Bracelet of Mentality

Disclaimer: See chapter one. I own nothing but what I created.

Setting: Emporia, Kansas. Maybe an airplane…

Chapter 3: Betraying Thoughts and a Fallen Angel

He sighed and continued the slow trek forward. Butler despised trailing people in such a fashion; the chances of her seeing him and running were too high for his likings. It did have the advantage of allowing him to assess her, though. That was probably the only up-look to his current situation. She didn't look to be very healthy, nor very wealthy. In all reality, she gave off the appearance of a street rat. From what he knew of street kids, they were always very cautious and sneaky. They could fit in with any crowd and nab anything from anyone within the crowd. They also knew how to run and hide fairly well.

He glanced away from her to Artemis. The teen was seated in the passenger's seat, a laptop propped on his knees and whirring away as he surfed the Internet. The boy had been quiet for many hours now (not that this was unusual for him), but Butler was more worried than usual about his sanity and the silence was getting to him. He was borderline paranoid.

"Is something bothering you, Butler?" Artemis asked without looking up. He had sensed the ever-watchful eyes of his own guardian upon him. Butler turned away and rolled the car forward another few feet.

"Nothing, sir. Just thinking."

"About?" He turned the corner once she was out of sight and followed her around the community park.

"The current situation with this Sister, and what actions may be required."

"You were staring at me to think about her? How does that work out, I wonder?" He clicked a new page on the computer and it popped up. He still hadn't glimpsed up.

"Just day gazing then, sir. I lost myself in my thoughts and hadn't realized I was staring. I'm sorry." Another few feet forward. He turned the car off there.

"Why are we stopping?" Artemis questioned, again without looking to him.

"The girl, sir. She's gone into the house two away from us and across the street." He was parked on the left side of the street and facing the wrong way. Their prey had vanished into a brown and tan, single-floor home just across from them. There was a small trail of blood where she had walked from the elbow wound he had noticed while evaluating her.

"What are you waiting for, Butler? Follow her in, sedate her, and bring her out. Do I really need to tell you how to do your job?" The boy still hadn't glanced at him, not once. Click. Another page popped up on his screen.

"No sir. Sorry, sir. I'll be right back." Before exiting the car, he leaned over, feinting to search for a bag or some random item, but glancing at the computer screen from the corner of his eye. Curiosity had gotten the better of him, just this once. Artemis was researching all the people who had ever controlled the Sisters- successfully, that is. The results on that read zero. It was unheard of. And yet humans had been trying for a thousand years or more. His gut wrenched at the bad feeling he had over this.

He quickly exited the car and walked to the rear end of it. Once he had inserted the key into the lock, the trunk snapped open revealing a small arsenal of weapons including tranquilizers and rubber bullets. He didn't believe in praying; he saw it as a sign of weakness, but this did not stop him from muttering a small prayer silently before setting off into the foreign house.

She had picked the house at random, but she was sure it would serve its purpose. This was, naturally, to be a safe place where she could continue on with her rest. Adamina would be off of her trail for some time now and this was an opportunity she could not afford to give up.

This house was also an abandoned old shack, much like the last one. It would suffice though, just as had the latter. There was a dry enough bedroom in the back portion of the home where she sat down amongst forgotten carpet pieces and trash. Darkness settled about her as Amara relaxed on a well-sized portion of the spare carpet.

"Idiot!" she scolded herself as she banged her head into the wall behind her. How could she have been so stupid to let Adamina see her in the café? If she had remembered why she was there- like any good spy- and had reminded herself to stay low, like an intelligent spy, this would have never happened.

She shook her head vigorously. That was in the past. There was no fixing what was done. Unfortunately, she hadn't been granted time traveling powers, which meant it was useless to worry over such things as this. She'd have to keep in mind her mistakes, learn from them, and never make the same ones again. 'Whatever. Look, I screwed up and I know it. The first part to dealing with a problem is acknowledging it. Now I know that I suck at spying and should try to avoid Adamina when I see her. At least I learned something from this whole ordeal.' She sighed and decided to let it go. She couldn't do anything about it, not now, not ever.

Her eyes were shut as she calmed herself back into sleeping. She imagined that she hadn't slept in a year and the weariness of the hide- and- seek game she was playing settled down on her mind. Just as she was drifting off, she thought she heard something in the house. Like a noise of something moving. Something big.

Her eyes flew wide as the subtle sound was repeated. It hit her then, the realization. Someone else was in the house with her.

Adamina scowled at the police officer and went on questioning the woman. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his angered face turn a bright red as she ignored his orders.

"Look kid, you need to clear out. This is a police investigation." He said it like it held some significance to her. She turned back to him and gave him a rather rude look.

"And?" she asked as she quirked an eyebrow. His face changed to an even brighter shade of red and he huffed up his chest in the attempt to make himself appear larger - not that he needed to, as he was well over six feet tall, and far too round about the waist.

"I gave you fair warning. Clear out or I'll arrest you for tampering with police evidence and interfering with a police investigation. Do you understand?"

She laughed. "'Tampering with police evidence?' What evidence did I touch? Surely you didn't mean her," Adamina jabbed her thumb in the direction of the homeowner, " because she's not evidence. She's what most people would call a witness. I thought you'd know that, seeing as you're the police officer and all." The man's eyes bulged at her blatant disrespect.

"But I see what you mean. I suppose I am in the way. If you'd allow me to ask the few questions I need, you can go on with your 'investigation'."

Adamina knew she was pushing her luck with him. As big as he was, the man could fall on her and she would most likely end up paralyzed. She should have kept her mouth shut, too, and she knew it. His face changed at the end of her speech and his hand slipped behind him, going for his handcuffs. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound ever made it out.

As the expert hunter she was, Adamina kicked his throat, aiming for the voice box. She followed that with a kick to the back of his head, which she accomplished by spin in the opposite direction and completed a roundhouse kick with perfection. The man was down in seconds. A quick scan of the crowd told her that no one was watching her; they were all goggling at the mess that had been made of their neighbor's home. His fellow officers hadn't noticed yet, and she planned on using the valuable time she had to her advantage. The Guardian looked back at the homeowner, who was frozen in shock.

"Is this the girl who broke in?" she asked as she flashed a picture of Amara in her face. The woman abruptly tore her eyes from Adamina to the picture and, after a second of contemplation, began to nod.

"Good. Thank you for your time," she said sincerely. The officers had noticed their fallen comrade now and were heading over. She leaned down and checked his pulse.

"Hey, mister, are you ok?" It was a complete lie, the anguish she had layered her voice with, but the only one who would contradict her story was the homeowner. That wouldn't happen any time soon as the woman was still suspended in a temporary stupor.

The first officer that made it over, with a nametag that read Lieutenant Admen, gave her an odd look, but soon dismissed her as a civilian. "Ernie? Are you ok?" He shook the unconscious officer but to no avail. "What happened?" the lieutenant asked her.

"I don't know. He was asking her some questions about the break-in and the next thing I know, he's out cold on the ground. I tried to help him, but he's out like a rock, man." Adamina knew the accent fit her. She did have the body of a teenager, and most adolescent humans spoke in a nonsensical broken down version of their own language as it was. The look of suspicion dissipated from the man's eyes.

"Right, ok. Thank you for your help kid, but we can take it from here. Why don't you head home and keep off the streets? The psycho that did this could still be out here."

"Right you are, Officer. Go straight home and watch out for whacked out psychos. Got it. Hope your friend's all right, or whatever. See you guys." She waved to the officers that had gathered around their fallen comrade and swiftly left the scene. Amara was around here somewhere, she knew. But where?

The sound he made as he entered the home was a mistake, he knew. If this kid was who he thought she was, she'd have scrambled at the first indication of an intruder. He picked up his pace praying that she wouldn't have moved just yet. This proved unwise as it resulted in another sound. 'Stop giving away your position! If she gets away, fine. You can always track her down again. But don't completely blow any chance we've got here.' A quick self-confidence boost and silent suspiration, and he was moving on.

There, to the right, the single door. She was there; he'd heard her moving. Butler quickened his movements again until he was right alongside the door. A hasty count-off and he barged in, loaded tranquilizer preceding him. Nothing. Where was she?

"Ah!" She charged him from the left. No time to react. He was down when she shoved him, and then she was out the door. He turned, aiming as he went, but she was down the hall already. The hunter regained his feet and continued the chase.

Amara went at the man with a wall of fury she didn't know she possessed. He went down and she fled the room. The sound of him shifting and turning made it to her, but she was out of sight and she knew it.

Two or three options presented themselves to her. She could hide again within the house. Not very wise, but unexpected. It might make him lose her trail. The option of retreating from the house altogether didn't greatly appeal to her. He could have reinforcements outside, or a trap. There was always the choice of finding some type of weapon and jumping him. Scratch that one. Who was she kidding? The man was twice her size and all muscle. She stood the chance of a fish on land against him. Not great odds there. What to do, what to do? I really could use some good luck today. Please, please, please, someone help me!

Amara hadn't expected the short prayer to work, but it did. The back door, the one she had decided she wanted to leave the house from, opened before her and in walked an unfamiliar face. She appeared to be fairy, but Amara had never seen her before. Was she friend or foe?

"Hello there. I'm Captain Holly Short. Are you ok?" That voice. She knew that voice, and suddenly the face looked vaguely familiar. This was the fairy Adamina had been talking to, the one in the café. Amara panicked and scanned around for another direction to go. "No, don't worry. I won't hurt you. Remember me? I'm the one that was trying to talk to Adamina before she ran off after you. I can help you."

Amara moved her head to and fro in fright. "No! Don't get involved. You'll only get hurt. I-" she halted. They both heard the sound of something moving around the house. Moving toward them. "I have to go. Now!" She tried to push past Holly, but the fairy refused to budge.

"Look, just tell me-"

"Please," she begged, throwing a glance over her shoulder as Butler came into view down the hall, "please, let me get by! He's coming for me!" Amara dove under Holly's arm, but was stopped short as the man shot her. It was a sharp pain in her back, and then she was on the floor and her world was fading to black. The last thing she saw was the distorted face of the female fairy gazing down at her. Darkness, sweet bliss, consumed her.

Holly drew her pistol and aimed at the man. She nearly dropped it when she realized who it was. Nearly. A quick reminder of what had just occurred brought her weapon back up and her eyes set the target up once again. Butler stopped short when he saw her.

"What's going on Butler? Who is this kid, and why did you shoot her? Where's Artemis?" He was set in her sights. She wouldn't miss from this range.

Butler hesitated. "You don't need to know Holly. It's nothing concerning you. I just need the girl. Artemis is outside." Holly dropped her weapon a bit and glowered at him.

"Don't tell me I don't need to know. Someone else has already told me that today. And it doesn't concern me, Butler? Are you kidding? You're kidnapping an innocent child and the fairies are playing into this somehow. I know we are. I'll ask again; what the hell is going on?"

"Holly-," he stopped again, confusion and angst written across his face. "I need to talk to you, but not here. Artemis will suspect something if I'm not back soon. Let me take the girl and I promise to inform you as soon as I can." Holly eyed him. Something was up if Butler was seeking aid from her.

"Fine. Here, you can reach me at this address. It's the link to my helmet. Anything you send me across the Internet will pop up so only my eyes can see it." She stood aside as he lifted the girl over his shoulder, her head drooping onto his back. "Please, contact me soon. I hate being in the dark just as much as you do." He nodded once and proceeded out the front door. Holly exhaled deeply and took a seat. She'd have to wait here until she knew what was going on.

Once he had deposited the tied-up teen into the back seat of the sedan, Butler once again took the driver's seat. He revved up the engine and headed back to the airport. Artemis was still enthralled by the computer.

Seeing Holly had startled him. How long the fairies had been involved, he didn't know. He just hoped they didn't hamper his plans. Artemis and he had been at this for so long, and now it was nearly over. The one thing he didn't need was another interference like the LEP recon.

"What took you so long?"

"Huh?" Butler jumped at the unexpected question.

"I asked what required you to take so much time. Problems?" His employer shut down the laptop and stretched his arms above his head.

"Oh, no, no problems. No big problems, anyway. She just caught me off guard, that's all." Another few miles remained between him and the airstrip.

"Hm. Ok then." The boy glanced back at their captive. "Well, I guess that's all three Sisters, isn't it? Once we return home and gather up the other two, I can set into motion my plans. Ah, life's grand, isn't it Butler?" He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Yes," Butler responded reluctantly. "Grand. Just grand." "I'm sorry. I swear I didn't mean to get caught. The fairy girl, she just got in my way- and then he shot me, that man…and I was so tired, I just couldn't run anymore. I'm so sorry," Amara cried. Huyen grabbed hold of her and held tightly. "It's ok Amara. Don't worry, honey, everything will be alright." "Alright? Deidra shouted. "You think everything is going to be okay? Are you insane? That wacko nut job super genius of a kid now has all three of us! What do you think he's going to do next, invite us to dinner? I can't-"

"Deidra, shut up for once, will you? I think I know how to stop this so-called super genius. Just calm down, pull up some grass, and listen to me." Deidra huffed but relented. "Fine, fine. Tell me your ingenious plan, oh Power Mind Reader." Huyen grinned at the nickname and began to relay her plan to her Sisters. They might be trapped, but that didn't mean they wouldn't go down without a fight. And what a fight it would be.

Author's Note

Yes! Another one down! Not a clue what I'm up to next, but when I do know, I'll be sure to write it down just a quickly as I can. As always, thank you Heather for your fabulous beta job, and reviews of any kind are welcome. And again, I'm sorry for the delays. I think I might be experiencing a writer's block. I am trying to work through it though. If my writing is crap as a result of this, I swear I'll go back and redo it. But you have to tell me it's crap first (that's a hint to review right there). Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!

Finelley