Commander Root looked at Capt. Holly Short helping Foaly with some
paperwork. He knew this was very uncharacteristic of her. Poor girl, he
thought, not many things can bring her down like this. He knew that, ever
since Artemis Fowl the second's mind wipe, she had been feeling depressed
and unable to focus on her work. Just last week, she almost got herself
killed by an escaped troll, which, ironically, she tackled two years back
and also nearly ended in a total fiasco. "Ahhhh, what does she see in that
Mud Boy, anyway? Maybe a few weeks off might take her mind off this all,"
he mumbled as he strode to Holly's direction.
Foaly took the stack of files from Holly's hands and placed them beside his desk in his office. From the corner of his eye, he saw her sit quietly on a chair, fidgeting with her LEP helmet. "Uh, Holly," he began, "er, what are you planning to do this coming weekend?" He knew this was a lame way of trying to pry some words from her, but this was all he could come up with. "I don't know, what do you think?" she replied absentmindedly. Foaly shook his head while rearranging the files, which made him drop the topmost one. He picked it up and saw that it was the one about Artemis. "A formidable opponent of the People.once helped in containing the B'wa Kell uprising.mind-wiped after nearly divulging the secret of the People to another Mud Man through the C-cube.ya-di-ya-di-ya, a whole load of trash" he mumbled. He quickly placed it back with the other files before Holly could sneak a peek and sink into depression again.
"Short!" Root bellowed while bending over her to make sure he fully got her attention. Holly, who hadn't been yelled to like that for a week (and forgot what it was like), almost fell out of her chair and stood up straight. "Yessir?" "What do you say to a whole week off?" Root said. "I don't know, sir, is it necessary?" (Root chuckled to himself, knowing that a good little argument will perk her up a bit). "What do you mean is it necessary? I'm asking you, Captain!" "I've never done any strenuous missions yet, sir, so I don't think so." "What if I do?" "Well, sir, I-" "One week! Vacation! Absolutely no work!" "But, sir I-!" "No objections!" " But I haven't done-!" "What did I just say, Captain?" "It's just that-" "NOT ANOTHER WORD! YOUR ONE WEEK VACATION STARTS NOW!" "Uh, yessir!"
As Holly strode out of the office (obviously weirded out by her commander's recent display of anger), Foaly whispered to Root, "Do you really think it's good for her for you to shout like that?" Root, uncharacteristically not blowing his top, replied, "Well, the Holly Short we know thinks so. Now, let's see in a week whether the real Holly Short is what we're gonna get."
While on the surface of the Earth, in Jamaica specifically, Mulch Diggums, or rather, Mark DeGaume as he's now called, is savoring freedom after being released from his charges. "I gotta hand it to that Fowl kid," he said to himself, "he's a real lifesaver." He grabs a hero sandwich from his table and a small note fell from his pocket. Mulch picks it up and chuckles at the little memo he wrote for himself. It read: Get yourself a nice little condo in Jamaica. (Check.) Savor long earned freedom. ("Check") Return the favor by restoring Fowl's memory. He scowled at the last part, knowing Artemis would want him to wait 2 more years for that, but he was itching for action. " 'Together, we would be unstoppable,' he said," he mumbled, stuffing the memo into his pocket, "Aww, he's mind-wiped anyway! What he doesn't know won't hurt him! Well, I better pack my bags, 'cause I'm off to Ireland!"
Artemis stared restlessly outside his Mercedes-Benz window. He then took out of his briefcase, for the umpteenth time, a small glass vial containing a set of contact lenses. "I will unlock your secrets, my friend, one way or another," he said, as if the enigmatic little lenses taunted him, teasing him, telling him not even his superior intellect could decipher their mystery. "What time did the contact at Limerick say he'll meet us again?" he asked Butler, who was driving. Hiding a smirk (this is also the umpteenth time Artemis asked the question), the manservant replied, "8:00 p.m., Artemis, we have sufficient time. And it's not like anyone would stop us. Your parents think you're on a school trip, while your headmaster thinks you have a very grave family affair that's come to your attention." Artemis smiled and relaxed. "It was only a matter of proper wordings and perfect signature-forging, Butler. They will never suspect a thing."
Foaly took the stack of files from Holly's hands and placed them beside his desk in his office. From the corner of his eye, he saw her sit quietly on a chair, fidgeting with her LEP helmet. "Uh, Holly," he began, "er, what are you planning to do this coming weekend?" He knew this was a lame way of trying to pry some words from her, but this was all he could come up with. "I don't know, what do you think?" she replied absentmindedly. Foaly shook his head while rearranging the files, which made him drop the topmost one. He picked it up and saw that it was the one about Artemis. "A formidable opponent of the People.once helped in containing the B'wa Kell uprising.mind-wiped after nearly divulging the secret of the People to another Mud Man through the C-cube.ya-di-ya-di-ya, a whole load of trash" he mumbled. He quickly placed it back with the other files before Holly could sneak a peek and sink into depression again.
"Short!" Root bellowed while bending over her to make sure he fully got her attention. Holly, who hadn't been yelled to like that for a week (and forgot what it was like), almost fell out of her chair and stood up straight. "Yessir?" "What do you say to a whole week off?" Root said. "I don't know, sir, is it necessary?" (Root chuckled to himself, knowing that a good little argument will perk her up a bit). "What do you mean is it necessary? I'm asking you, Captain!" "I've never done any strenuous missions yet, sir, so I don't think so." "What if I do?" "Well, sir, I-" "One week! Vacation! Absolutely no work!" "But, sir I-!" "No objections!" " But I haven't done-!" "What did I just say, Captain?" "It's just that-" "NOT ANOTHER WORD! YOUR ONE WEEK VACATION STARTS NOW!" "Uh, yessir!"
As Holly strode out of the office (obviously weirded out by her commander's recent display of anger), Foaly whispered to Root, "Do you really think it's good for her for you to shout like that?" Root, uncharacteristically not blowing his top, replied, "Well, the Holly Short we know thinks so. Now, let's see in a week whether the real Holly Short is what we're gonna get."
While on the surface of the Earth, in Jamaica specifically, Mulch Diggums, or rather, Mark DeGaume as he's now called, is savoring freedom after being released from his charges. "I gotta hand it to that Fowl kid," he said to himself, "he's a real lifesaver." He grabs a hero sandwich from his table and a small note fell from his pocket. Mulch picks it up and chuckles at the little memo he wrote for himself. It read: Get yourself a nice little condo in Jamaica. (Check.) Savor long earned freedom. ("Check") Return the favor by restoring Fowl's memory. He scowled at the last part, knowing Artemis would want him to wait 2 more years for that, but he was itching for action. " 'Together, we would be unstoppable,' he said," he mumbled, stuffing the memo into his pocket, "Aww, he's mind-wiped anyway! What he doesn't know won't hurt him! Well, I better pack my bags, 'cause I'm off to Ireland!"
Artemis stared restlessly outside his Mercedes-Benz window. He then took out of his briefcase, for the umpteenth time, a small glass vial containing a set of contact lenses. "I will unlock your secrets, my friend, one way or another," he said, as if the enigmatic little lenses taunted him, teasing him, telling him not even his superior intellect could decipher their mystery. "What time did the contact at Limerick say he'll meet us again?" he asked Butler, who was driving. Hiding a smirk (this is also the umpteenth time Artemis asked the question), the manservant replied, "8:00 p.m., Artemis, we have sufficient time. And it's not like anyone would stop us. Your parents think you're on a school trip, while your headmaster thinks you have a very grave family affair that's come to your attention." Artemis smiled and relaxed. "It was only a matter of proper wordings and perfect signature-forging, Butler. They will never suspect a thing."