Chapter 7: And So We Meet Again...

That was the longest walk of John's entire life. Following the tracks a jeep's wheels had made through the ashes. Following in step with these Black -Magic punks.

Black Magic punks that were intent on conversation.

"So, earlier, when you came here from wherever else in the world you were floating around ,like so much pollution,..."The Leader began,

John was distracted by the frantic chirping of a bird, "Doctor?" the man asked again,

"Yeah, right?"

"I'm assuming you got my clues...the bodies...?"

John remembers a cold and frightening night a few weeks back, when he dived into the Indus River, scrambling for a casket he was convinced contained the mutilated remains of his best friend.

"That...was you then?" John asked, trying to forget that horrific night. When he had clawed his way out of the river, he had collapsed on his knees behind a tree,and sobbed, with relief that it was not Sherlock, but also from the brutal aching loneliness that desperately needed him back...safe and sound.

"Yep, twas me. ...You know, I taught Seb and Jim all they knew. We were a gang, back in Dublin, when we were "wee laddies". They called me Teach. Then Jim got all radical, and Seb being his best mate, they decided to break off from us, becoming the chief executives of organized crime the world over. I thought that was a bit too boring. I prefer ...theme parks."

"Oh, Theme parks? I'm assuming you don't mean the "candy-apple-ferris-wheel-win-a-stuffed-bunny-for-your-date"kind?"

"Oh, no I mean the kind like up ahead..."


John passed through what looked like two old gates,and a wall made in mud bricks. There were large stone carvings of creatures, both mythical to the Hindi religion, and biological.

In the center of the path, like a large welcome sign, was a huge totem pole, with an eagle, woven out of strips of bamboo,that was stained a dark cherry color around the 'feather' tips, as it's top.

Lashed to the eagles chest was a man, raven head bowed over his chest.

John felt ecstasy hit him harder than an adrenaline rush in the heat of combat. At the same time, horror struck his stomach like a viper bite, anticipating the worst possible thing unimagineable...

It was Sherlock!

Suddenly, John was fighting tears, and before the Teacher could say anything, before any challenges or bargains could be made, before the next words even left the magician/tormentors mouth, John was climbing the totem pole.

Frantically scrambling up welded-in metal handles, frantically reaching shaking hands.

Finally got to his feet, and was so overcome with emotion, he had to refrain from kissing them,not wanting to startle him or make him think he'd lost his mind. Had to make him believe he was totally in control of this situation,and would get them out safe and soon...

He climbed higher, till their faces were nearly touching. Sherlock's hair was now level with his nostrils,being that his head was bowed on his chest,and he was ,actually, as scary as his limp pose had looked from the ground, only asleep. Said hair smelled just like the cinders of the jungle, and weird chemicals. Right, they had most likely used drugs along with all their other methods of torture...

John reached a shaky hand to Sherlock's high marble-like cheekbones, and caressed his face. Slowly, the tortured man, began to stir from his first deep sleep in years. For once having rested in the hope that his brave friend was coming to save him. He gave a shudder, feeling the hand on his face,and knowing that he woke from a dream to the truth.

Slowly he raised his head, and silver-green eyes were laughing,and astonished all at once, like the young soldier when he's told that the war is over.

"John?!"

His voice was so quiet it was almost inaudible, as faint as the sound of a moth's wings scraping the air.

"Hey!" John laughed, and broke into tears...and Sherlock smiled a tiny glorified smile, as if he just knew it. Exonerated ,like a child for his faith in Santa Claus, come Christmas morning.

"And so we meet again...I knew you were coming..."

John laughed through his tears, and, unable to control his emotion entirely, pushed Sherlock's hair back out of his face,and kissed him in the middle of his forehead.

Sherlock smiled contentedly at this...and coughed hoarsely, hard enough to nearly crack his ribs, having been exposed to more of the smoke than John cared to think about.

John held their foreheads together and sobbed, and Sherlock wriggled a hand free of his ropes,and cupped the side of John's head in it, fingers running through the golden strands of hair, that looked like wheat fields in minature ,flowing in the wind.

"How did you even get here?"

"Oh I begged , I borrowed, I stole! I told you, I SCOURED the world. Every hour that Moran had you, I was only a step behind. And when I wasn't stepping, I was on my hands and knees, and I would crawl.

I climbed mountains, I swam rivers...And I never gave up on you...I promised..."

Sherlock laughed, and the living breath of his nostrils blew up in John's face,and he might as well have inhaled some kind of drug, so euphoric he suddenly was, to feel his life in vapor.

"I believed you...And I waited...And I fought, just like you told me, and I SURVIVED. And now the Web is all but broken, save there were a few flies in it..."

He said, indicating the gang gathered at their feet.

"They're no match for the two of us..."John laughed,and Sherlock hummed, falling silent.

"Any plans?"

"Working on a bargain with them..."

"Right..."

Another hard cough.

"Oh, guess who I found behind a brothel in Mumbai?"

"His Majesty the Queen of England?"

And they both laughed like children,and John kissed Sherlock on the face a second time, so over-joyed, so uncaring that they were in the hands of tormentors capable of rendering them something less than human.

"Did he have any advice for you?Or, I don't know, a PLANE?!" Sherlock muttered, sounding disgusted.

"For a few silver dollars, he got me an interpreter, that could BARELY speak English..."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, "You'd think the Crown could at least afford an English-Bengali dictionary?"

The two of them broke down laughing again,and suddenly crying, until the Teacher shouted,

"Alright, you've chatted with your beau; now it's time for business!"

And one of the gang members were sent up to haul them both down...