Chapter 5

Artemis climbed over the last stile and slid to the ground, scanning site fifty-seven for the familiar forms of LEP officers. This was the place, complete with oak and riverbend, where Artemis and Butler had first encountered Holly Short and thrown the entire fairy world into chaos. Foaly had suggested that they meet here again, seeing as it was so inaccessible to humans. From here, they would proceed to Rich's temporary residence farther north, where Artemis was supposed to meet him the next day anyway.

Artemis was viewing the holy site as if for the first time, since his memories of the location had been wiped from his mind. He brushed himself off as he explored its details, trying to recover his memories. He did not look his best, and it grated on him. "Butler, are you sure we followed Foaly's directions correctly? I see no sign of fairy activity."

"We're at the right place," Butler confirmed, double-checking his instructions. "They might not be here yet."

"Might not be here yet?" a voice repeated with mock surprise, coming from the direction of the oak. "Surely you don't think the LEP can be outdone by a couple of bumbling Mud Men."

A figure materialized by the oak. It was a slim LEP officer, leaning against the trunk with her arms crossed. The visor was raised, revealing coffee-coloured skin and spunky hazel eyes. The lips were curved in an impish grin.

Artemis felt himself beginning to smile despite his resolution to be stoic. He'd know that voice and face anywhere. "Holly," he exclaimed, stumbling forward across the uneven terrain. "You're here."

She laughed, pushing herself upright. "What, you thought I'd miss out on the action?" She stopped four feet from Artemis and surveyed his dishevelled appearance. "We didn't put you to any trouble, did we? Because we'd hate to do that, you know."

"Yes, I know," said Artemis, suddenly feeling awkward. He wanted to do something, like give Holly a hug, but it wasn't in his character. So he extended his hand instead. "It's truly a pleasure to see you again, Holly. I – I missed you."

She took his hand, holding it softly for a moment while she searched his eyes. Artemis felt drawn into her melancholy aura. She frowned slightly; then she regained her mischievous look. "I missed you too," she said lightly, not quite masking the sadness behind her words. "We didn't really get to say good-bye. So I guess we never were gone, right?"

"Right," Artemis said, relieved at the subtle hint. He felt the grief of their parting heavily, but there was no point in dwelling on it now. He had Holly back, and that was what mattered.

Butler knelt to shake her hand. "Good to see you again, Holly," he said.

She patted his cheek. "Likewise, big man," she smiled. "Commander Root's going to join us at Tara – he had something to do before he came – but for now I'd like to you meet someone else." She beckoned to empty air and winked at Artemis. "You thought one of me was a handful. Just you wait until you see this."

Artemis raised his eyebrows as a second female materialized, dressed in an LEP uniform. The elf stiffened to attention, eyes fiery but expression stoic. "She's a female," he said. Obviously.

"This is Corporal Plank," Holly explained. "She's the next female Recon candidate. Her initiation is coming up soon and she needs to complete her surface hours before then. She's the one who discovered the troll-Gland interaction, so this is how she's doing it."

"I'm honoured to meet you," Artemis said, shaking her hand. Hard grip, like Holly usually had. He grimaced and withdrew his hand. "Does she punch like you too?"

"Not yet," Holly said with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Corporals don't punch. However, captains do, so let me warn you now, Artemis: the LEP isn't exactly prepared to leave you alone with its gold, regardless of any trust we're displaying here. You'd better make sure you're levelling with us the whole way, because one more infraction and the last two and a half years of your life were the most boring of your life. Got it?"

Artemis held up his hand as if taking an oath. "I'm doing this strictly to help the LEP, Holly," he said with a straight face. "My role is exactly as Foaly described it: to use our positions as humans to find out Gland's contacts. Strictly an advisory capacity."

Holly turned to Plank. "Corporal, you see that hand?"

"Yessir."

"Don't trust it." Holly turned back to Artemis. "Now we're good to go. Let's move. Butler, I'll carry you on my Moonbelt since I'm more used to heavy weights. Plank, you take the small one."

Butler, while having an inherent respect for any female braving the LEP's sexism, was not happy. "Captain, I'd feel more comfortable if you took Artemis."

Holly sighed. "Butler, Plank is well-trained. The rawest recruit can use a Moonbelt effectively. She's as likely to drop Artemis as I am. Actually, she's far less likely, seeing as he hasn't kidnapped and ransomed her." She began to hook Butler on.

He decided to comply. After all, he figured, the less Artemis and Holly were together the less arguing there would be. Still, Plank had better watch her step. She was dealing with precious cargo.

In a private dwelling in the Irish countryside two people were sitting in a computer room watching a video. On the video two female fairies were preparing to take off, each with a human strapped to her belt. The well-dressed human stood and frowned at the images.

"So the male fairy is waiting at Tara?" he asked the sprite at his side.

The green-skinned creature nodded. He had a long scar down his right wing. He looked fairly young. "Commander Root is his name. Big player. He made me public enemy number two, next to this kid. Root relies on Captain Short when it comes to Fowl."

"Which one is Short?"

"The short one."

"Ah."

"You don't need to worry about the goon. He'll do whatever the boy says. And the boy will do whatever is necessary to reclaim the commander and captain. Don't bother with the corporal. She's nothing, either to compel Fowl or to help him. Officer wanna-be." He spat. "Once you have the others in your hands, you don't need to worry about pandering to the boy. He'll give you his help for free to secure their release."

"No tricks?"

"Oh, there'll be tricks all right," Gland chuckled. "I've studied this boy ever since he outdid me as a criminal, he's impressed me so much. I know the People better than he does, but that doesn't mean he's not good. That's where you have to trust me, see?"

"That's why I need Fowl," Rich said curtly, not taking his eyes off the screen. "Because I don't trust you."

"That's why we have everyone in this equation, including you," said Gland as he walked toward the door. "I don't trust anybody but me either. When Fowl and Company get here, I'll show your guards how to catch the fairies. Then, we can hold them to ransom."

"Fowl's gone up against the Mafia," Rich said uneasily, keeping his eyes on the departing fairies. "And he beat them without blinking."

"No, the fairies beat them," Gland corrected him. "Without the fairies, Fowl is nothing. Without the fairies, every human is nothing."

With that parting shot he left Rich to stand staring at the video of two departing fairies, chewing his lip with a frown etched on his face.