Chapter 4

They dashed into an open room, and hid behind some curtains. Lily was frightened at what had happened. Katie was irritated that she had come along on this wild goose chase in the first place. Jasper was miffed, and a little apprehensive about leaving behind his invention. Drgnan was peeking around the drapes, watching for danger.

Suddenly, a man with a gun ran into the room! The man was tall, bald, and wearing a suit. He waved his gun around, and began to slowly and methodically search the room. He looked in a dresser, and under the chairs. He even opened the drawers in a small table, moving closer to the curtains.

Jasper took a pen from his pocket and wrote on the wall they were standing next to. When he gets here, jump out and distract him. Lily took the ballpoint and wrote how? Drgnan took it, and wrote I will jump on him. Jasper can try and find his machine. Lily and Katie will- but he didn't get to complete his sentence. The gentleman lifted up the curtains.

"NOW!" Jasper jumped and dodged the guy. The other three kids scattered like rabbits, but the man moved to block the doorway. It was a standoff. If the man moved, they could run off. If he didn't budge, they were trapped. There was a window, sure, but it was a long way to the ground. However, the Boy Technonaut had a plan. Edging carefully around, he was standing next to a clock on a table. Inconspicuously, he reached behind the clock and, holding a small screwdriver, began to remove a panel on the back.

The man looked at the kids, and they looked back, slowly moving around the room. Jasper was groping blindly inside the timepiece, and grabbed the batteries. Feverishly hoping they were the right size, he removed them, and took a quick look.

Yes! Working slowly to disguise his movement, he slipped the batteries into the back of his ray gun and snapped the panel closed. The tall man's eyes flickered towards him, and Jasper raised his gun.

Jasper fired! He did not fire directly at that man, because it would be ungentlemanly, but it was close enough to make him duck. "There's more where that came from, you scoundrel!" he shouted. Taking advantage of the tall man being distracted, the others ran through the door, and out. Jasper loosed one more shot, and then followed.

Finding themselves in the hallway again, they hurried back to the room with the machine in it, since they needed it to get back. Fortunately, Spandrel was not there, but puzzlingly, tied to a chair, was an angry-looking, dark haired boy who looked just like Bobby Spandrel's disguise. The only difference was the eyes. This person's were mismatched, one hazel and one blue.

"Mmmmmph," the strange boy said, or tried to say, since he was gagged as well. Lily took out the gag, but didn't untie him. He was probably tied up for a reason. "Who are you?" asked the boy.

"Who are you?" Katie replied.

"Artemis Fowl. Please untie me."

Jasper, however, had discovered his machine and was lugging it in into the middle of the room. Opening a panel on the back, he reached in, grabbed some wires, and began to rearrange them. The others in the room watched him wrestle with the device.

Finally, Jasper stood up and said "It took a pretty bad beating, during the fight, but just let me crank it up, and it will be ready to go!" He began to turn the big gearwheel.

Artemis coughed. He was beginning to worry that they had forgotten about him.

However, he shouldn't have bothered. The next minute, the tall man from earlier in the chapter burst in and took in the scene before him. He was understandably confused

Just then though, Jasper pushed up on the lever. "DUCK!" he yelled. Everybody dove behind a piece of furniture, the kids because they had seen it been used before, and the man because the others seemed frightened. Artemis, however, didn't duck because he was still tied to a chair. Luckily, the laser missed him.

When the lights had stopped, Drgnan was the first to dive through the portal created by Jasper's prototype. Katie and Lily followed. Jasper shoved his contraption through, and then jumped through himself.

Safely on the familiar side, Jasper grabbed a large plank of plywood and shoved it safely in front of the hole.

On the other side, Artemis blinked twice and said, "Butler, please untie me. I think I need an aspirin."