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Chapter 4: The Hunt Starts Here

Fowl Manor, Dublin, Ireland

Artemis Fowl lay in bed, staring up into the darkness above. He could hear laughter from his brothers' room down the passage; the twins were restless tonight and the nanny would have her work cut out for her trying to get them to sleep. He thought he could hear his mother's voice, persuading either Beckett or Myles to get into bed and go sleepy-bye. There was a soft tread outside his door, muffled by the carpet, but he knew it would be Butler on his last round of the Manor before the manservant retired for the night. His father would be in the bedroom, resting his leg after a long day.

Holly hadn't called him yet, but the teenager wasn't too worried about it. She was busy these days with her LEPrecon duties, and more likely than not, she was probably out on some mission and wouldn't be back before morning. There was another call he would have to make in the morning, one involving a certain French girl. Minerva Paradizo was currently holidaying in Brazil with some of her extended family, but she and Artemis had struck up a habit of calling each other up wherever they were. She had mentioned something about visiting him in Ireland in her last call; he rather wondered what she meant by that – didn't they speak to each other through the phone almost every day?

The boy drifted off to sleep, lulled by the familiar sounds of his family in the Manor.

Operations Booth, Police Plaza

Well it was worth a try.

Foaly logged into the LEP records, checking the list of shots fired and equipment used during the past hour or so. He had worked to discontinue the Neutrino 3000s after the unfortunate incident when Holly was blamed for Root's death; the Council had taken the shot she fired to save the late commander as hard evidence that she was guilty. But a few of the guns still remained, and what with LEP bureaucracy and all, the 3000s stayed in use by field operatives.

Hmm. He checked the list again, sighing. There was nothing.

Who said it was going to be that easy anyway? Whoever had released that shot at Merrick's place knew LEP procedures and had taken care not to use a weapon that would register on the records. The thought disturbed the centaur as much as the murder itself.

Fowl Manor, Ireland

Artemis woke abruptly to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

'Quiet, Fowl,' a voice spoke in his ear. It sounded elfin.

Holly?

'Now sit up and put your hands behind your head,' the voice continued.

It's not Holly.

The boy did as he was told, staring straight ahead into the dark room. The fairy was out of his sight, standing somewhere behind his right ear. The gun stayed steady against his temple.

'I want you to stay absolutely still – this will take only a few minutes.'

'What have you done to my family?' he said evenly.

'They're asleep, but they might not be if you disobey orders, you understand?'

Artemis stayed silent.

'Now speak into this.' A small oblong was thrust in front of his mouth, held by a hand that clearly belonged to a fairy.

'What should I say?'

'Repeat after me: 'I will offer gold and protection in exchange for control of the Lower Elements Police. Trust me on this; my plans have not gone wrong yet. Am I not friends with the officers themselves? Captain Short, Foaly and even Commander Kelp have absolute faith in me and they won't suspect a thing; I have, after all, saved their skins on several occasions in the past. Do we have a deal?''

Artemis couldn't speak; his throat had gone bone dry.

'Speak, Fowl.' The gun was pressed harder against his temple. 'Or your family gets it.'

The boy spoke. He didn't have a choice.

Haven City, The Lower Elements

Holly was annoyed.

Mulch and Doodah kept bickering even as they skulked round the city looking for the murderer and the supposed vigilante. And they have a point, she thought gloomily as she waited for them to nip into a convenience store for snacks, we don't even know what we're looking for. It's not like we can stop people randomly and ask: Excuse me, sir, have you recently committed a murder with a knife? Or did you have any prior knowledge of it?

They were at a dead end. Try telling Trouble that, Short.

'You don't have to look so conspicuous, you know,' Mulch remarked as the trio headed down the street.

'What?' snapped Holly.

'You're in civilian clothes but you just stick out like a sore dwarf thumb,' explained Doodah, his eyes big with innocence.

Even with the Neutrino hidden under a handily large jacket, Holly thought she knew what the pixie meant. Probably it was because she kept staring at passing fairies with suspicious eyes.

'Do you have any idea where to go next?' she said instead, changing the subject.

'Not really.' Mulch slurped down a chilled slug jelly and made a face. 'We need more clues.'

'You don't think we can do much now,' she said, scowling.

'Facts is facts, Holly. We don't have much to work with.'

And the dwarf was right, irritatingly enough.

'I'll go back to Police Plaza then, see if they have any new leads,' she spoke in an undertone to Mulch and Doodah. 'Foaly hasn't called – but who knows?'

The pair nodded and watched as the elf sprinted down the street back to the LEP HQ.

'And they call themselves professionals,' said Doodah, shaking his head.

Operations Booth, Police Plaza

Foaly listened to the voice recording for the third time, his expression blank.

So many things had happened today – and now this. This was the caramelized beetle on top of the carrot cake.

'Foaly.' Holly burst into the Ops Booth, dragging the jacket off her slim frame. 'Do you have any new leads?'

'Only this,' he said quietly.

She came to a stop beside the centaur, stunned.

The recording played a familiar voice for the fourth time, a voice that she had come to know from many conversations with the speaker. And it was saying something that she had thought she would never hear.

'I will offer gold and protection in exchange for control of the Lower Elements Police. Trust me on this; my plans have not gone wrong yet. Am I not friends with the officers themselves? Captain Short, Foaly and even Commander Kelp have absolute faith in me and they won't suspect a thing; I have, after all, saved their skins on several occasions in the past. Do we have a deal?'

'That's Artemis,' she said jerkily.

The centaur nodded. There wasn't anything for him to say.

'How did you get this?'

'The call was made from his mobile phone to a fairy phone registered to one Myra Magnet.'

'And who is that?'

'A ten-year-old pixie who lost her phone a month ago. Her parents claim that they've asked for the number to be blocked, but it seems that someone has overridden the block.'

'D'Arvit.' Holly sank into the chair that Kelp had occupied earlier. 'Have you tried contacting Artemis?'

Foaly gave her a cool glance. 'And why would I do that? He's a prime suspect now, especially after Merrick's murder.'

'But there's no connection that he's involved in it,' the elf argued.

'So you're saying that it's just a coincidence, Holly?'

'It's too convenient to put the blame on him; it's what I'm saying.'

Foaly sighed and gazed at her with a stricken expression on his face. 'I know he's your friend, Holly...but at this time, we really don't know what to look for. He could be involved. Or not. We don't know.'

She looked away, biting her lip. 'Have you told Kelp yet?'

'He's coming over as soon as the Council meeting's over.'

'I'll wait.' She drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. She'll wait for Trouble's orders, even though she felt like flying above ground right now to demand an explanation from Artemis. He can't have meant that – he's our friend! I trusted him for so long!

'Holly.' Foaly placed a hand on her shoulder. 'I know you don't like what you just heard, and neither do I, but we have our job to do. And our job now is to find Merrick's murderer and clear up this mystery as soon as we can.'

'Who said I'm worried about Artemis?' she muttered, meeting Foaly's eyes defiantly.

Oak Avenue, Haven City

There was a moment of silence after the shot was fired.

And then all hell broke loose.

The goblins began throwing fireballs at a group of dwarfs who happened to be crossing the street at that moment. The dwarfs scattered immediately, though a few fireballs found their mark. Various fairies who were in the vicinity scrambled to get out of the way; panic and screams filled the air. Oak Avenue was a busy thoroughfare on the best of days, and today being a Saturday, there were many fairies out shopping with their families.

A figure in grey watched the scene unfold as he or she stood hidden in a doorway.

The dwarf in the LEP uniform – the one who had shot the goblin – had vanished in the chaos.

A/N: Minerva isn't in the story much, I'm afraid. So I - er - sent her on a holiday to Brazil.

Constructive criticism will be very much appreciated!