HEY EVERYONE! Here's the third chapterrrrrr~ heeheehee.

"A kid? I have been hired by nothing more than a little kid?" The man spluttered, his British accent blending into his words.

Sighing, Artemis smoothed his raven hair, "Mr. Harp, although that is obviously a fake name, judging from your past criminal activities, you seem to care less about who hired you, and more so on how much you get out of it." 'Mr. Harp' only glared at him in return, murmuring what was probably a death threat under his breath.

Artemis and Butler had travelled to London in their faster, and illegal, private plane. Currently, Butler was staring coolly at the four men in front of him; all of which were criminals. Some of them hadn't been willing to participate in Artemis's plan to steal from a bank. However, with a little convincing (*cough, cough* blackmailing *cough*), they all came around. Artemis had also hacked into the owner of the bank's main computer, and 'borrowed' the blue prints for the bank.

Artemis cleared his throat, capturing the attention of the four brawny men who Artemis had specifically chosen for his plan, "Gentlemen, we all know why we are here, and our target. In the bank we will be visiting, there are four vaults that have my interest, each with approximately 45 thousand Euros. You four will be responsible for emptying each of these vaults separately. As in, you will be on your own mostly, except for this small communication device that you will have. For your safety, I have enabled the device to be impossible to remove until you are outside of the bank, so in the case that you get caught in the act, we will always be in touch." And in the case you feel the need to run away with my money, Artemis added to himself. Butler gave each of them the gadget; it was small, and almost unnoticeable, since the earpiece was the color of human skin. Recently, Artemis had been able to create many new inventions and advancements, some of which would be used in his plan, with the help of studying some fairy technology that he had taken.

At this, the men didn't look pleased, as expected, but wore the communicator nonetheless; there couldn't be any backing out now, unless you wanted to be taken out immediately by Butler, he wouldn't let anyone go with the knowledge they carry. Mr. Harp narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw, but wisely held his tongue. They were all startled by Artemis's language. Only 10 years old, yet speaking as if he was a middle-aged politician! It was unnerving, but he was still a child; he wouldn't have as much experience as grown-up criminals, right?

Artemis wore a vampire smile, "Wonderful. Now here's the plan in short: with my directions, you will create a tunnel beneath the bank, starting at different locations, and ending precisely beneath each of your vaults. All you have to do is go through the tunnels collect the money then get out. You most likely will not see a soul; there will be a distraction, which Butler and I will handle, so you have to wait for my call to go in. Fairly simple, but effective. Oh, and everything you get will be split evenly." Each of his pawns tried to hide a smirk. Of course, they were planning on running with his money the moment they get out of the bank, but Artemis had prepared for that. They were underestimating him, and they would pay for that. Acting like he did not notice their poorly hidden glee, he showed them which vault they would be responsible for and how to get there. None of these vaults included the most guarded and money-filled vault in the bank; as much fun it would be taking from that vault, it would not be as effective as his current plan, and would be more troublesome. By the end of the day, if all went well, he would have double the amount there was in that vault.

After this small-scale adventure, Artemis would recreate and sell the new technology that he had taken from the People. But first, he was going to test the extent of his inventions by using them in different situations, starting with this 'situation'. He would be killing two birds with one stone; he would be trying out his new inventions and getting some money on the side.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he nodded to Butler, and then the suspicious group of six was off to stop by a bank.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

"Ah, Mrs. Fowl, I presume. Is Artemis home?" McGonagall asked kindly. She had apparated yet again to the Fowl Manor in search of Artemis.

Angeline Fowl gave McGonagall a once over. She was wearing very peculiar clothing… putting aside the unappealing swamp green of the clothes; she noticed that McGonagall was wearing robes. Nevertheless she put on a smile and said proudly, "My son was offered an internship in London. So, no, he is not here, but he will back in a few days!" Realizing she did not know the unusually dressed woman in front of her she asked, "Who are you anyways? Oh, and why do you need Arty?"

McGonagall snickered in her head; she would have to keep in mind his nickname. "I am a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and your son has been accepted into the school." And with that McGonagall left with a flurry of her robes, leaving bewildered Angeline Fowl in her wake.

Angeline muttered, "She's mad." Shaking her head, she closed, and locked securely, the door behind her.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeceeeeeee

"Unit 1 in position."

"Unit 2 in position."

"Unit 3 in position."

"Unit 4 in position." Mr. Harp growled into the communicator. With just a few glances at the Fowl kid and he hated his guts. It took all his control to not put a bullet in his brain on the spot. He just kept repeating in his mind that although he was following his orders now, by the end of the day, the boy would be dead and the money will be his.

"Excellent, now wait for my call." Artemis smiled almost peacefully, as if he was drinking tea while chatting with some friends. Except, the 'friends' he would be chatting to be right underneath four vaults of a highly respected bank. The building was one of the older banks, he could tell by their methods; most banks nowadays ran digitally, but that wasn't any fun, was it? Artemis was also quite pleased with the results of his advancement of the TBMs (Tunnel Boring Machines). His was faster, more reliable, and very much smaller.

In the car, which was in a blind spot of street cameras, near the back of the bank, Artemis nodded towards Butler, "Here is your silicone mask. And put this fake skin on your right thumb." Artemis put on his mask as well; the smell that it came with wasn't preferable. However, it would do the job, since Butler and him now looked like they were related. Artemis had a vault at the bank, under a fake ID, of course.

"Also, drink this, Butler." Artemis handed Butler a glass of clear liquid. After Butler had finished his cup, Artemis did the same. Anyone would mistake it for water but it had tasted… off. Butler gave a questioning glance at Artemis, but he was already getting out of the car.

Artemis was very eager to see his little plan in action. Butler was not as enthusiastic; after all he couldn't bring any weapons. After a last calming breath, he and Artemis entered the bank.

The amount of security that Artemis could see immediately as he entered the bank, would be quite intimidating to any normal person; the numerous guards at the entrance and the countless security cameras that seemed to see right through your mind. However, Artemis was not a normal person.

Trailing behind Butler inside the bank, Artemis acted like an innocent child who was NOT about to steal from the bank. The only downside to his character was that he couldn't wear his suit.

The moment they approached the enquiries desk, Butler slammed his fake ID on it, capturing the stubby man's attention. The man's eyes widened slightly at Butler's size. He opened his mouth to speak, but Butler spoke first.

"Keith Hildred Harlow. I require the opening of my deposit box."

While checking the ID numbly, he stuttered out, "Uh, fingerprint, please. Put your thumb right, uh, here."

The light on the device scanning Butler's fingerprint clicked green, of course. The skin-like material on Butler's finger, smartly devised by Artemis, had a fingerprint that matched his ID.

"Ah, Mr. Harlow. I am Donald. I'll be escorting you to your deposit box now."

Donald then stared pointedly at Artemis. Catching the direction of his gaze, Butler said swiftly, "My son, Rupert. He'll be coming with us."

Artemis stopped his act of gazing around, supposedly 'amazed' at how high the ceiling of the bank was, and instead peered 'curiously' at Donald, who smiled warmly at the child, which made Artemis want to belch at the sight of it.

Artemis gave the man his most sickly sweet smile he could muster. Donald said to Butler, "Of course he can come with us, Mr. Harrow, it won't be a problem, as long as he doesn't wander off. So, shall we?"

They started walking and, after a few paces, Artemis discreetly dropped an eraser in the location he calculated to be the one blind spot of the security cameras. The eraser was small, unnoticeable. The miniature metal robot tore through the rubber, seemingly sprouting four legs and a censor. Artemis had already set a predetermined course, and it scurried along the polished floor still remaining undetected.

Holding back a smirk, Artemis continued playing his child role dutifully. Butler and he followed Donald down the hall; until Artemis saw an elevator ahead that they would use to go below to get to the vaults. Artemis inwardly sighed; going down the elevator would make them go off their planned track. He would have to buy some time for the robot to deploy its distraction, and then they could proceed with the plan.

"Donald! Donald, sir!" The man swirled around clumsily to find Artemis pointing at an old picture on the wall.

"Yes, Rupert?" He said smiling. He loved seeing the curiosity of kids.

"What's this painting called? It's very pretty." Pretty. Artemis Fowl said the word pretty. He definitely would make Butler promise to not mention of this occurrence ever again.

In Artemis's head, he was counting down the seconds, while a naïve Donald rambled, "This painting… You have a good eye Rupert! This is my favorite decoration, although there isn't much ornamentation here of course. I believe it's called-"

A roar of a bomb shook through the bank, seeming to creep along every wall and crawl over every floor. Artemis and Butler hurriedly put in the specially made earplugs that they had brought for they knew what was left to come. Everyone in the bank covered their ears in alarm when a screech of metal, sounding a hundred times worse than nails on a chalkboard, met the ears of every one. And then there was smoke, flowing through the any openings of doors or windows.

Artemis and Butler remained unfazed through all of this. Artemis mentally checked off two more of inventions-to-be-tested list; besides their new earplugs, Artemis's robot had done a beautiful job. When it had reached the most guarded and expensive vault in the bank, it had let out a horrible sound and a smoke that had a drug to make anyone who breathes it in fall unconscious as well as rendering the inside security cameras useless. Of course, Artemis had Butler and him drink a counter to the drug in the smoke before they got out of the car. The damage the robot actually did to the vault was minor however it would make the majority of the security go to that vault, which was on the South section of the bank, and the vaults Artemis was taking from were located in the North section, where there would be less protection now.

Butler searched and found the air vent in the wall, hidden behind a pillar. Unscrewing it carefully, mostly using his sense of feel since his sight was hindered by smoke, using a shaped stone that was in his pocket. Once the air vent was opened without being damaged, Artemis inelegantly climbed into the air vent, with Butler getting in after him and closing it behind him leaving no trace they were there. Artemis was crawling until he bumped his into a wall in front of him. Wincing, he pulled on his memory of the map of the air vents he had studied. Turning right, he and Butler continued until again he found a wall in front of him, and on his left and right. Now it would be the more difficult part. Artemis reached his hand up feeling. As expected, the vent continued straight up. Standing and looking up, he could see a light approximately one floor above him.

He tapped his foot twice on the ground letting Butler know that he would start climbing up. After hearing an affirmative tap from Butler, Artemis took a deep breath. He pressed his back to the wall behind him, and then put one foot on the wall in front of him, and tensing. Once he felt sturdy, he slowly brought his other foot up. Taking another deep breath, Artemis used his arms and pushed him up further up the wall and slowly brought his feet on the other wall to match his new height. With his eyes set on the light seeping in through the grate above him, Artemis inched his way up the air vent. Even with knowing that the rustle of fabric below him was Butler, he doubted that even he would be able to hold them both up if he fell. Physical activities were definitely not a strong point in Artemis. In school, he had blackmailed his PE teacher to keep quiet on how Artemis was skipping that particular class.

Butler was much more uncomfortable than Artemis. He was larger, so he had to worm his way through the air vent. Also, the stone in his pocket dug into his side and the rope, to be used for later, which was coiled around his leg was irritating. Butler heard a sigh of relief from Artemis who he figured finally reached the top.

Artemis could see the grate to his right, where the air vent continued on. Slowly he slid his foot to the right, on to the ledge and then edged his upper body closer to the right. Now he was a quarter inside the ledge. He grabbed the floor of the ledge with his right hand and swung the rest of his body in quickly. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, Artemis slithered backwards, stopping when his head was at the grate. Assuming his directions were correct, on the other side of the grate should be the surveillance room.

Artemis's heart was still beating wildly when Butler popped in the vent and started to unscrew the grate. Once it was open Butler, with astonishing speed, slid out of the vent to see the faces of five very shocked men.

"What the-" One managed to slip out before Butler was on them. There was no time to take out a gun before four of them were down. The last one held a pocketknife in a shaking hand. Before he had the chance to scream, he joined his fellow workers in a pile on the floor.

Artemis, smirking, climbed out as well. He went over to the computer system and quickly became familiar with the controls. He shut down the lasers on the floor of their four vaults as well as shutting off all of the security cameras. He then spoke into his communicator to notify his little puppets, "We have cleared the way; it's your turn now."

Several floors below them, four bombs were activated, breaking through the reinforced steel floors of the vaults. Artemis had estimated the amount of time it would take for each man to gather the money and make his way through the tunnel. They were all 10 to 15 min. apart, which would give him and Butler enough time to take his money from each of them.

Artemis turned towards Butler, "Well, shall we go collect my money now?"

Artemis gestured to the wall behind which held a colorful picture of fruit, a large contrast to the other bare walls. Artemis knew it to have a not-so-secret escape route, which had been proudly documented on the blueprints he took. They didn't do a good job at hiding it either. Artemis could see two lines on either side of the painting, outlining the door, and the painting was still crooked from its last user. Artemis shifted the painting to find a control panel behind it. Opening the door, Artemis saw that the escape route was simply… down. Sunlight filled the room for Butler and him to see clearly the grounds two stories below them.

Butler uncoiled the rope beneath his pants and tied with several complicated knots to a secure pole in the dead middle of the open doorway, which he figured was supposed to have a rope ladder already attached to it.

Artemis glanced at the surveillance screen. Sighing, Artemis said, "We will have to hurry, the outside security patrol is getting near."

Butler nodded and then slid down the rope quickly. When he was at the bottom he held the rope steady for him. Next time, he assured himself. Next time, there will be no instance in the plan where I have to do any physical work.

His venture down the rope was much less graceful; he slammed into the wall a couple of times. He was thankful when his feet finally touched the ground. Without wasting any more time, they turned to the back gate that was only a few yards away.

Artemis was in front of Butler when he heard the gunshot. He looked behind him to see Butler stumbling. He landed on his knees, grunting. Behind Butler, he could see the patrol coming steadily closer.

"Artemis," He said hoarsely, "it's just a graze, we should continue, we don't have time for this."

Uncontrollably, he felt it. Heat rushing to his finger tips, surged by anger.

"Fire at will." He heard the order then saw the bullets, five of them, coming towards him. Everything became slower, even the bullets cutting through the air. His thoughts seemed to be the only thing that was moving fast. He could feel fear trying to grip his mind but he wouldn't let it. He felt distanced from his own mind, his own body; sort of like numbness. Then another feeling built up inside of him, growing beneath his skin, a searing fire begging to be free. From the corner of his eye, he saw Butler struggling to get onto his feet to protect his charge. The sight pushed him over the edge.

Pure energy was unleashed from his body, like an invisible explosion. The bullets stopped in their tracks for an instant then were thrown back to their owners from the force of this energy. Five men fell to the ground.

The remaining men had wide eyes, not believing what had just happened. Artemis's cold glare kept them frozen as he helped Butler up and left through the back gate. Once he was out of sight, they felt themselves be able to move again.

Once they had staggered over to the car, Artemis looked at Butler's wound. Luckily, like Butler had said, it was just a graze. Artemis took some bandages from the compartment in front of the passenger's seat, where Butler always puts it. Butler was already cleaning the wound, wincing as he did so. Artemis helped compress his leg.

Butler sighed, "It's odd to see you doing the saving in these kind of situations."

Artemis shrugged, trying to wipe away the blood on his hands with a napkin, but not succeeding. Artemis tore off the mask that he still had on his face, the feeling of sun on the mask was very much unpleasant.

Tracking the slow progress with the locator on the man's communication device, they went to the first tunnel, waiting for the man, Mr. Harp in this case, who was calculated to come out first. When he did come out, his communicator beeped and then Artemis watched calmly as the man tried to scream in rage as the communicator electrocuted him as programmed. The shock would also tamper with the man's memories so he would forget the hated face of Artemis Fowl and Butler. After collecting the money, Butler and him went on to the others.

Back in the hotel room, Artemis was pleased. On top of testing out his new inventions, he had gotten 180, 000 Euros. The only problem now was Butler. How would he explain his escape from the bullets?

Thank you, name generators! They really saved me from tearing my brain out when writing this.

Anyways, you might have noticed that the scene break indicators are something like 'xxxzx'. In this chapter the hidden letter is a 'c'. The placement of the hidden letter changes each time. It's pretty easy to find, but give it a try if you want to.