University, , , United States of America
There was a commotion to the right of me. The governor of the state was speaking in an attempt to keep the attention of the audience. Mine was wandering. He was basically stating the same things over and over. The commotion was caused by the collapsing of a lady. Or at least that's what I think caused it. I couldn't really tell. A tall man who was almost as broad pushed behind me, saying, Move out of the way! I stood on my toes and saw the red of a first aid volunteer coming to help, followed by a stretcher. The man was nervous, though he thought he wasn't showing it. He looked in the direction of the trees to the left of the stage slightly too frequently to be normal, especially since this man was dressed in black and had the eagle of the Secret Service embroidered on his sleeve. I had to bend my neck backward all the way to see his face. He was bald, but unlike my dad, looked like he did it on purpose. His stern face was easily forgettable, so much so that I can barely visualise it now. I only remembered him because he was so forceful in clearing a path. He looked exactly like Dom Butler, bodyguard of the infamous Artemis Fowl II. At least how I envisioned him. He picked up the woman and placed her on the stretcher. He and a ferrety-looking woman covered her with a sheet. I wondered who she was and what happened. And why "Butler" and his shifty companion weren't heading for the exit, but the trees to the left of the stage.
Somewhere over The Atlantic Ocean
Artemis sat in the cockpit of the Cessna, now flying it legally, of course. He partially relaxed until his ring vibrated ever so slightly. Holly! he thought. He twisted the ring and said, "Hello?"
A voice answered, rather fuzzily because of the altitude,
"Artemis? Are you there?"
"Yes. Holly?"
"No, Foaly. Has your Powerbook been working properly?"
"Yes, fine. Is this some kind of prank?"
"No, nothing like that. But all of my technology has suddenly been rendered useless. All of it. Even the wings. Something has sabotaged us. Your charming friend Minerva doesn't know how, and you aren't the one behind it. I know it's Mud Men, Artemis. It's not from down here."
"You mean, another genius hacked into your system? A human one?"
"Yes, that's what I mean," snapped the centaur waspishly. He didn't like admitting someone, especially a Mud Man, had overridden his security systems again. "It was an American, too. The worst kind of Mud Man. They use more resources daily than some countries in Africa do in a year! And their toilets are indoors!"
"So are ours." Artemis pointed out. "Was your password Caballine?" he teased. I made a joke! he thought. That never happens!
Foaly caught it too, but he was busy trying to answer. "No... Of course not!" he said a little too quickly and a little too defensively.
Artemis said, rather impatiently, "Was there something else?"
"Oh... "said Foaly. "Well, remember our friend Opal?"
"Koboi?"
"What other Opal do you know?"
"Well... never mind. Go on."
"We've lost her."
"If I recall correctly, you were tracking her in Italy."
"Well, she isn't anymore."
"What!"
A dial tone sounded from the other end. Artemis twisted the ring and focused on landing safely.
An Apartment in Chicago, USA
The Jade Princess stood in front of her bathroom mirror, twisting her blond hair into an elaborate plait so she couldn't be recognised, when her phone rang. Juliet finished it off somehow and saw her brother's face on her caller ID. She picked it up immediately.
"Hey, Big Brother!"
"Juliet." The voice was raspy and rather high and lilting, like a woman disguising her voice. Frightened, she turned off her phone. Unknown to her, the raspy voice was now giggling in delight at her terror. What had happened to Dom? She called Artemis, but there was no answer. Altitude, she thought. Turns out, she was very, very wrong.