Chapter 7

From her position above the human Rich's house, Clover Plank watched Captain Short get shot as Commander Root pulled a gun on the giant, Butler. Butler, the one who hadn't wanted her to tote the evil genius Artemis Fowl across Ireland. Well, look who was endangering him now. Flying darts and truculent fairy commanders. Those humans couldn't even pull off a betrayal smoothly.

She remained shielded, crouched behind a roof fixture, until the cam-foil humans had carried her superior officers inside the house. Then she took off like a shot, heading directly for the trees where Butler had retreated with Artemis.

She touched down ten feet from the pair, keeping her shield in place. After all, the big one had a gun and she didn't. She opened her visor. "Hey, Fowl. I thought you were on the LEP's side. You monster."

Both humans spun. The genius was instantly swept behind Butler. That gun was still out, slowly sweeping the air where her voice had come from. She silently crept to one side. "What have you done with them, Mud Boy?"

Artemis peeked around Butler. "Corporal Plank?"

"Who else? I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but..."

"It's a very complicated one, I assure you," the boy said, sounding tired. "Please unshield so we can talk properly. Butler will not harm you."

Clove snorted. Artemis sighed. "Very well. You require a display. Butler, put your gun away."

The bodyguard didn't look happy about that. "Artemis, I don't think..."

"Butler." It was a command, cracking like a delicate whip. Then more softly, "She is not armed, old friend. She poses no threat that you cannot easily dispatch without weaponry. Put away the gun and let her come closer."

Butler did so. Clove still wasn't sure whether to trust him or not. Still, what could she do? She unshielded and stepped forward. "Okay, Fowl, start explaining. My long-range transmissions are out and I can't get Root or Short on my sensors. You did this, didn't you?"

"Would I be explaining myself if I had? I didn't mean for it to happen. I had no idea."

Clove sized him up, probing those brilliant blue eyes and ghostly-white features for any sign of sincerity. She shrugged and leaned against a tree, crossing her arms. "Okay, start talking. Otherwise we're sworn enemies."

Artemis opened his mouth, ready to object, then snapped it shut and mimicked her pose. "I suppose I do owe it to you after what has happened. I came into contact with Rich Clifford at a security conference my father was hosting. Clifford approached me with a proposition. He had been contacted by a sprite named Frel Gland who needed a human base from which to smuggle human weapons, not to mention a ready source of those weapons. Clifford fit the bill. They struck up a deal in which Gland would provide Clifford with – how I don't know – tame trolls as security guards. Clifford apparently didn't trust his fairy cohort, so Gland referred him to me as a non-fairy who could help him navigate the business deal."

"A human using trolls as security guards?" Clove asked sceptically. "Even if they were tame I don't see how he could pull that off. Wouldn't everybody – the LEP included – notice that they weren't human?"

"Clifford mentioned something about a lost species he could pass them off as," Artemis mused. "But I agree with you: it seems entirely implausible even given that excuse. No, I suspect that Clifford is up to something much more sinister and secretive, which is why I wanted you all to hold off until I had figured it out. You stepped in at a most inopportune time, really; another few days and I might have discovered everything."

"Yes, about you," Clove interrupted, trying not to look like her head was reeling. "What's in it for you?"

Artemis rubbed his temples. He looked truly concerned. "As I said, I thought I could find out what Clifford was up to, seeing as it affected the People. The best way to do that, I figured, was to become his confidante as he proposed. I wouldn't even have to pry to get most of my information. Then I could relay it to the LEP when the time was right."

"That explains what your role is," Clove said. "But it doesn't answer my question. I asked what was in it for you. The captain told me you never do something for nothing."

"That's not true!" Artemis protested. "I would not have stood by and watched Clifford ruin the People. Of course, as long as he was offering gold and security patents..."

"Typical human greed," Clove said wryly. "Captain Short was right. I'm beginning to understand you, Mud Boy."

"That's all very well, Corporal, but now we must begin asking the necessary questions. What is our plan of action? It's a good thing you weren't targeted. You will be invaluable to us in rescuing our mutual comrades. Naturally I have no intention of allowing Clifford to blackmail me into helping him for free, as I suspect he will attempt to do. No, then he would probably kill us all and succeed in his plan."

Clove shook her head quickly. "Uh-uh, Fowl. I'm a corporal. Not licensed for combat of any kind. The rulebook says that in a situation like this I have to report back to my authorities. Since the airways are apparently jammed, that means I have to leave immediately."

"You can't just leave!" Artemis said, looking genuinely surprised. "We need a fairy to combat whatever convolutions Clifford has contrived. I fully expected that you would help us."

"But I can't! I don't have the skills!"

Artemis grabbed her shoulders. "Corporal, you're an LEP cadet, for heaven's sake! All you lack is a badge."

"That's not true, Fowl." Clove fought the instinct to get emotional and tried to stay calm. "Listen, you don't understand. You think I'm another Holly Short. Well, I'm not. I might be able to pilot a shuttle and shoot a gun and do it well, but that's where it ends. I'm not at all like the captain. Gods, I wish I was, but as much as I love police work I don't think I have the moxie. I don't have what it takes."

The Mud Boy didn't believe her. She could see it in his eyes. She shook her head again. "Fowl, trust me. I'm not brave or intuitive; it's all show. If only you knew how many times my instructors have eaten me out for lack of initiative."

"But Holly tells me you're practically famous."

"For getting high academic scores and flying a shuttle like a pro, yes," Clove said. "I'm unusually good, and not just for a female. But I'm getting a lot of criticism, too." She leaned closer, feeling secretive even though no one else was around. "To tell you the truth, Fowl, I think I'm a disappointment. Everyone wants another Holly Short. Well, I can't be that. It might be better if I don't make the squad and let the second Recon female be someone more like her."

The Mud Boy gazed at her as if measuring her. "I think there's more to you than that," he said at last. "At any rate your help is better than no help. You want to be like Captain Short? Well, she would take on Clifford without wasting time flying all the way back to the LEP. By the time you did that we could all be dead." He extended his hand. "Please, Corporal. I'm asking you as a comrade. Will you help us?"

Clove frowned. "I don't know. Captain Short told me not to trust the hand. Is that really the best security you can give me?"

"Holly has trusted this hand more times than she cares to admit," Artemis replied. "Mostly because she had no choice, admittedly. As far as I can tell you're in the same boat."

Clove looked at the hand. Slowly she reached out to take it. She knew she could be putting her career on the line, and it terrified her. But as Fowl said, she had no choice.

"Okay, fine," she said, shaking the small white hand. "But you better not kidnap and ransom me."