So sorry for the delay! My memory's like a sieve. I have a few chapters and then it may be a while before I can crank out more. But don't lose hope! It should happen eventually.


They arrived at Fowl Manor with the knowledge that, in two days, Artemis would fly out again to a research facility in Norway. What he was doing there, he couldn't say, although he had made the prediction that it would be drastically changing the energy market within the next ten years. In truth, Norway was the site of something much more sinister. In the heart of the mountains was a small, independently operated laboratory specializing in human weapons. Despite their secrecy, it had not been too difficult for Artemis to discover them and their proximity to the Fowl Star crash. On the day of the explosion they had had a ship less than ten nautical miles from the Fowl Star's coordinates. A little more research revealed that they had an uncomfortably keen interest in the Butler family, and that they had for years been trying unsuccessfully to recruit a Butler. Until, only months after the Fowl Star's sinking, they had suddenly stopped. Mulch's investigations had given Artemis valuable information about the topography and layout of the laboratory and its surrounding area, as well as providing him with an extensive network of tunnels to utilize. And, most importantly, Mulch had confirmed that Major Antonius Butler was alive.

He was making his plans without Butler for this trip, and it was a disconcerting feeling to turn to ask his trusty friend a question, only to remember that he was going this mission alone. What he told his parents and Butler was that the research was so confidential that even Butler could not accompany him. What he told himself was that he could not endanger his friend by placing him within the reach of an organization that had already proven itself capable of kidnapping one Butler.

The eve of his departure found him packing a solitary suitcase with the necessary supplies: clothes, his computer, power cords and various electronic gadgets. The holophone lay open on his bed, where he had been talking to Holly earlier that evening. His ruminations on whether to bring the black or the silver Armani were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was not a code knock; he drew the sheets over the holophone in case it was his mother, come to say goodbye before his early-morning flight. Instead, to his surprise, it was Butler standing on his doorstep, looking as if he might simply keel over and die from sheer unhappiness. But, no, that was Artemis' own sadness, reflected for an almost invisible moment in Butler's face. The man pushed without a word into Artemis' bedroom, conducting his customary search for any threat with his usual speed. He flicked back the sheets, checked the locks on the windows, flipped through Artemis' desk, suitcase, wardrobe without regard for the boy's privacy. Artemis found himself missing the security that Butler's presence brought even before he had gone. Butler nodded goodnight and turned to go, reaching the door before he turned to speak.

"Be safe," he said.

Artemis stood still long after the door had shut behind his oldest and dearest friend. He finished packing with a preoccupied air, surveying the contents of his suitcase blankly. Without a word, he went to his desk drawer and drew out the handgun Butler had taught him to use when he was younger. Placing it gently in his suitcase, he closed the bag and went to bed. He was up all night thinking that, somehow, Butler knew, and that he could not let Butler down. Somehow.