Chapter 5:
Gunfight at the SeaStone
Ironically, Holly's statement couldn't be further from the truth. It was at that moment Juliet was thinking how things had gone from being her twenty-fifth birthday to a shoot out with trolls.
How the situation had come to that followed like this; the troll's leader had demanded that Butler, her, and Mulch come with them. Butler refused, and promptly smashed his fist into the trolls face. What followed was a mad dash to the bar, where they took cover from the Neutrino fire that followed. The partygoers shot back, Butler with his Sig, Juliet with a pistol, and Mulch with a portable Neutrino he had "borrowed" from some friends.
It was at that moment Butler slumped down beside his sister. "Sorry if this wasn't the party you were expecting", he grunted.
"Are you kidding? This is better than last year," she retorted. "On three?" Butler nodded. "One, two, three!" The two Butlers sprang up from behind the bar, and fired off five precision shots, each.
The first two trolls took cover underneath up turned tables. The third was not as bright. Out of the ten shots, three hit him in the shoulder, two in the leg, and one clipped his temple, knocking him out.
"Traek's down!", the leader roared. "Siit, go get 'im!" The troll, Siit, holstered his gun, and ran to his fallen comrade, to get promptly shot in the lower chest.
Mulch peeped out from under the bar. "'Nice shooting, Tex.' I knew you good, but…"
"Actually, that wasn't me.", Butler stated, matter-of-factly. Just then, a man slid across the bar, and landed beside Mulch. "That's because it was me."
Mulch shot a glare at the man, his dwarf hair all standing on end from the shock. "And you would be…?" Juliet started.
"Agent Raymond Stockard, MI-5. "Butler looked the man over. Medium sized, early thirties. He had his hair dyed black and slicked like Elvis Presley, and wore a black trench coat over a short sleeved dress shirt. Oddly, he was double fisting, carrying two government-issue pistols.
Mulch, finished with patting his hair down, gave the man a look. "What the hell's a MI-5 stiff doing all the way out here?"
The man took a peek over the bar. "Nice to meet you, and your welcoming for saving your sorry behind. To answer your question, visiting family. Now, what the hells going on here?"
Butler grunted. "Don't ask. You don't really want to know."
"…Alright then. How do we get out of here?" Juliet took another peek over the counter top. "Ugly 1 is knocked out, and Ugly 2 is more or less dead. That leaves Tattoo."
Agent Stockard scrunched up his forehead. "If we're quick, we could make a run for it. It's risky, but…." Mulch perked up.
"Tell you want. You people want to make a run for it, and I would rather not get shot. So, I'll stay here and keep him from getting a shot at you, then meet you outside."
Butler sidled up to Mulch. "Are you sure? I can carry you, if your worried about not keeping up." Mulch nodded. "I'll be fine." He motioned for Butler to come closer. "There's a thick vein of soil running under this place. I just gotta rip out the floor boards", he whispered.
Of course. If worst came to worst, the dwarf could tunnel his way out. That's why he got so calm, Butler thought. He knew that there was an escape route all along.
Juliet leaned in. "Dom, if we're going to go, it's got to be now." Butler holstered his gun. "Right." Agent Stockard was leaning on the balls of his feet. "When I say 'three', we run", he whispered. "One…". Shots fired behind them. They turned.
Mulch gave them a look. "What? You wanted a distraction." Butler groaned. That dwarf would be the death of him someday. "Go!"
The three people ran across the room in a sprint that would put an Olympic runner to shame. Shots flew over their heads on occasion, but the troll couldn't shoot and dodge Mulch's shots at the same time.
Juliet rammed the door, and Butler and Stockard went tumbling after her. They laid on the ground, panting. "God, I'm not as young as I used to be", Stockard wheezed.
"Same here", Butler motioned. He extended a meaty hand. "Butler, by the way. That's my sister, Juliet." A mound of dirt rose up beside them, and exploded.
"Mulch Diggums, thank you for asking…not." The agent wiped the dirt from his face, thankfully not knowing it was post digested.
"Alright then, I'm going to ignore asking how you did that, and get straight to the point; why was that…thing trying to kill you."
Juliet snickered. "With all the guys who've tried to over the years, it's pretty obvious. Someone sent him to grind an axe with Artemis."
Stockard raised an eyebrow. "Our friend-slash-boss," Juliet explained. "Artemis Fowl."
Stockard ran this through his head for a second, then his whole face seemed to rise up. "You mean Artemis Fowl, the criminal mastermind?"
"His kid," Mulch said. "And a chip of the old block, if I do say…" Butler silenced him with a glare. Agent Stockard rose up. "Geez, I heard the guys in the office talk about a teen crime boss, but I thought they were pulling my leg." He turned to Butler. "You think that thing was sent here because of your association with him?"
"That hits the nail on the head", came a voice from behind them. They turned to see the tattooed troll, pointing a gun at Mulchs head. All three humans pulled their weapons.
"I wouldn't if I were you," the troll chuckled, "unless you want the dwarf to go home in a body bag." Butler put his gun back in his holster. "Good. Now, you're going to do what the greasy-haired stooge said, and take me to see your boss, or else… ARGH!"
An ear shattering whine pierced the night sky, making all present have to cover their ears, or else go deaf. The troll let go of Mulch, and dropped to the ground, howling and rolling around in agony. And then, it stopped.
No one said anything, then Juliet: "What the hell was that?" Butler opened his mouth to respond, then something stopped him. He saw a faint green glow coming from behind the tavern. When he rushed up to it, it was gone, but Butler could have sworn he saw the fleeting shadow of a man.
The bodyguard decided it was nothing, and walked back to rejoin his group. The other three were crowded around the fallen troll. The troll in question had begun to stir, which Mulch quickly corrected with a fist to the forehead.
"Concussor Knuckles." Mulch explained, showing off his fists; they were adorned with a metal band with blue spots where knuckles should be. "Wait 'till I tell the boys in Haven I punched out a troll." He chuckled.
Butler turned to Juliet. "We need to get back to the Manor right away. If whoever sent these "men" wants Artemis, they might try going directly for him." He looked down at the troll. "We bring him, too, in case he can tell us anything."
"I have a truck," Stockard said. "I think the trunk would be big enough to hold him."
"Alright, go get it. We'll tie this one up." As the man ran to get his truck, Butler was surprised how easily he trusted him. Perhaps it was necessary, but Butler reminded him self to keep an eye on this 'Agent' Stockard.
Juliet tapped him on the shoulder. "Odd, isn't it?" Butler was puzzled by the question.
"What's odd?" Juliet motioned to the scene around them. The whole of the SeaStone was decimated, with a KO'ed troll lying on the sidewalk in front. Beside it, Mulch was jabbering to himself, trying to beef up the story for his friends. Butler was thankful that the tavern was isolated from the town, as he wouldn't want to be the man to explain all this.
"This, all of it; it's odd. I just find it funny that I look at this scene, and to me, it's nothing new. This is just a regular day in my life." The young woman looked up at her brother. "I'm having trouble just remembering a normal day in my life."
Butler had to agree; normal wasn't what is used to be. Fairies, magic, and outracing death had become second nature to all of them. Good things had come out of his new life, but Butler often wondered what would have happened if he had take Artemis out of his kidnapping scheme all those years ago…
His thoughts were interrupted by the honking of a horn. A large, black pick-up was coming towards them.
"Care to give me a hand with the big fellow?" The smile returned to Juliet's face.
"Alright"The two siblings idled up to the unconscious body. "I wonder how Arty's going to react when he sees what we've been up to…."