Author's Note: Thanks for all your reviews again. It's getting closer to the end. Still quite a few chapters left, but over half way over. Please keep reviewing.
Thank you to: Oozaru Angel, jeweljade, IwuvMyKenshyPoo, Sweetdeath04, reflocand RaevanDawn
Chapter Nine: Conference
Police Plaza, Underground Haven
Holly walked toward the LEP conference room later that morning. Root had called a meeting to get an update on what all Artemis had found out. She reached the room and found everyone already there, waiting for her. Artemis sat at the head of the long table with Root, Foaly, Trouble, Butler, Juliet, and Mulch sitting around it. They all looked a little impatient, especially Root, who was puffing on his cigar, as usual.
"You're late Short. Sit down."
"Yes sir, sorry sir." She mumbled and sat in between Trouble and Foaly.
Root turned to Artemis. "Alright Fowl, what do you have so far?"
Artemis stood up and cleared his throat while unrolling one of the maps. There was a bulletin board behind him and he pinned the map to it. "Alright, I'll get right to the point. Each location marked on the map here, is where a fairy has gone missing. It just so happens that each location is secluded from the rest of the public, meaning mostly alley ways. All but a few of those have only one entrance to the alley and the kidnappers were seen entering the alley with the now missing fairy and none of them came back out. No bodies have been found if I'm correctly informed." He said and Root nodded gruffly. Artemis continued. "Captains Short and Kelp investigated one of the sites for me and found a possible exit." Artemis now unrolled a separate map and put it up under the first one.
"What's that map of?" Root asked, leaning forward to look.
"The sewage tunnels." Artemis answered.
"So you think that's how they're getting away?" Mulch asked and Artemis nodded.
Juliet scrunched up her nose. "Eww, that has to smell."
Holly bit her lip to keep from laughing. Even in the most serious of times Juliet could act, there was no other word for it, blonde. Artemis chose to ignore Juliet.
"Yes and I have found a few tunnels that all twelve of these entrances have in common. By process of elimination, I have found ten exits from the sewer that are possible locations that the fairies are being held. I realize that this may not prove to be accurate but at the moment it's all we have to go by."
"May not be accurate?" Root growled, loosing all patience. The smoke from his cigar filled the air around him giving the impression that steam was coming from his head.
"Commander," Artemis began, in a voice that showed Holly he was trying to keep his own patience. "Do you know that some of the most brilliant minds, including Albert Einstein, as well as others, discovered or proved many things when they originally started with just a theory?"
"I could care less about whoever this Einstein is. I don't want theories; I want actual facts or proof."
"Well, because I have no evidence or proof to work with, Commander, all I have is theories at the moment." Artemis said, his blue eyes were almost like ice and Holly resisted the urge to shiver. Artemis could go from a calm business matter to like a cold vampire in just seconds. Beside her, Foaly smirked, glad to see someone else arguing with Root for a change. "If you like, Commander, you may solve this by yourself and hope that you get your proof before all of Haven goes missing. Otherwise, you can let me help and just go with what I've found so far. Which, may I remind you, is more than you figured out before." Artemis said coldly.
Root and him glared at each other until finally Root backed down. He mumbled something nobody could make out.
"What was that Julius?" Foaly asked, grinning.
"I said he can help. Now get on with it Fowl."
Artemis decided not to gloat but the corners of his mouth still twitched triumphantly. Holly hid her grin by pretending to yawn. Trouble saw her and silently chuckled.
"As I was saying, I have found ten possible locations that may be where they are being held. It is possible that none of these are holding them, but I highly doubt it. More than likely, whoever is behind this is using the tunnels to get the fairies to their hideout without being seen by others. So, we need to do a check on these locations; see if they are abandoned, who owns them, that sort of thing." Artemis looked at Foaly and the centaur nodded.
"I'll get right on it." He said.
"Are there any connections as far as the missing fairies?" Root asked.
"Only that whoever is behind this has a grudge against the LEP."
"Of course." Root groaned.
"It's just a suspicion, seeing as though more than half of them are officers." Artemis said. "Regarding that subject, I do have a suggestion though." He added, looking at Root, who asked, "What?" Artemis said, "I think it would be wise to stick some sort of locator on all LEP officers. I assume whoever is behind this, dismantled the other's locators or you would have found them by now."
Root grunted. "You're asking me to put more of my officers in danger, just so we can find the others?"
"No, I'm not asking you to have your officers go out alone in alleys, holding a sign saying, 'Take Me.'" Artemis snapped coldly. Then, once he had cooled down, he continued. "I'm merely asking that you use some other locator that they don't know of. That way, in the event of someone going missing again, we'll know where to find them. It would be impossible and not wise to stick one on every fairy in Haven because if you were, than the kidnapper would get wind of it."
Roots face by now was a darker red than Holly had ever seen it. She wondered if she should fear for Artemis's safety but he seemed to be doing just fine, besides, Butler was right next to him, so it was doubtless Root would be able to beat him to Artemis if he were to attempt to strangle him. The only person Holly had ever seen stand up to Root and argue with him was Foaly, who was now watching with rapt attention. But Root couldn't do anything to Artemis and Artemis seemed to know it. Although, something told Holly that even if Root did have jurisdiction over Artemis, Artemis would still not let himself be bossed around. He just wasn't the type of person to take orders from anybody, which was something Holly admired about him. Holly took orders from Root, Root took orders from the council who ruled all of Haven, and the Council abided by the Book. Artemis had a government that made laws for him to follow, but he didn't, choosing instead to be a criminal, as did Mulch. Holly detested criminals and her job was to catch them, so why was she admiring Artemis, one of the most dangerous or previously dangerous anyway, criminals? She figured it was just the fact that it seemed like he had more freedom than she did.
"Fine, stick the locators on everyone." Root grunted. Artemis nodded and turned to Foaly.
"Foaly, do you happen to have anything that may help?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. I just got done developing a new type of spray last week. Just spray it on someone or something and you can't even see it or know it's there, as it's unnoticeable by any kind of detector. Unfortunately, it only lasts for about two weeks before I need to spray again. I need to develop a longer lasting one." Foaly informed him.
"Two weeks should be more than enough. Get started on spraying all the officers then." Artemis said. "I'll help with that because you also need to look up those places." Foaly agreed and got up and Artemis followed him out, carrying the maps and notes. Root was next, as he was headed for the door, he barked orders to Holly and Trouble.
"You two gather all the officers and have them report to Fowl and Foaly."
"Yes sir." They said simultaneously Root left and just as the two Captains got up, Juliet said, "Well, that was boring."
"I don't know, I thought Artemis and Julius arguing was quite entertaining." Mulch said grinning. They all laughed.
"I don't think I've ever seen Root get so mad without killing the person. Usually, only Foaly messes with him, and even than he's never gotten that red." Holly said.
"Nobody else besides those two ever dare to argue with old' Beetroot. I got to hand it to Artemis." Trouble grinned.
"I don't think anyone can win an argument with Artemis. There are times when either the look in his eyes or when he smiles is enough to send shivers down my spine." Butler admitted, somewhat surprising them. To hear that even Butler, who had defeated a troll and Retrieval One, (they had no clue what else he had done before, after all, he hadn't been Artemis's bodyguard forever) could get nervous from his young charge, surprised everyone except Juliet.
"Well, I'm just glad he's on our side this time." Trouble said before heading out the door. Holly followed him, leaving two humans and a dwarf who were all incredibly bored again.
Artemis stood outside the Operations Booth waiting for the next person to step up to be sprayed with Foaly's new locator substance. Foaly had instructed him to just spray each fairy all over. He was now in a grouchy mood. It seemed as though every officer that he had sprayed, had asked what the spray was for and Artemis had already explained it at least fifteen times now. When the next officer came up and asked the same thing, Artemis couldn't hold back a groan. Nearby, Holly was ordering everyone into a single file line and heard him. She got up on a chair, making herself Artemis's height and faced the line of waiting officers.
"Alright, listen up, all of you! You are here to be sprayed with a locator substance. This way we know where everybody is at, at all times. Now get into a single file line and stop complaining or just being irritating and it will go by a lot quicker." Holly said, in a commanding voice and a look that was just daring anyone to object. All the officers quickly straightened out into a single file line and hurried to obey her orders. Artemis stared at her, surprised by the outburst. Holly turned and saw him, wide-eyed. She smiled sweetly before getting down from the chair. Artemis watched her walk away until she was out of sight.
"Yeah, she's a beauty alright. But I doubt you have a chance of getting with her, especially you being a Mud Man. There is hardly a guy in this whole building that hasn't tried for her and everyone's been turned down." Artemis looked down to see that the next officer in line had been watching him.
"I have no intention of getting with her." Artemis said, his voice matter of fact. The officer gave him a look that said he wasn't buying it. "It's just that I've never seen Ho-Captain Short have an outburst like that, at least not so abruptly." Artemis said.
"Hang around here more often then." The officer said. "Now, are you going to spray me with whatever that stuff is?"
Artemis grunted and quickly sprayed him. After that officer was gone and the next one had stepped up, Artemis pondered his words. "I doubt you have a chance of getting with her, especially you being a Mud Man." If, and that was a big if, if he did like Holly that way, it was true, even if she liked him back, there was the fact that he was a human and she a fairy. But he didn't like her that way anyway, just as a friend, so he had nothing to worry about. But a small part of him knew the real truth but Artemis refused to consider it.
Foaly had watched the entire scene from his booth. He had been amused at first but then he soon realized that it was serious. He had noticed Holly's and Artemis's behavior towards each other (at Fowl Manor and the previous day in his booth). He was glad Holly finally found someone to like but it was the wrong someone. Those two could never be together. Besides the obvious height difference and the fact that they were two different species, Root would never allow it, nor would the council. Foaly supposed it was lucky that both refused to admit their feelings. Foaly decided that Fowl himself was okay now; he had always gotten along pretty well with him since Fowl was someone he could have an actual intelligent conversation with. However, he would prefer him back at his manor, away from Holly.
Artemis finished up the last of the officers a little over an hour later and then headed out to find Mulch. Apparently the Commander wanted Mulch sprayed with the locator stuff as well and was sending Holly to do it. He reached the dwarf's door and knocked.
"Yeah?"
"Mulch, its Artemis."
"Oh, come in." Artemis opened the door to find Mulch lying on his cot. "What can I do for you?"
"Commander Root wants you sprayed with that locator substance. Holly's on her way now."
"D'Arvit." Mulch got up and sprinted toward the door.
"You may want to hide some of those stolen items a bit better than that." Artemis suggested, pointing toward the cots pillow where wallets and keys were spilling out. Mulch grinned and quickly hurried to find a new hiding spot. Artemis shook his head and left the room. He crossed the hall into his own room, leaving the door open. He lay down on top of the bed to rest a minute. He watched as Mulch hurried by his room and he chuckled. A few minutes later, Holly appeared in the doorway.
"Hey, have you seen Diggums?"
"He wasn't in his room?"
"No. I just checked."
"Oh, then no, I don't know where he went." Artemis said. It was in between a lie and the truth; after all he really didn't know where Mulch was going to hide, just that it would be away from Holly. Holly frowned.
"Hmm, I need to give him this locator stuff."
"You can leave it here with me and as soon as he comes back, I'll do it." Artemis suggested.
Holly smirked. "Nice try, but I don't trust you that much."
Artemis propped himself up on one elbow. "But you do trust me some then?" Holly shrugged and came in and sat on the desk chair. Artemis grinned. "It seems we've made some improvement." For some reason he found it fun teasing the Captain, or just argue and be sarcastic with her. It was always interesting.
"Yeah, I guess so." Holly said, smiling. They were silent until Artemis decided to ask what he had been wondering for awhile now.
"Earlier, after you so kindly explained to all the officers why they were there-which caught me off guard by the way," He said and Holly grinned. "One of the officers said that almost every guy in the building has asked you out but you've turned them all down."
"Yeah, but you ruined that when you set me up with Steven last night." She pointed out.
"How come?"
"How come you ruined it?" Holly asked, confused.
"No, why do you turn them all down?" Artemis was still lying on the bed with his head being held up by his hand, facing Holly. Holly was amazed to see him so calm and interested while waiting for her to answer. She pursed her lips, considering what to say.
"Well, because most of the guys here just want to go out with me because I'm the only female Recon officer. You'd think they don't get out of the office much. Most of them I have no clue who they are and they only see me as something to have and brag to everyone else about."
Artemis shook his head in disgust, surprising Holly. Artemis wasn't like other guys and not just because he was a rich genius. Holly found him to be easy to talk to and understanding, once one got past the cold demeanor he usually had.
"Is that why you're so…" Artemis fought to find the best word that wouldn't earn him another punch to the face. Holly found them for him.
"Tough? Or maybe a little violent?" The smile on her face told Artemis that she wasn't insulted. He nodded. "It only added to it. I actually grew up in a rough neighborhood and with all boys, so I learned how to take care of myself quickly. Then, once I came to work for the LEP, it still stuck with me and proved useful." She explained. Holly knew she needed to go and find Mulch, but really didn't want to go. She was perfectly comfortable sitting there talking to Artemis. He was a great listener too. He kept asking questions and Holly soon found herself telling him all about her parents and everything she's had to put up with since coming to the LEP.
After explaining that her parents had died shortly after joining the LEP, Artemis asked her, "What did they think of you becoming an officer?"
"My dad was thrilled since he was a retired officer. My mom wasn't as happy about it. She said it was too dangerous, but she was still proud." Holly thought about her parents and not for the first time, wished that they were still around. She wished that they could have at least made it to see her help defeat the B'wa Kell, so then they would have known that she hadn't failed like so many thought she would. Fearing she might start crying or something, Artemis decided to quickly change the subject. He was still new at this emotion business and had no clue what to do if she started crying.
"So are you an only child then?"
Holly nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's one thing we have in common."
"I suppose so." He said and Holly tilted her head curiously.
"Have you ever wished that you had a brother or sister?"
"Truthfully, I never really considered it. I suppose that if I had a sibling, things would be quite different. Although, I always have been somewhat close to Juliet, and very close to Butler." He said and then asked, "What about you?"
"I think I've always sort of wished I had a sister or even a brother. It's kind of lonely being an only child." Artemis hesitated a short second before nodding. Holly realized that she didn't really know much about him. At least what she thought she had known about him had altered when she saw him the other night at his manor and seeing how much he had changed. Her opinion that she had first created after their first encounter was no longer right. And since she couldn't read him like he could obviously read her and everyone else, she would have to ask and hope he would answer. "So, were you ever lonely?" She asked nonchalantly. Artemis was silent and she figured he was deciding whither to answer. She studied his face and watched as he looked at her and seemed to relent. It was almost as if a barrier had been broken and Holly didn't need to read him to know the answer. His face didn't reveal a whole lot, just a tiny bit of sorrow, along with a little bit of shame at revealing it. It was then that she realized how much that question might really affect him, even for him to show that much emotion. He must have been very lonely. He was a genius and that alone would have kept him away from other kids his age, not to mention his distinct attitude that frightened away and angered many. But thinking about it, Holly guessed that his attitude could have been caused by his loneliness. Suddenly, Artemis no longer looked at all like the cold, calculating, criminal genius. Instead, he looked like a normal teenager who was confused and never had friends to confide in, with maybe an exception of Butler. Without really thinking, Holly moved to sit next to him on the bed. "That bad, huh?" She asked softly. Artemis didn't say anything right away and Holly was now at a loss for words.
"Yes, well, it's none of your concern." He said. Holly was surprised by the coldness in his tone and was thrown off guard momentarily. She sighed, exasperated.
"There's your problem right there. You push away everybody that tries to help you." She stood up and was about to walk out of the room, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"No wait…I'm sorry. You don't have to leave." He said quietly. Holly thought about it and decided that she didn't want to leave anyway. She sat back down on the bed. Artemis's hand was still on her shoulder but she did nothing to remove it.
"Okay, we'll change the subject, but if you ever need to talk, I'm available." She said sincerely. Artemis gave a small smile and nodded, but he doubted he would ever take her up on that offer. They spent the rest of the day just talking about various things, sometimes laughing, sometimes arguing. It was evening when Holly reluctantly said she had to go.
"Oh, okay." Artemis said, feeling a little disappointed. He had actually had a rather fun time just sitting here, talking with Holly.
"I'm going to be heading home, so I'll see you tomorrow." She said as she left for the door.
"Bye." Artemis remained on his bead after she was gone. Not even a minute later, Mulch poked his head in the doorway.
"She gone?"
"Yes, she's gone." Artemis assured him. Mulch came in.
"Thanks for getting me out of that, but you know, you sure kept her in here long enough. I've been waiting to get back to my room for a few hours now."
"Sorry, but I think she forgot about having to spray you."
"Hmm, so what did you two do?" Mulch asked as Artemis got up from the bed to stretch.
"We talked." He said simply.
"All afternoon?" The dwarf smirked. Artemis began guiding him to the door.
"Yes, all afternoon."
Mulch grinned widely. "So that's why you didn't want that Corporal. You already have Holly." Artemis got him outside to the hallway.
"Goodbye Mulch." He said and closed the door in Mulch's face. He heard Mulch chuckle through the door and Artemis shook his head.
Holly headed down the hall, feeling considerably chipper. She was going to her desk to clean up before leaving. Just as she got there, she heard Root calling her.
"Captain!"
"Yes sir?" She asked, turning around.
"Did you spray Diggums with that locator stuff?"
Holly hesitated for a split second. "Yes sir, earlier this afternoon." She lied. She instantly felt guilty for having to lie to him.
"Good, too bad it only lasts two weeks though." Holly nodded and Root glanced over at her desk.
"What have you been doing today? Your paperwork stack is the same as it was this morning."
Holly cringed slightly. If she told Root that she had spent all afternoon talking to Artemis about nothing pertaining to the case, he would be furious. "I was helping Artemis. He was working on the case." More lies. She hardly ever lied to the Commander. Why was she doing it now? Root nodded, apparently buying it.
"Just don't get too far behind on that paperwork. When is your shift over?" Holly looked at her moon o'meter.
"Half an hour ago."
"Oh, then you should get going. See you in the morning Holly."
"Okay sir. Bye." Root left and headed back to his office. Holly quickly gathered her things and headed home.