Pex’s brain was churning. This was an operation akin to a blender mixing concrete.
“Careful, Mr. Spiro, guns are dangerous. Especially the end with the hole.”
“This isn’t over, Artemis Fowl,” Spiro roared at the ceiling. “I will find you. I will never give up. You’ve got Jon Spiro’s word on it. My word!”
He began to fire random shots, blowing holes in monitors, vents, and conduits. One even came within three feet of Artemis.
Pex and Chips were not quite sure what was going on, but decided that it might be a good idea to join in the fun. They pulled out their weapons and began shooting up the lab.
Blunt did not get involved. He considered his contract of employment terminated. There was no way out of this for Spiro; it was every man for himself. He crossed to the wall’s metal paneling and began to dismantling it with a power screwdriver. A section dropped from its casing, behind it a two-inch cable space, then solid concrete. They were trapped.
Behind him, the elevator door dinged.
Juliet was crouched in the lift shaft.
“We’re clear,” said Holly in her earpiece. “But Spiro is shooting up the lab.”
Juliet frowned. Her Principal was in danger. “Knock them out with the Neutrino.”
“I can’t. If Spiro is unconscious when the police arrive, he could claim a frame-up.”
“Okay. I’m going in.”
“Negative. Wait for SWAT.”
“No. You take out the weapons. I’ll handle the rest.”
Mulch had given Juliet a bottle of dwarf rock polish. She poured a little puddle on the elevator roof, and it dissolved like fat on a pan. Juliet hopped into the carriage, crouching low in case Blunt decided to put a few rounds into the elevator.
“On three.”
“Juliet.”
“I’m going on three.”
“Okay.”
Juliet reached up to the door open button. “One.”
Holly drew her Neutrino, locking all four targets into her visor’s targeting system.
“Two.”
Holly unshielded for accuracy; the vibration would throw her aim right off. For a few seconds she would have o hide behind the foil with Artemis.
“Three.”
Juliet pressed the button. Holly squeezed off four shots.
Artemis had less than a minute to make his move. Less than a minute while Holly targeted and disarmed Spiro and Co. The circumstances were hardly ideal; screaming, gunfire, and general mayhem. But then again, what better time to implement the final step in this stage of the plan? A very vital step.
The second Holly unshielded to fire, Artemis scrolled out a Plexiglas keyboard from the C Cube’s base and began to type. In seconds he had hacked into Spiro’s bank accounts. All thirty-seven of them, in institutions from the Isle of Man to the Caymans. The various account numbers locked into place. He had access to each secret fund.
The Cube quickly totted up the total funds: 2.8 billion U.S. dollars, not counting the contents of various safety-deposit boxes which could not be touched over the net. Two point eight billion. Plenty to restore the Fowl’s status as one of the top-five richest Irish families.
Just as he was about to complete the transaction, Artemis remembered his father’s words again. His father, returned to him by the fairy folk.
And what about you, Arty? Will you make the journey with me? When the moment comes, will you take your chance to be a hero?
Did he really need billions of dollars?
Of course he needed it. Aurum Est Potestas. Gold Is Power.
Really? Will you take your chance to be a hero? To make a difference.
Because he could not groan aloud, Artemis rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. Well, if he was going to be a hero, he would be a well-paid one. He quickly deducted a ten-percent finder’s fee from the 2.8 billion, then sent the rest to Amnesty International. He made the transaction irreversible, in case he weakened later on.
Artemis wasn’t finished yet. There was one more good deed to be attended to. The success of this venture depended on Foaly’s being too busy watching the show to notice Artemis hacking into his system.
He brought up the LEP site and set the code breaker working on a password. It took ten valuable seconds per minute, but he was soon flying around LEP micro sites. Artemis found what he needed on Perp Profiles. Mulch Diggums’s complete arrest record. From there it was a simple matter to follow the electron trail back to the original search warrant for Mulch’s dwelling. Artemis changed the date on the warrant to read the day after Mulch’s arrest. This meant that all subsequent arrests and convictions were null and void. A good lawyer would have him out of prison in a heartbeat.
“I have not finished with you yet, Mulch Diggums,” he whispered, logging out and clipping the Cube onto Holly’s belt.
*