Chapter 21: Knife-edge

Ys Street

'She's in KL, Malaysia,' said Hani, pointing out the locations on the screen of the computer. 'There. Enlarge that part there. Got that, Iris?'

'Some sort of transport hub, is it?' said Iris, fingers tap-dancing over the keyboard. 'Near the main city. Lots of activity though – is it safe for any one of us to go there?'

'It'll be shut at night,' Hani replied. 'It'll be clear after midnight.'

'Where exactly is she?' Iris said, enlarging the view of the place window by window. 'We've got hotels and shops and everything. Lots of trains and buses coming in. Where?'

'Check one of the land lines, trains.' Hani jabbed a finger at the screen. 'There – check one of those. Line goes all the way to Port Klang.'

'Over here…yep, here's the station. Easy access by flying too. So who's going?'

'Holly,' Vinyáya said, nodding to the elf beside her. 'She's agreed to go, while we go after Cahartez in Police Plaza.'

'We're going after Cahartez?' said Bloom. A frown replaced the usually thoughtful look on his face. 'Are you sure about this, Vinyáya?'

'We're taking both out at the same time,' Vinyáya said reasonably. 'Double attack.'

'I like how you're talking,' said one elf. 'Makes it fun eh, Rook?' She elbowed the elf beside her, who shrugged and didn't respond.

'He's scared,' Iris teased, winking at Rook. 'Aww, don't worry Rookie, I'll be with you all the way. On the iris-cam.'

Rook waved a hand distractedly, and turned his back to answer his ringing phone.

'So, Holly? Ready to fly above ground and get our fairy?' said Vinyáya.

'Who is it?' said Holly. 'Why all this secrecy?'

'I think it would be better for you to find out when you…get there,' Vinyáya said. 'Don't worry about being ambushed – Hani reports that the fairy's often left unguarded at night. More so, at this time.'

'I see.' Holly didn't return Vinyáya's reassuring smile. 'All right, weapons. Any Neutrinos? And how am I supposed to get above ground? Any flares scheduled?'

'I've got one for you.' Vinyáya pulled the Neutrino from her belt and placed it in Holly's hands. 'Neutrino 2000. I've never liked using the 3000, myself. This served me well. And one of the LEP helmets we managed to salvage from Cahartez's crew.' She held up the cannibalized helmet from the table beside her. 'Iris's done a few changes to it – Foaly doesn't know we have a few left. But you can get a link to him once you're above ground.'

'And there's a flare scheduled in fifteen minutes,' said Iris, turning round from the computer. 'E316. You can fly right over to the place itself – lots of cloud cover tonight and you're not going over any high-rise buildings. Take a pod from Elevator Plaza.'

'I don't have clearance,' Holly reminded her.

'You're forgetting who you're with,' said Vinyáya.

'You?'

'Elevator Plaza's a short walk from Police Plaza. I'll go with you and assess the situation over at LEP HQ at the same time.'

'But that wouldn't be –'

'Holly,' said Iris, shaking her head, 'forget about all that.'

Holly grinned at her. 'Now you're talking.'

Police Plaza

Trouble Kelp marched through the corridors, his small band of Recon rookies in tow. Officers avoided him and stared after them. There were mutters, and some finger-pointing, but nobody felt up to stopping Commander Kelp from going where he was headed to with an illegal Pig Blaster. Something about the look in Kelp's face stopped fairies in their tracks and told them to slide off along the nearest corridors or loop back to where they came from.

'Sir,' one rookie gasped, hurrying to keep up with Kelp's long strides, 'why are we doing this?'

Trouble glanced at the elf and smiled. 'Thinking of backing out, Private?'

'Er…not exactly…'

'Lads.' Trouble came to a stop, causing the line of rookies behind him to crash into one another. 'You can stop right here and go back to your duties – I'm not stopping you. I'm giving you a choice to leave if you think this is stupid. But if you think you're up to this, even if you're risking your entire LEP career, then follow me.'

There were a few gulps and sheepish grins. But no one stepped out of the line and headed the other way.

'Good.' Trouble continued on his way to Cahartez's office, the rookies shuffling after him. 'I do appreciate your dedication to your jobs.'

Cahartez's office was empty when they came to a stop before the closed doors. The secretary gaped at them from her desk, her PDA falling out of her hands.

'Do you have an appointment, Commander Kelp?' she managed to gasp out.

'He does with me,' said Trouble, ignoring the sniggers from the young officers behind him. 'Where is he?'

'He'll be back in – er – five minutes,' the secretary said, scrambling out of her seat. 'Take a seat here, please. I'll inform him that he has an appointment with you.' She hurried out of the office, her PDA clutched in her hands.

'Kelp?' The doors buzzed open, revealing Cahartez in the doorway. 'I thought as much.'

'Hiding from your secretary?' said Trouble, stepping past Cahartez into the large office within.

'Not exactly,' said Cahartez, closing the doors behind the last officer. 'I've been trying to get Lili Frond – red tape and everything, you know.'

'Lili's smarter than you give her credit for.' Trouble sat down before the large desk and motioned to the officers to stand near the door. 'Right, down to business.' He placed the Pig Blaster on the desk, in plain view of Cahartez who took a seat opposite him. 'How much did you promise the goblins? Full amnesty for all their gang members in Howler's Peak?'

'What are you talking about, Kelp?'

Trouble clasped his hands and leaned over the desk to face the Council Chairman. 'Look, let's get this over with quickly, shall we? I've got my job to do, just like the rest of the LEP. How much did you pay them, Cahartez?'

'Do you think,' said Cahartez, narrowing his eyes, 'that I would be stupid enough to give in to their demands? Once all this is over, they'll be thrown into Howler's Peak with the rest.'

'You never learn your lesson, do you?' said Trouble, smirking. 'Copying Opal Koboi's plans to overthrow the LEP? How ingenious. I didn't think you would stoop that low.'

'I've got the LEP with me this time.' Cahartez smiled back. 'I'll authorize the return of weapons to all officers in half an hour.'

'What about those who aren't working for you?'

'They will, soon enough.'

'So who you're working with? Sool?' said Trouble, and laughed derisively. 'Oh – you didn't. He's dead politically, anyway. Bresniv was a cover for your plans, wasn't he? That was a smart move on your part.'

'Thank you.' Cahartez rose from his chair, still smiling thinly. 'I'll see you out, Commander. I trust you have your responsibilities to attend to?' He buzzed the doors open and waved the younger officers out. 'Get out.'

'Your old tactics again, I see,' said Trouble, following the rookies out. 'Order me out and run to hide your head. Isn't that brave, lads?' There was no answer from the officers.

Trouble caught the flash of metal at Cahartez's hip but stepped over the threshold, all the same. And then there was the briefest of pauses before he turned around and grabbed Cahartez's wrist, twisting the hand back on the wrist. There was a cry of pain, and the knife slid out of Cahartez's fingers and fell to the ground.

'Going the old way eh?' Trouble said conversationally, passing the Pig Blaster to one of the rookies and taking the cuffs from his own belt. 'I like the old ways. They're dirtier, but at least I can see where you're coming from.' He turned both Cahartez's arms behind the gnome's back and secured the wrists with the cuffs. 'Now what shall I do with you, hmm? Would Atlantis be good enough? You can talk with Artemis Fowl for the next century or so. Oh, and there's always Opal Koboi around for a chat. How about that?'

'Commander,' Cahartez wheezed out, as Kelp booted him through the door, 'it's not over yet.'

'Really?' Trouble took back the Pig Blaster and watched as two of the Recon rookies picked up the Chairman. 'I'm looking forward to what happens next.'

Ys Street

Artemis wasn't used to not being the centre of attention, particularly when something big was up. But this time, he prudently kept out of the way as the rest of the group suited up and got ready to follow Vinyáya to Police Plaza.

Holly had left earlier with her Wing Commander, both in their standard LEP uniforms and the helmet tucked safely under Holly's arm. Most unfortunately for Artemis, the washing machine had mysteriously broken down, and Iris hadn't been able to get his clothes clean for him. He rather suspected that she didn't actually care whether he got back his clothes or not. And that was a shame, because he rather liked the shirt he had worn for this visit to Haven City.

And then there had been that talk with Holly before she left, out in the passage and out of earshot from the rest.

'You're going above ground to arrest the fairy responsible for this,' Artemis had said, looking skeptical. 'But you don't even know who she is.'

'I have an idea,' Holly had replied. 'Don't worry about me, Artemis. Think about getting back home in one piece. I've promised both your mother and Butler that you'll be back soon.'

'That's not the least of my worries – however, do take care, won't you?'

'Artemis?' Holly had burst out laughing. 'Coming from you, that is a bit strange. All right, I will, since you're so concerned about me.' She had punched him on the arm, playfully, and said, 'Sorry for dragging you into this.'

'Nobody expected this to happen.' He had moved away from her second punch then. 'I can't blame Vinyáya for not stopping this earlier.'

'Me neither,' Holly had admitted. 'Cahartez would have tried to put the blame on her if she had.'

But that doesn't mean she couldn't have, Artemis thought, watching as Iris dashed madly round the room with equipment and weapons in her hands. And she needs a good plan now – going straight to Police Plaza with half the LEP on Cahartez's side would be foolish. Brave, certainly, but foolish.

'Look sharp, Arty boy,' Iris said, whacking him lightly with an empty cup. 'Make the coffee. Go on. I need more.' She indicated the coffee pot behind the row of computers. 'Mind you don't waste the beans – we're running low.'

He picked up the empty coffee pot and looked around for water.

'Bathroom,' said Iris, nudging him in the small of his back. 'Tap. Go.'

He left the room with the pot, thinking about a plan to help Vinyáya and the group.

'Right, he's out of here,' said Iris, the moment the door shut behind the boy. 'Listen up, guys. Rook's just got the call from his friends. Cahartez's been arrested by Trouble Kelp.'

There were a few hurrahs and cheers. Some applauded. Several others looked skeptical.

'Yeah yeah, it doesn't sound like him,' said Iris, giggling. 'I think I might just have to ask for his autograph after this. He's so bad ass – sorry, Rook!' she called, spotting the disgruntled look on Rook's face.

'So what do we do now?' asked Bloom. He was an ex-LEP officer, one of Vinyáya's oldest friends, and found it highly suspicious that a young fairy like Iris was running the show.

'We'll wait for V's signal.' Iris looked around the group, meeting doubtful gazes. 'Okay, you guys won't have wasted your all effort. She wants you to help clean up the mess once Cahartez's plans go skew-whiff – he's authorized all weapons to be returned to the officers, so you'll have your work cut out for you. And it seems that the goblins might be on Cahartez's side after all, so watch out for them. Get to Howler's Peak and warn the officers there if you can.'

'What about Captain Short?' said Hani, raising her hand. 'Does she need backup?'

'Yes, what about her?'

Every head in the room turned to look at the boy standing at the door with a coffee pot of water in his hand.

'Er.' Iris skipped over to him and took the pot away. 'Don't worry. She'll be fine.'

'I thought she said,' said Artemis, jerking his head at Hani, 'that the fairy will be unguarded and Holly won't be in any danger.'

'Yes yes, that's what she said. Sides, Holly's ace in the field,' Iris reassured him. 'Okay, guys,' she said, turning to speak to the rest of the group, 'you know what you have to do. V's signal will be coming any minute now.'

There were several loud beeps from Rook's direction. He held up his phone over his head and waved to Iris. 'V's calling. Move out.'

'All the best!' Iris thwacked shoulders as the vigilantes filed past her. 'Be a good boy, Fin!' She gave Rook a resounding smack on the cheek. 'And tell Trouble Kelp I want to see him!'

'Keep your eyes open, young lady,' Bloom reminded her as he stalked past. 'I've seen my share of firefights in the past, and tech help would be invaluable to us.'

'Will do.' Iris waved him out cheerfully. 'See ya, Bloom.'

The door clicked shut behind the group, leaving Artemis alone with Iris.

'I have a plan for them to take over Police Plaza,' said Artemis. 'Had, actually. You're sending them to their deaths. You and Vinyáya.'

'Oh sorry – you missed the news.' Iris set the coffee pot back in its stand and waited for the coffee to brew. 'Thing is, Kelp just arrested Cahartez.'

'I see.' Artemis tapped his chin thoughtfully. 'What wouldn't I do with ten of you – crime above ground would be a breeze.'

'Keep wondering, Arty boy, because that's not going to happen soon.' Iris dropped into her chair in front of the computers. 'And I wouldn't worry about Holly if I were you – she's good. I've seen her records. Makes me wonder why I copped out of the Academy when they said I was going to be the next Short. Me, I'm selfish. Thought I'd try out tech instead, and look where that got me.' She sighed and began to tap on the keyboard. 'Once this is over, I'll be out of a job.'

'Vinyáya was willing to risk it. So did the rest.' Artemis sat down in the chair next to hers. 'So why did you?'

'Fun. Not the pay. Just the fun,' Iris replied gloomily. 'Policing's a tradition in my family, really, but I didn't want it. Heck, even my boyfriend's in the LEP.' She shut one eye and turned to look at the boy. 'You, for one thing. You're confusing me. One minute you're the world's worst criminal, above and below ground, and then now you're helping us. Well…you try to, but that's not much you can do because it's mostly up to us. What happened to you?'

'I changed – for the better.'

'The good guy-bad guy thing?' Iris rolled her eyes. 'Artemis Fowl trying to be a hero doesn't have the same snap.'

'I have a spark of good inside me,' he said, smiling. 'Someone told me.'

'Yeah, your girlfriend, I reckon.'

'She's not mine,' he said, frowning.

'Nuh uh – wake up, you. I've seen how she looks at you.'

'We're friends,' he said, with quiet certainty. 'Good friends.'

'Oh I'll wait for it.' Iris turned back to the computer, busily tapping on the keyboard.

'It's Opal Koboi, isn't it?' said Artemis. 'The fairy Holly's going to arrest.'

'Good guess,' Iris muttered. Her gaze was fixed on the screen. 'How did you jump to that conclusion?'

'Genius.' Artemis leaned back in his chair and stretched out his legs. 'She managed to escape under tonnes of Kraken shell in Ireland. A natural tunnel, perhaps?'

'Go on,' she said, still staring at the computers.

'She didn't go back to Haven,' he said. 'I'm guessing that she traveled by sea. It'll be harder for the LEP to track her when she's constantly on the move. And the Straits of Malacca happens to be one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. It'll be easy for her to change ships at any port she stops at and head for a place where the LEP wouldn't think of looking for her. Like Port Klang, for example.'

'Ah, you're wrong on that. The LEP did look for her in Port Klang. And how did she travel on her own all the way to Malaysia from Ireland?'

'There are gaps there,' said Artemis, lacing his fingers behind his head. 'Presumably she had her contacts. Fairies who wouldn't mind working for Opal Koboi – with the right amount of money, of course. It's possible that Cahartez got to her before she even made it to Malaysia and struck a deal with her. She helps him to take over Haven and he guarantees her safety.'

'And why would Cahartez do that, hmm, Arty boy?' Iris said. 'Working with Koboi after she tried to kill us all – twice – would be completely idiotic.'

'This is past Opal we're talking about,' said Artemis. 'It's a win-win situation for Cahartez. He gets to use her brains to take over Haven and the LEP, and when he succeeds, there's Opal to arrest. And if he doesn't succeed – Opal's still vulnerable and he'll still win by capturing her. Either way, he wins.'

'But it looks like he won't now, eh?' said Iris, breaking out into giggles. 'He didn't expect Trouble Kelp to arrest him.'

'A flaw in the plan, I suppose.'

Iris met his blue and hazel eyes and blushed. 'Okay, okay, I haven't told you everything. V's orders.'

'Then break the rules,' he said laconically.

'Oh boy, you're still baaad, all right.' She dropped her chin into her hands and stared at the wall, thinking. 'V didn't want Holly to get too…carried away when she went above ground to capture Opal. Said Holly hasn't got over Root's death yet, and she has to learn when to let go. And Opal's latest plans to destroy Haven would really, really piss the hell out of Holly. The rest was – I don't know. V's getting a bit maudlin these days, methinks.'

'So Vinyáya's letting Holly decide what to do with Opal.' Artemis got out of his chair, anger rising in him. 'How could she.'

'Oh – you mean Holly might end up killing Opal?' Iris flinched under the boy's gaze. 'Yeah.'

'I thought Vinyáya meant well.'

'She does!' The fairy bounded over to him and grasped his shoulder. 'She does. Holly doesn't have it in her to commit murder. V said so.'

'You're right,' he said, not meeting Iris's eyes. 'And Holly knows the fairy's Opal, I think. She'll know what to do.'

A/N: KL = Kuala Lumpur. Locals just call the city Kay Ell.