TROUBLING

"Are you sure you did the Ritual only last week, Short?"

"Positive, Commander."

Commander Julius Root of the LEP sat on his customary swivel chair as Captain Short sat opposite him. Root's officers often called him 'Beetroot', and with good reason. With even the slightest irritation, the commander would flare up and his face would turn as red as a baby's bottom that had just been smacked.

Root was the very essence of a police force commander; he even looked the part. His buzzed grey hair gave him the appearance of a wise man who was not to be toyed with. He was often found casually puffing away on a fungal cigar.. He was especially famous for those cigars. They were a heart attack waiting to happen, but, hey, they made him happy.

At present, Root was debriefing Holly on her latest mission. She had explained to him about her dead Neutrino (Root had a fit about that; 'That bloody centaur! I'm gonna kill him!' he had screamed) and her innovative way of bringing down the troll. Then she told him about how she had lost her magic. That was when Root's normal 'do-you-think-I really-care' face was replaced by a look of genuine concern. Something you didn't see Root's face do a lot of.

Root frowned, his brows knitted tightly. "That's troubling," he said. "If all my Recon members run out of magic up top, I may have to consider cancelling all further missions."

Holly's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Root, cancelling Recon missions? "Are you serious?"

Root nodded solemnly. "I'm not saying I like the idea. But it may become necessary. If this magic loss continues, I may lose a good soldier. Two of my best officers have been hurt already. First Kelp, then you..." He hesitated, letting the statement wander.

"But sir..." Holly replied cautiously. "What about duty? It's our obligation to prevent the Mud Men from discovering the People. If we let our duties die, who knows what will happen?"

Root slammed his fist on the table, upsetting the ash tray filled to the brim with the remains of his famous fungal cigars.

"You think I don't know or care what's at stake? Well, here's a news flash for you: I do know, and I do care. But innocent fairies are getting hurt, and I'm not just gonna stand by and watch as they get killed because I was too concerned about 'duty' and 'obligation' to care much about them and their safety!"

"But, sir..." Holly repeated.

Root raised a hand to silence her. "Case closed. No more on the subject. We'll give it a trial run, but no more than two weeks. If more fairies get hurt, I'm going to shut the LEP down until the problem can be remedied. Understood?"

Holly bowed her head ashamedly. "Understood."

"Good." Root sat taller in his chair. "You're excused."

"Ha! I told you! You came back with a cut and a headache. I think that counts for six ounces of gold, don't you?"

"Shut it, Kelp, I'm warning you."

"All right, don't bite my head off. Now, hand it over."

Holly growled. "Fine."

Trouble held out his hand and Holly dropped a trickle of gold into his palm. He counted the coins mentally, then frowned.

"Are you trying to dupe me?"

Holly shook her head. "No. Why?"

"This is not three ounces of gold, Holly. This is two and a half ounces."

Holly shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, that's all I got."

Trouble looked suspicious. "What are you spending it all on?"

Holly blushed. Shoot.

"Nothing...in...particular," she said slowly, spitting her consonants. She smiled guiltily.

Trouble was unfazed. His face was a stubborn concrete mask. "Holly."

"Okay. All right. I've been trying to contact Artemis Fowl. Satisfied?"

Trouble's eyes went huge, and he blinked like an owl twice. "Fowl? Artemis Fowl? The Artemis Fowl?"

"There's actually two of them," Holly contradicted under her breath. "Junior and senior."

Trouble shook his head and waved his good arm in front of her face. "Doesn't matter. But Fowl? I thought you hated him!"

"I did. Did, key word. I did, but things..." she frowned, searching for the right words. "Things are different now. He's not like he used to be. He's grown up," she said. "He actually makes a good friend. Once he forgets about gold, that is."

Captain Kelp's eyes grew even larger, and he shook his head. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were having romantic fantasies."

"Ha, ha."

(Artemis Fowl belongs to Eoin Colfer)