Hello!

Sorry it took so long to update, I got a little stuck on this chapter…next time will be quicker hopefully :D

I hope this chapter makes up for it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl. :droops head and sobs uncontrollably:

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Chapter 2: Had a Bad Day.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Holly Short jumped out of bed, grabbed the gun on the bedside table and fired. There was a crash, and with one last pathetic ring her alarm clock's gears stopped and the broken screen flickered off.

Holly stared at the broken alarm clock for a moment, then sighed and rubbed her forehead. Great, now I have to pay for a new alarm clock.

Groggily, she got out of bed and automatically headed to the kitchen (as she had for the last decade). She pulled down a chipped mug off the shelf and began to make a cup of coffee by turning on her antique kettle, rubbing her eyes as if that would clear her foggy morning vision. Coffee aside, she went to her wardrobe. Opening the door with a graceful swish of the arm, and quickly began to sort through the pile of ragged clothes to find her familiar forest green LEP uniform. The missing piece of her morning schedule nagged at her brain, poking her senses, and she began to pull out her clothes in an effort to find it. When the wardrobe was empty she sorted through the pile again to see if she'd missed it somehow.

Then she remembered she didn't work for the LEP anymore.

She glared at the empty space in her wardrobe and the pile of clothes on the floor, and then returned to her coffee. She took one sip of it, and then put it back on the bench.

What's the use? She thought, I don't have any work today. I'm just an ordinary citizen.

That was a lie. She did have work, at a diner near her apartment that cooked the worst meals (worse than Spud's Spud Emporium, amazingly) and paid her practically nothing. They probably wouldn't care if Holly didn't turn up to work for one day…

Holly decided to get back to bed. After hours working at that diner, day and night, she felt tired of life and everyone in it. These days her tempers were shorter than Root's, and the private detective business wasn't going too well either. It was a lot harder than it seemed, running your own private detective business. She missed being in the LEP and actually solving real crimes, not just the petty ones she and Mulch picked up, which didn't tend to pay much either (especially when they received prank calls at five o'clock in the morning). She hadn't even talked to Artemis for ages, at least not since the batteries died in the communicator about a month ago. She couldn't afford new ones, and until Foaly gave her those 'special' batteries he'd made her for her birthday she couldn't do anything about it.

Sleep is good. I need good sleep.

Holly hopped back into bed. Just as she was about to fall asleep, the phone rang.

"D'arvit" she mumbled into her pillow. Why couldn't the world leave her alone?

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Holly stared up at the LEP headquarters blankly. She used to love this building, but now it glared down at her like she wasn't supposed to be there.

Well…here goes…

She stepped up the steps and walked through the front door.

It was just how she remembered it. The dull paint, the posters on the wall, the coffee machine in the corner, she remembered it all. She recognised most of the people walking by on their shifts, and it made her sad to think she wasn't part of them anymore.

"Hey! Holly!"

Holly instantly recognised the voice and she turned around, "Here's trouble"

Trouble Kelp was coming towards her. He smiled at her, "Hey, haven't seen you around here in a while. I almost didn't recognise you without the uniform!"

Holly shrugged, "Well, I don't work here anymore." Instead I'm working for a cheesy diner with cracks in the ceiling the size of Grand Canyon.

"How's the private detective business going?"

Crap. "Great. We've got heaps of customers already."

Trouble clapped her on the back, "Come back to the squad Holly. We all miss you, except perhaps Sool, but he was always a bit of an asshole anyway. And I bet you miss the excitement don't you? You were never really the quiet citizen type"

Yes. I miss it all so much. "What? I miss the early mornings and late nights and foul coffee? No way"

Trouble stared at her with a look that said yeah right, "So why are you here anyway?"

Holly shrugged again, "No idea. Foaly called me and told me to come down ASAP."

Trouble frowned again, "That's weird. He was probably just bored; he hasn't been doing much since Sool took over."

Holly rolled her eyes, "Sool is an idiot, a sexist, and a real d'arvitting prick. He shouldn't have taken this job in the first place; he doesn't deserve it. Even Root did a better job than he is…why are you looking at me like that?"

Trouble was staring at her in absolute horror. Holly heard a cough behind her and almost died in embarrassment right on the spot.

"Morning Commander." she said through gritted teeth.

"Morning Miss. Short" replied Sool coldly, "May I ask why you are here, considering you are still a citizen and still no longer associated with the LEPrecon?" Holly noticed he put special emphasis on the still.

"Foaly asked me to come sir." mumbled Holly, her face turning a bright red.

"Then get your skinny pixie butt down to the Ops. Booth right now" said Sool, "Go!"

Holly raced down to the Ops. Booth, silently swearing under her breath. Today really wasn't one of her best days.

Little did she know it was about to get much, much worse.

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Foaly heard a knock on the door of the Ops. Booth and saw Holly waiting outside. He quickly overrode the security on the door and it opened.

"Holly, thank Haven you're here"

Holly took a glance around the booth (which was full of papers and half eaten carrots), grunted something unrecognisable at him and pulled up a chair.

"This had better be good Foaly" grumbled Holly as she sat down, "I shot my alarm clock this morning and Sool will probably be on my back for the rest of the year, so I am not in a good mood"

Foaly handed her a piece of paper, "Well, you won't like this then."

Holly took the paper, "What's this?"

"It's a record of mind-wipes that I found in Root's desk" said Foaly. He pointed to one of the names, "And it's got your name on it."

Holly stared at Foaly in shock, "What?"

Foaly pointed to the name again, "Look at it!"

Holly gazed at the sheet, not really believing what she was seeing.

Holly Short, mind-wiped 15th of February, 1980.

"But that's impossible…" Holly stuttered, the shock sinking in "It can't be…I can't be…is this some kind of joke?"

Foaly shook his head, "I wish it was. My name is on there too, and I don't like the idea of having lost some of my IQ."

Holly was still dazed, "But why? Why would Root…" Holly frowned and turned red, "Root! Root did this! And I trusted him…he was like a father to me…"

"Holly, don't start blaming him. You know the Commander would have mind-wiped us for a reason"

Holly shook her head, "But why? I had nothing to do with mud-people that would expose haven. Why didn't he tell me?" She trailed off.

"Obviously it might have caused a total recall." said Foaly "For all you know you could have been a drug smuggler. And besides, knowing your temper he might have been sent to the grave earlier than planned."

Holly glared at him but shrugged the comment aside, "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I'd like my memories back."

Foaly pointed to another name on the sheet, "Maybe you should ask him." Holly read the name.

Tyler Richardson, mind-wiped 15th of February, 1980.

Holly felt a spark of recognition, a hint of something her mind had cast aside long ago. She turned to Foaly, "Who's Tyler Richardson?"

Foaly took back the piece of paper, "That, Holly, is something you need to ask yourself"

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Well, I hope this was a good chapter! Thanks to everyone who reveiwed...boy thats a lot of support! You guys rock!