Yes, I'm sucha dork that I'm posting another chapter already. The rest
won't come this fast, tho.
***
Holly rushed on the freeway, swinging her buzz baton threateningly at anyone who got in her way. Once again, she was cutting it fine in getting to work on time. But if she hurried, she would be able to make it.
As she approached the office where she would report in for work, she heard Root's familiar bellowing. She had just reached the door when an elf stumbled out, looking thoroughly traumatized. Holly gulped. Obviously, Root wasn't in a very good mood today.
"Good to see you're actually on time today, Short," growled Root. Either she was doing a good job of hiding how out-of-breath she was, or he hadn't noticed.
"Thank you, sir."
"We have a hold-up at Buffalograss Banking on Avenue B41. I have a squad of back-up waiting outside. The robbers are armed, and one shot a bystander in the leg when the clerk refused to hand over the money, so they're not afraid to fire. I hope you remembered to wear your regulation vest." Holly met his gaze squarely, but squirmed inwardly. She'd been in such a hurry she hadn't bothered to put it on. "Get over there as fast as you can, or they'll get away, and we'll have a high-speed chase on our hands." Holly grimaced. High-speed chases were always horrible. They caused a lot of public anxiety, and someone - usually a civilian - ended up getting hurt.
"I'm on it, sir," she replied, and without waiting to be dismissed, she sprinted out of the office.
As Root had said, there was a squad waiting outside in an armored vehicle. Holly slid into the driver's seat. The squad consisted of two burly and ugly gremlins, a young, nervous-looking elf who must have been straight out of training, and a sprite, with the classic, smug, "I'm the most superior being ever to bless the face of this planet" smile on his face.
Within moments they were parked outside Buffalograss, and within seconds of parking, Holly was in the building, Neutrino 2000 in hand. The robbers were still there, stereotypically dressed in black with their faces covered. There were 8 of them, and it was obvious that they were goblins, because of their shape and size.
To Holly's surprise and chagrin, the goblins opened fire. She had been hoping this would be a routine run. She ducked underneath a nearby counter, and with a couple well-placed shots, put 2 of them out of commission. The back-up squad followed suit, and things were going fine. Then Holly heard someone behind her. She whirled, but not quickly enough. A tall form she hadn't seen on her initial scan of the building was there, and had a gun pointed directly at her head. Pressing it into her temple, he shouted, "Don't anyone shoot, or your Captain here is toast," he said, voice muffled by the mask. Surprised, the squad stopped firing. "Very good," continued the goblin. "Now drop your weapons and put your hands in the air." Holly considered. She would have time to shoot him before he shot her, but her setting was up too high for a close range shot, and it would likely be fatal. The very first fatality on her record. She didn't like the idea, and there were other alternatives. So she compliantly dropped her neutrino, and put her hands in the air.
The goblin pulled off his black mask to reveal a wide, reptilian grin. iOh, great, /i thought Holly. The only kind of criminal stupid enough to take off his mask to brag was the dense, melodramatic kind, who had spent too much of his childhood watching the vids. The goblin proved her suspicions correct when he clapped a hand on Holly's shoulder and began steering her to the center of the room, gloating.
"Oh, you LEP officers think you're so smart. So tough, so strong. But look how easily you are defeated." His smile widened, and he looked at Holly. There was a strange gleam in his eyes. He seemed intoxicated with his power.
"So, Miss Captain," the elf continued ranting. "How do you feel now, hmm? Have you realized yet that you're a mere mortal, just like the rest of us? That I could end your life with a twitch of my finger?"
"I would abandon your scare tactics, sir, because they won't work. This isn't the first time I've had some lunatic waving a gun in my face," Holly answered coolly. And without waiting for his reaction, she brought her hand up full force into the arm holding the gun. It wasn't enough to disarm him, but it meant when he fired, the bullet went a good three inches over the top of Holly's head.
Holly was trained for personal combat, and this was some gangster from the street. Since it was obvious she would win in the end anyway, Holly didn't see any reason to prolong a fight, and simply punched him in the forehead. The goblin crumpled, and Holly smiled sweetly at the three remaining robbers. She picked her Neutrino up off the floor, and jacked the setting up to 4 - she didn't intend to fire anyway. It was an ominous gesture, and the burglars began slowly backing away into a corner. One pretended to trip on a fellow conspirator's foot and fall unconscious, and the other two surrendered.
Holly was feeling pretty pleased with herself as they escorted the goblins outside. She'd barely been on the job for 10 minutes, and had apprehended 9 people. No sooner had she seated herself in the vehicle when a familiar voice crackled from the intercom.
"Holly, you alright?" asked Foaly's voice.
"Nope. I died. Them goblins, they're just too smart for me," responded Holly lightly.
"That's a pity. I'll be sure to come to your funeral."
"It's good to know I have a friend."
"Only one? What a pathetic life you must have."
"Well, it's one more than you'll ever have."
"Ouch. I'm hurt."
"Poor baby." Holly heard a loud growling sound in the background, which recognized with surprise as Root's. Something was going on if Root was in the Op Booth with Foaly.
"Ah, so, anyway..." continued Foaly. "You're to get to Police Plaza as soon as you can. There's going to be an emergency briefing. All Recon officers to be in attendance."
"An emergency briefing?" Holly asked, on the alert. "What happened?"
"Erm. just get to Police Plaza, ok?"
"Sure," said Holly, mystified. Foaly cut off the connection with a click, and Holly was left to wonder what could possibly cause an emergency meeting - even the Artemis Fowl affair hadn't prompted one.
Several minutes later, Holly was back in Police Plaza, sitting on a cheap, steel chair in some huge storage room she hadn't even known existed. Usually important briefings took place in the Operations Booth, but there wasn't enough room for the entire LEPRecon unit there.
Commander Root stood at the front of the room, and motioned for silence. His looked very tired.
"I was just given the news," he began, his loud and gruff voice booming to the back of the room. "That there was a break-in at Howler's Peak." Holly blinked in surprise. She wasn't the only one; she heard muffled exclamations and sharp intakes of breath from all around the room. No one had ever successfully broken into Howler's Peak before.
"Over 75% of the population was set free." Someone swore loudly. Root continued. "Doubtless you have all realized the repercussions of this. You don't get into Recon if you're an idiot, although I have my doubts about some of you. The LEP will have to go into overdrive like it never has before. It will be next to impossible to maintain the protection of the general population with hundreds of goblins on the loose plus the normal barrage of crimes." He scanned the room wearily. "All of you will work a double-shift today. Everyone will help with the recapturing, even those on Traffic and Stakeout duty. At the end of your shifts, come back to this room, and we'll discuss further action."
"I hope you understand the situation, and have studied your protocol for mass escapes. This meeting is dismissed." Holly was just standing up when Root's voice bellowed out again. "And Short, I need to speak with you."
Holly watched as everyone else filed out, silent with grim determination. She approached Root when they were alone. "Sir?"
"You didn't wear your LEP vest this morning, Captain." Holly looked at him quizzically. It was true, but Commanders didn't waste time telling officers that in the middle of a crisis. Root sighed and sat himself on a chair. "Captain, there was an assassination attempt on you this morning."
Holly stared, and then laughed. "If you can call that crazy goblin waving a gun at me an assassination attempt, I guess so." But Root shook his head.
"There was a bomb in your LEP vest. It exploded in your room this morning, injuring a passing pedestrian."
It took a moment for Holly to absorb this. The enormity of how close she had come to death, and how it was by sheer luck she had avoided it. Then another thought struck her.
"Who...?"
Root bit his lip. "We don't know, but... Opal Koboi was among those who escaped this morning."
Holly didn't know what to say.
"Normally you would be given a bodyguard after this attempt. But today, we can't spare anyone. So I've decided that the safest place for you is aboveground."
Holly's horror turned to delight in seconds. She hadn't been aboveground since rescuing Artemis Fowl's father. Root seemed to think that she had had far more than her share of adventure over the past two years.
Root must have seen her expression, because he sharply said "Don't think this is a vacation. You'll be going with a mission." Holly grinned. All the better - she loved her work.
"Foaly recently had a lead on the whereabouts of Mulch Diggums. We have reason to believe that he is currently residing in Barcelona, Spain. We will be sending you there to apprehend him. Foaly will brief you once you get to the surface - I don't want you spending any more time underground than you have to."
"Yes, sir," Holly managed to say, hardly able to believe her luck. A trip aboveground, and a chance to crack down on Mulch Diggums.
"Get over to E12, pronto. And you better be running hot," he added, glaring at her. It was an unnecessary reminder. Holly had learned her lesson.
"Yessir," she said, saluting. But before she left, she couldn't help pausing. "Commander?"
"Yes, Holly?"
"What about you?" He looked up at her.
"What do you mean, what about me?"
"Opal Koboi is supposedly after me because I helped stop her and Cudgeon last year. You were there, and you are a Commander, a leader. You should be in even more danger than me."
The commander smiled grimly. "I'm a big boy, Holly, I can take care of myself. Now get over to E12. Now!" Holly didn't stop to argue. But she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder as she left, concern etched on her face. The commander was so busy worrying about his officers, he rarely took the time to think about himself.
***
Holly rushed on the freeway, swinging her buzz baton threateningly at anyone who got in her way. Once again, she was cutting it fine in getting to work on time. But if she hurried, she would be able to make it.
As she approached the office where she would report in for work, she heard Root's familiar bellowing. She had just reached the door when an elf stumbled out, looking thoroughly traumatized. Holly gulped. Obviously, Root wasn't in a very good mood today.
"Good to see you're actually on time today, Short," growled Root. Either she was doing a good job of hiding how out-of-breath she was, or he hadn't noticed.
"Thank you, sir."
"We have a hold-up at Buffalograss Banking on Avenue B41. I have a squad of back-up waiting outside. The robbers are armed, and one shot a bystander in the leg when the clerk refused to hand over the money, so they're not afraid to fire. I hope you remembered to wear your regulation vest." Holly met his gaze squarely, but squirmed inwardly. She'd been in such a hurry she hadn't bothered to put it on. "Get over there as fast as you can, or they'll get away, and we'll have a high-speed chase on our hands." Holly grimaced. High-speed chases were always horrible. They caused a lot of public anxiety, and someone - usually a civilian - ended up getting hurt.
"I'm on it, sir," she replied, and without waiting to be dismissed, she sprinted out of the office.
As Root had said, there was a squad waiting outside in an armored vehicle. Holly slid into the driver's seat. The squad consisted of two burly and ugly gremlins, a young, nervous-looking elf who must have been straight out of training, and a sprite, with the classic, smug, "I'm the most superior being ever to bless the face of this planet" smile on his face.
Within moments they were parked outside Buffalograss, and within seconds of parking, Holly was in the building, Neutrino 2000 in hand. The robbers were still there, stereotypically dressed in black with their faces covered. There were 8 of them, and it was obvious that they were goblins, because of their shape and size.
To Holly's surprise and chagrin, the goblins opened fire. She had been hoping this would be a routine run. She ducked underneath a nearby counter, and with a couple well-placed shots, put 2 of them out of commission. The back-up squad followed suit, and things were going fine. Then Holly heard someone behind her. She whirled, but not quickly enough. A tall form she hadn't seen on her initial scan of the building was there, and had a gun pointed directly at her head. Pressing it into her temple, he shouted, "Don't anyone shoot, or your Captain here is toast," he said, voice muffled by the mask. Surprised, the squad stopped firing. "Very good," continued the goblin. "Now drop your weapons and put your hands in the air." Holly considered. She would have time to shoot him before he shot her, but her setting was up too high for a close range shot, and it would likely be fatal. The very first fatality on her record. She didn't like the idea, and there were other alternatives. So she compliantly dropped her neutrino, and put her hands in the air.
The goblin pulled off his black mask to reveal a wide, reptilian grin. iOh, great, /i thought Holly. The only kind of criminal stupid enough to take off his mask to brag was the dense, melodramatic kind, who had spent too much of his childhood watching the vids. The goblin proved her suspicions correct when he clapped a hand on Holly's shoulder and began steering her to the center of the room, gloating.
"Oh, you LEP officers think you're so smart. So tough, so strong. But look how easily you are defeated." His smile widened, and he looked at Holly. There was a strange gleam in his eyes. He seemed intoxicated with his power.
"So, Miss Captain," the elf continued ranting. "How do you feel now, hmm? Have you realized yet that you're a mere mortal, just like the rest of us? That I could end your life with a twitch of my finger?"
"I would abandon your scare tactics, sir, because they won't work. This isn't the first time I've had some lunatic waving a gun in my face," Holly answered coolly. And without waiting for his reaction, she brought her hand up full force into the arm holding the gun. It wasn't enough to disarm him, but it meant when he fired, the bullet went a good three inches over the top of Holly's head.
Holly was trained for personal combat, and this was some gangster from the street. Since it was obvious she would win in the end anyway, Holly didn't see any reason to prolong a fight, and simply punched him in the forehead. The goblin crumpled, and Holly smiled sweetly at the three remaining robbers. She picked her Neutrino up off the floor, and jacked the setting up to 4 - she didn't intend to fire anyway. It was an ominous gesture, and the burglars began slowly backing away into a corner. One pretended to trip on a fellow conspirator's foot and fall unconscious, and the other two surrendered.
Holly was feeling pretty pleased with herself as they escorted the goblins outside. She'd barely been on the job for 10 minutes, and had apprehended 9 people. No sooner had she seated herself in the vehicle when a familiar voice crackled from the intercom.
"Holly, you alright?" asked Foaly's voice.
"Nope. I died. Them goblins, they're just too smart for me," responded Holly lightly.
"That's a pity. I'll be sure to come to your funeral."
"It's good to know I have a friend."
"Only one? What a pathetic life you must have."
"Well, it's one more than you'll ever have."
"Ouch. I'm hurt."
"Poor baby." Holly heard a loud growling sound in the background, which recognized with surprise as Root's. Something was going on if Root was in the Op Booth with Foaly.
"Ah, so, anyway..." continued Foaly. "You're to get to Police Plaza as soon as you can. There's going to be an emergency briefing. All Recon officers to be in attendance."
"An emergency briefing?" Holly asked, on the alert. "What happened?"
"Erm. just get to Police Plaza, ok?"
"Sure," said Holly, mystified. Foaly cut off the connection with a click, and Holly was left to wonder what could possibly cause an emergency meeting - even the Artemis Fowl affair hadn't prompted one.
Several minutes later, Holly was back in Police Plaza, sitting on a cheap, steel chair in some huge storage room she hadn't even known existed. Usually important briefings took place in the Operations Booth, but there wasn't enough room for the entire LEPRecon unit there.
Commander Root stood at the front of the room, and motioned for silence. His looked very tired.
"I was just given the news," he began, his loud and gruff voice booming to the back of the room. "That there was a break-in at Howler's Peak." Holly blinked in surprise. She wasn't the only one; she heard muffled exclamations and sharp intakes of breath from all around the room. No one had ever successfully broken into Howler's Peak before.
"Over 75% of the population was set free." Someone swore loudly. Root continued. "Doubtless you have all realized the repercussions of this. You don't get into Recon if you're an idiot, although I have my doubts about some of you. The LEP will have to go into overdrive like it never has before. It will be next to impossible to maintain the protection of the general population with hundreds of goblins on the loose plus the normal barrage of crimes." He scanned the room wearily. "All of you will work a double-shift today. Everyone will help with the recapturing, even those on Traffic and Stakeout duty. At the end of your shifts, come back to this room, and we'll discuss further action."
"I hope you understand the situation, and have studied your protocol for mass escapes. This meeting is dismissed." Holly was just standing up when Root's voice bellowed out again. "And Short, I need to speak with you."
Holly watched as everyone else filed out, silent with grim determination. She approached Root when they were alone. "Sir?"
"You didn't wear your LEP vest this morning, Captain." Holly looked at him quizzically. It was true, but Commanders didn't waste time telling officers that in the middle of a crisis. Root sighed and sat himself on a chair. "Captain, there was an assassination attempt on you this morning."
Holly stared, and then laughed. "If you can call that crazy goblin waving a gun at me an assassination attempt, I guess so." But Root shook his head.
"There was a bomb in your LEP vest. It exploded in your room this morning, injuring a passing pedestrian."
It took a moment for Holly to absorb this. The enormity of how close she had come to death, and how it was by sheer luck she had avoided it. Then another thought struck her.
"Who...?"
Root bit his lip. "We don't know, but... Opal Koboi was among those who escaped this morning."
Holly didn't know what to say.
"Normally you would be given a bodyguard after this attempt. But today, we can't spare anyone. So I've decided that the safest place for you is aboveground."
Holly's horror turned to delight in seconds. She hadn't been aboveground since rescuing Artemis Fowl's father. Root seemed to think that she had had far more than her share of adventure over the past two years.
Root must have seen her expression, because he sharply said "Don't think this is a vacation. You'll be going with a mission." Holly grinned. All the better - she loved her work.
"Foaly recently had a lead on the whereabouts of Mulch Diggums. We have reason to believe that he is currently residing in Barcelona, Spain. We will be sending you there to apprehend him. Foaly will brief you once you get to the surface - I don't want you spending any more time underground than you have to."
"Yes, sir," Holly managed to say, hardly able to believe her luck. A trip aboveground, and a chance to crack down on Mulch Diggums.
"Get over to E12, pronto. And you better be running hot," he added, glaring at her. It was an unnecessary reminder. Holly had learned her lesson.
"Yessir," she said, saluting. But before she left, she couldn't help pausing. "Commander?"
"Yes, Holly?"
"What about you?" He looked up at her.
"What do you mean, what about me?"
"Opal Koboi is supposedly after me because I helped stop her and Cudgeon last year. You were there, and you are a Commander, a leader. You should be in even more danger than me."
The commander smiled grimly. "I'm a big boy, Holly, I can take care of myself. Now get over to E12. Now!" Holly didn't stop to argue. But she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder as she left, concern etched on her face. The commander was so busy worrying about his officers, he rarely took the time to think about himself.