Hello, everybody - I'm back! Sorry the update took so long - my exams were on, followed by a disastrous result. I think some of the pessimism shows in this chapter. I'm not very pleased with it, but I felt I needed to update soon. The next ones will be better, I promise.
House Of Cards
Chapter Six – Rolling Die
"You…have...a…Cessna?" Sharmista panted, lugging a heavy bag behind her. Butler smirked, two bags in his own hands. Apparently Master Fowl had decided to uproot the entire house and stuff it into two suitcases.
"Why not?" Artemis replied coolly. "It's not like we can't afford it."
"Oh my gosh," trilled Sharmista in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Like I didn't realize that when I saw the castle. All it lacked was a bloody moat."
"I'm planning to have one installed, thanks very much for taking an interest."
Holly rolled her eyes at the constant bickering, and Sharmista noticed. "What?" she complained. "It's not like I'm not making an effort to be civil or anything!"
"Artemis, back off. Misty, shut up. Butler, get us out of here ASAP. Preferably before I kill the two monsters."
Butler chuckled for what seemed to Sharmista to be the billionth time that day. Either she was an airhead to him, or the man was seriously numb in the head. He had been a mercenary once, Holly had told her – maybe somebody took a few well-aimed shots at him. She decided instantly that she didn't care.
After loading the bags into the plane, then settling in, Holly sent a message to Foaly that they were finally on their way.
"Watch out, Holly. If Sool gets wind of this mission, Cahartez will be scraping our flattened remains off the backside of a troll. I mean it. Do not screw up."
"How…visually entertaining," Sharmista peered into the tiny communicator and made a face. Holly growled and pushed the girl out of her face.
"With this female, I'm beginning to think that screwing up is inevitable. We should have left her behind."
"I agree. She's awfully irritating, and knows nothing about us." Artemis added his two cents' worth of thoughts from the front of the cabin, where he was pouring himself a flute of red wine.
Sharmista narrowed her eyes at both of them. "Hey there, fairy princess, you're the one who begged for my help. I would've been happy to just walk home. But no, you lock me up, beat me up, then play good cp, bad cop. Well, screw you." She turned to the pale youth who was swirling wine in his flute. "And you, you horrible Irish boy, you are the most incorrigible little imp I have ever met. I wonder if anyone has considered murdering you, because they would be doing the world a great service."
"They contemplated it, I think." Artemis said simply, sipping the ruby-red liquid. "If anything had happened, however, Butler would have first killed them, then made it look like a complete accident."
"How comforting. And I suppose the Great One is going to fly the plane, since you've already started drinking." Shamista sneered. Her face contorted into a sickening grimace.
"You're right. Butler will be flying us to London." Artemis glanced at Holly. "I might as well tell you the rest of the plan."
"Please do, before I screw things up entirely." The plane began to make its ascent.
"Very well, and listen carefully. I do not like repeating myself."
"Oh yeah, because I'm a kid from the first grade." Sharmista stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. "Quit the charade and start talking, vampire boy."
Artemis sighed. How much more of this stupidity was he supposed to take? He was trying to be honest, after all. "I've booked us into the Astoria. The party is going to be held tomorrow night, in honour of the Resource Kiln, in the hotel's ballroom itself. A word of caution, however - Minerva should be there, so we'll have to stay away from her. I wouldn't think it wise to cross swords with her." Artemis shuddered as he thought of the horribly long and boring afternoons on the patio with the French girl.
"Oh, yeah – your French girlfriend. She's got a nice perm." Sharmista made quote marks with her fingers in the air when she said the word 'girlfriend'. Holly slapped her palm against her forehead. Artemis wisely decided not to engage in immature repartee with the disturbed girl.
"I'll talk to Walden personally, since he knows me through my father. In the meantime, Holly will try to get into his office to get the plans and papers behind the entire plan." Artemis straightened his suit, which had crumpled during the entire 'process' of getting on to the plane. How irritating. He had been assured that these suits were wrinkle resistant. He would have to fire Massimo once he got back. "There's a lot more than it seems, Miss Varma, so please stick to whatever I'm telling you. It's very complicated – office politics are delicate."
"Ooh, how refreshing. Thank you, your Imperial Highness, for telling me that I'm a complete idiot. Anyway, since you haven't included me in the plan, what am I needed for?" Sharmista crossed her arms across her chest, and stared out of the window. The city of Dublin sprawled far below the plane, the river Liffey glittering in the sunlight, snaking like a ribbon through the diverse city. She was annoyed. She had never wanted any part of this mess, and yet there she was, about to embark on what she thought was going to be the biggest mess of her life.
'Hold on," Holly interrupted her train of thought. "You are very much a vital part of this plan. You need to corner Gatsuki and get him to talk."
"What? I'm only sixteen! I can't play Mata Hari!"
"Well, I'm sorry, but that's exactly what you're going to have to do. You're not bad looking – a little make-up in the right places can get him to open his mouth."
Sharmista started sniggering, and Artemis continued to lazily sip the wine. Holly felt like a kindergarten teacher. "Look, are you taking this seriously?"
"You just asked me to seduce a pixie. Why should I not be laughing?" Sharmista clutched her stomach, doubling over with laughter. "The very notion is ridiculous."
"It's not like I can do it!" Holly replied hotly.
"Why not? You're pretty!"
"He'd recognize me immediately! I'm Section Eight, remember! My height doesn't help, either!"
"Section Eight doesn't officially exist, remember?" Sharmista taunted the steaming elf.
"Let's just say Holly is something of a minor celebrity underground," Artemis said smoothly. He got out of his seat, and walked towards the cockpit. "I'm going to go talk to Butler for a while. I will be back with our ETA. Excuse me."
Sharmista and Holly both ignored him. They were far too busy staring each other down. Finally, Holly blinked back tears and wiped her eyes. "Fine. Stay stubborn. It's never going to help you."
"This coming from you, Holly?" Sharmista groaned. "Spare me."
"Sometimes, Misty, it's better to be flexible in the wind, rather than to stand upright. Think about it." Holly settled down in her plush seat and started to fiddle with her communicator. Sharmista seemed puzzled at the cryptic comments that had been made so far. Perhaps she was denser than she thought.
Or maybe not. She'd find out soon enough.
Soon enough came sooner than anyone would've thought.
Reviews will be greatly appreciated!
Renata Swift
