Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

The second book in the Artemis Fowl series, and packed with adventure and action like the first one. Artemis Fowl's father has disappeared in the Arctic circle, because the Russian Mafia had sunk his ship in the Kola bay, along with 250,000 cans of coke. Artemis Fowl senior was planning to make a fortune in selling coke, which the Mafia didn't want. So they sunk his ship and captured him. The Mafia had sent Artemis the bait video, then, after a few days, the ransom demand. They then moved Artemis Fowl senior to the drop point, a highly radiation poisoned area, where they were supposed to give over the hostage and collect the money.

But Artemis Fowl the second knew it wasn't going to be that easy. “The Mafia is smart, so we must be smarter,” he had told Butler, his bodyguard, and Holly, his elfin friend. But underground, in the elf city of Haven, the goblins have started a rebellion, blowing up LEP (Lower Elements Police) buildings and strongholds.

Worse still, some human contact above ground has been supplying the goblins with AAA batteries for their Softnose laser guns. Just imagine: the stupidest creatures above and below ground, armed with supposedly outlawed laser weapons.

Of course, Butler easily finds the human contact, a not very successful Private Eye named Luc Carrère, living in Paris in his cheap apartment. Luc nearly shot Butler, but Butler deflected the shot with a bulletproof vest.