"Artemis Fowl 02 - The Arctic Incident" - читать интересную книгу автора (Colfer Eoin)

'So you'd like me to find out who this human contact is,' said Artemis. 'And more importantly, how much he knows.'
As he spoke, Artemis's mind was racing. He could work this entire situation to his advantage. The People's powers would be valuable aces to hold in a negotiation with mobsters. The seeds of a plan began to sprout in his brain.
Root nodded reluctantly. 'That's it. I can't risk putting LEPrecon agents above ground. Who knows what technology the goblins have traded. I could be walking my men into a trap. As humans, you could both blend in.'
'Butler blend in?' said Artemis, smiling. 'I doubt it.'
'At least he doesn't have four legs and a tail,' observed Foaly.
'Point taken. And there is no doubt that if any man alive can track down your rogue trader, it's Butler. But ...'
Here we go, thought Holly. Artemis Fowl does nothing for nothing.
'But?' prompted Root.
'But if you want my help, I will require something in return.'
'What exactly?' said Root warily.
'I need transport to Russia,' replied Artemis. 'The Arctic Circle to be precise. And I need help with a rescue attempt.'
Root frowned. 'Northern Russia is not good for us. We can't shield there because of the radiation.'
'Those are my conditions,' said Artemis. 'The man I intend to rescue is my father. For all I know, it's already too late. So I really don't have time to negotiate.'
The Mud Boy sounded sincere. Even Holly's heart softened for a moment. But you never knew with Artemis Fowl Ч this could all be part of yet another scheme. Root made an executive decision.
'Deal,' he said, holding out his hand.
They shook. Fairy and human. A historic moment.
'Good,' said Root. 'Now, Foaly, wake the big one and give that goblin shuttle a quick systems check.'
'What about me?' asked Holly. 'Back on stakeout duty?'
If Root had not been a commander, he probably would have cackled. 'Oh no, Captain. You're the best shuttle pilot we have. You're going to Paris.'



CHAPTER 5: DADDY'S GIRL

KOBOI LABORATORIES, EAST BANK, HAVEN CITY, THE LOWER ELEMENTS

KOBOI Laboratories was carved from the rock of Haven's East Bank. It stood eight storeys high, surrounded by half a mile of granite on five sides, with access from the front only. Management had beefed up their security, and who could blame them? After all, the B'wa Kell had specifically targeted Koboi for arson attacks. The Council had gone so far as to grant the company special weapons permits Ч if Koboi went under, the entire Haven City defence network went under with it.
Any B'wa Kell goblins attempting to storm Koboi Laboratories would have been met with DNA-coded stun cannons, which scanned an intruder before blasting him.
There were no blind spots in the building, no place to hide. The system was foolproof.
But the goblins didn't have to worry about that. The Laboratories' defences were actually designed to keep out any LEP officers who might come snooping around at the wrong moment. It was Opal Koboi herself who was funding the goblin triad. The attacks on Koboi were actually a smokescreen to divert suspicions away from her own personal dealings: the tiny pixie was the mastermind behind the battery operation and the increased B'wa Kell activity. Well, one of the masterminds. But why would an individual of almost limitless wealth possibly wish to associate with a goblin tunnel gang?
Since the day of her birth, nothing much had ever been expected of Opal Koboi. Born to a family of old-money pixies on Principality Hill, her parents would have been quite content had young Opal done nothing more than attend private school, complete some wishy-washy Arts degree and marry a suitable vice-president.
In fact, as far as her father, Ferall Koboi, was concerned, a dream daughter would have been moderately intelligent, quite pretty and, of course, complacent. But Opal did not display the personality traits Ferall would have wished for. By the age of ten months she was already walking unaided, by a year and a half she had a vocabulary of over five hundred words. Before her second birthday she had dismantled her first hard drive.
Opal grew to be precocious, headstrong and beautiful. A dangerous combination. Ferall lost count of the times he sat his daughter down, advising her to leave business to the male pixies. Eventually Opal refused to see him at all. Her blatant hostility was worrying.
Ferall was right to be worried. Opal's first action in college was to ditch her History of Art degree in favour of the male-dominated Brotherhood of Engineers Masters. No sooner was the scroll in her hand than Opal set up shop in direct opposition to her father. Patents quickly followed. An engine muffler that doubled as an energy streamliner, a 3D entertainment system and, of course, her speciality, the DoubleDex wing series.
Once Opal had destroyed her father's business, she proceeded to buy shares in it at rock-bottom prices, and then incorporated her businesses under the banner of Koboi Laboratories. Within five years, Koboi Laboratories held more defence contracts than any other company. Within ten years, Opal Koboi had personally registered more patents than any fairy alive. Except the centaur Foaly.
But it wasn't enough. Opal Koboi yearned for the kind of power that hadn't been held by any single fairy since the days of the monarchy. Luckily, she knew someone who might be able to assist her with that particular ambition. A disillusioned officer in the LEP, and a classmate from her college days. A certain Briar Cudgeon ...
Briar had good reason to despise the LEP; after all, they had allowed his public humiliation at the hands of Julius Root to go unpunished. Not only that, but he had been stripped of his commander's acorns after his disastrous involvement in the Artemis Fowl Affair ...
It had been a simple matter for Opal to slip a truth pill into Cudgeon's drink in one of Haven's swankier eateries. To her glee, she found that the delightfully twisted Cudgeon was already formulating a plan to topple the LEP. Quite an ingenious plan as it happened. All he needed was a partner. One with large reserves of gold and a secure facility at her disposal. Opal was happy to supply both.
Opal was curled, catlike, in her hoverchair, eavesdropping on the goings-on in Police Plaza when Cudgeon entered the facility. She had installed mole cameras in the LEP network when her engineers were upgrading their system. The units operated on precisely the same frequency as Police Plaza's own surveillance cameras, plus they drew power from the heat leaking from the LEP's fibre optics. Completely undetectable.
'Well?' demanded Cudgeon, with customary bluntness.
Koboi didn't bother to turn around. It had to be Briar. Only he had the necessary access chip to the inner sanctum, implanted in his knuckle.
'We lost the last shipment of power cells. A routine LEP stakeout. Bad luck.'
'D'Arvit!' swore Cudgeon. 'Still, no matter. We have enough stored. And to the LEP, they are simply batteries after all.'
Opal took a breath. 'The goblins were armed ...'
'Don't tell me.'
'With Softnoses.'
Cudgeon pounded a worktop. 'Those idiots! I warned them not to use those weapons. Now Julius will know something is afoot.'
'He may know,' said Opal placatingly. 'But he is powerless to stop us. By the time they figure it out, it will already be too late.'
Cudgeon did not smile. He hadn't in over a year. Instead his scowl grew more pronounced.
'Good. My time is at hand ... Perhaps we should have simply manufactured the batteries ourselves,' he mused.