Authors Note: I decided to post again already, a little bit earlier than I had originally planned. Thank you for your reviews. They really help as far as pointing out mistakes and suggestians and just your thoughts. Please, keep them coming. Let me know if you find anything that doesn't sound right or any grammar errors, etc.
me, obviously: Yes, I have read the OD and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was sad but I think it is still one of my favorites of the series. Thank you for the review.
myzticwolf: Thank you very much
Lady Emmi: You're right about the being a new author, this is only my second fic, so I'm still getting used to it. It's also my first time writing an Artemis fic. The only reason I put that in about the lenses and Mulch going free I suppose is because I wanted to get a feel of how the characters needed to be portrayed. Also so that we know what paths the characters will be taking because in this chapter, it will be five years later. I realize that it may have started out like a lot of others, but hopefully in this chapter you'll see it take a different path. Thank you for the review and let me know what you think of this one. I'm open to any suggestions.
refloc: Thank you so much for your review. I really enjoy reading your story and I think your a great author, so I'm glad to have your opinion on mine.
Milky Etoile: That would be great if you want to edit it. I'm horrible when it comes to spelling and grammar, so if you would like to it would be a big help.
Chapter 2: Unstoppable
Fowl Manor (5 years later)
Artemis walked slowly down the grand staircase and then headed towards the dinning hall. He took his seat at the head of the table just as Butler brought out his food.
"Good Morning Sir." Butler said as he placed the plate in front of his charge. Butler than noticed the look on Artemis' face and almost groaned. "Another job?" he asked and Artemis nodded.
"There's a rather valuable jewel going on display in a museum in France. It's worth 1.2 million dollars." Butler whistled and nodded as he took a seat at the table. Normally Butler would remain standing as Artemis ate but Artemis had given him permission to relax whenever necessary. For some reason, just going up and down the steps made Butler become short of breath. Lately he had been working out a lot more than usual, and so now he was able to achieve more before tiring. Even with Artemis' permission, he always made sure he was on guard and alert.
"I've already researched and got the blueprints for the museum. It seems that once every two weeks they take the jewel out of it's case to clean and polish it. It takes them precisely one hour and fifteen minutes from the time they turn off the alarm until they turn it back on. There is a three minute window in which the jewel will be left unguarded as the guard exits the room to turn on the alarm. So in order to get the jewel, we must arrive during that hour and position ourselves so we are ready to take the jewel in that three minute window."
Butler smiled. Master Artemis was always two steps ahead. His plans were known to be a bit extreme from time to time, but they were always successful.
"When do we leave?" He asked.
"This afternoon. We must arrive there by tonight, that is when they are taking it out." Artemis replied.
"The private jet then?" Butler asked and Artemis nodded. Butler nodded as well and stood up to begin preparing.
Artemis watched him go and then turned back to his breakfast. He had spent the last two days researching and developing a plan. He would inform Butler on the way there about the rest of the plan, such as getting in and out of the heavily guarded museum.
Artemis Fowl the first and Angeline Fowl were currently in Italy visiting friends, with Juliet with them. She had gotten over her silly wrestling stage, still watching it occasionally but now more mature and a responsible bodyguard. She would often take Butler's place on some jobs, but she would also go with Artemis' mother to protect her. They often left for weeks at a time to go visiting various acquaintances throughout Europe. Artemis usually took advantage of their frequent absences to concoct another money making scheme. Ever since his father's recovery, he seemed determined to have the Fowl family go straight. Artemis wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. What was even more curious was why the sudden change in his father. Surely being held captive couldn't have affected him all that much could it?
So Artemis was forced to carry on his plans in secret. Artemis was surprised to find that he felt a little guilty about deceiving his parents. Guilt was a foreign emotion to him. In fact, any emotion is foreign to him. Artemis wondered if his father's new found conscience was getting to him.
Now that his parents were more involved with his life, he had to be much more careful. To hide his continually increasing money, he had to open a few secret bank accounts that his parents did not know about. If they were to see the large amounts of money, they would surely know that their son was deceiving them. For some unknown reason, Artemis could not bear to hurt his parents like that. Artemis shook his head, and got up from the table. Best to keep his mind on the upcoming mission. Just thinking about grasping that 1.2 million dollar jewel vanquished all thoughts of remorse.
Paris, France
Artemis and Butler sat hunched in the shadows of the museum, watching the guard. The guard was posted at a back door meant only for deliveries and employees. According to the data Artemis uncovered, it was the least secured door and was relatively close to where the jewel's case lies. It was close to midnight, so Artemis and Butler could see the guard basked in the light over the door but he couldn't see them. Butler had spotted a single camera near the door right away and Artemis had found a way to get to the door without being seen by the camera. Every fifteen minutes, the guard would get up and take his rounds, checking the nearby alleys leaving the door unguarded for two minutes. Artemis had been keeping a close eye and had timed everything on his watch. The guard was consistent, never taking longer than the two minutes to secure the area.
Artemis did some mental calculation and figured out precisely how long they had to get into the building, grab the jewel, and leave. He figured they would need to wait until the end of the hour and fifteen minutes. Coincidently, if they waited until the next time the guard went on his rounds in the alleys, Artemis and Butler would have just enough time to enter the museum and reach the room containing the jewel, just as the guard would be exiting the opposite side, giving them three minutes to get the jewel and leave the room before all the alarms protecting that room were activated. They would then have to wait until the guard who was in charge of the door, went back on his rounds before leaving the museum.
It was another fifteen minutes before the guard left towards the alleys. Artemis and Butler both moved silently towards the door, careful to stay out of the camera's vision. They were about five feet from the door when suddenly Artemis froze. Butler continued and went to work picking the lock on the door. When he had it opened, he turned and saw Artemis staring at the ground curiously.
"Artemis!" Butler hissed and Artemis looked up surprised, momentarily forgetting what they were doing. Realization dawned on his face and he hurried inside while Butler followed. Butler locked the door behind them. "Artemis? What was that about?"
"Not now old friend. I'll explain later. Right now we need to reach that room in time." Artemis quietly led the way, warning Butler of all the hidden motion censors and making sure to stay in the camera's blind spots. Artemis had memorized the layout of this floor and knew where every alarm was hidden. They reached the room one minute later than Artemis had hoped, leaving them only two minutes to get the jewel. The guard had already been gone for one.
Just as they entered the door, Butler spotted a dark small shape in the center of the room next to a glass case. Butler instinctively stepped in front of Artemis and drew his Sig Sauer. Artemis peeked out from behind Butler to see what was going on. He was just in time to see the figure wave at them before disappearing.
"Stay here Artemis." Butler whispered as he carefully made his way through the dim room to where the figure had been. After a moment he said, "Whatever it was is gone now." Artemis walked to where his manservant stood. There was a relatively large hole in the ground big enough to fit a small man or even Artemis. Artemis studied the hole while Butler hurried over to the jewel case. For some reason the hole and that creature seemed familiar. It triggered something in his memory. "A Dwarf." he muttered, but was instantly appalled at himself. First feelings of remorse and now talking about fairy tale creatures, and all in the same day! Artemis was beginning to fear for his sanity.
Then he felt Butler's hand on his shoulder. "Artemis, we need to get out of here right now. The jewel's already gone and this was there instead." Butler showed him an envelope which Artemis took. Not bothering to open it yet, he turned to leave, but not before taking one last look at the hole. They reached the door they had come in from with a few minutes to spare. They hid behind some old crates to wait until the guard would no longer be outside the door. Artemis tucked the envelope into the inside of his jacket and kept an eye on his watch. Eleven minutes passed with no incident and Artemis gestured to Butler that they leave.
Butler went out the door first, ready to attack the guard if for some reason he was still there. In fact, he was still there, but attacking him would be unnecessary. Butler found the guard sitting slumped against the wall unconscious. Actually, the more proper term would have been sprawled out. He had a small cut on the back of his head, showing that he had more than likely been hit on the head or else shoved into the wall. Butler could even detect a faint disgusting odor. The odor was almost gone, so he knew that it had been a few minutes since the smell had originally come, but it was still enough to make his nose scrunch up in disgust. Artemis came out the door and Butler saw a surprised look cross his face but was soon gone. Butler knew that it took a lot to surprise Master Artemis, as he usually suspected everything.
"Butler?"
"It wasn't me. He was like that already. From the dried blood on his head, I'd say it's been about a couple minutes."
Artemis nodded and turned to leave, but then he spotted another hole about ten feet from the door. Careful to make sure he was still out of range of the camera's eye, he examined it. It was without a doubt, the same kind of hole seen in the museum. It would seem that the creature made a quick stop on his way out to knock out the guard. But what Artemis didn't understand was why it would even bother. Apparently, whatever it was, tunneled, and would not need to surface. So why waste it's time to knock out the guard? Artemis would have to figure this out later. They needed to get away from the museum fast as the missing jewel would be noticed soon. Butler led the way to the airport where the private jet was stationed.
Butler started up the plane while Artemis sat in the back passenger area. He poured himself some Irish Spring Water and took out the envelope from his jacket. It was a pretty heavy envelope, when weighing it on his hand. Extremely curious now, Artemis carefully opened it. He was surprised to find a note with what seemed like a small golden coin. Artemis studied the coin first, and found that there was a hole in the center and there was a leather string tied to it to make a sort of necklace. Artemis peered closer at the coin and realized it was not a coin but a disc. Putting it aside temporarily, Artemis picked the note back up. He opened it to read:
Hey Kid,
Thought I'd return this to you. Sorry about the jewel though. I'll meet you at the Eiffel Tower tomorrow at noon.
M.D.
Artemis read the note twice before looking at the disc again. "Butler, change of plans. We're staying in France tonight." Butler just nodded and turned the jet around. Artemis looked at the disc again. Thought I'd return this to you. Apparently, Artemis had once had this disc before. But then why did this M.D. character have it? The even bigger question was why didn't Artemis remember it? It occurred to Artemis that the entire thing could be a trap. But Artemis' curiosity was getting the better of him, and for some reason, Artemis felt he could trust this M.D. Although he couldn't have said why.
When Butler landed the plane he came back and sat across from Artemis. Artemis could tell that he was debating whither or not to ask what was going on, so Artemis saved him the trouble and handed him the note and the disc. Butler read the note and then examined the "coin" and quickly discovered the same thing Artemis had, that it was a disc.
"Artemis, it could be a trap. We don't know anything about who this guy is."
Artemis thought for a minute and then said, "He somehow seems familiar, I think we can trust him. But you're right, it could be a trap so we must take precautions. Walking right into a trap does not appeal to me in the least. I have yet to be outsmarted and I'm not about to start now. We'll need to arrive early and secure that area."
Butler nodded. "You don't think it could be the police or anything?"
Artemis shrugged. "It certainly is possible, but unlikely. If it was the police, they would have grabbed us at the museum. Besides, I'm not sure any normal man can tunnel underground like that." He thought back to the museum. "When we were first entering the museum I felt a sort of vibration below me, as if there was something moving below ground. Whoever this M.D. is, he can travel underground and I think if we were to ally ourselves with him, there wouldn't be a single safe bank. I believe this M.D. tried to help us, however not all that much. He knocked that guard out when he didn't have to. He could have just kept going and nobody would have stopped him. No, I think he wanted to make sure we got out of there. It was a tad unnecessary though." Artemis took the disc from Butler. "We wouldn't happen to have a laptop on board by any chance, would we?"
Butler smiled. "As a matter of fact, we do. I figured it would be wise to keep one handy." He got up and reached into a compartment. He pulled out a laptop and handed it to Artemis, who immediately took it and put the disc in. Artemis was surprised to see it encrypted and even more surprised to see it was identical to his own encrypted diary. He had it un-encrypted it in under a minute and saw a few different files, including a diary written by himself and another file titled Fairy Book. It took over an hour, but by the time he had finished reading everything, his mind was swimming with memories. Feeling more than a little overwhelmed, he sat back.
"Artemis are you okay?" Butler asked when he noticed the teenager's pale face and dazed eyes. Butler was extremely surprised when he heard Artemis start muttering various words such as, "...Mulch...Holly...goblins...Koboi," Artemis' face scrunched up in disgust at the next part. "Crawling though Mulch's...recyclings."
"Artemis?" Butler asked again. Artemis looked up and after a moment, smiled. Not a smirk or a malicious grin, just a sincere smile. Butler didn't think he had ever seen Artemis smile like that before. It actually made him look like a normal eighteen year old for a moment.
"Yes Butler, I'm fine. In fact, better than I have in five years." Artemis handed the laptop over to Butler who began to read everything as well. As Butler was reading, Artemis's mind went over everything he had just recalled. He now remembered everything about the fairies and couldn't help but grin when he thought about how they would take it if they found out that he had outsmarted them once again and regained his memories. It would give him more than a little satisfaction to see their faces but Artemis had no intention of letting them know yet. They might decide to mind wipe him again and this time he might not be able to get anything past them. Artemis briefly let his mind wander to Holly. The Captain had not wanted him mind wiped, that much he had seen. Truthfully, Holly had been one of his few friends. Besides Butler, he hadn't really had anyone. After the incident with Opal Koboi and rescuing his father, Holly and he had actually begun to get along. Their relationship was not any normal friendship, as they were constantly bickering, but beneath that they had become friends. Artemis wondered if Holly would still consider him a friend.
Artemis looked back up just as Butler finished reading. By his expression, Artemis knew that he too, was feeling overwhelmed. Artemis grinned again as he watched Butler cringe and start to feel his face, recalling how it was that he no longer looked old.
"Well Butler, I think our suspicions about walking into a trap are no longer necessary. I must say, it'll be good to see our old friend Mulch again."
"Yeah, I wonder how our dwarf friend has been doing."
Eiffel Tower, France
Mulch arrived right at noon. He was busy eating something out of a carton and when he saw Artemis he grinned.
"Hey Arty! How's it been?" Artemis nodded his welcome and stuck out a hand, which Mulch shook.
"Mulch." He said and Mulch then turned to Butler.
"Hey big guy. You look good. How's Stinker doin'?"
"Juliet? She's fine. She just got her blue diamond tattoo." Mulch nodded, knowing what the tattoo meant. Artemis spoke up.
"Why don't we discuss things over a cup of tea? I saw a diner about a couple minutes walk from here."
Mulch nodded and finished the rest of his food, which Artemis had determined to be some sort of noodles, and threw the carton away. As they were walking, Butler, who had been walking behind the two, suddenly started to wave his hand back and forth in front of his nose.
"No offence Mulch, but you stink."
Mulch grunted. "Sun block. Without it I'd be fried within minutes. I don't want to take any chances." They reached the diner a few minutes later and the three took a seat at a small table in the back, so they would not be overheard. A waitress scurried over and asked for drinks. Artemis ordered a cup of Earl Grey tea and Mulch ordered a glass of spring water. Once the waitress was gone, Mulch turned to Artemis.
"Sorry I took so long in returning that coin to you. I had to lay low for a couple of years to get the LEP off my back. By the way, thanks for getting me out of there." Mulch grinned and continued. "You should have seen Julius' face when he told me I was free to go. I owe you big time."
Artemis chuckled. "You're welcome. I don't suppose you would owe me enough to hand over the jewel?"
"Sorry Arty boy. A dwarf's got to make a living."
"Fair enough. I suppose returning my memories to me was payment enough. All though I must say that you picked an odd way to return them. Why not simply come to my Manor?"
"Well, when the LEP released me, they threatened me by saying they were keeping a close eye on me and that one wrong move and they'd have me back in my cell. By the way, I'm pretty sure they know how it was that my record became useless. By the look on their faces, they weren't to happy about being outsmarted by a mud boy, especially one who, at the time, did not know we existed." Mulch said and Artemis chuckled. "But when they released me, I figured they had some way of tracking me. Sure enough, when I was far enough away, I found a little device they planted on me. I didn't want to arouse their suspicions right away, so I left it on me for the time being."
"It's not on you now is it?"
"No, I took it off about three months ago. As soon as I knew it would be safe and that the LEP weren't keeping as close on eye on me anymore. Once I got out, I went down to Mexico. Turns out they got a lot of good dirt down there and I have a buddy down there that was happy to let me stay while I was lying low. I didn't do any major jobs, just little minor ones, like pick pocketing and that kind of stuff, just to keep me occupied. But when I heard you were going after some expensive jewel, I figured I could meet up with you and get back in the game at the same time."
"How, may I ask, did you learn about my going after that jewel?" Artemis asked.
Mulch grinned. "I have contacts all over the place. That's the thing about dwarves, we blend in with humans pretty well. It just so happens, I have a relative in Ireland and when I got out, I asked him to keep and eye on you. Apparently you've been pretty active the last five years, starting up new bank accounts."
Artemis looked at him in surprise, which was a rare thing, to see Artemis Fowl surprised and it seemed to be happening a lot in the last day. "But how could you have possibly known what we were planning? Butler and I were the only ones who knew." Mulch just grinned again. Artemis turned to Butler. "It seems we will have to update our security measures around the manor and I'll have to update all of my security programs on my computers as well." He thought a moment and then added. "I think we need to order a bug detector as well." Mulch laughed.
"So how is it you have so many contacts everywhere Mulch?" Butler asked and Mulch shrugged.
"Hey, you meet a lot of people when you're into thievery."
"You steal a thousand dollars worth of stuff and then ask them for their number to call for information later?" Butler asked sarcastically.
"Nah, but you have to sell the stuff you steal though right? That's how I meet a lot of people, because they usually have friends everywhere too. By the way, you wouldn't believe where I have a contact now. An old buddy of mine was just accepted into the LEP about a year ago."
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Really? A dwarf?"
Mulch shook his head. "Nope, an elf. I think I gave all dwarves a bad name." Artemis chuckled.
"Well, that must prove handy. You'll be forewarned if they decide to come after you."
"Yeah, that's how I knew I was safe to come up here. It seems Foaly grew tired of me sitting around doing nothing. So I ditched the tracker device on some Mud Man and headed this way. By the way, that's a pretty good job you did last night. If it hadn't been for me, you would have gotten that jewel. That's impressive for a Mud Boy."
"Yes, well I prefer to take advantage of my intellect and not just charge in there like other criminals, half of which get caught in the act. I find that that if you plan everything out and leave yourself plenty of back doors to escape, you have a very little chance that you can get caught. I assume it was you that knocked that guard out?"
Mulch grinned. "The dirt had a bit of air in it, so I decided to put it to good use. You should be thanking me though."
"Why is that? The guard would have been going on his rounds and no one would have known we were there."
Mulch took a sip of his water before shaking his head. "Actually, when I was right underneath him, I heard him get a call from another guard alerting him the jewel had just been stolen. He was just about to go in and look for you. I have no doubt that Butler here could have easily taken him, but at least my way, he wouldn't have gotten a look at you to be able to identify you later on."
"Yes, but instead you let him get a look at you. Doesn't that endanger the People's existence?" Butler asked.
"Nah, I have a feeling that the guard wouldn't be to eager to run and tell everyone that a dwarf knocked him out with gas. Even if they somehow managed to believe it was a dwarf, he'll still be the laughingstock of France. I think he'll just say someone came up and rammed him into the wall. But I made sure I stayed in the shadows, so he more than likely didn't even get a good look at me."
"Well it seems I do owe you a thank you for your help Mulch." Artemis said and Mulch said, "No problem." Artemis was silent for a moment. "Mulch, I have a proposition for you." Mulch sat up straight.
"I'm listening."
"How about a partnership? Everything we get, we split 50/50."
Mulch's eyes grew big as he thought of all the possibilities. "With your brains, and my skills, we would be unstoppable."
Artemis nodded and then smiled his vampire-like smile. "So is it a deal?"
Mulch grinned and stuck out his hand, "Deal" as Artemis shook it. Together they would be unstoppable.
Police Plaza, Haven
Holly rushed towards the Police Plaza, not surprised that she got there in record timing. Most of haven was empty. It seemed most fairies were locking themselves in their homes, venturing out only occasionally. There were many fairies who were going about their lives as though nothing was wrong. In a way, Holly admired them. A LEP officer was always forced to take action in times of disasters. They were always involved, which usually led to a lot of stress. Civilians did not hold the responsibility of keeping the lower elements safe. But Holly had to admit that having that responsibility only made the job more worthwhile. This was what Holly lived for; piloting shuttles, kicking bad guy butts, and occasionally bossing around civilians was an added bonus.
Holly arrived at the entrance to Police Plaza and quickly went in. She was met with a group of about thirty fairies. She knew why there were here. She pushed past them and headed to Commander Root's office. She found him in there as well as Foaly.
Root sat behind his desk and Foaly stood off to the side. Holly had never, before these last few days anyway, see Foaly this serious or the Commander this weary. Lines of stress etched across his face making him look at leas a hundred years older than he really was. Holly took a seat on a chair facing the Commander.
"Any news?" asked Holly and Root grunted, burying his face into his hands. Foaly answered for him.
"Another one's missing."
Holly looked up in surprise and then groaned. "Who?"
"Chix Verbil." Holly's eyes widened.
"Chix? When?"
"He was last seen last night. We have two witness saying that as he was walking home, two cloaked figures approached him and took him into an alley and nobody's seen him since."
Holly sank lower into her chair. That was the seventh LEP officer gone missing, on top of five civilians as well. They were all silent for moment.
"Sir? What do you want me to do about all the civilians at the entrance? They all want to know what's going on. I recognized a few as some of the families of those who are missing. They want to know if there's any news n them."
Root looked up wearily and sighed. "I'll take care of them. I just wish I had some better news to tell them." Holly nodded and watched him as he made his way out to the front of Police Plaza.
"You look exhausted Holly." Foaly commented.
Holly nodded. "I worked a double shift and only got about five hours of sleep before having to report back again." Foaly nodded, understanding.
"Consider yourself lucky that you got those five hours. Julius has had to get whatever little sleep he could in his office the past couple of days."
"What about the other officers?"
"Well, ever since the first one went missing a week ago, it seems everybody is working double shifts. Trouble Kelp just got done with a triple and wanted to take another shift. The commander ordered him to take a day off and sleep before he kills himself."
Holly chuckled. "You got to hand it to Trouble though. He always puts others ahead of himself and he's determined, hardly ever gives up. No one can ever accuse him of being egotistical or self-centered."
"Yeah, you can say that again about not giving up. From the look he had, he would have put up quite a fight if he hadn't been talking to his superior officer. That was why the Commander had to order him to go home, otherwise he would still be working right now."
Just then, Root came back in. He sighed heavily as he plopped down into his chair. There was silence again, until Holly finally asked, "Commander, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay Holly. All of Haven is panicking, few are even coming out of their homes, because they're all scared they're going to be next. We have twelve missing and nothing like this has or even remotely similar has ever happened to us. The council is frustrated that we haven't caught whoever it is yet and all of the officers are about ready to drop down from exhaustion. On top of all that, we don't have the slightest clue as to who's behind this whole thing." Root said this unusually calm, due to his weariness. He didn't snap or anything, which somewhat worried Holly. Root turned to Foaly.
"Foaly? Any theories as to who it might be?"
Foaly hesitated for a minute, cautiously scratching his neck. "Well, I ran some scans earlier and I couldn't find anyone that stood out, except for one."
"Who?"
"One Artemis Fowl." said Foaly and Root and Holly both looked up at him.
"Fowl? Do you really think he's behind this?" Root asked.
"Personally, no. But the council does and so do a few others. I see no reason why it should be him."
"Why? He kidnapped Holly before." Root pointed out.
"Well, yes, but that was before he changed. You see, he was right about the People having a positive influence on him. When I went through his memories to see what made him tick, even I couldn't figure it all out. That boy is some piece of work-"
"Foaly…" Root said, warning him to get back to the point.
"When he cooperated with us, we changed him for the better. But as soon as we mind wiped him and erased his memories of the People, our influence left with the memories. So he returned to that monster he was before. He's been quite active these last five years, his accounts have grown quite a bit, and his parents know nothing about it."
"Okay, so if he returned to that monster, wouldn't that mean he was capable of kidnapping fairies again?"
"Not necessarily. If he somehow discovered the fairies again, he should have had a total recall, which should trigger some of those feelings he had before, making him not much of a monster anymore. Besides, this isn't his style, he would have told us or left us some clue as to who did it, just to play with us, that way he can get whatever it is he wants from us, like last time with the gold. I highly doubt he would do this just because he feels like it or wants revenge. I don't think he's behind it, but I do think you should at least send an officer to watch him and make sure he isn't keeping any fairies or shows any signs of having them."
Root was silent, letting everything Foaly had just told them sink in. Finally he made a decision.
"Okay, since this is our only lead for the time being, we're going to go with it. If Foaly's right and the Mud Boy didn't do it, then we'll have to figure something else out. But I'll send an officer to check him out. If we see any signs pointing that he's behind it, then we'll act."
"Commander, if Fowl's behind it, he'll already know that we suspect him. He could have a trap set up."
Root thought a minute before saying, "You're right, we'll just watch him for a little while, and go from there." Root picked up his list of officers and their schedules. "Okay, I'm going to send Corporal Bough. Foaly, call him in for me." As Foaly went to the door to call for him, Holly started to protest.
"With all do respect Commander, I think I should be the one to go. I know Fowl better than anyone else here. It'll be better to have first hand knowledge of the manor and Fowl himself. Corporal Bough is a rookie. He doesn't know anything about Artemis, just the stories."
"I know Holly, but I need you down here right now. You're one of my best officers and…I need your help with this crisis."
"But Commander-"
"Short! You're staying here and that's an order!" Root's face was now taking on it's familiar red hue. Holly backed down.
"Yes sir." She muttered. Foaly still stood at the door, having just sent an officer for the Corporal. He arrived a minute later and Root gave him his instructions.
"You're to report above ground and keep an eye on Fowl Manor. Stay hidden and away from the manor itself, but alert us to any suspicious activity going on there."
"Yes sir." The Corporal looked excited to be appointed such an important mission and scurried out of the office. Holly had to fight the impulse to scowl at the Corporal, and instead turned and left for her own cubicle. She was almost there when she heard Foaly calling her. She turned back and waited for him to catch up. Once he caught up, they both started walking again. Holly was still fuming about not getting to go and Foaly knew it.
"Holly, it's not that he thought you couldn't do it. He knew you were the most capable."
"Well then why didn't he let me go? It's better than sitting around here waiting and doing nothing."
"Julius just doesn't want anything to happen to you. You're one of his best officers and truthfully one of his favorites. He figured if Fowl is behind it, sending an officer would prove to be dangerous, and so he knew that if you went, it could make things worse since you know Fowl."
"I can look after myself."
"Maybe, but he also wants you to stay here in case something happens here. You and Trouble are the best Recon officers, no matter how reckless you are. But if you aren't doing anything, come with me to Ops to keep an eye on Corporal Bough." Holly grudgingly agreed and followed the centaur to the booth.