Chapter Two: People Change
LEP Commander Holly Short was standing in Tara transportation base anxiously waiting for the chute to come. It was the first chute sent onto the surface big enough for five fairies. Holly decided that Artemis Fowl needed a decent escort. She still wondered how he had planned to reach Tara all by himself. Well, he was here before…
With smoke and screech the chute arrived. The doors opened to reveal four LEP fully armed units and behind them stood someone in black and it wasn't an Armani suit for sure.
"Good day, Commander," Artemis greeted her with a slight bow, looking straight into Holly's brown eyes. Their similar color hurt Artemis slightly. He used lenses only on business meetings and they were very rare nowadays. Looking into the mirror every day, he remembered that there was another creature in the world that had the same mismatching eyes. Sometimes it really hurt to remember because memories were never enough.
"Artemis…" Holly's greeting was more a question than a statement. The only familiar part of him was the color of his hair that remained black, but was shoulder-blade long and was held in a ponytail. Everything else though was different. From casual looking clothes to tanned skin. "Artemis," she said more firmly, catching his oh so familiar piercing look. "We've met again."
"I am glad to see you too. Can we proceed?"
"Follow me. Right now we are going to the Council's meeting where we'll discuss the current situation and strategize. Well, you know the drill."
"I've almost forgotten."
Holly threw him you-must-be-kidding-me look. "You never forget anything."
"You are right. I couldn't even if I wanted to."
Holly sized him up, still enable to get used to his appearance. "Don't you Mud Men grow up? You don't look any taller than the last time I saw you seven years ago."
"It is specific for every individual. Comes from the genes."
"But I remember your parents to be quite tall."
"Do you think that me being as twice as high as you will be of any advantage? Right now I am just a head taller then you and we can communicate without any problems. I don't seek a reputation of a giant in your world."
"Yes, but it is still strange that your height hasn't changed even a bit."
Oh yes, it was abnormally strange. After Artemis returned from Hybras it was considered normal, because he was officially 18 at real age of 15. But when year after year he didn't grow up an inch, people started to ask questions and firstly his own parents of course. The most surprising was that he still grew into adulthood, his body developed accordingly to all laws of nature, but his height remained the same. Of course, Artemis knew the reason of that, but it was so unbelievable and fantastic that he shared it with no one, not even with Butler.
Finally they reached the very center of Heaven where the Police Plaza was situated. All members of the Council were gathered in a spacious room behind a round table. They looked tired and drained out. Quite a lot lay on their shoulders right now. Lives of hundreds of fairies were in their hands and that burden surely wasn't light.
Artemis looked around the room. Only three faces were somehow familiar. In every pair of eyes he clearly read, "This is the famous Artemis Fowl? And this is our last resort? Now we are surely doomed."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am really honored to meet you all and put my feet onto this holy ground. I understand on what lengths Commander Short went to persuade you to turn to me for help. I am sure that you don't consider me your friend, but I hope to be treated like an ally and be cooperated with as such. If you don't trust my appearance that I am certain that my deeds either in the past or the future will be more illustrative."
Holly covered a snicker with her hand. 'Arty shook them up all right. In several sentences he managed to determine his place here and state his worthiness of being calledl enemy number one and what his dissatisfaction with their attitude towards him could bring. Now those turkeys won't look down on us, mere executives of their will,' she thought mockingly.
"Please, sit down, Fowl," a sprite in golden robes uttered. He was obviously the Head of the Council. The guard brought a chair and placed it near Artemis, but the latter didn't move. "What is it now?" The Council member asked, sounding irritated.
"A gentleman can't sit when a lady is standing," Artemis answered with his vampiric smile.
"What lady are you talking about?"
"I don't think that after becoming LEP Commander Holly Short became a man."
One of the members snorted, but the second chair was still brought. After everyone took their places, The Head of the Council took the word. "I am sure Commander Short informed you about the situation in which we need your assistance. Firstly, I would like to determine several technicalities. Your things, Fowl, are taken to Commander's quarters." At this Artemis's eyebrows raised slightly but he didn't comment. "And secondly, we must establish the price for your services."
"I am asking nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Absolutely nothing."
"But that's impossible!"
"Why do you think so? It is extremely beneficial to you."
"But that's irrational! We must offer you at least something if you succeed."
'How clever, Artemis. Now you are free to choose whatever you want. How unfortunate that they don't know you and your methods,' Holly thought, following Artemis's conversation with the Council's Head. When she was informed that Artemis would live with her, she was firstly shocked then indignated and then scared and embarrassed. But she wasn't a soldier for nothing, she collected herself and prepared the spare bedroom.
"Actually, there is one thing I wish to inquire as the payment."
"What is it?"
"I will tell you if I succeed. You'll certainly be able to give it to me. Can we discuss the working conditions?"
"Well, what exactly do you mean by that?"
"As I remember you have a satellite on the Earth orbit. Is it operational?"
"Well, I don't know…"
"And what do you do know?!" Artemis snapped, loosing his temper. His aggressive reaction was so sudden that even Holly shuddered. "Your world is falling apart and the first thing you ask me is how much it will cost you! What if I had said I'd wanted another half of your gold storage? What would've happened then? You would've shipped me back with no further notice? Seems that even I care more about Heaven's existence when you are!
I will send you a preliminary report of my above ground research in three hours. I am sure you will have enough time till tomorrow to go though it. And tomorrow, at 10 am sharp when I enter the Operational Booth, everything must be operational. Let's go, Holly." Artemis stood up and headed for the door, putting Holly in quite a predicament. From one hand The Council were her straight superiors, from the other – Artemis was her friend and he has just put them in such a deep hole… She stood up and followed him out.
"You know," Artemis began, when Holly joined him, "There is only one area in human activity that I truly despise – politics. Because of my possessing of such an enormous knowledge of human psychology it disgusts me even more," he spat. "Now let's go home. Is it far from here?"
"Almost over the corner. Did you mean that you said back there?"
"Of course I did."
"So you really care what will happen to us?"
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Why should you? It is a whole different world, you don't have any attachments here."
"Yes, I don't have any attachments, but I have friends here. I didn't tell you before, but I really value the fact that you asked me for help. Knowing you, I suppose that you would've attempted to do anything yourself than ask anybody else. Still you called me. Knowing my reputation and ambitions you still did it."
"Drastic times call for drastic measures."
"And I am really drastic," Artemis said with a chuckle.
"Aren't you?" Holly asked in return, locking her eyes with his. His glance burnt her all over. "Huh, here we are."
Her three room flat was located in an ordinary three store building. The flat itself also wasn't fancy, but still comfortable and functional.
"The promotion didn't give you a salary raise, I presume," Artemis concluded after a brief inspection of the flat.
"It did, but the only idea of packing and moving everything somewhere else gave me the creeps. Do you want a drink?" Holly asked, going to a small kitchen with him following behind her and taking a place behind the kitchen table.
"Certainly. Care to tell me how you become Commander?"
"Oh, that. I don't even know how to call this story: funny, crazy or deadly."
"Must be quite remarkable then."
"Well, as you already know, I continued to work for Section Eight after we returned from Hybras. At the same time Sool continued to be the Commander. As you remember he wasn't really bright but he was way into politics. He licked the Council asses and everything was pretty good in the beginning. But then things started happening. Firstly small things like snapping on subordinates and tardiness, but then big things started. Operation after operation became failure after failure, casualty after casualty. My own ex-comrades died practically in front of my eyes and I couldn't do anything.
Then they started to gather recruits. They briefly trained them and sent to slaughter. The final step in this madness was the strike of the remained veterans. They went with their protests to the Council to solve the matter peacefully, to negotiate. But everything was in vain, as a result they were all decommissioned.
Three months ago Sool was killed. The report says that he was wounded during patrolling and died on the way to the hospital. He was low in magic. In reality it was an assassination organized by some mob boss. I personally knew about the plan but did nothing to prevent it. He got what he deserved."
"What is it?" Artemis asked, looking into the cup in front him.
"Take a sip," Holly said, looking quite full of herself.
He obeyed. "Earl Grey? Where did you get it from?"
"Well, I have connections in certain circles. A proper lady can at least show some hospitality to her guest."
"So how does your story end?"
"Well, they asked the decommissioned officers to take the post, but they all refused. They were as dishonored as it is. So the Council came to me. I agreed because I couldn't just leave it the way it was. Police Plaza was my second home for quite some time. So I am Commander only technically, the number of officers has reduced to fifty. It is just a bunch of kids, comparing to the previous forces. And now this mess. It actually has been a mess for a long time already," she finished with a sigh.
"So it wasn't your dreams coming true."
"Yeh. How is the tea?"
"Thank you, it's perfect. Do you ware contacts?"
"Huh?" Artemis pointed to his blue eye. "Oh that. Yes, I have one lens. I take it out only for the night."
"Can you do it earlier today?"
"What for?"
"Why not?"
"Okay then." Holly went to her bedroom and then returned, this time with unmatching eyes.
"Now you look much better," Artemis remarked with a smile.
"Was that a compliment?"
"What else could it be?"
"A sarcastic remark?"
"About you? Never."
'Are we flirting? That's crazy.' "So do you disguise your brown eye?"
"Actually I can't. Only if I have two brown ones."
"Why didn't you do a surgery or something? You did return your fingers to their right places."
"I like it this way. Make me even more unique."
"You are smug beyond belief, as always. What about that report of yours?"
"Nothing reassuring. I managed to do some scans of the earth's crust and the landscape about Heaven's area but nothing seems to be a miss. There even isn't any volcano activity there. But research was quite superficial because I didn't have the needed equipment."
"How did you do it?"
"What exactly?"
"Well, you didn't scan the planet sitting in your manor."
"Actually, I did. But I was using satellites, if you mean this."
"Don't tell me you have your own satellites!"
"Of course not. Still it is an interesting idea… Anyway. I used NASA spy satellites. They lent me them for one night."
"Lent you?"
"They were indebted to me for one problem I solved for them."
"The whole organization? How can it be possible?"
"They had a hacker who was quite fond of playing with launching nuclear rockets."
"Who was it if it wasn't you?"
"Well, it wasn't me. At that time. I visit them from time to time. He was quite tough. Even succeeded once and sent two rockets to destroy one village in Spain. For me it was quite enough, I proposed me services the next day. In three days the threat was eliminated."
"But why didn't you save the village?!"
"NASA has its own brains. They surely had access or were able to get it quickly from their position. On the other hand I was out of town on that day on personal business. I can't be everywhere."
"Yes, everybody can't be saved. Lives cost a lot. Back in the Plaza you said 'if I succeed', not 'when'. You are usually sure about success. What is different this time?"
"Fighting against nature is dangerous. It doesn't attack without a reason. During the last centuries humans have been polluting and draining the planet in every way possible and they won't stop until it is destroyed. I don't know who or what is at fault for your disaster, but the guilty ones can be the People also.
Tomorrow I want to investigate every rock fall in chronological order. Was their order fixated?"
"I don't know the details. It must've been done by the techs, meaning Foaly's students."
"Have you stopped searching for him? He must be somewhere here."
"You know how paranoid he is. Before he left he bragged about the house he had built for them – full of equipment that makes it completely undetectable. He can be in the nearby cave and we just won't see him.. And those students are surely loyal to him, so…"
"Doesn't matter. Tomorrow we will start with the booth first thing in the morning. Call Mulch, we will need his help."
"What happened to the honor of working under me, hah?"
"The honor is all mine. Good night, Holly."
"Good night, Arty."