The Traitor Stands in the Worse Case of Woe

Artemis clicked away on his virtual keyboard and the glint in his eyes took Butler back ten years. Which wasn't exactly a good thing. The boy, well, adult now, had so much energy in him that Butler half expected him to start swinging his legs. The screen flickered too fast through various screens for Butler to keep up. He stopped trying to investigate what was going on after roughly five minutes of battling his brain over the faery jargon on screen. He felt sure that Artemis had set his screens to run in Gnommish on purpose. Butler had only a rudimentary comprehension of the language and certainly not enough of a grasp to keep up with Artemis' rapid tying. Even his attempts to skim read for words he knew only increased the worry bubbling in his stomach.

"Artemis, can you please tell me what you're doing?" He finally sighed, completely exhausted.

"I told you," Artemis swallowed a smile, tapping one foot to a tune only he could hear, "There's a few myths surrounding those rocks and I'm just doing a little harmless digging."

"Harmless my left arse cheek," Butler commented crudely, but he felt the situation called for it.

"Butler, why don't you go and check on our guest? She must be feeling a little anxious. You can tell her that she can hook her mobile up to the info-tainment system, in case she's worried about missing any calls."

"Artemis, you promised your parents no more saving the world." His tone was sombre now and the change in mood flipped Artemis' mood immediately. Artemis took promises to his parents seriously. His fingers paused mid-air and he turned to Butler with a frown across his features.

"I did not promise them that, Old Friend. If that was the case, I wouldn't be studying Climate Change. I promised them no more risky adventures with the faeries."

"Which sounds like exactly what you're plotting."

"I'm hurt, Dom, that you'd think I'd be scheming." The way Artemis placed his hand on his heart and used Butler's first name sent alarm bells ringing in his head. He quashed them immediately, but the shadow of doubt still hung in his mind … because his behaviour had suddenly reminded Butler of Artemis when he had been in the clutches of Atlantis Complex. Once Artemis had moved through paranoia, he had begun to deceive Butler, using his silver tongue and gestures that were … misplaced in Artemis Fowl Junior. That tone of voice had just hit too hard, he supposed, and brought back memories he did not like. Though, that did leave the question, was Artemis trying to deceive him? Was that what his gut was telling him?

Artemis continued. "How much harm can I do from 30,000 feet?"

Butler regarded Artemis for a second and decided to leave without comment, closing the door to the cockpit behind him with a heavy sigh. Immediately, Katherina raised her head curiously. She tried a small smile at Butler and the ever-aging bodyguard managed a grimace in return.

"Problem?" She asked, seeming genuinely concerned. Maybe she thought the aircraft was about to nosedive out of the clouds.

"Teenage boy genius, that's the problem." He replied and Katherina continued to smile in a friendly manner that suggested that she hadn't a clue what Butler was talking about. Well, she was new to the Fowl family. She clearly did not have much experience with their shenanigans. Hopefully, that wasn't about to change any time soon. Butler lowered himself into the seat opposite Katherina. The inside of the jet had a total of eight seats situated in groups of four, two of which faced the rear of the plane. The seats were such as the type you may expect in a first-class airline, more like little sofa beds than chairs. The backs were rounded to cocoon their operators, whilst also being able to recline 180 degrees. The screen for the infotainment system was on a post that could be telescopically raised or lowered, as well as tilted, to suit the occupant. Katherina reached forward to lower hers to allow her to see Butler's face more clearly. The white leather seat which enveloped her seemed to shrink in size when Butler perched upon it.

"Have you worked for the Fowl family for long?" Katherina asked.

"Since he was born. And somewhat before."

"You must be like a second father to him, then?"

Butler did chuckle a little. "No one could ever replace Artemis Fowl Senior. Whenever I thought there could never be a man like Artemis Fowl Junior, I would always remind myself that his father had been just as mischievous back in the day. And now, Myles …" He rubbed his forehead with his fingertips. "If I'm honest, Miss Palmer, I've had enough adventure in my life. I don't think I'd be able to cope with another."

Her eyes glinted a little. "Where have you been? Have you travelled?"

"Almost everywhere," Butler nodded, "from the tallest skyscrapers to the dingiest downtown ditches. Though most of the time I was far too concerned with the topic of keeping one young master Fowl alive to be sightseeing."

"That's a shame," Katherina agreed. "What do you mean, keeping him alive? Are there many people out to hurt him?"

At this point, Butler could not even laugh. It was beyond funny how many enemies Artemis had made over the years. She couldn't be allowed to know all the details, but he would tell her as much as she would be able to find in the public domain. "The Fowls have not always been … morally driven. For centuries, their empire was driven by fraud, schemes, and heists. There is something in their genetics that makes them cry out for knowledge and an intellectual challenge – or so Artemis believes. He says, what could be more challenging than being the villain? To pull off a great feat without getting caught, reaping the rewards for years later, writing the legends that others speculate about. There's a theory that an extrovert's mental activity is lower than average, or their tolerance for certain stimulant chemicals is higher, which is why they constantly seek external stimulation. Introverts, on the other hand, have a much lower tolerance and a higher mental activity, so even small amounts of external stimulation can tire them out. The Fowls have both a high tolerance level for stimulation and a higher brain activity than average. So, they must constantly seek external stimulation whilst still having a greater base level of brain activity. Or that is about what he said to me recently. I only half-listen to him, most of the time."

"Was Artemis also … playing the villain?"

"In his early days, very much so. To his current self's deep regret. As smart as the boy is, the stupidest thing he ever did was develop a conscience." Butler contorted his face as he thought for a moment, considering whether his next point should be shared with Katherina. Looking into her eyes, he saw a normal young woman. Not an enemy. Not a child genius like Minerva. He gave her something mentally that he rarely shared with anyone … a shard of trust. Artemis was still suffering, he thought, and Butler had long since run out of people to turn to. He needed others around him, and he needed a push to acquire them. So, Butler decided to reveal a private chapter of the story of Artemis Fowl. "He … has suffered some mental repercussions because of his actions. He has developed a dark corner in his mind and I sometimes can't get him out of it."

Katherina nodded slowly, tilting her head a little as she listened. Butler continued, "For a while he was extremely ill. And I sometimes worry he'll fall back down that path."

"I don't think … he has many friends." Katherina declared, and Butler could see that she was reading between the lines.

"Exactly," Butler replied. "Not that I am pressuring yourself to make friends with him – things like that should of course be natural … but …"

"No, you're worried, I understand." She dropped her gaze to her lap whilst she thought. "I'm a little surprised, if I'm honest. Not that there's a 'type of person' who suffers from mental illnesses but …"

"He doesn't seem so vulnerable, does he?"

She agreed, "Nothing seems to affect him and at times I've thought him to be quite cold-hearted."

"You wouldn't be the first to say that."

"Though I had not realised just how much of a child genius he was. I had heard the rumours, but you can never tell how many of them are fairy tales just spun out of proportion."

"Fairy tales, huh," Butler chuckled at the irony. "Just assume they are all true and work backwards from there. The more you expect from Artemis Fowl, the less you can be surprised."

The overhead speaker system binged, and Artemis' voice came through clear as day. "I hope you're not boring our guest with silly stories, Butler," he said, and Butler winced like the boy could read his mind. "Could you come through, please? We have a friend on the phone. Also, Katherina, we shouldn't be more than 30 minutes now."

Butler got to his feet and could feel the ache of every instance he had nearly died creaking through his bones.

"Don't work too hard now," Katherina called after him. Butler gave her a thumbs up and replied,

"Don't fret too hard about your father. Dads are tougher than you think."

Butler had an idea who would be on the phone before he entered the room. Something about Foaley's parting comment suggested that another of their faery friends would be in contact soon. Indeed, as soon as he closed the cockpit door behind him, Holly's sceptical eyes were blinking suspiciously at the inhabitants of the room: one blue, one green.

"Fowl," she scowled, arms tightly crossed, "Care to explain why Foaley is hurtling round his tech shuttle at the speed of knots, whinnying something about a stupid mudboy about to destroy the world?"

"Again, I'm hurt Commodore Short." Artemis raised his hands innocently. "Congratulations on that promotion, by the way."

"Answer the question, Arty. What are you snooping into now?"

"Honestly, Foaley spends his life trying to hack into my surveillance cameras and then complains as soon as I peek into yours."

"There is more at stake here than a little of your privacy – there are faery lives on the line. And human. Good Frond, why is this always the case." She placed her head in her hands.

"You cut your hair, Holly." Artemis commented. "It looks good."

"Someone called me the 'crazy girly Captain' again the other day. And then I saw Lily Frond with her long hair, fluttering her eye lashes around the station trying to get the attention of Trouble. I felt like I wanted to distance myself from that imagery as much as I could, so I went back to the crew cut."

"How dare they." Artemis tittered.

"We're not changing subject, Arty."

"I wouldn't even think of it." He clicked through a few menus and brought something onto his screen. It was an overhead image of the circle of stones they had flown by earlier. "I have decided, Holly, that the best way we can resolve this issue is for you to provide me with a full brief on your concerns with the Stone People. That way, you will satisfy my curiosity. Then, I will resolve your issue. We both win."

"I may have been promoted but there is no rank high enough to sign off on that. The faery people hate you, Artemis. I would lose my job for revealing confidential information to you."

"You know for a fact I will find out what I want to know, regardless of whether you tell me yourself."

"How about you go back to school and continue with your human life? Why do you need to hack into our servers? Which, by the way, is illegal. So much for your newfound integrity."

"You know that it is not illegal, Holly, as I am a human and therefore do not fall under faery law."

"You know that may be true, Artemis, but you will also know that we recently passed a law that anyone is considered under faery law once they are under the surface. The moment you cross the threshold you are an arrestable individual. That law was for you, mudboy. And the future trouble causers I know your brothers will be."

"Rude," Artemis said, dejectedly. "My brothers haven't done anything to warrant such scepticism. Yet."

"Yet being the key word."

"If you were not willing to negotiate, why would you ring me, Holly?"

Holly sighed and finally unfolded her arms. She wants to be frank with me, Artemis thought, suddenly uneasy. She is opening her arms to appear friendly and understanding. Which means nothing good can come next.

"I'm genuinely worried about you, Arty." She began and in Artemis' books, this was already a bad start. She was launching into another lecture he did not want to listen to. For heavens sake, he got this from his father, Butler, his mother, even Myles sometimes. "The last time I saw you, you were utterly exhausted. I told you that you should forget all your projects, take some time for yourself. I feel like you're dying for something to do, which is why you're jumping at this new toy you've found."

"Nice of you to degrade an entire lost species of faery to a new toy." Artemis interrupted, which was wholly unlike him. "Some may take offence to that."

"And there would be no banshees left to do so." Holly cut in. He could tell she was getting more agitated by the minute. "Honestly, Artemis, you don't know what you're dealing with here."

For a second, Artemis jolted physically and was mentally sent back to when he was twelve years old and Holly, an enemy at the time, had first said those words to him. He found that the comment genuinely stung; there was a sharp pain in his chest that Holly had used that phrase again, as though he was the same person he had been. It was like they were enemies again. Holly seemingly realised the same thing and began to backtrack.

"I'm just asking you to stay your curiosities this time. If you get involved with this, you could spark a civil war amongst the faeries. At the least, I'd lose my job – the council would find some way to blame you finding out on me."

"Well technically you have inadvertently revealed some key details to me in our short conversation." Artemis decided to change tactics. "Every time you have tried to shut me out of these things, the faeries have needed me eventually. I usually get dragged in somehow. What sense does it make not to use me as a friend to the People?"

"The People are not your friends, Artemis," Holly said, also changing tactics. For once, her tone was without the sort of warmth it usually held for him. "I may be your friend, but your real friends are human."

Artemis' face tightened as he struggled to hold his expression – his mouth threatened to hang open in shock. Even Butler winced.

"I … understand Commodore Short." Artemis began to fiddle with the ring on his finger, which acted as a faery communicator. He removed it and dropped it into his pocket. "I will not interfere. And I will not contact you again unless it is strictly necessary." He reached across to tap the 'end call' button, hesitating for a second. Holly's face dropped as she realised that she had stepped over the line and actually hurt Artemis.

"Wait, Arty-," She began, but Artemis ended the call.