by Eoin Colfer
“I’m making it simple. I think you can get me a demon, and I think you can do it in less than seventeen months. So here’s what I am going to do.” He leaned down and heaved Juan Soto’s chair upright. The security chief slumped forward onto the table.
“I am going to hurt Mr. Soto. Simple as that. There is nothing you can do to stop that from happening. This is a demonstration of my earnestness. It connects you with the reality of your situation. And then you know I mean business. So after that, you start talking. And if you don’t start talking, then we move on to lucky contestant number two.”
Minerva had no doubt that contestant number two was her father.
“Please, Mr. Kong, there is no need for any of this. I am telling you the truth.”
“Oh, it’s please now, is it?” said Kong in mock surprise. “And Mr. Kong, too. What happened to idiot and moron?”
“Don’t kill him. He’s a nice man. He has a family.”
Kong grabbed a bunch of Soto’s hair and yanked his head back. The chief’s Adam’s apple stuck out like a plum.
“He’s an incompetent,” snarled Kong. “Look how easily your demon escaped. See how simple it was for me to take over.”
“Let him live,” pleaded Minerva. “My father has money.”
Kong sighed. “You’re just not getting it, are you? For a smart girl you can be pretty stupid a lot of the time. I don’t want money. I want a demon. Now stop talking and pay attention. There is no point in trying to negotiate.”
Minerva’s heart sank as she realized just how far out of her depth she actually was. In less than an hour she had crossed over to a world of darkness and cruelty. And her own arrogance had led her to it.
“Please,” she said. She struggled to maintain her composure. “Please.”
Kong adjusted his grip on the knife. “Don’t look away now, little girl. Watch and remember who’s boss.”
Minerva could not avert her eyes. Her gaze was trapped by this terrible tableau. It was like a scene from a scary movie, complete with its own sound track.
Minerva frowned. Real life did not have a sound track. There was music coming from somewhere.
The somewhere proved to be Kong’s trouser pocket. His polyphonic phone was playing the “Toreador Song” from Carmen. Kong pulled the phone from his pocket.
“Who is this?” he snapped.
“My name is not important,” said a youthful voice. “The important thing is that I have something you want.”
“How did you get this number?”
“I have a friend,” replied the mystery caller. “He knows all the numbers. Now, to business. I believe you’re in the market for a demon?”
Minutes earlier, Butler had pulled off the motorway at the airport exit and had crammed himself into the backseat beside Artemis and Holly. They had watched the drama unfold in Chateau Paradizo on their tiny laptop.
Artemis gripped his knees tight. “I can’t allow this. I won’t allow it.”
Holly placed a hand over his. “We have no choice, Artemis. We’re clear now. This is not our fight. I can’t risk exposing No1.”
Artemis’s frown cut a line from his furrow to the bridge of his nose.
“I know. Of course. But still, how can this not be my fight?” He glanced sharply at Butler. “Will Kong kill those men?”
“Without a doubt,” replied the bodyguard. “In his mind, it’s already done.”
Artemis rubbed his eyes, suddenly fatigued. “I am responsible, indirectly. I can’t have a man’s death on my conscience. Holly, you do what you have to do, but I need to save those people.”
“Conscience,” said No1. “What a lovely word. The sh in the middle.”
It was plain that the imp was not actually listening to the conversation, just picking up on certain words. The incongruity of this simple statement made Artemis look across toward the demon. His eyes rested for a moment on No1’s chest markings. And suddenly he knew where he had seen them before. A plan hit him like a bolt of lightning.
“Holly, do you trust me?”
Holly groaned. “Artemis, don’t ask me that. I just know one of your outrageous plans is coming.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” Holly sighed. “I do. More than anyone.”
“Well then, trust me to get us all out of this. I will explain later.”
Holly was torn. This decision could affect the rest of her life, and the imp’s too. And the effect could be to shorten them dramatically.
“Okay, Artemis. But I’ll be watching.”
Artemis spoke into his ring-phone. “Foaly, can you put me through to Mr. Kong’s cell phone?”
“Not a problem,” replied the centaur from Section 8 headquarters. “But it’s going to be the last thing I do for you. Sool has tracked my line out. In thirty seconds I’m going to be shut down, and you’ll be on your own.”
“I understand. Put me through.”
Butler gripped Artemis’s shoulder. “If you call him, then he has the upper hand. Kong will want to choose where to meet.”
“I know where we should meet. I just have to convince Mr. Kong that the rendezvous point is his idea.” Artemis closed his fist, covering the phone. “Quiet. It’s ringing.”
“Who is this?” snapped Kong.
“My name is not important,” said Artemis. “The important thing is that I have something you want.”
“How did you get this number?”
“I have a friend,” replied the mystery caller. “He knows all the numbers. Now, to business. I believe you’re in the market for a demon?”
“So, you must be the great Artemis Fowl. Minerva’s idol. I am so sick of you smart kids. Why can’t you just boost cars or steal stuff like normal kids?”
“We do steal stuff. Just bigger stuff. Now, are you interested in my demon or not?”
“I could be,” said Kong. “What do you have in mind?”
“A straight trade. I pick a public place, and we swap. My demon for your girl.”
“You’re not picking anything, kid. I pick the rendezvous point. You called me, remember? What do you want with this girl anyway?”
“Her life,” said Artemis simply. “I do not like murder, or murderers. You and your crew walk out of there with one hostage, and we do a swap. It’s a simple transaction. Don’t tell me you’ve never released a hostage before.”
“I’m an old hand, kid. I’ve been picking up ransoms for years.”
“Good. I’m glad we can do business. Now why don’t you name your preferred location. I’ll be wearing a burgundy tie. Pay attention to that. There are a hundred and one ways this could go wrong. If it does, the police could tie one of us up for a long time.”
In the getaway car, Holly frowned quizzically at Artemis. It wasn’t like him to chatter. He calmed her with a look and a wave of his hand.
“Okay,” said Kong. “I just thought of somewhere. You know Taipei 101?”
“In Taiwan?” said Artemis. “One of the world’s tallest buildings? You are not serious. That’s on the far side of the world.”
“I am deadly serious. Taipei is my second home. I know it well. You will have a tough enough time getting there by the deadline, so there will be no tricks. We will exchange on the observation deck at twelve noon, two days from now. If you don’t show, then the girl takes the express elevator down. If you see what I mean.”
“I see. I’ll be there.”
“Good. Don’t come alone. Bring the ugly guy with you, or the female. I don’t care, I only need one.”
“We have already released the female.”
“Okay. The guy then. You see how easy it is to deal with me. I’m a reasonable man, unless I’m crossed. So don’t cross me.”
“Don’t worry,” said Artemis. “I won’t.”
And he said it with such conviction that, if you didn’t know him, you would absolutely believe it.
CHAPTER 11
A LONG WAY DOWN
Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei 101 is among the tallest buildings in the world. Some say it is the tallest, if the sixty-foot spire can be counted, but others argue that a spire is not a building, and so Taipei 101 can technically only be called the tallest structure in the world. In any event, there were four buildings in construction, two in Asia, one in Africa, and the fourth in Saudi Arabia, with their sights set on the world’s tallest building crown. So Taipei’s claim to fame could be a fleeting one.
Artemis and company landed at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport barely three hours before the deadline in a rented Lear jet. And though Butler was a registered pilot, qualified for day and night flying on various aircraft, it was Artemis who flew most of the way.
Flying helped him think, he claimed. Also, no one would interrupt while he put the finishing touches to his audacious plan. Artemis was fully aware of the risks involved with this particular scheme. The pivotal element was purely theoretical and the rest was highly risky.
He briefed the others on the details in the back of a rented Lexus on the forty-minute drive from the airport to downtown Taipei. The entire group looked drained, even though they had eaten and rested on the plane. Only No1 was in high spirits. Everywhere he looked there were new wonders to be gaped at, and he could not imagine that anyone would be able to injure him while he was under Butler’s protection.
“The bad news is that we are running close to the deadline,” said Artemis. “So there will be no time to set a trap.”
“And the good news, Artemis?” said Holly grumpily. She was grumpy for a few reasons. She was dressed as a human girl because Artemis had asked her to save her magic for when it would be needed. She had managed to boost her magical energy by burying a sealed acorn she kept around her neck, but there had been no full moon so her power reserves were limited. Also, she was completely shut off from the People, and to top it all off, she had no doubt that Ark Sool would have her up on charges if any of them did manage to survive the trade-off. After all, she had brought No1 halfway across the world instead of escorting him safely to Haven City.
“The good news is that Kong can’t be too far ahead of us, so it is unlikely he had time to set up any traps either.”
The Lexus entered the Xinyi District, and Taipei 101 rose from the cityscape like a giant bamboo shoot. The buildings around it seemed to shrink back in awe.
Butler craned his head back to see the top of the sixteen-hundred-plus-foot building. “We never do anything small, do we? Why can’t we for once have a meeting in a Starbucks?”
“I didn’t pick this building,” said Artemis. “It picked us. Fate has brought us here.”
He tapped Butler on the shoulder, and the bodyguard pulled over into the first space he could find. It took several minutes. Taipei morning traffic was thick and slow-moving and spewed smoke like an irritated dragon. Many of the thousands of pedestrians and cyclists had smog masks strapped across their faces.
When the vehicle stopped, Artemis continued his briefing.
“Taipei 101 is a miracle of modern engineering. The architects took their inspiration from the humble bamboo. But this shape alone does not keep the skyscraper steady in the event of an earthquake or high winds, so the designers built it on a frame of concrete-filled steel-boxed super columns, and installed a seven-hundred-ton steel ball as a mass damper pendulum to absorb the force of the wind. Ingenious. The pendulum swings instead of the building. It’s become quite the tourist attraction. You can even watch it from the observation deck. The owners have covered the damper with six inches of solid silver, which have been etched by the famous Taiwanese artist Alexander Chou.”
“Thanks for the fine-art lesson,” interrupted Holly. “Now how about you let us in on your plan. I want to get this over with and take off this ridiculous tracksuit. It’s so shiny, I feel sure I can be picked up on satellite.”
“I don’t much like this outfit either,” complained No1, who was dressed in an orange floral muumuu. Orange, he had decided, was definitely not for him.
“Your outfit is the least of your worries,” noted Holly. “I’m guessing that we’re about to hand you over to a bloodthirsty hit man, eh, Artemis?”
“That we are,” confirmed Artemis. “But only for a few seconds. There will be little or no danger to you. And if my suspicions are correct, it is just possible that we may save Hybras.”
“Go back to me being in danger for a few seconds,” said No1, his thick brow folding in a frown. “In Hybras, a few seconds can last a very long time.”
“Not here,” said Artemis, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. “Here a few seconds is how long it will take you to open your hand.”
No1 experimentally opened his fingers a couple of times. “That’s still pretty long. Any way to cut it down?”
“Not really. If we do, it means sacrificing Minerva.”
“Well, she did tie me to a chair.” No1 glanced around at the shocked faces. “What? I’m joking. Of course I’ll do it. But no more orange. Please.”
Artemis smiled, but it did not quite reach his eyes. “Very well, no more orange. Now, the plan. It is in two parts. If the first part doesn’t work, then the second is redundant.”
“Redundant,” said No1 almost unconsciously. “Not needed, superfluous.”
“Exactly. So I’ll explain that when necessary.”
“What about the first part?” asked Holly.
“In the first part, we meet a vicious hit man and his band of thugs, and he will expect us to hand over No1.”
“So what do we do?”
“We hand over No1,” said Artemis. He turned to the slightly nervous imp. “How do you like the plan so far?”
“Well, I don’t like the first bit and I don’t know the last bit. So I’m really hoping the middle bit is exceptional.”
“Don’t worry,” said Artemis. “It is.”
Taipei 101
The group took a high-speed elevator from Taipei 101’s cavernous lobby to the observation floor. Holly and No1 had technically been given permission to enter the building by a small plaque over the main door that simply urged visitors to come and go as they pleased. And seeing as she did not feel the urge to throw up in the elevator, Holly guessed that the plaque counted as an invitation.
“Toshiba elevators,” said Artemis, reading from a pamphlet he had picked up at information. “These are the fastest elevators in the world. We are moving at fifty-five feet per second, so it shouldn’t take much more than half a minute to reach the eighty-ninth floor.”
Artemis consulted his watch when the doors dinged open.
“Hmm. Right on time. Impressive engineering. I may get one of these for the house.”
They stepped out into the observation area, which had a restaurant at the far end. From this lofty vantage point, visitors could walk all the way around the building and shoot video of the panoramic view. From this height it was even possible to see China across the Taiwan Strait.
For a moment the group forgot their worries and allowed themselves to be awestruck by the grace of this enormous structure. The sky outside the window blended almost seamlessly with the sea on the horizon. No1 was especially dumbfounded. He turned in small circles, the muumuu swishing around his legs.
“Less of the pirouetting, little man,” advised Butler, the first to get his mind back on the job. “You’re showing your legs. And pull that bonnet down over your face.”
No1 obliged, though he was not happy with the bonnet. It was shapeless and saggy, and made his head look like a bag of laundry.
“Good luck, Holly,” said Artemis into thin air. “We will meet you on the fortieth floor.”
“Get this done as quickly as you can,” Holly whispered into his ear. “I don’t have enough magic for a long shield. I’m barely invisible as it is.”
“Understood,” said Artemis from the side of his mouth.
The small band walked slowly toward the bar area and took a table below the enormous mass damper suspended a few feet above the ei
ghty-eighth floor. The seven hundred–ton ball was a sight to behold, like an indoor moon, its surface etched with traditional Yuanzhumin drawings.
“This is the legend of Nian,” explained Artemis casually, while Butler scanned the room. “A ferocious beast that would feed on human flesh each New Year’s eve. To scare Nian away torches were lit and firecrackers were set off, because Nian was known to fear the color red. Thus the splashes of red paint. It seems likely from the pictures that Nian was actually a troll. Chou must have based his work on contemporary accounts.”
A waitress came to their table.
“Li ho bo,” said Artemis. “Can we have a pot of oolong tea. Organic if you have it.”
The waitress blinked at Artemis, then looked up at Butler, who was still standing.
“You are Mr. Fowl?” she asked, in excellent English.
“I am Master Fowl,” said Artemis, tapping the table for attention. “Do you have something for me?”
The waitress passed him a napkin.
“From the gentleman at the bar,” she said.
Artemis glanced down the arc of the metal railing and buffer system that kept patrons away from the mass damper, and more important, kept the mass damper away from them.
Billy Kong was seated a dozen tables down, waggling his eyebrows in their direction. He was not alone. No one else was eyebrow waggling, but three men were at the table with him, and several others were dotted around the bar area. Minerva was on Kong’s knee. He held her fast by the forearm. Her shoulders were tense but there was defiance in the set of her mouth.
“Well?” Artemis said to Butler.
“At least twelve,” replied the bodyguard. “Billy must have friends in Taiwan.”
“None of them invisible, thank goodness,” said Artemis, opening the napkin.
Send the creature to the reserved table, read the message on the napkin. I will send the girl. No tricks or people will get hurt.
He passed the napkin to Butler. “What do you think?”
Butler gave the message a summary glance. “I think he won’t try anything here. Too many cameras. If security doesn’t get him on film, a tourist will. If Kong goes for a double cross, it will be outside.”