Author's Note: Again, thanks to me, obviously; IwuvMyKenshyPoo; Sweetdeath04; RaevanDawn; jeweljade; and absolute power. Your reviews are really helping. Please keep them up. Also, please forgive any mistakes you may find in this one.

Chapter Ten: Suspects

That night, Artemis had a hard time sleeping. Finally, around midnight, he got up and got dressed. He slipped out of the room, making sure to stay completely silent when walking by Butler's room. The plaza was packed with officers, since night time was the fairies preferred time of day. Not really sure where he was headed, he just sort of wandered around. He stayed away from the front of the plaza, to avoid all of the civilians who were not allowed to see him or know he was there. Some officers would greet him politely while others still glared at him. He just merely ignored them. He soon found himself near Ops. Deciding to see if Foaly was still there, he walked over and pressed the intercom button.

"Foaly, you there?"

"Of course. What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering if you ran a check on those locations."

"Yeah, hold on a second, I'll let you in."

Artemis glanced around. "You sure? I don't want to get you in trouble with Commander Root. He didn't seem to be in the best of moods." The door opened, revealing Foaly.

"It's alright, Julius left a while ago. And he's always like that."

"That's good to hear. I was beginning to think he was only like that when I'm around." Artemis said dryly. He walked in and took a seat.

"Well, I think you may add to it." Foaly said smirking and Artemis chuckled.

"So Foaly, do you ever get any sleep? You've been here all day and you're still here."

"I usually don't need much sleep. I'm always so busy. I'll probably go home in the morning if nothing comes up." Foaly said while typing something on a computer. Artemis nodded. "Right, so what's your excuse for not sleeping?" He asked, not turning around. Artemis shrugged.

"Just couldn't sleep."

"A lot on your mind?"

"You might say that." Artemis said, knowing that was precisely the case. His mind had been entirely too active and had been going over many things, including his afternoon. But he wouldn't admit that. "Did you say if you had run that check?"

"Sure did." Foaly finally turned away from his computer. He pulled out the maps he had taken from Artemis and unrolled them. Artemis leaned forward to see. "First of all, you'll be glad to know I was able to narrow it down further." He started. Artemis didn't say anything, letting Foaly continue uninterrupted. "Three of these we can safely discard. That one," He said, pointing to one of the places marked, "Was destroyed in a fire six months ago. These other two were torn down about three months ago. The owner sold them to the city and they were marked as unsafe, so they were destroyed." Artemis took a red marker from Foaly's desk. He crossed those three off.

"Okay, what about the others?" He asked.

"These three right here; those two are shopping malls and this one is a real estate office. I think we can rid of these unless you still want to check the out...?"

"No, if we have to, we'll look into them if nothing else shows up."

"Okay, I think this next part might interest you." Foaly said, bringing up a file on his computer.

"Indeed? What is it?" Artemis asked.

"Those remaining four are buildings, all owned by the same people. Two are owned by one Oliver Oak, and the other two are owned by his wife, Ivy Oak."

"Really? And what do we know about this Mr. and Mrs. Oak?"

"Well, Mr. Oak has a pretty colorful past. In and out of prison five times, all for numerous reasons; breaking and entering, officer assault-verbal and physical, and some other charges. Our Mrs. Oak has never really been in trouble with the law. However, her father was killed a few decades ago in a gun fight against the LEP. He had robbed a bank, and when the LEP had tracked it to his house, he opened fire, wounding one officer."

Artemis leaned back, satisfied. "Well, I believe we have our two main suspects. They both have motives and grudges against the LEP."

"Yup, and there's more."

"More?"

"These two are somehow quite wealthy. It's rumored that they have their own small mercenary army. It's unknown precisely how rich they are or how they came across this money, but it's obviously enough to pay for their little army."

Artemis frowned. "This may be a bit harder than I originally anticipated."

"Especially since it might end up being an all out war between the LEP and them."

"Yes, I had originally planned on just sneaking in there, but if they hired a bunch of fairies...No matter, I'll have to devise a different plan." Foaly resisted the urge to gulp. He had seen some of Artemis's plans in action. He had no doubt it would work but the plans were usually a bit extreme. "We'll inform Commander Root about this tomorrow morning, unless you already did?"

"Nope, not yet."

"Okay." Artemis stood up to leave but saw the screen where Foaly had been typing when he had first arrived. "What are you working on?" He asked. It was written in Gnommish, which Artemis happened to be fluent in as far as reading it. From what he could tell, it was plans for something."

"It's brainstorm and notes for my latest invention." Foaly said proudly. He raised an eyebrow at the young genius. "Am I right in thinking that you understand Gnommish?"

"You are. At least as far as reading and writing it. May I make a suggestion?" He asked, leaning forward to study the screen.

"Sure, I guess."

"That might not work."

"What do you mean, not work?" Foaly asked, clearly offended.

"You see," Artemis began and soon the two of them were discussing scientific maters that, if Juliet or Holly or even Root had been there, they would have been snoring in minutes.

After about two hours, Artemis left the booth, leaving Foaly with a much better design for his wings. When he got back to his room, he was only a little more tired than he had been before. However, he did not feel like wasting more time trying to fall asleep. So instead, he picked a spot on the floor and sat down to meditate. He needed to think about what Foaly had told him. He also needed to begin to form possible plans. He spent the rest of the night meditating, occasionally jotting down ideas. It was early morning when he finally got up from the floor and stretched. He grabbed a new set of clothes and headed to the back of the buildings where the restrooms and showers are. After taking a long, warm shower (being closer to the center of the Earth had it's advantages, the water was always hot) he changed into his clean clothes and dropped his other clothes off at his room.

Holly would be at work soon. So he headed over to her desk. He wanted to tell her about what Foaly had told him. She wasn't at her desk yet but he figured she would be any minute. He carefully examined the small desk chair and after determining that it would hold his weight, he sat down. Her shift started at seven and it was now a few minutes after. He decided to go through her stuff some more while waiting. But fifteen minutes passed and she hadn't gotten there yet. Frowning, he forced himself not to worry. She had already proven that she can take care of herself after the incident in the alley. But still, what if she had been outnumbered to where she couldn't get passed them? Artemis didn't know what to do so he decided to wait a few more minutes. He found a book in one of Holly's drawers and flipped open to a random page. It seemed the story was about some woman who had fallen in love with some guy. After reading a few pages, Artemis was hooked into it and almost jumped when Holly spoke right next to him.

"Are you in the habit of going through my things now?" She asked, her eyes filled with amusement. Artemis looked over at her in relief, glad that she was okay. However, he was determined to not show he had been worried. He grinned.

"I was waiting for you to get here and grew bored."

"So you decided to read a romance novel? I would never have guessed." Holly said, smirking.

Artemis faked surprise. "This is a romance novel? I never would have known. It struck me as a mystery."

Holly laughed and went along with it. "Really? How do you figure?"

"Well, this lady...Sue, I believe her name was, really likes this guy, but she can't figure him out. He disappears constantly and has a lot of money. Personally, I think he's a thief or a criminal. He certainly is sly and smart enough."

"Leave it to you to turn a perfectly harmless romantic story into a crime story." Holly said, shaking her head.

"I can't help it, it's my nature." Artemis replied.

"See, that's why there's the police, so we can catch criminals like you."

Artemis smiled his vampire smile. "Captain, need I remind you that I have yet to get caught? And I have no intention of being caught ever, either."

"Don't get to cocky Mud Boy."

"Of course not, I would never." He said, managing to sound as if he had been insulted. "You must always play the game as if you hold all the cards but still expect to loose, that way you are never caught off guard and never underestimate your enemy. I made that mistake once and I don't intend to again."

Holly was either getting good at reading his eyes or else the feeling was to strong for him to hid, because Holly instantly knew that he was referring to the lunch in with Jon Spiro and Butler nearly dying for good and she could see in his eyes the regret that he still carried over it. She felt her heart grew heavy at seeing him like that. Before, she had told him that he needed to learn that his schemes usually resulted in getting someone he knew and cared about hurt. Even though it was the truth, it was clear that Artemis didn't need to be told that again. Not knowing what else to do, she put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. She was doing this more and more often now, and wondered why it was that she felt the need to touch him. Couldn't she just have said something to make him feel better? She felt him go tense, only to relax again after a second. Artemis cleared his throat.

"Yes, well, the reason I was waiting for you was because I wanted to let you know what Foaly discovered last night."

"What is it?"

A mischievous smile appeared on his face. "I'll tell you, but only over breakfast. I'm quite hungry."

Holly narrowed her eyes. "You know, I think you're a little too fond of blackmail."

Artemis stood up and stretched out his legs. "Maybe. I'm just used to getting my own way." He said, smirking.

"Spoiled Mud Boy."

Artemis sighed. "I'm going to eat. You can join me if you want. Then I'll tell ou about our recent discovery." He said, before turning and heading to the cafeteria.

Once he was gone, Holly allowed herself a large smile. Of course she could always just go and ask Foaly, but she was kind of hungry herself. She set her things down at her desk and took off for the cafeteria.

Holly found Artemis talking to the head chef, whom Holly had hardly ever spoken too. Artemis saw her and gave a small smile before waving her over. As she walked over, she saw the chef frown and was barely able to make out what he said.

"Root said you and your friends, meaning the two other humans and the dwarf. He didn't say anything about the Captain. I do need to make a living you know."

Holly watched as Artemis glared at the sprite.

"I believe that watch is enough to buy over a hundred of your best meals, and I don't think Root would be too happy about you getting it." Holly was now pretty much there and could hear easier. The chef gave his most charming grin to Artemis and said, "Of course not. I'll go get you two your food then."

"Thank you." Artemis said, his tone a bit lighter now. The chef left and Artemis turned to Holly.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing. Johnny and I just had a little misunderstanding." He said, smiling, knowing that Holly was still suspicious and that he hadn't answered her question. Before she could pursue the subject, he guided her over to an empty table. He sat down and looked over to see Holly still standing, watching him expectantly. He shot her a confused look.

Holly sighed. "Aren't you supposed to hold out the chair for me and then sit down?"

Artemis grinned and stood up, putting on his most gentleman-like expression and voice. He even bowed, holding a hand towards the chair. "May I offer you, good lady, a seat at my table?"

Holly kept her face straight. "Yes, you may." She slipped into the chair. Artemis chuckled and sat back down.

"Still think I'm not the type to read a romantic book?"

"Yes."

Artemis looked at her, still very amused. "Even after that little show?"

Holly shrugged. "I'll admit it was somewhat impressive, seeing as though I know it's the first time you've ever done it." The corners of her mouth were turning up.

"Okay, if not romantic, then what about just being a gentleman?"

Holly considered it. "I suppose I could give you the gentleman part."

Artemis still had a grin on his face from the joking around. "Alright then, I'm satisfied." He said, turning to find Johnny approaching with breakfast. Holly saw him too.

"So what makes you so special that the food gets delivered to you?" She asked.

"I suppose I just have one of those likeable personalities."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "It must have been a recent development then. I thought you preferred having everyone fear or hate you."

He turned to face her. "Believe me, if I wanted to, I could make you fear or hate me."

Holly believed him. Which made her all the more glad for the change in him. Johnny put the tray on the table and a pitcher of orange juice. Artemis and Holly thanked him and the head chef left. On the tray was a simple enough breakfast, but still looked good. There were eggs, toast, bacon, and fried potatoes. Holly tried some of the eggs and decided to tease Artemis more.

"You know, if you're so close to the chef, you should ask him for some cooking lessons. That way your eggs might taste a little better."

"I thought you liked my eggs." Artemis said, pouting. Having never seen him do that before, Holly burst into a fit of giggles. "What's so funny?"

"I've never seen you pout before. You look so..."

"Ridiculous?"

"That's not what I was going to say." She had wanted to say adorable but had caught herself in time.

"What then? Juliet does it all the time and I've always found it annoying."

"So why'd you do it?"

"Looked like fun." Artemis shrugged and Holly laughed again. After a few minutes of eating, she asked, "So...what did you discover?" Artemis told her everything that Foaly had told him. Once or twice, an involuntary yawn escaped him and that was when Holly noticed the bags under his eyes. She hadn't paid that much attention earlier so she ws surprised to see how exhausted he looked. She was just about to ask about it when Trouble ran into the cafeteria and after a moments searching, found them.

"There you two are. I've been looking all over."

"What is it?"

"There's another one missing."

"Who?" Holly asked.

"Corporal Bough." Trouble said.

"D'Arvit."

Artemis stood up. "I think we need to go find Foaly."

"Him and Root are in the conference room. They want us there. I already told the others." Trouble informed them. Holly got up too and the three of them quickly made their way down the hall. They found Butler, Juliet, Mulch, and the Commander already there. As well as Foaly, who was setting up a computer at the head of the room. Root saw them and barked for them to sit down, which they did.

"Okay, now we can watch where our Corporal is being taken." Foaly said, pushing a button and there was suddenly a large map of Haven being projected onto the screen. There was a single red dot moving along the screen but it was faint.

"Foaly, can you hve it switched to the sewer map?" Artemis asked. Foaly typed something and a different screen appeared. This time the dot was stronger.

"So he is in the sewer. He's alone?" Juliet asked.

"We don't know, but even if he isn't we can't tell because he's the only one with the locator." Foaly explained.

"How does that spray work? If it's a spray, how can you tell who it is?" Butler asked, confused.

"And explain it in simple terms please." Juliet added.

"If I'm correct, the spray, once put on a person or fairy, basically records the DNA and sends it back to us along with the normal transmissions, enabling us to know who it is and where they are." Artemis said.

"That's right." Foaly said.

"Now, if only you would talk like that all the time, it would be a lot less confusing." Juliet said and Root grunted his agreement.

"It's not any less confusing for us." Foaly said.

"Yes, it takes longer to rephrase it just because you can't understand it." Artemis added.

"If you guys are done, I think Bough's stopping." Mulch said, bringing all their attention back to the screen. The dot had come to a stop.

Foaly started typing again and then said, "Fowl was right. He's at one of the locations he marked."

"One of the Oak's?" Artemis asked.

"Yup, an old factory."

"Great, now we can go get them." Root said.

"Not so fast Commander." Artemis stopped him.

"Fowl, your job is done. You figured out where they are, now let us go and get them." Root snapped.

"Very well, Commander, I just figured you would want to know about the mercenaries." Artemis said nonchalantly. Holly figured you could fry an egg on Root's face.

"What mercenaries?" He growled.

"Well, I was going to tell you that the two behind this are rich and have a rumored mercenary army. But like you said, that's your department."

Root held up his hands and began strangling the air and Holly knew he would like nothing better than to strangle Artemis. As much as Artemis was annoying, she couldn't let that happen right then. He was sitting right next to her so she nudged him in the ribs, none to gently. She felt him flinch and he looked down at her, his face asking 'what?' She leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Try not to get him so angry. He looks like he's about to strangle you." He grinned and she added, "I'm serious." He gave her a quick nod and turned back to the others, his face once again impassive. Foaly was halfheartedly trying to calm down Root, who was pulling out a cigar, meanwhile Mulch was laughing. Even Juliet looked amused but Butler didn't. Finally, Foaly turned to Artemis.

"So, I take it you have a plan?"

"For the most part. I'll need a layout of the building though." Foaly quickly typed something on his computer and after a minute frowned. "Problem?" Artemis asked.

"A minor one. They don't have the blueprints in the council files."

"Isn't there some other way of getting them?" Holly asked.

"As a matter of fact, my locator spray on Corporal Bough should send out a signal enabling me to get the layout."

"Foaly, if that stuff does all that, then it'll tell you that their alive right?" Trouble asked.

"Yes, our Corporal is alive as of right now, but I can't tell you about the others."

Artemis nodded, deep in thought now. Holly, Butler, Juliet, and Mulch saw him and knew not to interrupt. After a few minutes of silence, Artemis had the basic outline of a plan but needed to make it perfect before telling them. Foaly printed off the buildings blueprints for him and he left the conference room to go meditate some more. He stopped long enough to get some tea from the cafeteria and then headed back to his room. After only an hour, he emerged with a plan he figured would provide the best results. The others were still in the conference room and were chatting to pass the time. When he came in, they all stopped talking, letting him begin right away.

"Okay, this plan is not as complicated as the Spiro Needle. It's just as risky though and the situation shouldn't be taken lightly. Commander, I'll need you to have the LEP provide a distraction. There will be two teams going into the building; one to rescue the fairies, assuming they are all still alive, and another to stop the Oaks from escaping. However, the two teams won't stand a chance of getting in unnoticed with all of the mercenaries. They need to be drawn out of the building somehow, which is where you come in Commander. If you consent of course."

Root was silent, considering it. It was indeed risky and it would be putting his officers in danger, but he knew the Mud Boy was right. They had to get the mercs out in order for the others to be rescued and the ones behind it, caught. He finally agreed. "Alright, I'll do it."

Artemis nodded. He knew it had been a difficult decision for the Commander. Even though he had a horrible temper, he respected Root for his loyalty to his officers.

He would never willingly put them in danger and probably risk his life for any one of them. So if he had agreed, it meant that he knew there was no other way.

"Alright then. As far as the two teams; I have a relatively good guess as to where the fairies are being held, after seeing the building's layout. More than likely, there will be cameras and other security devices, but I trust Foaly can take care of them.

"Who's on the two teams? You're not going alone again." Juliet said, her expression saying 'that's final'. Butler turned to Juliet.

"What do you mean again? You didn't stick with him in Chicago?" The two started bickering over it. Artemis ignored them and turned to Holly and Trouble.

"Captain Kelp, I figured you would want to stay with the Commander and the other officers, but if you wanted to be on one of the teams..."

"No, my place is with my team." Trouble said firmly.

"Holly, what about you?"

Holly smiled. "I'm not going to let you go in there alone. You get yourself in to much trouble."

Artemis nodded, but refused to show his relief. He had been hoping she would agree but wanted to give her the option. Holly was an excellent officer and he would feel comfortable facing the Oaks with her there. Butler and Juliet were silent, with Juliet sulking, so Artemis knew Butler had chewed her out about not protecting him properly. He also knew Butler wouldn't like the next part. They were waiting for him to tell them the teams.

"The two teams will consist of Holly and myself on team A and Mulch and Juliet on team B. Before either of you protest, Juliet you are to help Mulch get the fairies out of there safely. You two were on a team together last time and it worked out fine. Butler, I think you would be a greater asset to the LEP."

Butler stood up. "Artemis, we need to talk."

"Very well." Artemis sighed and led the way outside to the hall. Butler closed the door and turned to him.

"Artemis, my job is to protect you. How am I supposed to do that if you go off alone to try and beat the bad guys?" He asked pointedly.

"Well, first of all, I won't be alone."

"Artemis, as much as I like Holly, I don't think she can keep you safe."

"Butler, you need to help Commander Root. He'll need your help more than me."

"The People are not my top priority right now. I want to help them just as much as you do but not at the expense of you getting hurt."

"As much as I appreciate your loyalty to protecting me, old friend, it's really annoying me now." Artemis sighed and Butler chuckled. "Butler, the reason I want you with the LEP is because I know the Commander is worried about the safety of his officers. We all know that they'll be put in danger. Distracting the mercenaries will more than likely be fighting. If you're there, you would be a great help to them by fighting and by motivation them. They'll see that you're on their side and will be reassured." Artemis said and Butler fought to find a new argument. Meanwhile, Artemis continued in a tone that caught Butler's attention. "Butler, I've realized that, though my plans are successful, they usually result in people getting hurt. Holly pointed that out to me after you were shot. I don't think my conscious can take another blow by having LEP officers killed or injured. If you won't do it for them, do it for me, old friend." His voice was almost weary. Butler's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Alright Artemis, I'll do it for you and the LEP. But promise me you'll take care of yourself."

"I promise." Artemis replied with no hesitation. He would do his best, but he could not guarantee that he would walk out of there in one piece. Butler, more than

likely new that as well but Artemis still agreed, if only to make Butler feel a little better. Butler put his hand on the young man's shoulder before guiding him back inside.

When they had first gone out, the room's other occupants started talking and making bets.

"So, who do you think will win?" Trouble asked, trying to sneak a look through the blinds.

"My brother, no doubt." Juliet said.

"Really?" Holly asked.

"Yeah, even though Butler is his manservant, Artemis usually listens to Butler's advice."

"I don't know...I think Arty will." Mulch stated.

Juliet snorted. "Here, I got five Euros in my pocket, willing to wager?"

"You're on." Mulch said, grinning.

"Now wait a minute you two, you are in a police station you know." Root warned, but didn't make a move to stop them. He, too, was curious to see if Artemis would actually give in.

A few minutes later, they came back in. Butler took his seat and Artemis moved back to the head of the table.

"Okay, Team B is in charge of rescuing and getting those who were kidnapped safely out of there. Team A is in charge of finding Oliver Oak and Ivy Oak.

Meanwhile, Commander provides the distraction." Artemis summed up.

"Artemis, who is on Team A?" Juliet asked.

"Holly and myself. Butler will be helping Commander Root."

Juliet groaned and handed over the five euros to Mulch who was grinning. Artemis watched them, confused for only a short second before understanding. He rolled his eyes. He turned to Root and they began discussing when they should leave. It was decided that they would leave in two hours, giving Root enough time to get together all his officers. While everyone prepared to leave, Artemis went back to his room to think about the upcoming mission.

A/N: The next chapter we meet the Oaks and they execute Artemis's plan. Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. Let me know if you caught any grammar mistakes so I can go back and fix them. Thanks.