The centaur chuckled. 'Very true. That's the thing about politics, you get one shot.'

Gudgeon was semi-interested in spite of himself.

'I know if it was me,' continued Foaly, 'and I had one chance, just one chance, to book my behind a seat on that Council, I certainly wouldn't entrust my future to a troll.'

And suddenly Gudgeon's new-found confidence evaporated, replaced by a shiny pallor. He wiped his brow, hurrying after the departing hovercage.

'See you tomorrow,' Foaly called after him. 'You'll be taking out my trash.'

Root laughed. Possibly the first time one of Foaly's comments had amused him.

'Good man, Foaly.' He grinned. 'Hit that back-stabber where it hurts, right in the ambition.'

'Thanks, Julius.'

The grin disappeared faster than a deep-fried pit slug in the LEP canteen.

'I've warned you about the Julius thing, Foaly. Now get that outside line open again. I want that gold ready when Gudgeon's plan goes awry. Lobby all my supporters on the Council. I'm pretty sure Lope's one of mine, and Cahartez, possibly Vinyaya. She's always had a thing for me, devilishly attractive as I am.'

'You're joking, of course.'

'I never joke,' said Root, and he said it with a straight face.

Holly had a plan, of sorts. Sneak around shielded, reclaim some fairy weaponry, then cause havoc until Fowl was forced to release her.

And if several million Irish pounds' worth of property damage happened to ensue, well, that was just a bonus.

Holly hadn't felt so good in years. Her eyes blazed with power and there were sparks sizzling below every centimetre of skin. She had forgotten just how good running hot felt.

Captain Short felt in control now, on the hunt. This was what she was trained to do. When this affair had started, the advantage had been with the Mud People. But now the boot was on the other foot.

She was the hunter and they were the prey.

Holly scaled the great staircase, ever vigilant for the giant manservant. That was one individual she wasn't taking any chances with. If those fingers closed around her skull, she was history, helmet or not, assuming she managed to find a helmet.

The vast house was like a mausoleum — without a single sign of life inside its vaulted rooms. Spooky portraits though. Each one with Fowl eyes, suspicious and glittering. Holly determined to torch the lot of them when she recovered her Neutrino 2000. Vindictive perhaps, but totally justified considering what Artemis Fowl had put her through.

She scaled the steps swiftly, following the curve around to the upper landing. A slot of pale light peeped from under the last door on the corridor. Holly placed her palm against the wood, feeling for vibration. Activity all right. Shouting and footsteps. Thundering this way.

Holly jumped back, flattening herself against the velveteen wallpaper. Not a moment too soon. A hulking shape burst through the doorway and hurtled down the corridor, leaving a maelstrom of air currents in his wake.

'Juliet!' he shouted, his sister's name hanging in the air long after he had disappeared down the stairs.

Don't worry, Butler, thought Holly. She's having the time of her life glued to Wrestlemania.

But the open door presented a welcome opportunity. She slipped through before the mechanical arm could close it again.

Artemis Fowl was waiting, anti-shield filters cobbled on to his sunglasses.

'Good evening, Captain Short,' he began, confidence apparently intact. 'At the risk of sounding clichйd, I've been expecting you.'

Holly didn't respond, didn't even look her jailer in the eye.

Instead she utilized her training to scan the room, her gaze resting briefly on each surface.

'You are, of course, still bound by the promises made earlier tonight…'

But Holly wasn't listening, she was sprinting towards a stainless-steel workbench bolted to the far wall.

'So, basically, our situation hasn't changed. You are still my hostage.'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' muttered Holly, running her fingers over the rows of confiscated Retrieval equipment. She selected a stealth-coated helmet, slipping it over her pointed ears. The pneumatic pads pumped to cradle her crown. She was safe now. Any further commands given by Fowl meant nothing through the reflective visor. A wire mike slotted down automatically. Contact was immediate.

'… on revolving frequencies. Broadcasting on revolving frequencies. Holly, if you can hear me, take cover.'

Holly recognized Foaly's voice. Something familiar in a crazy situation.

'Repeat.Take cover. Gudgeon is sending in a…'

'Something I should know?' said Artemis.

'Quiet,' hissed Holly, worried by the tone of Foaly's usually flippant voice.

'I say again, they are sending in a troll to secure your release.'

Holly started. Gudgeon was calling the shots now. Not good news at all.

Fowl interrupted again.

206'It's not polite, you know. Ignoring your host.'

Holly snarled. 'Enough is enough.'

She pulled back her fist, fingers curled in a tight bunch. Artemis didn't flinch. Why would he? Butler always intervened before punches landed. But then something caught his eye, a large figure running down the stairway on the first-floor monitor. It was Butler.

'That's right, rich boy,' said Holly nastily. 'You're on your own this time.'

And before Artemis's eyes had time to widen, Holly put an extra few kilos of spring in her elbow and whacked her abductor right on the nose.

'Oof,' he said, collapsing on to his rear end.

'Oh yes! That felt good.'

Holly focused on the voice buzzing in her ear.

'… we've been feeding a loop to the outside cameras, so the humans won't see anything come up the avenue. But it's on the way, trust me.'

'Foaly. Foaly, come in.'

'Holly? Is that you?'

'The one and only. Foaly, there is no loop. I can see everything that's going on around here.'

'The cunning little… He must have rebooted the system.'

The avenue was a hive of fairy activity. Gudgeon was there, haughtily directing his team of sprites. And in the centre of the melee stood a five-metre-tall hovercage, floating on a cushion of air. The cage was directly before the manor door, and the techies were securing a concussor seal to the surrounding wall. When activated, several alloy rods in the seal's collar would be detonated simultaneously, effectively disintegrating the door. When the dust settled, the troll would have only one place to go: into the manor.

Holly checked the other monitors. Butler had managed to drag Juliet from the cell. They had ascended from the cellar level and were just crossing the lobby. Right in the line of fire.

'D'Arvit,' she swore, crossing to the work surface.

Artemis was propped on his elbows.

'You hit me,' he said in disbelief.

Holly strapped on a set of Hummingbirds.

'That's right, Fowl. And there's plenty more where that came from. So stay right where you are, if you know what's good for you.'

For once in his life, Artemis realized that he didn't have a snappy answer. He opened his mouth, waiting for his brain to supply the customary pithy comeback. But nothing arrived.

Holly slipped the Neutrino 2000 into its holster.

'That's right, Mud Boy. Playtime's over. Time for the professionals to take over. If you're a good boy I'll buy you a lolly when I come back.'

And when Holly was long gone, soaring beneath the hallway's ancient oak beams, Artemis said, 'I don't like lollipops.'

It was a woefully inadequate response, and Artemis was instantly appalled with himself. Pathetic really: I don't like lollipops.

No self-respecting criminal mastermind would be caught dead even using the word lollipops. He really would have to put together a database of witty responses for occasions such as this.