Artemis Fowl_ The Opal Deception - Eoin Colfer [88]
“That is a transport shuttle, not a pursuit vehicle,” she noted, walking quickly into the cockpit, closely followed by the twins. “We must assume that Artemis Fowl and Captain Short are aboard. They have no weapons and only basic scanners. In this poor light we are virtually invisible to the naked eye. They are blind.”
“Should we blast them from the skies?” asked the younger Brill brother eagerly. At last some of the action he had been promised.
“No,” replied Opal. “A plasma burst would give our position to human and fairy police satellites. We go silent. Turn off everything. Even life support. I don’t know how they got this close, but the only way they’re going to find out our exact location is to run into us. And if that happens, their sad little shuttle will crumple like cardboard.”
The Brills obeyed promptly, switching off all of the shuttle’s systems.
“Good,” whispered Opal, placing a slim finger over her lips. They watched the shuttle for several minutes until Opal decided to break the silence.
“Whoever is passing wind, please stop it, or I will devise a fitting punishment.”
“It wasn’t me,” mouthed the Brill brothers simultaneously. Neither was anxious to find out what the fitting punishment for passing wind was.
E7, Ten Minutes Earlier
Holly eased the LEP shuttle through a particularly tricky secondary shaft and into E7. Almost immediately, two red lights began pulsing on the console.
“The clock is ticking,” she announced. “We just triggered two of Foaly’s sensors. They’re going to put the shuttle together with the probe and come running.”
“How long?” asked Artemis.
Holly calculated in her head. “If they come supersonic in the attack shuttle, less than half an hour.”
“Perfect,” said Artemis, pleased.
“I’m glad you think so,” moaned Mulch. “Supersonic LEP officers are never a welcome sight among burglars. As a general rule we prefer our police officers subsonic.”
Holly clamped the shuttle to a rocky outcrop on the chute wall. “Are you backing out, Mulch? Or is just the usual moaning?”
The dwarf rotated his jaw, warming it up for the work ahead. “I think I’m entitled to a little moan. Why do these plans always involve me putting myself in harm’s way, while you three get to wait it out in the shuttle?”
Artemis handed him a cooler sack from the galley. “Because you are the only one who can do this, Mulch. You alone can foil Koboi’s plan.”
Mulch was not impressed. “I’m not impressed,” he said. “I’d better get a medal for this. Real gold, too. No more gold-plated computer disks.”
Holly hustled him to the starboard hatch. “Mulch, if they don’t lock me in prison for the rest of my life, I will start the campaign to give you the biggest medal in the LEP cabinet.”
“And amnesty for any past and future crimes?”
Holly opened the hatch. “Past, maybe. Future, not a chance. But no guarantees. I’m not exactly flavor of the month at Police Plaza.”
Mulch tucked the sack inside his shirt. “Okay. Possible big medal and probable amnesty. I’ll take it.” He put one foot outside onto the flat surface of the rock. Tunnel wind sucked at his leg, threatening to tumble him into the abyss. “We meet back here in twenty minutes.”
Artemis handed the dwarf a small walkie-talkie from the LEP locker. “Remember the plan,” shouted Artemis over the roar of the wind. “Don’t forget to leave the communicator. Only steal what you are supposed to. Nothing else.”
“Nothing else,” echoed Mulch, looking none too pleased. After all, who knew what valuables Opal may have lying about up there. “Unless something really jumps out at me.”
“Nothing,” insisted Artemis. “Now, are you sure you can get in?”
Mulch’s grin revealed rows of rectangular teeth. “I can get in. You just make sure their power is off and they’re looking the other way.”
Butler hefted the bag of tricks that he had brought with him from Fowl Manor. “Don’t worry, Mulch. They’ll be looking the other way. I guarantee it.”
Police Plaza, The Lower Elements
All the brass were in the Operations Room, watching live television updates on the probe’s progress when Foaly