AN: It's short but here is the next bit. Next chapter has some more Sherlock planned and possibly a check in on how John is doing. Things should start speeding up for them that a complete rewrite of this is in the future seems to help me get the chapters out. Keeping things rather short and not trying to force long chapters helps as well though the next few should be longer than this. I want to finish writing it first before i go back and begin tweaking it. There are a bunch more chapters to go though so that won't be for a while.
ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppplinebreakppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
The first thing that Sherlock did was observe 221b more thoroughly. Ground zero as it were. This was where John spent his time. John's territory. In these walls John lived free of the eyes and expectations that naturally plagued everybody when they were performing in public. Under this roof John was free to feel and think without holding back or hiding. This, Sherlock decided, was where John's decisions were made.
John had, for whatever reason, decided to visit his drunken sister. Reports claim Harriet was not expecting him. The cab driver had (supposedly) reliably proven that he had both taken John and delivered him to Harriet.
Someplace between the sidewalk and the front door John had vanished.
Assuming the cab driver had nothing to do with John's disappearance, and he was assuming no such thing, how was it possible for John to vanish from ten feet of sidewalk? It was extremely unlikely that the driver would not have noticed a kidnapping from the ten feet traversing the curb to the front door even if he was pulling away.
It smacked of lies. It hinted toward conspiracy. Absolutely something to dig into.
But first stop. Rewind.
John was never meant to be at Harriet's house that day. An unplanned visit spoke of an impulsive visit. An impulsive visit is a purposed visit. Impulsive visits need reasons. A catalyst.
What had caused this chain reaction? Where had those first steps happened?John had climbed into that cab with a purpose and Sherlock would bet that the answer was right in front of him if only he could deduce it.
At first glance nothing seemed out of place. The front room was cluttered. Sherlock's bedroom was untouched from the last time he was in it. John's was untampered with. The bathrooms were clear of anything helpful.
Sherlock had always found first glances to be worthless. It was time to observe things more closely. Afterwards a visit to the less charming of the Watson siblings was in order.
pppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppLINEBREAKppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp
Not very many people would have considered Harriet Watson to be politically important in any way. She would have agreed with them. Outside of the gay rights movements Harriet Watson had very little interest and even less patience for political intrigue.
Firmly believing that anything reported on the news was propaganda and lies she didn't bother watching it. There was no flag adorning the front of her home.
Even the continuing war no longer mattered to her now that her younger brother was no longer involved in it.
Harriet Watson was unaware of the political power she wielded because all that she had was entirely wrapped around how she influenced John Watson. Ironically John Watson was mostly unaware of his own political power tied as it was to the Holmes brothers whom he hadn't spoken to in years.
Thus it was that in the coming months only a select few would be able to link the actions of a terrorist sect collaborating with an international assassin to the brutal torture and murder of Harriet Watson, a middle aged divorced drunk from suburbia.
