Chapter 9: Plans
As the hours past, Artemis subtly invited Sool and some of the other fairies into Fowl Manor so that they would be able to enter while they got there. As usual, when they finally got there, Artemis had a plan all set up but before they got there, he asked to go to the bathroom. Artemis was allowed and quickly hid so that he could call Holly on the communicator. He did so and after a moment, Holly's face filled the screen.
'Hey Artemis, what's up?' she asked, a smile lighting up her face as her hazel eyes sparkled.
'Nothing good,' he replied rubbing he forehead with difficulty as his hands were still handcuffed. 'Sool's taken me captive and someone I met and Butler's in jail. I'm on my way to Fowl Manor with Sool and Yetty, but I need your help if I want to beat them.'
The grin instantly vanished from her face at these words as her eyes filled with anger. 'What can I do to help?'
'I thought you would want to help. Now, I've thought of a plan, but I will need you to meet me at the manor in my bedroom. I'll be able to slip away but then I'll need you to get these handcuffs of me and help me get rid of Sool and his cronies. Can you do that?' He met the elf's gaze squarely as he asked his friend for help. To his relief she agreed and she asked how long it would be until he got there and he said about two hours. Then, though, he cut the connection as Sool came looking for him.
Holly shut the communicator and looked up at kleptomaniac dwarf, Mulch Diggums, also her partner as a private detective. 'Artemis needs our help,' she said shortly and Mulch nodded.
'When is Artemis not in trouble?' Holly didn't reply, instead she grabbed her set of hummingbird wings and left herself out of their offices with Mulch following close behind. They continued on their way, getting tickets for a shuttle, which luckily, would take them to Tara. Unfortunately, it was still a few miles from Fowl Manor and they would only get there by five to five, barely five minutes before Fowl and Sool would get there. She would have to break some air speeds with Mulch to get there in time but she didn't fret, she knew that they would make it. They got onto the shuttle and had to endure an hour and a half's worth of stinky gnomes and dwarfs. When they finally got there, they both took a deep breath of surface air but there wasn't much time to hang about, they had work to do. Holly clipped Mulch onto her moon belt, which would effectively reduce his weight to a fifth of the earth's norm and flung a sheet of cam-foil over him so he would then be invisible. Then she buzzed up her shield and set off into the sky. Even though it wasn't even five yet, the sky had already begun to darken and pale wisps of indigo and violet crept into the sky. In the looming distance, Holly spotted Fowl Manor in all it's glory but she couldn't see Artemis or Sool, or anyone for that matter, around. It was slightly unnerving but she figured that they might be inside. She dipped the wings and gracefully landed on the gravel path leading to the wooden double doors of the Manor. She quickly scanned for hostiles, using her training as a police officer to see if anyone was hiding around. You could never be too careful with a fairy who had their shield up, but she reminded herself that she had her own shield on. A slight movement to her side, in the bushes, grabbed her attention as it did with Mulch. Holly pulled her Neutrino 3000 out of its holster and aimed it at the bush as she advanced. What jumped out of the bush at her took her by surprise but she couldn't hide a sigh of relief as a cat emerged from the bushes.
Funny, she thought, I didn't know Fowl had a cat. She shook the suspicion from her mind as her and Mulch walked towards the front doors of the Manor. They were just about to push the doors open when Holly and Mulch both felt the cold steel of a gun barrel at the back of both their heads and a cold voice said, 'Remove your shield and drop your weapon.' Holly complied, shutting off her shield and allowing her Neutrino to fall with a clatter to the ground. She turned around to find the glaring features of Commander Sool behind her and Artemis and a girl held by two fairies. Both of them were gagged and were wearing handcuffs. Holly gave a small sigh as she looked at Sool again.