The Collaboration Files

Blast it!

Hi, it's birch here. 

Enjoy this book, for my sake.

Obey thy Butler!

_______________________________

I cradeled teh sword in my arms, and thought long and hard about the situation. We had all their weapons, and it seemed as though we had the upper hand. But you could never be too sure.

Artemis surveyed the scene, and I watched him closely. It seemed as though he was looking for something. Lizzy was detaining Butler. I found that I watched Artemis mostly.....he was kinda cute for a criminal mastermind....even though he captured me and almost Lizzy.... Dang blast this damn puberty! I'm going to kill whoever 'discovered' and named it!

Lowering my head and studying the guns, I could see plenty of what looked like prototype models. But with a twist. These looked fully operational, with no experimental twists and turns you see on a normal prototype. There was an odd-looking pulse blaster, a non-prototype Sig Sauer, and other various knicknacks.

I got another crazy idea.

"Liz,"I strolled casually over to Iz as she was taking a small handgun from Butler. Pulling her aside, I whispered, "I want to fight the huge dude."

"What!?" Izzy looked me over as if I was crazy (Which I probably am), and looked over at Butler, who was slowly inching for the handgun. Giving him a loathing stare, she turned back to me. "Why?"

I shrugged. "Give him a chance."

"Don't get cocky. The last time you were cocky, you ended up in a concrete room in Ireland!"

"So I should fight the child genius?"

"No. Don't fight either!"

Ignoring her plea, I sidestepped Izzy and looked over at Butler. "Hey, huge dude, do you want to fight?"

Butler looked on the edge with this idea. "I don't like to fight women...."

"Hey, metal women outnumber metal men, so one day you're gonna have to fight a girl."

He shrugged, and looked over at Artemis, who nodded and his eyes flickered to the back of the room, surveying some unknown nook. Turning back to me, Butler nodded.

"For information," I swung the sword from the table, whirling it around in circles, and snapping the flat of the metal on my palm. "Winner gets to ask questions, Loser has to answer."

"Rules," Izzy sighed. "No knocking each other out. No leaving the room. No question asking during the fight. No killing one another."

"Perfect." I grinned. "Choose your weapon."

After a moment of examination, Butler picked up the blaster. Its name popped into my head. A riot rifle. Meant to spread a fan of bursts in a wide range and stop faerie prison riots... It dawned on me, and I dove toward lizzy, tackling her and mushing her to the ground in case the gun was modified to kill instead of stun, and that's when the fanning bolt of electricity hit me squarely in the chest and I blacked out.

        *        *        *        

When I came to, my head was reeling and My limbs were numb. I could hear my phone buzzing on the table, and distantly I could hear my human name. A steady breathing next to me told me Lizzy was alive, but still unconcious. I raised my head to see Artemis, looking tiny against the massive bulk of Butler.

"You won," I spat. "But technically, it was against the rules."

"My dear, we don't play by the rules," Came the boy's arrogant reply. "Now; Who are you?"

His voice was hypnotic.

"Why?"

"Answer the question," He sounded persistent.

I had to obey. "Syd."

"Where you going to kill us?"

"No."

"Straight to the point, no babbling," Artemis murmured, then to me he asked, "Do you believe in magic?"

I nodded.

He sighed, and I could feel an energy pulse sink into my chest, and I was out again.

*    *    *

When I awoke, I was unbound, but still sitting. Butler was at the table, polishing some guns, and when he saw me he rapped on the table. Artemis poked his head out from a walk-in safe off to the right of the room. I got up, stretched, and paced around the room. Lizzy was already awake, and glaring at me from across the table. She was chomping into a kiwi, and handed me one. I thanked her, and stared pointedly at Artemis.

"Well? Why unbind us?"

"You were not a threat to us, but you can be useful."

"In what way?"

"Well...." Again, unbecoming as it was, Artemis hesitated. "Can you create computer viruses?"

Butler laughed a bit, a simutainly cheery and terrifying laugh. "Pleading doesn't suit you."

"I know, old friend. It was just a conversation starter..."

"Small talk doesn't suit you either."

"All right, what I'm trying to say is, do you think you can help us get in to the most secured computer system on the planet?"

I stared at him.

"Keep talking."