Artemis was sitting on his bed, using his laptop to divert a large amount of money into his personal bank account. All was business as usual, and the seventeen year old criminal mastermind was perfectly at ease. A lock of the boy's black hair would occasionally fall over his face, concealing one of the blue eyes. An impatient, pale hand would tuck it behind his ear so that it no longer obscured the unnaturally pale face until it would inevitably fall again. This went on for a while when his phone rang. Warily, he picked it up.
"Is this Artemis Fowl?"
He judged the girl to be about sixteen, a year younger than him. "Yes."
"The Third?"
"Yes."
"Whose grandfather is Myles Fowl?'
" How did you get this number?" Artemis asked, annoyed.
"I have a friend." The girl replied, a touch of humour in her voice, as if she was laughing at him. "He has all the numbers."
The phrase seemed familiar. Artemis filed it away to think about later.
"Answer the question." The girl demanded.
"Yes, my grandfather is Myles Fowl. Who is this?" He demanded angrily.
"Good." There was a click as the girl hung up.
Artemis stared at the cell in his hand for a minute. A mixture of emotions that he had never felt before tumbled around inside him. Confusion. That was a first. He was Artemis Fowl the Third, child genius and criminal mastermind. He was never confused. Or fear. Fear was a new experience for him. Usually Butler was there. Speaking of which... He twisted to stare at the door. "Butler!" He screamed.