Artemis Fowl_ The Opal Deception - Eoin Colfer [94]
“Hmm,” said Opal. “Surprising.”
“Maybe they ran out of ammunition,” offered Merv, though he knew that Opal would punish him for offering an opinion.
“Is that what you think, Mervall? They ran out of explosives and so they decided just to let us go? Do you really imagine that to be true, you imbecilic excuse for a sentient being? Don’t you have any frontal lobes?”
“I was just playing devil’s advocate,” mumbled Merv weakly.
Opal rose from her seat, waving a hand at each Brill brother. “Just shut up. I need to talk to myself for a minute.” She paced the narrow cockpit. “What’s going on here? They track us to the chute, then put on a big fireworks display, then leave. Just like that. Why? Why?”
She rubbed both temples with a knuckle. “Think.” Suddenly Opal remembered something. “Last night. A shuttle was stolen in E1. We heard about it on the police band. Who stole it?”
Scant shrugged. “I dunno. Some dwarf. Is it important?”
“That’s right. A dwarf. And wasn’t there a dwarf involved in the Artemis Fowl siege? And weren’t there rumors of the same dwarf helping Julius to break into Koboi labs?”
“Rumors. No actual evidence.”
Opal turned on Scant. “Maybe that’s because, unlike you, this dwarf is smart. Maybe he doesn’t want to be caught.” The pixie took a moment to connect the dots. “So they have a dwarf burglar, a shuttle, and explosives. Holly must know that those pathetic grenades can’t penetrate our hull, so why drop them? Unless . . .”
The truth hit her like a physical blow in the stomach. “Oh no,” she gasped. “Distraction. We sat here like fools watching the pretty lights. And all the time . . .”
She heaved Scant aside, rushing past him to the lounge.
“The charges,” she shrieked. “Where are they?”
Scant went straight to the chair. “Don’t worry, Miss Koboi, they’re right—” He stopped, the sentence’s final word stuck in his throat. “I, ah, they were right there. In the chair.”
Opal picked up the small handheld radio. “They’re toying with me. Tell me you put the backup somewhere safe.”
“No,” said Scant miserably. “They were together.”
Merv pushed past him into the cargo bay. “The engine compartment is open.” He stuck his head through the hatch. His voice wafted up, muffled by the floor panels. “The battery rod seal has been ripped apart. And there are footprints. Someone came through here.”
Opal threw back her head and screamed. She held it for a long time for such a small individual.
Finally her breath ran out. “Follow the shuttle,” she gasped when her wind returned. “I modified those charges myself and they cannot be disarmed. We can still detonate. At the very least we will destroy my enemies.”
“Yes, Miss Koboi,” said Merv and Scant together.
“Don’t look at me,” howled Opal.
The Brill brothers fled to the cockpit, trying to simultaneously bow, look at their feet, not think anything dangerous, and above all, not pass wind.
* * *
Mulch was waiting at the rendezvous site when the LEP shuttle arrived. Butler opened the door and hauled the dwarf in by the collar.
“Did you get it?” asked Artemis anxiously.
Mulch passed him the bulging bag. “Right here. And before you ask, I left the radio.”
“So everything went according to plan?”
“Completely,” replied Mulch, neglecting to mention the diamond nestled in his stomach wall.
“Excellent,” said Artemis, striding past the dwarf to the cockpit.
“Go,” he shouted, thumping Holly’s headrest.
Holly already had the shuttle ticking over, and was holding it with the brake.
“We’re gone,” she said, releasing the brake and flooring the throttle. The LEP craft bolted from the rocky outcrop like a pebble from a catapult.
Artemis’s legs were dragged from the floor, flapping behind him like windsocks. The rest of him would have followed if he hadn’t held on to the headrest.