They walked into the electronics store, quite an oddball group.
Butler was impressive as always, his seven foot muscular bulk, dark shades,
and shaven head; Artemis was just as remarkable, there was something about
the confidence he wore and the way he spoke and moved that just chilled
you.
Holly, though more than 80 years old, still looked quite young and with her short height could be mistaken for a human child, so she walked beside Artemis dressed in human clothes.
Trouble was about the same age as Holly and the same applied for him. So long as they both wore hats.
Root was a little more suspicious, there were humans as short as him but it would still draw attention has he didn't look young enough to pass for a child. So he walked, shielded.
"Alright, Fowl," said Holly. "Time to go shopping."
They walked around, gathering the things they needed. As they reached the register Holly added five walkie-talkies on top of everything else.
"Hello, Mister Fowl. This all for the evening?"
"Yes."
"What are you planning? Some sort of hunt?"
"Yes. It's a game, having a little party at the Manor." He handed the man a large quantity of cash, no doubt money he'd gotten from selling the gold he'd stolen from the LEP.
"Have a nice time."
"We will. Grab the bag, Butler."
By 8:30 they were positioned and hidden around the already waiting kidnappers and Aquarius.
Trouble spoke to Holly through the walkie-talkies. "Go over the plan again and explain why we don't just attack them now." He was the LEP's most gung-ho officer and he wanted to clobber the bad guys as usual.
"Because, we're waiting for back up. We wait here. LEP comes in with half the ransom money. While they've got the goblin and the elf distracted, we come in and surround them so they can't escape. Between you, me, Root, and that man mountain we should be able to manage to recapture Aquarius and apprehend the felons. Then the other officers can help us escort Aquarius back to his father."
"What about the Mud Boy?"
"Him? He's going to sit in his car and monitor the cameras we've set up around the to be sure nobody escapes. He's not much use at anything else."
"Captain Kelp! Captain Short!" Roots voice barked. "Be quiet, fifteen minutes 'til go time."
"Fairies, you're speaking Gnomish again, no doubt to purposely leave me out of the conversation but I'd like to remind you to be quiet. The goblin and elf are already here with the hostage, though unless you've gone blind I'm sure you know this. A quarter hour is all we have left. Are you ready, Butler?"
"Yes, Artemis." Butler checked that all weaponry, human fairy, was in place.
They watched with the anticipation and calm of seasoned soldiers. Trouble took the safety off his gun and smiled, hoping he'd have a chance to use it. Root watched everything. The goblin was standing guard over Aquarius. Holly's face was grim. According to the plan this was going to be easy, but in her experience nothing was ever easy. Butler triple-checked his weapons and the anti-shield filters on his eyes; it wouldn't do any good if he couldn't see his adversaries. Fowl sat in the Bentley watching the monitors they'd bought over steepled-fingers.
Holly, though more than 80 years old, still looked quite young and with her short height could be mistaken for a human child, so she walked beside Artemis dressed in human clothes.
Trouble was about the same age as Holly and the same applied for him. So long as they both wore hats.
Root was a little more suspicious, there were humans as short as him but it would still draw attention has he didn't look young enough to pass for a child. So he walked, shielded.
"Alright, Fowl," said Holly. "Time to go shopping."
They walked around, gathering the things they needed. As they reached the register Holly added five walkie-talkies on top of everything else.
"Hello, Mister Fowl. This all for the evening?"
"Yes."
"What are you planning? Some sort of hunt?"
"Yes. It's a game, having a little party at the Manor." He handed the man a large quantity of cash, no doubt money he'd gotten from selling the gold he'd stolen from the LEP.
"Have a nice time."
"We will. Grab the bag, Butler."
By 8:30 they were positioned and hidden around the already waiting kidnappers and Aquarius.
Trouble spoke to Holly through the walkie-talkies. "Go over the plan again and explain why we don't just attack them now." He was the LEP's most gung-ho officer and he wanted to clobber the bad guys as usual.
"Because, we're waiting for back up. We wait here. LEP comes in with half the ransom money. While they've got the goblin and the elf distracted, we come in and surround them so they can't escape. Between you, me, Root, and that man mountain we should be able to manage to recapture Aquarius and apprehend the felons. Then the other officers can help us escort Aquarius back to his father."
"What about the Mud Boy?"
"Him? He's going to sit in his car and monitor the cameras we've set up around the to be sure nobody escapes. He's not much use at anything else."
"Captain Kelp! Captain Short!" Roots voice barked. "Be quiet, fifteen minutes 'til go time."
"Fairies, you're speaking Gnomish again, no doubt to purposely leave me out of the conversation but I'd like to remind you to be quiet. The goblin and elf are already here with the hostage, though unless you've gone blind I'm sure you know this. A quarter hour is all we have left. Are you ready, Butler?"
"Yes, Artemis." Butler checked that all weaponry, human fairy, was in place.
They watched with the anticipation and calm of seasoned soldiers. Trouble took the safety off his gun and smiled, hoping he'd have a chance to use it. Root watched everything. The goblin was standing guard over Aquarius. Holly's face was grim. According to the plan this was going to be easy, but in her experience nothing was ever easy. Butler triple-checked his weapons and the anti-shield filters on his eyes; it wouldn't do any good if he couldn't see his adversaries. Fowl sat in the Bentley watching the monitors they'd bought over steepled-fingers.
