Teaser chapter

Hours and hours of poring over the glowing screen of her computer. That's how long she'd been at this. And to what avail? A thin smirk spread over her features. A fresh look at things. Or this one thing, in particular.

Slender fingers played over the keys the same way they did that of the piano. The clicking of her keys had been rewired to sound musical in tone, simply for her sanity. Green eyes were staring at the screen, images reflected in them. Images of a certain Irish boy who's activities were as devious as her own, and twice as mysterious in nature.

All accounts were inexplicable. This boy, barely a few scant years older than herself, according to records, had already ripped off the Russian Mafiya, driven Jon Spiro to the limit, and many other sins. When had her interest been aroused in him? When she was 5 or 6, when the young Fowl boy had come through the Rathdown Conservatory, owned by her father.

That night, her favorite animal had gone missing. She wasn't a fool, far from it, and she knew enough to connect the two. The ten-year-old Artemis Fowl had managed to steal him. Of course, her father had told her she was being silly. Hadn't let her pursue the matter. Oooh, how frustrating that was, still now. As soon as she had turned 9 she began to research the Fowl's actions. His Swiss accounts increased, and the word on the streets was that it was an influx of gold. The source was diminuitive in stature, and Irish-American to boot, but, it was believable none the less.

After all, the Fowl family motto was Aurum Est Potestas. Gold is Power. The question was, what did Fowl do to get that gold? Then there was his stint with the Mafiya, the following year.. He braved radioactive tundra for his father. Again, the diminuitive source. Yet, by all legit reports, Artemis Fowl Senior showed up anonymously on a door step. There was one seemingly befuddled possible witness, but they didn't remember anything. But security video says they were out and about, yet they remembered nothing.

Odd. Very odd…

And Spiro. Search of the CIA files said that they followed him to London. The flight logs of the Fowl Lear jet, cleared by the airport, say that the Fowl was there too. That day, a news clipping shows there was a localized earthquake in a seafood restaurant. Given the resourcefulness of Fowl and Spiro, Tara didn't doubt that they were there for a business meeting. The Lear went off again, heading to O'Hare.

This was all odd. Perhaps made odder by the business logs. Spiro got something from Fowl. And needed Fowl to use it. She was eying the facts there, with the gears of her head turning. In the end…well, in the end Spiro had been taken in by the Chicago PD SWAT. If Fowl had, as their source had spilled, been confronting Spiro, then clearly, he'd won…but… how had Fowl fought?

There were a lot of loose ends… and she was determined to tie them up. Even if it mean she didn't sleep for the next week. A soft voice stirred her from her determined stare, as if aware of her thoughts.

"Tara. You need sleep."

She whirled around in her dark green chair, eying her dear friend and protector. After all, Michael had devoted his energies to protecting her, even after their rocky start. She at least owed him the courtesy of looking at him.

"Michael, please. You know me. One of those colas and my lack of sleep is no longer an issue."

The glare of her bodyguard made it clear he disapproved of the plan. Not that it mattered all that much. She whirled back around, her fingers flying over the keys. She only had a few minutes before Michael decided she was sleeping whether she liked it or not. She intended to use it to its fullest.

Master Fowl-

You don't know me, and I prefer it that way. I thought you'd be interested in knowing that I have broken your so called 'eternity code.' I found it to be quite a challenge, and wanted to offer my condolences on your failure and congratulations on you ingenuity in person. Or rather, over web cam. The eleventh of August,7 AM, I will be contacting you.

Sincerely,

An Admirer

She was startled by Michael's sudden position behind her. One arm over her shoulder on the arm of her chair.

"'An admirer?"

"Too dramatic?" she questioned with a grin.

"I don't think it belongs after the word 'sincerely'..."

Green eyes met Michael's and she chuckled a bit darkly. "True… "

Her mouse hovered over send for only a moment before she clicked, satisfied with herself. As dramatic and possibly insincere as it was, it was sufficient. Maybe, maybe tomorrow she'd get some answers. At the very least she'd get a good gloat out of the deal.

Her bodyguard sighed. "You do insist on getting into trouble, don't you?"

"Me? Trouble? Whatever gave you that idea?"

He shook his head. "Don't antagonize Fowl."

Tara leaned her head on his arm. She was only 14, and that barely. Michael, had to be at least 19. Still, she'd known him long enough she trusted him explicitly. He was a good friend, and a good bodyguard. Of course, Madam Ko, the body guard trainer of fame, wouldn't like his style at all. As her principal's said, he was far too attached to his 'Principal.' Bah.

"I'm not antagonizing him. All I want is my lemur back." After that, maybe, she'd antagonize him some more for the heck of it. Michael knew what she was thinking, but he'd bother with convincing her it was a bad idea later. Right now…

"As you wish. Now, Tara, will you sleep, please?"

"Of course. I'll go to bed."

She'd given in too easy..Michael eyed her cautiously as she rose out of bed, setting her alarm for 6:30. Maybe she'd get up in time to call Fowl, and not give him enough time to do vice-versa. She settled into bed, and tried not to groan as Michael unplugged the entire clock. Now she had to reset it all, to the second. Blast that man, sometimes. She didn't need to oversleep.No, she had to be awake and alert for her call with Fowl.

A lot hinged on this first meeting. She couldn't afford to be late for it. As soon as Michael left the room, she replugged it. And reset the device, counting down the seconds. Bingo. Correct timing. Satisfied, she settled her head on the emerald silk pillow.

If she'd known how horribly wrong all this would go, she would have let the clock be and overslept. Better than what would come.

Yippee, any questions folks? You might want to just go read the next chapter, when it's up, for all the answers! Just so you know, There is something going on between Tara and michael, but it will not interfere with the Artemis/Tara fluff! Newly inspired by the latest book.