Believe me when I say I almost had a heart attack when I saw the response that this story got. Thank you everyone! And to think I thought no one would read the story.

Slightly important information: Despite knowing each other for four years, Holly and Artemis are stuck in a 'Mid-Arctic Incident' type relationship, since Holly's semi-willing to work with him, but yet to have been given very good reasons to think he can be a good person.

As well, Holly and Artemis past together will be told eventually, but until then, there will just be subtle hints.

Hopefully I've gotten the characters close enough to their actual selves.


Holly Short was not in a very good mood. Not that this was unusual at all, as Holly was often in a bad mood. This time around, it wasn't her computer geek friend Troy Foaly's voice traveling from her head set, or Commissioner Julius Root's insistence that she follow the law more often that was causing her bad mood. No, it was the fact that she was only able to find work in investigating seemingly suspicious car salesman Mulch Diggums.

That was why she was speeding. That and there were fewer cars around due to the time, though she slowed down around those that were out. She didn't care much about getting a ticket, as she was not in the right mind to care. Foaly had told her many times in the past five minutes to slow down other than for cars or turns, and Root had told her so many that he started sounding like an angry father.

She knew that as long as she didn't get distracted, she wouldn't have much trouble unless she was stopped by the police. Then, as if fate wanted her to crash, a familiar ringtone started playing from the speaker Foaly wasn't talking to her through. She cursed her luck as she struggled to keep control after her sudden interruption. Foaly talking in her ear she could take; she filtered most of what he said, only hearing the relevant information. But anything concerning Artemis Fowl was something she was unable to ignore easily.

"Holly, should I connect the call?" Foaly asked, most likely already reaching for his computer mouse. Holly turned a corner and sped up once again, thinking about ignoring both males. She had a job that she was supposed to be working on. Not having a nice chat with her least favourite male currently living on the Earth.

Though, the most mundane thing Fowl had ever called her for was a game of chess at his mother's insistence. More often than not it was a potential case and he always paid her much more than the people he employed her to. It was the only reason she hadn't gotten an actual job, other than her bad work record. But to her he was still the evil twelve, almost thirteen year old she met four years before, and that would never change, no matter how much he himself changed.

But she was getting short on money.

"Okay, put him through." She knew that she was going to regret it, but anything that Fowl had for her had to be more interesting than a car salesman. Holly stopped her motorcycle, then had gotten off it, easier than she would have if it wasn't custom made (by Fowl….) for her small 4'11 height, and had taken off her helmet when Fowl's voice cut into the silence that had replaced Foaly's chattering.

"Miss Short? I hope I'm not interrupting you." Polite as always, Fowl was. Annoying as well.

"Well, I'm in the middle of investigating an interesting criminal…" Mulch Diggums, an interesting criminal? Not likely. But she couldn't sound too interested in what Fowl had to offer. Though the chances of misleading him would be slim, even if Holly didn't know that Fowl kept tabs on her cases through hacking Foaly's system.

"I highly doubt whatever case you're investigating is worth your time and talents. Especially if it involves a car salesmen, who may or may not be involved in an underground criminal market." He sounded amused, and Holly had no doubt that Fowl was involved, which made her want to get to the bottom of the case much more than before. She knew Fowl was a criminal like his father, but she had no proof of his crimes other than her own experiences with him, and every single time, she was given a reason not to tell the police. But not this time.

"Whatever. So tell me what you called for, or I'll just hang up." Holly leaned up against a lamp post, deciding that she'd be there awhile, knowing Fowl. There was silence from the other end for only seconds, before Fowl's voice turned grim as he spoke next.

"Here's a test Holly, to see if you've paid attention to the news like I suggested years before. What big thing has been going on for the past year and a half that I once advised you to forget about and also concerns the death of my father?"

Holly didn't have to think at all. What Fowl was talking about had off and on been in her mind ever since the public had taken attention to it. "Criminals all over the world are dying Fowl." She then smirked, delighting herself in a thought that would save her a whole lot of grief in the future. "I wonder if you'll be next." A laugh followed her words.

There was no humour in Fowl's next words. "Well then, Detective Short. We will just have to wait and see, won't we?" Through the phone, she heard him messing around with his computer. "But until my early death, would you like to work with me on the case. I've taken a huge interest in it ever since my father's death."

"I'd probably be right in saying that Butler insisted."

"Yes you would be."

A silence fell between the two and Holly briefly glanced at her watch. It was getting late, and her chances of getting dirt on Mulch Diggums was dwindling. But all the other criminals dying all over the word was much more interesting.

"I'll give you time to think it over. Contact me at any time. Goodbye Miss Short." Fowl ended the call before she could even say anything. She huffed, her normal annoyance towards Fowl setting in. But there was something else. A memory was creeping into her mind. That call Fowl had given her not long after his father died rang clear in her mind.

She already knew that she would accept Fowl's request, and Foaly, having reconnected himself, asking her if she would, was just a buzz at the back of her mind, just like everything else he said. Without a word, but a smirk on her face, Holly got back on her motorcycle. She had a case to solve, and it didn't include car salesmen.


Ten Minutes Later

Most of the letters on the busted sign flickered in the dark, when the full set of letters would have been most useful, as customers would be able to pick out the site among the rest of the street. While the place was technically closed for the night, 'Mulch's Honest Car Dealship' wasn't as honest as it seemed, and was often the place for criminal negotiations. Not that Orion Fable minded. It paid pretty good for a car dealership, no doubt because of its illegal activities, and all he really had to worry about was getting arrested for working there. And he got along with his boss, which was surprising. That is, he didn't annoy him to the point where he was fired, no matter how good his work was.

Orion was finishing up a concealing paint job on one of the new cars, that had been owned by one of his classmates before he had stolen it, when his boss came strolling out of the main building. Mulch Diggums had a toothy grin on his squared face as he lumbered towards his golden boy. Orion assumed that his boss had just gotten a good deal, and not on a car. He waved over to him, a wide smile on his face.

"I have completed my daily quest, sly dwarf!" Orion exclaimed as Mulch approached. It wasn't an insult. Mulch had been born with dwarfism, and while some people looked quite literally down on him, Mulch had taken it with stride. Orion actually found it quite cool that he was working for a dwarf, being the fantasy freak he was. "The feverous red gem has been hidden within the darkness." The red car had been painted black, that is.

One of the best parts of having Mulch for a boss was that the dwarf didn't mind his odd speech patterns, when it annoyed pretty much everyone else. It could have been because Mulch was so good humoured, or it could have been because he got a kick out of it. Either way, Orion was a good worker who was always willing to please those around him, though he almost never succeeded in that regard.

Mulch looked over the car with a pleased and greedy look in his eyes. Considering the former owner had been a part of a very rich family, even with the paint job it would sell for a high price. But they'd have to make sure it went to someone outside the area if possible, just in case someone recognized the make of the car with the one reported stolen. This was as far as their thinking went.

"Well done Fable. It's quite the beauty!" Orion didn't even have time to reply, and he was a fast talker, before the two males heard the sound of a lone motorcycle driving down the street. Orion hid fast, thinking it could be one of Mulch's 'business partners' approaching, all of which hated him with a passion, and people he really did not like having to deal with. From his place behind an oil drum, Orion watched as the driver of the motorcycle turned and drove into the lot.

The driver came to a stop beside Mulch, who jumped back in surprise, with a loud screech. Orion's eyes widened when he realized the driver was a female. She was dressed in a green track suit that went perfectly with her red hair. After getting off her motorcycle, she removed her helmet to reveal her whole face, and Orion had to resist a gasp.

She was a princess for sure with the beauty she held.


Hopefully it wasn't too bad. The plot should be kick starting next chapter.

So how did I do with the characters?

I had to bring Orion into the story, though I knew it would seem out of place to give Artemis multiple personalities. So I made Orion into an actual character. How was he?

Doesn't 'Mulch the used car salesman' have such a nice ring to it?