Banque de France

Artemis and Juliet were waiting at the Central French Bank, also known as Banque de France in the simplest version. They were waiting for a signal that was always sent out by the guard as a sign he was leaving his post.

"Artemis," Juliet yawned, "Why am I here again? Have you any idea what time it is?"

"You are here because Mulch is still sleeping. You should not have given him so much to eat. After that heavy snack he dosed off right away and you are the second option after all," Artemis stated dryly, "And yes I do know the time, it is now four in the morning."

Juliet rolled her eyes, "Why are we here at this time anyway?"

"After I did some research I found out that this is the time the incompetent guard leaves his post, his routine is the same, a signal will be sent to his partner as a sign he's leaving and the partner will resume his post. We have one minute," Artemis said, looking at his watch, "There's the signal," he pointed at the flashing light, "Let's go now." Artemis leapt to his feet and walked towards the entrance not even bothering about the security cameras.

"Um, Artemis what about the cameras?" Juliet asked, looking around the room.

"Programmed to show a clear background," was his quick reply. "Do not worry this theft is simple," he added.

"Password," the machine prompted.

Artemis held out a machine which replayed the voice of one of the staff members, the password was far from an eternity code but it did an adequate job of protecting the bank.

He had entered the first phase of the vault's security, next was the retina scanner.

Artemis' lens which could gain access to any retina scanner known to any man or fairy was used with speed because they were going to run out of time, next was the fingerprint scanner which Artemis passed after Juliet knocked out a passing guard. They could have done it to the guard that was taking the shift but sometimes the guards changed shifts without any knowledge of the manager. There was no mark on the guard which left no evidence and the computer was programmed to recognise that fingerprint. The last one left was the laser beams. It was easily shut down and the last thing which they needed to do was locate the painting.

"Oh my God!" Juliet exclaimed, she looked all around the gigantic vault. There seemed to be file cabinets everywhere which seemed quite unusual because Juliet had always imagined a vault to just have cash piled everywhere.

"Juliet," Artemis hissed, "Keep your voice down. We have thirty seconds to locate the painting."

Juliet nodded and ran towards the nearest file cabinets. She scanned through the labels as fast as she could while her employer was searching in a different area. "Artemis, how does this painting look like?"

"I do not know," Artemis admitted, "If I knew I could have forged it months ago."

"Right, photographic memory or digital camera," Juliet said slowly.

Artemis nodded without turning to face her, "It may have been exhibited in a few museums but I am only interested in it now because its value is now worth more than a million dollars. It's a petty amount but its money all the same. Identifying the painting is simple; just try to find a picture with a signature at the bottom that is similar to a flower."

"Is this it?" Juliet asked as she held up a painting.

Artemis finally turned to face her, he walked towards her and studied every inch of the painting careful not to miss a single detail, "Correct, this is the painting," he confirmed.

"Good, let's get out of here," Juliet said. She ran towards the vault door and Artemis followed although his pace was not as quick as hers.

Artemis carried the painting in a small sack and handled it with great care which was another reason his pace was not as quick as Juliet's. He hardly cared about the guard, as far as he knew the guard thought his job was boring and would take any opportunity for a coffee break.

"Juliet," Artemis called in a hushed voice, "There is no need to hurry."

"Hello! We only have like ten seconds. Vamanos."

"Do you want me to spoil the painting?" Artemis said finally catching up with her.

Juliet sighed, "Forget it we're out already."

"Of course we are, I calculated our every move to the last nanosecond," said Artemis.

"You could have told me earlier," Juliet sighed.

"Why?" Artemis said raising an eyebrow, "What would you do if I did tell you?"
"It could keep my nerves in order."

"I never knew you cared about your health especially since you eat processed potatoes with high sodium content and artificial flavouring and also since you drink carbonated water with high sugar content with both artificial flavouring and colouring."

Juliet rolled her eyes, "You mean chips and soda, right?"

"That what I said," Artemis said, annoyed.

"Right…" Juliet said, "So, what do we do now?"

"Correction, you are going home, I am going to the airport," Artemis corrected Juliet.

"But I'm your…"

"Bodyguard," Artemis finished, "I have left you at home for a few times and you never complained."

"Only because 'Survivor' was on and because I caught a cold," Juliet replied in a whining tone.

"I know you're well enough to work since you accompanied me on this trip but that is no reason why you should come to America with me especially since my father left me a note saying that he and mother had left early and told me to catch a flight to California in the morning."

"I'm going, I'm going," Juliet grumbled. She powered up the Double Speed Wings which were now used widely by the officers in the LEP force. Double Dex Wings were no longer use because the LEP had discovered that Athena's inventions seemed more efficient, for a mud maid that is. Plus, Foaly didn't like to be reminded of Opal Koboi. So Athena and Foaly had collaborated and made the inventions under his name. Which meant extra pay for him.

Just to introduce a few inventions that will come out later. Back to my question, what is Vinyanya's position. Anyway, if you're reading REVIEW!

Liz