Chapter 12

The gun pressing against the back of my head made it difficult to think, but I managed to concentrate when I reminded myself that Artemis' life was probably in danger.

"I don't know," I said. "I don't know where he is!"

The man, who I was assuming was Artemis' bodyguard Butler, still didn't lower the gun. Instead he asked me, "What's your name?"

"Callum, my name is Callum."

Butler swore, and shoved me away from him. I stumbled, but managed to stay on my feet.

With the gun finally away from my head, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Butler, ignoring me for the moment, was investigating the room, probably looking for a clue to what had happened to Artemis.

Butler's presence made me think that Artemis had an idea something was going to go down tonight, and had maybe sent him a message to warn him. Maybe Artemis had even given Butler Richard's name.

"Are you after Richard?"

Butler looked up at me.

"How did you know that?" he asked. He walked over to me, and I took a step back without even thinking about it.

"I know Richard," I said. "I mean, we're not friends or anything, we don't get along at all. He's always bothering Artemis, the guy can't take a fucking hint."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's like… I dunno, he's just really obsessed with Artemis." I said. I'd almost said that he was in love with Artemis, but I didn't. For some reason I didn't like the idea of Richard, or rather anyone being in love with Artemis. "He gets really aggressive to people he thinks are too close to Artemis and…"

I cut myself off, unsure if the next part was worth mentioning. Butler raised his eyebrows at me when he noticed me hesitate.

"I need you to tell me everything and quickly," he said. "Even the smallest detail could be useful."

I nodded. "There was something wrong with the pupils of his eyes," I admitted, and Butler looked up at me sharply. "Yeah, Artemis had a weird reaction to that as well," I said.

"Do you have any idea where he could be?" Butler asked.

I think I remember Scott - he's my friend - mentioning a place that Richard goes to when he skips class," I said. "I could go and ask him where!"

"Lead the way, but hurry," Butler told me.

I lead him down the hallway, to Joshua's room, where I knew Scott would be spending the night, and knocked rapidly on the door. Joshua opened the door and stared at Butler.

"Uh, Callum, who is that?"

"Never mind him," I said, "Is Scott in there? I need to talk to him."

"Yeah, sure," Joshua said. He turned around and yelled into the room, "Hey Scott! Get out here! Callum wants you!"

"Tell Callum that he can't have me! He only wants me for my hot body!"

I groaned. "Scott, get out here! It's urgent!"

Scott came to the door and joined Joshua in staring at Butler. "Whoa," he said. "Is he your sugar daddy?"

Butler scowled at Scott, who backed away a couple of steps.

"My name is Butler," he said. "I'm Artemis Fowl's bodyguard. Now, I need you to tell me where I can find Richard. Is there anywhere he would go if he didn't want to be found?"

Scott stared up at Butler. "Uh, yeah, I guess. There's this shed place I've seen him at the back of the school. It's like an old gardening shed. I've seen Richard down there sometimes, when I've been skipping class."

Butler nodded and turned to go and I went to follow him. He put a giant hand against my chest, stopping me.

"Thanks for the help, but you should stay here," he said.

"But-"

"No buts," he cut off my protest. "My priority right now is Artemis. I shouldn't have to worry about keeping an eye on you as well."

"Hey, Butler's right," Joshua said, grabbing onto my arm to stop me following as Butler ran off. "You'd only get in the way."

"You don't know that," I said. "What if Butler isn't enough, huh? What if he needs help?"

"Dude, it's just Richard," Scott pointed out. "Pretty sure that guy is more than qualified to deal with him."

"Yeah, I know, but there's something not right here," I said. "I'll just hang around outside, make sure everything's ok. Then I can call the police if anything does go wrong. I want get in the way or anything, I swear."

Joshua reluctantly let go of my arm.

"Maybe I should go with you," he said.

"Nah, I'll be fine," I said. "You go back inside, I'll come back later."

The shed used to keep all the sports equipment inside, but now it was a rundown old thing. Moss covered its walls and windows, and the door detached and was hanging off the frame. It was silhouetted against the moonlight and looked rather ominous as I made my way towards it.

I slowed my pace as I reached the shed, and crept towards the door. Looking inside, I saw Richard with his back turned towards me. He was standing partially behind Artemis holding an odd looking gun to his head. Artemis was swaying a bit, and had his hands clumsily tied behind his back. It wouldn't take much to get undo the knot, but I doubted that Artemis was in any state to do anything, after getting hit on the head as hard as he had.

Butler was facing them, pointing his own gun at Richard, but he couldn't do anything while Richard was using Artemis as a shield. If only there was a way to get that gun away from Artemis' head. Maybe I could help, create a distraction or something like that.

As I was looking around the shed for something I could use, Butler was talking to Richard.

"Richard, I'm going to ask you again. Put the gun down," Butler said. He voice was low and threatening. "No one has to die here. Just let Artemis go, and tell me who put you up to this."

"No one would have to die if you had just left us alone," Richard said. "This is your fault."

There was nothing useful in the shed, only a few empty shelves that I'm standing close to so that I could quickly duck down and hide if Richard turned around. However, I had an idea. While Richard was distracted by Butler, I could grab him and take the gun off of him. It might sound like a stupid idea, but I had no other option. Besides, I had taken Richard in a fight before.

Having decided on a plan, I quickly made sure that Richard was still distracted and facing the other way. I then burst out from my hiding place. Richard heard me and turned around as I tried to tackle him. He managed to step out of the way, letting go of Artemis as he did. Richard spun around to face me, raising his gun to my face. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Artemis drop to the ground, and raise his arms to protect his head.

A gunshot echoed through the room.

A/N – I don't think many people are still interested in this but here is another chapter. My excuse for this taking so long is that I started this so long ago and I literally had no idea where I was taking it. So now I'm trying to make a halfway decent story out of this mess. But bear with me, only a chapter or two to go.