Artemis Fowl_ The Opal Deception - Eoin Colfer [33]
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.
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 communiqué 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