Chapter 60

More Trouble with Trouble…

Artemis's POV:

Ah, there's nothing in the world quite like a perfectly executed plot. The thrill of victory, the pound of excitement in one's heart. The rush of endorphins. And this time, it was all due to a certain centaur.

"I can't believe you would hack me like this," he whined again.

"I do not intend to sound like a child, but… you did start this with those ridiculous articles," I replied.

"Yeah, but that was all in fun. Besides, you were never meant to read them." he shrugged. Obviously that was supposed to make it better for me.

"Yes. How kind of you."

Foaly prattled on and on about the injustice of it all, and after a while I found myself to be quite bored. Honestly, it was as if I had publicly humiliated him.

Before long, he was interrupted from a series of loud, abrupt banging coming from the door. Foaly stopped midsentence and turned his attention to the live camera footage.

Not surprisingly, the source of the noise was the short, stocky form of Mulch Diggums. Coming up behind him was Holly, and judging from her expression, she was not a 'happy camper'. "Should I let him in?" my dear friend asked innocently.

Hmm. Knowing Mulch as I do, I'd say that he deserved whatever was coming to him. On the other hand, I really don't want to see Holly get arrested for assault today. "Let him in."

He nodded, most likely coming to the same conclusion. He pressed a red button, allowing the door to slide open. The dwarf ran in as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. He then got on the side of my chair that was the farthest from the door. "Help me," he begged.

"What did you do this time?" I wondered.

Before he could answer, Holly ran into the room, her mismatched eyes locked on our hairy friend. "Artemis can't protect you," she warned, her voice filled to the brim with violence. "Come out here and take it like a man."

"Well technically, Arty's the only man in here. I'm a dwarf," Mulch said. And of course that didn't earn him any points with Holly. Though, I was a bit surprised that he was even able to differentiate between species. Impressive.

"Don't make me come over there," she threatened. I could see Foaly's worried glances at his precious screens and decided to at least take pity on him this one time.

"Holly. What's this about?" And as expected, she said nothing. So, I turned my attention to the flatulent dwarf. "Mulch?"

"I…I might have said something about you…" he trailed off guiltily.

About me. Ahhh, that explains it. His statements were probably vulgar to say the least. "Holly, it doesn't matter," I said, pulling her head down. "There will be plenty of time to get him back later when he's not expecting it," I whispered into her ear.

Her eye shined with mischievous joy as she nodded in agreement. "Scoot over Arty."

I looked at her strangely before complying with her odd request. Surprisingly, she sat next to me with her thighs pressing against mine. Within the past few days, we had been even closer than this, but something about the intimacy of the chair had me feeling nervous. Or rather uncomfortable was a better word.

"Thanks Arty," the dwarf smiled, climbing out from behind the chair. "I owe you."

"Yes, you do."

"Hmm, Jut call all of the times that I saved your life my favor to you."

"Only if you'll call my brilliant plans and your freedom equal to that."

The dwarf shrugged. In his mind, it was probably equal, though I'd have to disagree. "Oh thank you, great Artemis Fowl."

"You're welcome," I smiled.

Holly leaned into my side slightly. Naturally, Foaly's eyes were immediately drawn to the movement. "Awww, aren't you guys cute?"

My cheeks heated up. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, look at Holly leaning on her boyfriend."

Ugh, delightful. This kind of humor was something that I could do without at the moment. "Where is the bathroom?" I whispered.

"Down the hall to the right. Keep going and you'll run right into it."

I nodded. "Excuse me," I said as I got up making my way to the door. I followed her instructions, taking just a few moments to get away from it all. Honestly, Foaly and Mulch were becoming more than annoying at this point. Every comment was about Holly and I. But for the last time, I only like her as my dear and closest friend. There is no relationship, and there will not be one.

I sighed deeply, taking the time to splash cold water on my face, before putting a smile on and returning to the Ops booth.

"That was quick," Holly commented when I sat back down next to her.

"Not especially…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Yeah Holly. It doesn't take the boy long to finish his business. Only ten seconds," the dwarf inserted. I noticed the swift glance that the two exchanged. He and Holly knew something and judging from her blush, it was nothing very flattering.

"Did I miss something here?" the centaur demanded. There was nothing worse than being unaware. I could attest to that.

"No!" Holly almost shouted. "Nothing."

The centaur looked at me as if to ask 'what?' But this time, I was just as confused as he was, and needless to say, I didn't like it.

The next hour or two passed by with the usual jabs and jeers that occurred whenever all three of us gathered together. Though today, most of Mulch's jokes were crude. Or rather innuendoes.

Foaly, on the other hand, made it his mission to humiliate us both as much as possible.

Needless to say, we were both ready to leave long before we actually did. "Bye," Holly waved.

"Bye," The centaur said. "I'll see you later in the week." He grinned at me maliciously. Obviously, he was going to try to back track my hacking and get vengeance. I smiled back, knowing that it was going to be impossible.

"Good-bye," I nodded, following Holly out of the Ops booth.

She led me down the hall opposite of the one that we used to enter. "Where are we going?"

"I'm going to my office and you're going to wait here."

"Why? Are you ashamed of me?" I asked, displaying a 'heart broken' face. "Do I embarrass you?"

"Very much so," she giggled. "Just wait here please."

"Your wish is my command."

I watched Holly walk away, her blue skirt swishing behind her. Her long legs and hips moving in fluent motion.

"Stop staring at her," commanded a voice from behind me. I spun around to see the violet, angry eyes of Trouble Kelp.

"I was not staring at Holly, Kelp. And you would do well to mind your own business." For the most part, I tend to let intelligence fight my battles, but this man was bothersome to say the least. His obsession with Holly was beyond the point of reason, and more than enough to make me angry.

"Who do you think you are?" he yelled. I grinned evilly as I slipped the ring off of my finger. My skin bubbled, my body shot to its normal height, and my features took on their usual appearance. I took a savage pleasure as I watched the color drain out of his face. "A…Artemis Fowl?"

"Who else?" I paused, feeling the hallway heat up. "Now, would you like to continue what you were saying a moment ago."

He glared at me, but any simpleton could tell that he was afraid. After all, I am the evil genius who would love to hurt the fairies. Yet, the commander was not nothing if not brave. "Fowl, you'd better stay away from Holly."

"And on what grounds do you have to tell me what to do?" Here in this place, my normal attempts at civility were gone. This wretch actually believed that he held some sort of sway in my dearest friend's life. That he was important. Yes, he may be her friend, but he had nothing else in his favor.

"I'm in love with her, and I've told her repeatedly. It's just a matter of time before she's mine."

I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me. He seemed to think that it would be that easy. That Holly would just feel his adoration and give herself to him? "You're delusional." And so he was if he believed that Holly could ever be 'his'.

"Delusional?" he chuckled. "Yeah, I'm delusional. You're just as in love with her as I am and you can't admit it. Why don't you just tell the truth? You're fighting for her too."

I stepped closer to the fairy, ruling over him with my height. "You're right. I am fighting for her. I'm fighting to keep her safe from men like you."

The violet eyes clouded over in confusion. "What do you mean 'men like me'?"

"The swaggering alpha male personality. The narcissist who sees only himself, yet is so very good at pretending to notice others, the man who thinks only of who's next to warm his bed, leaving a long string of broken hearts in his wake. The men like you."

"But…But…" he stammered. "I'd never break Holly's heart."

I chuckled internally, watching him squirm from the truth of my words. "Not on purpose, no. But if by some miracle she did fall for you, you'd find yourself bored and move on. Though you'd soon see that she was every bit as controlling and as tough as you are."

"I already knew that," he argued, his confidence shaken. Perfect.

"You don't. When you look at Holly, you only see the girl, and not the impressive individual that is beyond her curvaceous figure."

"You don't know anything about her. I'm going after her."

"Of course, I'd never expect you to do anything for anyone other than yourself." I treated him to my coldest glare. "Holly is an adult and not a prize to be won. So, I leave choices about her life up to her and only her. But should you ever hurt her, I promise that every awful thing that you think I am capable of will pale in comparison to who I am and what I will do to you. It will become my sole mission to terrorize you in every way possible, to utterly destroy you. And trust me, I am quite capable of doing so."

He looked at me in panic, knowing that I was serious. This was no joke. I refused to ever let someone hurt Holly. Especially someone like Trouble Kelp.

"Now if you'll excuse me. I do have to get back to Holly." And with that, I left a dumbfounded Kelp behind me. Perhaps I should feel bad, but wallowing in regret does no one any good. And I do so prefer to be productive.

A/N:

Well, that's another chapter down! Yay! You'll be happy to know that while I've been away I've actually been busy. So busy that I actually finished writing this story. Thank you. Your love is very much appreciated. ;)

Rest assured that I am working on this story quite a bit. I haven't abandoned anything, and don't plan on it. The next chapter should be coming up soon... hopefully. So, in the mean time, you guys should check out my other stories. They're pretty good, I think.

So, yeah, thanks to all of my reviewers and people who added me or this story to favorites. I love you guys. Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Oh and to review. Flames are welcome. They're what keep me warm and toasty at night. ;)

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Yours truly, madly, and deeply,

Einstinette