Disclaimer: I am miserable and pathetic and I own nothing except my measly plot.

A/N: I am incredibly sorry for my long absence from the computer. First I was banned from the comp, then I went to the hospital, and then I had a bunch of exams. But now everything's all better now, so I promise to start updating again.

Thank you so much, beloved reviewers! Da-xia Nariko (I missed you the first time), Blue Yeti (Your welcome, and THANK you for that piece of information on my mafia/mafiya dilemma! You are so smart... Blue Yeti the all-knowing... lol, I could see a couple people I know dressing up as gangsters for career day... funny thought.) Cassandra (I really appreciate your suggestions J thank you!), Artemis Fowl the second (Ahh, you are forgiven for your absence *grin*) The Slayer (and a very eloquent review it was too... ^_^) Stardust Firebolt (*surprise* but I thought that he fact dwarves hated light was common knowledge! How could people know the earth is round and still be ignorant of the likes and dislikes of a dwarf?!? *goes into catatonic shock*) and slime frog (HA! I thought I could injure myself with anything - I'm famous for it at school – but I don't think I could manage it with a tissue. Speaking of useless knowledge, did you know porcupines float? Aha… it's not nearly as good as your random fact, but I learned it in Science today, and thought I should share my wisdom with the world. And it's good to know I've been forgiven. Although if you don't update soon I may have to resort to harsher language.)

Anyway, on with the story.

***

7:00 a.m.

Foaly was finding it hard to concentrate on his work, so when a little red button on his communications panel began to flash, he found it a welcome relief from his duties. He pressed the button.

"Hello," he said tersely.

"Foaly, I'm sending your lab results through," drawled a voice Foaly recognized easily as the head of the Forensics Department.

"Uh-huh," said Foaly, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. Captains Vein and Kelp had successfully retrieved Captain Short's locater from an underground dump for dangerous materials, and Foaly had sent it over to forensics to scan for any evidence that might have lasted.

Foaly brought the report up on his screen, and the Department Head continued on. "The locator had been cleaned, but we were still able to extract some dust from the crevices. The dust was highly unusual – it had extremely high levels of salt and potassium."

"Potassium?" asked Foaly. He instantly recognized the name of the element, but couldn't think of any way Holly could have come into contact with it. It wasn't something people picked up in the line of duty.

"Yes," she sniffed. "It is exceedingly possible the dust was present as a result of Captain Short's everyday activities, but we checked her roster for the past 6 months, and she has not partaken in any activity that would result in contact with potassium or salt."

Foaly snorted through his nostrils. "She could have come into contact with salt anywhere – a restaurant, her dinner table."

"Not this salt. It was primitive, still had other minerals in it. It hadn't been processed at all."

"So Holly came into contact with it after she was kidnapped." Foaly was already clicking away at his keyboard, running a search of places that had high levels of potassium and unprocessed salt. "Anything else?"

"No, the cleaning got rid of anything else there might have been." In his excitement Foaly, cut off the connection without sparing a breath for even a word of thanks, much less a good-bye. He tapped his hoofs impatiently as the computer ran its search.

The results were not good. A fertilizer plant, which the locator couldn't have been in, or it would have shown high levels of nitrogen and phosphate, the other chemicals used in fertilizers, a factory manufacturing salt, which wouldn't explain the potassium, and a few others that didn't make any more sense. It was then Foaly realized his mistake. Holly and company had been abducted aboveground, and the search he had run only included the underground. He hurriedly rewrote the search to include human territory.

Bingo – a much more promising field of results. Foaly printed it off and went straight for Root's office. They would work through the list together, eliminating some areas and highlighting others.

***

Holly woke up with a horrible cramp in her back from having fallen asleep in her corner. She groaned, slowly stretching out her muscles. "Mulch? Artemis? You awake?" she called, her voice rasping in her throat. No one answered. She still felt the numbing effects of the anesthetic that had poured into the room, and began to wonder if her voice wasn't working. She tried again, moistening her dry lips. "Yoo-hoo, anyone there?"

She heard movement somewhere. To her right, maybe, though she wasn't sure. A thin voice penetrated the quiet. "Uhbmub..." Obviously Mulch had recovered even less than her.

"You alright?"

"Effer bedder," he mumbled. Holly mentally transcribed this into 'never better'.

"How about the Mud Boy?"

"How uhd Ah mow?" How should I know? she guessed, correctly.

"Alright," she said, and sighed. It was going to be a long wait for the LEP to come and get her, with only Mulch's rudeness and Fowl's snobbishness for company.

When after a few moments of silence there was still no sign of Fowl, she frowned. With one hand lightly grazing the wall and the other stretched out in front of her, Holly began searching for him. As the resident LEP officer, it was her duty to look after the civilians involved.

She circled the entire room 7 times, judging by the number of corners she had passed, before she stopped, frowning even more. She could not find him anywhere. She tried Mulch again. "Diggums, have you – "

"Shhh!" he hissed. Holly stared into the blackness, confused. If she had been able to see, an odd sight would have met her eyes - Mulch hunched on the floor, mashing his ear into the ground, a look of utter and absolute concentration fixated on his features.

"What – "

"SHHHH!" Holly stood frozen for a few moments, not sure what to expect. She finally cleared her throat delicately. When Mulch didn't hiss at her, she questioned him again.

"Care to explain anything?"

"I felt something. Vibrations in the ground, a long way off, but very large."

Holly was instantly attentive. "What do you think? Are we in earthquake territory?"

Mulch shook his head. "It was more – controlled. My guess is a drill."

"A drill?" said Holly, befuddled.

"Yes, a drill. From a nearby mine – a human mine," said Mulch, as though any idiot should know this. This was not completely surprising – dwarves were educated from a very young age on the arts of mining. One of the earliest things learned was how to recognize the vibrations of human machinery, incase a human was drilling toward a fairy mine. Avoiding being discovered by the Mud Men was of utmost importance to the People.

Holly gulped. "Humans... how close are they?"

"A few klicks. We're not in danger of being discovered – not yet."

Holly had other things on her mind. She had heard too many horror stories about human mines to not feel troubled by the idea that there was one in the near vicinity. She had heard of their flimsy supports, of the many cases where dynamite had accidentally been ignited, collapsing entire tunnels, trapping and killing hundreds. And of course, of all the radioactive dust that went undetected – until it was too late. She slid to the floor with a light thump. "This just keeps getting better and better..."

***

Foaly came out of his meeting with Root feeling distinctly disgruntled. It had taken a lot longer than expected, mostly due to the commander's stupidity ("pota-what?" "This isn't science class, Foaly now start speaking English!"). And in a situation like this, every second counted.

Eventually, they had decided that places manufacturing and retailing potash – a by-product of potassium, and made from evaporated salt-water—was their best bet. This still left hundreds of possibilities, but it was better than nothing.

Worst of all had been the Commander's warning near the end of there meeting. Foaly had expected that the Commander would have moved Holly's kidnapping to first priority. When Foaly had started listing off the number of officers and supplies that would be needed to investigate and narrow down possibilities, the Commander had cut him off. "We don't have time for this right now, Foaly. 5 civilians have already been injured and one killed in riots. This will all be over by daybreak, and then we can concentrate on Holly."

Foaly had been flabbergasted. "But Commander – they're with Opal Koboi! That pixie's far more dangerous than a bunch of rampaging goblins. And this involves a Recon officer – a captain."

Root sighed. "You know the reasoning behind it, Foaly. You know the chance of us finding Captain Short alive is about nil. I'm not going waste another civilian's life to find her body faster." His voice had been gruff and cold, but Foaly noticed the commander couldn't meet his eyes. He had kept staring down at his papers, as if the answer to his dilemma was written in them.

Back in the Op Room, Foaly swallowed his anger and stiffened his resolve. It looked like he was going to have to search for the captives himself. He wouldn't stop until he knew for certain that every one of them was dead or safe. And if Root tried to stop him, he'd get right in his purple face and punch him straight on the nose before booting him out the door. Not that Foaly was one for physical activity – he had computer programs that could do it for him.

***

Holly could hardly believe it, but she was wishing that Artemis had been left behind instead of Mulch. At least Fowl might have had something intelligent to say. Holly had been trying to form a list of possible reasons why he had been taken, and she had finally given up when Mulch had whined loudly that the sound of her voice was giving him stomach cramps. Holly had decided it was wiser not to question this statement, feeling it was better to remain ignorant of the mysteries of dwarven anatomy. She was now continuing her list mentally. It went something like this;

1. Koboi is removing us to be tortured or slaughtered in alphabetical order of our first names.

2. Koboi is performing illegal tests on some aspect of human behavior (study of humans without their consent was declared unethical and punishable by law in 1932, and since it is impossible to get consent without revealing yourself to humans, it was henceforth declared illegal.)

3. Koboi removed Fowl because he knows something, or he was close to figuring out something.

4. Koboi removed Fowl because he was being ransomed off, and his family paid the ransom. Whether this means he has been sent home or killed remains to be seen.

None of the options sounded particularly appealing, and Holly grimaced. But she did, at least, have a lead she could follow.

The idea that Opal Koboi had isolated – or killed – Artemis because he was close to figuring something else seemed promising. She strained her tired mind back to recall his last words before the light had poured in. "I thought I saw something in the ceiling. It may have been nothing, but I'd like to confirm it either way." Remembering what had happened before, she began running her fingers along the floor, searching for something she could injure herself with.

The best she could find was a fragment of rock. She carefully used a sharp point of it to puncture the skin on the tip of one finger. There was a flurry of light that lasted a split second – no good. She had thought she'd seen something, but she hadn't had time to get a good look. Gritting her teeth, she used the same sharp edge to scrape the palm of her left hand. She stared at the roof, knowing that in a couple seconds her magic would react to the wound – and then, there it was. The familiar, ethereal blue light pulsed dully from her hand, and squinting upwards, she could see a faint, square outline on the ceiling. It was only a fleeting glimpse before the sparks faded, and it was thin and faint, but Holly was certain of what she had seen now. Holly felt her mind and senses sharpen to a point, the way they did in action. She was in control; she had complete focus and utter determination, and it felt like a sweet and wonderful breath of relief from the past hours.

"What was that? Is there something attacking you? Did something get you?" Mulch yelped fearfully.

"I did that," Holly said placidly. Right now she was imperturbable.

"Oh gods, please don't tell me I'm stuck in a very small room with a suicidal elf," Mulch choked.

"Better suicidal than homicidal," Holly answered serenely. The wet warmth on her palm told her she had drawn a considerable amount of blood. She wiped it delicately on her uniform, and rubbed her hands together threateningly. No little trapdoor was going to stand in the way of Captain Holly Short and freedom.

AN: Ok, ok, I finished. Finally. I intend to update a LOT more frequently over the holidays, and I am very very sorry for my long absence. Please review! They're so much fun to read, even the most pathetic, short, or insulting ones.