Butler- Capturing Holly

“Holly!” he shouted into the microphone pad adhered to his thumb. “Abort! Abort!”

“What . . .” came the crackly response. “The noise . . . I think . . . damaged.”

Then a few seconds of white noise, sharp snaps, and silence.

It was too late. Artemis could only press his face against the screen and watch helplessly as one of the leatherworkers shrugged off his shoulder blanket and straightened, revealing himself to be far taller than he had previously appeared. It was, of course, Butler, with a handheld infrared scanner extended before him.

Butler. Don’t do it, old friend. I know you were never comfortable with my schemes.

In three quick strides the bodyguard moved to Holly’s vat and netted the elf in his blanket. She struggled and fought, but never had a chance against Butler’s formidable strength. In ten seconds Holly was hog-tied and hoisted over the bodyguard’s shoulder. In five more seconds Butler was out of the gate and lost in the gathering crowds of the medina.

It all happened so quickly that Artemis’s jaw did not have time to drop. One moment he was in control, enjoying the smugness that comes with being the smartest person in the metaphorical room. The next he was crashing back to earth, having sacrificed his queen for a rook, realizing he was up against somebody just as smart as he was, only twice as ruthless.

-The Time Paradox, Chapter 11