Chapter Two: Aboveground

2105
Fowl Manor, Ireland

The much-discussed Artemis Fowl sat lost in thought. For the eighteenth time that day, he ran his fingers through his hair. For once in his life, he was completely confused. He didn't know what to do. He rolled Holly and his conversation over in his mind.

"I'm half-human. My father was a mud person; he also died two hundred and eighty years ago. My mother's family had, long, long ago, been poisoned by a different mud-blood. He found my great- great-great-great-great-you get the picture-grand mother by accident. He was a scientist, and had been trying to make an army of perfect humans to fight the Egyptians (long story). He fed my Grandmother his 'poison' and from then on, it's been passed down through the generations. The only drawback to this formula is it cuts back on the fairy’s life span. We were just a bit stronger, just a bit quicker and died just a bit early. Eventually though, our bodies adapted and I'll probably live the normal lifespan."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"As I said before, you sold LEP information to the Goblins! They’re all over the surface! And don’t pretend you don’t know what that means. We need to get them under control before a war breaks out.

"I'm not an only child. My mother gave birth to another daughter three minutes after me. Her name was Elizabeth, we called her Beth. Unfortunately, she took after my father. She was much too large, with white skin. If anyone found out about this, my mother would have been in a serious trouble. She froze Beth in a chemical designed by Foaly. It kept Beth alive, but unconscious. Mother and Foaly stole her away to what was, at the time, just plain ‘London’, where they left her in the Underground. They couldn't really leave a hunk of ice with a two-year-old girl in it on someone's doorstep. Mother died three months later. This all happened the same year my father died.

"If we could find her...Foaly kept tabs on her up until a year or so ago. She's an Inspector for New Scotland Yard. That's relatively high on the food chain. She’d have information and most likely the means to round up the Goblins. Foaly and I, however, can't simply walk into to New London and get her. We'd be terribly obvious and Foaly needs to stay in the Haven because he runs what’s left of the computer network. So, Artemis, you started this. Do you really want the world to be thrown into war?"

Artemis sighed. "Why don’t you just put up a time-stop?"

'Um, well, let’s see, shall we? Those passwords you sold blocked our power supply as well as downed our computer system." Holly glared. "Just like you knew they would. Anyways, the point here is we need a human help to find my sister. You don’t have the connections, and, even if you do, in truth, I really don’t trust you. Not anymore."

"And so you expect me to help?"

The Leprechaun was right. Even if he hadn’t started this mess, he owed Holly for his father. Though the faery’s lack of trust in him was rather disappointing. Besides, he didn't want World War III.

The darker side of his mind spoke up. Why should he care if there was another world war? It would be good for business. Again, Holly's furious eyes flashed before him. He sighed. He'd never liked war, never seen the point in the mass murder of innocents.

Pushing out all other thoughts out of his head, Artemis made up his mind. Opening his laptop, he sent an e-mail to Foaly:

I've bought two tickets to New London. Please (he'd debated over that word) tell Holly to meet me at Fowl Manor tomorrow at seven p.m. Send me a description of Beth; I'll look her up.

-Artemis Fowl

After sending it, he went and bought those two tickets.

*******

At six o’clock in the evening of the next day, Foaly showed the e-mail to Holly. The first thing that entered his mind was: So the kid’s showing his true colours, eh?

"Your gear's in the closet on left, by the TV screen. I'll go get an iris cam." Foaly was as happy as Holly and doing just as badly at hiding it.

*******

They met as planned. Artemis handed Holly a ticket silently.

"I'm glad you've come to your senses, Master Fowl."

"War leaves people poor and unable to invest. It lowers the economy and therefore my trade," Artemis replied stiffly.

"Of course."