Disclaimer: Oops, forgot this last time. Don't sue me *cringes*. Everything is Eoin Colfer's, except the plot and several other tidbits I was forced to fabricate in order to make a smooth story. And Barcelona, obviously. I don't know who Barcelona belongs to, but it's not me or Eoin Colfer.

AN: This chapter is one big sort of a filler – I need it there to get from point A of the plot to point B, so that I may thus commence to points C/D/E/etc. So it's not your most action-packed thriller. And I took the liberty of inventing the phrase 'overday', because I couldn't say overnight, because it didn't make sense (you'll understand when you read it).

And Rainbow Kitty: I'd like to especially thank you for your first review – it's true, and I appreciate your telling me very greatly. The whole point of reviews is to improve your story. Because I'm a stupid, unimaginative twit I can't think of any other way for her to escape right now. But I'll certainly think about it.

AAN: (Another Author's Note): I have edited this chapter be longer... so if you've already read it... you'll have to read it again. eh.

***

Chute E12

Holly tapped her finger on her belt impatiently, waiting for a gaggle of giggling tourists to pass by. The entrance to E12 was directly across from the Palau de Musica, which, while it didn't attract the attention of a Gaudi building, certainly drew quite a crowd. She would be invisible to human eye, of course, but shielding didn't stop her from being solid, and it would be impossible to get out without bumping someone right now.

She decided to take advantage of the delay, and turned on her helmet mike.

"Foaly?"

"Let me guess. Captain Holly Short turns to me, the Great Centaur, seeking enlightenment on the whereabouts of a certain dwarf she has been sent to apprehend."

"And Captain Holly Short will be booting some centaur behind when she gets back belowground if this particular Great Centaur doesn't quit his arrogant mooning and brief her right away."

"I'm in no immediate danger, then. By the looks of things, you're not coming home for a long time. The LEP is no closer to catching Opal Koboi than the bunny rabbits are to discovering the chemical imbalances in uranium 238 and building a nuclear power plant."

This caught Holly off guard. "What am I supposed to do then – stay overday? It's not like I can just book a hotel room. 3-foot tall girls with pointy ears wearing fully armed green jumpsuits are rather conspicuous."

"Don't you worry your little head about it. Uncle Foaly will have everything sorted out for you long before the night's out."

"Well, in the meantime, would you mind briefing me?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm getting to it. So... For a while, Mulch remained perfectly invisible. For about five months I haven't been able to find so much as a hair of him. But he got sloppy a couple nights ago. Broke into a Spanish museum, and left us a nice dwarven footprint. And also confused a lot of human police who couldn't figure out what the heck kind of animal has a print like that. So once I knew that he was in Barcelona, it was easy enough. I just ran a scan of all foreign – "

"Foaly?" Holly interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Just shut up about your clever deductions and skip to the important part."

"Tut tut. Patience is a virtue, you know." She could almost see his cocky, offended look.

"Well, someone tried to assassinate me this morning. Doesn't that give me an excuse to be irritable?"

"No. So anyway, Mulch is currently residing on the second floor of the Hotel Ruben. Room 211. My guess is since he's in a hotel, he's just stopping by to do a few jobs, and he'll be out of there pretty fast. So you better move quick."

"It won't be a problem," Holly smirked.

"You're way too overconfident. One of these days it'll kill you."

"Hey, my history of keeping myself alive is pretty good at this point."

"It won't be if you don't leave for Hotel Ruben right now, because Root will skin you alive if you mess this up."

"Keep in touch, then,' she said, and after checking to see the coast was clear, she stepped out onto the lamplit street.

***

On the Rambla Cataluna, Barcelona, Spain

Artemis knew how to think like a criminal, considering he was one, and he figured he knew exactly what Mulch would do. The LEP knew Mulch wasn't stupid enough go back to Los Angeles when he got his two-day head start - so naturally, that was exactly what he would do.

He'd been there for two months when Artemis Fowl contacted him. Since then, they'd been working as a team. It was the perfect arrangement; Artemis would hack into a company's database and get Mulch blueprints, information on the security systems, or whatever else he needed, and Mulch would do what he did best. And when Angeline Fowl had decided that upon Artemis Fowl Senior's release from the hospital they were going to tour Europe in celebration, Artemis decided it was time to meet with Mulch in person.

Mulch had agreed to meet Artemis in Barcelona, Spain. It hadn't been too hard to convince him; Barcelona was Mulch's kind of city. Teeming with national treasures, rich foreigners, and gullible tourists

And so today, or more specifically tonight, the Fowls were in Barcelona, and Artemis was waiting outside his hotel where he had agreed to meet Mulch. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, vision blurring. The dwarf had absolutely refused to come out during the day, so now Artemis was stuck out on a deserted street well past midnight. And he didn't even have Butler with him. Mulch was, quite bluntly, terrified of the bodyguard, and considering Butler still "owed him something", he had no desire to be anywhere within a 100-mile radius of him, let alone on the same street curb as him.

Just then, Artemis thought he saw a shadow moving. He squinted into the night, and discerned a squat figure tip-toeing toward him. A moment later he detected a mild, rancid scent, and wrinkled his nose in distaste. No doubt about it, it was Mulch.

"Took you long enough," he said testily.

"It's good to see you too, Mud Boy," said the dwarf, his whiny voice echoing around the empty street.

"I said to be here at 12:00, not 12:30. Can't you tell time?" Artemis sniffed irritably.

"Hey, you didn't have to wait here. So, kid, what do you want?"

"I have a new proposal. My family will reside in Barcelona for five days, so we have that length of time to get everything together. I believe it is time for us to leave behind petty theft, and get into the big-time. So I thought – " But exactly what Artemis thought, Mulch was never to find out. Artemis's voice petered out, and he was left mouthing soundlessly. For some reason, Mulch was hovering a good 5 inches off the ground, and it suitably distracted Artemis. He blinked vigorously, wondering if he was hallucinating. But no, Mulch was indeed floating. And not only that, but he had started blubbering incoherently.

A strangely familiar voice resonated from nearby. "Hello, Mulch," it said calmly. It was impossible for Artemis not to recognize that tone, that accent.

"Holly?" he said in amazement. But no one heard the whispered name; Mulch's blubbering sufficiently drowned him out.

"Officer Short... What a pleasant surprise," said Mulch, gulping nervously as Holly dappled into view.

"The pleasure's all mine," said Holly with a malicious grin. She began powering up her buzz baton, obviously expecting Mulch to make a bid for freedom sometime in the near future.

Mulch rounded on Artemis. "You! You planned this, didn't you, Mud Boy? This was all a trick so you could get your hands on some bounty money from the LEP." Artemis opened his mouth to protest, but Holly beat him to it.

"Yeah, right," she scoffed. "As if the LEP needs Artemis Fowl's help to apprehend a petty thief. Don't flatter yourself, convict."

Artemis was considering his options. He could remain an innocent bystander in this situation, and allow Captain Short to escort Mulch back underground. Or he could try to help the dwarf. Either way, he lost something – in the first option, his alliance with Mulch, and in the second, the LEP's trust. On the whole, he decided he probably preferred his alliance with Mulch.

Holly's voice broke through his thoughts. "What are you doing here, Fowl?"

"Vacationing with my family," he answered.

"Stop pretending to be an idiot. You're no good at it. What are you doing here?"

"Meeting up with my old friend Mulch," he supplied. Holly sighed.

"Maybe you are stupider than I thought, because you seem to have forgotten the fact that I could use the mesmer on you to find out exactly what I want to know, but I'm being nice. Let's try this one more time. What are you doing here?"

"Organizing my latest ring of crimes with my co-conspirator Mr. Mulch Diggums," Artemis answered without thought, his brain still occupied with searching for a way to free Mulch.

"That's better," said Holly, apparently satisfied. She turned her attention back to Mulch.

But something was wrong with the dwarf. Artemis, whose eyes were not accustomed to night vision like fairy's, couldn't see it, but Holly could. And even if she couldn't have, she would have known already something was wrong. Mulch normally would already have vented some gas at her, and made at least a couple escape attempts.

She studied his face. His eyes were blank and unfocused; his mouth was slack, and he wasn't reacting to anything going on. Her gun hand drifted instinctively to her Neutrino, and she scanned the area.

Holly thought she saw a flicker in the shadows at her feet, and drew her weapon in one fluid motion. Artemis leapt to his feet in alarm.

"What is it, Captain?" he asked, wishing more than ever he had brought Butler with him.

Holly ignored him. "Show yourself," she commanded.

Something bit Holly on the ankle, and Holly looked down to see a hypodermic dart protruding from her suit. "Not again..." she muttered. Fighting off the instant numbing effects of the tranquilizer, she turned to Artemis. "There's another fairy here," she said, unbuckling her helmet and shoving it into the hands of the surprised human. "Take this. Contact Foaly. Get into a h – hu - " Holly's voice died on her, and she began sinking to the ground.

Artemis's brain raced. What had Holly been about to say? In a few seconds it came to him. Get into a human dwelling. Fairies couldn't enter human dwellings.

Artemis made a dash for the door of the Hotel Ruben. He felt bad about leaving Holly and Mulch out on the street, but he wouldn't be able to drag them in. But as it turned out, it didn't matter anyway, because Artemis never made it through the door of the hotel.

"Stop!"

Against his will, Artemis found his legs obeying the command.

"Come back." The voice was layered with mesmer, and Artemis felt dizzy with the effort of trying to fight it. He tripped over the curb, and as if in a dream, landed face first on the pavement. The voice giggled.

"Go to sleep, Mud Boy..." And Artemis found his eyelids growing heavy, his mind drifting lazily off into unconsciousness.