Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl 04 - The Opal Deception (v1.5), E-book, E
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THE OPAL DECEPTION
Artemis Fowl Book 04
Eoin Colfer
After his last run-in with the fairies, Artemis Fowl had his mind wiped
of his memories of the world belowground. Any goodness he had grudgingly
learned is now gone, and the young genius has reverted to his criminal life-
style.
Artemis is in Berlin preparing to steal a famously well-guarded paint-
ing from a German bank. Little does he know that his every move is being
watched by his cunning old rival, Opal Koboi the evil pixie has spent the
last year in a self-induced coma, plotting her revenge on all those who foiled
her attempt to destroy the LEP-RECON fairy police. And Artemis is at the
top of her list. In a brilliant move, Opal escapes by cloning herself- and
masquerading as a human in order to carry out her schemes. Her first act is
to lure Captain Holly Short and Commander Root into a deadly trap. Her
next step is to destroy Artemis by turning his own genius against him.
Once again, it’s up to Artemis Fowl to stop the human and fairy
worlds from colliding, Only this time, Artemis may have found an enemy
who may have finally outsmarted him.
For Sarah - The pen is mightier than the word processor.
2
PROLOGUE
This article was posted on the fairy Internet, on the site
www.horsesense.nom. It is believed that this site is maintained by the cen-
taur Foaly, technical consultant to the Lower Elements Police, although this
has never been proved. Almost every detail of the following account con-
tradicts the official release from the LEP Press Office.
We’ve all heard the official explanation for the tragic events surround-
ing the Zito Probe investigation. The LEP’s statement contained little in the
way of concrete detail, preferring to fudge the facts and question the deci-
sions of a certain female officer.
I know for an absolute fact that the officer in question, Captain Holly
Short, behaved in an exemplary manner, and if it had not been for her skill
as a field operative, many more lives would have been lost. Instead of
scapegoating Captain Short, the Lower Elements Police should give her a
medal.
Humans are at the center of this particular case.
Most humans aren’t smart enough to find the leg holes in their trou-
sers, but there are certain Mud Men clever enough to make me nervous. If
they discover the existence of an underground fairy city, they will certainly
do their best to exploit the residents. Most men would be no match for su-
perior fairy technology, but there are some humans who are almost smart
enough to pass as fairies. One human in particular. I think we all know who
I’m talking about.
In fairy history only one human has bested us. And it really sticks in
my hoof that this particular human is little more than a boy. Artemis Fowl,
the Irish criminal mastermind.
Little Arty led the LEP in a merry dance across the continents, until fi-
nally, they used fairy technology to wipe the knowledge of our existence
from his mind.
But even as the gifted centaur Foaly pressed the mind-wipe button, he
wondered if the Fairy People were being fooled again. Had the Irish boy left
something behind to make himself remember? Of course he had, as we
were all to find out later.
Artemis Fowl does play a significant role in the following events, but
for once he was not trying to steal from the People, as he had completely
forgotten we existed. No, the mastermind behind this episode is actually a
fairy.
So, who is involved in this tragic tale of two worlds? Who are the
main fairy players? Obviously, Foaly is the real hero of the piece. Without
his innovations, the LEP would soon be beating the Mud Men back from
our doors. He is the unsung hero who solves riddles of the ages, while the
3
Reconnaissance and Retrieval teams swan about aboveground taking all the
glory.
Then there’s Captain Holly Short, the officer whose reputation is un-
der fire. Holly is one of the LEP’S best and brightest. A natural- born pilot
with a gift for improvisation in the field.
She’s not the best at taking orders, a trait that has landed her in trouble
on more than one occasion. Holly was the fairy at the center of all the Ar-
temis Fowl incidents. The pair had almost become friends, when the Coun-
cil ordered the LEP to mind-wipe Artemis, and just when he was becoming
a nice Mud Boy, too.
As we all know, Commander Julius Root had a role in the proceedings.
The youngest-ever full commander in the LEP.
An elf who had steered the People through many a crisis. Not the easi-
est fairy to get along with, but sometimes the best leaders do not make the
best friends.
I suppose Mulch Diggums deserves mention.
Until recently, Mulch was imprisoned, but he had once again managed
to wriggle his way out. This kleptomaniac, flatulent dwarf has played a re-
luctant part in many of the Fowl adventures, hut Holly was glad to have his
help on this mission. If not for Mulch and his bodily functions, things could
have turned out a lot worse than they did. And they turned out badly
enough.
At the very center of this case lies Opal Koboi, the pixie who bank-
rolled the goblin gang’s attempted takeover of Haven City.
Opal had been facing a lifetime behind laser bars.
That is, if she ever recovered from the coma that had claimed the
pixie when Holly Short foiled her plan.
For almost a year, Opal Koboi had languished in the padded- cell wing
of the J. Argon Clinic, showing no response to the medical warlocks who
tried to revive her. In all that time, she spoke not a single word, ate not a
mouthful of food, and exhibited no response to stimuli. At first the authori-
ties were suspicious. It is an act! they declared. Koboi is faking catatonia to
avoid prosecution. But as the months rolled by, even the most skeptical
were convinced. No one could pretend to be in a coma for almost a year.
Surely not. A fairy would have to be totally obsessed…
4
Chapter 1:
TOTALLY OBSESSED.
The J. Argon Clinic, Haven City, The Lower Elements; Three
Months Earlier.
The J. Argon Clinic was not a state hospital. Nobody stayed there for
free. Argon and his staff of psychologists only treated fairies who could af-
ford it. Of all the clinic’s wealthy patients, Opal Koboi was unique. She had
set up an emergency fund for herself more than a year before she was
committed, just in case she ever went insane and needed to pay for treat-
ment. It was a smart move. If Opal hadn’t set up the fund, her family would
undoubtedly have moved her to a cheaper facility. Not that the facility it-
self made much difference to Koboi, who had spent the past year drooling
and having her reflexes tested. Dr. Argon doubted if Opal would have no-
ticed a bull troll beating its chest before her.
The fund was not the only reason why Opal was unique. Koboi was
the Argon Clinic’s celebrity patient. Following the attempt by the B’wa Kell
goblin triad to seize power, Opal Koboi’s name had become the most infa-
mous four syllables under the world. After all, the pixie billionairess had
formed an alliance with disgruntled LEP officer Briar Cudgeon, and funded
the triad’s war on Haven. Koboi had betrayed her own kind, and now her
own mind was betraying her.
For the first six months of Koboi’s incarceration, the clinic had been
besieged by media filming the pixie’s every twitch. The LEP guarded her
cell door in shifts, and every staff member in the facility was treated to
background checks and stern glares.
Nobody was exempt. Even Dr. Argon himself was subjected to ran-
dom DNA swabs to ensure that he was who he said he was. The LEP
wasn’t taking any chances with Koboi. If she escaped from Argon’s Clinic,
not only would they be the laughingstock of the fairy world, but a highly
dangerous criminal would be unleashed on Haven City.
But as time went by, fewer camera crews turned up at the gates each
morning. After all, how many hours of drooling can an audience be ex-
pected to sit through? Gradually, the LEP crews were downsized from a
dozen to six and finally to a single officer per shift. Where could Opal Ko-
boi go? the authorities reasoned. There were a dozen cameras focused on
her, twenty-four hours a day.
There was a subcutaneous seeker-sleeper under the skin of her upper
arm, and she was DNA swabbed four times daily. And even if someone did
5
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THE OPAL DECEPTION
Artemis Fowl Book 04
Eoin Colfer
After his last run-in with the fairies, Artemis Fowl had his mind wiped
of his memories of the world belowground. Any goodness he had grudgingly
learned is now gone, and the young genius has reverted to his criminal life-
style.
Artemis is in Berlin preparing to steal a famously well-guarded paint-
ing from a German bank. Little does he know that his every move is being
watched by his cunning old rival, Opal Koboi the evil pixie has spent the
last year in a self-induced coma, plotting her revenge on all those who foiled
her attempt to destroy the LEP-RECON fairy police. And Artemis is at the
top of her list. In a brilliant move, Opal escapes by cloning herself- and
masquerading as a human in order to carry out her schemes. Her first act is
to lure Captain Holly Short and Commander Root into a deadly trap. Her
next step is to destroy Artemis by turning his own genius against him.
Once again, it’s up to Artemis Fowl to stop the human and fairy
worlds from colliding, Only this time, Artemis may have found an enemy
who may have finally outsmarted him.
For Sarah - The pen is mightier than the word processor.
2
PROLOGUE
This article was posted on the fairy Internet, on the site
www.horsesense.nom. It is believed that this site is maintained by the cen-
taur Foaly, technical consultant to the Lower Elements Police, although this
has never been proved. Almost every detail of the following account con-
tradicts the official release from the LEP Press Office.
We’ve all heard the official explanation for the tragic events surround-
ing the Zito Probe investigation. The LEP’s statement contained little in the
way of concrete detail, preferring to fudge the facts and question the deci-
sions of a certain female officer.
I know for an absolute fact that the officer in question, Captain Holly
Short, behaved in an exemplary manner, and if it had not been for her skill
as a field operative, many more lives would have been lost. Instead of
scapegoating Captain Short, the Lower Elements Police should give her a
medal.
Humans are at the center of this particular case.
Most humans aren’t smart enough to find the leg holes in their trou-
sers, but there are certain Mud Men clever enough to make me nervous. If
they discover the existence of an underground fairy city, they will certainly
do their best to exploit the residents. Most men would be no match for su-
perior fairy technology, but there are some humans who are almost smart
enough to pass as fairies. One human in particular. I think we all know who
I’m talking about.
In fairy history only one human has bested us. And it really sticks in
my hoof that this particular human is little more than a boy. Artemis Fowl,
the Irish criminal mastermind.
Little Arty led the LEP in a merry dance across the continents, until fi-
nally, they used fairy technology to wipe the knowledge of our existence
from his mind.
But even as the gifted centaur Foaly pressed the mind-wipe button, he
wondered if the Fairy People were being fooled again. Had the Irish boy left
something behind to make himself remember? Of course he had, as we
were all to find out later.
Artemis Fowl does play a significant role in the following events, but
for once he was not trying to steal from the People, as he had completely
forgotten we existed. No, the mastermind behind this episode is actually a
fairy.
So, who is involved in this tragic tale of two worlds? Who are the
main fairy players? Obviously, Foaly is the real hero of the piece. Without
his innovations, the LEP would soon be beating the Mud Men back from
our doors. He is the unsung hero who solves riddles of the ages, while the
3
Reconnaissance and Retrieval teams swan about aboveground taking all the
glory.
Then there’s Captain Holly Short, the officer whose reputation is un-
der fire. Holly is one of the LEP’S best and brightest. A natural- born pilot
with a gift for improvisation in the field.
She’s not the best at taking orders, a trait that has landed her in trouble
on more than one occasion. Holly was the fairy at the center of all the Ar-
temis Fowl incidents. The pair had almost become friends, when the Coun-
cil ordered the LEP to mind-wipe Artemis, and just when he was becoming
a nice Mud Boy, too.
As we all know, Commander Julius Root had a role in the proceedings.
The youngest-ever full commander in the LEP.
An elf who had steered the People through many a crisis. Not the easi-
est fairy to get along with, but sometimes the best leaders do not make the
best friends.
I suppose Mulch Diggums deserves mention.
Until recently, Mulch was imprisoned, but he had once again managed
to wriggle his way out. This kleptomaniac, flatulent dwarf has played a re-
luctant part in many of the Fowl adventures, hut Holly was glad to have his
help on this mission. If not for Mulch and his bodily functions, things could
have turned out a lot worse than they did. And they turned out badly
enough.
At the very center of this case lies Opal Koboi, the pixie who bank-
rolled the goblin gang’s attempted takeover of Haven City.
Opal had been facing a lifetime behind laser bars.
That is, if she ever recovered from the coma that had claimed the
pixie when Holly Short foiled her plan.
For almost a year, Opal Koboi had languished in the padded- cell wing
of the J. Argon Clinic, showing no response to the medical warlocks who
tried to revive her. In all that time, she spoke not a single word, ate not a
mouthful of food, and exhibited no response to stimuli. At first the authori-
ties were suspicious. It is an act! they declared. Koboi is faking catatonia to
avoid prosecution. But as the months rolled by, even the most skeptical
were convinced. No one could pretend to be in a coma for almost a year.
Surely not. A fairy would have to be totally obsessed…
4
Chapter 1:
TOTALLY OBSESSED.
The J. Argon Clinic, Haven City, The Lower Elements; Three
Months Earlier.
The J. Argon Clinic was not a state hospital. Nobody stayed there for
free. Argon and his staff of psychologists only treated fairies who could af-
ford it. Of all the clinic’s wealthy patients, Opal Koboi was unique. She had
set up an emergency fund for herself more than a year before she was
committed, just in case she ever went insane and needed to pay for treat-
ment. It was a smart move. If Opal hadn’t set up the fund, her family would
undoubtedly have moved her to a cheaper facility. Not that the facility it-
self made much difference to Koboi, who had spent the past year drooling
and having her reflexes tested. Dr. Argon doubted if Opal would have no-
ticed a bull troll beating its chest before her.
The fund was not the only reason why Opal was unique. Koboi was
the Argon Clinic’s celebrity patient. Following the attempt by the B’wa Kell
goblin triad to seize power, Opal Koboi’s name had become the most infa-
mous four syllables under the world. After all, the pixie billionairess had
formed an alliance with disgruntled LEP officer Briar Cudgeon, and funded
the triad’s war on Haven. Koboi had betrayed her own kind, and now her
own mind was betraying her.
For the first six months of Koboi’s incarceration, the clinic had been
besieged by media filming the pixie’s every twitch. The LEP guarded her
cell door in shifts, and every staff member in the facility was treated to
background checks and stern glares.
Nobody was exempt. Even Dr. Argon himself was subjected to ran-
dom DNA swabs to ensure that he was who he said he was. The LEP
wasn’t taking any chances with Koboi. If she escaped from Argon’s Clinic,
not only would they be the laughingstock of the fairy world, but a highly
dangerous criminal would be unleashed on Haven City.
But as time went by, fewer camera crews turned up at the gates each
morning. After all, how many hours of drooling can an audience be ex-
pected to sit through? Gradually, the LEP crews were downsized from a
dozen to six and finally to a single officer per shift. Where could Opal Ko-
boi go? the authorities reasoned. There were a dozen cameras focused on
her, twenty-four hours a day.
There was a subcutaneous seeker-sleeper under the skin of her upper
arm, and she was DNA swabbed four times daily. And even if someone did
5
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]