Chapter 2: On the Loose

LEP Captain Holly Short was having the worst day in the history of worst days. She was being put on full-time traffic duty until her actions had been reviewed by the Council. The hearing that would decide her fate was to be held in less than three hours.

She was allowed no contact with Artemis Fowl (even though he probably could have helped the LEP in the grand scheme of things) and there were two megalomaniacal, homicidal pixies out for revenge on a lot of people; fairies and humans alike. And she was towards the top of that list. Fortunately for Holly, she knew the identities of those two pixies. Unfortunately for everyone on the list of victims, the pixies were the same fairy. So double the megalomania and double the homicidal fury. Whoopee.

Two months previously:

Grub Kelp had been posted on duty at the Atlantic Penitentiary, one of the most highly protected and guarded prison units under the earth, only next to Howler's Peak: the goblin prison. Of course he wasn't there to guard some of the most dangerous convicts underground, he was just there to write a report on how well everyone was doing their job. A task he took with absolutely no apparent sincerity. At the moment, he was having a coffee break, but he rarely touched the actual coffee, preferring instead to devour most of the nut bread that was provided for the officers on duty. Let's just say those other officers wouldn't be getting very much to eat until they went home after their shift.

It was as he was licking the last crumbs of nut bread from his pudgy fingers that he saw her. A somewhat familiar, lovely twisted face peeked from a crate of batteries at the far end of the room. "Pst." The face said. Stunned Grub walked over to it, arm outstretched, unknowingly blocking the security camera's view of the person at the end of the room. "Pst." It said again.

Grub opened his mouth, spewing a few unswallowed crumbs. "You're –

"Oh shut up you manner-less moron." Its voice was as stunning as its face; like a million little bells. The last shreds of will-power evaporated from Grub's mind as he was pulled into the hypnotic depths of the mesmer. Though, to be honest, there wasn't of that willpower much to begin with.

His mouth clamped shut, as ordered. "Thank you." The voice continued. "Now, I want you to find out which cell Opal Koboi is in, how many security cameras will be monitoring our passage, and how many guards there will be. Can you remember all that?"

Grub nodded. It was all he could do. "Good. Now tell me everything you know about the security here. Whisper though. We don't want the mean LEP to come in and arrest us, now do we?"

Grub nodded again. The face smiled.

--

Opal Koboi was not in the best of moods. She was cooped up in the luggage rack of an Atlantean storage shuttle on its way to the Atlantic Penitentiary. It had been extremely frustrating to find a way on the shuttle in the first place. She'd had to shield and smuggle herself into one of the storage crates. Not the way she was used to traveling. There were times when she almost regretted her decision in coming to this time. And anyway, weren't they supposed to have some sort of stuffing in those boxes to cushion the things inside? Apparently not.

It took a while, but eventually she found that she was in a crate filled with batteries. But these were nuclear batteries; extra stock for the officers. Which meant that this box would be delivered straight to a minimal security lounge or office. Perfect. Who said there weren't any perks in stowing away? Alright nobody, but that's not the point.

After four hours in the storage crate, she was able to sneak a peek through one of the cracks. From what she could tell she was in the transparent hull of the shuttle. The ocean wrapped around it like a translucent, polluted blanket.

She could see the prison looming in front of the shuttle from the depths of the sea. It was basically a gigantic, pressurized, metal alloy bubble with a tiny landing dock on the side. And that was the only entrance or exit. They probably can't afford to have any more openings in that facility, Opal thought. If there was even the slightest pressure leak, the whole thing would crumple like a tin can. The pixie smiled with malevolent glee.

When she felt the box drop she knew she was inside. Nobody had even checked the boxes. Pathetic security for the so-called most highly protected prison under the Earth. And just what Opal Koboi had expected.

Now came the tricky part: getting past the security inside; and without hiding in a box. In the prison cells halls, there would be guards posted at every door, and four or five to patrol the corridor. All the cameras - provided by that pathetic excuse for a centaur Foaly - would be the latest technology, have shield filters, and would have no blind spots. Unless you had someone stand right in front of them or put a hand over the lens. But nobody would do that…

She lifted the top of the box a centimeter so she could survey her surroundings. She was positioned at the far end of a room, which seemed to have two separate functions. The part closest to the door was possibly a lounge for the officers on duty to have a break. The area in which she was placed, looked like a small office space with an unmanned desk. Or perhaps temporarily unmanned since these batteries were probably meant for the officer normally sitting there to inventory. Up in the corner of the walls opposite her nestled two small cameras. Opal snorted, they weren't even digital. And were fixed in place no less. Security wasn't a big factor in the refreshment lounge.

If she had an LEP helmet she could trace the ion beams created by the cameras, but unfortunately the only helmet anywhere in close vicinity was resting in the arm of a small, pudgy LEP officer stuffing his face with cake right underneath the cameras.

He didn't seem to be particularly bright, she observed as he dropped a piece of bread and bent to pick it up. His helmet fell and rolled underneath the table. He lay on his stomach and strained to reach under the table. Opal almost giggled at the sight of his rather large backside protruding from underneath the refreshments. No, she decided, not bright at all. And it was then that her plan began to form.

--

NOTE: I hope this was somewhat believable…I'm having trouble picturing all of the gadgets and forming plans fit for genius' since I am definitely not a genius. :P Well I hope it was at least enjoyable and I am really sorry it took so long for me to update!!!! :( For the same reason stated above it has taken me FOREVER to try to come up with a witty, intelligent, and enjoyable plot line with all the little details and gadgets and I'm STIL not completely there…So hang in there with me!! If you want to at least. Haha I wouldn't be surprised if you were so furious with me for taking so long to update that you never want to look at this fic again!! :P

But none-the-less…REVIEW!! lol :P

-Bells

WARNING: MAY TAKE LONG TIME TO UPDATE. I'm sorry :(