Artemis stared at the flickering screen. For the first time in his life, even after extreme manipulation, he had failed. He had failed. The words kept repeating inside his head. After his successful kidnap of Holly Short, he had struck gold. True, he had returned half of it. True, soon afterwards, he had tried to blackmail The People. But…He did think that The People would be eager to get back the gold.

"Artemis, your mother wants to talk to you." Juliet poked her head into the study.

"Right, I'll go up." Artemis replied, without taking his eyes off the Mac.

Alright. He had to face it. The People, it seemed didn't want their gold back. He had to find some other way getting what he wanted. He got up, put his Mac on standby and climbed one floor up to the luxurious bedroom his mother and father had shared.

"Mother?" Artemis knocked on the door.

"Arty? Come in. I want to talk to you." His mother called from inside.

Artemis knew what was coming. Where had the additional one billion odd dollars come from? Artemis faced this dilemma. If, he told her about The People, there were two chances; one, Angeline wouldn't believe him; two, she would believe him and the news would be all over the world and that would be the end to his successful blackmail of The People.

"Arty, I wanted to ask you something. Why are you always cooped up in tat study in front of your computers instead of getting some fresh air?" Artemis stared. This was a first.

"Er…" Artemis had no answer.

"What would you say to a weekend trip to the coast? You know, beaches, fresh air…It'll do you good."

And this was the point when Artemis's brain started functioning. The coast would be the closest to Tara or the E1 port. If…

"Yes, mother. It's a great idea. When do we leave?" Artemis asked.

"I'll ask Juliet to pack my bags. See to yours, Arty. We'll leave the day after tomorrow." Angeline turned away.

Artemis made for his study. He logged into his computer to find a new mail. It read:

Mr Artemis Fowl,

The council of The People have decided to consider your mail. We have discussed it and come to a conclusion. If you request is important, we shall help you out in return for the gold. On the other hand, if we find that the mail was a trick for some treachery, we'll ensure that your memory is wiped before you return to the surface again. If you agree to the terms, you can come to Tara, from where an LEP officer will take you into custody. Please note that any weapon will be considered as a hostile act. Your bodyguard is also given permission to come with you.

Yours truly,

Steel Deleca

Chief of The People Council

Artemis read the mail through and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Butler?" He called.

Butler entered the room.

"Make preparations to go to the coast. We are combining a vacation with work. Fairy work. Arm yourself." Artemis instructed Butler.