Disclaimer: I do not own Eoin Colfer and I am not Artemis Fowl. No.....
wait...
Becca: yeah, I found that out. Thank you for telling me though.;-)
Chapter 26
"If you kill me," said Brian calmly, though a voice on his inside was screaming. "Then there will be no one here to operate your precious plan."
"Oh we wouldn't dream of killing you," said Brice, his smile growing even wider. "No, you're far too important. But we do have someone here that is very expandable."
As if on cue the door to the main database flew open, and two of Cudgeon's lackeys dragged in a struggling blue eyed, raven-haired girl.
"Aidan," breathed Brian.
"Yes, your little twin Aidan. We found her in the Tara Base," said Brice, his smile vanishing. "She's such a pretty little thing, her death will be such a waste...."
"I'll do it," said Brian weakly.
"I beg your pardon," said Brice, looking at him. "I didn't quite catch that...."
"I'll do it," said Brian loudly, not bothering to keep the hatred from his voice.
"I knew that you would see things my way," said Brice with a smile.
~*~
"My retrieval squad could be killed!" Cried root.
"They could be," agreed Artemis, "but it's the only way to get to Brice. We have to run that risk."
"Its no risk for you though, huh Fowl?" snarled Root. "What do you care if half a dozen elves are killed? This is practically your fault anyway."
Artemis brought in a deep breath through his nose and tried to keep his voice neutral. "Which is exactly why, Commander Root, that I am here helping you. Tell me, do you have a better plan?"
Root glared at Artemis for several seconds before turning to his squad. "I won't force you to do this, but are you willing?"
One by one, the squad nodded weakly.
Root turned to Artemis. "We'll do it, but if any of my officers are hurt Fowl, I swear...."
"We hardly have time for this Commander," said Artemis, brushing away root's threat as if it was nothing. "Here's the plan in full detail...."
~*~
Slowly, one by one the retrieval squad dropped into the hallway through an open vent.
Trouble watched the officer in front of him drop down before he turned to Holly.
"Make sure not to get yourself killed," he said with a small smile. "Whom would I compete with if that happened?"
Holly smiled back weakly. "I'll stay alive you do."
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Well, I am going somewhere but not permanently."
Holly smiled again, before, to Trouble's shock, she leaned in and kissed him.
Holly turned around and crawled back to the humans, Foaly and Root, leaving Trouble sitting at the open vent. Trouble was smiling as he jumped through.
~*~
Holly slid back into the attic and sat by the others.
"Are they in position?" Asked Artemis.
"Yeah," replied Holly.
"I still don't like this plan," said Foaly. "I can't follow you through the vents. Who will shut down the countdown is I'm not there?"
"It's a chance that we have to take," said Root. "hell, if we get really lucky The countdown won't have started. Worse comes to worse, Artemis might be able to shut it off."
"We'll be fine Foaly," said Holly encouragingly, "and so will all the mudpeople." She turned to the others. "let's get this over with."
"Of course major," Artemis turned to look at the others. "Is everyone ready?"
They all nodded and stood up, following Holly to the ventilation shaft.
~*~
Trouble crouched next to the other officers, in the wall camera's blind spot.
"Let's go," he whispered to them.
Fast as lightning they all sprinted from their hiding places, shooting a dozen shots off into the air, hitting everything in sight. No particular enemy, just firing random shots. Just like they were suppose to.
~*~
"What the hell?" Brice leaned forward I his chair, staring at the camera monitor. "What are those stupid officers doing?"
"Sir," said one of the more intelligent lackeys timidly. "We have to stop them. If they keep that up then eventually they'll trigger a fuse and will lose all power. If that happens then we can't carry out the plan..."
"WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?" roared Brice. "GET SOME OF OUR MEN DOWN THERE AND STOP THEM!"
The lackey immediately scurried away to do just that.
Brian allowed himself a small smile as he stared at the monitor, only to be knocked off his chair with a stinging feeling on his cheek.
"I would just love to know what you find so amusing?" Brice said, staring at Brian, a crazed look in his eyes.
Brian wanted nothing more then to pass a rude, clever comment, but he held himself back. He knew and recognized that look in Brice's eyes. This man was unstable, very unstable, and Brian was in no condition to go up against him.
"Absolutely nothing," said Brian innocently.
"Good," Brice spat out. "Now get back to work on that computer."
Brian reluctantly stood up and went back to the computer, hoping, praying that the LEP would get to them soon.
~*~
Dust rose up around Holly as she steered her companions through the ventilation shaft.
This is insane, she silently though. Too many things could go wrong.
She stopped and turned to Artemis. "Are you sure about this?"
Artemis nodded. "What other choice to we have?"
She did not reply, but simply started moving forward again until they came to the vent of the ICP main database.
Holly glanced through the slots. Then moved backwards to speak to her companions.
"I see about 10 guards, Brice, and..." Holly hesitated for a second, "and the twins."
"The twins?" said Amber in shock. "How did Aidan get here?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter either. It's too late to change the plan now," Holly shrugged. "It doesn't really need to be changed either."
Amber nodded.
"Let's proceed, but with caution. I expected less guards to be in this room when Trouble started his distraction," said Artemis, before turning to Amber. "Remember, cut the blue wire in the red box and the green wire in the blue box."
Amber nodded, then she and Kyle turned around and crawled in the opposite direction from the others.
"Good luck," Root said to Holly.
Holly crawled away from them without a word towards the second room vent. Personally, Holly always thought that it was silly to put two vents in one room, but today she thanked the gods that Foaly had demanded this room's airflow.
When she got to the other vent, she leaned back, took a breath to steady herself, and then kicked the metal slots from their hole.
The instant the metal clanging rang throughout the room 11 guns were pointed at Holly, as she slowly climbed out of the shaft.
"I'm turning myself in," she said, raising her hands up.
"What?" Said Brice, his weapon not wavering.
"I... am.. turning... Myself.. in...." she said very slowly, the way you would talk to a child that didn't understand things very well. "I decided that fighting against you would be stupid. By turning myself in I increase the chances I have of not being a fugitive when your brilliant plan succeeds."
"Yes," said Brice, his arrogance getting in the way of his common sense. "This is the smartest thing that you could do. Another brilliant idea, though, would be to tell me where Root and Fowl are."
"They went to the second corridor to disable the electricity," said Holly innocently.
Brice turned to three of the guards. "Go to the second corridor, kill anyone that you see."
While Brice's back was turned, Holly gave Brian a quick wink.
Brice turned back to Holly and asked, "How do I know that you're not lying?"
"Well surely," said Holly, letting her hands fall to her sides. "Then a strong, smart elf such as yourself would be able to tell if a little elf like me was lying." Holly batted her eyelashes flirtatiously.
~*~
"...Able to tell if a little elf like me was lying....."
Root smiled to himself.
"Holly's good at this," commented Artemis in a whisper.
"I just hope that they don't find out and she doesn't get shot," said Root in a worried voice.
"We'd better get moving," said Artemis to Butler.
The two of them crawled to the other side of the room where the second vent was, while John and root stayed at the first.
"Good looks and brains," Root heard Holly say in pretend awe.
"Don't lay it on to thick," he mumbled more to himself then too John.
~*~
".... You must have girls all over you," said Holly, taking a step forward so that she stood right next to Brian.
"I find it odd," started Brice. "That all this is being said by Major Short of the LEP."
"Well," said Holly, choosing her words carefully, afraid that they may be her last. "The LEP does give me much of a chance to show my attraction to people."
Brian rolled his eyes as he stared at the computer screen.
"Yes well," said Brice, smiling, "Just to be sure that you're not lying to us...." He snapped his fingers and two of the guards stepped forward, checking Holly for weapons.
They found no lethal devices, but they did find a strange disc in her pocket that they immediately handed to Brice.
~*~
In the ventilation shaft Root groaned.
~*~
"What's this?" Brice asked, waving the disc an inch from Holly's nose.
"Music," said holly innocently. "Rockin' Sprites, it's my favorite band."
"I don't see a label on it," said Brice, examining the disc skeptically.
"The Rockin' Sprites don't put labels on their albums," she said. "They think that people should simply concentrate on the music."
"Well then," said Brice. "Their music must be awfully good, I think that I might listen to a song."
Brice pulled out a disc player and gently laid the 'album' inside it. He pushed play and immediately the small box exploded, destroying the entire player, everything but the disc.
"If I didn't know any better," said Brice with a triumphant smile. "Then I would think that you were going to out this into the main computer here so that my plan won't be a success."
Holly just glared at him.
"That's what I thought."
Brice pulled his gun up and Brian took a shuddering breath.
Oh my God he's going to kill her, thought Brian, horrified. He clenched his eyes shut as tight as he could when the echoing bang rang out through the room.
Becca: yeah, I found that out. Thank you for telling me though.;-)
Chapter 26
"If you kill me," said Brian calmly, though a voice on his inside was screaming. "Then there will be no one here to operate your precious plan."
"Oh we wouldn't dream of killing you," said Brice, his smile growing even wider. "No, you're far too important. But we do have someone here that is very expandable."
As if on cue the door to the main database flew open, and two of Cudgeon's lackeys dragged in a struggling blue eyed, raven-haired girl.
"Aidan," breathed Brian.
"Yes, your little twin Aidan. We found her in the Tara Base," said Brice, his smile vanishing. "She's such a pretty little thing, her death will be such a waste...."
"I'll do it," said Brian weakly.
"I beg your pardon," said Brice, looking at him. "I didn't quite catch that...."
"I'll do it," said Brian loudly, not bothering to keep the hatred from his voice.
"I knew that you would see things my way," said Brice with a smile.
~*~
"My retrieval squad could be killed!" Cried root.
"They could be," agreed Artemis, "but it's the only way to get to Brice. We have to run that risk."
"Its no risk for you though, huh Fowl?" snarled Root. "What do you care if half a dozen elves are killed? This is practically your fault anyway."
Artemis brought in a deep breath through his nose and tried to keep his voice neutral. "Which is exactly why, Commander Root, that I am here helping you. Tell me, do you have a better plan?"
Root glared at Artemis for several seconds before turning to his squad. "I won't force you to do this, but are you willing?"
One by one, the squad nodded weakly.
Root turned to Artemis. "We'll do it, but if any of my officers are hurt Fowl, I swear...."
"We hardly have time for this Commander," said Artemis, brushing away root's threat as if it was nothing. "Here's the plan in full detail...."
~*~
Slowly, one by one the retrieval squad dropped into the hallway through an open vent.
Trouble watched the officer in front of him drop down before he turned to Holly.
"Make sure not to get yourself killed," he said with a small smile. "Whom would I compete with if that happened?"
Holly smiled back weakly. "I'll stay alive you do."
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Well, I am going somewhere but not permanently."
Holly smiled again, before, to Trouble's shock, she leaned in and kissed him.
Holly turned around and crawled back to the humans, Foaly and Root, leaving Trouble sitting at the open vent. Trouble was smiling as he jumped through.
~*~
Holly slid back into the attic and sat by the others.
"Are they in position?" Asked Artemis.
"Yeah," replied Holly.
"I still don't like this plan," said Foaly. "I can't follow you through the vents. Who will shut down the countdown is I'm not there?"
"It's a chance that we have to take," said Root. "hell, if we get really lucky The countdown won't have started. Worse comes to worse, Artemis might be able to shut it off."
"We'll be fine Foaly," said Holly encouragingly, "and so will all the mudpeople." She turned to the others. "let's get this over with."
"Of course major," Artemis turned to look at the others. "Is everyone ready?"
They all nodded and stood up, following Holly to the ventilation shaft.
~*~
Trouble crouched next to the other officers, in the wall camera's blind spot.
"Let's go," he whispered to them.
Fast as lightning they all sprinted from their hiding places, shooting a dozen shots off into the air, hitting everything in sight. No particular enemy, just firing random shots. Just like they were suppose to.
~*~
"What the hell?" Brice leaned forward I his chair, staring at the camera monitor. "What are those stupid officers doing?"
"Sir," said one of the more intelligent lackeys timidly. "We have to stop them. If they keep that up then eventually they'll trigger a fuse and will lose all power. If that happens then we can't carry out the plan..."
"WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?" roared Brice. "GET SOME OF OUR MEN DOWN THERE AND STOP THEM!"
The lackey immediately scurried away to do just that.
Brian allowed himself a small smile as he stared at the monitor, only to be knocked off his chair with a stinging feeling on his cheek.
"I would just love to know what you find so amusing?" Brice said, staring at Brian, a crazed look in his eyes.
Brian wanted nothing more then to pass a rude, clever comment, but he held himself back. He knew and recognized that look in Brice's eyes. This man was unstable, very unstable, and Brian was in no condition to go up against him.
"Absolutely nothing," said Brian innocently.
"Good," Brice spat out. "Now get back to work on that computer."
Brian reluctantly stood up and went back to the computer, hoping, praying that the LEP would get to them soon.
~*~
Dust rose up around Holly as she steered her companions through the ventilation shaft.
This is insane, she silently though. Too many things could go wrong.
She stopped and turned to Artemis. "Are you sure about this?"
Artemis nodded. "What other choice to we have?"
She did not reply, but simply started moving forward again until they came to the vent of the ICP main database.
Holly glanced through the slots. Then moved backwards to speak to her companions.
"I see about 10 guards, Brice, and..." Holly hesitated for a second, "and the twins."
"The twins?" said Amber in shock. "How did Aidan get here?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't really matter either. It's too late to change the plan now," Holly shrugged. "It doesn't really need to be changed either."
Amber nodded.
"Let's proceed, but with caution. I expected less guards to be in this room when Trouble started his distraction," said Artemis, before turning to Amber. "Remember, cut the blue wire in the red box and the green wire in the blue box."
Amber nodded, then she and Kyle turned around and crawled in the opposite direction from the others.
"Good luck," Root said to Holly.
Holly crawled away from them without a word towards the second room vent. Personally, Holly always thought that it was silly to put two vents in one room, but today she thanked the gods that Foaly had demanded this room's airflow.
When she got to the other vent, she leaned back, took a breath to steady herself, and then kicked the metal slots from their hole.
The instant the metal clanging rang throughout the room 11 guns were pointed at Holly, as she slowly climbed out of the shaft.
"I'm turning myself in," she said, raising her hands up.
"What?" Said Brice, his weapon not wavering.
"I... am.. turning... Myself.. in...." she said very slowly, the way you would talk to a child that didn't understand things very well. "I decided that fighting against you would be stupid. By turning myself in I increase the chances I have of not being a fugitive when your brilliant plan succeeds."
"Yes," said Brice, his arrogance getting in the way of his common sense. "This is the smartest thing that you could do. Another brilliant idea, though, would be to tell me where Root and Fowl are."
"They went to the second corridor to disable the electricity," said Holly innocently.
Brice turned to three of the guards. "Go to the second corridor, kill anyone that you see."
While Brice's back was turned, Holly gave Brian a quick wink.
Brice turned back to Holly and asked, "How do I know that you're not lying?"
"Well surely," said Holly, letting her hands fall to her sides. "Then a strong, smart elf such as yourself would be able to tell if a little elf like me was lying." Holly batted her eyelashes flirtatiously.
~*~
"...Able to tell if a little elf like me was lying....."
Root smiled to himself.
"Holly's good at this," commented Artemis in a whisper.
"I just hope that they don't find out and she doesn't get shot," said Root in a worried voice.
"We'd better get moving," said Artemis to Butler.
The two of them crawled to the other side of the room where the second vent was, while John and root stayed at the first.
"Good looks and brains," Root heard Holly say in pretend awe.
"Don't lay it on to thick," he mumbled more to himself then too John.
~*~
".... You must have girls all over you," said Holly, taking a step forward so that she stood right next to Brian.
"I find it odd," started Brice. "That all this is being said by Major Short of the LEP."
"Well," said Holly, choosing her words carefully, afraid that they may be her last. "The LEP does give me much of a chance to show my attraction to people."
Brian rolled his eyes as he stared at the computer screen.
"Yes well," said Brice, smiling, "Just to be sure that you're not lying to us...." He snapped his fingers and two of the guards stepped forward, checking Holly for weapons.
They found no lethal devices, but they did find a strange disc in her pocket that they immediately handed to Brice.
~*~
In the ventilation shaft Root groaned.
~*~
"What's this?" Brice asked, waving the disc an inch from Holly's nose.
"Music," said holly innocently. "Rockin' Sprites, it's my favorite band."
"I don't see a label on it," said Brice, examining the disc skeptically.
"The Rockin' Sprites don't put labels on their albums," she said. "They think that people should simply concentrate on the music."
"Well then," said Brice. "Their music must be awfully good, I think that I might listen to a song."
Brice pulled out a disc player and gently laid the 'album' inside it. He pushed play and immediately the small box exploded, destroying the entire player, everything but the disc.
"If I didn't know any better," said Brice with a triumphant smile. "Then I would think that you were going to out this into the main computer here so that my plan won't be a success."
Holly just glared at him.
"That's what I thought."
Brice pulled his gun up and Brian took a shuddering breath.
Oh my God he's going to kill her, thought Brian, horrified. He clenched his eyes shut as tight as he could when the echoing bang rang out through the room.