Chapter 4:

Manor under siege. Again.

Holly sat beside two corporals, both of them boasting to each other about how much they could bench press. The flight to Ireland was about two hours and here she was putting up with this in the first twenty minutes. It was going to be a long trip.

Commander Kelp, who was sitting to her right, turned his head towards the captain. "Feeling alright, Captain Short?" Holly shrugged. "As good as I can be, sir. Hard to feel good when you're walking into something you don't know."

"True. But we've got all of your good karma on our side." Holly had to chuckle. Good karma, indeed.

Holly took another good look around the shuttle. These were LEP's finest officers sitting around her. With Commander Kelp, herself, and Foaly in the cockpit.

And Major Luskar.

Holly had to repress a shiver when her eyes fell on the officer sitting across from her. She didn't like Luskar; never had. There was something about him that made her tremble. And with good reason.

Horam Luskar was a first for LEP; much like Holly was the first female officer in the history of Recon, Luskar was the first goblin ever admitted to the force. Where as most fairy's got the job through magic skill and college degrees, Luskar got in with strength, street smarts, and a knack for strategy, (as by some divine reason, he was one of the few goblins with an I.Q over seventy). The Major was a born fighter, wearing his scarred hide like a badge of honor, not even bothering to cover up his mangled left eye.

But one thing could be said for Luskar; he was the best tracker in Retrieval. Mulch had once told Holly, "If there's one thing criminals fear most, it's that goblin. Anyone trying to get above ground gets the same warning, 'you can run to the end of the Earth, but Major Luskar will still find ya.'".

At that point, Major Luskar turned his head, ending up looking Holly right in the eye. "Is there a problem, Captain?" His voice sounded like grating glass. Holly swallowed.

"Not at all, Major." The goblin snorted, puffs of smoke coming from his nostrils.

Holly laid back in her seat. It going to be a long trip, she thought.

Artemis stood on the steps outside the manor, looking at the sky. It was peaceful, being the only living thing around. The twins were tucked up in bed, and mother and father were at some convention in Dublin, meaning they weren't to be back until tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night, the boy thought. It was inconceivable that the fairies would be done before tomorrow night. Mother already knew about Holly and the rest, but how would he explain to father about the military circus outside his front door?

His worries were cut short by the noise of engines filling the air. Artemis stood up, and looked to the sky. Where there was once empty air now hovered a fairy shuttle in the process of landing. As soon as it did, LEP personnel swarmed out of the ship, setting up tents and machinery. Walking through all this madness, he spotted the three people he was looking for.

"You call that a perfect landing? You've crushed Beckett's flower garden." Holly turned around to smile. "I wasn't flying."

"Of course."

The elfin captain drew her friend in for a hug. "Nice seeing you again, Mud Boy."

"Likewise", replied Artemis. He turned to shake hands with Foaly. "As well as you, my horsy friend. And Commander Kelp, always a pleasure." Kelp grunted.

It was then Artemis noticed a fifth person in the group. A figure obscured by the shadows cast by the shuttle. "And who would this be?" The figure stepped out to reveal himself, and Artemis drew in a sharp breath. Standing before was a one eyed goblin, lips drawn back to reveal a vicious mockery of a smile.

"Major Horam Luskar, LEP Retrieval", he said, shaking the boy's hand. "And you must be the infamous Artemis Fowl." Luskar turned to Kelp. "You're right, Trouble. I probably could eat him in one bite." Holly shot the Commander a glare, which he responded to with a chuckle and a mere shrug.

"Well, with the touchy feely reunion crap over with," Kelp said, "let's get back to what we're really here for. Major?" Luskar straightened himself up. "Right." And with that, the two walked away.

Foaly trotted up to Artemis, who was paler than he usually was. "Don't mind the major, Arty. He's got that affect on most people."

The sound of his voice jolted Artemis back to reality. "I don't doubt it, Foaly. Might I ask why the Council sent Retrieval?"

Foaly shrugged. "Considering the nature of the data we received, the Chairmen thought that when the object… landed… Retrieval might be needed to contain whatever it was we saw."

Holly raised an eyebrow. "What? Their here to hunt aliens? Foaly, don't tell me you believe that."

At this, Artemis raised his eyebrow. "Most humans don't believe in fairies, and yet here you are. I find it perfectly conceivable that other life exists besides our own."

"And it's perfectly conceivable that they would hijack a fairy satellite?" Artemis thought about that for a second. "Not as possible, but still likely."

Holly digested this piece of information, and decided to steer the conversation else where. "So where's Butler exactly? Not like him to leave you here alone."

"Juliet's birthday was last week. Seeing as she was in Mexico, Butler thought it would nice to take her out to dinner in the village."

Holly looked out in the direction of Ducard. "Well, I hope their having more fun than we are. Come on, Mud Boy. Lets go set up some satellites."