Artemis Fowl was not like most boys. In fact, he wasn't like most people in general.
Alice McMilliam took note of this as she sat behind her desk and watched him walk towards her, with someone resembling a mountain walking behind him. She had watched them exit the lift, and like everyone else had watched with interest. The boy was small but extremely well dressed, in a tailored three piece suit and wingtipped shoes. The man next to him, quite a bit bigger, was also dressed well, but his suit looked a little out of place trying to contain the bulk of him.
But now that they were headed straight towards her, her feeling of interest had peeked. Her eyes went back and forth between them, trying to figure out which one was in charge. Yes, the man was larger and older, but the boy walked in front and carried himself with an air of authority.
The boy walked up to her, a smile slipping onto his face as he approached, "Excuse me, I was wondering if Detective Fowl is in."
Alice returned his smile, "She is, but she's requested that she not be disturbed."
"Oh, that's alright," he said smoothly, "I'm sure she'll make an exception for me. Just let her know Artemis is here."
"Artemis Fowl?"
"Yes, that's correct. She must have told you to expect me."
"Oh, yes, " her smile widened, as she nodded, "She told me to expect you. And then she told me not to let you pass."
Artemis's smile faltered, "Excuse me?"
"Her exact words were 'If Artemis Fowl shows up, tell that brat to get lost'."
"This is important."
Alice raised her hands, palms turned up, "Sorry." She clearly wasn't.
The smile slipped from Artemis's face, "I see, well if you'll excuse me, I'll just show myself in."
Ms. McMillian stood up quickly as Artemis tried to walk around her, "No, I'm afraid I cannot allow that."
Artemis flicked his hand, ignoring the woman's protests, "Butler."
The large man inserted himself between the secretary and the boy, silently shaking his head. Ms. McMillian sank softly backwards into her chair, her eyes never leaving the huge man's face.
Artemis opened the door and stepped into the office, Butler right behind him.
Diana stood right inside the door waiting for him, arms crossed.
The flat look on her face didn't deter Artemis for a second. He smiled, "Diana, it's so good to see you my dear. It's been too long," Butler closed the door.
She curled her lip at the endearment "I believe my secretary told you I didn't want to be disturbed. Especially by you. And don't talk to me like I'm five Artemis."
Artemis was 13 years younger than her, but ever since he could talk, he'd addressed her as though she were a child. When she'd tried to put a stop to it he had informed her that he wouldn't feel the need to address her as a child if she'd stopped acting like one. Things had been far from familial between them since.
Artemis stuck out his lower lip, "And for the life of me I can't figure out why you would do that."
"Don't play the innocent little boy. There's no one in here for you to fool."
Artemis stopped pouting, "It was worth a try. But seriously, Diana, it hurts."
Diana ignored his pained expression and turned to Butler next, all smiles, "Butler," she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the manservant, "still putting the fear of God into people I see."
He hugged her back, chuckling, "When it's necessary."
She pulled back and held him at arm's length, studying his face. Butler was only in his 40's, and while the Fairies had done a wonderful job taking some of the age off after the Spiro incident, she could still see the weariness reflected in his eyes and the stiffness in the way he stood. He was lucky he looked good bald, otherwise the shaven head would have just added to his aged demeanor.
"Doesn't look like you'd be able to do much else these days anyway," she said teasingly, but there was a slight hitch in her voice.
Butler eyed her, taking in her rumpled clothes and greasy, tousled hair, "You don't look that much better than I do."
She blushed, stepping back, "Nothing a shower and a warm bed won't fix."
Artemis sighed at them, his face drooping with impatience, "If you two are done playing footsie, I'd like to move on to the reason we're really here."
Butler cleared his throat, "Sorry, sir."
Diana rolled her eyes and walked around to her chair, collapsing into it, "And why are you here? Shouldn't you be in school Artie?"
He frowned. She knew he hated being called that, "It's the holidays."
She allowed herself a smile at his annoyance, "It's the middle of the fall term."
He shrugged, allowing his eyes to wander around the room, "Yes, well," he turned when his eyes caught on something in his peripheral, "Ah, exactly what I was hoping for." He sauntered over to the wall.
Diana steepled her fingers against her temple, not making a move to get up, "And what's that?"
"Please, let's not play games," his hand swept across the papers on the wall, "You've obviously made the connection between all the things that have been going on across the country for the past year," he played with a loose strand of frayed string, "I'm just here to help you tie up loose ends." He turned and smiled at her.
She cringed at his tight lipped smile. It looked so out of place on his pale boyish face, "Thanks Artemis, but no thanks. I've got this covered."
He looked down at his hand, rubbing his thumb across his nails, "Yes, and I suppose you also have the magical aspects of the case covered as well."
She raised her eyebrows, "Who said anything about magic?"
Artemis adjusted his cuffs, "You're not stupid cousin. Not like normal people are anway. And I most certainly am not, so please don't insult me by acting like I am," he clasped his hands in front of him, slowly walking towards her, "People dying with no apparent cause, homes being destroyed, strange weather, people disappearing without a trace. And no one asking questions. No one taking it seriously. That in itself should be enough to tell you that there's something more going on here."
"And what if there is?"
"Then you need me. Not only to help figure this out, that's a given, but also to make sure nothing happens to you along the way."
"And how are you going to do that? Last I checked you're a magnet for trouble and Butler over here can barely stand up without gasping for breath," she glanced at Butler, "No offense."
He just shook his head, "None taken."
Artemis lowered himself into the chair across from her, undoing his jacket button, "Look, there's someone with magical abilities behind all this and those people are trying to cover it up. People that are trying to cover things up, do not appreciate when other people start asking questions. And in my experience, people like that have ways of making people forget what they were even asking about. Permanently."
Diana just stared at him, jaw slack, "Could you have said 'people' any more times?"
Artemis looked askance, "Seriously? That's what you took from that? Now, I'm thinking I should take the research and carry on by myself if all you can take from a conversation is the vocabulary used," he stood quickly, rebuttoning his jacket, "Come, Butler. We're leaving."
Butler opened the door, and Artemis went to walk out. Diana called out to him, "Where are you going, Artemis?"
He turned his head to the side and she could see the corner of his mouth turned up, "Why, to find Harry Potter of course." And then he walked out.
Diana screwed up her face in confusion before grabbing her coat off the back of the chair and running after him, "Wait! Who the hell is Harry Potter!?"
