Mycroft Holmes looked through the glass at the unconscious man in the cell.

The man had come from overseas. He was a member on the ongoing rebellion in America, hoping to defeat the magicians on their own ground. A hopeless cause, of course, as the government's hold was far stronger in England than it was in the colonies at the moment. The man must have known this too. And yet... And yet, here he was, fighting –or rather, imprisoned- for his lost cause. It was something Mycroft Holmes might have admired, had it not been so irrational an idea.

And not only was the man fighting for this hopeless cause, he had been caught over something ridiculously unimportant as well. A robbery of a shop selling herbs and incense used for summoning. Not that any magician would ever think this unimportant. No, they would think it was some kind of personal offense against them, which was why he was now here, forced to deal with a minor incident that any idiot could have taken care of.

Honestly, all they needed to do was to wait for the man to wake up, so that they could convict the man. He didn't even need to confess, as there had been more than enough witnesses, both human and otherwise.

If the man had been anywhere near as clever as he was, Mycroft might have suspected a plan of some kind. As the man was considered to be a soldier, a man of action, he had no such concerns. He had long since learned not to underestimate exactly how stupid people -both commoners and magicians- could be.

But still, the rebellion had never been this idiotic. Robbing a shop for magicians in broad daylight, in front of witnesses? No one would be that stupid, or that reckless. Especially not the Resistance, which had far too much to lose from such actions. So why do it? Last he heard the Resistance was not that desperate.

He would simply have to wait to ask the man. Not for a confession, because his guilt had already been established. He wanted to question the man, gather more information. But above all Mycroft wanted to ask him why he had done this, because his actions made no sense whatsoever, and that was one of the few things Mycroft Holmes hated more than anything else.

As Mycroft pondered these things and waited for the man to wake up, his "employer", Anthea, entered the room, carrying several manila folders with all the information they had about the man. For all the world she was his boss, when it was actually the other way around. After all, she was the magician, he was only a commoner. No one would believe that a magician would ever play secretary to a commoner, and this disbelief suited him just fine. It made him invisible, gave him the freedom he needed to do his job.

#

Mycroft did not have to wait long for the man to wake up, disoriented and with a bad headache, judging by the bruise on his left temple.

After the man had looked around in his cell for a while, he spend some time standing in front of the glass –mirrored on his side- seemingly staring straight at Mycroft. After that he lay back down on the bed and closed his eyes, although whether he was waiting or tying to sleep Mycroft was not entirely sure(a rare and somewhat strange thing for him).

It was then that Mycroft finally moved away from the mirror. He looked through the manila folders once. He then nodded to Anthea, who put away the scrying glass she had been using to communicate with her servants and stood to follow him. The folders they left in the room, having no need for them during the interrogation that was about to follow.

These folders told the entire story of the man's life, from his birth in England, his work for the rebellion overseas, to the robbery that had ended with the man in the next room, about to be interrogated.

These folders also told that the man's name was John Watson, a more than competent doctor, formerly a captain in England's army, until he had been wounded in battle and taken as a prisoner by the American rebels.

There were, however, some things the folders could not have told you. They could not have explained why former Captain John Watson, M.D., had decided to join the rebels, or why he would attack a target as unimportant as the shop.

Certainly Dr Watson, as a soldier, would have known that this attack was pointless, almost a suicide mission. So why would anyone do something every child could tell you was a horribly bad idea? A man like John Watson would only do such a thing for a very good reason or as an act of desperation. And a single look could have told you that the man resting –waiting?- on his bed inside the cell was anything but desperate.

This was the reason that had left Mycroft Holmes feeling confused, although he was, in a way, right. There was indeed a plan. However, there was something Mycroft Holmes had been wrong about: John Watson was not stupid.

John Watson was doing this for a very good reason. He had not been caught by accident, but because he had chosen to, had wanted to get caught.

Not out of desperation, definitely not. Because of a plan.

Although he didn't know it yet, Mycroft Holmes had every reason to feel uneasy. Because while getting caught was indeed a part of the plan, John Watson himself was not a part of this plan. Getting caught was not the goal, nor a means to get inside the parliamentary buildings -even as a prisoner.

John Watson, as well as the attack on the small shop, was only a diversion.

##

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize from the Bartimaeus' books belongs to Jonathan Stroud, Sherlock belongs to the BBC and Sherlock Holmes to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Author's note: This does not really take place during any of the books of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, merely in a similar world, though you may see some of the politicians or demons from the books. Bartimaeus will probably show up at some point(I just like him to much not to), but Nathaniel may not.

The rebellion in America is turning into a war at this point, and the 'Resistance' is an actual (underground) organisation, instead of the small group it turned out to be in 'Golem's eye'. I hope this explains the situation so far, but if you still have any questions feel free to PM me.

Also, if you see any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors please let me know(I know how annoying they can be), and I will fix them ASAP

Reviews are very much appreciated, because I would absolutely love to know what you guys think of this story!