Artemis Fowl: The Unpredictable Future

Chapter 3: Thank You Artemis

Fulton towered above Artemis and Holly as he looked down at them. "Well the famous Fowl boy has graced me with his presence."

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be well known, Artemis thought to himself. He composed himself as he stood up, being barely up to the centaur's chest. "If you know who I am, then you know how well connected I am. If you allow us to leave, then you have my word that you will not face any repercussions."

A dark-haired sprite flew from behind Fulton and grabbed Holly, tying her back up. Artemis made a subtle gesture to her, signaling her to not resist. "Wait." The sprite turned to look at the boy, "I thought I threw you out earlier. How did you get back down here?"

Artemis gave him a cold glare, noticing the sprite had a bruised cheek and busted lip that had to have happened recently. Leave it to Holly to go down swinging. He looked down at Holly, giving her a reassuring look before turning his attention back to Fulton. He appeared to be the one behind the, what should have been, predictable inconvenience.

"Honestly, you were supposed to be taken too. It really is hard to find good help these days." He narrowed his eyes at the Sprite. "Can't really be having a witness running around during a kidnapping you dolt. What were you thinking?" He shook his head and returned his attention to the boy, "The LEP will pay a generously for their precious officer. You on the other hand, I figured a good mesmering would suffice. But now I'm not so sure. Why did you come back down here anyway instead of leaving for help?"

"To... save the Elf, of course. I'd have to be as clueless as your Sprite here to ask for human help for my fairy companion."

"Fairy companion? I had no clue they allowed relationships like that here. Either way, I suppose I should thank you for saving me the trouble."

The sprite looked at Holly before taking a closer look at Artemis. "Good one boss. I gotta tell the others about this later. An elf and her human pet, what a sight."

Artemis straightened his tie, unaware that he was visibly showing annoyance and embarrassment. "She is not my girlfriend," he said sternly.

Fulton appeared to be amused. "Then why did you come to save her?"

"Because she is my friend. I most definitely do not wish any harm to befall her. Assuming your band of magical accomplices share any sort of code or perhaps even friendship with each other, I am sure even you could understand. Or perhaps you haven't had the luxury to even gain the respect of your underlings, seeing how this one failed to kidnap me as well as keep me out." Artemis kept his composure. Normally, his witty banter was enough to make most adversaries buckle beneath him. Of course, his witty banter was normally reinforced with Butler standing behind him, giving intimidating glares. A luxury he desperately wished was present at this very moment.

Fulton was almost speechless as this little human child, thought he could persuade him to let them go; at least, that's what he believed the mud boy was trying to say. He motioned at the sprite holding Holly, "Charlie, I think it goes without saying that you should've tied up our new guest by now. I know this is all new to you, but please try to remain useful." Charlie sat Holly down and grabbed Artemis' hands, tying them behind his back before doing the same to his feet.

"Now, you be a good boy and maybe we'll give you a bucket to use the bathroom in." Charlie chuckled as he quickly wrapped a cloth around the human boys' mouth.

Artemis tried to speak, but then only gave his captors a cold look after failing to do so.

The sprite put his hand behind his ear to try and listen better. "Oh, I'm sorry. What was that, mud rat?"

Fulton huffed out a laugh. "Alright Charlie, let's finish packing up and leave these two lovebirds alone." The centaur and sprite turned around and exited through a door that lead deeper into the catacomb.