Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sherlock (the show or the original works of Arthur Conan Doyle) or ANY of the amazing characters (to my great sadness ='( ) I only own my OC Ana.
Six
"So, No, Dimmock, Like Ezio Auditore Da Firenze,"
It hadn't surprised John or Ana when Sherlock immediately stood from his chair, grabbing his coat, which the two were learning was a clear sign to grab theirs as well. They all jumped in a cab and let Sherlock tell the driver their destination, which turned out to be; New Scotland Yard.
When they arrived, they went straight to the floor Sherlock was sure Dimmock was working on, and waited as the lift brought them to their destination. Walking out, they all immediately noticed the DI, who was sitting at a tiny little desk in the middle of the office. Dimmock looked up and saw the approaching group and immediately bent his head, rubbing his temples.
" Are you using your computer?" Sherlock inquired as they stopped before his desk. The man opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off. " No? Good." Sherlock spun Dimmock's laptop to face himself, and swiftly typed in the URL for the online article about the murdered journalist. " Brian Lukis, freelance journalist, murdered in his flat," Sherlock spun the laptop to face its original owner again, " doors locked from the inside."
" Dimmock, you have to agree with this; the murders are at least similar. Scarily so; two men both murdered by a man who can apparently walk through walls as solid as this desk," Ana said, knocking twice on the desktop before crossing her arms. Dimmock peered at the article, glancing over the words too swiftly before letting out a frustrated sigh, shutting his eyes.
" Inspector, do you seriously think that Eddie Van Coon was just another city suicide?" At the DI's stubborn decision not to speak, Sherlock grit his teeth, sighed and decided to continue. " You have seen the ballistics report, I suppose?" Dimmock nodded slightly. " And that shot that killed him; was it fired from his own gun?"
" No," Dimmock quietly replied.
" No. So, this investigation might move a bit quicker if you were to take my word as gospel," Sherlock said sharply and just a bit angrily. Dimmock didn't reply again. Sherlock gripped the edge of the desk and leaned forward, ice blue eyes narrowing. " I just handed you a murder inquiry. Five minutes in his flat."
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" Well, if you getting angry gets anything to work out for you, you might want to get angry all the time," Teased Ana in a rather flat tone as they showed up at the murder victim's flat. John rolled his eyes and Sherlock ignored the comment as he ducked under crime scene tape that read 'CRIME SCENE- DO NOT ENTER' on it that was taped diagonally across the flats entrance door, followed by Dimmock and then John and then Ana. The steps were littered with random books, piles spilling out onto the stairs hazardously.
When Sherlock stepped into the flat, he immediately noticed the suitcase on the floor that had brand new luggage tags attached to the handle. Next, he noticed what looked like a piece of black paper folded up to look like a flower. The flat itself was horribly messy; papers spilling onto the floor, books haphazardly tossed everywhere, clothes in piles and hanging on doors, beer bottles and food left out. The sound of squealing breaks from a bus penetrated the walls and Ana's nose crinkled a bit at the off smell to the room. Sherlock's attention was then captured by the window. He stepped over and glanced down, immediately smirking.
" Four floors up," He muttered. " That's why they think they're safe. Put a chain across the door, bolt it shut, they think they're impregnable. They don't reckon for one second that there's another way in."
" I don't understand," Dimmock told him after he listened to Sherlock's mini-rant. Ana smiled, shaking her head as she realized what Sherlock was getting on to. Sherlock passed through the door and back towards the stairs.
" The killer can climb. That's how they got in," Ana said in realization. " Albeit, they have to be a damn good one."
" Correct, Ana," Sherlock said as he jumped up on a small ledge just under a sky-light.
" What are you doing?" Dimmock asked as they all followed him.
" He clings to the walls like an insect…" He slammed the lock on the window and it swung open. " This is how he got in…"
" What?" Dimmock asked, still feeling like he was missing something.
" He climbed up the side of the walls, ran along the room and dropped in through this skylight."
" You're not serious. What, like Spiderman?" Teased Dimmock, beginning to smirk. Ana rolled her eyes and laughed a bit, patting the man's shoulder.
" He scaled six floors of a Dockland's apartment building and jumped the balcony to kill Van Coon."
" Oh-ho, hold on!" Dimmock tried to reason.
" And, of course, that's how he got into the bank, he ran along the window ledge and onto the terrace," He explained, remembering searching the bank.
" So, no, Dimmock, not like Spiderman… like Ezio Auditore da Firenze, get it right," Ana teased with a completely serious voice and serious tone. She smiled at him and turned to go help John continue to search the flat. Sherlock smirked at Ana's comment, which had left Dimmock looking a bit shocked and also a bit lost.
" We have to find out what connects these two men…" Sherlock muttered. He eyed a book and his brow creased slightly. One book with a red cover seemed just a bit more askew than the other. He hopped down a few steps and snatched it up, opening the cover to see a stamp that read:
WEST KENSINGTON LIBRARY
He snapped the book closed and ran down the rest of the steps, calling out,
" Come along, John, Ana!"
The two bolted after him, knowing him well enough to understand that if he got in that cab without them, he'd leave them behind. As they all got in, Ana adjusted the collar of her coat, shivering a bit at the cold air.
" So, what was that comment about?" John asked Ana with curiosity, referring to the comment she made to Dimmock. Ana grinned and laughed a bit.
" Ezio is a videogame character that's an assassin who climbs walls, runs across roofs and all that, so I thought it would be an appropriate comment to make," She explained, laughing. John chuckled shaking his head.
" And it got Dimmock to stop talking," Sherlock added in his usual monotone. " He gets rather annoying; he always interrupts when I'm trying to explain."
" I think he's the only one brave enough to actually attempt that," John muttered. Sherlock shot him a look before turning to look out the window, face thoughtful.
The three entered the West Kensington Library, ready to discover why Sherlock brought them there. They trotted up the escalator and Sherlock immediately scanned bookcases, glancing at the inside cover of the one in hand.
" So, care to tell us why we're at… a library?" John asked with an eyebrow raised as he and Ana followed the tall man through the maze of books.
" The date stamped on the book is the same day that he died," Sherlock explained as he looked up at a book, pulling it out, checking it and replacing it. Mimicking him, John and Ana began to look at books, not quite sure of what they were looking for.
John pulled out a rather thick book and a fairly thin one, creating a large gap on the shelf. His blue eyes immediately took in what was on the back of the shelf and he sighed.
" Sherlock," He said, staring at the yellow paint. Sherlock turned and began to pull out books, placing them in the convenient arms of Ana. She looked over John's shoulder as the trio took in the exact same symbols from the bank.
" Well, looks like we've got a connection," Ana said as she shoved some of the books into Sherlock's hands. With a nod, he shoved them back into her hands, pulling out his mobile and snapping a few photographs. Once the phone was safely back in his coat pocket, Sherlock placed the books back, and it was back home to Baker Street.
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" So, the killer goes to the bank, leaves a threatening cipher for Van Coon, Van Coon panics, returns to his apartment, locks himself in, hours later he dies," Sherlock said as they stood in front of the fireplace and mirror, which had more pictures taped to it.
" The killer finds Lukis at the library, he writes the cipher on the shelf where he knows it'll be seen," Continued John, pointing to the new picture of the library cipher.
" Lukis returns home, locks the door to the flat, and then later that night dies too…" Ana murmured. She shook her head as she looked over all the pictures again. " Why do they die, Sherlock?"
" Only the cipher can tell us…" He muttered, placing his fingers on a picture. He stared at the spray of paint that covered the portrait's eyes and then he looked off, a thought striking him loud and clear. He tapped one finger against the picture.
As usual, without a work, he turned on his heel and snatched up his coat and scarf. Sighing, Ana crossed her arms.
" We only just got home," She said to John.
" Well, on cases home usually ends up being wherever Sherlock drags us to," He said in explanation, snatching up his own coat as well.
" Good thing I didn't take off my shoes… would have been running after him barefoot." Ana fixed the front of her dark blue blouse and pulled her coat on, the duo rushing after Sherlock.
They found themselves walking through Trafalgar Square, Sherlock explaining code and its relation to the world.
" The world runs on ciphers and codes, John, Ana… From the million pound security system at the bank to the pin machine you took exception to," He explained as they made their way through the crowd towards the National Gallery. " Cryptography inhabits our every waking moment."
" Yes, okay, but…" John trailed off as they continued to circle the fountain.
" But it's all computer generated electronic codes, electronic ciphering methods. This is different. It's an ancient device. Modern code-breaking methods can't unravel it," Sherlock explained as they began to trot up the steps to the Gallery.
" So, mind telling us where we're headed?" Ana asked, swiping hair from her face.
" I need some advice," He admitted.
" What?" John asked incredulously. Sherlock Holmes needed advice? He'd never thought the day would come! John looked at Ana, who looked equally as shocked. " Sorry?"
" You both heard me perfectly; I'm not saying it again," Sherlock said, not looking at the two, trying to brush off the comment.
" You, Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective, brilliant Sherlock Holmes needs advice?" Ana asked with a laugh, a smile spreading across her face.
" On painting, yes. I need to talk to an expert," He told them, shooting her a look. Then he veered away from the Gallery, heading towards an alley. They found themselves at the back of the Gallery, away from the sound of traffic, approaching a young-man in a paint splotched black coat, spray-painting a metal door. It appeared to be a cop with the face of a pig.
Guess we know how he feels about law enforcement, thought Ana as they continued walking towards him.
" It's part of my new exhibition," He told them as they all stopped and stared at the graffiti on the door. Sherlock glanced at it, reaching inside his coat.
" Interesting," He said in an almost un-interested manor.
" I call it…" He paused and a rather scary looking smile crossed his lips. " Urbanbloodlustfrenzy." He rammed all the words together, making it one word. He chuckled lowly as he shook the spay-paint can again. Ana raised an eyebrow and looked at it again.
" Catchy," John said.
" It's very creative," Ana supplied. The guy turned and winked at her.
" Thanks, love," He thanked, smiling. She gave a quick smile before looking off. " I've got two minutes before a Community Support Officer comes around that corner," He continued to finish his work. He looked at Sherlock. " Could we do this while I'm workin'?" Sherlock merely held out his phone that had the picture of the symbols on it. The young man looked at it, tossed a spray paint can to John and took the phone.
" Know the author?" Asked Sherlock as the young man scrolled through the pictures.
" Recognize the paint. Looks like Michigan hardcore propellant. I'd say zinc," He informed. Ana shoved her hands in her jeans pocket and rolled her eyes.
" The symbols. How about those? They look familiar to you?" She asked, tilting her head to one side, an eyebrow raised. He looked over at her and back down to the symbols on the phone screen.
" Not even sure it's a proper language," He said, face scrunching up.
" Two men have been murdered, Raz," Sherlock said in a hushed tone, leaning towards Raz. " Deciphering this is the key to find out who killed them." Raz let out a laugh, shaking his head.
" What, and this is what you've got to go on? It's hardly much, now is it?"
" Are you going to help us or not?" Sherlock asked, face stoic. Raz stared at him, glancing over at Ana and then back to Sherlock.
" I'll ask around," He told them.
" Somebody must know something about it," Sherlock replied. It was obvious he was going to continue, but they were interrupted by a Community Support Officer, just like Raz said.
" Oi!" He shouted, marching towards the four. They all looked all the two officers coming towards them, and Sherlock grabbed his phone and turned and took off, Raz following, Ana not far behind. John was too busy staring at the officers to realize he was now alone. " What the hell do you think your doing?" One officer asked John. " This gallery is a listed public building."
" No, no, wait, wait," John said, as he began to put the pieces together. " It's not me who painted that, I was just holding this for…" He turned to gesture with the paint can to Raz, but found all his companions gone. He sighed. The officer looked at the bag filled with spray paint by John's feet.
" Bit of an enthusiast are we?" The Officer asked, un-amused. John looked between the graffiti painting of the officer and to the real one. He sighed. Of course this would happen to him…
Sherlock and Ana didn't stop running till they came to the fountain outside the National Gallery. They stopped to catch their breath and Ana found herself grinning and laughing as she braced her hands against the cold stone of the fountain's edge. She looked up at the cold splashing water, shaking her head.
" I cannot believe we just outran two Support Officers… I can't believe we just left John to take the fall," She laughed shaking her head. Sherlock smiled a bit and let out a chuckle.
" Once again, welcome to my world," Sherlock muttered, shaking a few inky looking curls from his eyes. She smiled and looked up at him, straightening up. " We need to get back to Baker Street. I'll need your assistance in researching some ancient languages; we might be able to find a match that way."
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It had been maybe a two or so hours after the paint can incident when John furiously slammed the door of 221b closed. He walked in to see Sherlock standing in front of the mirror in the flat, staring at new pages taped up on it as well as the wall around it. Pages upon pages of different languages and writing; Greek alphabet, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Arabic letters, you name it and it was probably hanging there. He had scribbled notes and circled things on various papers, still trying to place it. It wasn't working. Ana was in the kitchen making some tea, hopefully something that may calm John down.
" You've been a while," Sherlock commented lazily, not looking over to John, his icy eyes fixed on the papers in front of him.
" Yeah, well, you know how it is." He tried not to spit his words, attempting to hold back anger. " Custody sergeants don't really like to be hurried, do they? Just formalities; fingerprints, charge sheet, and I've got to be in Magistrates Court on Tuesday."
Sherlock hadn't really heard anything as he stared at a paper in his hand, glancing from that to the mirror.
" What?" He asked again, and John snapped.
" Me, Sherlock, in court on Tuesday! They've given me an ASBO!" John sputtered angrily, glaring at the tall man in front of the mirror.
" Good, fine," He muttered again, looking at the sheets of paper in his hands.
" You want to tell your little pal he's welcome to go own up anytime," John muttered as Ana finally came in the room, extending a mug of coffee to John, a small smile on her lips. He nodded to her silently and took it, sipping at the hot liquid within the steaming mug.
" This symbol, I sill can't place it," Sherlock hissed in frustration, jaw clenching. He spun to face John, who was sipping his tea and beginning to pull of his coat. Sherlock rushed over, snatched the mug, and made him pull his coat back on. " No, I need you to go to the police station and ask about the journalist," He told him, John sputtering and protesting as he began to be herded towards the door. " His personal affects would have been impounded, get a hold of his diary or something that will tell us his movements." He pushed John out the door then leaned back inside and grabbed Ana's arm and her coat. He spun her around and forced her coat on, and then pushed her after John. " You go with him, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
They all rushed out the door, John sighing, Ana rolling her eyes.
" I'll go and see Van Coon's PA, if we retrace their steps, somewhere they'll coincide," Sherlock told them as he pulled on his gloves, walking down the street. John looked over at Ana who shrugged and the two both raised their arms to hail a taxi. When it pulled up, John leaned over to the open window and said,
" Scotland Yard."
Afterword: Sorry for the length, it's a bit short. I hit a really bad creative lull for a few days and haven't been able to write, so this afternoon when I finally woke up, I was like 'I'm gonna finish that chapter!' and I did! I just wanted to get SOMETHING up! Hope it was okay!
REVIEW RESPONSES! WOOOO!
grapejuice101: Hope you liked the chapter! Thanks again for the review!
Gwilwillith: I'm glad you liked the chapter! Hope this one was good as well! Thanks again!
LadySurvivor: The password banter will continue, it's a big thing between them, all the way to the end =D Also, I already know the password that will stump Sherlock XD Hope you liked it! Thanks again!
Black-Rose Marley: I'm glad you like the story so far! Ahahaha! You will see her temper soon, I hope XD I need to find the right moment for it to happen! Hope you liked the chapter! Thanks again!
And thank you to those who have read this or added it to their story alerts or the favorites! Means the world to me!
Okay! So! To those who knew about the poll I had up last week, the results for the next story I should to was Batman (Bruce/OC) but a lot of people also wanted me to do a Indiana Jones (Mutt{Indy's son}/OC) story, so, I'll be doing both! =D My brain is gonna explode from all the stories I'm doing XD
Hope you liked the chapter and the video game references to my fave video game! =D Review and let me know what you think! Thanks again!
~Mary