Chapter 4: When a Good Man Has Enough~
"That was quite a show,Master Holmes! Yes, SPECTACULAR! But I believe now, you have to make a speech. A farewell speech,as I fear, you won't live much longer in my presence. So ,take the stand,and tell us: did you really think you could outwit the one and only James Moriarty?Did you really think if you won this war, that England would welcome you back,with open arms, like some glorified prodigal son?"
There was applause in the dining hall. Sherlock had been allowed to go to the latrine, wash his blood off,and change, into a tuxedo they had furnished him with, for his upcoming exectution.
"Thoughtful." he had commented aloud, to the emptiness that was this"plastic" ship. "And look,they've even pinned a rose to the front pocket,and diamond cuff links, am I supposed to be flattered?"
A smile had flitted across his lips, like a bird through twilit branches.
You're going to die. You knew you weren't getting out of this alive. So, do you want to go out in a "blaze of glory" as they say?Or will you die like a dog? You wanted a clever ending, and you knew it would come sooner than later...You always knew that. Now it comes time for the curtains, and congratulations, you are the master of ceremonies tonight. You'll need a show-stopper...
Then he remembers it, the gun he had stolen, had hidden for his attempt at escape. There was not going to be an escape. He knew that from the outset ,but, like all cowards do( and he truly believed himself to be a coward now) he had dared to hope. But now, he would cast off all hope. Anchors away. He smiled.
It was time to bid the Vienna a good night.
He reached up, still in the clothes that he'd been repeatedly kicked down the stairs in, and opened the air condtioning vent in the roof.A quick(and very painful) crawl,and he'd be back in the janitor's closet that they had converted to a room of sorts for him.
There was the pistol, hidden under a mop's head. He tucked it in his blazer, but put the bullet between his he'd calculated right, he'd only need the one.
And so a few moments later ,he came to be standing here on this stage, about to make his final speech. Dressed in the ridiculous tuxedo they had chosen for his burial shroud. Fancied himself "casket sharp" and smiled ,bitterly.
" Ladies and gentleman.." he said, as the crowd applauded,and fell silent.
"James,..."Jim" as I called him, and I, we had a sort of game going on. Two of a kind we were. And it was only that ,really, fun and games, types and shadows, of two minds winding down to madness, like falling stars on their way to hell. It couldn't have gone on forever, and we both knew that. Ah, but were oh-so bored. He in his sins, and I in the pursuit of righteousness...We were tired of all the ordinary people. People ... Funny, stupid little creatures. Made of plastic. Along with the whole world. Nothing of value, nothing of purpose in it, anymore. Just people getting what they want,because they want caring how much it costs good men to get it for them. Allowing the bad ones to spend it up, spilling blood like gasoline, on their madman fires.
Well, I am not a good man, nor will I be remembered as a great one. I am only a man that did what he knew to be right. And now that my task is done, and the sun of my great game and"glory" has gone down..."
He smiled wistfully, " Now it's time for me to sleep."
Slowly he pulled out the silver pistol.A few people stood slowly up.A ballerina let out a little chirp, wondering who would be at the receiving end of that bullet, or if the coward would turn it on himself.
"I thank you all for your has been no pleasant cruise, nor has it been a homecoming ,and I didn't deserve one, so thank you for not wasting favors on me. Now has come the time when I would like to burn these hallways, stairways,and little antechambers all the way back to hell, where they belong."
Sherlock aimed the single bullet, for the malfunctioning part of the electrical system in the chandelier,that he had observed when he was laying under the wine glass cart.
It was right at that moment that Mycroft and John entered the room.
John stopped dead in his tracks,at the sight of Sherlock. Like catching a glimpse of a specter, right before he disappears.
"Goodnight, Vienna." muttered said specter, with a sickened smile,and pulled the trigger.
The chandelier came crashing down on him,and fire and darkness rolled over the heart of the ship.