Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer [73]
Holly glared accusingly at Artemis. “Have you told them?”
Artemis returned her stare. “Told them what?”
“Yes, Fairy, told us what?” echoed Juliet belligerently, still a bit miffed over the mesmerizing.
“Don’t play dumb, Fowl. You know what I’m talking about.”
Artemis never could play dumb for very long. “Yes, Captain Short. I do. The bio-bomb. Your concern would be touching, if it extended to myself. Nevertheless, do not upset yourself. Everything is proceeding according to plan.”
“According to plan!” gasped Holly, pointing to the devastation surrounding them. “Was this part of the plan? And Butler almost getting killed—all part of the plan?”
“No,” Artemis admitted. “The troll was a slight blip. But irrelevant to the overall scheme.”
Holly resisted the urge to punch the pale human again, turning instead to Butler.
“Listen to reason, for heaven’s sake. You cannot escape the time-field. It has never been done.”
Butler’s features could have been etched in stone.
“If Artemis says it can be done, then it can.”
“But your sister. Are you willing to risk her life out of loyalty to a felon?”
“Artemis is no felon, miss, he is a genius. Now please remove yourself from my sightline. I am monitoring the main entrance.”
Holly buzzed up to twenty feet.
“You’re crazy. All of you! In five minutes you’ll all be dust. Don’t you realize?”
Artemis sighed. “You’ve had your answer, Captain. Now, please. This is a delicate stage in the proceedings.”
“Proceedings? It’s a kidnapping! At least have the guts to call it what it is.”
Artemis’s patience was beginning to fray.
“Butler, do we have any tranquilizer hypodermics left?”
The giant manservant nodded, but didn’t speak. At that precise moment, if the order came to sedate, he wasn’t sure if he would, or could. Luckily Artemis’s attention was diverted by activity in the avenue.
“Ah, it would seem the LEP have capitulated. Butler, supervise the delivery. But stay alert. Our fairy friends are not above trickery.”
“You’re a fine one to talk,” muttered Holly.
Butler hurried to the demolished doorway, checking the load and catch on his Sig Sauer nine-millimeter. He was almost grateful for some military activity to distract him from his dilemma. In situations like these, training took over. There was no room for sentiment.
A fine haze of dust still hung in the air. Butler squinted through it, into the avenue beyond. The fairy filters rigged over his eyes revealed that there were no warm bodies approaching. There was, however, a large trolley seemingly driving itself up to the front door. It was floating on a cushion of shimmering air. Doubtless Master Artemis would have understood the physics of this machine; all Butler cared about was whether or not he could disable it.
The trolley bumped into the first step.
“Automatic compensator, my foot,” snorted Root.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” replied Foaly. “I’m working on it.”
“It’s the ransom,” shouted Butler.
Artemis tried to quell the excitement rising in his chest. This was not the time to allow emotions to enter the equation.
“Check for booby traps.”
Butler stepped cautiously on to the porch. Shards of disintegrated gargoyle lay scattered beneath his feet.
“No hostiles. Seems to be self-propelled.”
The trolley lurched over the steps.
“I don’t know who’s driving this thing, but he could do with a few lessons.”
Butler bent low to the ground, scanning the trolley’s underside.
“No explosive devices visible.”
He extracted a Sweeper from his pocket, extending the telescopic aerial.
“No bugs either. Nothing detectable at any rate. But what do we have here?”
“Uh-oh,” said Foaly.
“It’s a camera.”
Butler reached in, pulling the fish-eye lens out by the cable.
“Nighty-night, gentlemen.”
In spite of the load it carried, the trolley responded easily to Butler’s touch, gliding across the threshold into the lobby. It stood there humming softly, as though waiting to be unloaded.
Now