WEBISODE 2.04.5: KIDS THESE DAYS
Summary: Myles Fowl is smart enough to know that he's in over his head, but he has no idea how deep the rabbit hole actually goes.
-x-
OUTBOX:
Dear Henri,
There isn't an easy way to say this, so let me be blunt and tell you that I suspect that my oldest brother is a spy.
Let me explain:
A year and a half ago, he died. Or, at least, that's what we were told. Some days I wake up feeling like there's something more to the story, like if I could only stay in the moments between sleeping and waking for a little bit longer, I could remember...but then the feeling passes. It's not important.
Six months later, he came back with no warning or explanation - when I pressed for information, he promised me that he would explain the complete story when I was older. At the time, though it irked me, I accepted that as the truth and assumed that he must have good reasons. I had no reason to doubt him. After all, he is my brother, and I trusted him implicitly.
I bring this up now because I think things have changed.
It has become a matter of debate between Beckett and myself as to exactly what happened to him during those six months. Beckett, perhaps having seen too many action movies, was caught up in fantasies of top-secret, covert spy training. I dismissed that as impossible, because if an intelligence agency capable of that kind of deception truly existed, I'm certain that somebody in my family would have known about it.
(That sounds absurd, I know, but please just trust me: my family would know. Somebody would have put the pieces together, if it were the truth, but nobody did. We mourned. The day he returned was the only time I have ever seen my father cry. My parents, clearly, have no idea what else is going on here.)
Since he came back, my brother has been working with a very mysterious group. I don't exaggerate; I have only ever heard it referred to as the LEP and I haven't had any success in identifying this group despite all my research. It doesn't help that whenever I have seen my brother communicate with his coworkers, it has all been over the phone and in a coded language.
And then, at Christmas, I fully intended to inform him of our project. I know you asked for my discretion, but he's family, and he's even smarter than I am. If anybody could help us past the roadblocks we've hit recently, it would have been him. When I broached the topic of the odd energy signatures around our manor, however, he became distant and I could not quite read the look on his face. Perhaps he was about to explain the truth to me, or perhaps only to discourage further inquiries.
It turned out not to matter either way. Before he could finish two sentences, he was arrested on blatantly false charges and held overnight in the local precinct. I may be young, but I can take a hint, Henri. There's no way that timing was an accident.
I haven't asked him anything since, and he has not broached the topic again. Either he was targeted to prevent him from revealing the truth to me (in which case we must get to the bottom of it ourselves), or to prevent me from revealing the truth to him (in which case, the same principle applies, for his own safety).
Either way, I am certain that whoever the LEP is - and whatever double-life Artemis is leading - these developments have placed us in an even more precarious position. That said, for long as you are confident that these messages are still being sent on a secure connection, we should be safe for the time being.
After all, I am only six years old. While I am limited, I may be the only one in a position to find the truth. They're bound to be watching Artemis carefully, as well as our parents. I, however, am more likely to slip through the cracks. This has bought us time, but I have a sinking feeling that the stakes may be higher than either of us imagined.
Please tell me - what do you suggest we do next?
Your friend,
Myles
-x-
INBOX:
Hey kid,
I had no idea that you had been caught in such a position! First off, I think you're totally right in how you're approaching this situation: we should leave your brother out of things. I get wanting to go to him for help, but knowing what we know now, I definitely feel like it'd be safer for everybody if he doesn't know what we're doing. That's gotta be tough, realizing you've been lied to - it's probably not my place to say anything, but any support you need, I'm here for you, okay?
In terms of our project, I've expanded my net a bit to get you some better numbers. Still can't get a fix on the actual local signatures around your family's home (and knowing that your family may be under surveillance, I'm not sure it's safe to try!), but these should be a bit closer. Maybe try running them through the program and let me know what happens? I don't know if they'll actually hone in on the frequencies we need, but at the very least you should be able to report back a clearer oscillation pattern. Does that sound right?
Your friend,
Henri
-x-
OUTBOX:
Dear Henri,
Thank you for that! Please don't worry about me, as I know that I'll be okay. My family's made of pretty tough stuff, and even though nobody will tell me much about our past, I know enough to be certain that we have survived much worse than this before. I'll be okay!
That said, agreed. I won't bring it up with Artemis again.
Thank you, as always, for the data! I think we may be a bit closer, but unfortunately, the system becomes more unstable the nearer it gets to the right frequency. For a moment we were in range, and - well, I could feel it. That sounds odd, I know, but I am positive we were there!
And then it nearly exploded.
It turns out that if the numbers aren't precise enough, it will loop back into itself and slip rapidly into instability. My twin brother happened to be in the room at the time, and he threw his shoe at the console to shut it down before it could do any harm. I've got some minor surface work to do to repair some of the wiring, but otherwise, everything is fine here! I think I'm at a loss for the input data, though. I mean, if you can't get more precise information - and I definitely lack the means to take these measurements myself! - we're stuck. It could be dangerous to keep playing around in the dark.
What do you think?
Your friend,
Myles
P.S. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'd like you to stop calling me "kid." I recognize my age is a big deal but I would prefer to be treated as an adult!
-x-
INBOX:
Dear Myles,
You are entirely right. I don't want you putting yourself in harm's way for this!
Since your last message, I've met somebody who is interested in the same thing that we are, and I think he's willing to try to help us! If you are under surveillance and unable to get the measurements you need, I think he'll be able to make the trip out and gather them himself. He's really enthusiastic about this, actually! More importantly, Ray knows his stuff, and he's taken a look over all the data and agreed that your manor is probably the best geographic location to focalize this project.
Don't worry, though - I won't get you in trouble! Ray's really good at flying under the radar: he'll be in and out, and nobody but us will ever know that he was there. I realize this puts you in a tricky moral position, but believe me: I am 100% certain that he can be trusted!
If you're right about Artemis, getting these oscillation patterns locked in as quickly as possible might actually be the only way to keep your family from coming to serious harm. I guess I'm asking you to trust me to help you, Myles. Please. I know things look scary, but we'll figure this thing out one way or another.
I promise.
Your friend,
Henri
P.S. Hey, by the way, I'm sorry. "Kid" was just meant to be a term of endearment. You know, those things that friends use to refer to each other? If it makes you feel better, you are by far the smartest person I've ever met, six years old or not!
-x-
OUTBOX:
Dear Henri,
I believe you, and you're right. I'll sit tight on the project until then.
Please tell Ray to hurry.
(And I'm sorry, too. I guess I'm not used to having many friends! I should have known you didn't mean any harm by calling me "kid." I don't say this very often, but you're pretty smart, too!)
Your friend,
Myles
-x-
Author's Note:
Somewhat fitting for having just passed our 1 year anniversary, we hit 100 reviews today. Freud and I thought it was another cause for celebration so rather than sit on this webisode for another week, we decided to post it today. - Winged
Agreed! Thank you so much - you guys rock. Seriously! I could ramble on for ages about how much it means to us both that you're here and coming along on this crazy fic-journey with us, but you know what I mean, right? You're awesome!
And, as a side note, this webisode is the reason your parents always warned you against making online friends. Just saying. - Freud