Captain Short! he roared, his buzz-cut grey hair quivering. Get in here! Then he noticed Holly standing beside the door. Oh, there you are. Come in, we have a puzzle that needs solving. It involves one of our goblin friends.
Holly followed Root into the office. Foaly, the LEPs technical adviser, was already there, close enough to the wall plasma screen to singe his nose hairs.
Howlers Peak video, explained Root. General Scalene escaped.
Escaped? echoed Holly. Do we know how?
Foaly snapped his fingers. DArvit! Thats what we should be thinking about, instead of standing around here playing I Spy.
We dont have time for the usual sarcastic small talk, Foaly, snapped Root, his complexion deepening to burgundy. This is a PR disaster. Scalene is public enemy number two, second only to Opal Koboi herself. If the journos get wind of this, well be the laughing stock of Haven. Not to mention the fact that Scalene could round up a few of his goblin buddies and reactivate the triad.
Holly crossed to the screen, elbowing Foalys hindquarters out of the way. Her little talk with Commander Root could wait. There was police work to be done. What are we looking at?
Foaly highlighted a section of the screen with a laser pointer.
Howlers Peak, goblin correctional facility. Camera eighty-six.
Which shows?
The visiting room. Scalene went in, but he never came out.
Holly scanned the camera location list. No camera in the room itself?
Root coughed, or it may have been an actual growl. No. According to the third Atlantis Convention on Fairy Rights, detainees are entitled to privacy in the visiting room.
So we dont know what went on in there?
Not as such, no.
What genius designed this system anyway?
In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Root chuckled. He never could resist needling the smug centaur.
Our horsy friend here designed Howlers Peak automated security system all on his own.
Foaly pouted, and when a centaur pouts his bottom lip almost reaches his chin. Its not the system. The system is foolproof. Every prisoner has the standard subcutaneous seeker-sleeper in his head. Even if a goblin manages to miraculously escape, we can remotely knock him out, then pick him up.
Holly raised her palms. So whats the problem?
The problem is that the seeker-sleeper is not broadcasting. Or, if it is, were not picking up the signal.
That is a problem.
Root lit a noxious fungal cigar. The smoke was instantly whipped away by an air recycler on his desk. Major Kelp is out with a mobile unit, trying to get a fix on a signal.
Trouble Kelp had recently been promoted to Roots second in command. He was not the kind of officer who liked sitting behind a desk, unlike his little brother, Corporal Grub Kelp, who would have liked nothing better than to be stuck behind a nice safe desk for the remainder of his career. If Holly were forced into promotion, she hoped she could be half the major that Trouble was.
Holly returned her attention to the plasma screen. So, who was visiting General Scalene?
One of his thousand nephews. A goblin by the name of Boohn. Apparently that means of noble brow in Goblin cant.
I remember him, said Holly. Boohn. Customs and Excise think hes one of the goblins behind the Bwa Kell smuggling operation. Theres nothing noble about him.
Foaly opened a folder on the plasma screen with his laser pointer.
Heres the visitors list. Boohn checks in at seven fifty, Lower Elements Mean Time. At least I can show you that on video.
A grainy screen showed a bulky goblin in the prisons access corridor nervously licking his eyeballs, while the security laser scanned him. Once it was confirmed that Boohn wasnt trying to smuggle anything in, the visitors door popped open.
Foaly scrolled down the list. And look here. He checks out at eight fifteen.
Boohn left swiftly, obviously uncomfortable in the facility. The parking-lot camera showed him reverting to all fours for the dash to his car.
Holly scanned the list carefully. So youre saying that Boohn checked out at eight fifteen?
I just said that, didnt I, Holly? replied Foaly testily. Ill say it again slowly. Eight fifteen.
Holly snatched the laser pointer. Well, if thats true, how did he manage to check out again at eight twenty?
It was true. Eight lines down on the list, Boohns name popped up again.
I saw that already. Its a glitch, muttered Foaly, thats all. He couldnt leave twice. Its not possible. We get that sometimes, a bug, nothing more.
Unless it wasnt him the second time.
The centaur folded his arms defensively. Dont you think I thought of that? Everyone who enters or leaves Howlers Peak is scanned a dozen times. We take at least eighty facial points of reference with each scan. If the computer says Boohn, then thats who it was. Theres no way a goblin beat my system. They barely have enough brainpower to walk and talk at the same time.
Holly used the pointer to review the entry video of Boohn. She enlarged his head, using a photo-manipulation program to sharpen the image.
What are you looking for? asked Root.