Opal Koboi giggled to herself as she followed Trent into the safe house with his men. Usually she preferred watching showdowns from a safe distance, but today she would make an exception. She wouldn't miss this bloodbath for the world. The hired men burst in, Trent and Opal following calmly. The targets looked up, surprise touching their ugly faces, and their flimsy card table began to tremble.
"I'm afraid your little planning session will have to be cut short," Trent said. "We had to move our appointment with you up."
Opal clucked her tongue. "So uncooperative, you filthy mud people," she said, wagging a finger. "If you had simply died when you were supposed to this would have been so much easier."
As she finished her sentence, the zap of many sleepers sounded, and eight of the at least thirty men collapsed. Trent and Opal immediately looked up towards the shelving on the upper floor of the safe house, where Artemis Fowl and Nero's students hid. Not even a shadow twitched.
"They are many," Wing breathed. "It will be difficult for them to maneuver in a space this small."
On Franz's mark, they fired again. Raven pulled her katanas from their sheaths in one fluid motion; Wing jumped down from his loft and took out the men closest. Juliet was quick to follow, hurling men to the floor as though they were rag dolls. The soldiers thoughtlessly began to fire their own weapons, and bullets began to ricochet around the warehouse. The students took cover, poking up on occasion to let another sleeper blast fell another man.
"You'll never win," Sebastian said, seemingly ignorant of the chaos around him. It was only him, and Nero. "Opal has so kindly provided me with the best weapons in the market—hers."
Nero regarded him coldly. "I don't need to win, Sebastian. I need only to make sure you never do." And with the same cool ignorance of the battle, Nero disappeared into the shadows that cloaked the warehouse's edges. Butler peeked from the shadows, faithful Sig Sauer in hand, and fired twice.
"Nice shot," Darkdoom said, a hard, approving smile on his lips. Two men dropped to the floor, crimson blood pooling on the cement floor.
"Of course," Butler said. "I wouldn't be a very good bodyguard otherwise."
Nero watched Raven take on the men still standing—about 15—and silently agreed. The headmaster himself would be dead twenty times over were his guardian any less thorough.
A man, meanwhile, took careful aim towards Wing and Juliet. Just as quickly, Holly knocked both unconscious with her Neutrino, and were promptly ignored.
"Fight, you louts!" Opal shouted, though her high voice could not be heard over the din of sleepers and gunfire. Looking for a better vantage point, she pulled her own weapon from her hip, and set it to "well done." Otto sensed the foreign activity, looking out to find Opal within Raven's arena, and willed it to explode. A loud, bright flash blinded everyone momentarily, Opal and those standing close to her suffering the harsher conditions of unconsciousness. Blue sparks too began to fly from her wounds, some of which scattered across the floor and revived a few men taken out by sleepers.
"This magic stuff," Shelby grunted, taking aim and hitting a man close to Trent. "I think the world was easier before it existed."
"Magic's been around a lot longer than you have," Holly said, hovering behind her.
"That's not what I meant," Shelby sighed. "I meant before I knew about it."
"You might not know about it for much longer," Holly told her. "We may mind wipe you, when this is all over."
"A what?!" Shelby demanded shrilly. Franz, Nigel, and Laura glanced over, alarmed at Shelby's outburst, and shushed her.
"We'll only remove today's memories," Holly said, lowering her voice.
"But why?" Laura asked, catching the gist of the conversation. Artemis too raised his eyebrows, though for which emotion it was impossible to say.
"It would be dangerous to keep minds like yours in our loop," Holly explained reluctantly. "Particularly Otto's."
Shelby wince as a bullet whizzed past her ear. "Absolutely not," she said, recovering quickly. "I would rather die."
Holly frowned. "It will only be a few hours. It won't hurt"
"It's called property, fairy," Shelby said hotly, leaning down and taking count of the men still standing. "And I don't need anyone else inside my head."
Holly didn't quite understand what Shelby meant, but did not have much time to contemplate as a bullet grazed Butler's temple, and he fell, lapsing into unconsciousness. Artemis gasped, but Otto held him steady; all they could do was watch. Seven men still stood, and while normally this would be no problem for Raven, she was running low on energy, and remained unacquainted with the fairy technology that continually stunned her. She never gave up. With the occasional assistance from Nero, Darkdoom, or one of the students, she cleaved through the soldiers. She didn't let herself wonder whether she'd be able to see this battle to its end.
Across the room, watching distastefully and with her typical impatience, Opal groaned. "Can we speed this up? For Frond's sake."
Trent didn't seem to hear her, pulling his own pistol from his hip, and aimed carefully towards Nero. He could make this.
Laura looked to Otto for advice, but he did not respond. Instead he lay on the floor, not a drop of blood leaking from his pores, breathing deeply.
"What happened?" Laura asked. Artemis looked slightly embarrassed.
"I, er," he said, uncharacteristically fumbling for words. "Might have had an accident with a sleeper."
Laura sighed. "Help me roll him to the side."
Artemis reluctantly took Otto's feet and set him close to the wall, the maelstrom in his head threatening to seep through his guard as events seemed to spiral further out of his control. Laura shook her head, and looked back to where Trent and Opal were standing. Trent had not yet fired, waiting for the opportune moment, nor had Opal yet stopped trying to catch his attention.
And there it was—Trent's one shot.
"Sebastian Trent!" Opal shrieked, her voice rising an octave, dared to pound at him with her tiny fists. Her force was little, but it was enough to shift his aim. He decisively missed, the bullet deflecting off one of the warehouse's steel beams and deflecting back in their direction.
"Will someone take this out of here?" Sebastian called. His remaining men, now only five, did nothing—the mesmer too thick for his instructions to catch their attention. Sebastian groaned. With Nero's death so close at hand, he could not sacrifice victory for compliments to a spoiled freak of nature.
"What did you say?" Opal imposed, her eyes glinting with fury. Trent kicked her aside, allowing his frustrations to take the wheel, and let his remaining bullets fly.
Opal stared with utter contempt from where Trent had tossed her, blood staining her once-new outfit. "Immediate recall of all products sold to Sebastian Trent," she spat into her comm. With a deep whisper, she said, "Someday you will regret this, Trent. I promise you."
She slipped out of the warehouse, but Trent didn't notice until their weapons ceased to function.
"Drop the guns!" Trent shouted. "Retreat!"
Their weapons exploded before they hit the ground, but Trent was too late. He was the only man to run from the warehouse, and the screech of tires on asphalt announced his immediate departure.
Kicking aside limp bodies, Nero knelt down at Raven's side, where she had fallen from the unconsciousness. He felt for a pulse at her throat—it was there, but weak. He looked up at Holly, who hovered hesitantly. The look in Nero's eyes was neither a plea nor an order, but expectation lingered there and his dark eyes compelled Holly to descend.
"Heal," she whispered, and blue sparks immediately set to work sealing wounds and repairing seared flesh. With a gasp Raven's blue eyes flew open, and she shuddered as the full force of her own life revived her.
"How do you feel?" Nero asked. She sat up, the blade back her grin.
"Alive," she replied, and stood.
Holly watched the exchange mournfully. Humans brought destruction no matter where they went, and the floor was littered with bodies to prove it.
"We need to move," Darkdoom said. "Captain Short, can you help Butler?"
Holly ended up lending a few blue sparks to both Butlers, Wing, and Otto, and they were shortly led outside, away from the carnage Nero quickly sealed away.
"Now where?" Nigel asked, looking to his father for direction. Artemis looked to the sky, darkness beginning to fall.
"I very much doubt we are going to want to stay here very much longer," he said. "We will return to my hotel room. If you wish, you may call for transport there."
Nero and Darkdoom exchanged glances. "Thank you," Nero said. "Lead the way."
The rooms were not intended for a party of twelve people and one fairy, but they managed, everyone taking a quick rinse and sharing the crackers left in the cupboard.
"Foaly," Holly said. "Opal's still out in the open."
"No she's not," Foaly replied smugly, his centaur face smiling on the computer screen Artemis lent.
"No, she's not," Foaly replied smugly. "Two officers have got her shielded and cuffed, we'll have her back at Argon's A.S.A.P."
Holly smiled. "Good. I just need to clean up here and I'll head home." She looked around at her cramped surroundings, then commented, "Which might take a rather long while."
Butler kept a special eye on Juliet, however many times Holly reassured him the pulse would have no significant damage on his sister, and kept the other on Artemis, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with the students who Raven had checked for injuries.
Shelby was noticeably the most unhappy, the last to come sulking out of the shower and grudgingly let Raven look for injuries.
"Are you all right?" Wing asked, when she sat down heavily against the bed.
"I'm fine," Shelby said, glowering into the corner.
"What's up?" Otto asked. Their peers turned over their attention to them.
"Captain Short wants to erase our memories, that's what," Shelby grumbled. Those previously unaware of this fact looked to Holly in a mixture of shock and horror.
Holly had the decency to look embarrassed, although she didn't say anything.
"Root wants to talk to you," Foaly said into Holly's earpiece. "All of you."
"All right," she said. She looked to the group. "The Commander wants a word."
The entire group quieted and looked to the computer screen. There was a slight flicker of interference, then appeared the image of Commander Julius Root, complete with cigar.
"Ah, Dr. Nero," he said. "What a surprise."
"Commander," Nero replied with a nod. Holly watched, finding herself surprised not only at the shared recognition evident, but the undertones of respect held for one another.
"You know each other?" Artemis asked incredulously.
"Oh, the LEP and G.L.O.V.E. have had their differences before, I'm afraid," Nero replied. "We keep tabs on one another, I know."
"Or tend to borrow from one another, occasionally," Root added, a little frown on his face. "I heard you got that Artificial Intelligence going."
"They have an Artificial Intelligence?" Foaly squealed, visible at Root's side and making obscene gestures with his hands. "It's not possible! It's simply not possible!"
"Shut your trap, Foaly," Root ordered.
Darkdoom frowned. "Why have I never heard of the LEP?"
"And I've certainly never heard of G.L.O.V.E.," Holly added.
"It has proven to be a mutual benefit to pretend the other doesn't exist, most of the time," Nero said. "Excepting a few rare occasions."
"And if nobody objects we'd like to keep it that way," Root said. "No need for mind wipes. I'll have Foaly clear out that dummy information Opal splattered onto the Internet, Max."
"Thank you," Nero said. "I'll see that a suitable cover is found for the situation here, too, Julius. You won't be featured in the reports."
Root nodded appreciatively. "Very well," he said. "Then Foaly, get your rear in gear. I don't pay you to do nothing all day. Short, you get down here too. I want a full report on my desk by morning."
"Yes, sir," Holly sighed. She hopped to the window, almost taking off, before she realized. "I don't suppose that diadem is still around here, is it?" she asked Shelby.
With gentle hands Shelby unwrapped the diadem from where she had stashed it, and handed it to Holly. She smiled, and stuck it in her pack. With a last salute to all, she jumped to the window, and was gone.