Chapter II

Holly placed her helmet over her head, and switched on the microphone. Foaly smirked at her. "Whatever are you wearing?"

Holly growled dangerously. "It's a long story. So, do we have any idea what Spiro is up to?"

The centaur turned serious. "Well, the fact that he's at Disney World at all is suspicious, but we don't have much to go on. If we could hack into his database, we might be able to get more information on his whereabouts, who he's met with in the last few days, things like that."

Holly couldn't resist a grin. "Oh, Artemis." She called.

Artemis sat at the table, his laptop in front of him. He was frowning in concentration, trying to think of what Jon would have used as his password. He only had one chance, so he had to get it right. Butler and Holly were standing behind him, letting the silence stretch on so as to not disturb him. The seconds ticked by, but Artemis wasn't positive whether or not to try one that referred to his ego, or one trickier than that. He hadn't hacked into the criminal's computer in several years, and he knew for sure the older man wouldn't make the same mistake he did the last time they met. This time he would use something Artemis didn't know about. But…what?

LEP, crossed his mind, and it took him by surprise. "LEP?" He whispered, his heartbeat quickening at the thought. Butler and Holly shared a concerned glance. Could Jon Spiro have found the People?

Artemis closed his eyes for a minute and rubbed his temples. At last he typed in Lower Elements Police. They all held their breath as the computer loaded. One by one, Jon Spiro's documents appeared on the screen.

"No," Holly whispered. "He knows."

Susie and Gilbert glanced at each other in alarm. Holly heard Foaly gasp. Artemis was gazing at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Holly." He said quietly.

Her eyes flashed with anger. "You didn't tell him, did you, Artemis?" The hurt in her voice made him wince.

"Holly, I-" She spun around to face Butler.

"And you knew about this?"

He took a step forward. "Holly, let him explain-"

Angry tears slid down her cheeks. "No, no, no!" she cried.

Artemis came up behind her and rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, steering her towards the door. She was too weak and exhausted to resist. "We'll be back soon." He told the bodyguard quietly. He led her outside and down the four flights of stairs. Artemis tightened his grip on her shoulder as she tried to pull away.

"Let me go, Fowl!" She shouted angrily, trying to brush him off.

He didn't answer, but continued leading her around the building and past the pool until they were alone. "Holly," he began. "Spiro hacked into my computer database. He took every file I had, including my journal."

Holly wiped the tears from her face. "But Foaly can't even hack into your laptop! How then can Spiro do it? And your programs, they're encrypted!" She argued.

"Actually, it would have been simple." he continued. "You see, all he had to do was figure out my password, which was, Quod desidero obtineo, which in Latin means, 'I get what I want'. Then, he would have broken into my journal, and took everything from there, though it is written in Gnommish. Logically, he could have only known about the People by interpreting the symbols, and this could have only happened by stealing the program I used when first learning to read the language."

Holly was silent for several moments. Artemis watched her closely, hoping that she would believe the story. It was true, of course, but he also knew it sounded rather impractical. At last, she looked up, gazing into his eyes. "I believe you. But if you had any part of this, that's the end of our…friendship."

He nodded, surprised that she believed him.

Holly handed him a brochure of the Magic Kingdom with a small, weary smile. "Do you think we could go to the Magic Kingdom tonight and see the fireworks?" Anything to get her mind off the last few hours.

Artemis chuckled. "Yes, Holly, but we had better get going if we want to see the castle before nightfall."

She nodded, crossing her arms and looking across the pool, pondering if he really was telling the truth. She shook her head, snapping out of her daze, and noticed Artemis watching her with a look of concern. "Are you all right, Holly?"

She nodded, and sighed, then shook her head. She looked at him with such fear that it alarmed Artemis. Her shoulders shook with silent sobbing as her eyes welled up with tears. "Artemis, Haven-"

He took her hand. "Haven is secure. Foaly knows now and he's competent enough to deal with the situation."

Holly sniffled and nodded. She hated crying. Even more she hated being vulnerable in front of Artemis.

"Would you like to go back to the room?"

She shook her head. Her nephew and niece didn't need to see her in pieces. "No, I'd like to stay out here for a while."

Artemis nodded and guided her towards a picnic table. He examined the seat carefully before sitting down on it.

Holly suddenly laughed. The change in her demeanor caused Artemis to look up quickly. "What is it?"

"It's just, you've changed so much over the years that we've known each other. It's actually kind of nice to see a piece of the old you once in a while." She paused. "Not too often though."

Artemis mused over this piece of information thoughtfully. He was quiet for a long time. "Why did you kiss me earlier?"

"A genius like you can't figure it out?" Holly asked snarkily. Artemis raised an eyebrow at her. Sadly, with time he'd identified all of her defense mechanisms. One of those just so happened to be extreme sarcasm.

"I want you to tell me."

"I want a lot of things-a pony that doesn't talk, a helmet without speakers-"

Artemis covered his lips with his fingers. "Tell me." His deep blue eyes revealed just how seriously he wanted her answer.

Holly hesitated. "You know why, Fowl. You have for a while."

Artemis yanked her forward by grasping the back of her hair. His lips crashed against hers. Holly's mouth allowed his tongue entrance. He embraced the sweet taste of her mouth as his tongue caressed hers. The kiss deepened, which elicited a moan from Holly. She ran her fingers through his hair, loving the softness of his black waves. His scent was intoxicating. Everything about him made her yearn for more.

Artemis pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling him. Holly ran her hands over his chest. He had bulked up considerably since Butler had put him through training classes, she noticed. Artemis chuckled against her mouth, causing her to pull away. "Checking me out, are we?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"You're too cocky for your own good, Fowl." Holly sighed. Her slight aggravation still made it difficult to wipe the smile off her face. Artemis seemed to notice because he smirked at her.

As a form of revenge that she enjoyed more than she would ever admit, Holly nipped at his neck. Artemis' eyes closed and he moaned softly. "Oh Holly..."

When there was a sufficient bruise in place, Holly grinned to herself with satisfaction. "Hope you brought a scarf, Fowl." She leaped off his lap and ran back towards the hotel.

Police Plaza: Haven City; Lower Elements, 15 minutes previous

Foaly nearly fell off his chair when he heard Spiro knew about the People. He pushed his tin hat back in place and scrambled to his feet. And Julius thought work on the LEP was boring.

At that moment, Commander Root entered the office, letting the door slam behind him. He was puffing furiously on his cigar, and his face was five shades redder than usual. Not a good sign."Well, what is it, Foaly? And no, I'm not getting you a bucket of carrots, frankly, because I don't want to."

Foaly had his, 'unappreciated genius' look again. He contented himself by rolling his eyes, and after re-winding the tape on the view screen, pushed play.

"I'm sorry, Holly." Artemis said.

"You didn't tell him, did you, Artemis?" A shocked Holly asked. "And you knew about this!"

In spite of the circumstances, he glanced at the elf smugly. "You owe me two buckets of carrots, Julius." The centaur fast-forwarded the video feed to bring said-Commander up to date.

Commander Root's first reaction was shock. "Fowl turned us in."

Foaly nodded, letting the shock sink in.

Julius began pacing. At last, he turned around, his hands behind his back, and frowned."Turn off the power, the last thing we need is Spiro tracking us."

Foaly complied. In moments they were enveloped in darkness. Green lines on the floor began appearing and the dim light quickly traveled down the hall.

Aoveground; Disney World.

Holly and the two children were sleeping soundly on the bed. Artemis shook them awake and received several glares as a result. Holly sat up and rubbed her eyes, trying not to yawn. Grinning at her, he shook his head, and placed a brush in her hand.

Holly got up, muttering something about an egotistical MudBoy.

"That's MudMan, Holly." He called after her.

She looked murderous. He winked at Butler, who was trying not to chuckle. Holly silenced the burly manservant with a single look.

When they were finally ready, they followed Butler to the elevators, and descended to the first floor. Now the lobby was one building over, so they followed the path to the bus stop in front of it.

They waited by the Magic Kingdom sign, and five minutes later, a bus picked them up.

Holly moved to the front of the large vehicle, and took a seat beside a young woman with a baby on her lap. Gilbert and Susie sat beside her, and Artemis and Butler across from them.

Holly frowned as her communicator began to ring, and she dug it out of Gilbert's blue back pack. She took a deep breath and answered the phone.

"Holly," Root's face was much redder than usual and he looked like he was suffering from a heart attack.

"Hi, Commander." She replied calmly. He took a deep breath before going on.

"What was his excuse this time?" Holly hurried from the bus as it stopped with a jerk, and watched the departing passengers.

"Jon Spiro managed to take some of his files. I believe him." But Holly wasn't sure.

Julius was silent for a moment. "And you believe him, Holly? Can you really trust him after all he's done?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Holly, the Council doesn't agree, and-" He paused. "And neither do I."

Holly closed the connection, blinking back tears and frustration. She took a deep breath trying to calm her racing heart, and walked up to the group who had just stepped off the bus.

"That was Terry, she wanted to know where we are, and if we got here okay."

Artemis nodded, even though he knew Susie's and Gilbert's mother had not called.

Holly's communicator began to ring again. She turned the phone off, and stuck it into the back pack, ignoring the caller she knew to be Julius.

She took Susie's hand, and they walked over to a table by the gates where all of the guest's bags were being checked. Holly handed the officer Susie's and Gilbert's back packs, and a minute later, they were through.

A woman took each of their key cards, and slid it into a slot, then one after another, they placed their right hand into the hole above the slot, where their finger prints were copied. Holly accepted the cards, looking at the machine with admiration. "Great technology for a park."

The woman nodded and smiled, but it soon disappeared as she called out, "Sir, you lost your smile."

Gilbert looked behind him, then smiled brightly at her. She gave him a thumbs-up sign.