A/N: Original characters in this story (those not seen in the Artemis Fowl universe) belong to me, Renata Swift. Artemis Fowl, the universe, and all its characters belong to Eoin Colfer. Not to me. Sadly.
Hey! Well, the academic year is over, and here is a new chapter! (Finally, right? I know...) So I'm finally back to this story. As usual, reviews are love :)
House Of Cards
Chapter Seven â Deception
The rest of the plane flight was uneventful, and Sharmista relegated herself to the solemn duty of looking out of all the plane's windows in utter boredom. Holly was still messaging the rest of Section Eight underground, and the Fowl vampire seemed to be playing an online game of poker on his laptop. Sharmista wandered over to him curiously, wondering how he could be so calm before a 'mission' of sorts.
She stood next to him as he concentrated on his game, but Sharmista was not fooled. He was very much aware of her presence, she knew, and would probably blow up at her for peering at his screen from behind his shoulder.
"You've done this before, haven't you? The whole 'I'm-saving-the-world' thing, I mean," she mused out loud. Artemis did not turn towards her, instead choosing to play another round. "I'm sorry to say I have, but it hasn't been to save the world or anything so melodramatic," he murmured. The laptop screen began to flash wildly.
"What do you do with the money you've won?" Sharmista asked, gesturing towards the poker game. "I mean, you must win every time you play. That's not a compliment or anything," she quickly added. "I don't think gambling for any reason is a very good idea."
"Well, most of the money goes to charity, and of course, I keep some for myself." Artemis turned towards her. He frowned slightly, and Holly, who just happened to look up from her Communicator, noticed it. "What is it, Artemis?"
"I was just thinking," he said, going back to his laptop, "that everyone at the party might instantly recognize Sharmista. She was, after all, on CNN yesterday for quite some time."
"CNN?" Sharmista yelped. "My spotty face was on CNN? What the fâŚ" Holly hit Sharmista before she could swear.
Artemis chuckles. "It was quite amusing, actually â they even got some friend of yours to praise you; sort of like a eulogy."
"Eulogy? You mean I'm presumed dead?"
"Well, you fell down a hole, and your body wasn't at the bottom. So yes, you're missing, presumed dead." Artemis pushed the laptop into Sharmista's hands, where the CNN website proclaimed: Indian 'Hole' Girl Still Missing; UAE Authorities Push For Further Investigations. An old picture of Sharmista accompanied the following article, which had a video link to a plea by her parents. Sharmista suddenly grew cold and clammy. In the past twenty-four hours, she had not once thought about her parents or about Laila, who must have landed in some pretty hot water. She swallowed guiltily. Holly put one arm around Sharmista as she sank into a seat.
"You mustn't let anyone know, Misty," Holly said firmly. "You can't contact your family or your friends till everything is over. You absolutely cannot say a word to anyone outside this circle."
"Fine," Sharmista sniffled a little bit. She then sat straight up in her seat. "So what are we going to do now? I can't possibly go into that party expecting everyone to not recognize me!"
"Well, I certainly can't go," Holly objected. "Unless I can grow as tall as five feet in the next few hours, I am not entering that party."
"We can try finding a wig," Sharmista said. "If I can get a wig and do my make-up in such a way that I look older than I am now, it might work. Heels are also an excellent option."
"That sounds like a plan," Artemis remarked drily. Sharmista glared at him. "Do you have a better plan?"
Artemis smiled smugly. "Prosthetics."
"Yeah, sure, let's get a bunch of rubber noses and moustaches." Sharmista made a funny face as she screwed up her nose and twisted her mouth grotesquely.
"Where are you going to find authentic looking prosthetics in London?" Holly asked, her mind buzzing with ideas.
"You forget, Holly â he's got people everywhere," Sharmista wagged a finger in Holly's general direction. "Prosthetics sound good to me."
"I suppose the wig wouldn't be a bad idea; we could transform Sharmista into a totally different person," Artemis added. "Tracing her if we got caught would be incredibly difficult."
"By the way, who am I supposed to pretend to be at the party? I can't go introducing myself as 'Ditz Who Fell Down A Hole', you know," Sharmista handed Artemis' laptop back to him. He grinned at Sharmista, who finally began to feel welcome.
"Well, we'll think of something, depending on what you look like after we alter your appearance."
"And hey," Sharmista added, "give me a really, really good dress while you're at it. I'll never be able to wear those again."
"You look totally different," Holly quipped as Sharmista and Artemis entered her hotel room.
Sharmista had driven to a make-up artist in Finchley to get her prosthetics put on. The process hadn't taken too long, and she now appeared to be a totally different person. Her nose was slightly sharper, with a pointed chin, and her oval face was now square. Artemis had asked Butler to drive ahead to the Astoria to make sure everything was going according to plan so far. Now, both of them had changed into fancier clothes, with Artemis in an ironed tuxedo, and Sharmista in a turquoise floor-length gown.
"The dress is beautiful," Sharmista said, twirling around as she looked at herself in a mirror. She was also wearing a paste sapphire jewelry set to go with the dress.
"My mother once wore it to one of her famous charity balls," Artemis said, straightening his bowtie. "She's never worn it again."
"Well, I don't think she'd be too happy to know I'm wearing it now."
"I don't care," Holly said. "Now, Misty, pay close attention. Mud Boy, you'd better listen in too." She pulled out a glittering brooch which had a circular blue stone in the centre with crystals lining it. She pinned it to Sharmista's dress. "This is a multi-frame camera. Each cut of the stone gives me and Foaly a different angle of the ballroom to look at. Your clips," she pointed to Sharmista's hair clips, "are microphones."
Artemis nodded. "Impressive."
"Artemis, you'll have both microphones and an earpiece. I will be talking directly to you. Foaly will also come in at times if he needs to. Have both of you understood?"
"I talk to Walden, and Sharmista gets Gatsuki to tell her most everything."
"Everything would be preferred," Holly grinned at Sharmista. "Don't get too nervous."
"I'll try my best."
"Now get out of here!" Holly pushed them out of the room, leaving a well-hidden Butler to chuckle loudly.
Review! Review! So I can become a better author, you know.
Renata
