Mycroft Holmes and the Edinburgh Affair

by Janina Woods

  “No matter what you think, you are in a good place, Mycroft. Sure, it isn’t ideal, but you have the upper hand for now, and a possible plan of action. But the way you’re talking makes me think you’ve already lost.”

  “Deville’s group set out to tarnish my name and break my spirit. I’d say they succeeded. I don’t even recognise myself anymore. Why would I even care about any of the repercussions? Why can’t I just go and do what needs to be done?”

  Lou emptied her mug and placed it back on the table with careful consideration. Then she rose to stand next to my chair. The next thing I knew were her arms around me, pressing my face into the warm fabric of her jacket. I didn’t even resist.

  “Mycroft, I’ve known you for years, and I’ve always been on your side. Just as I know that you’ve never lied to me, you must know that I’ve always told you the truth, also?”

  I nodded mutely.

  “Then believe me when I say that I recognise you still. You’ve always been the man you are right now. I watched you bury a part of him over the years, but he’s always been there, right beneath the surface. I’ve waited for him to return and I’m glad he did.”

  “I hate that man,” I said, voice muffled, almost petulant. “But I suppose I will have to live with him. You’ll all have to.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be welcomed.”

  Lou had agreed to venture out once more to observe the surrounding area and procure some food for us. I itched to accompany her, but it was still unwise to leave while my adversaries were about. If Thompson were to believed, they stemmed from all walks of life, so I couldn’t even know who was watching. I knew Lou had primarily left me alone, so I could pull myself together in private. Ever the gracious diplomat. No wonder she was so successful in her ventures. I could read people at a glance, but I had never found it in me to relate to them as much as Lou did.

  But there was no time for me to contemplate any of this further, as not minutes later, the door to the flat opened once again. I dropped everything and jumped up. My motion had not gone unnoticed by the intruder, who cleared his throat noisily.

  “No need to panic, brother. I’ve come to bring you good news.”

  I consulted my pocket watch. It was just about half past two. Everyone seemed very eager to see me today. Mentally, I was already prepared for yet another tiring conversation, but Sherlock simply eyed me with curiosity. I didn’t know what he was looking for, but apparently he found it, as he nodded slightly and took a seat.

  “You’ve had a visitor already.”

  “There are two mugs,” I stated. “An obvious observation.”

  “Turner?”

  I confirmed his assumption.

  “I see your talk has already distracted you enough from the matter at hand. I won’t add anything to your plate right now.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I will also take care to not endanger Thompson tonight,” Sherlock continued, pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket, and placed it onto the table. “He won’t be joining us here. This is a message from him, which I’m supposed to give to you.”

  I reached for the piece of paper to peruse its contents. It was a small note, written in the same meticulous handwriting as the one I had already received earlier.

  Meeting tonight at 8, discussed location. Be careful.

  “Well, that makes it easy enough. We wait for Lou and Hawkins, then make our way over.”

  “Brilliant plan, brother. Now for the part where we don’t all die in an attempt to apprehend over twenty criminals.”

  “Who said we would be apprehending them?”

  We stared at each other for a few seconds.

  “Right, I forgot. You haven’t bothered to come up with a better version?”

  “We’re backed into a corner, Sherlock!” I said with conviction. “There is no other plan! Every man and woman we take out will be one less person to put anyone else at risk!”

  “Have you forgotten who makes up Deville’s group? Not everyone is with them of their own, free will. They have been threatened into helping, like Thompson! And not all of them have actively participated in the murders. Sure, digging up a graveyard and creating words out of body parts is not the most polite behaviour I could think of, but these people don’t deserve to die. Can’t you see that?”

  “Of course I can see that! I’m not an imbecile! Go on then, tell me you have a better plan, and I’ll gladly go along!”

  “I do.” Sherlock smiled like the cat, who got the mouse and the cream. “Hawkins will bring it along in less than an hour. Now, is there any tea left?”

  Lou joined us shortly after, with a selection of warm pies both sweet and savoury. While we ate, Sherlock spread out the blueprints of the dry dock in question, so we could get familiar with them. He still wouldn’t comment on any inquiries about his plan, and even Lou admitted to not being in the know. I knew it was impossible to force Sherlock to speak when he had made up his mind not to, so we could only wait.

  Luckily, we didn’t have to do so for long. Not half an hour after Lou, there was yet another person at the door, opening it with a key. The three of us fell quiet as the noise intruded into our conversation, but we were quickly reassured.

  “It’s me. Hawkins.”

  “Do come in. Lou and Sherlock are with me,” I said, relieved to hear his voice. Not that I should’ve had any reason to doubt his safety, but he was tangled up in this incident more than the others.

  “Please don’t be angry with me,” he said and just then I heard another set of shoes make their way across the doorstep.

  “Angry? Why would I be angry? Is that Thomp...”

  A person walked into the small sitting room, but it wasn’t at all who I had anticipated.

  “Challenger?” I exclaimed so loudly, they would surely hear me down in the streets.

  “Ah, Archibald. So good of you to join us,” my brother said and stepped forward to shake his hand.

  “Archibald?” I shouted and then turned to Hawkins. “Leonard, how could you?”

  Hawkins opened his mouth to respond, but my brother held up a hand to stop him, and he dutifully kept quiet.

  “Your mindless insistence on solving everything by yourself will get you killed one day, Mycroft. But today will not be that day. Not while I’m around,” Sherlock stated. “Don’t blame Hawkins for this, blame yourself.”

  “Myself?”

  It seemed I had been reduced to one-word responses. My brother, Hawkins and Challenger had lined themselves up on the other side of the room. All but Lou, who had chosen to hover beside me, a slightly wary look on her face. So she hadn‘t been privy to whatever conspiracy was brewing.

  “Yes. Yourself. I sought out Hawkins this morning and impressed upon him the need to go through with my plan. He accepted.”

  “What? Just like that?” I asked, not even trying to disguise the hurt in my voice. “After all we‘ve been through?”

  “That‘s precisely why,” Hawkins mumbled, evidently unnerved.

  “He’s right. If anyone knows how you operate, it’s your former partner. And when I told him your plan, he was quick to agree with mine.”

  “How could you possibly know my plan, Sherlock? I didn’t even have one last night.”

  My brother shook his head.

  “I’m willing to bet you don’t have one now... and that’s exactly what I told him. That’s what you do, isn’t it? Jump in and improvise. No wonder no one wants to go along with-”

  “That’s quite enough,” Challenger cut Sherlock off, who stared at him with no small measure of anger, but shut up all the same. Even he wasn’t a match for the temper of a Challenger.

  “Sir, let me-” I started.

  “No. You had your chance to explain, but you chose to run off and get yourself into
even more danger. You refused the help of the Service and I was foolish enough to give in to your demands. Now we are where we are, and I order you to comply. Any insubordination will lead to incarceration. It’s over. You’re not getting away with that kind of behaviour any longer. Am I understood?”

  I nodded mutely. There was a time to fight and there was a time to conserve your energy. This was the latter. On top of that, I couldn’t argue with Challenger. He was right. And what was worse: I actually respected his opinion.

  “Good. Now sit down... you all sit down, while I outline the plan you will follow. We don’t have time to argue and, frankly, I’m not in the mood to fight about any of it. I don’t usually like to do this, but right now I’m pulling all my weight as your superior. I will not tolerate any backtalk. Especially from you, Holmes.”

  It was clear that, for once, the Holmes that was addressed was not my brother. In any other situation I would’ve relished to be singled out like that instead of him. But, alas, I had reached the end of the line. As I watched everyone take a seat on what little furniture the room provided, my thoughts were already far ahead. I had always wanted to visit Asia again... maybe make a quick stop in Milan on the way. Just to get far away from here, from the place where no one would ever respect me again...

  “Mycroft, do pay attention. You can plan your retirement tomorrow,” Sherlock addressed me as if I was an unruly schoolboy.

  “Enough is enough,” I growled. “One more comment and I’ll throw you out of this house, out of this plan and out of my life!”

  Lou and Hawkins shifted uncomfortably, but we all jumped when Challenger brought his hand down on the table.

  “You’re right. Enough is enough. Now shut up, all of you, and listen. We know when and where Sarah Deville’s group will meet up tonight. We have enough agents in the city to surround the building - cut everyone off. Anyone we can’t apprehend tonight will be found later. Alexander Thompson has done us a great service in meticulously recording all information about everyone in the group that he could find.”

  My eyes grew wide. If Thompson had been in possession of that information the whole time...

  “Sir, if I may. If someone had found those records on Mr. Thompson, he might not have been alive to inform us. I sincerely hope he is exempted from the consequences, in light of his beneficial actions,” I said quickly, before anyone could interrupt me.

  “He has exonerated himself,” Challenger confirmed. “Though he will be arrested along with the rest of them tonight, so as to not draw any suspicion to his person. We will single him out later.”

  I nodded, understanding the need for this tactic, but still felt uneasy knowing he was in the crossfire like that. Well, I would be there to remove him from the action.

  If I were even allowed.

  “Which brings me to your roles. Turner and Hawkins will be with the groups surrounding the building. Hawkins has requested special permission to join the operation tonight, as he’s not an active field agent anymore. I have granted it this time. No need to look this alarmed, Holmes.”

  Hawkins showed me a slight smile, which seemed to convey that I shouldn’t worry myself about him, but that was downright impossible. But even though I felt the need to speak out against this, who was I to dictate his actions? I now knew, more than ever before, the depths of what Edinburgh had done to him, and if he wanted to face it... Despite myself I nodded at my friend, who received my approval with gratitude.

  “I’d advise Mr. Holmes, the younger, to stay behind as a civilian. He’s the mastermind behind the tactics, but that doesn’t mean he has to put himself in the line of fire. As for the elder Holmes... Mycroft, I should order you to stand down too, after everything you put me through.” Challenger paused, daring me to contradict him. But the fight had drained out of me. When it was clear I wouldn’t argue, he continued. “But I also know that I would have to lock you up in a dungeon to keep you away from such a personal mission, and even then you’d somehow turn up at the most inopportune moment. So you’ll stay with Turner at all times and you do as she says. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Challenger stared at me, his face unreadable. Then all tension fell from his shoulders as he put one hand over his face and choked out a strangled laugh.

  “To think it would take only a series of murders and the threat of exposure for the whole Secret Service for you to listen to me without argument. I thought it couldn’t be done at all. But here we are,” he mumbled, but then straightened himself again. “Know that any disobedience in this matter will mean your termination from the agency. You’re my best man, but I can only give you so much leeway, and I’ve given you too much already.”

  “Understood.”

  “Good. I’m taking Hawkins and Turner with me. Sherlock, you’ll join us in half an hour?”

  “Yes, Archibald. As discussed.”

  Challenger nodded. I wondered what had happened between the two that allowed them to be on such friendly terms. I had certainly never heard about anything that would apply. Then again, I was often away from London for long stretches at a time. Well, it didn’t matter now. Challenger turned to leave, but then looked back at me.

  “Ah, and Mycroft? Thank you for the note on Evans. If he shows himself again... well, I’ll make sure he wishes he’d never accepted the post at Newgate in the first place. An unfortunate circumstance.”

  “Yes. Unfortunate,” I huffed.

  “Don’t use that tone with me. I’m not warning you again,” Challenger huffed right back. “Alright, Hawkins, Turner, come on. We have to prepare for tonight. Mycroft, we’ll meet on the Thames, under the south end of London Bridge, at seven. The other agents will be among the revellers of the fair. Thompson will be at the celebration, so as to not draw any attention to himself. The last thing I want to cause is an injury to a willing supporter.”

  And then they were gone. The door closed and a key was turned.

  “When I went to call on Archibald this morning, he had already known about the collapse of your house. He had already feared for the worst. When your death was more of less ascertained, he offered me a cigarette on his balcony. We stood quietly and smoked, overlooking the park. I made no remark about the tears rolling down his face, just as he didn’t comment on my stoic silence,” Sherlock said.

  I couldn’t answer, just stare at the ground. Without the others, the room suddenly seemed too big and I was lost in it.

  “I went and intercepted Hawkins afterwards. I asked him again about your plan and told him mine. We then both approached Archibald together. You should’ve seen the relief on his face before the fury set in... when I told him the truth.”

  “I can only imagine...” I mumbled.

  “You must know that you’re not just a part of the machine to him. Is it really so farfetched to think he’d help you? Deville’s group also threatened the Service on top of everything. He is the one man with a personal interest in apprehending the culprits that might be bigger than yours.”

  “Fine. I accept your words.”

  “But you don’t believe them.”

  “No. Not yet, in any case. Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t adjust.”

  Sherlock sighed and smoothed down his hair in a gesture that was very familiar to me, only he used both hands to do it.

  “No matter how you present your front to the world, I know you don’t think highly of your own person. You never have. The standards you set for yourself are so high you will never reach them, which will always make you feel like a failure. Don’t forget that all the people here today, who know the man behind the agent, are here to risk their life for you. Yes, that includes Archibald. And Thompson, who jumped to your aid, even though you have been separated for decades. You are not the man you make us believe you are. But if you want to be that man, you can.”

  “I think I
might need a longer holiday after tonight.”

  Sherlock laughed.

  “Don’t worry. The way Archibald currently feels about you, I think you won’t be expected back at the Diogenes for a few years yet.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Five hours.

  There was nothing for me to do, but wait. After Sherlock left, I had remained in the rooms alone. The others wouldn’t come back. Thompson couldn’t risk showing up at all. Hell, I couldn’t risk it. But when night had well and truly fallen, just after half past six, I couldn’t stop myself anymore. Concealed under a dark coat, a large scarf and an inconspicuous bowler hat, I joined a bulk of theatre-goers in front of the Vaudeville Theatre. It was easy to slip into the group from a small alleyway, and from there I had a good overview of the Strand to each side.

  I snatched a newspaper from a boy, who was selling them from an upturned umbrella, and looked for news of my death. I wasn’t disappointed. A plea to the public to stop worrying, as the threat was over, was printed front and centre. And the text actually mentioned the reason: Mycroft Holmes, the likely murderer, had perished in the collapse of his house on Gloucester Road. It even featured an illustration of the pile of rubble. Well, it wasn’t like I had wanted to go back there anyway.

  Now that I had lost pretty much all my possessions, maybe I could move to rooms nearer to the Diogenes Club. There was someone with his hand in the property business, who owed me a favour still, and he had offered me a place on Pall Mall a few years ago. With my connections, even a dead man could rent rooms. Maybe it was still available...

  Still contemplating the matter, I grabbed my cane tighter and started making my way down the street, ever eastwards. I carefully crossed the street and walked past Simpson’s. With the good weather came better conditions on the road, and everything was packed. This didn’t make it easier to walk, but ideal to jump from shadow to shadow. Finally I reached Wellington Street, which leads towards Waterloo Bridge and the Embankment, along which I hoped to reach the meeting point without any interruption.