Artemis Fowl_ The Opal Deception - Eoin Colfer [25]
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? 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 did 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,”