Notes: Hey okay so I didn't do this in the last chapter because… I didn't. So some quick notes. First off I am not Artemis, so I'm not a genius. I have horrible grammar and my spelling isn't quite perfect because my school system felt that it wasn't as important as us reading half pages of Shakespeare, go figure.
Another note, someone pointed out to me that Phoenix park isn't forest-y, I didn't know that, I googled it and just looked at the first picture. I got it wrong, I really am sorry; I'll work harder on research… if there is any more. Oh one more thing. I don't do facebook so if there are no posts or whatever then… sorry, I only used facebook because it's the most popular right now I think. Now for the story!
Artemis was far from happy. He was livid really, it wasn't obvious by the look on his face, but one who knew him as well as Butler did knew he was very unhappy about the situation. He stood outside Westerly Private School staring at the large building with disdain he usually reserved for Opal and people who questioned his authority. His usually dark, swept back hair was blonde and falling in his eyes, one held a blue contact to make them match. His jaw clenched as a group of giggling teenagers walked past him, one hitting him with their bag.
Artemis was, in a word, pissed.
It was all Holly's fault too.
"What do you mean?" Artemis had asked back at the park. "Back into art theft?" However something inside him sparked with interest and even longing for the old days, planning out the perfect heist, even dressing up and pretending to be someone he wasn't. If it weren't for those days he wouldn't have as much money as he now had.
"The missing pages were hidden within the frames of some very valuable, very guarded, pieces of art. You don't get to keep them," she said giving him a look "however once we get all the missing pages the Fairy World leaders will be sure to reward you." That was a hard one to get out because when you owed Artemis Fowl a favor it was never going to end with stopping to pick up something for him or baby-sitting for a few hours. Favors in the past had meant things like going back in time, and using the bulk of her magic to heal Butler.
"And the Terms?" Artemis wasn't stupid, far from it, he knew it wasn't that simple.
"You can't keep, sell or trade the paintings or the pages. You don't get to read the Book of Life even after we get the pages. We, meaning myself and any one of my superiors, are to be kept up to date with your progress and if you get caught we're only going to be able to bail you out once." Holly said, as if reciting a document. Artemis thought that over, he had his own terms and wasn't sure Holly had the authority… wait…
"Why are you asking? You're not part of the LEP anymore."
"You're more likely to cooperate with me, and this is very important, even I can put aside the past for now." She looked like she had eaten a lemon.
"Then why do you have superiors?" Artemis asked, the sour face got angrier.
"Because." She offered nothing more. Artemis sighed.
"Fine, but I have my own conditions." Holly rolled her eyes, of course he did.
"Alright what?" She asked after a moment of silence. Artemis smiled, a terrifying thing really, it didn't quite suit him and reminded her of the children's movies when an evil villain would smile and it would fade to black, their eyes being the last to fade away.
Artemis laid out his terms, simple ones really, he wanted access to the Fairy's database, a way to be in constant communication with Foaly if he so wished and he wanted magic.
"You're joking right?" Holly deadpanned. "I may be able to get you the database and possibly access to Foaly when he feels like answering, but magic… that's impossible."
"Why? I had it before. It'd be just like that but unlimited"
"You almost killed your mother with that bit of magic." She pointed out. Artemis' face darkened.
"That wasn't my fault and you know it." He said, starting to get up. "Those are my conditions and the last one is non-negotiable." He stood at his full height of five feet ten inches and looked down at Holly, who sighed.
"Alright, I'll try." She promised. Artemis nodded, still annoyed by the mother comment. He heard a small noise and whirled, seeing a girl with brown hair fleeing down the pathway.
"Oh hell." He muttered, Holly looked up her eyes widening.
"D'Arvit." She swore, standing up.
"It's just a girl." Artemis reasoned. "It's not like she's anything to worry about." He nodded.
"A girl with a Camera, who was behind us." Holly indicated the papers laying out in front of them.
"Why would she take pictures of this?" He asked.
"She could be a spy."
"Wouldn't a spy be a bit more subtle about leaving?"
"I don't know Artemis… all I know is she may have pictures of a document with the instructions on how to create life."
So Artemis had taken the time to find the girl and get a picture of his own while she scrambled to get her bike off the rack. He had taken it home and used his face recognition program, something he had thrown together one afternoon to find the girl.
Althea Lovelace. He wondered for a moment if her parents had done that on purpose or if they had no idea about the significance. She didn't seem to be anyone special, high school student, average grades, but she always managed to score highly on her tests. He found that a bit suspicious. She was in a photography class at her private school, which explained the camera and she apparently had a big mouth. Her facebook page had a big entry entitled 'OMG I JUST HEARD…' he had deleted the entry, as it had just been put up and sighed, according to the entry she had pictures for proof, even a bit of video.
He had contacted Holly and told her and she had come over both to tell him that they accepted his terms for the Art Thievery and that now he also had to fix this little Althea Lovelace issue.
The solution? Simple, go to her school, get the pictures and call it a day, but since she was very rich, she was protected. Her father was a diplomat or something of the like and she was not easy to get to, especially if she didn't want you near her. So Holly had used one of Foaly's inventions to change his hair to blonde, which would go away when he needed it to, and they gave him a whole new identity to get him into the school.
To say Artemis was peeved was like saying the Leaders were miffed to find the pages of the book missing. He had thought he got out of the High school experience, yet here he was in a pressed blue oxford shirt with a blue pull over sweater and Khaki's, a student ID in his pocket reading Alexander Malone. He sighed and headed into the school, seriously regretting agreeing to this whole plot. Only one thing would make it worth it in the end.
His magic
Endnotes: Who ever can tell me why Artemis finds the name amusing gets a mental cookie.
