Rmun the goblin did not like his job. Even with his limited brain capacity, he knew that it was madness to attempt to kidnap an armed LEP officer right outside LEP headquarters. But orders were orders, and Rmun did not doubt for one second that there would be serious consequences if he did not obey his boss. So had decided to do what little he could to protect himself from being recognized and traced back to his home. He covered his head with a makeshift black mask. Although he would still be easily identifiable by another goblin, the LEP officers would hopefully be unfamiliar enough with goblin anatomy to tell the difference between him and his great grandmother.

Rmun was waiting for a certain elf to come out of the building, as his employer had assured him would momentarily happen. Theoretically, he would just wait for the elf to have its back to him, stun it, and then drag it away. But things were never that easy with the LEP. In fact, the LEP would have to be completely blind and ineffective if they didn't have him behind bars within five minutes…

Holly had no idea that she was in danger. She efficiently walked down the step that separated the LEP HQ from the sidewalk. She didn't have her full LEP suit on because she wasn't going aboveground. Of course she had the standard earpiece and microphone so that she could stay in contact with Foaly, but he hadn't bothered taking the time to give her an iris cam.

She shoved her way through a crowd of civilians. A few of them protested, but they moved aside to let her pass. Then she felt an arm on her shoulder. She mentally sighed. Some fairies just had to "stand up for their civil rights" when they really should let her continue saving the world. She turned around, prepared to confront an indignant gnome, but only got a punch in the face for her trouble. "Ha ha… Trouble…" was her last thought before she blacked out.

When Holly woke up, she was aware of several things. First, she was tied up in a bag of some sort. Second, the bag was unmistakably in motion. Third, she had a minor headache, but nothing felt broken. And fourth, there was an annoying centaur jabbering in her ear.

"Holly? Holly, if you can hear me, please respond. What is wrong? Holly, I need a status report."

Holly grunted. "Oh. It's you."

Foaly couldn't hide a sigh of relief. "Well of course it's me! Who did you expect?"

"It's nice to know that you're as frustrating as ever. Otherwise I might be worried."

Foaly was quickly becoming irritated with his captive friend. "Maybe you should be worried. You are being carried by a goblin to who-knows-where, and you are currently tied up in a bag. That sounds a lot more dangerous than catching butterflies, or whatever you do in your spare time."

Holly grinned, although nobody could see it. "Please," She whispered. "I'll be out of here before that goblin has time to figure out that I'm awake. And I don't catch butterflies. That's a cruel Mud man pastime."

"Point taken."

Holly brought her hands to her head to examine the ropes around her wrists. They would be easy enough to cut, but Holly realized that they were loose enough to slip off her wrists. Then she untied her feet. Summoning all of her strength, she slammed her fist into the inside of the bag. The thin material stretched, and then gave way, leaving an elf-sized hole for her to roll out of.

The goblin turned around in surprise, just in time for Holly's fist to connect with his nose.

"Payback," she hissed as the goblin fell backwards from the force of the blow. Unfortunately, due to the fact that goblins have incredibly thick skulls, he was not knocked unconscious. However, it would take a few seconds before his brain could process what had happened.

Holly stood over the confused goblin. "Hey Foaly! Did you hear that? That was the sound of sweet revenge."

"Okay, Captain. Now get out of there."

"What?" shouted Holly, "And let the goblin escape?"

"My dear, you need to learn that violence and revenge are not the keys to a happy and successful life," Foaly said patronizingly.

"Who said anything about violence and revenge? I'm talking about justice here," Holly retorted.

"Ah, but what is justice? Is there any justice in a world where vengeance is all that matters?"

"Okay, whatever cheesy motivational book you've been reading, just stop reading it. Now. For the sake of my sanity, I'm begging you."

"Fine, fine. I was just messing with you. Just put a tracker on the goblin and get back here. We need to have a team of warlocks check you. The usual procedure. We don't want any of our officers to be unknowingly hurt."

Holly came dangerously close to whining, but caught herself just in time. Commander Root would never let her hear the end of it. She slapped a tracker on the goblin's neck, and then started her trip back to Police Plaza.

During her moderately long walk (Foaly was giving her directions and kept getting her lost) Holly thought about her escape. It had all been too easy. Not even a goblin would expect that flimsy bag to contain her. And why would he kidnap her in the first place? It seemed like he had been surprised that his plan had even made it past the initial kidnapping stage. She could simply write it off as typical goblin stupidity, but even then the goblin had no reason to kidnap her. She decided to discuss it with Foaly or Trouble later on, but for now she just had to worry about her upcoming medical inspection. Holly Short had never told anyone, but she had an unexplainable fear of doctors. Even now that she was in her eighties, she still got nervous around them. Well, on the bright side, nobody had ever discovered her weakness, and she didn't intend to let them. Especially not Trouble…