Oh no, said Opal. Not dead, merely painfully stunned. He is having quite a day, young Artemis.
Holly glared at the small pixie, her pretty features distorted by grief and outrage. What do you want from us? What else can you do?
Opals face was the picture of innocence. Dont blame me. You have brought this on yourself. All I wanted to do was bring down fairy society as we know it, but oh no, you wouldnt have it. Then I planned a couple of relatively simple assassinations, but you insisted on surviving. Kudos to you for evading the bio-bomb, by the way. I was watching the whole thing from twenty metres up in my stealth shuttle. Containing the solinium with an LEP helmet good thinking. But now, because you have caused me so much trouble and exasperation, I think I will indulge myself a little.
Holly swallowed the fear that was crawling up her throat.
Indulge yourself?
Oh yes. I had a nasty little scenario planned for Foaly, something theatrical involving the Eleven Wonders. But now I have decided that you are worthy of it.
Holly tensed herself. She should go for her gun, there was no other option. But she had to ask; it was fairy nature.
How nasty?
Opal smiled, and evil was the only word for that expression.
Troll nasty, she said. And one more thing. I am telling you this because you are about to die, and I want you to hate me as much as I hate you at the moment of your death. Opal paused, allowing the tension to build. Do you remember the sweet spot on the bomb I strapped to Julius?
Holly felt as though her heart was expanding to fill her chest. I remember.
Opals eyes flared. Well, there wasnt one.
Holly went for her gun, and Merv hit her in the chest with a blue charge. She was asleep before she hit the ground.
* * *
Chapter 6: Troll Nasty
UNDER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, TWO MILES OFF THE KERRY COAST, IRISH WATERS
Three thousand metres below the surface of the Atlantic, an LEP sub-shuttle was speeding through a minor volcanic trench towards the mouth of a subterranean river. The river led to an LEP shuttle port, where the sub-shuttles passengers could transfer to a regular craft.
Three passengers and a pilot were aboard it. The passengers were a dwarf felon and the two Atlantis marshals who were escorting him. Mulch Diggums, the felon in question, was in high spirits for someone in prison clothes, the reason being, his appeal had finally come through, and his lawyer was optimistic that all charges against his client were about to be quashed on a technicality.
Mulch Diggums was a tunnel dwarf who had abandoned the mines in favour of a life of crime. He removed items of value from Mud Peoples houses and sold them on the black market. In the past few years his destiny had become intertwined with those of Artemis Fowl and Holly Short, and he had played a key part in their adventures. Inevitably, this rollercoaster lifestyle had come crashing down around him as the long arm of the LEP closed in.
Before he had been led away to serve the remainder of his sentence, Mulch Diggums was permitted to say goodbye to his human friend. Artemis had given him two things. One was a note advising him to check the dates on the original search warrant for his cave. The other was a gold medallion, to be returned to Artemis in two years. Apparently Artemis had wished to resurrect their partnership at that time. Mulch had studied the medallion a thousand times, searching for its secrets, until his constant rubbing wore down the gold plating, to reveal a computer disk beneath. Obviously, Artemis had recorded a message to himself. A way to return the memories that the LEP had taken from him.
As soon as he had been transported to the Deeps maximum-security prison outside Atlantis, Mulch had put in a request for a counsel call. When his state-appointed attorney had grudgingly turned up, Mulch advised him to check the dates on the search warrant leading to his original arrest. Somehow, amazingly, the dates were wrong. According to the LEP computer, Julius Root had searched his cave before obtaining a search warrant. This nullified both this and all later arrests. All that remained was a lengthy processing period and one last interview with the arresting officer, and Mulch would be a free dwarf.
Finally, the day had come. Mulch was being shuttled to Police Plaza for his meeting with Julius Root. Fairy law allowed Root one thirty-minute interview to squeeze some kind of confession from Mulch. All the dwarf had to do was stay quiet, and he would be eating vole curry in his favourite dwarf chop house by dinnertime.
Mulch closed his fist round the medallion. He had no doubt who was pulling the strings here. Somehow Artemis had hacked into the LEP computer and changed his records. The Mud Boy was setting him free.
One of the marshals, a slight elf with Atlantean gills, sucked a slobbery breath in through his neck, letting it out through his mouth.