the other, she destroyed any chances of remote destruction.
Foaly had obviously connected the pods' communications to the main line already. There were half a dozen voices babbling at her to stop, or take the consequences. Holly rolled her eyes, gently guiding the craft to the very brink.
"Miss Short."
"Mr. Sool." Holly's voice radiated hatred and disgust.
"Congratulations. I don't know how you did it, but if you take the pod any farther, I will send shuttles to destroy you. Forget the reason for your actions."
"And if I don't go?" Holly opened her flaps.
"Life. In prison, I'm sorry to say."
"No you're not." She switched off the radio, nudged the controls, and began to fall. G-force pulled, and her stomach lurched. But oh— she loved it. Holly dropped fifty feet past that which standard regulations allowed— for the sake of rule breaking, and pulled out of her dive.
For a moment, her lungs constricted, and she fought furiously with the controls. Fins shot out automatically, stabilizing the pod. Then, she was past the turbulence, rocketing upwards. But it was smooth. Much smoother than the other pods had been.
Behind her, she could see three assault shuttles, trying to catch up. She switched on her helmet radio, searching through her tools for something that would hack into their 'secure' frequency. Foaly always liked to be able to listen in. It helped sometimes.
"… is it?"
"Holly Short, probably," came Trouble's ruthful voice.
"How'd you know?"
"From the way she body slammed me. What else? That's like… the second time in the last three days. When she gets riled, it's best to get out of her way. Something that I've been having a hard time observing. I just keep being in her way."
Sool, forever the spoil-sport, interrupted. "Hey! Enough! If you're in range, shoot. If you're not, get in range!"
"I don't think we'll have to."
"Why now?"
Warning bells were going off in her head. What was it? Holly carefully studied her instruments. There wasn't anything they could do, was there? She had full power…
"At that speed, she won't be able to turn in time. That corner is wicked sharp; and then it's all twisted for a mile after that."
Holly tightened her grip on the controls. Trouble was right. Maybe. But he didn't know what the new pods could do. It would have been impossible with an old pod, certainly. But she wasn't driving an old pod. Maybe she could make it. Maybe…
At the last moment, she flipped the pod on it's side, ignoring the hold as it's belly scrapped the rock.
"Is she going to make that?"
"It's Holly Short," said Vein glumly. "If she wants to, she will. She's a spiteful beast."
Holly laughed. "Thanks, Vein."
A few startled swear words, and a severe epidemic of choking was all she got in response. "Yeah. I'm listening."
She pulled around, just in time, leaving the shuttles behind. Foaly was right. The prototypes were better. Faster; smoother; sharper.
But she couldn't afford to waste time. She drew in her fins so that they wouldn't break if she got too close to the wall. Her turn would be coming up in a minute.
The shuttles were coming into sight now, still out of range, but getting closer each moment. There was no way she could speed up and still make that turn. It was more than ninety degrees, and with them shooting at her— she'd have to be very careful.
"You going to stop, or do we have to shoot, Holly?"
Sool was furious. "Stop conversing with that criminal, and shoot, you stinkworms!"
"I haven't been arrest yet, Sool. And it's not good form to insult your men like that." Holly took a deep breath, hitting the brake button and releasing the wheel.
"Are you giving up?"
"Me?" Holly snorted, buying extra time with conversation. "Never. And don't feel guilty about shooting at me. If you don't, you'll be fired. It's your job. Quite frankly, I'd shoot at myself."
There was an uncertain silence. They were within range now, but the invitation had made them wary.
Holly shook her head. Another minute. She'd have to doge and not change speed. Cruise control.
Vein fired. She heard him give the command. It hurt, even though he had to, and she had told him to.
She rolled the pod, dipping and diving in a wild pattern as Trouble joined Vein in the shooting. Holly bit her lip hard, watching it approach. It was a good shot. Not at her, but at the center of the tunnel. No matter what she did, it was going to hit her. The tunnel was too small.
A second later, she hit the power button. The engines shut down. The flaps slid in just in time. The shot passed her, missing by inches. Just inches. And she was almost there.
The engines. She turned them on again quickly. Whoever was with them in the back up shuttle just couldn't stop babbling. "There's a woman in there? A woman had the guts to cut engines in the middle of a fire fight? A woman just did that?"
"She's not shooting. Technically, it's not a—"
"Whatever. But I can't believe…"
Holly spun the wheel, again turning on her side so she wouldn't scrape against the wall.
More swearing. Holly grinned, gunning the engines. It was a long, straight run for a long time. Without the turns, it would be easier for them to hit her. But only if they could catch her. Only then.
Faster and faster she went. Behind her, the shuttles were going at top speed, trying to catch up. She checked her guns' ranges. Just in case she needed them for some reason. Not to hurt anyone… but…
They began to fire again. Holly contented herself with dodging.
Her phone rang. Quickly, she picked it up from the tray, trapping it against her shoulder. "Hello?"
"Hey Holly— is that…? Never mind. This is Skylar Pear."
Skylar Peat? The Skylar Peat? Three time AMP winner? She was calling her? Holly almost let go of the wheel. "Um… I think you have the wrong number. Wrong Holly."
"Oh no! Holly Short? I was just wondering if we could go shopping sometime. See, I like to know the person I'm playing. What you're like. I'll be starting shooting in a week. So I thought—"
Holly did a loop. "This… I'm really sorry, but I've got three assault shuttles firing at me, and I can't really talk. Can I call you later? I'd really love to do all that, but—"
"Oh dear. I'm so sorry! Well, call me when you get back, okay?"
"Sure." Holly hung up with a grin. When she'd been little, she'd adored Skylar. She still did, secretly. Skylar played nothing but action heroines. Beating up the bad guys, and winning back the world. In fact, she'd gotten a few ideas from her at times. Not that they'd worked, but yeah… Like when she'd jumped on that troll's back.
A shot flew past. She really needed to take out their long distance communications. Their firing was getting to close. Holly shut her eyes, and turned around, flying in reverse.
More swearing. Pods could only shoot from the front, and there was no other reason for her to turn.
Holly took three rapid shots. Their long distance spikes were gone. They still have communications from one ship to another, but Sool was no longer a factor in all this.
"Hey Trouble?"
"Thanks. A lot. Sool's on me, you know. He'll use any excuse to fire me."
Holly fiddled with the computer buttons, finally blocking out the others so they could talk alone. "They can't hear us now. I'm… really sorry, Trouble. I just thought—" Holly touched Artemis's ring again, hoping Trouble wouldn't be too angry with her.
"Forget it. Are you okay? You just… disappeared. And a friend of mine— there were rumors about you killer— I was really worried about you. About you getting hurt again."
"I never get hurt Trouble. Not me. Besides, Demon's been really helpful. Got me into the LEP. He's really sweet." Holly sped up a little, not even bothering to dodge. They were shooting wide, now that Sool had no way of telling whether or not they were shooting at her.
"Really sweet?" Anger filled his voice. And maybe jealousy too. "He tried to kill you Holly! He's probably double-crossing you! Demon? What is your problem? What?"
"Trouble—"
"I was so worried about you! When I found you—" He hesitated. "There was so much… much blood. I thought you were dead! He did that to you! And you call him sweet?"
"Please Trouble! I'm sorry!" Holly shut her eyes a moment, and then opened them quickly. "I'm sorry…"
"Look— you're— you're like my baby sister. I care about you Holly! A lot. I have to a long time… since I met you, I guess. I just don't want you to get hurt by anyone."
Holly ran her fingers through her hair. "He just gave me some info and a way in."
Trouble blew up, swearing angrily at her. "Oh really? A man like him? Where? In bed?"
"Please—"
"I don't want you to get hurt, Holly!" His voice was pleading now. "Don't sleep with guys like him!"
"I didn't!" Holly wanted to scream at him, but refrained. "I swear I didn't, Trouble Kelp! And I didn't promise to! I've never slept with anybody! I'm a damn virgin if it makes you any happier!"
"So?" There was a challenge in his voice now.
"He… likes me, I guess. All he did was kiss me. Nothing major, Trouble. Just a few little kisses."
"Nothing major? You let him kiss you? Yeah. You never kissed anyone in your life, and you wasted your virgin lips on a hit man who tried to kill you two days ago? What is your problem, Holly?"
Tears of frustration welled up in Holly's eyes. What was Trouble's problem? She hated it when he got angry with her. And sometimes he did. But he'd never gotten this angry with her. "It's not like you had any prior claims to me, Trouble Kelp, or I'd understand!"
For a moment he was silent. "Oh. I'm… I'm sorry."
"Whatever." Holly brushed her free hand across her face, concentrating on the tunnel ahead. Then, she turned off the radio.
Heh heh. I know you're all furious. How can I do this to them, etc. etc. etc. Too bad you have to wait until the next time, isn't it? Yes I know I'm cruel. And maybe it was a bit dramatic, but in dramatic situations, the dramatic bits don't stand out. They are very real to the observer and participants.
Ah yes… and Skylar. Cross reference if you like. Eoin said so. And yes, for those of you dying to see Holly extremely uncomfortable, in a shopping environment, behold… It cometh— not. I cannot write a shopping scene! Too bad. Isn't it? Beg all you like.
You who do not review: Your evils will condemn you on the day of judgment. :)