The Arctic Incident

Artemis selected a fairy handgun from the shuttle’s arsenal. He jacked the battery into its slot, flicking the setting up to three.

“Don’t worry about me, Commander. I’ve been practicing. We have quite a stash of LEP weaponry at the manor.”

Root’s complexion cranked up one more notch.

“Well, there’s a big difference between stunning a cardboard cutout and a real person.”

Artemis smiled his vampire smile. “If everything proceeds according to plan, there will be no need for weapons. The first stage is simplicity itself; we set up a surveillance post near Vassikin’s apartment. When the opportunity arises, Butler will snatch our Russian friend and the five of us can have a little chat. I’m sure that he will tell us everything we need to know under the influence of your mesmer. Then, it will be a simple matter to stun any guards and rescue my father.”

Root pulled a heavy scarf over his mouth. “And what if things don’t go according to plan?”

Artemis’s eyes were cold and determined.

“Then, Commander, we will have to improvise.”

Holly felt a shiver rattle around her stomach. And it was nothing to do with the climate.

The terminal was buried fifty feet below an ice pack. They took the courtesy elevator to the surface, and the party emerged into the Arctic night looking for all the world like an adult and three children. Albeit three children with inhuman weaponry clanking under every loose fold of cloth.

Holly checked the GPS locator on her wrist.

“We’re in the Rosta district, Commander. Twenty klicks north of Murmansk.”

“What’s Foaly got on the weather? I don’t want to be caught in the middle of a blizzard twenty miles from our destination.”

“No luck. I can’t get a line. Magma flares must still be up.”

“D’Arvit,” swore Root. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to take our chances on foot. Butler you’re the expert here, you take point. Captain Short, bring up the rear. Feel free to boot any human backside if it lags behind.”

Holly winked at Artemis. “No need to tell me twice, sir.”

“I’ll bet there isn’t,” grunted Root, with only the barest hint of a smile playing about his lips.

The motley band trudged southeast by moonlight until they reached the railway line. Walking along the sleepers was the only way they could be safe from drifts and suck holes. Progress was slow. A northerly wind snaked through every pore in their clothing, and the cold attacked any exposed skin like a million electric darts.

There was little conversation. The Arctic had that effect on people, even if three of them were wearing coil-heated suits.

Holly broke the silence. Something had been nagging at her for some time.

“Tell me something, Fowl,” she said from behind the boy. “Your father. Is he like you?”

Artemis’s step faltered for an instant. “That’s a strange question. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’re no friend to the People. What if the man we’re trying to rescue is the man who will destroy us?”

There was silence for a long time, except for the chattering of teeth. Holly saw Artemis’s chin drop onto his chest.

“You have no cause to be alarmed, Captain. My father, though some of his ventures were undoubtedly illegal, was . . . is . . . a noble man. The idea of harming another creature would be repugnant to him.”

Holly tugged her boot from eight inches of snow. “So, what happened to you?”

Artemis’s breath bloomed in icy clouds over his shoulder. “I . . . I made a mistake.”

Holly squinted at the back of the human’s head. Was this actual sincerity from Artemis Fowl? It was hard to believe. Even more surprising was the fact that she didn’t know how to react—to extend the hand of forgiveness, or the boot of retribution. Eventually she decided to reserve judgment. For the moment.

They passed into a ravine, worn smooth by the whistling wind. Butler didn’t like it. His soldier’s sense was beating a tattoo on the inside of his skull. He raised a clenched fist.

Root double his pace to catch up.

“Trouble?”

Butler squinted into the snow field, searching for footprints. “Maybe. Nice spot for a surprise attack.”

“Maybe. If anyone knew we were coming.”

“Is that possible? Could someone know?”

Root snorted, breath forming clouds in the air before him.

“Impossible. The chute is totally isolated, and LEP security is the tightest on the planet.”

And that was when the goblin hit squad soared over the ridge.

Butler grabbed Artemis by the collar, unceremoniously flinging him into a drift. His other hand was already drawing his weapon.

“Keep your head down, Artemis. Time for me to earn my salary.”

Artemis would have responded testily, had his head not been under three feet of snow.

There were four goblins flying in loose formation, dark against the starlit sky. They quickly rose to a thousand feet, making no attempt to conceal their presence. They neither attacked nor fled, simply hovered overhead.