Chapter 3

Butler's workout was interrupted by his mobile phone ringing. He dropped the weights he was using and pulled the contraption from his trouser pocket.

"Hello?"

"Hey, bro." came Juliet's carefree tone. Butler smiled. He hadn't seen his little sister in almost six months and, stupid and pointless as it was, he worried about her.

"Hi, Juliet. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Surrounded by monosyllabic morons, but what can you do?"

Butler chuckled. "You chose to go on a wrestling tour, sis. No one forced you."

"Huh. I'd like to see them try. Anyway, is Artemis with you? Mrs Fowl's getting worried, he's not answering his phone."

Butler frowned.

"He should be upstairs. Maybe he's asleep. I'll go and check, then ring you back."

"Ok, bro. Talk to you soon."

Butler hung up and took off out of the dojo and up the stairs. He wasn't too worried, after all it was nearly one in the morning. He should probably be getting to sleep himself.

The door to Artemis's room was wide open, and there was broken glass on the floor. It looked like one of the windows had shattered. Artemis himself was nowhere to be seen.

Butler jogged to the surveillance room and rewound the tapes. What he saw made him groan. There wasn't a camera in Artemis's room itself, but the one in the corridor outside showed the two Opals quite clearly. Artemis was in trouble. Again. Butler froze the tape as the pixies reappeared, each dragging an unconscious form behind them. At least Holly's with him he thought.

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Artemis stirred groggily. His arms were pulled behind him uncomfortably and tied together at the wrists. He appeared to be tethered to a wooden chair. He lifted his head and looked around. Holly was tied to an identical chair a few feet to his left, her head lolling onto her chest. He called her name, but she didn't respond.

"She can't hear you, Mud Boy."

The voice came over some sort of speaker system, as the small room they were locked in was empty but for the two of them. He addressed the room in general, unsure where the microphone was.

"What have you done to her, Opal? Why kidnap us again? Didn't you learn your lesson from the last few times? You can't beat us. Now, let us go. Maybe the Council will go easy on you."

The pixies harsh laugh came through metallic over the speakers. They were in a shuttle, that much was obvious from the metal curvature of one wall, and it must be an old one to have faults with the intercom. Foaly's new technology sounded as if the person was in the room with you.

"Oh, no Fowl. You and miss Short are going nowhere. Besides, why would the Council show me any leniency? I tried to kill them all, remember?"

"Yes," interceded the other Opal. "She tried, and when I go back I will succeed. I know now not to trust Briar, so I will rule all!" She giggled.

"It wasn't just Briar that stopped you, though. Julius, Foaly, Holly and me helped too."

"Not the smartest thing to do, Mudman. Remind me that I should be killing you."

"You're going to anyway. Or I should say, you're going to try. I have no doubt that you'll fail, just like every other time."

"Oh, no, Fowl. This time I will win. We will win. Because we know your weakness."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Artemis tried to put forward an act of bravado, but inside he was worried. What were they planning to use against him? If they touched his family…

"Holly Short." Opal tittered. "We are going to use her to control you."

Artemis's stomach churned.

"I'd like to see you try. When she wakes up, you two aren't going to know what's hit you."

"Ah, but that's the beauty of it. She won't wake up."

"She's quite heavily sedated, and will remain that way until you've agreed to help us. The longer you refuse, the more damage gets done to the captain's system. The sedative isn't exactly stable, if you get my meaning."

Artemis's eyes widened in panic. They were hurting Holly…

"What do you want me to do?" he shouted, anger coursing through his veins. The Opals just laughed.

"Not so fast. We'll reveal all when we get there. In the meantime, you just think about the consequences of turning us down. Holly Short's life is in your hands, Fowl. Be careful with it."

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Butler ran towards his room. He was going to grab as much weaponry as he could fit on his person, drive to the fairy fort in Tara and demand to speak to the Commander.

As he passed Artemis's room, a strange ringing sound emerged. Butler stuck his head around the door and saw Artemis's ring lying on the floor. The ring that was actually a communicator. He picked it up and answered it.

"Butler? Where's Artemis?"

"Foaly?"

"The one and only. Where are you? You were all supposed to be at Tara half an hour ago, and Holly isn't answering. Her helmet must be offline."

"Actually, Foaly, her helmet's by my left foot. And I'm still at the Manor, but Artemis and Holly aren't here. Opal broke in, both of her, and abducted them."

Foaly swore loudly and creatively. Butler jogged back towards his room and shoved his Sig Sauer into his shoulder holster.

"I'm on my way, Foaly. I'll be at Tara in fifteen minutes."

"How many speed limits are you planning to break to get there that fast?" Foaly wondered.

"All of them. Artemis and Holly are in trouble, there's no time to waste."

With that, Butler pocketed the ring and ran out to the garage. Within seconds, the Bentley was roaring out of the Manor.

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Artemis tugged at the restraints around his wrists. They didn't appear to be tied to the chair, and were loose enough to let him stand without contortion. It appeared that the two Opals wanted him to be able to go over to Holly, to show his affection for her. To confirm their suspicions.

He knelt down and stepped backwards over the ties around his wrists. He may still be hindered by the restraints, but at least he could actually use his hands now. He untied Holly, who slumped forwards and fell to the floor. He knelt beside her, patting her cheek and shaking her gently. There was no response, but then he hadn't really expected one. She was out for the count, drugged by one of the Opals. He no longer cared which was which, he just wanted to take them both down and get Holly to safety.

He shivered. The room was freezing. Holly skin was cold to the touch. He curled himself around her, trying to keep her warm. He wasn't sure if it helped much or not, but it was all he could think of to do. It was no good being a genius if all you had was yourself. He was the planner, not the doer, but now it looked like he'd have to be both. He hoped he could do it. If he couldn't, the he and Holly wouldn't be getting out of this alive.