17 hours ago - Fowl Manor

All things considered, when Artemis Fowl regained consciousness, the youth was in remarkably good spirits. While not exactly pleased with the physical assault upon his person, he decided that of all the predicaments and misadventures he had suffered over the past decade, there were worse ways to come to than in the lap of a very concerned Captain Holly Short. Besides, Artemis reasoned as Holly exhaled a sigh of relief upon seeing his eyes flutter open, this was after all the point when all of his plans tended to go awry. Reluctantly, the genius sat up, though Holly made no motion to move.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Holly said, hoping the levity of the remark would mask the traces of concern that had only just escaped from her features. "You should have told me you beat the mind wipe, you dummy."

"For that I am sorry, but I couldn't risk it. I didn't know how involved you were. Besides, I had been hoping to conclude this affair and definitively prove my innocence before further action was necessary" Artemis said cooly. If he was apologetic, Holly was unable to tell.

"You should have" Holly grumbled obstinately. Secretly, she was pleased. All of her apprehensions had faded the moment Artemis had begun speaking in a tone that resembled a lecture more than conversation. She recognized the cogs in Artemis' mind turning, some obscure plan, although complicated, being patched up. That meant, Holly realized happily, that they were once again accomplices. If Artemis Fowl was drafting orders for her, that meant they were on familiar ground. That meant that Artemis had forgiven her.

"Perhaps, however now we have more pressing concerns." Artemis checked his wristwatch in a stagey manner, "If I am not mistaken, we have around 5 more minutes before the time stop fades, and 15 more before the Manor is surrounded by the LEPs best and brightest." Artemis' mind raced. True, his grand reveal of innocence had been foiled, however most of his plan had been accomplished weeks ago. While he had lost the luxury of certainty over who had framed him, he had merely been hoping to confirm his prior knowledge, and maybe secure a confession on proverbial tape. Artemis Fowl, after all, did not operate on hunches. Still, the rest could be enacted without interruption. Matters would be dealt with. Glancing down at the elf besides him, who looked up at him expectantly, and whose hands had not left his chest, Artemis felt a pang of guilt. It was not revenge, Artemis reminded himself, simply deterrence to ensure the safety of that which he valued above all else, his own mind.

Still, if anything did threatened the success of his scheme, the imminent arrival of the LEP ranked highly. It would not due to be caught just yet. He needed to come into negotiations on his own terms, and he needed his leverage to be fully in place.

Butler coughed loudly. If Artemis and Holly were taking the events of the past hour in stride, the same could not be said for Butler. Although his faith in Artemis' intelligence never wavered, the introduction of so many new variables did not instill confidence in the Eurasian body guard.

"We do have a plan, correct? I'm not exactly eager for a repeat performance of yesterday" Butler added gruffly.

"Of course. Although, it may not be exactly to your liking," Artemis said.

Holly affected a groan. "Why am I feeling a sense of déjà vu."

Artemis could only smile sheepishly as Butler sighed.

"So, typing on that thing is going to get us out of here?" Holly said, impatiently.

"I'm afraid so." After leading them down the drafty stairs to the basement, and into the manor's impressive wine cellar, Artemis had suddenly sat down, and removing a tablet from his jacket, had begun entering code furiously.

Looking sympathetically at the confused elf, Butler broke the silence. "We're going out the old tunnel system. They haven't been used in sometime, so Artemis is assessing the structural integrity of our route."

"The plans for the manor don't have a tunnel system," Holly said incredulously. She had seen and studied them extensively with Foaly on multiple occasions. She felt a twinge of disappointment; Foaly had seemed confident that they had mapped the entire area. She would have to tell him about this, she thought, mollified by the thought of the flustered expression that would certainly animate Foaly's face upon hearing about this.

"I'm not surprised," Butler continued. "These are old, hundreds of years even, and predate any construction plans for the manor. The Fowls used to be a smuggling family, way back. Sometimes a secret tunnel can be a real life saver to a smuggler."

Holly rolled her eyes, "Another day saved by Fowl deviousness. I suppose I should just be glad that Artemis comes by it honestly."

Butler merely smiled.

"Truly I have no idea what either of you are referring to," Artemis said, suddenly standing up, as the stone wall in front of them rumbled and then descended into the floor revealing a dark and dank passageway. "Ladies first," he added. Trying to ignore the sounds of animals scurrying across the damp floor, Holly decided that she indeed did not like this plan.

Her reluctance was quickly overcome by the faint echo of an alarm blaring across the manor.

"It looks like your friends have arrived" Butler said gravely, as the three of them quickly entered the passageway, the door sliding into place behind them blanketing them in darkness. Soon Holly's helmet illuminated the tunnel, while Butler attached a powerful custom flashlight accessory to his Sig Sauer.

"They're find this passage eventually. The new LEP helmets's sensors should be more than powerful enough to detect organic life. But hopefully they won't think to engage the sonar until they've scoured the rest of the manor first. They've underestimated how much I know. Hopefully that will be enough time for us to make it to our destination," Artemis lectured. Although he sounded confident, Holly could tell he was nervous.

They walked in claustrophobic silence for several minutes, but what felt like hours before Holly could bear it no longer. "So Artemis, what's next?" she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"What do you mean?"

"After we exit…this," Holly gestured at the darkness, "what's next?" She had been elated initially, feeling a thrill she had missed in the time since their last adventure, but the walking had sobered her. Having interrupted rather unceremoniously, she felt left out, and, more troubling, if sinkingly familiar, unsure of Artemis' true motivations.

"Ah. Well, I will compile the necessary proof of my innocence, upon which we will return to Haven to ensure all parties are satisfied," Artemis said. It wasn't a lie. He had determined when Holly had arrived that he would not lie to her. As if that would make anything better. Still, he had not asked for her to be involved, and he had no intention of being made a pawn again.

Holly frowned, Artemis was being evasive. Though not exactly surprising, this did little to ease Holly's concerns. Suddenly, realization dawned on Holly. "You know who framed you, don't you?"

After a moment of silence, Artemis replied, "Yes."

"Who was it?" Holly asked, exasperated.

"Whom was it," Artemis corrected reflexively.

To Artemis' relief, Butler interrupted before Holly could press further, putting up his hand signaling silence. "Do you hear that?" he whispered softly. While Artemis could hear nothing, he saw Holly's face harden. Sure enough, straining, he could hear a faint blast echo throughout the tunnel. They must have discovered the entrance, Artemis realized.

"D'arvit," Holly muttered. "How far until the exit Artemis?

Contorting his face slightly while doing mental arithmetic, Artemis sighed. "We need at least twenty more minutes at this pace, maybe ten if we ran."

"They have wings, they'll be here in half that" Holly exclaimed.

"I realize that." Artemis was at a loss, and had begun processing what exactly would occur if they were captured by a vengeful LEP. He was unsure that the apparent repeat kidnapping of an LEP captain would do him any favors.

Butler broke the silence. "You two go ahead, I can initiate a standoff and buy you two time".

Artemis furrowed his brow. "I still need you for the plan."

"You have Holly, she's more than enough to keep you safe, so long as she isn't shooting you," Butler said.

"There are dozens of them. It's hardly a fair fight."

"It doesn't need to be. They think I don't remember them, right? I'll be able to catch them flat-footed. Besides, the legend of Butler needs to be updated from time to time," Butler said, smiling softly.

Artemis considered this for a moment, and then nodded. As much as it pained him to admit it, he was at a loss for better alternatives "Okay. Don't do anything rash; I want you in one piece when we bail you out jail tomorrow."

Butler nodded, and swiftly disappeared into the darkness.

Artemis frowned as he reluctantly continued down the passage. He didn't like this development, but his concerns were assuaged as Holly gently grasped his hand.

"Alright mud boy, let's get out of here so that brain of yours can begin to fix this mess."

When Artemis and Holly finally reached the end of the path, and gently pushed open the trap-door, moonlight flooded into the tunnel. Holly breathed a sigh of relief. There was no sign of the LEP behind them. "Thank you Butler" she silently mouthed. Artemis looked around, seeming distracted.

"Took you long enough," a gruff voice interjected.

Holly recognized the voice. Mulch. Under different circumstances, she would have relished the reunion. Now, however, it was time for answers. "Artemis, what exactly have you done?"

to be continued...