Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl and related characters are not mine. They are the
works of and copyrighted to Eoin Colfer.
Scene Two: Here it comes
Several days later, the female LEP captain walked to headquarters quite early the next day despite her late night shifts. She bypassed the usual traffic with hardly a glower. Her lithe figure deftly wove in and out among the heavy throng, the usual complaints and requests falling on deaf ears. Her attention was focused on the papers she was holding in front of her, hazel eyes gazing at the figures scrawled in Gnommish intently. In this same manner she marched inside the Police Plaza, drawing a few interested glances from coworkers.
"'Ey, Chix, isn't that the elf you like?" nudged a gnome who was staring at Holly's form walking calmly through. Chix and the gnome were hanging around the front lobby of the Police Plaza. "That the crazy girly captain, eh?" Chix automatically straightened himself from his slouch, green eyes hurriedly tracking down his big time crush. He caught only a glimpse of her before she disappeared through the elevators. He sighed in instant appreciation.
"Yep, she's the one," sighed the love struck sprite. He shouldered his bag of deliveries, gazing at her in a swooning sort of way. The gnome sniggered.
"Careful, there, Chixie, girls dun like open mouths like yours with drool coming out of 'em," he warned jokingly before slapping Chix on the back in a friendly manner.
"Uh huh," nodded Chix, gazing dreamily in Holly's general direction. His eyelids began to droop and he slouched once more. "Soon, me an' her are gonna get together." He began to fall forward but caught himself just in time.
His friend laughed uproariously at him, "What's wrong wi' ye, Chix? You're a lot o' things but clumsy ain't one of 'em," he snorted. He quieted once he took serious note at the weariness of his friend's stance and the droop of Chix's countenance. "'Ey, you ok, Chix?" he questioned once more. "You don' look so good."
"Yeah, yeah, fine," muttered the sprite, stifling a yawn. He hoisted his bag up. "Better get started on my deliveries."
"What've you been doin'? You look somethin' awful, Chix," commented the gnome worriedly. "More of those late night deliveries?" Chix Verbil, after the injury sustained on his left wing, had been assigned as something of a courier between the various departments within the LEP and government.
Chix nodded absentmindedly, "Yep. I'm tired'er than usual." He shrugged, and after casting one last longing look in the female LEP captain's directions, said, "See ya later, buddy." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
"Short!" roared Root from the confines of his office. For possibly one of the rare few times in Holly's career within the LEP, no, scratch that, in her entire life, the elf did not feel any amount of trepidation as she walked inside Root's spacious, well designed office. Well, as well designed an office could be with the usual clutter decorating any fairy police's office.
Root's office had probably been better looking before the present commander of LEPrecon had settled into the large room. It was spacious, a rarity and a luxury in cramped Haven these days, containing a handsome curved mahogany desk tailored to Commander Root's every need. Off to the side was a large computer console. On the other walls were posters of etiquettes, gung ho sayings, and rules that were considered sacred to LEP. Facing the desk were several chairs for conference and a small table to hold the small helpings of drinks and snacks in case anyone stayed longer than five minutes. Of course, the smell is not to be ignored.
Once the junior officer stepped into the office, she wondered, for what could veritably be the hundredth time, if there was a way to sneak in an extra powerful air freshener, or at least a way to bat away the noxious fungus cigar fumes that eternally hovered within without seeming to. Ahh, best to ask Foaly about that, but now . She took a deep breath, big mistake as it turned out, choked, before saying in as decent a voice as she could manage, "Yes, Commander?"
"Status report," ordered Root with a glint in his dark eyes.
Holly smiled. She had been expecting this. "Sir, I have gone over the assignment with Captain Birchwood and enlisted Foaly's back up in this case," she replied readily.
"Assignment progress?"
"We have determined that Mercury has an inside connection to the security schematics within either the Police Plaza or the Government Center," reported the younger elf evenly without missing a beat, "I've had Foaly run check ups personally and no one remotely suspicious has had access to the schematics center for the past three months. So instead we've decided to focus exclusively on Mercury while Foaly tightens the security around the schematics center. Instead of trying to catch him, we'll do a feint operation and attach a tracker on him. From then on we'll monitor his progress and trap him when he least expects it."
Root paused, both to process the latest bit of information his subordinate presented before him and to be silently and just a little impressed at Holly's work. She might make it past the proverbial dog house just yet.
"Proceed," he stated simply before dismissing her. Holly already knew she had scored points from the way Root's complexion lightened considerably. She dared not smile in the presence of her commander, but once outside the twitch on her lips bloomed to a full-blown smirk. She was just going down the hallway to her cubicle when she got an alarm on her wrist COM.
The wrist COM was a minicomputer capable of composing, sending, and receiving visual and audio files. Similar to the systems installed in all LEP helmets, it was also hooked to the various networks the LEP so that Holly might peruse information she needed at a moment's notice. In addition, the wrist COM was activated primarily by only Holly's voice but also by an interactive hologram control system it was able to project. It was a handy little piece of gadgetry that, Holly was fairly sure, was not available anywhere else. Of course, Foaly had given it to her as a birthday present the past spring
The small symbol on the tiny screen, a hoof with wings, told her that it was a message from the centaur himself. "Read e-mail," spoke Holly softly. The translucent screen brightened for a moment and writing scrolled down the surface. Holly looked at it once before smiling to herself and abruptly switching directions to the Operations Booth.
She entered her destinations a few spare minutes later, and the first words out of her mouth were, "You had better not be joking me, Foaly."
The centaur leaned against his swivel chair and smiled at her. "Look at it yourself, sweetheart," he replied before nodding to the large plasma screen. There were always several windows running at the same time on the main screen. Foaly being head techie of the LEP, was in charge of overseeing all of the LEP's various technical vantages. It was no mean feat to be in charge of a veritable army of systems, programs, and monitors.
Presently, however, the main window dominating the screen was that of an e- mail written in an elaborate manner suggesting some kind of code. One look at the message and Holly knew it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. "Were you able to trace it?" asked Holly, coming to stand by Foaly.
For a rare instant, Foaly's face was irritated and displeased, "No. It's just like the other ones. The trace comes back dead. I have no idea how he was able to compose this thing without a terminal that leaves a trace. Give me a few more messages though and I'll have him. One way or another."
"I see," nodded Holly, already expecting that, "One of the questions we're going to ask him once we put him behind bars. Did you decode it?"
"Didn't goblins start the turf war?" snorted the centaur. "Of course I decoded it! It's really simple."
Holly nodded, not even bothering to figure out what type of code it was. "So what does it say?" she pushed on.
Foaly humphed, obviously mildly irritated at the lack of appreciation he was getting. "Read it yourself," he retorted before pushing a button on his keyboard. Another window popped open, smaller than the one with the original message on it. It read, "You disappoint me. You hardly challenge me. I've collected drops of fire and hearts of trees. Can you stop me from stealing the fairy moon tonight when it shines the brightest? Come get me if you can."
Foaly commented, "Cocky. This guy is really cocky."
"Drops of fires and hearts of trees." murmured Holly speculatively, "He means the rubies and emeralds he's been getting lately. So the moon."
"Is most probably a diamond," finished the centaur.
"But which one?"
Foaly's golden eyes turned once more to the screen. "I ran a check on all famous diamonds fairies possess. Most aren't really conclusive but there are two with specific references to the moon." He tapped a few more keys. Another window popped open containing an image of a cluster of sapphires set against a rich velvet background. Amidst the small jewels was a moderate sized globe of diamond glistening in the dark. "That's the newest art creation of that jewel crafts sprite Tia Jade. It's called, 'The Heavens'."
Holly nodded, "Appropriately enough."
"Still incomplete work though. Apparently she still has to add the sun and all the rest of the galaxy," smirked Foaly.
"I see," said the elf, "Pretty suspicious, but what's the other?"
Foaly brought up another screen. The image was faded, not very good compared to current LEP standards. Holly guessed that it must have been taking over a hundred years ago. However, it did contain one single sphere of diamond, in perfect symmetry so that whatever light directed at it was kept within making it seem to be shining its own light. "This one is simply called 'The Hunt of the goddess Artemis.'" His eyes flicked to Holly at the mention of the name, expecting some kind of reaction. He was disappointed. Holly looked perfectly impassive.
"Artemis." murmured the elf, "It's vague enough to slip past the obvious."
Foaly shrugged, leaning back in his chair, hands steepled together and arms supported by the armrests, "Nobody knows why it's named that way except that it does look like the moon."
"Who does it belong to?"
"It belongs to a gnome that goes by the name of Hash Tater," replied Foaly readily enough. "He's the heir apparent to the Tater family fortune."
"Tater? As in the Tater?"
"Yep, the famous Tater family. They can trace their bloodline all the way back to the days of when fairies lived aboveground," nodded Foaly. "Apparently, it's a family treasure. You know how gnomes are and their gold. Especially the ones with the history to them."
Holly nodded. Ancient gnome families, starkly different from the country gnomes that one usually encountered in Haven, were obscenely opulent, talented, and difficult to get along with. Most gnome families were involved in engineering, one of the careers in the fairy world that thrived exponentially. Thus also fulfilling the stereotype of gnomes as smiths as well as rich (along with their more popular cousins the dwarves), they were obsessive and paranoid of the security of their possessions to the point of mania. One of the witch doctors in the Brotherhood of Psychologists even went so far as to classify this type of behavior as an example of obsessive compulsive.
The LEP had frequent dealings with the ancient gnome families because they often called on the police force to help safeguard their valuables. The tight security around their own private homes, if the valuables were not in fairy banks, was more than enough to deter the regular thief without LEP interference. That, in addition to their paranoid nature, caused most of the LEP to regard ancient gnome families as crackpots.
Normally, offering LEP aid to security would be no problem, but this particular gnome was even more paranoid than normal standards. He suspected everyone short of himself of trying to steal the family fortune. Good for the LEP because that meant one less gnome to worry about. Bad for Holly in particular because it would be harder than trying to get a dwarf to try skydiving than make Hash Tater let them in his security detail.
"Foaly, I just got a page from over my frequency." began a voice from outside the Operations Booth. Foaly, after checking his security cameras and whatnot, buzzed the person in. It was Captain Birchwood. Birchwood stepped inside the Booth.
Birchwood was an elf, extremely short, extremely grizzled, and extremely tough. What Birchwood lacked in height he more than made up for in toughness. Birchwood was famous for having beaten up his instructor during his last day at the Academy. He was a no nonsense veteran who made up for his age with comprehensive experience on the field. Dependable and skilled, he was often entrusted with the nitty gritty assignments other captains would have failed at.
"Something about the Mercury assignment?" he queried unnecessarily before looking at the e-mail as well as the translation on the plasma screen. He came to stand to the left of Foaly. "The target areas are these two? When does the heist happen?"
"We presume, following the pattern of Mercury's previous crimes, that it'll happen tonight," responded Foaly.
"That leaves us very little time to grease the wheels with the people who possess the jewels," cut in Holly, getting right down to the heart of the matter. "Tia Jade shouldn't be a problem, but Hash Tater ."
"One of the jewels is Hash Tater's?" muttered Birchwood, eyes showing the faintest signs of dismay. "I know him. Young gnome more paranoid than even you, Foaly."
"Hey," began Foaly, slightly offended. Holly nudged him before he could say anything more.
Birchwood's face-hardened in resolve. "All right," he said, "we have exactly twelve hours before the moon reaches the zenith. Let's not waste a second of it. Short, you go contact Tater and try not to flash your LEP badge too much. I hear he takes after pretty girls so it's better if you meet with him. Put your best girly foot forward. I'll contact Tia Jade."
"Uh, what do you mean exactly by girly foot?" asked Holly in consternation, but also in surprise that Birchwood was going to be present for tonight's stake out. For the better part since Birchwood and herself began sharing assignment responsibilities, he had been mostly absent. On duty with the tasks Root gave him presumably.
"Exactly what I mean," responded Birchwood shortly. "Focus. We had better grand slam this one, Short. More for your sake than mine."
Holly nodded. He was right. She shouldn't let anything distract her attention. Focus, focus, focus. She had it under control. Girly foot forward. Right.
Yeah right. A few spare hours later, Holly was seated in front of Hash Tater's desk in her regular LEP uniform. She figured, on the way down there, that the official procedure should be enough to convince Hash despite Captain Birchwood's advice. There is nothing in the world more effective than a liar to oneself.
Hash Tater was shorter than the elf average by a half-foot. He was plump round the middle and rear but made up for his gnomic physique by dressing in an immaculate designer suit. His wiry brown hair on the head and face were smooth and well styled. On several fingers were rings of precious stones and a bracelet of delicate workmanship.
His office was much more impressive. Again, it was a very large room with a costly marble floor. Leather furniture was tastefully spread out to accommodate a large party of people. One wall was entirely floor to ceiling glass windows. There was a bar in one end of the room. In another was a large entertainment system. Hash Tater's desk stood on the last end of the room. The metal chrome furniture was much more impressive than Root's. It was huge, sweeping the width of the room, and containing several shelves and desks. Holly, at first glance, could detect three computers whirring in perfect place on top of the desk.
The perfect fairy image of a millionaire.
Foaly had located the gnome in one of the Tater's compounds in the outskirts of Haven, coincidentally also the place where the jewel was being kept. Just Holly's luck that this jewel wasn't in a fairy bank. Still, as Holly was led into the heavily guarded mansion with up to date technology, the Tater security was no mere push over. Now she just had to convince the gnome that the LEP were earnest in helping them out.
"Your name is Captain Holly Short, is it?" asked Hash. He paused long after Holly's nod to gaze at her silently in a matter that decidedly grated on the elf's nerves. There was something suspicious about his stare that reminded her eerily of Chix Verbil. She did not want to be reminded of the amorous sprite in any way, shape, or form. "The female test case in Recon?"
"It's good that we were able to see you on short notice, Mr. Tater," began Holly, skipping whatever preamble the rich gnome might have intended to do. "But the LEP have good reason to see you. You see, we received word that the thief known as Mercury might rob a jewel you have in your possession that goes by the name of 'The Hunt of the goddess Artemis.'" She paused to let the significance of her words sink in.
The gnome changed from slightly stalkerish observant to wide-eyed paranoid. He spluttered with the first few words that shot out of his mouth before asking, "What? Mercury? As in the Mercury? After the diamonds? How? How do you know?"
"Sir, we received a puzzle from Mercury hinting that he'd be after famous diamonds with specific references to the moon. Your diamond happened to be one of significance that came to our lists."
Hash Tater nodded pompously, used to asserting the importance of his jewels, "Yes, yes, it is. Are you sure it's from Mercury, though? Where is the note? I need to see it and have it examined."
"Mr. Tater, you don't seem to understand the significance of the situation," objected the elf, hazel eyes glinting seriously, "There is a great chance that Mercury will come tonight to steal the jewel. If we're to help you catch the thief and safeguard your jewel, we need to act quickly. We don't have time for your personnel to come in here-"
"Wait a minute," interrupted Hash, " what do you mean by 'we'? The LEP, you mean? Come in here and add to my security detail?" The incredulity in his tone told Holly that he had not been entertaining the notion in his mind. He rose to his "intimidating" foot and a half height. "I never said anything about letting the LEP within my property."
"Sir," returned Holly firmly, standing up as well, "A dangerous criminal has a very good chance of entering and robbing your property. You'll need the LEP to contain the situation."
"I think not," retorted the gnome indignantly, "For centuries the LEP have dismissed my family pleas for aid and now all of a sudden you offer aid? This sounds suspicious, Ms. Short."
Holly was a little ticked off. A little because the gnome was being troll headed but more because he called her a miss. Not only did the very female (and therefore weak) implications grate on her nerves, but also he had derided her rank as an officer within the LEP. He wasn't taking her seriously enough. "Actually, it's Captain Short," answered the elf. "Secondly, your wishes in the issue are not the foremost matters of importance. It is the LEP's mission to catch Mercury and if you refuse to comply you are obstructing LEP procedures." Her hazel eyes glinted as the legalities of the matter chased themselves around Hash's mind.
"Y-you can't-" stuttered the stricken gnome, "I'll call my lawyers on this."
"I'm sure you will, but be that as it may, this is the situation as it stands. We can either sue each other and wreak havoc, risking your jewel in all the commotion, or we can cooperate with each other for just this one night and, I promise you, we'll be gone by tomorrow."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Oh wouldn't I?" asked Holly challengingly. Who said Holly had to put her girly foot forward? "Your precious diamond is at risk. Are you going to take that risk?"
Holly had hit the gnome right where it would be most effective: the paranoid impulses.
"V-very well," he agreed heavily after several minutes of silent contemplation. "But I have this entire conversation recorded so if I see any funny business going on, I'll go public with it!"
"Agreed," nodded the female captain, face impassive. However, she was inwardly triumphant.
"And I want you in charge of the operation!" added the gnome, "I want you to keep to your promises."
"Don't worry, Mr. Tater," soothed the officer, her voice back to being normal and polite, "I will be. Now let's start planning the security in earnest."
"Yes." agreed the gnome after a few minutes silence in which he took the opportunity to gaze at her again in the same way he had done initially. Holly stifled a groan.
Scene Two: Here it comes
Several days later, the female LEP captain walked to headquarters quite early the next day despite her late night shifts. She bypassed the usual traffic with hardly a glower. Her lithe figure deftly wove in and out among the heavy throng, the usual complaints and requests falling on deaf ears. Her attention was focused on the papers she was holding in front of her, hazel eyes gazing at the figures scrawled in Gnommish intently. In this same manner she marched inside the Police Plaza, drawing a few interested glances from coworkers.
"'Ey, Chix, isn't that the elf you like?" nudged a gnome who was staring at Holly's form walking calmly through. Chix and the gnome were hanging around the front lobby of the Police Plaza. "That the crazy girly captain, eh?" Chix automatically straightened himself from his slouch, green eyes hurriedly tracking down his big time crush. He caught only a glimpse of her before she disappeared through the elevators. He sighed in instant appreciation.
"Yep, she's the one," sighed the love struck sprite. He shouldered his bag of deliveries, gazing at her in a swooning sort of way. The gnome sniggered.
"Careful, there, Chixie, girls dun like open mouths like yours with drool coming out of 'em," he warned jokingly before slapping Chix on the back in a friendly manner.
"Uh huh," nodded Chix, gazing dreamily in Holly's general direction. His eyelids began to droop and he slouched once more. "Soon, me an' her are gonna get together." He began to fall forward but caught himself just in time.
His friend laughed uproariously at him, "What's wrong wi' ye, Chix? You're a lot o' things but clumsy ain't one of 'em," he snorted. He quieted once he took serious note at the weariness of his friend's stance and the droop of Chix's countenance. "'Ey, you ok, Chix?" he questioned once more. "You don' look so good."
"Yeah, yeah, fine," muttered the sprite, stifling a yawn. He hoisted his bag up. "Better get started on my deliveries."
"What've you been doin'? You look somethin' awful, Chix," commented the gnome worriedly. "More of those late night deliveries?" Chix Verbil, after the injury sustained on his left wing, had been assigned as something of a courier between the various departments within the LEP and government.
Chix nodded absentmindedly, "Yep. I'm tired'er than usual." He shrugged, and after casting one last longing look in the female LEP captain's directions, said, "See ya later, buddy." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
"Short!" roared Root from the confines of his office. For possibly one of the rare few times in Holly's career within the LEP, no, scratch that, in her entire life, the elf did not feel any amount of trepidation as she walked inside Root's spacious, well designed office. Well, as well designed an office could be with the usual clutter decorating any fairy police's office.
Root's office had probably been better looking before the present commander of LEPrecon had settled into the large room. It was spacious, a rarity and a luxury in cramped Haven these days, containing a handsome curved mahogany desk tailored to Commander Root's every need. Off to the side was a large computer console. On the other walls were posters of etiquettes, gung ho sayings, and rules that were considered sacred to LEP. Facing the desk were several chairs for conference and a small table to hold the small helpings of drinks and snacks in case anyone stayed longer than five minutes. Of course, the smell is not to be ignored.
Once the junior officer stepped into the office, she wondered, for what could veritably be the hundredth time, if there was a way to sneak in an extra powerful air freshener, or at least a way to bat away the noxious fungus cigar fumes that eternally hovered within without seeming to. Ahh, best to ask Foaly about that, but now . She took a deep breath, big mistake as it turned out, choked, before saying in as decent a voice as she could manage, "Yes, Commander?"
"Status report," ordered Root with a glint in his dark eyes.
Holly smiled. She had been expecting this. "Sir, I have gone over the assignment with Captain Birchwood and enlisted Foaly's back up in this case," she replied readily.
"Assignment progress?"
"We have determined that Mercury has an inside connection to the security schematics within either the Police Plaza or the Government Center," reported the younger elf evenly without missing a beat, "I've had Foaly run check ups personally and no one remotely suspicious has had access to the schematics center for the past three months. So instead we've decided to focus exclusively on Mercury while Foaly tightens the security around the schematics center. Instead of trying to catch him, we'll do a feint operation and attach a tracker on him. From then on we'll monitor his progress and trap him when he least expects it."
Root paused, both to process the latest bit of information his subordinate presented before him and to be silently and just a little impressed at Holly's work. She might make it past the proverbial dog house just yet.
"Proceed," he stated simply before dismissing her. Holly already knew she had scored points from the way Root's complexion lightened considerably. She dared not smile in the presence of her commander, but once outside the twitch on her lips bloomed to a full-blown smirk. She was just going down the hallway to her cubicle when she got an alarm on her wrist COM.
The wrist COM was a minicomputer capable of composing, sending, and receiving visual and audio files. Similar to the systems installed in all LEP helmets, it was also hooked to the various networks the LEP so that Holly might peruse information she needed at a moment's notice. In addition, the wrist COM was activated primarily by only Holly's voice but also by an interactive hologram control system it was able to project. It was a handy little piece of gadgetry that, Holly was fairly sure, was not available anywhere else. Of course, Foaly had given it to her as a birthday present the past spring
The small symbol on the tiny screen, a hoof with wings, told her that it was a message from the centaur himself. "Read e-mail," spoke Holly softly. The translucent screen brightened for a moment and writing scrolled down the surface. Holly looked at it once before smiling to herself and abruptly switching directions to the Operations Booth.
She entered her destinations a few spare minutes later, and the first words out of her mouth were, "You had better not be joking me, Foaly."
The centaur leaned against his swivel chair and smiled at her. "Look at it yourself, sweetheart," he replied before nodding to the large plasma screen. There were always several windows running at the same time on the main screen. Foaly being head techie of the LEP, was in charge of overseeing all of the LEP's various technical vantages. It was no mean feat to be in charge of a veritable army of systems, programs, and monitors.
Presently, however, the main window dominating the screen was that of an e- mail written in an elaborate manner suggesting some kind of code. One look at the message and Holly knew it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. "Were you able to trace it?" asked Holly, coming to stand by Foaly.
For a rare instant, Foaly's face was irritated and displeased, "No. It's just like the other ones. The trace comes back dead. I have no idea how he was able to compose this thing without a terminal that leaves a trace. Give me a few more messages though and I'll have him. One way or another."
"I see," nodded Holly, already expecting that, "One of the questions we're going to ask him once we put him behind bars. Did you decode it?"
"Didn't goblins start the turf war?" snorted the centaur. "Of course I decoded it! It's really simple."
Holly nodded, not even bothering to figure out what type of code it was. "So what does it say?" she pushed on.
Foaly humphed, obviously mildly irritated at the lack of appreciation he was getting. "Read it yourself," he retorted before pushing a button on his keyboard. Another window popped open, smaller than the one with the original message on it. It read, "You disappoint me. You hardly challenge me. I've collected drops of fire and hearts of trees. Can you stop me from stealing the fairy moon tonight when it shines the brightest? Come get me if you can."
Foaly commented, "Cocky. This guy is really cocky."
"Drops of fires and hearts of trees." murmured Holly speculatively, "He means the rubies and emeralds he's been getting lately. So the moon."
"Is most probably a diamond," finished the centaur.
"But which one?"
Foaly's golden eyes turned once more to the screen. "I ran a check on all famous diamonds fairies possess. Most aren't really conclusive but there are two with specific references to the moon." He tapped a few more keys. Another window popped open containing an image of a cluster of sapphires set against a rich velvet background. Amidst the small jewels was a moderate sized globe of diamond glistening in the dark. "That's the newest art creation of that jewel crafts sprite Tia Jade. It's called, 'The Heavens'."
Holly nodded, "Appropriately enough."
"Still incomplete work though. Apparently she still has to add the sun and all the rest of the galaxy," smirked Foaly.
"I see," said the elf, "Pretty suspicious, but what's the other?"
Foaly brought up another screen. The image was faded, not very good compared to current LEP standards. Holly guessed that it must have been taking over a hundred years ago. However, it did contain one single sphere of diamond, in perfect symmetry so that whatever light directed at it was kept within making it seem to be shining its own light. "This one is simply called 'The Hunt of the goddess Artemis.'" His eyes flicked to Holly at the mention of the name, expecting some kind of reaction. He was disappointed. Holly looked perfectly impassive.
"Artemis." murmured the elf, "It's vague enough to slip past the obvious."
Foaly shrugged, leaning back in his chair, hands steepled together and arms supported by the armrests, "Nobody knows why it's named that way except that it does look like the moon."
"Who does it belong to?"
"It belongs to a gnome that goes by the name of Hash Tater," replied Foaly readily enough. "He's the heir apparent to the Tater family fortune."
"Tater? As in the Tater?"
"Yep, the famous Tater family. They can trace their bloodline all the way back to the days of when fairies lived aboveground," nodded Foaly. "Apparently, it's a family treasure. You know how gnomes are and their gold. Especially the ones with the history to them."
Holly nodded. Ancient gnome families, starkly different from the country gnomes that one usually encountered in Haven, were obscenely opulent, talented, and difficult to get along with. Most gnome families were involved in engineering, one of the careers in the fairy world that thrived exponentially. Thus also fulfilling the stereotype of gnomes as smiths as well as rich (along with their more popular cousins the dwarves), they were obsessive and paranoid of the security of their possessions to the point of mania. One of the witch doctors in the Brotherhood of Psychologists even went so far as to classify this type of behavior as an example of obsessive compulsive.
The LEP had frequent dealings with the ancient gnome families because they often called on the police force to help safeguard their valuables. The tight security around their own private homes, if the valuables were not in fairy banks, was more than enough to deter the regular thief without LEP interference. That, in addition to their paranoid nature, caused most of the LEP to regard ancient gnome families as crackpots.
Normally, offering LEP aid to security would be no problem, but this particular gnome was even more paranoid than normal standards. He suspected everyone short of himself of trying to steal the family fortune. Good for the LEP because that meant one less gnome to worry about. Bad for Holly in particular because it would be harder than trying to get a dwarf to try skydiving than make Hash Tater let them in his security detail.
"Foaly, I just got a page from over my frequency." began a voice from outside the Operations Booth. Foaly, after checking his security cameras and whatnot, buzzed the person in. It was Captain Birchwood. Birchwood stepped inside the Booth.
Birchwood was an elf, extremely short, extremely grizzled, and extremely tough. What Birchwood lacked in height he more than made up for in toughness. Birchwood was famous for having beaten up his instructor during his last day at the Academy. He was a no nonsense veteran who made up for his age with comprehensive experience on the field. Dependable and skilled, he was often entrusted with the nitty gritty assignments other captains would have failed at.
"Something about the Mercury assignment?" he queried unnecessarily before looking at the e-mail as well as the translation on the plasma screen. He came to stand to the left of Foaly. "The target areas are these two? When does the heist happen?"
"We presume, following the pattern of Mercury's previous crimes, that it'll happen tonight," responded Foaly.
"That leaves us very little time to grease the wheels with the people who possess the jewels," cut in Holly, getting right down to the heart of the matter. "Tia Jade shouldn't be a problem, but Hash Tater ."
"One of the jewels is Hash Tater's?" muttered Birchwood, eyes showing the faintest signs of dismay. "I know him. Young gnome more paranoid than even you, Foaly."
"Hey," began Foaly, slightly offended. Holly nudged him before he could say anything more.
Birchwood's face-hardened in resolve. "All right," he said, "we have exactly twelve hours before the moon reaches the zenith. Let's not waste a second of it. Short, you go contact Tater and try not to flash your LEP badge too much. I hear he takes after pretty girls so it's better if you meet with him. Put your best girly foot forward. I'll contact Tia Jade."
"Uh, what do you mean exactly by girly foot?" asked Holly in consternation, but also in surprise that Birchwood was going to be present for tonight's stake out. For the better part since Birchwood and herself began sharing assignment responsibilities, he had been mostly absent. On duty with the tasks Root gave him presumably.
"Exactly what I mean," responded Birchwood shortly. "Focus. We had better grand slam this one, Short. More for your sake than mine."
Holly nodded. He was right. She shouldn't let anything distract her attention. Focus, focus, focus. She had it under control. Girly foot forward. Right.
Yeah right. A few spare hours later, Holly was seated in front of Hash Tater's desk in her regular LEP uniform. She figured, on the way down there, that the official procedure should be enough to convince Hash despite Captain Birchwood's advice. There is nothing in the world more effective than a liar to oneself.
Hash Tater was shorter than the elf average by a half-foot. He was plump round the middle and rear but made up for his gnomic physique by dressing in an immaculate designer suit. His wiry brown hair on the head and face were smooth and well styled. On several fingers were rings of precious stones and a bracelet of delicate workmanship.
His office was much more impressive. Again, it was a very large room with a costly marble floor. Leather furniture was tastefully spread out to accommodate a large party of people. One wall was entirely floor to ceiling glass windows. There was a bar in one end of the room. In another was a large entertainment system. Hash Tater's desk stood on the last end of the room. The metal chrome furniture was much more impressive than Root's. It was huge, sweeping the width of the room, and containing several shelves and desks. Holly, at first glance, could detect three computers whirring in perfect place on top of the desk.
The perfect fairy image of a millionaire.
Foaly had located the gnome in one of the Tater's compounds in the outskirts of Haven, coincidentally also the place where the jewel was being kept. Just Holly's luck that this jewel wasn't in a fairy bank. Still, as Holly was led into the heavily guarded mansion with up to date technology, the Tater security was no mere push over. Now she just had to convince the gnome that the LEP were earnest in helping them out.
"Your name is Captain Holly Short, is it?" asked Hash. He paused long after Holly's nod to gaze at her silently in a matter that decidedly grated on the elf's nerves. There was something suspicious about his stare that reminded her eerily of Chix Verbil. She did not want to be reminded of the amorous sprite in any way, shape, or form. "The female test case in Recon?"
"It's good that we were able to see you on short notice, Mr. Tater," began Holly, skipping whatever preamble the rich gnome might have intended to do. "But the LEP have good reason to see you. You see, we received word that the thief known as Mercury might rob a jewel you have in your possession that goes by the name of 'The Hunt of the goddess Artemis.'" She paused to let the significance of her words sink in.
The gnome changed from slightly stalkerish observant to wide-eyed paranoid. He spluttered with the first few words that shot out of his mouth before asking, "What? Mercury? As in the Mercury? After the diamonds? How? How do you know?"
"Sir, we received a puzzle from Mercury hinting that he'd be after famous diamonds with specific references to the moon. Your diamond happened to be one of significance that came to our lists."
Hash Tater nodded pompously, used to asserting the importance of his jewels, "Yes, yes, it is. Are you sure it's from Mercury, though? Where is the note? I need to see it and have it examined."
"Mr. Tater, you don't seem to understand the significance of the situation," objected the elf, hazel eyes glinting seriously, "There is a great chance that Mercury will come tonight to steal the jewel. If we're to help you catch the thief and safeguard your jewel, we need to act quickly. We don't have time for your personnel to come in here-"
"Wait a minute," interrupted Hash, " what do you mean by 'we'? The LEP, you mean? Come in here and add to my security detail?" The incredulity in his tone told Holly that he had not been entertaining the notion in his mind. He rose to his "intimidating" foot and a half height. "I never said anything about letting the LEP within my property."
"Sir," returned Holly firmly, standing up as well, "A dangerous criminal has a very good chance of entering and robbing your property. You'll need the LEP to contain the situation."
"I think not," retorted the gnome indignantly, "For centuries the LEP have dismissed my family pleas for aid and now all of a sudden you offer aid? This sounds suspicious, Ms. Short."
Holly was a little ticked off. A little because the gnome was being troll headed but more because he called her a miss. Not only did the very female (and therefore weak) implications grate on her nerves, but also he had derided her rank as an officer within the LEP. He wasn't taking her seriously enough. "Actually, it's Captain Short," answered the elf. "Secondly, your wishes in the issue are not the foremost matters of importance. It is the LEP's mission to catch Mercury and if you refuse to comply you are obstructing LEP procedures." Her hazel eyes glinted as the legalities of the matter chased themselves around Hash's mind.
"Y-you can't-" stuttered the stricken gnome, "I'll call my lawyers on this."
"I'm sure you will, but be that as it may, this is the situation as it stands. We can either sue each other and wreak havoc, risking your jewel in all the commotion, or we can cooperate with each other for just this one night and, I promise you, we'll be gone by tomorrow."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Oh wouldn't I?" asked Holly challengingly. Who said Holly had to put her girly foot forward? "Your precious diamond is at risk. Are you going to take that risk?"
Holly had hit the gnome right where it would be most effective: the paranoid impulses.
"V-very well," he agreed heavily after several minutes of silent contemplation. "But I have this entire conversation recorded so if I see any funny business going on, I'll go public with it!"
"Agreed," nodded the female captain, face impassive. However, she was inwardly triumphant.
"And I want you in charge of the operation!" added the gnome, "I want you to keep to your promises."
"Don't worry, Mr. Tater," soothed the officer, her voice back to being normal and polite, "I will be. Now let's start planning the security in earnest."
"Yes." agreed the gnome after a few minutes silence in which he took the opportunity to gaze at her again in the same way he had done initially. Holly stifled a groan.