Junior had provided him with information for the job before he'd left the club... but this job didn't sit well with the mud-boy. He'd been up the better part of the night thinking about it. His target was the blonde that Holly had gotten arrested, back at his club. The girl was a minor, living with her family on the nearby island of Patch. It wasn't practical to own motor vehicles, since the only way to get them back to mainland was via ferry or bullhead airship. The target was likely the only vehicle the family owned. And what a family to piss off... a hunter and his two daughters still in training, any of whom could kill him by accident. The theft was worthless, petty, and he wouldn't even be paid for it. Unbroken legs, that was to be his compensation. Junior hadn't even followed through on the information Artemis had paid for, so he'd be meeting the Huntress uncomfortably blind.

He had dressed inconspicuously. He wore a baggy grey hoodie from Signal that he hadn't touched since his first few days in Vale, and equally uncomfortable blue jeans. His shoes were new, mid range athletics. Neither the ratty sneakers he started with or the polished dress shoes he preferred would help him if he had to run. He'd taken a cab to the ferry, and once across the water he took a bus from the village. Patch was a place for those who wanted to get away from it all, and stay there. There were several stops on the route, ending at the local combat school. He got off at a stop near the woods, and began hiking up the unpaved trail that lead to the Xiao Long homestead. His pace was perhaps inadvisably casual... he'd been in the city so long that the trees on all sides stood out in beautiful contrast. He could almost pretend he was walking among the oak trees that surrounded the Manor... that he was home. As the log cabin came into view, he decided to rest a bit, in case he had to run. He sunk to the ground and leaned against a tree. Remnant was truly a beautiful place... not accounting for the Grimm, of course. The colors seemed more vibrant, though he wasn't sure if that was related to the eye transplant. He sighed, still daunted by his task. It grated against everything he ever learned from his father or his own myriad schemes. But it had to be done... he'd thought everything through, and this was simply the only way. He stood up in the shade of the tree, steeled himself, and resumed the walk to the cabin.

The dark haired girl was twitching and convulsing on the floor, a screwdriver between her teeth to stop her from gnawing off her own tongue. Police lights swept over the building searching the windows for signs of their presence as some mysterious poison did its grisly work. Her newest friend looks her in the eyes, recognizing the symptoms. Is it too much to hope? Can this mysterious boy save her? Will she-

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

"Eek!" jumped the hooded girl, nearly launching her paperback across the room in surprise. She takes a moment to slide a stray trading card into her novel as a bookmark, and another to still her heart as she descends the stairs to answer the door. The girl was curious since they weren't expecting anyone as far as she knew. When the door opened, there stood one of her classmates from Signal... though not one she'd ever met.

"Ruby Rose?" He seemed a bit young to be a friend of Yang and his tone sounded like he came from Atlas. Definitely not. Strangely enough, the boy was skinnier than Ruby was. He wore his raven black hair in a widow's peak, and his eyes were two different colors.

"Yes?" piped the girl, removing her hood. Ruby was visibly confused as she continued to look him up and down.

"Good afternoon," said the visitor. "Is Yang Xiao Long home? I have something important to discuss."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "She's out in the shed. Come on..."

She closed the door behind her and led the way out to a shed that hung open. Both her sister and her father were working on the bike. Junior's file had a page on him: Taiyang Xiao Long. A retired hunter. Taiyang was holding up the front end of the motorcycle with one arm while Yang was bolting down a wheel with a socket wrench.

"Hey Ruby," greeted Yang. She noticed the strange boy next to her. "...and Ruby's friend?"

"I thought he was a friend of yours." Ruby looked at Artemis with suspicion, and she wasn't the only one.

"Before we proceed, I must inform you that my aura is still locked. If you intend to attack me, I preemptively surrender."

Taiyang set down the bike and crossed his arms. "Not a promising start, kid..." the huntsman said. "Say your piece."

"It's a very long story... I'll hit the high points, unless you want the details. A few days ago, Ms. Xiao Long was arrested for causing significant property damage to a nightclub. The reason the owner didn't press charges is because he runs a small criminal syndicate, and he didn't want the police sticking their noses in where they didn't belong."

Yang sneered. "And he sent you? For what?"

Artemis sighed, loosening his collar. "I managed to put myself in his good graces by giving first aid to someone who worked for him... Later a known friend of mine, the one you punched through a pillar-" Yang winced. "-was photographed enjoying coffee with a police officer of her acquaintance. I've been required to steal this very distinctive motorcycle to prove that I'm not affiliated with the police."

Yang's eyes turned red, and while this did surprise Artemis, he wasn't dumb enough to stop talking as the wrench bent in her grip. Even as she began advancing on him.

"Naturally, I don't want to do this. I'm stuck choosing between two groups of people to put me in a body cast." Taiyang put a firm hand on Yang's shoulder, stopping her from moving any closer.
"Yang," he warned.
She took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. They were lilac again when she opened them.

"And can you prove this?" Taiyang asked.

Artemis shook his head. "No, I'd been frisked when the 'offer' was made." His sarcasm controlled, twisting the truth ever so slightly. "I didn't have my scroll to record the meeting. I do, however, have a plan..."

~o~o~

That evening, a very distinctive motorcycle pulled up in front of Junior's club. Melanie nodded in approval as Junior stepped up wearing a broad smile. "Well, well, well," He drawled. "If it isn't little Artemis Fowl. And I see you've brought me a present."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Junior." Artemis said, balancing his tone carefully. He dismounted the bike, smirking carefully. "A friend of mine loaned me this to arrive in style... well, more style than usual."

Junior rolled his eyes. Perfect. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Boys! Get this hunk of junk into the garage!" The bike purred merrily until Artemis pulled the key. The bike locked automatically with a distinct beep. Artemis, however, made no move to hand the keys over. He merely folded his arms in silent challenge. The crime boss was not impressed. "You trying to be cute? Keys. Now."

"Or what?" Artemis smiled, a dangerous vampiric smile... Junior took the bait, cracking his knuckles as he advanced. Junior drew his fist back for a haymaker, and Artemis leaned back just as Holly showed him. The impact still took him to the bricks behind him. His lip was split, but he hadn't broken any bones. He'd dropped the keys as he skidded back, and managed to remain on his feet. As his carbon copy goons approached him, Artemis bolted.

"Let him run," Junior smiled, holding up the keys to his prize. "We're done with him."

Artemis smiled as she sent Yang a message on his scroll, lamenting that her bike had been stolen. Just according to plan.

~o~o~

Yang Xiao Long was waiting for him, just a block down the road. She wore a Signal hoodie that fit much better than Artemis'. She hated having her hair bound up... but this was going to be worth it.

"You better not have scratched her," she said. It was bad enough letting him ride it around the corner... and worse teaching him how to ride it around the corner. Seriously, what kind of sociopath never learns to ride a bike?

"I assure you, I didn't put a scratch on it." Artemis said, holding a napkin up to his lip. "And if Junior does, I'll pay for it." They walked to a nearby cafe, ducking through an alley at one point. Artemis had plotted a route free of security cameras. There would be no accusations of entrapment... at least none that would stand up in court. As they walked, Yang was on her scroll, reporting her bike as stolen, after she'd loaned it to a friend.

They arrived at the cafe, a run-down joint with a passable excuse for coffee. Taiyang was waiting for them, and Holly had just arrived. It took a careful eye to spot her as she descended from the rooftops. Recon trained how to conserve magic. Even without her shield, she knew how to stay hidden. Ruby was... less than stealthy. Zipping into the cafe in a burst of rose petals and barely contained excitement.

"Eeeee! This is so cool!" she all but bounces on her heels. "It's like we're in a spy movie!"

"Can someone tell me what we're waiting for?" Yang growled.

"He's not going to do anything until business picks up," Artemis says. "At this hour the noise won't drown out power tools. He needs more people and louder music, and we need these timestamps to look right..." He checks his watch. "Alright, you text your dad while I set up the Hunter job. Holly, did you get the footage?"

She grinned. "I did, and it's hilarious... all the same, I'm glad we didn't need plan B."

Ruby smiled, just happy to be included. "Dad, you should have seen her! She was all low and crouched like a ninja..." Taiyang chuckled as she playacted the scene while humming a spy movie theme.

Artemis cleared his throat to interrupt the show. "Alright Mr. Xiao Long, the job's in place, and your daughter's just asked for your help.

The retired hunter tapped his scroll, searching by the agreed keywords. In a minute, Artemis' scroll chimed as the job was claimed.

"Alright, looks like everything's gone off without a hitch... timestamps are quick but not suspicious, police should be en route... so, three minutes to cue, Mr. Xiao Long."

"Kid, I gotta hand it to you, this was pretty slick." Taiyang said. "You ever consider hunting? There's still time to enroll at Signal for the next semester."

"Sir, I assure you, I'm not the heroic type," Artemis said.

"Oh I believe it, you got yourself in an interesting predicament... but you came out smelling like a rose. Hunters need brains just as much as brawn." Taiyang countered. Artemis opened his mouth to retort, but Taiyang continued. "And besides, even if you drop out, at least you'll learn how to throw a punch. There's more to training than being a hero."

Artemis' next words caught in his throat. He sagged slightly, for a moment, again feeling Butler's pressing absence. Taiyang was right... even if he got another bodyguard, he'd never find someone like Butler. Both his training and his trust ran too deep to ever replace. He sighed. "And I'm sure this is in no way an attempt to keep an eye on me?"

"Well, maybe a little," Taiyang chuckled. "But my point stands. You're not the type to take things lying down... sooner or later, you're going to cross paths with someone just like you."

Holly and Artemis shared a look, their various misadventures flowing through their minds. Spiro, Koboi, that disaster with Minerva... the man had a salient point.

"I'll... take it under advisement." Artemis said. "Twenty seconds, Mr. Xiao Long."

~o~o~

Taiyang strolled into the nightclub, completely ignoring the line. When Melanie tried to stop him, he held up his scroll with his Hunter License on display.
"Just some quick business, won't be long."

She paled when she read his last name. Not that anyone could tell through the makeup. She shoved one of the goons onto line duty, and started texting her sister. This was going to go very bad, very quickly.

Taiyang took a seat at the bar, flagging down Junior's attention.

"Jotun please. And leave the bottle," he said with saccharine cheer.

Junior pulled down the cold bottle of dust-infused whiskey. Jotun was expensive stuff, infused with ice dust that rendered it a permanent high proof slushie. He poured a tall shot for the hunter.
"Celebrating something?" Junior asked.

"Not really," Taiyang smirked as he knocked back the bracing shot. "Whoof! Strong stuff! Like putting out a campfire with a blizzard." He pulled out his scroll again, and queued up a very recent video file. "Just got a quick question for you... you know anything about this?"

He held up his scroll, and the file played from the moment that his fist knocked the Fowl brat clear off the screen. It showed him picking up the keys, and barking orders to his men. It ended as the camera followed one of his goons with the bike down the alley and into the garage where he took deliveries. The blood in Junior's veins ran colder with every second.

"Boys!" Junior choked. "Throw this asshole out!"

Taiyang smiled warmly, picking up the bottle of whiskey by the neck as one of Junior's men rushed him with a red machete... Taiyang was faster.

With an echo of breaking glass and crystallized dust, the bottle cracked and swelled as the goon went skidding across the dance floor. Yellow aura flowed across the shape growing from the bottle, until it was wrapped around a frozen claymore, serrated with broken glass. Junior reached under the counter for his bat, just as the sirens started closing in.

Suddenly, Junior was awake. His head was splitting with pain as he sat up in an unfamiliar bed... a cot. He looked around, the lights were dim, a digital clock displayed some time after one am, but he couldn't quite see through the bars... bars!? A toilet and a sink were to his right, no mirror. Moonlight streamed in through a window that a child couldn't squeeze through. And on the far side of a wall of bars, sitting smugly in a chair with his legs crossed, was Artemis Fowl.

"Good morning Mr. Xiong." He grinned, in spite of a split lip. "Let's discuss business."

Author's Note:
Credit for 'Jotun Whiskey' goes to Hysterical Clerical Hijinks from the story Remnant's Reclaimer. It was an idea that was too good not to use before I came up with a whole lot more significance for it. Don't worry, we'll pour another shot in much later chapters.