Chapter 4

Schemes

Root sat under the camera in his cell, aware that it could still only see his boots. He had preferred to not be watched lately, and the underside of the camera provided a fairly good blind spot. Unfortunately, the camera was rotated every fifteen minutes to the nearest source of heat, so he didn't have much time where he was.

As the elf shifted position ever so slightly, his ribs gave an ominous creak, reminding him of his grim condition. The two hired men had beaten him up pretty badly, shattering several of his teeth, bruising his collarbone, and breaking a few more ribs. It was sheer good luck that the sharp ends of the bones hadn't hit anything vital, but Julius was aware that they could if he moved them wrong. He had torn up the tunic beneath his LEP uniform to make a rough bandage, setting the bones himself in what he fervently hoped were roughly the right positions before tying the strips of cloth tightly about his torso-an operation that had taken most of his courage to perform. A simple movement alone hurt enough: to actually purposefully try and move the ribs in order to set them was pure agony. But he had gritted his teeth and done it, careful to make sure that only a faint groan of pain passed his lips. He didn't want to give his jailer the satisfaction of seeing him hurt.

But in fact, he had been on the brink of giving up before the call from Haven had come in. The sound of his officers' voices had pierced through the haze of pain and confusion surrounding his brain and cleared his mind, which had not stopped whirring since Foaly, Holly, and Trouble had reluctantly said good-bye. The fact that they had used up the one call they had had admittedly lowered the commander's spirits, but the knowledge that the LEP was not giving up on him gave him the drive to begin the makings of a plan.

So far, the possibilities were very few, to say it bluntly. The door through which the two Americans had entered was one-way only, and of course there were no windows or other forms of entry or exit throughout the tiny room. Julius had absolutely no idea where he was geographically, or who his captors were besides the two men he had already met. Though they were, of course, American, it was doubtful that the mastermind behind this plot (whom Julius figured to be The Voice over the intercom) would expose natives to the prisoner himself.

Root was staring hard at his left boot, deep in thought, when one wall stretched in a human shape again. Dreading what was to come, Julius took several deep breaths, tightening his bandages without realizing fully what he was doing. A small, hopeful corner of his brain was praying that the humans about to enter the room would not be Vince and Dex, but the pessimistic part had already confirmed the fact by the time they entered. Julius glared defiantly at them, unwilling to show any sort of fear. Dex seemed to find this quite amusing.

"Hey, look, Vince, we beat him like a dawg an' he still doesn't seem t'get it," the big man drawled, cracking his knuckles meaningfully.

"Yeah, he needs to learn some respect," Vince agreed with a grin glittering with cheap fillings. "Just one punch…?"

Julius was surprised and relieved to see Dex shaking his bald head ruefully.

"Nah, the boss says we gotta let him out peaceful-like, but if he tries anything, we can teach him a few things." Dex sniggered. "So fairy, go ahead and try me. Let's see whatcha got."

Root's face grew a shade redder as he replied, "Give me back my gear, Mud Idiot, and you'll see a few things you won't forget in a hurry. If you even knew where my gear was."

Dex leaned forward and casually punched the commander on the nose. Julius recoiled and grimaced at the blood running sluggishly down his face. He lifted a hand to wipe it away, but Vince, who had come up behind his partner, caught his arm and expertly twisted it behind his back, binding his other hand tightly to it with a length of twine as Dex pushed his meaty face up close to Julius's now-bloodstained one, his foul breath puffing into the elf's face.

"Let me get somefin' straight, fairy: I could take you with one hand. Face it-without your little pals, you're nothing. A loser. An' secondly, I know your gear's in the boss's lab, so don't tell me I don't know summat when I do."

Vince dragged his colleague away, face screwed up with disgust. "Yew idiot!" he yelled. "Now he knows somet'ing! Shuddup unless you got any other things t'spill, doofus."

Dex frowned. He didn't like being called names. "Hey, watch it, pal," the bigger man growled. "I kin take you too, and by the time I'm through, the fairy man here is gonna look like the picture of health, if you know what I mean."

They quarreled about who was capable of "taking" who for another minute or so before getting back on task. Vince grabbed one of Root's shoulders roughly and shoved him towards the door, which he pressed his hand against for a few seconds until the steel glowed green where his palm touched. Julius, who had been unconscious when the two left after their first visit, watched carefully, but was disappointed to see the procedure: the exit was obviously programmed to accept certain DNA strands. Before Vince pushed through, he pulled a dirty rag from one pocket and, before Root could realize what was happening, blindfolded the captive and pushed him through the stretching steel.

Realizing they had made a mistake in allowing him to go first, the commander stepped off to one side quickly, hoping against hope that he was at least partially concealed, seeing as he couldn't look for himself. His hopes were dashed, however, when Dex's callused palm gripped the back of his neck and steered him down some hidden stretch of hallway. Julius tried to keep track of how many turns they made, but without his usual aide of vision, the task was nearly impossible. He soon gave up and allowed himself to be guided, keeping quiet so his other senses could pick up any useful information.

Finally, Julius heard a door open, and he was directed through. Vince's voice, strangely respectful all of a sudden, came from behind and to the left of him.

"We brought 'im, boss."

A cold voice which Root instantly recognized as The Voice from back in his cell came from deeper in the room, and he had to fight to suppress a slight shiver. "Did he give you any trouble?"

The voice that answered was Dex's. "Just his smart mouth at the start, but we shut him up like you told us to."

The Voice sighed patiently. "I told you not to damage him any more than necessary, Dex. He's already in bad condition as it is-I thought I told you specifically to not extend the interrogation as long as you did. What do you think I'm paying you for? He's an absolute mess: that blood will stain the carpet, too!"

"Sorry, boss."

"You should be. Now, take off the blindfold: there is no need for secrecy here, nor restraints. Then leave us."

The LEP's commander braced himself as the rag around his eyes and the twine circling his wrists were undone and light flooded his senses. He blinked several times before realizing he was in a recreation of some sort of trophy room that humans seemed to care so much for: the walls were decorated with the stuffed heads of various endangered species from around the world, and the walls were a high quality wood that matched the tasteful interior decorating, which included a pool table in one corner and several matching pieces of furniture huddled near the massive fireplace. But when his vision cleared completely, Julius had eyes only for his captor.

He was a tall man in his fifties, trim and fit despite his age with dark hair streaked with silver. He wore a plain yet fashionable brown suit complete with Oxford loafers, and a pair of spectacles about his neck. To the casual observer, he could have been any ordinary businessman from a wide variety of countries, but Root could tell from the cold glint in his steel gray eyes that this Mud Man was much more than he seemed. More in a very bad way.

When his hired men had cleared the room, the gentleman sat down in a fat armchair with its back to the fire. He smiled pleasantly at the elf standing near the door and gestured to a couch, obviously indicating that he should sit.

"I'll stand," his prisoner said shortly. He had no desire to sit on the illegal fur that cushioned the seat.

"Sit down." It was a command, not a request, and the Book dictated that a fairy must follow a human's wishes while in his dwelling. With an internal sigh, Root sat, keeping his torso stiff so as not to damage his ribs any further.

"I do apologize for the way Dexter and Vincent treated you," the man said, his gaze traveling over his captive. "They were not intended to hurt you any more than necessary."

Ignoring this obviously untrue statement, Root went right to the point. "What's your reason for keeping me here, human? I'm tired of getting interrogated, as you put it, when I don't know why you want the information."

The man nodded. "I see you are an elf of action, my friend. That reminds me-what did you say your name was, from one of our lovely conversations?"

"I didn't, and I'm not your friend." Root's hard gaze bored into his captor's.

Sighing, the human said, "Well, if you must insist on the 'tough guy act', to put it crudely, we can skip that information. I, too, am hesitant to give my full title, but for now you may call me Master."

Root bristled, his temper flaring. "Oh yes? Just who do you think you are, Mud Man? Do you have any idea what you're up against?"

"Actually, I do," said the man calmly and casually. "I've learned quite a lot about you from this." He waved a handful of papers that had been at the small table at his side. "Artemis Fowl's complete records of 'The People', as you call yourselves. I've been monitoring his dealings with you until you mind-wiped him-fascinating technology, simply fascinating, by the way-and it was quite easy to hack into his database and copy his files concerning your kind before your tech wizard, Foaly, deleted them all. Standard procedure, I understand."

Julius said nothing, allowing this information to sink in. This was disastrous if the human was actually telling the truth-which, it sounded like, he was. He frowned. "Foaly said it was easier than he expected to get into Fowl's files…" he said slowly, half to himself.

"Of course, of course," the dark-haired man replied cheerfully. "I loosened the security a bit when I tapped into his hard drives. Quite amusing, that little Artemis Fowl, don't you think? So, you know Foaly, do you? That would make you…hmm…perhaps Commander Root, or Captain Kelp?"

Root froze, furious at himself. He had let something slip. Carefully, he returned the inquiring stare, unwilling to say more.

Now the man was shuffling through his papers. After a moment's pause, he held aloft a regular Polaroid in delight, smiling like a small child with a new toy. "Here-a frame from one of his security recordings. You're the one he had a conference with, the commander. Welcome, then, Commander Root."

Grinding his teeth furiously as his coloring darkened a shade that wobbled dangerously close to crimson, the recognized commander hung his head in defeat.

"Now we can have a proper conversation," the human purred triumphantly. "Well, you were wondering about my reason for having you here. You see, I head a very important industry-mining. I mine all sorts of elements, from gold to uranium, and, as you can tell from my facilities, I have gathered quite an extent of funds. Enough to be able to think ahead."

Julius lifted his head sharply, wincing as the sudden movement jarred his ribs. Despite the pain, he was all ears.

"It has always been my ambition to be the best of the best, the top, the head," the man continued, now gazing into the fire. "I've been doing some thinking, and from what I figure, such a position cannot be merely the president of a successful mining company." He lifted his head, and for a moment his eyes burned as if the very flame he had been staring at had been transferred into his gaze. "Such a position is leader of the world."

Unimpressed by the dramatic effect the human had hoped to cause, Root raised an eyebrow, folding his arms gingerly over his injured chest.

"Absurd, I know," the gentleman laughed softly, turning his eyes back to the fireplace. "Or so it sounds. As unattainable as it may seem, I believe my carefully thought out plan can take me there. Name me any two things I would need to conquer the world, anything."

The commander thought it over. There was no harm in answering, so he said, "I'd say money and troops. You'd need a lot of both, though."

"Precisely," replied that cool voice. "Money for me is not a problem: I am one of the richest men in the world. Troops, however, are. I have workers who man my mines, of course, but their numbers are not enough. With twice the people, I could first clear my mines of materials to use for weaponry, and then be able to march on any country I chose. There would be great loss of life, I know, but I have no personal attachments to the people I have chosen to become the other half of my army."

A cold wind passed over Julius's heart as he realized what the Mud Man meant. "No," he breathed, unable to believe it.

"Yes!" The man said, up and pacing in his fever now, his steps fast and heavy. "The fairies. Smaller, no doubt, than the common man, but tough, hardy, intelligent, and armed with advanced technology that can help my dream become realized. When I realized what Artemis Fowl was up to, I had an opportunity, and I took it. You see, I have greater armaments than any machine your race can come up with: I know you, know your strengths and weaknesses, and, most of all, I know how to control you. I've even proved it-you're sitting here, aren't you?"

The awful realization that the Mud Man was telling the truth hit home, and Julius slumped in his seat as terrible images flashed through his mind. Fairies forced to labor in the bowels of the earth, destroying the planet in order to obtain deadly substances, exposed to hard work, extreme temperatures, lack of oxygen, and abuse. The People carrying modified weapons into battle against their own will, being shot down by humans who vastly outnumbered them, who scorned them and took pleasure in killing them. And eventually, a broken people being slaughtered when they were no longer of any use to this man, this evil being who sat in front of him and so calmly outlined this chaos.

All his fault. If he hadn't been captured, none of this could happen.

"I won't tell you anything!" he snarled, eyes blazing hatred. "I'd rather die than betray the People. I'd rather die."

The man stared at him for a long time, quite expressionless, eyes fixed on the elf who was glaring daggers back. Finally, he said softly, "That will come eventually, commander. And before it does, you'll tell. You'll be begging for death in the end, screaming for mercy, spilling your precious secrets just to make the pain stop. Just to make you die. And then, before I kill you, we'll talk again, and we'll see how willing you are you cooperate at that point."

He raised his voice so that the two bodyguards outside could hear. "Dexter! Vincent! Take the prisoner back to his cell."

Julius Root stood, a dangerous smile on his face, ignoring the two hired men who burst into the room and made a beeline for him. Pulling free of their grip for a moment, he stepped forward so his face was inches away from his captor's and said through gritted teeth, "I may die, but anything I have to say will die with me, fool. You may know the laws of the fairies, but you don't know the hearts of their people. I'll see you in hell when your plan fails, scum, and I won't be helpless then."

It was then that Vince brought a punishing fist down on his head, and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Readers, you will be glad to know I have already planned out the rescue attempt and written possibly the sweetest, cutest little chapter of my work. I was nearly crying while attempting to sneak it in American History seventh period.

Holly Short: Thanks so much for your wonderful review: I was quite touched by your comments and will definitely follow up on that. Sorry for my inactivity up at the 'Fowl Awards there, will return...

the Thirteenth Councilor: Hello once again! Thanks for taking the time to read my other stories, I really appreciate it. Hope you found Chapter 4 interesting...it's the evil plan! Mwahaha! (Note I put some serious thought into The Evil Plan, don't criticize it now or I may have to break Julius out and send him to you with a large gun)

Julius: So-you mean I get to be let out?

Me: Sorry, pal, it's right back in the slammer before Chapter 5 comes out...

Emaris: Why, thank you, welcome to my weird little world-so glad you enjoyed my story. Please do review again.

Until next time, ladies an' gents-

Huzzah for Julius! Let's hope he didn't break anything else!