72: Kidnapped!

They rode in silence and the time spent in the van seemed interminable to Derek. He glanced at the Elves, all three sitting with a stillness that was almost frightening, their eyes closed, their breathing almost too slow it seemed to him. He couldn’t tell if they were scared or not. He knew he was scared. Nothing in his life had ever prepared him for this. He glanced at Alex — or was it Artemus? — sitting across from him. His gwador was equally still, yet his eyes were wide open and they never left the man sitting there with the gun, staring at him as if he were memorizing every detail of the man’s face. He appeared to be relaxed, not tense the way Derek felt, and Derek had to remind himself that perhaps for his gwador, this was a familiar scene, that this was probably not the first time someone had ever held a gun to him. Derek was at a loss as to what to do, but realized that at the moment he couldn’t do much of anything, so as the van continued southward on the James Dalton Highway he half closed his eyes and started to do one of the deep breathing exercises Alex had taught him.

He never noticed his gwador giving him a brief glance, a slight smile of approval creasing his face. Derek was correct that it really wasn’t Alex sitting there, but Artemus, coldly calculating the odds, devising and rejecting one plan after another, but keeping all options open. He suspected that the kidnappers were two of the agents he had never been able to identify and figured they were taking them to Farrell, holed up somewhere between Wiseman and Fairbanks. It had been a clever ruse, he had to admit, and hoped that the real driver and assessor had not been harmed.

He glanced at the Elves, and a small doubt entered his mind. From the very beginning they had exhibited no fear and little surprise, as if they knew what was to happen, but he did not think that could be so. He studied them carefully, noticing the absolute stillness of their bodies, a stillness that seemed inherent to the Elves, for he had noticed that trait among some of the others, Barry and Ron in particular. Their eyes were closed, as if they did not wish to look upon the kidnappers, but then he noticed something that gave him a clue as to what they might be doing: both Calandil and Elennen, sitting on either side of Findalaurë, had a hand on his shoulders. To the casual observer, it might seem that these two were offering their friend comfort, but Artemus doubted it.

He recalled a discussion in the history class about some of the abilities of the Elves that Mortals did not have and remembered Della speaking of some Elves being able to speak to another mind to mind. Telepathy, he would’ve called it, though Della used another word that he couldn’t remember. He had scoffed at the idea, for this was before he’d learned the truth. But he had seen evidence of this ability since and now he had to wonder. Perhaps Lawrence was in contact with someone, Finrod, most likely. He wasn’t sure how that might help them out of the situation they were in, but he’d learned a long time ago never to dismiss anything that might be to his advantage.

He wondered just how far they would be traveling before meeting up with Farrell, but even as he was thinking this, the driver turned off to the right onto a dirt road that was barely passable. He glanced out the window, hoping he might recognize a landmark or two, for they had not traveled all that far. They had passed the road leading to Coldfoot on the left only ten minutes before by his estimate without being able to consult his phone. He vaguely recalled that just south of Coldfoot was the southern road leading to Santa’s Grotto. The tour he’d planned out would’ve used the northern route, instead. He thought it odd that Farrell would use the grotto as a hideout considering that it was being used, or would be later on. He recalled meeting one of the couples who would be playing Santa and the Missus and their saying how they would arrive around noon to set up for the first of the tours which was scheduled to arrive around three. It was probably not even ten yet, so there would be a couple of hours in which the grotto would be empty. The problem, he saw, was that he simply wasn’t sure what Farrell was planning, what he meant to do with Alex, or rather with Artemus.

He became even more confused when the van went past the road that he knew had to lead to the grotto and was at a loss as to where they might be going. He didn’t have long to wait, for topping a rise, he could see before them a small farmhouse. He casually shifted his weight, as if trying to find a more comfortable position. It enabled him to nudge Derek’s foot and his gwador opened his eyes. Alex jerked his head slightly to his left and Derek looked out the front window, his eyes widening, as if he recognized the place, but he had no time to say anything, for the road came to an end in front of the farmhouse where they saw a car. As the van came to a stop behind the car, the agent who had kept the gun trained on Artemus the entire time, now pointed it at Derek.

"Open the door and don’t try anything funny," he snarled and Derek complied. "You three, wake up. We’re at the end of the line." And for some reason he found that funny for he chuckled. The three Elves complied to the man’s demands. The driver, meantime, had gotten out and was now facing them, a gun in his hand.

"Okay, nice and easy now," the driver said. "You first," he gestured to Derek, "and keep your hands where I can see them."

Derek raised his hands as he awkwardly climbed out of the van, the man stepping back slightly to give him some room, gesturing with his gun so that Derek moved to his right a bit more, giving the next person some room to climb out. That was Cal, followed by Lawrence and then Elennen. Derek noticed that as soon as the three were down on the ground, Cal and Alan placed their hands on Lawrence’s shoulders and he wondered if they were holding their gwador back from doing something stupid. Artemus came next followed by the other agent.

"Right," the man said. "Into the house. Meriwether, you go first, and remember, your four friends here will be the first to die if you do anything stupid."

Artemus refused to react to the man’s threat, climbing the steps to the wrap-around porch and opening the door. Derek was right behind him, followed by the Elves with the two agents bringing up the rear.

"All the way to the back," they heard one of them say and they soon found themselves in a large room that appeared to be a combination kitchen and sitting room. For the first time Artemus reacted and for a moment he was Alex again, giving a gasp as he saw who was waiting for them.

"Zach! What....?"

"Ah, Mr. Grant, or should I say, Mr. Meriwether? Do come in." Derek, right behind Alex, saw Farrell with another man whom he didn’t know and sitting in an upright chair, his hands and feet tied with rope, his mouth gagged, was their friend Zach. "That’s right, all the way in. Armstrong, what’s the meaning of this? Who are these others?" Farrell snarled at the one he called Armstrong, who turned out to be the driver.

"They were with Meriwether and wished a lift to the Grange Hall," Armstrong answered with a shrug. "We couldn’t very well refuse or our cover would’ve been blown. What do you want us to do with them?"

Farrell had a calculating look on his face as he glanced first at Artemus standing there calmly, almost indifferently, then at Zach, tied to the chair and then at Derek and the Elves. "Well, for the moment, find some more rope and tie them up. If the Austin kid doesn’t work out, maybe one of these will. Grieve, Pegg, give him a hand."

Armstrong went out again, while the other two agents grabbed Derek by the arms and ruthlessly removed his hat and coat, pushing him roughly into another chair. One of them forced Derek’s arms behind him as Armstrong returned with more rope and they tied him up. Derek tried not to grimace as the rope bit into his flesh. When they finished with Derek they went to do the same to Alan, but the Elf resisted, negligently pushing Armstrong away, sending the agent to the floor. Almost at once the other two Elves fell back and tackled the other two agents.

"What the hell?" Farrell exclaimed, pulling out a gun and firing it into the air. The sound of it froze everyone. He then placed the gun at Zach’s temple, giving them an ugly look. "If you don’t want me to splatter your friend’s brains all over the place, you will let my men tie you up," he snarled.

"Do as he says," Artemus ordered. "This is no time for heroics."

The three Elves gave him disbelieving looks but allowed themselves to be tied up. Derek noticed that Lawrence was glowering at Artemus, looking both angry and hurt at what he thought was betrayal on the Mortal’s part, but Derek realized that Alex — or was it Artemus? — was doing his best to protect them and keep them alive. He had no doubt that these rogue agents would not hesitate to kill them all if they thought it absolutely necessary.

"What did you do with the Steiners?" he asked Farrell.

"Who? Oh, you mean the couple who own this farm," Farrell said, giving them a shrug. "They’re alive, if that’s what you’re worried about. But I wouldn’t concern yourself with their fate as much as I would be concerned about your own. Meriwether, you disappoint me. All these years I’ve heard about your exploits, how you’re Washburn’s golden boy, but you walk into my little trap like a novice."

"What do you want, Farrell? And what is Zach doing here?"

"Oh well, what I want is for you to take out Elwood. You did get the termination order, didn’t you?"

"A forgery," Artemus said with a sniff. "You really should practice your penmanship. That signature was as fake as a plugged nickel. And you gave me until Thanksgiving to carry out the order. Just why are you so hung up about terminating McKinley?"

"Elwood...."

"Elwood is dead, Farrell, and I have the proof," Artemus countered. "I sent it all to Maddy. McKinley is no more Elwood than I’m the tooth fairy. So just what is your game, just what is really going on here? You come barging in on my turf, insisting you’re the boss when I was given clear instructions from my controllers as to what the deal here was. Ever since you showed up, you’ve been in my face, ordering me around without any proof that you have that authority and I want to know why. If you’re so convinced that McKinley is Elwood, why haven’t you taken him out yourself? Why do you insist I do it instead?"

Farrell gave him a grimace of frustration. "Don’t you think I’ve tried? Damn so-and-so keeps eluding me somehow. I can’t get a fix on him and neither can my men. Speaking of which, just what happened to Finlay and the others?"

"No idea," Alex lied, shaking his head. "Like I told you...."

"Save your sob story for someone who cares," Farrell interrupted. "Enough. First things first. Pegg, you have the serum ready?"

"Here," Pegg said, holding up what appeared to be an IV needle. At Farrell’s nod he went to Zach, pulling up his left sleeve. Zach, his eyes wide with fear, tried to struggle. Pegg casually slapped him in the face. "Remain still or so help me I’ll make you suffer. This will only hurt a bit."

"What do you hope to gain by this, Farrell?" Artemus demanded.

"I’ve been keeping tabs on that Academy of yours," Farrell answered readily enough. "Zach, here, is that DelaFiore’s right-hand man. I told you how I couldn’t seem to get any info on what was going on in that house they all live in or the Academy? Well, I decided to approach the problem from a different angle."

"By kidnapping Zach," Alex said. "So why me?"

"Ah, well, we’ll get to you soon enough," Farrell said with a sneer as he watched Pegg inserting the IV into Zach’s arm and adjusting the drip. Pegg stood up and gave Farrell a nod. "It’ll take about five minutes or so before the serum takes effect."

Farrell nodded. "Ungag him," he ordered. Pegg complied and everyone watched as Zach struggled to keep his eyes open, making slight whimpering sounds of fear. Farrell reached down and lifted the young man’s chin. "Now, now, Mr. Austin. No need to be afraid. I’m just going to ask you some questions and you’re going to answer them and when we’re done, you’ll go to sleep."

Pegg checked Zach’s pulse, and nodded to Farrell, who continued leaning over the young man. "Now, Mr. Austin, why don’t you tell me who DeLaFiore is."

For a moment, Zach didn’t answer as he blinked several times, his head lolling back and forth. Then he opened his mouth and in a sing-song voice said, "He is my frie-end."

Everyone, including Artemus, Derek and the Elves, stared at Zach in surprise. Farrell reared back, as if he’d been hit. "What nonsense is this?" he demanded, looking at Pegg, as if the other man had all the answers. "Why is he singing?"

Pegg shrugged. "Don’t look at me. Maybe it’s the drug. It can do funny things to people."

Farrell let out a puff of frustration. "Okay, let’s try this again. Mr. Austin, besides being your friend, what else is DelaFiore?"

"Not his na-ame," Zach sang, shaking his head.

"What do you mean?" Farrell demanded. "Of course, his name is DelaFiore. Loren DelaFiore. Now tell me what you know about him."

"Not Loren," Zach said with a frown. "His name is not Loren." He sang the sentence as if it were a Gregorian chant.

"Okay, then what is his name?" Farrell asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Lord Glo-or-fi-indel of the House of the Go-oh-olden Flow-er."

"What the hell?" Farrell demanded, stepping back in surprise.

That was when Artemus struck. With all four agents’ attention on the singing Zach, Artemus had been biding his time, slowly, incrementally, shifting his position. He saw Derek stare at him, as did the Elves, and shook his head just slightly, putting a finger to his lips. Derek nodded and the Elves seemed to relax, or as much as they were able to all tied up. Artemus gauged the distance between him and Farrell. Pegg, Grieve and Armstrong were standing close to one side, staring in disbelief at their prisoner as he sang his answers. The trick was to take them all out as quickly as possible. He was sure he could do it. It was just a matter of getting into the correct position to effect the greatest amount of damage to the three agents before he tackled Farrell.

Just as Farrell stepped back in surprise at Zach’s response, Artemus saw his opportunity and without making any noise to alert the agents, did a standing leap, knocking the gun out of Grieve’s hand, then slamming himself into the agent, knocking him over, along with Armstrong who was standing next to him. A single chop knocked Grieve out even as Artemus was rolling over on top of Armstrong to take him out as well, but he never got the chance.

Just as he was about to knock the agent out, he heard an ominous click and, turning, saw Farrell standing over Zach with his gun pointed at the helpless man.

"Do it," Farrell growled, "and I won’t stop with this one." He stole a glance at Derek and the Elves before turning his gaze on Artemus again, giving him a cold, evil smile. "Nice try, Meriwether, but I’m afraid you’re outnumbered." He gestured with his gun and Artemus rose slowly to his feet, his hands out and to his side in a gesture of surrender.

"Do we tie him up?" Pegg asked while Armstrong stumbled over to Grieve to check on him. The agent was still out cold. Armstrong lifted him up and dragged him over to a nearby sofa and dropped him on it before returning to the others.

Farrell, meanwhile, was shaking his head. "Not necessary. I know just how to keep our Mr. Meriwether quiet. Zoisite!"

Artemus raised an eyebrow and looked at Derek who just shrugged. "Bless you," they said almost at the same time.

Farrell glowered at them. "Zoisite! Zoisite!" he said, nearly screaming in frustration. "Why aren’t you unconscious?"

Artemus smiled coldly, suddenly realizing what Farrell had attempted. He gave the agent an elegant shrug. "Maybe you’re not saying it correctly. What is a zoisite anyway when it’s at home?"

"Damn! Are you telling me they gave me the wrong trigger word?" Farrell demanded.

Now Artemus narrowed his eyes. "Who?"

"Never mind," Farrell snarled, then gestured to Pegg and Armstrong. "Tie him up and make sure he can’t escape. He knows all the tricks."

Armstrong grabbed Artemus and shoved him into a chair while Pegg began tying him up. Artemus didn’t resist, keeping his eyes on Farrell, that cold smile still on his face as if he found it all amusing. Throughout the confrontation between the two men, Derek wondered just how they were going to get out of this mess and feared that one or all of them would end up dead first. Yet, that cold smile on his gwador’s face bolstered his resolve. They were still alive and as long as they were alive there was hope.

While Artemus was being tied up, Farrell turned his attention back to Zach, still sitting there with his eyes half-closed, softly humming to himself. Taking a deep breath to get himself under control, he said, "Now, Mr. Austin. Let’s try this again. Who is Loren Delafiore?"

"He’s an Elf, an Elf, an Elf," Zach sang and then he started giggling and to everyone’s amazement he began singing in earnest and not in the style of a Gregorian chant and certainly not in English. "Lantanes, ar nárë huineyë lantaner as ero. Massë sin i-laurëalostë Ondolindëo? Massë sin i-macil callo?"

Derek had no idea what his friend was singing, though he figured it must be Quenya. He happened to notice the Elves, all three of them apparently listening with great interest.

"What the hell is he singing?" Farrell demanded. "That’s not English."

"It is Quenya," Findalaurë replied with a haughty sniff. "He is singing a famous lament." And then to the utter astonishment of all the Mortals there, he actually joined in the singing and without missing a beat, both Calandil and Elennen joined him, their ethereal voices blending beautifully, a pleasing counterpoint to Zach’s tenor. Farrell just stood there gaping and both Pegg and Armstrong (Grieve was still out cold) were wide-eyed. Armstrong even fell back a step or two before he caught himself and remained where he was. Artemus and Derek were less affected, having heard Elves singing before, but they still gaped at the Elves as they continued singing.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Farrell finally screamed. "Stop that damn singing, all of you." He turned and slapped Zach hard several times, taking some of his frustration out on the helpless young man. Zach stumbled to a halt in his singing, moaning in pain from the vicious slaps. Derek noticed that all three Elves had narrowed their eyes and their glares at Farrell promised retribution for his actions. Farrell didn’t seem to notice as he turned to the other two agents. "This is getting us nowhere. Unhook him and then put them all in the cellar with the other two. I need to figure this out."

Without a word, Pegg began removing the IV from Zach’s arm, competently bandaging it. Then, with Armstrong pointing a gun at them all, he began untying Zach, pushing the compliant young man toward a door at the other end of the kitchen, unlocking it and opening it. "Down," he said, giving Zach a slight push. Zach managed to grab hold of a rail and stumble down the stairs. Pegg closed and locked the door and went back to untie Derek, but once Derek was standing, he retied his hands behind his back, then led him to the cellar door and Derek was forced to go slowly down the steep stairs, leaning with his back against the rail to keep his balance, trying to see in the gloom, for Pegg never bothered to turn on the light. Once he was on the ground, Pegg closed the door. He came back and did the same with the Elves, leaving Artemus to last.

Farrell stood over Artemus as Pegg began untying him. "Please don’t do anything stupid, Meriwether. I’m sure you don’t want to see any of your friends hurt."

"You’re not going to get away with this, Farrell. None of you are," Artemus replied.

"Brave words, Meriwether," Farrell sneered, "but rather ineffective." He nodded to Pegg and Armstrong and the two dragged Artemus to the cellar door. Before he could take a cautious step down, though, Pegg simply pushed him, closing the door and locking it as he laughed at the sound of Artemus stumbling head over heels down the stairs, the cries of the others at the unnecessary cruelty dimming with the closing of the door.

****

Notes:

1. Zoisite is a gray, brown or pink mineral used in ornamental stonework.

2. Translation of Zach’s song: "He fell, and fire and shadow fell with him. Where now the Golden Flower of Gondolin? Where now the hero’s sword?" This is the opening verse of a (imagined) lament known as iQualmë Laurefindilo ‘The Death of Glorfindel’, probably composed by Idril after the fall of Gondolin.