The Opal Deception（6）GREET THE NEIGHBORS

Chapter 5: GREET THE NEIGHBORS

E37, The Lower Elements

Foaly could not believe what was happening. His eyes were sending information to his brain, but his brain refused to accept it. Because if he were to accept this information, he would have to believe that his friend Holly Short had just shot her own commander and was now attempting to escape to the surface. This was completely impossible, though not everybody was so reluctant to accept this.
The centaur’s mobile tech shuttle had been commandeered by Internal Affairs. This operation now fell under their jurisdiction because an LEP officer was suspected of a crime. All LEP personnel had been ejected from the shuttle, but Foaly was allowed to stay simply because he was the only one able to operate the surveillance equipment.Grassland Fence
Commander Ark Sool was an LEP gnome who went after suspect police fairies.
Sool was unusually tall and thin for a gnome, like a giraffe in a baboon’s skin. His dark hair was slicked straight back in a no-nonsense style, and his fingers and ears boasted none of the golden adornments generally so beloved of the gnome families. Ark Sool was the highest-ranking gnome officer in Internal Affairs, and he believed that the LEP was basically a bunch of loose cannons who were presided over by a maverick. And now the maverick was dead, killed, apparently, by the biggest loose cannon in the bunch. Holly Short may have narrowly avoided criminal charges on two previous occasions. She would not escape this time.
‘Play the video again, centaur,“ he instructed, tapping the worktop with his cane. Most annoying.
‘We’ve looked at this a dozen times,“ protested Foaly. ”I don’t see the point.“
Sool silenced him with a glare from his red-rimmed eyes. “You don’t see the point.“ The centaur doesn’t see the point? I don’t see where that’s an important factor in the current equation.
You, Mister Foaly, are here to press buttons, not to offer opinions. Commander Root placed far too much value on your opinions, and look where that got him, eh?“
Foaly swallowed the dozen or so acidic responses that were queuing on his tongue. If he was excluded from this operation now, he could do nothing to help Holly.
‘Play the video. Yessir.“
Foaly cued the video from E37. It was damning stuff. Julius and Holly hovered around General Scalene for several moments. They appeared to be quite agitated, then for some reason, and incredible as it sounded, Holly shot the commander with some kind of incendiary bullet. At this point they lost all video feeds from both helmets.Grassland Fence
‘Back up the tape twenty seconds,“ ordered Sool, leaning in close to the monitor. He poked his cane into the plasma screen. ”What’s that?“
‘Careful with the cane,“ said Foaly. ”These screens are expensive. I get them from Atlantis.“
‘Answer the question, centaur. What is that?“
Sool prodded the screen twice, just to show how little he cared about Foaly’s gizmos.
The Internal Affairs Commander was pointing to a slight shimmer on Root’s chest.
‘I’m not sure,“ admitted Foaly. ”It could be heat distortion, or maybe equipment failure. Or perhaps just a glitch. I’ll have to run some tests.“
Sool nodded. “Run your tests, though I don’t expect you’ll find anything. Short is a burnout, simple as that. She always was. I nearly had her before, but this time it’s cut and dried.”
Foaly knew he should bite his tongue, but he had to defend his friend. “Isn’t this all a bit convenient. First we lose sound, so we don’t know what was said. Then there’s this fuzzy patch that could be anything; and now we’re expected to believe that a decorated officer just up and shot her commander, an elf who was like a father to her.”
‘Yes, I see your point, Foaly,“ said Sool silkily. ”Very good. Nice to know you’re thinking on some level. But let’s stick to our respective jobs, eh? You build the machinery, and I operate it. For example, these new Neutrinos that our field personnel are armed with?“
‘Yes, what about them?“ said Foaly suspiciously.Grassland Fence
‘They are personalized to each officer, am I right? Nobody else can fire them. And each shot is registered?“
‘That is correct,“ admitted Foaly, all too aware where this was leading.
Sool waved his cane like a symphony conductor. “Well then, surely all we have to do is check Captain Short’s weapon’s log to see if she fired a shot at the precise time indicated on the video. If she did, then the film is authentic, and Holly Short did indeed murder her commander, regardless of what we can or cannot hear.”
Foaly ground his horsey teeth. Of course it made perfect sense. He had thought of it half an hour ago, and already knew what the cross-referencing would reveal. He pulled up Holly’s weapon’s log and read the relevant passage.
‘Weapon registered at zero nine forty, HMT. Six pulses at zero nine fifty-six, and then one level two pulse fired at zero nine fifty-eight.“
Sool slapped the cane into his palm in triumph. “One level two pulse fired at zero nine fifty-eight. Exactly right. Whatever else happened in that chute, Short fired on her commander.”
Foaly leaped out of his specially tailored office chair. “But a level two pulse couldn’t cause such a big explosion. It practically caved in the entire access tunnel.”
‘Which is why Short isn’t in custody right now,“ said Sool. ”It will take weeks to clean out that tunnel. I’ve had to send a Retrieval team through El, in Tar a. They will have to travel over ground to Paris and pick up her trail from there.“
‘But what about the explosion itself?“
Sool grimaced, as though Foaly’s questions were a bitter nugget in an otherwise delicious meal.
‘Oh, I’m sure there’s an explanation, centaur. Combustible gas, or a malfunction, or just bad luck. We’ll figure that out. For now my priority, and yours, is to bring Captain Short back here for trial. I want you to liaise with the Retrieval team. Feed them constant updates on Short’s position.“
Foaly nodded without enthusiasm. Holly was still wearing her helmet. And the LEP helmet could verify her identity and relay a constant stream of diagnostic information back to Foaly’s computers. They had no sound or video but there was plenty of information to track Holly wherever she might go in the world, or under it. At the moment, Holly was in Germany. Her heart rate was elevated but otherwise she was okay.Grassland Fence
Why did you run, Holly?
Foaly asked his absent friend silently.
If you’re innocent, why did you run?
‘Tell me where Captain Short is now,“ demanded Sool.
The centaur maximized the live feed from Holly’s helmet on the plasma screen.
‘She’s still in Germany, Munich, to be precise. She’s stopped moving now. Maybe she will decide to come Home.“
Sool frowned. “I seriously doubt it, centaur. She’s a bad egg, through and through.”
Foaly fumed. Manners dictated that only a friend refer to another fairy by species, and Sool was no friend of his. Or anyone’s.
‘We can’t say that for sure,“ said Foaly, through his clenched teeth.
Sool leaned even closer to the plasma screen, a slow smile stretching his tight skin.
‘Actually, centaur, you’re wrong there. I think we can safely say for sure that Captain Short won’t be coming back. Recall the Retrieval team immediately.“
Foaly checked Holly’s screen. The life signs from her helmet were all flatlining. One second she was stressed but alive, and the next she was gone. No heartbeat, no brain activity, no temperature reading. She couldn’t have simply taken off the helmet, as there was an infrared connection between each LEP officer and their helmet. No, Holly was dead, and it hadn’t been by natural causes.Grassland Fence
Foaly felt the tears brimming on his eyelids. Not Holly too.
‘Recall the Retrieval team? Are you insane, Sool? We have to find Holly. Find out what happened.“
Sool was unaffected by Foaly’s outburst. If anything, he appeared to enjoy it.
‘Short was a traitor and she was obviously in collusion with the goblins. Somehow her nefarious plan backfired and she was killed. I want you to remote-activate the incinerator in her helmet immediately, and we’ll close the book on a rogue officer.“
Foaly was aghast. “Activate the remote incinerator! I can’t do that.”
Sool rolled his eyes. “Again with the opinions. You don’t have authority here; you just obey it.“
‘But I’ll have a satellite picture in thirty minutes,“ protested the centaur. ”We can wait that long, surely.“
Sool elbowed past Foaly to the keyboard.
‘Negative. You know the regulations. No bodies are left exposed for the humans to find. It’s a tough rule, I know, but necessary.“
‘The helmet could have malfunctioned,“ said Foaly, grasping at straws.
‘Is it likely that all the life-sign readings could have flatlined at the same moment through equipment failure?“
‘No,“ admitted Foaly.
‘And just how unlikely is it?“
‘About one chance in ten million,“ said the technical adviser miserably.
Sool picked his way around the keyboard. “If you don’t have the stomach for it, centaur. I’ll do it myself.” He entered his password and detonated the incinerator in Holly’s helmet.
On a rooftop in Munich, Holly’s helmet dissolved in a pool of acid. And in theory, so did Holly’s body.Grassland Fence
‘There,“ said Sool, satisfied. ”She’s gone, and now we can all sleep a little easier.“
Not me, thought Foaly, staring forlornly at the screen. It will be a very long time before I sleep easy again.

Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland
Artemis Fowl woke from a sleep haunted by nightmares. In his dreams, strange, red-eyed creatures had ripped open his chest with scimitar tusks and dined on his heart. He sat up in an undersized cot, both hands flying to his chest. His shirt was caked with dried blood, but there was no wound.
Artemis took several deep shuddering breaths, pumping oxygen through his brain.
Assess the situation, Butler always told him.
If you find yourself in unfamiliar territory, become familiar with it before opening your mouth. Ten seconds of observation could save your life.
Artemis looked around, eyelids fluttering like camera shutters, absorbing every detail. He was in a small box room, about ten square feet. One wall was completely transparent and appeared to look out over the Dublin quays. From the position of the Millennium Bridge, the room was somewhere in the Temple Bar area. The chamber itself was constructed from a strange material. Some kind of silver-gray fabric. Rigid, but malleable, with several plasma screens on the opaque walls. It was all extremely hi-tech, but seemed years old, and almost abandoned.
In the corner, a girl sat hunched on folding chair. She cradled her head in both hands, her shoulders hitching gently with sobs.Grassland Fence
Artemis cleared his throat. “Why are you crying, girl?”
The girl jerked upright, and it became immediately obvious that this was no normal girl. In fact, she appeared to belong to a totally different species.
‘Pointed ears,“ noted Artemis, with surprising composure. ”Prosthetic or real?“
Holly almost smiled through her tears. “Typical Artemis Fowl. Always looking for options. My ears are very real, as you well know… knew.”
Artemis was silent for several moments, processing the wealth of information in those few sentences.
‘Real pointed ears? Then you are of another species, not human. Possibly a fairy?“
Holly nodded. “I am a fairy. Actually, an elf. I’m what you would call a leprechaun too, but that’s just a job.”
‘And fairies speak English, do they?“
‘We speak all languages. The gift of tongues, it is part of our magic.“
Artemis knew that these revelations should send his world spinning on its axis, but he found himself accepting every word. It was as though he had always suspected the existence of fairies, and this was simply confirmation.
Although, strangely, he could not remember ever having even thought about fairies before this day.Grassland Fence
‘And you claim to know me? Personally or from some kind of surveillance? You certainly seem to have the technology.“
‘We’ve known you for a few years now, Artemis.
You made first contact, and we’ve been keeping an eye on you ever since.“
Artemis was slightly startled. “I made first contact?”
‘Yes. December, two years ago. You kidnapped me.“
‘Is this your revenge? That explosive device? My ribs?“ A horrible thought struck the Irish boy. ”And what about Butler ? Is he dead?“
Holly did her best to answer all of these questions.
‘It is revenge, but not mine. And Butler is alive. I just had to get you out of there before another attempt was made on your life.“
‘So we’re friends now?“
Holly shrugged. “Maybe. We’ll see.”
All of this was slightly confusing. Even for a genius.
Artemis crossed his legs in the lotus position and rested his temples against pointed fingers.
‘You had better tell me everything,“ he said, closing his eyes. ”From the beginning. And leave nothing out.“
So Holly did. She told Artemis how he had kidnapped her, then released her at the last moment. She told him how they had journeyed to the Arctic to rescue his father, and how they had foiled a goblin rebellion bankrolled by Opal Koboi.Grassland Fence
She recounted in great detail their mission to Chicago to steal back the C Cube, a super computer constructed by Artemis from pirated fairy technology. Finally, in a small quiet voice, she told of Commander Root’s death and of Opal Koboi’s sinister plot to bring the fairy and human worlds together.
Artemis sat perfectly still, absorbing hundreds of incredible facts. His brow was slightly creased as if the information were difficult to digest.
Finally, when his brain had organized the data, he opened his eyes.
‘Very well,“ he said. ”I don’t remember any of this, but I believe you. I accept that we humans have fairy neighbors below the planet’s surface.“
‘Just like that?“
Artemis’s lip curled. “Hardly. I have taken your story and cross-referenced it with the facts as I know them. The only other scenario that could explain everything that has happened, up to and including your own bizarre appearance, is a convoluted conspiracy theory involving the Russian Mafiya and a crack team of plastic surgeons. Hardly likely. But your fairy story fits, right down to something that you could not know about, Captain Short.”
‘Which is?“
‘After my alleged mind wipe, I discovered mirrored contact lenses in my own eyes and Butler ’s. Investigation revealed that I myself had ordered the lenses, though I had no memory of the fact. I suspect that I ordered them to cheat your mesmer“
Holly nodded. It made sense. Fairies had the power to mesmerize humans, but eye contact was part of the trick, coupled with a mesmeric voice. Mirrored contact lenses would leave the subject completely in control, while pretending to be under the mesmer.
‘The only reason for this would be if I had planted a trigger somewhere. Something that would cause my fairy memories to come rushing back. But what?“
‘I have no idea,“ said Holly. ”I was hoping that just seeing me would trigger recall.“
Artemis smiled in a very annoying way. As one would at a small child who had just suggested that the moon was made of cheese.Grassland Fence
‘No, Captain. I would guess that your Mister Foaly’s mind-wiping technology is an advanced version of the memory-suppressant drugs being experimented with by various governments. The brain, you see, is a complex instrument; if it can be convinced that something did not happen, it will invent all kinds of scenarios to maintain that illusion. Nothing can change its mind, so to speak.
Even if the conscious accepts something, the mind wipe will have convinced the subconscious otherwise. So, no matter how convincing you are, you cannot convert my altered subconscious. My subconscious probably believes that you are a hallucination or a miniature spy. No, the only way that my memories could be returned to me would be if my subconscious could not present a reasonable argument; say, if the one person that I trust completely presented me with irrefutable evidence.“
Holly felt herself growing annoyed. Artemis could get under her skin like nobody else. A child who treated everyone like children.
‘And who is this one person that you trust?“
Artemis smiled genuinely for the first time since Munich. “Why, myself, of course.”

Munich
Butler woke to find blood dripping from the tip of his nose. It was dripping onto the white hat of the hotel chef. The chef stood with a group of hotel kitchen staff in the middle of a destroyed storage shed. The man gripped a cleaver in his hairy fist, just in case this giant on the tattered mattress wedged into the rafters was a madman.
‘Excuse me,“ said the chef politely, which is unusual for a chef, ”are you alive?“
Butler considered the question. Apparently, unlikely as it seemed, he was alive. The mattress had saved him from the strange missile.
Artemis had survived, too. He remembered feeling his charge’s heartbeat just before he passed out.
It wasn’t there now.
‘I am alive,“ he grunted, a paste of tile dust and blood spilling from his lips. ”Where is the boy who was with me?“
The crowd assembled in the ruined shed looked at one another.Grassland Fence
‘There was no boy,“ said the chef finally. ”You fell through the roof all on your own.“
Doubtless, this group would like an explanation or they would inform the police.
‘Of course there was no boy. Forgive me; the mind tends to wander after a three-story fall.“
The group nodded as one. Who could blame the giant being a touch rattled?
‘I was leaning against the railing, sunning myself, when the railing gave way. Lucky for me, I managed to grab the mattress on the way down.“
This explanation was met with the mass skepticism it thoroughly deserved. The chef voiced the group’s doubts.
‘You managed to grab a mattress?“
Butler had to think quickly, which is not easy when all the blood in your body is concentrated in your forehead.
‘Yes. It was on the balcony. I had been resting in the sun.“
This entire sun Business was extremely unlikely. Especially considering that it was the middle of winter. Butler realized that there was only one way to dispel the crowd. It was drastic, but it should work.Grassland Fence
He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small spiral pad.
‘Of course, I intend to sue the hotel for damages. Trauma alone should be worth a few million euros. Not to mention injuries. I presume I can count on you good people as witnesses.“
The chef paled, as did the others. Giving evidence against one’s employers was the first step to unemployment.
‘I… I don’t know, sir,“ he stammered.
‘I didn’t actually see anything.“ He paused to sniff the air. ”I think I smell my Pavlova burning. Dessert will be ruined.“
The chef hopped over the chunks of shattered tile, disappearing back into the hotel. The remaining staff followed his lead, and within seconds, Butler was on his own again. He smiled, though the action sent a flare of pain down his neck. The threat of a lawsuit generally scattered witnesses as effectively as any gunfire.
The giant Eurasian disentangled himself from the remains of the rafters. He really had been amazingly lucky not to be impaled on the beams. The mattress had absorbed most of the impact, and the timbers were rotten and had splintered harmlessly.
Butler dropped to the floor, brushing dust from his suit. His priority now was to find Artemis. It seemed likely that whoever had made the attempt on his life had taken the boy. Although, why would someone try to kill him and then take him prisoner? Unless their unknown enemy had taken advantage of the situation and decided to seek a ransom.Grassland Fence
Butler returned to the hotel room, where everything was as they had left it. There was absolutely no sign that anything had exploded in here. The only unusual things revealed by Butler ‘s investigations were small clusters of dead insects and spiders.
Curious. It was as though the blue flash of light only affected living things, leaving buildings unaffected.
A blue rinse, said his subconscious, but his conscious self took no notice.
Butler quickly packed Artemis’s box of tricks, and of course his own. The weapons and surveillance equipment would be held in a safe-deposit box at the airport. He left the Kronski Hotel without checking out. An early checkout would arouse suspicion, and with any luck, this entire matter could be resolved before the students on the school trip returned Home.
The bodyguard collected the Hummer in the hotel car park and set off for the airport. If Artemis had been kidnapped, then the kidnappers would contact Fowl Manor with their ransom demand. If Artemis had simply removed himself from danger, he had always been told to head for Home. Either way, the trail led to Fowl Manor, so that was where Butler intended to go.
Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland Artemis had recovered sufficiently for his natural curiosity to surface. He walked around the cramped room, touching the spongy surface of the walls.
‘What is this place? Some form of surveillance hide?“Grassland Fence
‘Exactly,“ said Holly. ”I was on stakeout here a few months ago. A group of rogue dwarfs were meeting their jewelry fences here. From the outside, this is just another patch of sky on top of a building. It’s a cham pod.“
‘Cam, camouflage?“
‘No, cham, chameleon. This suit is cam, camouflage.“
‘You do know, I suppose, that chameleons don’t actually change color to suit their surroundings. They change according to mood and temperature.“
Holly looked out over Temple Bar. Below them thousands of tourists, musicians, and residents were winding their way through the small artisans’ streets.
‘You’d have to tell Foaly about that. He names all this stuff.“
‘Ah, yes,“ said Artemis. ”Foaly. He is a centaur, is he not?“
‘That’s right.“ Holly turned to face Artemis.
‘You’re taking this very calmly. Most humans completely freak out when they find out about us. Some go into shock.“
Artemis smiled. “I am not most humans.”
Holly turned back to the view. She was not going to argue with that statement.
‘So tell me, Captain Short. If all I am to the Fairy People is a threat, why did you heal me?“
Holly rested her forehead against the cham pod’s translucent face.
‘It’s our nature,“ she replied. ”And of course, I need you to help me to find Opal Koboi. We’ve done it before, we can do it again.“
Artemis stood beside her at the window.
‘So, first you mind-wipe me, and now you need me?“
‘Yes, Artemis. Gloat all you like. The mighty LEP need your help.“
‘Of course, there is the matter of my fee,“ said Artemis, I buttoning his jacket across the bloodstain on his shirt.Grassland Fence
Holly rounded on him. “Your fee? Are you serious? After all the Fairy People have done for you?
Can’t you just do something good for once in your life?“
‘Obviously you elves are an emotional race.
Humans are slightly more Business-minded. Here are the facts: you are a fugitive from justice, on the run from a murdering pixie genius. You have no funds and few resources. I am the only one who can help you track down this Opal Koboi. I think that’s worth a few bars of anybody’s gold.“
Holly glowered at him. “Like you said, Mud Boy. I don’t have any resources.”
Artemis spread his hands magnanimously.
‘I’m prepared to accept your word. If you can guarantee me one metric ton of gold from your hostage fund, I will devise a plan to defeat this Opal Koboi.“
Holly was in a hole and she knew it.
There was no doubt that Artemis could give her the edge over Opal, but it galled her to pay someone who used to be a friend. “And what if Koboi defeats us?”
‘If Koboi defeats and presumably murders us both, then you can consider the debt null and void.“
‘Great,“ growled Holly. ”It would almost be worth it.“
She left the window and began raiding the pod’s medical chest. “You know something, Artemis. You’re exactly how you were when we first met: a greedy Mud Boy who doesn’t care about anyone beside himself. Is that really how you want to be for the rest of your life?”
Artemis’s features remained static, but below the surface his emotions were in turmoil. Of course he was right to ask for a fee. It would be stupid not to.
But even asking had made him feel guilty. It was this idiotic newfound conscience. His mother seemed to be able to activate it at will, and this fairy creature could do it too. He would have to keep a tighter check on his emotions.
Holly finished raiding the cabinet. “Well, Mister Consultant, what’s our first move?”
Artemis did not hesitate. “There are only two of us, and we are not very tall. We need reinforcements. As we speak, Butler will be making for Fowl Manor. He may be there already.”
Artemis turned on his Cell Phone and speed dialed Butler. A recorded message told him that the customer he was trying to reach was not available.
He declined the offer to try again, instead dialing Fowl Manor. An answering machine cut in after the third ring. Obviously his parents had already left for the spa in Westmeath.
‘Butler,“ said Artemis to the recorder. ”You are well, I hope. I myself am fine. Listen very carefully to what I have to tell you, and believe me, every word is true…“ Artemis proceeded to summarize the day’s events. ”We will arrive at the manor shortly. I suggest we stock up on essentials and proceed to a safe house…“
Holly tapped him on the shoulder. “We should get out of here. Koboi is no fool. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had some backup plan in case we survived.”
Artemis covered the mouthpiece with his palm. “I agree. That is what I would do. This Koboi person is probably on her way right now.”Grassland Fence
As if on cue, one of the pod walls fizzled and dissolved. Opal Koboi stood in the hole, flanked by Merv and Scant Brill. The pixie twins were armed with transparent plastic handguns. Merv’s gun barrel glowed gently in the aftermath of his wall-melting shot.
‘Murderer!“ shouted Holly, reaching for her gun.
Merv casually put a blast close enough to her head to singe her eyebrows. Holly froze, raising her hands in submission.
‘Opal Koboi, I presume?“ said Artemis; although, if Holly had not told him the whole story, he never would have guessed that the female before him was anything but a human child. Her black hair was braided down her back, and she wore a checked pinafore of the type worn by a million schoolgirls around the world. Her ears were, of course, rounded.
‘Artemis Fowl, how nice to see you again. I do believe that in different circumstances we could have been allies.“
‘Circumstances change,“ said Artemis. ”Perhaps we can still be allies.“
Holly chose to give Artemis the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he was acting like a traitor to save their skins. Maybe.
Opal fluttered her long, curved eyelashes. “Tempting, but no. I feel the world is only large enough for one child genius. And now that I’m pretending to be a child, that genius would be me. Meet Belinda Zito, a girl with big plans.“
Holly reached a hand toward her weapon, but stopped when Merv leveled his transparent handgun at her.
‘I know you,“ she said to the Brill brothers. ”The Pixie twins. You were on TV.“
Scant couldn’t hold back a grin. “Yes, on Canto. It was the season’s highest-rated show. We’re thinking of writing a book, aren’t we, Merv? All about how we…“
‘Finish each other’s sentences,“ completed Merv, though he knew it would cost him.
‘Shut up, you utter imbecile,“ snapped Opal, shooting Merv a poisonous glare.
‘Keep your weapon up and your mouth closed. This is not about you; it is about me. Remember that and I might not have to liquidize the pair of you.“
‘Yes, of course, Miss Koboi. It’s all about you.“
Opal almost purred. “That’s right. It’s always about me. I am the only important one here.”
Artemis casually slipped one hand into his pocket. The one holding the Cell Phone that was still connected to Fowl Manor.
‘If I may, Miss Koboi. This delusion of self-importance is common among those recently awakened from comas. It is known as the Narcissus Syndrome. I wrote a paper on this precise subject for the Psychologists Yearbook, under the pseudonym Sir E. Brum. You have spent so much time in your own company, so to speak, that everyone else has become unreal…“
Opal nodded at Merv. “For heaven’s sake, shut him up.”
Merv was glad to oblige, sinking a blue power slug into Artemis’s chest. The Irish boy dropped in mid lecture.Grassland Fence
‘What have you done?“ shouted Holly, dropping to Artemis’s side. She was relieved to find a steady heartbeat under the bloodied shirt.
‘Oh no,“ said Opal. ”Not dead, merely painfully stunned. He is having quite a day, young Artemis.“
Holly’s pretty features were distorted by grief and outrage as she glared at the small pixie. “What do you want from us? What else can you do?”
Opal’s face was the picture of innocence.
‘Don’t blame me. You have brought this on yourself.
All I wanted to do was bring down fairy society as we know it, but oh no, you wouldn’t have it. Then I planned a couple of relatively simple assassinations, but you insisted on surviving. Kudos to you for evading the bio-bomb, by the way. I was watching the whole thing from sixty-five feet up in my stealth shuttle. Containing the solinium with an LEP helmet. Good thinking. But now, because you have caused me so much trouble and exasperation, I think I will indulge myself a little.“
Holly swallowed the fear that was crawling up her throat. “Indulge yourself?”
‘Oh yes. I had a nasty little scenario planned for Foaly-something theatrical involving the Eleven Wonders. But now I have decided that you are worthy of it.“
Holly tensed herself. She should go for her gun, there was no other option. But she had to ask; it was fairy nature: “How nasty?”
Opal smiled, and evil was the only word for that expression. “Troll nasty,” she said. “And one more thing. I am telling you this because you are about to die, and I want you to hate me at the moment of your death as much as I hate you.” Opal paused, allowing the tension to build. “Do you remember the sweet spot on the bomb I strapped to Julius?”
Holly felt as though her heart had expanded to fill her entire chest. “I remember.”
Opal’s eyes flared. “Well, there wasn’t one.”
Holly went for her gun, and Merv hit her in the chest with a blue charge. She was asleep before she hit the ground.Grassland Fence

The Opal Deception（5）HARROW ESCAPES

Chapter 4: HARROW ESCAPES

Munich

Munich during working hours was like any other major city in the world: utterly congested. In spite of the U-bahn, an efficient and comfortable rail system, the general population preferred the privacy and comfort of their own cars, with the result that Artemis and Butler were stuck on the airport road in a rush-hour traffic jam that stretched all the way from the International Bank to the Kronski Hotel.
Master Artemis did not like delays. But today he was too focused on his latest acquisition, The Fairy Thief, still sealed in its Perspex tube. Artemis itched to open it, but the previous owners, Sparrow and Crane, could have somehow booby-trapped the container.Grassland Fence
Just because there were no visible traps didn’t mean that there couldn’t be an invisible one. An obvious trick would be to vacuum pack the canvas, then inject a corrosive gas that would react with oxygen, and burn the painting.
It took almost two hours to reach the hotel, a journey that should have taken twenty minutes. Artemis changed into a dark cotton suit, then called up Fowl Manor’s number on his mobile phone’s speed dial. But before he connected, he linked the phone by fire wire to his Powerbook, so he could record the conversation. Angeline Fowl answered on the third ring.
‘Arty,“ said his mother, sounding slightly out of breath, as though she had been in the middle of something.
Angeline Fowl did not believe in taking life easy, and was probably halfway through a Tae Bo workout.
‘How are you, Mother?“
Angeline sighed down the phone line. “I’m fine, Arty, but you sound like you’re doing a job interview, as usual. Always so formal. Couldn’t you call me Mom or even Angeline? Would that be so terrible?”
‘I don’t know, Mother. Mom sounds so infantile. I am fourteen now, remember?“
Angeline laughed. “How could I forget? Not many teenage boys ask for a ticket to a genetics” symposium for their birthday.“
Artemis had one eye on the Perspex tube.
‘And how is Father?“
‘He is wonderful,“ gushed Angeline. ”I am surprised how well he is. That prosthetic leg of his is marvelous, and so is his outlook. He never complains. I honestly think that he’s got a better attitude toward life now than he did before he lost his leg. He’s under the care of a remarkable therapist, who says the mental is far more important than the physical. In fact, we leave for the private spa in Westmeath this evening.
They use this marvelous seaweed treatment, which should do wonders for your father’s muscles.“
Artemis Fowl senior had lost a leg before his kidnap by the Russian Mafiya. Luckily, Artemis had been able to rescue him with Butler ‘s help. It had been an eventful year. Since Artemis senior’s return, he had been making good on his promise to turn over a new leaf and go straight. Artemis junior was expected to follow suit, but was having trouble abandoning his criminal ventures. Although, sometimes when he looked at his father and mother together, the idea of being a normal son to loving parents didn’t seem like such a far-fetched one.
‘Is he doing his physiotherapy exercises twice a day?“
Angeline laughed again, and suddenly Artemis wished he were Home.
‘Yes, Granddad. I am making sure of that. Your father says he’ll run the marathon in twelve months.“
‘Good, I’m glad to hear it. Sometimes I think you two would spend your time wandering around the grounds holding hands if I didn’t check up on you.“
His mother sighed, and static rushed through the speaker.
‘I’m worried about you, Arty. Someone your age shouldn’t be quite so… responsible. Don’t worry about us; worry about school and friends. Think about what you really want to do. Use that big brain of yours to make yourself and other people happy. Forget the family business. Living is the family Business now.“
Artemis didn’t know how to reply. Half of him wanted to point out that there really would be no family Business if it weren’t for him secretly safeguarding it. The other half of him wanted to get on a plane Home and wander the grounds with his family.
His mother sighed again. Artemis hated that just talking to him could make her worry.
‘When will you be Home, Arty?“
‘The trip ends in three more days.“
‘I mean, when will you be home for good. I know Saint Bartleby’s is a family tradition, but we want you Home with us. Principal Guiney will understand. There are plenty of good day schools locally.“
‘I see,“ said Artemis. Could he do it? he wondered. Just be part of a normal family. Abandon his criminal enterprises. Was it in him to live an honest life?
‘The holidays are in a couple of weeks. We can talk then,“ he said. Using a delay tactic, he continued, ”To be honest, I can’t concentrate now. I’m not feeling very well. I thought I might have food poisoning, but it turns out to he just a twenty-four-hour bug. The local doctor says I will be fine tomorrow.“
‘Poor Arty,“ crooned Angeline. ”Maybe I should put you on a plane Home.“
‘No, Mother. I’m feeling better already. Honestly.“
‘Whatever you like. I know bugs are uncomfortable, but it’s better than a dose of food poisoning.
You could have been laid low for weeks. Drink plenty of water, and try to sleep.“
‘I will, Mother.“
‘You’ll be Home soon?“
‘Yes. Tell father I called.“
‘I will, if I can find him. He’s in the gym, I think, on the treadmill.“
‘Good-bye, then.“
‘Bye, Arty, we’ll talk more about this on your return,“ said Angeline, her voice low and slightly sad, sounding very far away.Grassland Fence
Artemis ended the call and immediately replayed it on his computer. Every time he spoke to mother he felt guilty. Angeline Fowl had a way of awakening his conscience. This was a relatively new development. A year ago he may have felt a tiny pinprick of guilt at lying to his mother, but now even the minor trick he was about to play would haunt his thoughts for weeks.
Artemis watched the sound-wave meter on his computer screen. He was changing, no doubt about it.
This kind of self-doubt had been increasing over the past several months-ever since he had discovered mysterious mirrored contact lenses in his own eyes one morning. Butler and Juliet had been wearing the same lenses. They had tried to find out where the lenses had come from, but all that Butler ‘s contact in that field would say was that Artemis himself had paid for them. Curiouser and curiouser.
The lenses remained a mystery. And so did Artemis’s feelings. On the table before him was Herve’s The Fairy Thief, an acquisition that established him as the foremost thief of the age. A status he had longed for since the age of six. But now that his ambition was literally in his grasp, all he could think about was his family.
Is now the time to retire? he thought. Age fourteen and three months, the best thief in the world.
After all, where can I go from here? He replayed a section of the phone conversation again:
Don’t worry about us, worry about school and Friends. Think about what you really want to do. Use that big brain of yours to make yourself and other people happy.
Maybe his mother was right: he should use his talents to make others happy. But there was a darkness in him.
A hard surface on his heart that would not be satisfied with the quiet life. Maybe there were ways to make people happy that only he could achieve. Ways on the far side of the law. Over the thin blue line.
Artemis rubbed his eyes. He could not come to a conclusion. Perhaps living at Home full time would make the decision for him. Best to continue with the job at hand. 3uy some time, and then authenticate the painting. Even though he felt some guilt about stealing the masterpiece, it was not nearly enough to make him give it back. Especially to Messrs. Crane and Sparrow.
The first task was to deflect any inquiries from the school as to his activities.
He would need at least two days to authenticate the painting, as some of the tests would need to be contracted out.
Artemis opened an audio manipulation program on his Powerbook and set about cutting and pasting his mother’s words from the recorded phone call.
When he had selected the words he wanted, and put them in the right order, he smoothed the levels to make the speech sound natural.
When Principal Guiney turned on his mobile phone after the visit to Munich ‘s Olympia Stadium, there would be a new message waiting for him. It would be from Angeline Fowl, and she would not be in a good mood.
Artemis routed the call through Fowl Manor, then sent the edited sound file by infrared to his own mobile phone.
‘Principal Guiney.“ The voice was unmistakably Angeline Fowl’s, and the caller ID would confirm it. ”I’m worried about Arty. He has a dose of food poisoning. His outlook is marvelous and he never complains, but we want him home with us. You understand. I put Arty on a plane Home. I am surprised he got a dose of food poisoning under your care. We will talk more on your return.“
That took care of school for a few days. The dark half of Artemis felt an electric thrill at the subterfuge, but his growing conscience felt a tug of guilt at using his mother’s voice to weave his web of lies.Grassland Fence
He banished the guilt. It was a harmless lie.
Butler would escort him Home, and his education would not suffer through a few days’ absence. As for stealing The Fairy Thief, theft from thieves was not real crime. It was almost justifiable.
Yes, said a voice in his head, unbidden.
If you give the painting back to the world.
No, replied his granite-hearted half.
This painting is mine until someone can steal it away. That’s the whole point.
Artemis banished his indecision and turned off his mobile phone. He needed to focus completely on the painting, and a vibrating phone at the wrong moment could cause his hand to jitter. His natural inclination was to pop the stopper on the Perspex tube’s lid. But that could be more than foolish: it could be fatal. There were any number of little gifts that Crane and Sparrow could have left for him.
Artemis took a chromatograph from the rigid suitcase that contained his lab equipment. The instrument would take a sample of the gas inside the tube and process it. He chose a needle nozzle from a selection of several and screwed it on to the rubber tube protruding from the chromatograph’s flat end. He held the needle carefully in his left hand. Artemis was ambidextrous, but his left hand was slightly steadier. With care, he poked the needle through the tube’s silicon seal, into the space around the painting. It was essential that the needle be moved as little as possible, so the container’s gas could not leak out and mingle with the air. The chromatograph siphoned a small sample of gas, sucking it into a heated injection port. Any organic impurities were driven off by heating, and a carrier gas transported the sample through a separation column and into a Flame Ionization Detector. There, individual components were identified. Seconds later a graph flashed up on the instrument’s digital readout. The percentages of oxygen, hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide matched a sample taken earlier from downtown Munich. There was a five percent slice of gas which remained unidentified. But that was normal. This was probably caused by complex pollution gases or equipment sensitivity. Mystery gas aside, Artemis knew that it was perfectly safe to open the tube.
He did so, carefully slitting the seal with a craft knife.
Artemis put on a set of surgical gloves and teased the painting from the cylinder. It plopped onto the table in a tight roll, but sprung loose almost immediately. It hadn’t been in the tube long enough to retain the shape. Artemis spread the canvas wide, weighing the corners with smooth gel sacs. He knew immediately that this was no fake. His eye for art took in the primary colors and layered brushwork. Herve’s figures seemed to be composed of light. So beautifully were they painted that the picture seemed to sparkle. It was exquisite. In the picture a swaddled baby slept in its sun-drenched cot near an open window. A fairy with green skin and gossamer wings had alighted on the windowsill and was preparing to snatch the baby from its cradle. Both of the creature’s feet were on the outside of the sill.
‘It can’t go inside,“ muttered Artemis absently, and was immediately surprised. How did he know that? He didn’t generally voice opinions without some evidence to back them up.
Relax, he told himself. It was simply a guess. Perhaps based on a sliver of information he had picked up on one of his Internet trawls.
Artemis returned his attention to the painting itself.
He had done it.
The Fairy Thief was his, for the moment at any rate. He selected a surgical scalpel from his kit and scraped the tiniest sliver of paint from the picture’s border.
He deposited the sliver in a sample jar and labeled it. This would be sent to the Technical University of Munich, where they had one of the giant spectrometers necessary for carbon dating. Artemis had a contact there. The radiocarbon test would confirm that the painting, or at least the paint, was as old as it was supposed to be.Grassland Fence
He called to Butler in the suite’s other room.
‘Butler, could you take this sample over to the university now. Remember, give it only to Christiana, and remind her that speed is vital.“
There was no answer for a moment, then Butler came charging through the door, his eyes wide. He did not look like a man coming to collect a paint sample.
‘Is there a problem?“ asked Artemis.
Two minutes earlier, Butler had been holding his hand to the window, lost in a rare moment of self-absorption. He glared at the hand, almost as if the combination of sunlight and staring would make the skin transparent. He knew that there was something different about him. Something hidden below the skin. He had felt strange this past year. Older. Perhaps the decades of physical hardship were taking their toll on him.
Though he was barely forty, his bones ached at night and his chest felt as though he were wearing a Kevlar vest all the time. He was certainly nowhere near as fast as he had been at thirty-five, and even his mind seemed less focused, more inclined to wander… as it is doing now, the bodyguard scolded himself silently.
Butler flexed his fingers, straightened his tie, and got back to work. He was not at all happy with the security of the hotel suite. Hotels were a bodyguard’s nightmare. Service elevators, isolated upper floors, and totally inadequate escape routes made the principal’s safety almost impossible to guarantee. The Kronski was luxurious, certainly, and the staff efficient, but that was not what Butler looked for in a hotel. He looked for a ground-floor room with no windows and a six-inch steel door. Needless to say, rooms like this were impossible to find, and even if he could find one, Master Artemis would undoubtedly turn up his nose at it. Butler would have to make do with this third-story suite.
Artemis wasn’t the only one with a case of instruments. Butler opened a chrome briefcase on the Coffee table. It was one of a dozen such cases that he held in safe-deposit boxes in the world’s capitals. Each case was full to bursting with surveillance equipment, counter surveillance equipment, and weaponry. Having one in each country meant that he did not have to break customs laws on each overseas trip from Ireland.
He selected a bug sweeper and quickly ran it around the room, searching for listening devices. He concentrated on the electrical appliances: phone, television, fax machine. The electronic waffle from those items could often drown a bug’s signal, but not with this particular sweeper.
The Eye Spy was the most advanced sweeper on the market and could detect a pinhole mike half a mile away.
After several minutes he was satisfied, and was on the point of returning the device to the case, when it registered a tiny electrical field. Nothing much, barely a single flickering blue bar on the indicator. The first bar solidified, then turned bright blue. The second bar began to flicker. Something electronic was closing in on them. most men would have discounted the reading. After all, there were several thousand electronic devices within a square mile of the Kronski Hotel. But normal electronic fields did not register on the Eye Spy, and Butler was not most men. He extended the sweeper’s aerial, and panned the device around the room. The reading spiked when the aerial was pointed at the window. A claw of anxiety tugged at Butler ‘s intestines. Something airborne was coming closer at high speed.Grassland Fence
He dashed to the window, ripped the net curtains from their hooks, and flung open the window. The winter air was pale blue with remarkably few clouds.
Jet trails crisscrossed the sky like a giant’s game of tic-tac-toe. And there, twenty degrees up-a gentle spiraling curve- was a tear-shaped rocket of blue metal. A red light winked on its nose, and white-hot flames billowed from its rear end. The rocket was heading for the Kronski, no doubt about it.
It’s a smart bomb, Butler said to himself without one iota of doubt.
And Master Artemis is the target.
Butler‘s brain began flicking through his list of alternatives. It was a short list. There were only two choices, really: get out or die. It was how to get out that was the problem. They were three stories up with the exit on the wrong side. He spared a moment to take one last look at the approaching missile. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Even the emission was different from conventional weapons, with hardly any vapor trail. Whatever this was, it was brand new. Somebody must want Artemis dead very badly.
Butler turned from the window and barged into Artemis’s bedroom. The young master was busy conducting his tests on The Fairy Thief.
‘Is there a problem?“ asked Artemis.
Butler did not reply because he didn’t have time.
Instead he grabbed the teenager by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him onto his own back.
‘The painting!“ Artemis managed to shout, his voice muffled by the bodyguard’s jacket.
Butler grabbed the picture, unceremoniously stuffing the priceless masterpiece into his jacket pocket. If Artemis had been able to see the century-old oil paint crack, he would have sobbed.
But Butler was only paid to protect one thing, and it was not The Fairy Thief.
‘Hang on extremely tightly,“ advised the massive bodyguard, hefting a king-size mattress from the bed.Grassland Fence
Artemis held on tight as he’d been told, trying not to think. Unfortunately his brilliant brain automatically analysed the available data: Butler had entered the room at speed and without knocking; therefore, there was danger some kind. His refusal to answer questions meant that the danger was imminent. And the fact that Artemis was on Butler ‘s back, hanging on tightly, indicated that they would not be escaping the aforementioned danger through conventional exit routes. The mattress would indicate that some cushioning would be needed.
‘Butler,“ gasped Artemis. ”You do know that we’re three stories up?“
Butler might have answered, but his employer did not hear him, because by then the giant bodyguard had propelled them through the open double windows and over the balcony railing.
For a fraction of a second, before the inevitable fall, the air currents spun the mattress around, and Artemis could see back into his own bedroom.
In that splinter of a moment, he saw a strange missile corkscrew through the bedroom door and come to a complete halt directly over the empty Perspex tube. There was some kind of tracker in the tube, said the tiny portion of his brain that wasn’t panicking. Someone wants me dead.
Then came the inevitable fall. Thirty feet.
Straight down.
Butler automatically spread his limbs in a skydiving X, bearing down on the four corners of the mattress to stop it from flipping. The trapped air below the mattress slowed their fall slightly, but not much. The pair went straight down, fast, G-force increasing their speed with every inch.
Sky and ground seemed to stretch and drip like oil paints on a canvas, and nothing seemed solid anymore. This impression came to an abrupt halt when they slammed into the extremely solid tiled roof of a maintenance shed at the hotel’s rear.
The tiles seemed to almost explode under the impact, though the roof timbers held-barely. Butler felt as though his bones had been liquidized, but he knew that he would be okay after a few moments of unconsciousness. He had been in worse collisions before.
His last impression before his senses deserted him was the feel of Master Artemis’s heartbeat through his jacket. Alive, then. They had both survived.Grassland Fence
But for how long? If their assassin had seen his attempt fail, then maybe he would try again.
Artemis’s impact was cushioned by Butler and the mattress. Without them he certainly would have been killed. As it was, the bodyguard’s muscle-bound frame was dense enough to break two of his ribs. Artemis bounced a full three feet into the air before coming to rest on the unconscious bodyguard’s back, facing the sky.
Each breath was short and painful, and two nubs of bone rose like knuckles from his chest. Sixth and seventh rib, he guessed.
Overhead, a block of iridescent blue light flashed from his hotel window. It lit the sky for a split second, its belly busy with even brighter blue flares that wriggled like hooked worms. No one would pay much attention; the light could easily have been from an oversized camera flash. But Artemis knew better.
Bio-bomb, he thought. Now, how do I know that?
Butler was unconscious or else he would be moving, so it was up to Artemis to foil their attacker’s next murderous attempt. He tried to sit up, but the pain in his chest was ferocious, and intense enough to knock him out for a second. When he came to, his entire body was slick with sweat.
Artemis saw that it was too late to escape. His assassin was already here, crouched catlike on the shed wall. The killer was a strange individual, no bigger than a child but with adult proportions.
She was female with pretty, sharp features, cropped auburn hair, and huge hazel eyes, but that didn’t necessarily mean any mercy would be forthcoming. Butler had once told him that eight of the top-ten paid hitters in the world were women. She wore a strange jumpsuit that shifted colors to suit the background, and those large eyes were red from crying.
Her ears are pointed, thought Artemis. Either I’m in shock, or she’s not human.
Then he made the mistake of moving again, and one of his broken ribs actually punched through the skin. A red stain blossomed on his shirt, and Artemis gave up the fight to stay conscious.

It had taken Holly only ninety minutes to reach Germany. On a normal mission it would have taken at least twice that, but Holly had decided to break a few LEP regulations. Why not? she reasoned. It wasn’t as if she could get into any more trouble. The LEP already thought she had killed the Commander, and her communications were blocked so she could not explain what really happened. No doubt she was classified as rogue, and there was a Retrieval squad already on her tail. Not to mention the fact that Opal Koboi was probably keeping electronic tabs on her. So there was no time to lose.Grassland Fence
Ever since the goblin gangs had been caught smuggling human contraband through disused chutes, sentries had been posted in each surface shuttleport. Paris was guarded by a sleepy gnome who was only five years from retirement.
He was awoken from his afternoon nap by an urgent communique from Police Plaza. There was a rogue Recon jock on the way up. Detain for questioning.
Proceed with caution.
Nobody really expected that the gnome would have any success. Holly Short was in peak physical condition and had once lived through a tussle with a troll. The gnome sentry couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been in shape, and had to lie down if he got a hangnail.
Nevertheless, the sentry gamely guarded the shuttlebay until Holly blew past him on her way to the surface.
Once in the air, she peeled back a Velcro patch on her forearm, and ran a search on her computer. The computer found the Kronski Hotel and flashed up three route options. Holly chose the shortest one, even though it meant passing over several major human population centers. More LEP regulations smashed to bits. At this point she really didn’t care. Her own career was beyond salvaging, but that didn’t matter. Holly had never been a career elf anyway. The only reason she hadn’t already been booted out of the LEP was the commander. He had seen her potential, and now he was gone.
The earth flashed by below. European smells drifted through her helmet filters. The sea, baked earth, vines, and the tang of pure snow. Generally this was what Holly lived for, but not today. Today she felt none of the usual aboveground euphoria. Today she simply felt alone. The commander had been the closest thing to family she had left. Now he was gone too. Perhaps because she had missed the sweet spot. Had she effectively killed Julius herself? It was too awful to think about, and too awful to forget.
Holly opened her visor to clear the tears.
Artemis Fowl must be saved. As much for the commander as for himself. Holly closed her visor, kicked up her legs, and opened the throttle to maximum. Time to see what these new wings of Foaly’s could do.
In a little more than an hour, Holly sped into Munich ‘s airspace. She dropped to a hundred feet and activated her helmet’s radar. It would be a shame to make it this far only to be pasted by an incoming aircraft. The Kronski showed no up as a red dot in her visor. Foaly could have sent a live satellite feed, or at least the most recent video footage, but she had no way to contact the centaur, and even if she did, the Council would order her back to Police Plaza immediately.
Holly zeroed in on the red dot in her visor.
That was where the bio-bomb would be headed, so she had to go there too. She dropped lower, until the Kronski’s roof was below her toes, and touched down on the rooftop. She was on her own now. This was as far as the onboard tracker could take her. She would have to locate Artemis’s room on her own.Grassland Fence
Holly chewed her lip for a moment, then typed a command into the keypad on her wrist. She could have used voice command, but the software was touchy and she did not have time for computer error. In seconds, her onboard computer had hacked into the hotel computer and was displaying a guest list and schematic. Artemis was in room 304. Third story, in the south wing of the hotel.
Holly sprinted across the roof, activating her wings as she ran. She was seconds away from saving Artemis. Having a mythological creature drag him from his hotel room might be a bit of a shock, but not as much of a shock as being vaporized by a biobomb.
She stopped dead. A guided missile was arcing in from the horizon toward the hotel. It was fairy manufactured, no doubt about it; but it was new, slicker and faster, with bigger tail rockets than she’d ever seen on a missile. Opal Koboi had obviously been making upgrades.
Holly spun on her heels, racing for the other side of the hotel. In her heart she knew she was too late, and the realization hit her that Opal had set her up again. There never was any hope of rescuing Artemis, just as there never had been any chance of rescuing the commander.
Before her wings even had a chance to kick in, there was a bright blue flash from beyond the lip of the roof, and a slight shudder underfoot as the bio-bomb detonated.
It was the perfect weapon. There would be no structural damage to the hotel room, and the bomb casing would consume itself and leave no evidence that it had ever been there.
Holly dropped to her knees in frustration, peeling off her helmet to gulp breaths of fresh air. The Munich air was laced with toxins, but it still tasted better than the belowground filtered variety.
But Holly did not notice the sweetness.
Julius was gone. Artemis was dead. Butler was dead. How could she go on? What was the point?
Tears dropped from her lashes, running into tiny cracks in the concrete.
Get up! said her core of steel. The part of her that made Holly Short such an excellent officer.
You are an LEP officer.
There is more at stake here than your personal grieving. Time enough to cry later.
In a minute. I’ll get up in a minute. I just need sixty seconds.
Holly felt as though the grief had scooped out her insides. She felt hollow, numb.
Incapacitated.
‘How touching,“ said a voice, robotic and familiar.
Holly did not even look up. “Koboi. Have you come to gloat? Does murder make you happy?”
‘Hmm?“ said the voice, seriously considering the question. ”You know, it does. It actually does make me happy.“
Holly sniffled, shaking the last tears from her eyes. She decided that she would not cry again until Koboi was behind bars.
‘What do you want?“ she asked, rising from the concrete roof. Hovering at head height was a small biobomb. This model was spherical, about the size of a melon, and equipped with a plasma screen. Opal’s happy features were plastered across the monitor.
‘Oh, I just followed you from the chute because I wanted to see what total despair looks like. It’s not very fetching, is it?“
For a few moments the screen displayed Holly’s own distraught face before flashing back to Opal.Grassland Fence
‘Just detonate, and be damned,“ growled Holly.
The bio-bomb rose a foot, slowly circling Holly’s head.
‘Not just yet. I think there’s a spark of hope in you yet. So I would like to extinguish that. In a moment I will detonate the bio-bomb. Nice, isn’t it? How do you like the design? Eight separate boosters, you know.
It’s what happens after the detonation that’s important.“
Holly’s law-enforcer curiosity was piqued in spite of the circumstances. “What happens then, Koboi? Don’t tell me, world domination.”
Koboi chuckled, the volume distorting her laugh through the bomb’s microspeakers. “World domination? You make it sound so unattainable. The first step is simplicity itself. All I have to do is put humans in contact with the People.”
Holly felt her own troubles instantly slip away. “Put humans in contact with the People? Why would you do that?”
Opal’s features lost their merry cast. “Because the LEP imprisoned me. They studied me like an animal in a cage, and now we shall see how they like it. There will be a war, and I will supply the humans with the weapons to win. And after they have won, my chosen nation will be the most powerful on earth. And I, inevitably, will become the most powerful person in that nation.”
Holly almost screamed. “All this for a childish pixie’s revenge.”
Seeing Holly’s discomfort cheered Opal immediately. “Oh no, I’m not a pixie anymore.”
Koboi slowly unwound the bandages circling her head to reveal two surgically rounded humanoid ears. “I’m one of the Mud People now. I intend to be on the winning side. And my new daddy has an engineering company. And that company is sending down a probe.”
‘What probe?“ shouted Holly. ”What company?“ Opal wagged a finger. ”Oh no, enough explaining. I want you to die desolate and ignorant.“ For one moment her face lost its false merriment, and Holly could see the hatred in her huge eyes. ”You cost me a year of my life, Short. A year of a brilliant life.
My time is too special to be wasted, especially answering to pathetic organizations like the LEP.
Soon I will never have to answer to anyone, ever again.“
Opal raised one hand into view. It was clutching a small remote. She pressed the red button.
And as everyone knows, the red button can only mean one thing: Holly had milliseconds to come up with a plan. The monitor fizzled out, and a green light on the missile’s console winked red.
The signal had been received. Detonation was imminent.
Holly jumped up, hooking her helmet over the spherical bomb. She put her weight on the helmet, bearing it down. It was like trying to submerge a football. LEP helmets were composed of a rigid polymer that could deflect solinium flares.
Of course, the rest of Holly’s suit was not rigid and could not protect her from the biobomb, but maybe the helmet would be enough.Grassland Fence
The bomb exploded, spinning the helmet into the air. Pure blue light gushed from the underside of the helmet, dissipating across the concrete. Ants and spiders hopped once, then their tiny hearts froze. Holly could feel her own heart speed up, battling against the deadly solinium. She held on for as long as she could, then the concussion bucked her off. The helmet spun away, and the fatal light was free.
Holly flipped her wing-control to rise, reaching for the skies. The blue light was after her like a wall of death. It was a race now. Had she gained enough time and distance to outrun the biobomb?
Holly felt her lips drag back across her teeth. G-force rippled the skin on her cheeks. She was counting on the fact that the bio-bomb’s active agent was light. This meant that it could be focused to a certain diameter. Koboi would not want to draw attention to her device by wiping out a city block. Holly alone was her target.
Holly felt the light swipe her toes. A dreadful feeling of nothingness crept up her leg before the magic banished it. She streamlined her body, arcing her head back, folding her arms across her chest, willing the mechanical wings to accelerate her to safety.
Suddenly the light dissipated. Flashed out, leaving only a dozen squirrelly flares in its wake.
Holly had outrun the deadly light, with only minor injuries. Her legs felt weakened, but the sensation would recede shortly. Time enough to worry about that later. Now she had to return to the Lower Elements and somehow warn her comrades what Opal was planning.
Holly glanced down at the roof. Nothing remained now to suggest she’d ever been there, except the remains of her helmet, which spun like a battered top. Generally, inanimate objects were not affected by bio-bombs, but the helmet’s reflective layer had bounced the light around internally so much that it had overheated. And once the helmet had shorted out, so had all Holly’s bio-readings. As far as the LEP or Opal Koboi were concerned, Captain Short’s helmet was no longer broadcasting her heartbeat or respiratory rate. She was officially dead. And being dead had possibilities.
Something caught Holly’s eye. Far below, in the center of a cluster of maintenance buildings, several humans were converging on one hut. With her bird’s-eye view, Holly could see that the hut’s roof had been blown out. There were two figures lying in the roof timbers. One was huge, a veritable giant. The other, closer to her own size. A boy. Artemis and Butler. Could they have survived?Grassland Fence
Holly threw her legs up behind her, diving steeply toward the crash site. She did not shield, conserving her magic. It looked as though every spark of healing power she possessed would be needed, so she would have to trust speed and her revolutionary suit to keep her hidden.
The other humans were several feet away, picking their way through the debris. They looked curious rather than angry. Still, it was vital that Holly get Artemis away from here, if he were alive. Opal could have spies anywhere and a backup plan just waiting to spring into deadly operation.
It was doubtful they could cheat death again.
She landed on the shed’s gable end and peered inside.
It was Artemis, all right, and Butler. Both breathing. Artemis was even conscious, though clearly in pain. Suddenly a red rose of blood spread across his white shirt, his eyes rolled back, and he began to buck. The Mud Boy was going into shock, and it looked like a rib had punctured his skin. There could be another one in his lung. He needed healing.
Now.
Holly dropped to Artemis’s chest, placing a hand on the nubs of bone protruding under his heart.
‘Heal,“ she said, and the last sparks of magic in her elfin frame sped down her arms, intuitively targeting Artemis’s injuries. The ribs shuddered, twisted elastically, then rejoined in a hiss of molten bone. Steam vented from Artemis’s shuddering body as the magic flushed impurities from his system.
Even before Artemis had finished shaking, Holly had wrapped herself around the boy as much as possible.
She had to get him away from here. Ideally, she could have taken Butler, too, but he was too bulky to be shielded by her slim frame. The bodyguard would have to look out for himself, but Artemis had to be protected. Firstly because he was undoubtedly the prime target, and secondly because she needed his devious brain to help her to defeat Opal Koboi. If Opal intended to join the world of men, then Artemis was the ideal foil for her genius.
Holly locked her fingers behind Artemis’s back and hoisted his limp body into an upright position. His head lolled on her shoulder and she could feel his breath on her cheek. Regular. Good.
Holly bent her legs until her knees cracked. She would need all the leverage she could get to mask their escape. Outside the voices grew closer, and she felt the walls shake as someone inserted a key in the door.
‘Good-bye, Butler, old friend,“ she whispered.
‘I’ll be back for you.“
The bodyguard groaned once, as though he had heard. Holly hated to leave him, though there was no choice. It was either Artemis alone or no one, and Butler himself would thank her for what she was doing.
Holly gritted her teeth, tensed every muscle in her body, and opened the throttle wide on her wings. She took off out of that shed like a dart from a blowpipe, kicking up a fresh cloud of dust in her wake. Even if someone had been staring right at her, all they would have seen was dust and a sky-colored blur, with possibly one loafered shoe poking out.
But that must have been their eyes playing tricks, because shoes couldn’t fly. Could they?

The Opal Deception（4）DEARLY DEPARTED

Chapter 3: DEARLY DEPARTED

Police Plaza, Haven City;

The Lower Elements Captain Holly Short was up for a promotion.
It was the career turnaround of the century. Less than a year had passed since she had been the subject of two internal affairs inquiries, but now, after six successful missions, Holly was the Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance squad’s golden fairy. The Council would soon meet to decide whether or not she would be the first female major in LEP-RECON’S history. And to tell the truth, the prospect did not appeal to her one bit.
Majors rarely got to strap on a set of wings and fly between land and stars. Instead, they spent their time sending junior officers topside on missions.Grassland Fence
Holly had made up her mind to turn down the promotion if it were offered to her. She could live with a smaller paycheck if it meant she could still see the surface on a regular basis.
Holly decided it would be wise to tell Commander Julius Root what she planned to do. After all, it was Root who had stood by her through the inquiries, and it was Root who had recommended her for promotion in the first place. The commander would not take the news well. He never took any kind of news well: even good news was received with a gruff thank-you and a slammed door.
Holly stood outside Root’s office on that morning, working up the courage to knock. And even though, at three feet exactly, she was just below the average fairy height, Holly was glad of the half inch granted by her spiky auburn hair.
Before she could knock, the door was yanked open, and Root’s rosy-cheeked face appeared in the doorway.
‘Captain Short!“ he roared, his gray buzz cut quivering. ”Get in here!“ Then he noticed Holly standing beside the door. “Oh, there you are. Come in. We have a puzzle that needs solving. It involves one of our goblin friends.”Grassland Fence
Holly followed Root into the office. Foaly, the LEP’S technical adviser, was already there, close enough to the wall plasma screen to singe his nose hairs.
‘Howler’s Peak video,“ explained Root.
‘General Scalene escaped.“
‘Escaped?“ echoed Holly. ”Do we know how?“
Foaly snapped his fingers. “D’Arvit! That’s what we should be thinking about, instead of standing around here playing still Spy!”
‘We don’t have time for the usual sarcastic small talk, Foaly,“ snapped Root, his complexion deepening to burgundy. ”This is a PR disaster.
Scalene is public enemy number two, second only to Opal Koboi herself. If the journos get wind of this, we’ll be the laughingstock of Haven. Not to mention the fact that Scalene could round up a few of his goblin buddies and reactivate the triad.“
Holly crossed to the screen, elbowing Foaly’s hindquarters out of the way. Her little talk with Commander Root could wait. There was police work to be done.
‘What are we looking at?“
Foaly highlighted a section of the screen with a laser pointer. “Howler’s Peak, goblin correctional facility. Camera eighty-six.”
‘Which shows?“
‘The visiting room. Scalene went in, but he never came out.“
Holly scanned the camera list. “No camera in the room itself?”
Root coughed, or it may have been an actual growl. “No. According to the third Atlantis convention on fairy rights, detainees are entitled to privacy in the visiting room.”
‘So we don’t know what went on in there?“
‘Not as such, no.“
‘What genius designed this system, anyway?“
In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Root chuckled. He never could resist needling the smug centaur.
‘Our horsey friend here designed the Howler’s Peak automated security system all on his own.“
Foaly pouted, and when a centaur pouts, his bottom lip almost reaches his chin. “It’s not the system. The system is foolproof. Every prisoner has the standard subcutaneous seeker-sleeper in his head. Even if a goblin manages to miraculously escape, we can remotely knock them out, then pick him up.”
Holly raised her palms. “So what’s the problem?”
‘The problem is that the seeker-sleeper is not broadcasting. Or, if it is, we’re not picking up the signal.“
‘That is a problem.“
Root lit a noxious fungal cigar. The smoke was instantly whipped away by an air recycler on his desk. “Major Kelp is out with a mobile unit, trying to get a fix on a signal.”Grassland Fence
Trouble Kelp had recently been promoted to Root’s second in command. He was not the kind of officer who liked sitting behind a desk, unlike his little brother, Corporal Grub Kelp, who would like nothing better than to be stuck behind a nice safe desk for the remainder of his career. If Holly was forced into promotion, she hoped she could be half the major that Trouble was.
Holly returned her attention to the plasma screen. “So, who was visiting General Scalene?”
‘One of his thousand nephews. A goblin by the name of Boohn. Apparently that means of noble brow in Goblin cant.“
‘I remember him,“ said Holly. ”Boohn.
Customs and excise think he’s one of the goblins behind the B’wa Kell smuggling operation. There’s nothing noble about him.“
Foaly opened a folder on the plasma screen with his laser pointer. “Here’s the visitor list. Boohn checks in at seven fifty, Lower Elements mean time. At least I can show you that on video.”
A grainy screen showed a bulky goblin in the prison’s access corridor, nervously licking his eyeballs while the security laser scanned him.Grassland Fence
Once it was confirmed that Boohn wasn’t trying to smuggle anything in, the visitors“ door popped open.
Foaly scrolled down the list. “And look here.
He checks out at eight fifteen.“
Boohn left swiftly, obviously uncomfortable in the facility. The parking lot camera showed him reverting to all fours for a dash to his car.
Holly scanned the list carefully. “So you’re saying that Boohn checked out at eight fifteen?”
‘I just said that didn’t I, Holly“ replied Foaly testily. “I’ll say it again slowly. Eight fifteen.“
Holly snatched the laser pointer. “Well, if that’s true, how did he manage to check out again at eight twenty?”
It was true. Eight lines down on the list, Boohn’s name popped up again.
‘I saw that already. It’s a glitch,“ muttered Foaly. ”That’s...
He couldn’t leave twice. It’s not possible. We get that sometimes, a bug, nothing more.“
‘Unless it wasn’t him the second time.“
The centaur folded his arms defensively.Grassland Fence
‘Don’t you think I thought of that? Every one who enters or leaves Howler’s Peak is scanned a dozen times. We take at least eighty facial points of reference with each scan. If the computer says Boohn, then that’s who it was. There’s no way a goblin beat my system. They barely have enough brainpower to walk and talk at the same time.“
Holly used the pointer to review the entry video of Boohn. She enlarged his head, using a photo-manipulation program to sharpen the image.
‘What are you looking for?“ asked Root.
‘I don’t know, Commander. Something. Anything.“
It took a few minutes, but finally Holly got it. She knew immediately that she was right. Her intuition was buzzing like a swarm of bees at the base of her neck. “Look here,” she said, enlarging Boohn’s brow. “A scale blister. This goblin is shedding.”
‘So?“ said Foaly grumpily.Grassland Fence
Holly reopened Boohn’s exit file. “Now look. No blister.”
‘So he burst the blister. Big deal.“
‘No. It’s more than that. Going in, Boohn’s skin was almost gray. Now he’s bright green. He even has a camouflage pattern on his back.“
Foaly snorted. “A lot of good camouflage is in the city.”
‘What’s your point, Captain?“ asked Root, stubbing out his cigar.
‘Boohn shed his skin in the visitors’ room. So where’s the skin?“
There was silence for a long moment as the others absorbed the implications of this question.
‘Would it work?“ asked Root urgently.
Foaly was almost dumbstruck. “By the gods, I think it would.”
The centaur pulled out a keyboard, his thick fingers flying across the Gnommish letters. A new video box appeared on the screen. In this box, another goblin was leaving the room. It looked a lot like Boohn. A lot, but not exactly. Something wasn’t quite right. Foaly zoomed in on the goblin’s head. At high magnification it was clear that the goblin’s skin was ill-fitting. Patches were missing altogether, and the goblin seemed to be holding folds together across his waist.Grassland Fence
‘He did it. I can’t believe it.“
‘This was all planned,“ said Holly. ”This was no opportunistic act. Boohn waits until he’s shedding. Then he visits his uncle and they peel off his skin. General Scalene puts on the skin and just walks out the front door, fooling all your scanners on the way. When Boohn’s name shows up again, you think it’s a glitch. Simple, but completely ingenious.“
Foaly collapsed into a specially designed office chair. “This is incredible. Can goblins do that?”
‘Are you kidding?“ said Root. ”A good goblin seamstress can peel a skin without a single tear. That’s what they make their clothes from, when they bother wearing any.“
‘I know that. I meant, could goblins think of this all on their own. I don’t think so. We need to catch Scalene and find out who planned this.“
Foaly dialed a connection to the Koboi-cam in the Argon clinic. “I’m going to check that Opal Koboi is still under. This sort of thing is just her style.” A minute later, he swiveled to face Root. “Nope. Still in dreamland. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I’d hate to have Opal back in circulation, but at least we’d know what we were up against.”Grassland Fence
A thought struck Holly, draining the blood from her face. “You don’t think it could be him, do you?
It couldn’t be Artemis Fowl?“
‘Definitely not,“ said Foaly. ”It’s not the Mud Boy. Impossible.“
Root wasn’t convinced. “I wouldn’t be throwing that word around so much, if I were you. Holly, as soon as we catch Scalene, I want you to sign out a surveillance pack and spend a couple of days on the Mud Boy’s trail. See what he’s up to. Just in case.”
‘Yes, sir.“
‘And you, Foaly. I’m authorizing a surveillance upgrade. Whatever you need. I want to hear every call Artemis makes, and read every letter he sends.“
‘But, Julius. I supervised his mind wipe myself. It was a sweet job. I scooped out his fairy memories cleaner than a goblin sucking a snail out of its shell. If we were to turn up at Artemis’s front door dancing the cancan, he still wouldn’t remember us. It would take some kind of planted trigger to initiate even partial recall.“Grassland Fence
Root did not appreciate being argued with.
‘One, don’t call me Julius. Two, do what I say, horsey boy, or I’ll have your budget slashed. And three, what in Frond’s name is the cancan?“
Foaly rolled his eyes. “Forget it. I’ll organize the upgrades.”
‘Wise move,“ said Root, plucking a vibrating phone from his belt. He listened for several seconds, grunting affirmatives into the speaker.
‘Forget Fowl for the moment,“ he said, closing the phone. ”Trouble has located General Scalene. He’s in E37. Holly, you’re with me. Foaly, you follow us in the tech shuttle. Apparently the general wants to talk.“
Haven City was waking up for morning trade.
Although to call it morning was a bit misleading, as there was only artificial light this far underground. By human standards, Haven was barely more than a village, having fewer than ten thousand inhabitants. But in fairy terms, Haven was the largest metropolis since the original Atlantis, most of which lay buried beneath a three-story shuttle dock in the new Atlantis.
Commander Root’s LEP cruiser cut through the rush- hour traffic, its magnetic field automatically shunting other vehicles out of the way into slots in the slow lane. Root and Holly sat in the back, wishing the journey away. This situation was becoming stranger by the minute. First of all, Scalene escapes, and now his locater shows up and he wants to talk to Commander Root.Grassland Fence
‘What do you make of this?“ asked Root eventually. One of the reasons he made such a fine commander was that he respected his officers’ opinions.
‘I don’t know. It could be a trap. Whatever happens, you can’t go in there alone.“
Root nodded. “I know. Even I am not that stubborn. Anyway, Trouble will probably have the situation secured by the time I get there. He doesn’t like waiting around for the brass to arrive. Like someone else I know, eh, Holly?”
Holly half grinned, half grimaced. She had been reprimanded more than once for ignoring the order to wait for reinforcements.
Root raised the soundproof barrier between them and the driver.
‘We need to talk, Holly. About the major thing.“
Holly looked her superior in the eyes. There was a touch of sadness in them.
‘I didn’t get it,“ she blurted, unable to hide her relief.
‘No. No, you did get it. Or you will. The official announcement is tomorrow. The first female major in Recon history. Quite an achievement.“
‘But, Commander, I don’t think that…“
Root silenced her with a wave of his finger. “I want to tell you something, Holly. About my career. It’s actually a metaphor for your career, so listen carefully and see if you can figure it out. Many years ago, when you were still wearing one-piece baby suits with padded backsides, I was a hotshot Recon jock. I loved the smell of fresh air. Every moment I spent in the moonlight was a golden moment.“
Holly had no trouble putting herself in the commander’s shoes. She felt exactly the same way about her own surface trips.
‘So I did my job as well as I could-a little bit too well, as it happened. One day I went and got myself promoted.“
Root clamped a purifier globe around the end of a cigar so the smell would not stink up the car. It was a rare gesture.
‘Major Julius Root. It was the last thing I wanted, so I marched in to my commander’s office and told him so. “I’m a field fairy,” I said. “I don’t want to sit behind a desk filling out e-forms.” Believe it or not, I got quite agitated.“
Holly tried to look amazed, but couldn’t pull it off. The commander spent most of his time in an agitated red-faced state which explained his nickname, Beetroot.
‘But my commander said something that changed my mind. Do you want to know what that was?“
Root plowed on with his story without waiting for an answer. “My commander said; ”Julius, this promotion is not for you; it’s for the People.“” Root raised one eyebrow. “Do you see what I’m getting at?”
Holly knew what he meant. It was the flaw in her argument.
Root placed a hand on her shoulder. “The People need good officers, Holly. They need fairies like you to protect them from the Mud Men. Would I prefer to be zipping around under the stars with the wind in my nostrils? Yes. Would I do as much good? No.”
Root paused to suck deeply on his cigar, the glow illuminated the purifier globe. “You’re a good Recon officer, Holly. One of the best I’ve seen. A bit impulsive at times, not much respect for authority, but an intuitive officer, nonetheless. I wouldn’t dream of taking you off the front lines if I didn’t think you could serve the LEP better belowground. Do you understand?”
‘Yes, Commander,“ said Holly glumly. He was right, even if her selfish side wasn’t ready to accept it just yet. At least she had the Fowl surveillance to look forward to before her new job anchored her in the lower elements.
There is a perk to being a major,“ said Root.Grassland Fence
‘Sometimes, just to relieve the boredom, you can give yourself an assignment. Something on the surface. In Hawaii, maybe, or New Zealand. Look at Trouble Kelp. He’s a new breed of major, more hands-on. Maybe that’s what the LEP needs.“
Holly knew that the commander was trying to soften the blow. As soon as the major’s acorns were on her lapel, she wouldn’t get aboveground as much as she did now. If she was lucky.
‘I’m putting my neck on the block here, Holly, recommending you for major. Your career so far has been, eventful, to say the least. If you intend to turn the promotion down, tell me now and I’ll withdraw your name.“
Last chance, thought Holly. Now or never.
‘No,“ she said. ”I won’t turn it down.
How could I? Who knows when the next Artemis Fowl will turn up?“
In Holly’s ears, her voice sounded distant, as though someone else were speaking. She imagined the bells of lifelong boredom clanging behind her every word. A desk job. She had a desk job.
Root patted her on the shoulder, his huge hand knocking the air from her lungs. “Cheer up, Captain. There is life belowground, you know.”
‘I know,“ Holly said with an utter lack of conviction.
The police cruiser pulled in beside E37.
Root opened the car door, began to disembark, then stopped.
‘If it makes any difference,“ he said quietly, almost awkwardly, ”I’m proud of you, Holly.“ And he was gone, out the door and into the throng of LEP officers training their weapons on the chute entrance.
It does make a difference, thought Holly, watching the commander instantly take command of the situation.
A big difference.
The chutes were natural magma vents that stretched from the earth’s core to the planet’s surface. Most emerged under water, supplying warm streams that nurtured deep- sea life, but some filtered their gasses through the network of cracks and fissures that riddled the dry land surface. The LEP used the power of magma flares to propel their officers to the surface in titanium eggs. A more leisurely shuttle trip could be taken in a dormant chute.
E37 emerged in downtown Paris, and until recently, had been the chute used by goblins in their smuggling operations. Closed to the public for many years, the chute’s terminal had fallen into disrepair. Currently, E37’s only occupants were the members of a movie company that was making a TV film about the B’wa Kell rebellion. Holly was being portrayed by three-time AMP winner, Skylar Peat, and Artemis Fowl was to be completely computer generated. When Holly and Root arrived, Major Trouble Kelp had three squads of tactical LEP arranged around the terminal’s entrance.Grassland Fence
‘Fill me in, Major,“ ordered Root.
Kelp pointed to the entrance. “We have one way in, and no way out. All the secondary entrances have long since subsided, so if Scalene is in there, he has to go through us to go Home.”
‘Are we sure he’s there?“
‘No,“ admitted Major Kelp. ”We picked up his signal. But whoever helped him to escape could have sliced open his head and removed the transmitter. All we know for sure is that someone is playing games with us. I sent in a couple of my best Recon sprites and they came back with this.“ Trouble handed them a sound wafer. The wafers were the size of a thumbnail and were generally used to record short birthday greetings. This one was in the shape of a birthday cake. Root closed his fingers around the wafer. The heat from his hand would power its microcircuits.
A sibilant voice issued from the tiny speaker, made even more reptilian by the cheap wiring.
‘Root,“ said the voice. ”I would speak to you. I would tell you a great secret. Bring the female, Holly Short. Two only, no more. Any more, and many will die. My comrades will see to it.. The message ended with a traditional birthday jingle, its cheeriness at odds with the message.
Root scowled. “Goblins. Drama queens, the lot of them.”
‘It’s a trap, Commander,“ said Holly without hesitation.
‘We were the ones at Koboi Labs a year ago. The goblins hold us responsible for the rebellion’s failure. If we go in there, who knows what’s waiting for us.“
Root nodded approvingly. “Now you’re thinking like a major. We’re not expendable. So what are our options, Trouble?”
‘If you don’t go in, many will die. If you do, you might.“
‘Not a nice set of options. Don’t you have anything good to tell me?“
Trouble lowered his helmet’s visor, consulting a mini- screen on the Perspex. “We managed to get the terminal’s security scanners back online and ran substance and thermal scans. We found a single heat source in the access tunnel, so Scalene is alone, if it’s him. Whatever he’s doing in there, he doesn’t have any known form of weaponry or explosives. Just a few beetle bars and some good old H2O.”
‘Any magma flares due?“ asked Holly.
Trouble ran his index finger along a pad on his left glove, scrolling down the screen on his visor. “Nothing for a couple of months. That chute is intermittent. So Scalene is not planning to bake you.”
Root’s cheeks glowed like two heating coils.
‘D’Arvit,“ he swore. ”I thought our goblin troubles were over. I’m tempted just to send in tactical and take a chance that Scalene is bluffing.“
‘That would be my advice,“ said Trouble. ”He doesn’t have anything in there that could harm you. Give me five fairies, and we’ll have Scalene in a wagon before he knows he’s been arrested.“
‘I take it the sleeper half of the seeker-sleeper is not working?“ said Holly.
Trouble shrugged. “We have to suppose it’s not. The seeker-sleeper didn’t function until now, and when we got here the wafer was left out for us.
Scalene knew we were coming. He even left a message.“
Root punched his palm with a fist. “I have to go in. There’s no immediate danger inside, and we can’t assume that Scalene hasn’t come up with a way to carry out his threat. I don’t have a choice, not really. I won’t order you to come with me, Captain Short.”
Holly felt her stomach lurch, but she swallowed the fear. The Commander was right. There was no other way. This was what being an LEP officer was all about. Protecting the People.
‘You don’t have to order me, Commander. I volunteer.“
‘Good. Now, Trouble, let Foaly and his shuttle through the barricade. We may have to go in, but we don’t have to go in unarmed.“
Foaly had more weaponry crammed into the back of a single shuttle than most human police forces had in their entire arsenal. Every inch of wall space had a power cable screwed into it or a rifle dangling from a hook. The centaur sat on the center, fine-tuning a Neutrino handgun. He tossed it to Holly as she entered the van.Grassland Fence
She caught it deftly. “Hey, careful with that.”
Foaly snickered. “Don’t worry. The trigger hasn’t been coded yet. Nobody can fire this weapon until its computer registers an owner. Even if this weapon did fall into goblin hands, it would be useless to them. One of my latest developments. After the B’wa Kell rebellion, I thought it was time to upgrade our security.”
Holly wrapped her fingers around the pistol’s grip. A red scanner light ran the length of the plastic butt, then switched to green.
‘That’s it. You’re the owner. From now on that Neutrino 3000 is a one-female gun.“
Holly hefted the transparent gun in her fist. “It’s too light. I prefer the 2000.”
Foaly brought the gun’s specifications up on a wall screen. “It’s light, but you’ll get used to it. On the plus side, there are no metal parts.
It’s powered by kinetics, the motion of your body, with a backup mini-nuke cell. Naturally it’s linked to a targeting system in your helmet. The casing is virtually impregnable, and if I do say so myself, it’s a cool piece of hardware.“
Foaly passed a larger version of the gun to Root. “Every shot is registered on the LEP computer, so we can tell who fired, when they fired, and in what direction. That should save internal affairs a lot of computer time.”
He winked at Holly. “Something you’ll be glad to hear.”
Holly leered back at the centaur. She was well known to IA. They had already conducted two inquiries into her professional conduct, and would just love the opportunity backslash to conduct a third. The one good thing about being promoted would be the looks on their faces when the. commander pinned those major’s acorns to her lapel.
Root holstered his weapon. “Okay. Now we can shoot. But what if we get shot?”
‘You won’t get shot,“ insisted Foaly.
‘I’ve hacked into the terminal scanners, I’ve planted a couple of sensors of my own, too.
There’s nothing in there that can harm you. Worst-case scenario, you trip over your own feet and get a sprained ankle.“
Root’s complexion reddened all the way down his neck. “Foaly, do I have to remind you that your sensors have been fooled before, in this very terminal, if I remember correctly.”
‘Okay, okay. Take it easy, Commander,“ said Foaly under his breath. ”I haven’t forgotten about last year. How could I with Holly reminding me every five minutes?“
The centaur hefted two sealed suitcases onto a workbench. He keyed in a number sequence on their security pads and popped the lids. “These are the next- generation Recon suits. I was planning to unveil them at the LEP conference next month, but with a real-live commander going into action, you better have them today.”
Holly pulled a jumpsuit from the case. It glittered briefly, then turned the color of the van walls.
‘The fabric is actually woven from cam-foil, so you are virtually hidden all the time. It saves you using your magical shield,“ explained Foaly.
‘Of course the function can be turned off. The wings are built into this suit. A completely retractable whisper design, a brand-new concept in wing construction. They take their power from a cell on your belt, and of course each wing is coated with mini-solars for aboveground flights. The suits also have their own pressure equalizers; now you can go directly from one environment to another without getting the bends.“
Root held the second suit before him. “These must cost a fortune.”
Foaly nodded. “You have no idea. Half of my research budget for last year went to developing those suits. They won’t replace the old suit for five years at least. Those two are the only operational models we have, so I would appreciate getting them back. They are shockproof, fire resistant, invisible to radar, and relay a continuous stream of diagnostic information back to Police Plaza. The current LEP helmet sends us basic vitals data, but the new suit sends a second stream of information that can tell us if your arteries are blocked, diagnose fractured bones, and even detect dry skin. It’s a flying clinic. There’s even a bulletproof plate on the chest, in case a human shoots at you.” Grassland Fence
Holly held the suit before a green plasma screen. The cam-foil instantly turned emerald.
‘I like it,“ she said. ”Green is my color.“
Trouble Kelp had commandeered spotlights left on-site by the movie company and directed them into the shuttleport’s lower level. The stark light picked up every floating speck of dust, giving the entire departures area an underwater feel. Commander Root and Captain Short edged into the room, weapons drawn and visors down.
‘What do you think of the suit?“ asked Holly, automatically keeping track of the various displays on the inside of her visor. LEP trainees often had difficulty developing the double focus needed to watch the terrain and their helmet screens. This often resulted in an action known as filling the vase, which was how LEP officers referred to throwing up in one’s helmet.
‘Not bad,“ replied Root. ”Light as a feather, and you wouldn’t even know you were wearing wings.Grassland Fence
Don’t tell Foaly I said that; his head is swelled enough as it is.“
‘No need to tell me, Commander,“ said Foaly’s voice in his earpiece. The speakers were a new gel-vibration variety, and it sounded as though the centaur was in the helmet with him. ”I’m with you every step of the way, from the safety of the shuttle, of course.“
‘Of course,“ said Root dourly.
The pair advanced cautiously past a line of check-in booths. Foaly had assured them that there was no possible danger in this area of the terminal, but the centaur had been wrong before. And mistakes in the field cost lives.
The film company had decided that the actual dirt in the terminal was not authentic enough, and so had sprayed piles of gray foam in various corners.
They had even added a doll’s head to one mound. A poignant touch, or so they thought. The walls and escalator were blackened with fake laser burns.
‘Quite a shooting match,“ said Root, grinning.
‘Slightly exaggerated. I doubt if half a dozen shots were fired.“
They proceeded through the embarkation area into the docking zone. The original shuttle used by the goblins in their smuggling runs had been resurrected and lay in the docking bay. The shuttle had been painted gloss black to make it seem more menacing, and a goblinesque decorated prow had been added to its nose.
‘How far?“ said Root into his mike.
‘I’m transferring the thermal signature to your helmets,“ replied Foaly.
Seconds later a schematic appeared in their visors. The plan was slightly confusing, as, in effect, they were looking down on themselves. There were three heat sources in the building. Two were close together, moving slowly toward the chute itself: Holly and the commander. The third figure was stationary in the access tunnel. Inches past the third figure, the thermoscan was whited out by the ambient heat from E37.
They reached the blast doors: seven feet of solid steel that separated the access tunnel from the rest of the terminal. Shuttles and eggs would glide in on a magnetized rail, to be dropped into the chute itself. The doors were sealed.
‘Can you open these remotely, Foaly?“
‘But of course, Commander. I have managed, quite ingeniously, to marry my operating system with the terminal’s old computers. That wasn’t as easy as it sounds…“
‘I’ll take your word for it,“ said the commander, cutting Foaly off. ”Just push the button, before I come out there and push it with your face.“
‘Some things never change,“ muttered Foaly, pushing the button.
The access tunnel smelled like a blast furnace. Ancient swirls of melted ore hung from the roof, and the ground underfoot was cracked and treacherous. Each footfall punctured a crust of soot, leaving a trail of deep footprints. There was another set of footprints leading to the shadowy figure huddled on the ground a few feet from the chute itself.
‘There,“ said Root.
‘Got him,“ said Holly, resting the bull’s-eye of her laser sight on the figure’s trunk.
‘Keep him covered,“ ordered the commander.
‘I’m going down.“
Root advanced along the tunnel, keeping well out of Holly’s line of fire. If Scalene did make a move, Holly would need a clear shot.
But the general (if it was him) squatted immobile, his spine curled along the tunnel wall. His frame was covered by a full-length hooded cape.
The commander turned on his helmet PA, so he could be heard above the howl of core wind.
‘You there. Stand facing the wall. Place your hands on your head.“
The figure did not move. Holly had not expected it to. Root stepped closer, always cautious, knees bent, ready to dive to one side.
He poked the figure’s shoulder with his Neutrino 3000.
‘On your feet, Scalene.“
The poke was sufficient to knock the figure sideways. The goblin keeled over, landing faceup on the tunnel floor. Soot flakes fluttered around him like disturbed bats. The hood flopped to one side, revealing the figure’s face: most important, the eyes.
‘It’s him,“ said Root. ”He’s been mesmerized.“
The general’s slitted eyes were bloodshot and vacant. This was a serious development, as it confirmed that somebody else had planned the escape, and Holly and Root had walked into a trap.Grassland Fence
‘I recommend we leave,“ said Holly.
‘Immediately.“
‘No,“ said Root, leaning over the goblin.
‘Now that we’re here, we might as well take Scalene back with us.“
He placed his free hand on the goblin’s collar, preparing to haul him to his feet. Later, Holly would record in her report that it was at that precise moment when things began to go terribly wrong. What had been a routine, albeit strange, assignment, suddenly became an altogether more sinister affair.
‘Do not touch me, elf,“ said a voice. A hissing goblin voice. Scalene’s voice. But how could that be? The general’s lips had not moved.
Root reared back, then steadied himself. “What’s going on here?”
Holly’s soldier’s sense was buzzing at the base of her neck.
‘Whatever it is, we won’t like it. We should go, Commander, right now.“
Root’s features were thoughtful. “That voice came from his chest.”
‘Maybe he had surgery,“ said Holly.
‘Let’s get out of here.“
The commander reached down a hand, flipping Scalene’s cape aside. There was a metal box strapped to the general’s chest. The box was a foot square with a small screen in the center. There was a shadowy face on the screen, and it was talking.
‘Ah, Julius,“ it said in Scalene’s voice. ”I knew you’d come. Commander Root’s famous ego would not allow him to stay out of the action. An obvious trap, and you walked straight into it.“
The voice was definitely Scalene’s, but there was something about the phrasing, the cadence. It was too sophisticated for a goblin. Sophisticated and strangely familiar.
‘Have you figured it out yet, Captain Short?“ said the voice. A voice that was changing. Slipping into a higher register. The tones were no longer male, not even goblin. That’s a female talking, thought Holly. A female that I know.
A face appeared on the screen. A beautiful and malicious face. Eyes bright with hate. Opal Koboi’s face. The rest of the head was swathed in bandages, but the features were only too visible.
Holly began to speak rapidly into her helmet mike. “Foaly, we have a situation here. Opal Koboi is loose. I repeat, Koboi is loose. This whole thing is a trap. Cordon off the area, sixteen-hundred-foot perimeter, and bring in the medical warlocks. Someone is about to get hurt.”
The face on the screen laughed, tiny pixie teeth glinting like pearls.
‘Talk all you want, Captain Short. Foaly can’t hear you.
My device has blocked your transmissions as easily as I blocked your seeker-sleeper and the substance scan that I assume you ran. Your little centaur friend can see you, though. I left him his precious lenses.“
Holly immediately zoomed in on Opal’s pixelated face. If Foaly got a shot of the pixie, he would figure out the rest.
Again Koboi laughed. Opal was genuinely enjoying herself. “Oh very good, Captain. You were always a smart one. Relatively speaking, of course. Show Foaly my face and he will initiate an alert. Sorry to disappoint you, Holly, but this entire device is constructed from stealth ore and is practically invisible to the artificial eye. All Foaly will see is a slight shimmer of interference.”
Stealth ore had been developed for space vehicles. It absorbed every form of wave or signal known to fairy or man, and so was virtually invisible to everything but the naked eye. It was also incredibly expensive to manufacture. Even the small amount necessary to cover Koboi’s device would have cost a warehouse full of gold.
Root straightened quickly. “The odds are against us here, Captain. Let’s move out.”
Holly didn’t bother with relief. Opal Koboi wouldn’t make things that easy. There was no way they were just walking out of here. If Foaly could hijack the terminal’s computers, then so could Koboi.
Opal’s laugh stretched to an almost hysterical screech.
‘M? we out? How very tactical of you, Commander.
“You’ll need to expand your vocabulary. Whatever next? Puck and cover?“
Holly peeled back a Velcro patch on her sleeve, revealing a Gnommish keyboard. She quickly accessed her helmet’s LEP criminal database, opening Opal Koboi’s file in her visor.
‘Opal Koboi,“ said Corporal Frond’s voice. The LEP always used Frond for voice-overs and recruitment videos. She was glamorous and elegant, with flowing blond tresses and inch-long manicured nails that were absolutely no use in the field. ”LEP enemy number one.
Currently under guard in the J. Argon Clinic.
Opal Koboi is a certified genius, scoring over three hundred on the standardized IQ test.
She is also a suspected megalomaniac, with an obsessive personality. Studies indicate that Koboi may be a pathological liar, and suffers from mild schizophrenia. For more detailed information, please consult the LEP central library on the second floor of Police Plaza.“
Holly closed the file. An obsessive genius and a pathological liar. Just what they needed. The information didn’t help much; it pretty much told her what she already knew. Opal was loose, she wanted to kill them, and she was smart enough to figure out how to do it.
Opal was still enjoying her triumph. “You don’t know how long I have waited for this moment,” the pixie said, then paused. “Actually, you do know. After all, you were the ones who wrecked my plan. And now I have you both.”Grassland Fence
Holly was puzzled. Opal may have serious mental issues, but that could not be confused with stupidity. Why would she prattle on? Was she trying to distract them?
The same thing occurred to Root. “Holly! The doors!”
Holly whirled around to see the blast doors sliding across, the sound of their engines masked by core wind. If those doors closed they would be completely cut off from the LEP, and at the mercy of Opal Koboi.
Holly targeted the magnetic rollers along the doors’ upper rim, sinking blast after blast from her Neutrino into their mechanisms. The doors jerked in their housings, but did not stop. Two of the rollers blew out, but the massive portals’ momentum carried them together. They connected with an ominous bong.
‘Alone at last,“ said Opal, sounding for all the world like an innocent college fairy on her first date.
Root pointed his weapon at the device belted around Scalene’s middle, as if he could somehow hurt Koboi.
‘What do you want?“ he demanded.
‘You know what I want,“ replied Opal. ”The question is, how am I going to get it? What form of revenge would be the most satisfying? Naturally, you will both end up dead, but that’s not enough. I want you to suffer as I did. Discredited and despised. One of you at least; the other will have to be sacrificed. I don’t really care which.“
Root retreated to the blast doors, motioning for Holly follow. “Options?” he whispered, his back to Koboi’s device.
Holly raised her visor, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. The helmets were air-conditioned, but sometimes sweating had nothing to do with temperature.
‘We have to get out of here,“ she said. ”The chute is the only way.“
Root nodded. “Agreed. We fly up far enough to clear Koboi’s blocker signal, then alert Major Kelp.”
‘What about Scalene? He’s mesmerized to the gills; he can’t look after himself. If we do escape, Opal is not going to leave him around as evidence.“
It was basic criminal logic. Your typical take-over-the- world types are not averse to knocking off a few of their own if it means a clean getaway.
Root actually growled. “It really tugs my beard to put us in harm’s way over a goblin, but that’s the job. We take Scalene with us. I want you to sink a few charges into that box around his waist, and when the buzzing stops, I throw him over my shoulder and we’re off up E37.”
‘Understood,“ said Holly, lowering the setting on her weapon to minimum. Some of the charge would be transferred to Scalene, but it wouldn’t do much more than dry up his eyeballs for a couple of minutes.
Ignore the pixie. Whatever she says, keep your mind on the job.“
‘Yes, sir.“
Root took several deep breaths. Somehow it calmed Holly to see the commander as nervous as she was. “Okay. Go.”
The two elves turned and strode rapidly toward the unconscious goblin.
‘Have we come up with a little plan?“ said Koboi, mocking them from the small screen. ”Something ingenious, I hope. Something I haven’t thought of?“
Grim faced, Holly tried to shut out the words, but they wormed their way into her thoughts. Something ingenious? Hardly. It was simply the only option open to them. Something Koboi hadn’t thought of?Grassland Fence
Doubtful. Opal conceivably could have been planning this for almost a year. were they just about to do exactly what she wanted?
‘Sir…“ began Holly, but Root was already in position beside Scalene.
Holly fired six charges at the small screen. All six impacted on Koboi’s pixelated features. Opal’s image disappeared in a storm of static. Sparks squeezed between the metal seams and acrid smoke leaked through the speaker grid.
Root hesitated for a moment, allowing any charge to disperse, then grabbed Scalene firmly by the shoulders.
Nothing happened.
I was wrong, thought Holly, releasing a breath she not realize she’d been holding. I was wrong, thank the gods. Opal has no plan. But it wasn’t true, and Holly didn’t really believe it.
The box around Scalene’s midriff was secured by a set of octo-bonds, eight telescoping cables often used by the LEP to restrain dangerous criminals. They could be locked and unlocked remotely, and once cinched, could not be removed without the remote or an angle grinder. As soon as Root leaned over, the octo-bonds released Scalene and whiplashed around the commander’s torso, releasing Scalene and drawing the metal box tight to Root’s own chest.
Koboi’s face appeared on the reverse side of the box. The smokescreen had been just that: a smokescreen.
‘Commander Root,“ she said, almost breathless with malice. ”It looks like you’re the sacrifice.“
‘D’Arvit!“ swore Root, beating the metal box with the butt of his pistol. The cords tightened until Root’s breath came in agonized spurts. Holly heard more than one rib crack.
The commander fought the urge to sink to his feet.
Magical blue sparks played around his torso, automatically healing the broken bones.
Holly rushed forward to help, but before she could reach her superior officer, an urgent beeping began to emanate from the device’s speaker. The closer she got, the louder the beep.
‘Stay back,“ grunted Root. ”Stay back. It’s a trigger.“
Holly stopped in her sooty tracks, punching the air in frustration. But the commander was probably right.
She had heard of proximity triggers before. Dwarfs used them in the mines. They would set a charge in the tunnels, activate a proximity trigger, and then set it off from a safe distance, using a stone.
Opal’s face reappeared on the screen.
‘Listen to your Julius, Captain Short,“ advised the pixie. ”This is a moment for caution.
Your commander is quite right: the tone you hear is indeed a proximity trigger. If you come too close, he will be vaporized by the explosive gel packed into the metal box.“
‘Stop lecturing and tell us what you want,“ snarled Root.
‘Now, now, Commander, patience. Your worries will be over soon enough. In fact they are already over, so why don’t you just wait quietly while your final seconds tick away.“
Holly circled the commander, keeping the beep constant, until her back was to the chute. “There’s a way out of this, Commander,” she said. “I just need to think. I need a minute to sort things out.”
‘Let me help you to sort things out,“ said Koboi mockingly, her childlike features ugly with malice. ”Your LEP comrades are currently trying to laser their way in here. Of course they will never make it in time. But you can bet that my old school chum, Foaly, is glued to his video screen. So what does he see? He sees his good friend Holly Short apparently holding a gun on her commander. now why would she want to do that?“
‘Foaly will figure it out,“ said Root. ”He beat you before.“
Opal remote-tightened the octo-bonds, forcing the commander to his knees. “Maybe he would figure it out at that. If he had time. But unfortunately for you, time is almost up.”
On Root’s chest, a digital readout flickered to life. There were two numbers on the readout. A six and a zero. Sixty seconds.
‘One minute to live, Commander. How does that feel?“
The numbers began ticking down.
The ticking and the beeping and Opal’s snide sniggers drilled into Holly’s brain. “Shut it down, Koboi. Shut it down, or I swear I’ll…”
Opal’s laughter was unrestrained. It echoed through the access tunnel like the attack screech of a harpy.
‘You will what? Exactly. Die beside your commander?“
More cracks. More ribs broken. The blue sparks of magic circled Root’s torso like stars caught in a whirlwind.
‘Go now,“ he grunted. ”Holly. I am ordering you to leave.“
‘With respect, Commander. No. This isn’t over yet.“
‘Forty-eight,“ said Opal in a happy singsong voice. ”Forty-seven.“
‘Holly! Go!“
‘I’d listen if I were you,“ said Koboi. ”There are other lives at stake. Root is already dead; why not save someone who can be saved?“
Holly moaned. Another element in an already overloaded equation.
‘Who can I save? Who’s in danger?“
‘Oh, no one important. Just a couple of Mud Men.“
Of course, thought Holly: Artemis and Butler. Two others who had put a stop to Koboi’s plan.
‘What have you done, Opal?“ said Holly, shouting above the proximity trigger and core wind.
Koboi’s lip drooped, mimicking a guilty child. “I’m afraid I may have put your human friends in danger. At this very moment they are stealing a package from the International Bank in Munich. A little package I prepared for them. If Master Fowl is as clever as he is supposed to be, he won’t open the package until he reaches the Kronski Hotel and can check for booby traps.
Then a biobomb will be activated, and bye-bye obnoxious humans. You can stay here and explain all this; I’m sure it won’t take more than a few hours to sort out with Internal Affairs. Or you can try to rescue your friends.“
Holly’s head reeled. The commander, Artemis, Butler. All about to die. How could she save them?Grassland Fence
There was no way to win.
‘I will hunt you down, Koboi. For you, there won’t be a safe inch on the planet.“
‘Such venom. What if I gave you a way out? One chance to win.“
Root was on his knees now, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. The blue sparks were gone; he was out of magic.
‘It’s a trap,“ he gasped, every syllable making him wince. ”Don’t be fooled again.“
‘Thirty,“ said Koboi. ”Twenty-nine.“
Holly felt her forehead throb against the helmet pads. “Okay. Okay, Koboi. Tell me quickly. How do I save the commander?”
Opal took a deep theatrical breath. “On the device. There’s a sweet spot. One inch diameter. The red dot below the screen. If you hit that spot from outside the trigger area, then you overload the circuit. If you miss, even by a hair, you set off the explosive gel.
It’s a sporting chance; more than you gave me, Holly Short.“
Holly gritted her teeth. “You’re lying. Why would you give me a chance?”
‘Don’t take the shot,“ said Root, strangely calm. ”Just get out of range. Go and save Artemis. That’s the last order I’ll ever give you, Captain. Don’t you dare ignore it.“
Holly felt as though her senses were being filtered through three feet of water. Everything was blurred and slowed down.
‘I don’t have any choice, Julius.“
Root frowned. “Don’t call me Julius! You always do that just before you disobey me. Save Artemis, Holly. Save him.“
Holly closed one eye and aimed her pistol.
The laser sights were no good for this kind of accuracy.
She would have to do it manually.
‘I’ll save Artemis next,“ she said.
Holly took a deep breath, held it, and squeezed the trigger.
Holly hit the red spot. She was certain of it.
The charge sank into the device, spreading across the metal face like a tiny bushfire.
‘I hit it,“ she shouted at Opal’s image.
‘I hit the spot.“
Koboi shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought you were a fraction low. Hard luck. I mean that sincerely.”
‘No!“ screamed Holly.
The countdown on Root’s chest ticked faster than before, flickering through the numbers. There were mere moments left now.
The commander struggled to his feet, raising the visor on his helmet. His eyes were steady and fearless. He smiled gently at Holly. A smile that laid no blame. For once there wasn’t even a touch of feverish temper in his cheeks.
‘Be well,“ he said, and then an orange flame blossomed in the center of his chest.
The explosion sucked the air from the tunnel, feeding on the oxygen. Multicolored flames roiled like the plumage of battling birds. Holly was shunted backward by a wall of shock waves, the force impacting every surface facing the commander. Microfilaments blew in her suit as they were overloaded with heat and force. The camera cylinder on her helmet popped right out of its groove, spinning into E37.
Holly herself was borne bodily into the chute, spinning like a twig in a cyclone. Sonix sponges in her earpieces sealed automatically as the sound of the explosion caught up with the blast. The commander had disappeared inside a ball of flame. He was gone, there was no doubt about it. Even magic could not help him now. Some things are beyond fixing.
The contents of the access tunnel, including Root and Scalene, disintegrated into a cloud of shrapnel and dust, particles ricocheting off the tunnel walls. The cloud surged down the path of least resistance, which was of course directly after Holly.
She barely had time to activate her wings and climb a few meters, before flying shrapnel drilled a hole in the chute wall below her.
Holly hovered in the vast tunnel, the sound of her own breathing filling the helmet. The commander was dead. It was unbelievable. Just like that, at the whim of a vengeful pixie. Had there been a sweet spot on the device? Or had she actually missed the target? She would probably never know. But to the LEP observers, it would seem as though she had shot her own commander.
Holly glanced downward. Below her, fragments from the explosion were spiraling toward the earth’s core.
As, they neared the revolving magma sphere, the heat ignited each one, utterly cremating all that was left of Julius Root, For the briefest moment the particles twinkled gold and bronze, like a million stars falling to earth.Grassland Fence
Holly hung there for several minutes, trying to absorb what had happened. She couldn’t. It was too awful. Instead she froze the pain and guilt, preserving it for later. Right now, she had an order to follow. And she would follow it, even if it was the last thing she ever did, because it had been the last order Julius Root ever gave.
Holly increased the power to her wings, rising through the massive charred chute. There were Mud Men to be saved.