Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer [72]
“That’s right,” snickered Foaly. “You ain’t Acting Commander any more. The call came through from below. You’ve got an appointment with the Council, and I don’t think it’s to offer you a seat.”
It was probably Foaly’s grin that drove Cudgeon over the edge.
“Give me those disks!” he roared, pinning Foaly to the operation’s shuttle.
Root was tempted to let them wrestle for a while, but now wasn’t the time to indulge himself.
“Naughty naughty,” he said, pointing his index finger at Cudgeon. “No one beats Foaly but me.”
Foaly paled. “Careful with that finger. You’re still wearing the—”
Root’s thumb accidentally brushed his knuckle, opening a tiny gas valve. The released gas propelled a tranquilized dart through the latex fingertip and straight into Cudgeon’s neck. The Acting Commander, soon to be Private, sank like a stone.
Foaly rubbed his neck. “Nice shot, Commander.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Total accident. I forgot all about the fake finger. There are several precedents, I believe.”
“Oh, absolutely. Unfortunately Cudgeon will be unconscious for several hours. By the time he awakens, all the excitement will be over.”
“Shame.” Root allowed himself a fleeting grin, then it was back to business. “Is the gold here?”
“Yep, they just inserted it.”
“Good.” He called to Cudgeon’s sheepish troops. “Get it loaded on a hovertrolley, and send it in. Any trouble and I’ll feed you your wings. Understood?”
No one actually replied, but it was understood. No doubt about it.
“Good. Now hop to it.”
Root disappeared into the operation’s shuttle, Foaly clopping behind him. The Commander shut the door firmly.
“Is it armed?”
The centaur flicked a few important-looking switches on the main console.
“It is now.”
“I want it launched as soon as possible.” He glanced through the laserproof refractor glass. “We’re down to minutes here. I see sunlight poking through.”
Foaly bent to his keyboard in earnest. “The magic is breaking up. In fifteen minutes we’re going to be in the middle of overground daytime. The neutrino streams are losing their integrity.”
“I see,” said Root, which was basically a lie again. “Okay, I don’t see. But I do get the fifteen minutes bit. That gives you ten minutes to get Captain Short out of there. After that we’re going to be sitting ducks for the entire human race.”
Foaly activated yet another camera. This one was linked to the hovertrolley. He ran a finger experimentally across a trackpad. The trolley shot forward, almost decapitating Chix Verbil.
“Nice driving,” muttered Root. “Will it get up the steps?”
Foaly didn’t even look up from his computers.
“Automatic clearance compensator. A five-foot collar. No problems.”
Root speared him with a glare. “You do that just to annoy me, don’t you?”
Foaly shrugged his shoulders. “I might.”
“Yes, well, count yourself lucky my other fingers aren’t loaded. Get my meaning?”
“Yessir.”
“Good. Now let’s bring Captain Short home.”
Holly hovered beneath the portico. Orange shards of light striped the blue. The time-stop was breaking up. There were only minutes left before Root blue-rinsed the whole place. Foaly’s voice buzzed in her earpiece.
“Okay, Captain Short. The gold is on the way. Be ready to move.”
“We don’t bargain with kidnappers,” said Holly, surprised. “What’s going on here?”
“Nothing,” replied Foaly casually. “Straightforward exchange. The gold goes in, you come out. We send in the missile. Big blue bang, and it’s all over.”
“Does Fowl know about the bio-bomb?”
“Yep. Knows all about it. Claims he can escape the time-field.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Correct.”
“But they’ll all be killed!”
“Big deal,” retorted Foaly, and Holly could almost see him shrug. “That’s what you get when you mess with the People.”
Holly was torn. There was no doubt that Fowl was a danger to the civilized underworld. Very few tears would be shed over his body. But the girl, Juliet—she was an innocent. She deserved a chance.
Holly descended to an altitude of six and a half feet. Head