Chapter 9

Holly opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that she wanted to kick someone. The second thing she noticed was that she was in a cage-like room. Staring through close-set, heavy-duty metal bars at a scowling Commander Root.

"You're awake," he grunted, sitting down and crossing his arms. "Finally."

Holly held her head as she pushed herself up. Was that an earthquake rumbling in her temples? "Yessir. How long have we been in here?"

"No idea. They took everything but our clothes."

Thank the gods for small favours. "Have I been out long, sir?"

"How should I know without a clock? I would have slapped you awake but I couldn't reach through."

No doubt. Holly squinted at her steel prison. "Are you okay, sir? I saw you in a stand-off with Butler."

"Not the brightest idea I've ever had, I admit," Root said sourly. "I'm fine, the dart got me first. Good thing, or I could be missing fingers."

Holly suddenly remembered. "Oh no," she groaned, holding the bleeding wound in her thigh. "Corporal Plank."

"I know. There's nothing we can do now. If she has half a head on her shoulders she'll get back to the port ASAP. If not, well, things can't get much worse than this anyway."

"I'm sorry, sir," Holly said, covering her face with her hands. "This is all my fault. I thought Artemis was on the up-and-up."

"No point in griping over the past," Root said shortly. "Anyway, the final decision was mine. I shouldn't have listened to Fowl." He watched Holly get up and go to her cell door. "Don't bother. That's reinforced. I doubt even a troll could break out."

"That's probably what Clifford had in mind," Holly mused, running a hand along the door crack. She noticed her left arm was a bit weaker than the right. She located a small red mark near her elbow. "Sir, did they draw blood?"

"Must have. I hate to think what Fowl is going to do with it. That Mud Boy makes me shudder, and even Gland doesn't do that."

"There must be something we can do, sir," Holly said, brow creased. "They had to open the doors to get at us. Maybe..."

"We have no magic," Root said. "At least I don't. I think they drained us. So we can't shield our way out. Somehow I think that rules out most of our possibilities."

Holly concentrated on a shield, focusing all her magical strength on the attempt. For a second or two she vibrated slowly, blue tendrils snaking along her temples. Then the shaking stopped. She was totally out of magic. Not a drop, unless she managed a weak mesmer.

"We could try to mesmerize the guards," Holly suggested. "It's a long shot, but it's a chance."

"With Artemis and Gland in charge none of the guards will come near a fairy without reflective sunglasses," Root said. "I'd bet my Neutrino on that if I still had it."

Holly slumped down against the wall. "There has to be some way out," she said, although she knew there wasn't. "This can't just be it."

But Root didn't offer anything else and Butler didn't throw open the cell doors on some far-fetched rescue mission from Artemis. They were simply alone and betrayed with nothing but a green corporal to help them, and maybe not even that.

Holly knew she had to be objective, to be the resourceful captain Root needed right now. But her plight was not objective. It was very, very personal. Her friend had betrayed her; it hurt like a punch from a troll. And as anybody who's ever been punched by a troll knows, it's not something you can just walk away from.

Artemis was meditating in the guest bathroom when Plank materialized two feet away. "Fowl, I hope you have a solution," she blurted, tossing her helmet on the bed. "With a DNA project this big, Commander Root and Captain Short will probably die. Frond, this is not my day."

Artemis opened his eyes, irritation bubbling up all over again. "Corporal, do you have no subtler way to make an entrance?" he asked snappishly. "You're very lucky that I foresaw your carelessness and chose to sit in the bathroom where there are no cameras. And you have just broken my concentration, something which is not easy to establish under these circumstances."

Plank scowled. Her pretty, saucy eyes rendered the expression petulant. "You better be able to do more than establish concentration, Fowl, or you're not the genius Captain Short claims you are."

Artemis sniffed as he opened the bathroom door and beckoned for Butler. The giant man joined them in the strange conference. "I am far more than anything Holly claims. My genius exceeds the comprehension of smaller minds."

"Are you saying that includes mine?"

Artemis smirked. "I believe you just said it."

Butler stepped in, a role of his that felt increasingly familiar with every world crisis. "Artemis, Corporal, do you think there's any way you could put off arguing until we emerge alive? I think we established earlier that we're on the same side."

Artemis sighed. "Very well. Corporal, I have been thinking about our situation. I believe that Butler and I will be used in Rich's experiment, being the epitomes of human brain and brawn. I also believe that Rich planned all along to have LEP fairies involved. They had to be elves for their superior magical abilities. This is a far more complex plot that I had originally planned for."

"Can you handle it?" Plank asked, staring up at him much like a little sister might. "Otherwise I don't see how we can get out of here alive."

Artemis glanced at her and realized how young she must be. Not much more than a teenager, humanly speaking. He was used to Holly's smart-mouth edge, not this strange blend of attitude and insecurity. It unnerved him, to tell the truth. Holly was take-charge. Plank was a charge.

"I believe I can manage it," Artemis said, averting his eyes. "But it will involve you breaking out Holly and the commander. To do that you will need know-how."

"Well, I don't have know-how," Plank shot back, snatching up her helmet. "Especially not after you butchered this thing. Normally I'd call ops for a techie's instructions." She shook the piece of equipment. "I guess that's shot to bits now, isn't it?"

"You know where they are. You just can't spring them in the traditional way. That's where my plan comes in."

"Artemis, please tell me this doesn't involve releasing a troll," Butler interjected. "I can't promise to clean that up for you."

"No, no, old friend, no trolls are in the plan. But it is an interesting thought." Artemis showed his teeth. "What I have in mind is much, much more dangerous. Corporal Plank, I don't suppose you're running hot."

"As a matter of fact..."

"Good. These sparking earpieces gave me an idea. Corporal Plank, how would you like to blow up your helmet?"