A Familiar Face

5

I woke up to Beckett shaking me and softly saying my name.

"Ri, Ri, wake up, Ri." He started whispering.

I groaned, but woke up.

"I'm up."

Beck took my wrist, and started dragging me down the stairs of the jet.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Myles said, and as I looked up, my drowsiness wore off in a second, "Welcome to Fowl Manor."

-----------------------------

"Oh, and this is the end of our tour. It's, dun dun dun dun, your room!" Beck said, opening the door to reveal a suite.

"Thanks for the tour, Beck." I said.

"No problem, Ri. I guess I'll just leave you to it." He left the suitcase carrying my clothes, and I walked into the bathroom after locking the door. I did the same to the door in the bathroom.

I whispered a command to Liam.

"Liam." The middle C-note of the piano played, indicating his presence- it played whatever Liam was in the mood for, but this was the default.

"Here, Bestie." He notified. Liam was like that. Formal, but with casual nicknames.

"I need you to give our access number to NANNI. Remember to change it afterwards, and tell her to not tell the Fowls."

He gave a moment of silence, before saying, "Done, Bestie. I have also gotten her's. When you ask, I shall put you in contact."

"I would like contact now." I asked.

He gave another moment of silence, as if conversing with her on the side, "Would you like a clone or the main body? And may I be present or on hold?"

I thought, "On hold, and a clone will be fine."

A few moments later, NANNI's voice rang out.

"Hello, Marinette. You called?"

"Yes, NANNI. Please replace all footage of what may go on in this room with a simulation. Consider it as a favour. And if you were to connect Liam to the system in my room, and mention your presence before you enter, that would be fine."

"Is that all? Please, Marinette, anything that stops Miles from knowing things is my pleasure. I would have blocked the entire manor from his view, if he wouldn't notice." I wonder how Miles made NANNI so advanced without using 'freebies'.

"Yes, that's all. Please continue with your work. And tell Liam that he can come back to the system now.

"Done." NANNI left the glasses, and Liam's voice rang through.

"Are you done cheating on me, Bestie? Talking with another AI like that." He teased.

"Oh please, it wasn't that hard. Even your avatar isn't that good-looking."

"You'd be surprised." He said nonchalantly.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Acting dumb, are we? Liam, I demand you explain yourself." I ordered.

"Bye, Bestie." Then played a high-C. Playing with me now? And when did he act so... immature? Did he use slang? When did that happen?

NANNI's notification of presence came through the speakers of the room.

"May I enter?" said the masked voice of NANNI.

"Yes."

The sound of unrolling a scroll played, before a recording of Miles's voice spoke, "Miles Fowl and Beckett C. Fowl formally invite you to dinner in their private wing. It would be much to our delight if you were to courteously accept our invitation. The menu consists of a starter of Mac'N'Cheese, a main meal of Chicken Nuggets, shaped to a mix of Albert Einstein," he scoffed, "And dinosaurs. This will also be served with waffle fries, a variety of condiments and a healthy serving of steamed broccoli. Fruits such as dates, mangoes, dragon fruit and durian will follow, and a dessert of chocolate fudge brownie and vegan vanilla ice cream, served with hot coffee, will finish."

NANNI's voice returned, "Yada, yada, about the ingredients and allergies, blah, blah, blah, about the nutrition and balance featured, duh-duh-duh about the pros of attending, jitsa-jutsa about punctuality and hey-hey about why Albert Einstein is a disgrace. I thought I'd cut him off. This thing goes on for another forty-five minutes for yada-yada, thirty-nine for blah-blah-blah, one hour and seven minutes for duh-duh-duh, one-and-a-half hours for jitsa-jutsa, and finally, a whooping thirteen-hours and forty-five minutes for hey-hey. I thought I'd save you a precious seventeen hours, forty-eight minutes and three seconds."

I smiled gratefully, "Thank you, NANNI. Please alert me when I should go."

A pause incurred, "You have four minutes and fifty-nine seconds as of when I finish speaking to be at their bedroom, sat down on one of the kiddee stools that Beckett insists on having, at a matching table, across the building, making playful banter and light conversation."

...

"NANNI. Please send Liam a blueprint of the building." I requested.

"I have."

"Liam. What are you waiting for?" I said, thinking Liam's voice would already be spilling out directions.

No response.

"Marinette, speakers that I fill are placed strategically throughout the manor. Exit your room and you will be provided with specific and logical directions." NANNI offered.

"Liam." I tried.

"Four minutes."

I sighed, and ran out my room to follow NANNI's instructions.