Hey mates!! So I'm one of the hugest Artful Dodger fans ever…and I just hate how you never really know what happens to him. So I decided to write a sequel book about him, very, very loosely based on the TV show Escape of the Artful Dodger. This is it…Enjoy!! Oh, and before I forget…REVIEW!!!

Oh, and Dodger is supposed to be fifteen to sixteen-ish in this. His character is based off of Elijah Wood's Dodger in the 1997 Oliver Twist and Luke O'Loughlin's Dodger from the TV series Escape of the Artful Dodger. He can look however you picture him, though!! XXD

Disclaimer: Do I look like Charles Dickens?? No, I do not.

The Artful Escape

Chapter One: Jack Be Nimble (Intro Chapter)

"I think there are startin' to be more than twenty-four 'ours in a day," Jack Dawkins, or the Artful Dodger if you prefer, groaned, leaning against his cell door and facing Maynard, the old man he shared the jail cell with.

"Naw, it just feels like that once you've been in here so long," Maynard said. "But count yerself lucky, kid. After tomorrow you'll headed to Australia. That has to better than this stink-house."

"Yeah, I'll be 'eadin' to Australia, alrigh'. To a work camp. Not exactly 'ow I wanted to spend the rest of my life," Dodger mumbled, flopping onto the lumpy cot he was forced to sleep on. He took a deep breath and glanced over at the older man from under the brim of his infamous tophat. "Maynard, wot would you say if I was to tell you I'm gonna escape tomorrow?"

The old man looked at Dodger with an unreadable expression for a moment before leaning foward and putting his wrinkled hands on his knees. "My boy, I'd say that was the smartest thing I've ever heard in these four cell walls. How do you plan to go about it?"

Dodger's mouth twitched into his signature crooked smile and titled his hat back. "It'll be emarassin'ly easy. There's gonna be so many people on that dock and the traps will be busy with leadin' all us convicts to the boat, they won't notice if one of us 'accidentaly' gets lost in the crowd."

Maynard hobbled over to Dodger and but a hand on his shoulder. "Jack," (only Maynard was allowed to call him that in Dodger's book), "That plan is easy. And I know you hate simple plans, but this is the most effective simple plan I've ever heard of. You just better hope there will be lots of others there on that dock."

"There always is, ain't there?" Dodger looked up with alarm in his blue eyes.

Maynard laughed and patted Dodger's back reassuringly. "I was kidding you, boy. Of course there will be many other people. And of course you will escape. You're the Artful Dodger."

"I know I am," Dodger smiled. "Thanks." Maynard was the only person who had been remotely kind to him since he and Oliver parted three months ago as Dodger was shoved into the back of the police wagon. Dodger shivered. Oliver...Fagin...Charley...Bet...Nancy. He was always thinking of Nancy. And how it was his fault she was dead. Was it really only a few months ago he and the boys were laughing and playing cards in the den? It sure wasn't paradise, but it had been home.

Maynard looked at Dodger sympathetically. The teenager often seemed a little distant, remembering his past. Dodger had never told the old man anything about it, but Maynard could tell it often filled Dodger's whole mind. The old man touched Dodger on the shoulder to awaken the boy from his flash-back and smiled. "You better get some sleep, lad. Tomorrow's gonna be a big day fer ya, weather yer plan works or not."

Dodger nodded and kicked back into his cot, putting his top hat over his face. "G'night, Maynard."

"Good night, Dodger," Maynard smiled agian. "And good luck."

______

"Dawkins!" Dodger was woken up in the morning by someone coldly calling his name. He bolted out of sleep and sat up so fast his top hat tumbled to the floor. He squinted up at the bobby who had woken him. The trap glared down at him, his red uniform imposing.

"Good mornin'," Dodger mumbled with mock politeness, putting his hat back on his head and getting to his feet. Dodger's eyes darted over to Maynard, who sat in a corner of the cell and looked over at Dodge from under his gray hair which was falling into his eyes. Quick as lightning, the man gave Dodger a thumbs up and then remained still. Dodger winked just as quickly, and then held out his hands. "Well, officer. You gonna cuff me or wot?"

"I really don't like you, boy," the cop snapped, locking a cold pair of handcuffs onto Dodger's wrists. "I'm lookin' forward to puttin' you on that ship."

"I'm lookin' foward to bein' at the docks, myself," Dodger smiled slyly in a way that caused the policeman to frown suspiciously.

"You better not pull anything tricky, boy," the trap barked.

Dodger saluted as best as he could with the chains on his wrists, and allowed the policeman to shove him out into the prison halls. Dodger watched as the bobby locked the door of the cell. Jack bit his lip. Maynard would never get out. Not unless I come back fer ya one day, old man. You never know.

The policeman put a harsh hand on Dodger's collar and began leading him towards the entrance of the jail. Along the way, the bobby picked up three other convicts who were sentenced to deportation. One was a middle-aged man who had a bad habit of walking too close to Dodger and stepping on his foot. Another was a woman in her twenties, who seemed to be able to do nothing but cry and shout "I'm not going!! I won't!!" The third and last was a man older than Maynard, who seemed to be insane. Dodger paid little heed to any of them. He was too busy figuring out the kinks in his plan, if any. He knew he'd be able to slip away easy enough, since they were handcuffed separately. But how was he to get far enough away from the prison to be able to start anew? He'd need a disguise, that's for sure. And how would he get the handcuffs off? He then remembered the small, country style town of Northshire right outside of London. Surely he could find help there. Full of new resolve, he didn't even notice when the middle-aged man stomped on his toe.

______

The docks were just as Dodger expected them to be. Full of people, going and coming. He could hardly hear himself think. He glanced up at the policeman and was relieved to see him looking distracted as well. Dodger then looked towards the boat that was to take him away. He smiled cynically. All he had to do now was plan the perfect timing to make his run. It had better be soon, he could feel the boat getting ever closer.

Dodger tilted his hat low over his eyes and spotted a huge group of people coming up. This was it. For a split second thoughts of his days with the gang...and Nancy...flashed through his mind and then he plunged into the crowd of people. His heart was thudding so hard in his chest, he was sure his heartbeat would give him away. Every shout sounded like Catch that boy in the top hat!! Every person he brushed by looked like a cop to him. But he ran. It was a trick with his handcuffs, but he was skilled. He dodged through the crowd, not realizing he wasn't breathing. He shut out the world around him and just ran, concentrating on the road that was at the end of the docks and extended to Northshire. Freedom. That one word semed to make his feet go faster and suddenly he was on the road running, the docks getting ever smaller behind him.

"It worked!" he laughed to himself as he ran faster. "I can't believe that stupidly simple plan worked!"

For what seemed like hours (and maybe it was) Dodger ran as fast as he could go. He had to get to Northshire before the cop realized he was gone. So all he could do for the moment was run.

Well?? Now I'm excited... I can't wait to get started on the rest of this book!! I'll have chapter two up soon!! This chapter was mostly an introduction....the real action starts in chapter two!! So, incase you didn't know...REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please and thank you!!