"Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the song of angry men.
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drum
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes"
("Do You Hear the People Sing," Les Misérables).
Three days after Lestrade's visit, Sherlock and John were on their way to Germany, Dresden to be specific. Sherlock had spent the majority of these days on his computer and texting, though John was vague on the specifics of his research. The decision to go to Germany came after Sherlock had announced he was going for a walk and returned with a messily scribbled note. When John asked why they were headed to Eastern Germany, Sherlock's replies were vague.
"The area has promise," he would say, "and an interesting history. Plus, I have a source who has heard some rumors."
John began to wonder just how far Sherlock's homeless network extended.
When they arrived in Germany, John's suspicions about Sherlock's homeless network were confirmed as Sherlock approached a rather raggedy looking youth outside the airport, to whom he spoke for a few minutes (in German, John noted) before hailing a cab.
They were lodging, John soon learned, in a small apartment near Dresden's Technische Universität, which was close to a tram and a straight shot to the city centre. John was impressed with the lodgings and suspected Mycroft's influence in their being able to afford them. Mycroft, it had turned out, had been pleased his brother had taken the case, as the recent murders had caused an international scandal he wanted to avoid (one of the recent murders and two of he previous had been committed in England, in addition to the fact that the businessman's daughter had been in England when she disappeared).
After Sherlock's idea of settling in (throwing their luggage inside the door and looking around for a few moments), he announced they were headed to the Frauenkirche, which was in the city centre.
"Why," John asked, confused. "Bit of sight seeing?"
Sherlock grinned, "Sort of." They began to make their way to the train and, as they boarded, Sherlock explained the church's history.
"In World War II, Dresden, as I'm sure you already know, was targeted by British and American troops in a series of bombings from 13 February to 15 February 1945, resulting in the deaths of over 25,000 people. The Frauenkirche, which was already a symbolic site in the city, had become a refuse from some 300 people, but soon became unsafe and, after a successful evacuation, succumbed to the heat generated by some 650,000 incendiary bombs, the dome collapsing on the morning of 15 February," Sherlock explained.
John had a far away look. Having been in the British Army, this information gave him rather conflicting emotions, which Sherlock didn't fail to notice.
"Under communist rule the church remained a pile of rubble for some 45 years, though citizens immediately began cataloguing the remnants for future reconstruction. The ruins later became site of peace protests against the East German regime. The building's eventual reconstruction was the result of efforts made by passionate Dresden citizens. The site, therefore, has become a symbol of resistance against corruption for the city," Sherlock finished.
"That's quite interesting Sherlock, really, but what does it have to do with this case?" John asked, looking lost.
"Ah, this is our stop," Sherlock said, avoiding the question and jumping out of the tram.
Sighing, John followed Sherlock to the front of the impressive structure whose history he had just learned. It was a massive, looming building, beautiful in a haunting way. The bricks that survived the blasts of WWII loomed like ghosts among the newer bricks, a constant reminder of the violence it had endured. John wasn't surprised the building held such importance to the citizens of this tragic city. He had become rather enthralled by the building, which meant it took him a moment to realize Sherlock was no longer beside him.
"Sherlock?" he called when he looked over to see only empty space and, confused, began making his way around the building in search before seeing him a few yards away, heading toward an ally. John sighed and ran to catch up.
"Where are you going," he huffed as he caught up.
Sherlock looked up, obviously unaware John hadn't been following (no surprise there).
"I thought we'd get some coffee," he murmured, returning his focus to the ground in front of him, then the walls of the ally they had just entered. He continued on at a slow pace, focused intently on his surroundings, evidently following some path completely invisible to John, who knew better than to ask questions when Sherlock was this focused. After a number of intricate turns in the labyrinthine city centre, Sherlock stopped at a rundown building with a closed shop, looking triumphant.
"Ah, here we are," he said, looking at John.
"Um, I think I'd rather not get coffee here, Sherlock," John replied, looking skeptically at the building in front of them. "Closed shops usually don't have great coffee."
Sherlock looked confused before realizing to what John was referring, "no, not there, John," he said, exasperated, "look down."
John did and noticed another ragged door, slightly lower than the street, though not quite basement level, under the abandoned shop. There was a faded sign on it that said, simply, "Kaffee". It would have been impossible to find unless you already knew it was there, or unless you were Sherlock Holmes, of course. It looked just as run down as the shop above it.
"Ah, yes," he said, looking dubious, "that looks much better."
Sherlock laughed softly and began down the stairs.
When they stepped inside, Sherlock and John found a musky room, filled with tables, most of which were occupied by groups of serious looking college age men and women, and all of which were overrun with dirty mugs and papers. About half of the students looked up sternly at their entrance, staring at them suspiciously as a silence spread across the room.
One young man stood and walked to the middle of the room.
"Wer bist du?" he asked. John's German was out of practice, at best, but he noted the use of the informal 'you', though Sherlock and he were clearly older than almost all of these students.
"Wir kommen aus England," Sherlock replied, looking straight into the young man's intense gaze. "Wir kamen zu singen."
John quickly attempted a translation in his head, which resulted in, 'We come from England. We come to…sing?'. Okay, he was officially confused. Perhaps his German was worse than he thought. Nonetheless, the young man's face immediately relaxed and the rest of the students returned to their conversations.
Sherlock leaned closer to John smiling widely, and putting his mouth close to his ear, whispered, "this is going to be a fun case indeed!"