For a shoemaker, Josef had in his possession a rather impressive array of things he shouldn't have. Documents, maps, blueprints, computer codes. He had the beginnings of his own secret service stockpiled in his basement, mostly as his wife refused to have it in the lounge.
After overhearing the snippet of Rykov's conversation, Sherlock had contacted Josef to get his eyes to follow Rykov so they could find out where his 'office' was. It was a relatively simple task, and within a few hours a little old lady with a shawl around her head had knocked on the door and informed them that Rykov had gone to a set of old buildings on the edge of the city which backed onto the Marjan, a hill on the peninsula which was covered in dense Mediterranean pine forest whose many trails were a favourite recreational area for the residents of Split.
It appeared the large buildings were used for various miscellaneous businesses including a call centre and the animal control office.
Rykov had disappeared into the biggest building on the end which Josef had informed them was the local marine and fisheries ministry.
"Rykovs office" Josef had said clapping his hands in excitement and rushing over to a precarious stack of papers on his desk from which he had extracted a large, poster-sized blueprint with a flourish.
"Whaat?" he squeaked indignantly in response to the looks on John and Sherlock's faces, "I know man who build them."
The other thing they had learnt about Josef was that he did indeed know everyone, and they all seemed to owe him a favour for one thing or another. There was no denying his usefulness.
"It is big building, easy to enter. Not much securities, a few camera and one guard who stay at night. I know security man, I call in favour so no problem. But guard is problem, his name Franco, he look like normal guard but he mercenary, trained killer. My friend security man at office tell me no one come in building without him knowing and if they do, he kill them. He say there two deaths this years already, police say accident but security man say he think Franco kill them for breaking into building at night. No questions asked, police look other way. Not normal thing for a Fisheries office is it?"Josef winked at them, the idea that a Maritime ministry might be used as a façade to hide the activities of a criminal organisation was clearly a dream come true for him.
"Franco sounds delightful" said John sarcastically, glancing down at the confusing blueprint spread on the cluttered table before them, "How do we get past him, distract him, get rid of him?"
"No, no, no." Josef waved his hands anxiously, "No he kill you, not other way round. But no worry, no worry, as I say, man who tell me all this is a friend, he work in security office for whole building complex"
"And he just happens to owe you a favour" Sherlock asked with raised eyebrows
Josef nodded eagerly "Yes, he give me camera control so I see inside, and he then he look other way, he no ring Franco when you break in. Then Franco go to check outside of building, you go inside, you find what you need and you get out before Franco return. Then I give camera control back to friend and no one know anything happen, no one see you and so no one kill you" Josef gave them both a big grin that was far from comforting.
"And how do we get inside, I don't suppose you happen to have the key to the front door lying around down here" John asked, half expecting Josef to pull the key out of his pocket.
Josef laughed as if it was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard "No, no, there no keys, only key cards, but no problem, no problem, I know man with key card, no problem"
"What a surprise" John muttered under his breath, wondering what sort of activities Josef did to get all of these favours.
But despite Sherlock and Johns misgivings at the ability of their small and enthusiastic contact, he came through on his word. Within a matter of hours he had the security cameras of the entrance and main hallways lit up on his many computer monitors and Sherlock had a key card tucked into his jacket pocket.
They watched as the old fashioned office emptied out in flurries as the day ended, men and women departing, probably having no idea that major criminal activities were being planned a few doors down from their offices. At last Rykov emerged from a door off the main entrance and departed, the office was now empty, except for Franco of course. John watched as he slid out of the cameras view, he was short, but wide, with thick limbs and a disproportionately small head resting on his enormous shoulders. But despite his ungraceful shape, he moved with a grace and smoothness which said this was indeed a man who took his job seriously and would kill on sight. John wondered if any of the employees at the office were suspicious of what such a dangerous looking man was doing as a guard at a seemingly innocent set of local government offices.
But then again when your boss was a man like Rykov, it was probably better not to ask questions.
Two hours later, John was standing in the enormous dark cafeteria at the southern end of Rykovs building, pressing buttons into his phone, waiting as it rang.
"John" squeaked Josef's voice from the other end "How's it going?"
"Sherlock isn't back" he said into the phone "He was supposed to meet me here 10 minutes ago, can you see where he is?"
It had been easier than John had anticipated to get in, they had waited for the call from Josef to say Franco had begun his outside round, and then they has swiped in through the cafeteria door at the back of the building.
It had been almost too easy, no spotlights turned on, no alarms rang out into the night, there was no sound of running feet or sirens in the distant. In fact it had been almost pitch black inside, not even the smallest security light.
The cameras mounted in the hallways through which they knew Josef was watching were old fashioned and it seemed unlikely they could see much in the dark anyway.
The ease at which they had entered the building had been a little disconcerting, but then again the lack of security almost made sense, the last place anyone would look for information about top secret criminal activities run by prominent and powerful members of the Western world was in a set of innocent offices in disrepair with no more security than the local butchers. Even if someone did come sniffing around they would be dealt with by the deadly gun for hire that had the place under close watch, and Rykov's obvious connections within the police would ensure no questions were asked.
John remembered Mycroft's comment back in the hospital about OASIS having people everywhere and he couldn't help but feel a little impressed. He wondered how OASIS had recruited their members and if they really were as omnipresent as Mycroft had suggested.
Once they were inside Sherlock and John had split up to search the building faster, looking for Rykovs office or any other evidence of activities taking place that weren't strictly in the interests of marine safety and preservation.
John had searched through as many rooms as he could but there had been nothing suspicious, there was simply lots of paper and general office stuff. John didn't know what he had been expecting to find, perhaps a door labelled 'Top Secret' or a room filled with guns and bombs.
Hoping Sherlock was having better luck than him, John then crept back to the cafeteria where they had snuck in and had arranged to meet on the hour so they could escape before Franco finished his outside round and started to come back through the offices again.
But Sherlock hadn't turned up and John had run Josef worried, what if Sherlock had run into Franco?
He heard the sound of computer keys tapping in the background, "He not on my screens" Josef replied quickly "Must be in room with no camera"
John rolled his eyes typical.
"I have camera for hallways, I rewind footage, see which door he go through" Josef exclaimed as if this was the most exciting this he had ever done
"Thanks" John replied, annoyed. What was the point of making a plan in the first place if Sherlock was just going to ignore it?
Josef rewound the footage from the hallway cameras, flicking through all the wings of the enormous building until he saw Sherlock disappear into a darkly lit corridor off the main entrance. He wondered what was down there, perhaps its was time to call in a few favours and have a look around… He shook his head, concentrate. At least he could narrow it down for John, he went to pick back up the phone when he saw something that made his heart stop and the hair on the back of his neck stand on end "John" he snatched up the phone frantically "John we have serious problem."
Josef watched a figure stride through the main entrance, he thought for a moment that perhaps the video playback was skipping and it was just Sherlock again but the figure was shorter, broader.
It was Franco, Josef watched as the man paused in the doorway, staring around the bright entrance way as if he could sense something wasn't right. Josef saw his eyes flick at the main door just off the entrance which John and Sherlock had come through from the cafeteria. It had been left open.
Franco sniffed the air, as he could sense that the air had been disturbed by another presence, he frowned, patting his jacket pocket where his weapon was hidden, reassuring himself it was still there, and then he pushed the door slowly open and disappeared down the hallway.
Josef relayed this information frantically through the phone to John, as he tapped away on his keyboard, following Franco's movements.
"Shit" John breathed down the phone "Why's he back so bloody fast? Have you seen Sherlock come back on the cameras yet?" John hurried back across the cafeteria floor towards the hallway.
"No, just Franco" came Josef's frantic reply "You go John, you leave now"
John cursed under his breath, bloody Sherlock.
He didn't dare turn on his torch, the cafeteria was almost pitch black, it had no windows and the lack of security light meant the only source of light was the faint green flow of the swipe card slots at each end. He couldn't leave even if he had wanted to, Sherlock had the card for the exit door.
"Where is he now" he muttered into the phone, walking quickly through the maze of cheap plastic chairs and tables in the cafeteria.
"I checking now"Josef replied, fast forwarding the playback he watching the man move, disappearing in and out of doors as he began to systematically search every room. "Okay, he making his way down hall, checking rooms"
Shit, he was heading right for John and it was only a matter of minutes before he would enter the cafeteria and John would be trapped with no way out. "How long till he reaches the door?" he whispered into the phone swiftly.
Josef paused "No, no, you no understand, I still fast-forward, this recorded playback. This already happened."
Johns body went rigid, and at that moment he heard the card click in the door as someone came in, John stopped breathing, suddenly the darkness felt very alive around him.
In an instant he realised the only light in the room was coming from his cell phone "Keep looking for Sherlock" he whispered as quietly as he could before closing his phone, extinguishing the light.
The darkness settled around him.
He crouched on the ground, breathing as little as possible, not daring to move in case he made a sound. He was behind one of the tables but he didn't look to see where Franco was in case the movement alerted him to Johns position. He heard a rustle of clothing somewhere across the floor and suddenly he could sense a presence not too far from him. For all he knew Franco could already seen him, he waited for the bullets to rip into his back, or for the stabbing pain of a knife, but there was nothing.
In the dark, one hazy object could not be distinguished from another, where it was a chair or person, but Franco was not an idiot, he had heard a sound as he had entered and knew someone was in here with him. His instructions from his employer had always been very clear, no one entered and no one left who wasn't supposed too. Franco didn't ask questions, he would kill and the authorities would be stopped long before they thought to investigate the disappearance.
Franco started to move, systematically sweeping the room, he would find the intruder, there was no where to hide.
And John knew it.
His heart was pounding so loudly he was sure Franco would hear it, giving his position away. He inched back slowly, away from the table, heading for the better cover of the long bench which stretched along most of the eastern wall.
He had only moved a couple of meters before his shoe squeaked a on the old linoleum floor. He might as well have lit up a flashing sign neon sign and shouted Here I Am!
A rustle of clothing suddenly came at him out of the dark, a powerful hand groping through the air. John twisted away from the shape but a hand closed around the sleeve of his jacket, the vice like grip crunching his upper arm.
He threw a fist wildly and it connected with something hard which snapped backwards under the force, there was a grunt and the hand loosened slightly, John shrugged out his coat and started to move blindly towards the door, he had no weapon, he had no way of defending himself against a trained killer. He knocked over several chairs on his way, accidentally leaving a loud tail of breadcrumbs for Franco to follow.
There was a stumble of footsteps behind him and something large hurled out of the darkness smashing him backwards where he landed heavily against the counter, smashing his head on the surface. He saw stars and slid to the ground, kicking out in front of him hoping to make contact with something, but the man was too fast there was a swishing motion and John felt a knife slice across his chest, ripping through his shirt and dragging across his chest. The man was armed. The cut wasn't deep, but he could feel blood dripping from the wound. He threw himself on the hand clutching the knife and they struggled frantically for a few moments, John trying desperately to prize the knife from Franco's hands while his opponent shifted his weight so he was crushing Johns legs.
The knife slid out of Franco's hand but before John could grab it, the vice like hands found his face, raking across his cheek before closing around his throat. The air was instantly cut off, Johns hands clawed frantically at the clamps around his neck, but they were sweaty and he couldn't find any purchase. His hands flailed wildly, trying to find the knife, but it had slid out his reach. His vision blurred as he clawed uselessly at the mans face. He could feel the blackness creeping across his mind and his armed weakened.
Then out of nowhere a dark shape appeared and Franco was thrown off him, clutching at his head in pain. John didn't waste a second, he pounced for the knife feeling the cold metal in his hands. Franco lunged after him, colliding with John again.
It was like being hit by a train.
John was thrown back again, slamming painfully on the floor, but he had still be grasping the knife in his hand when Franco had tackled him and there was an awful guttering cry as it sunk into Franco's neck. There was splatter of blood as the man let out a muffled scream like a wounded animal, clawing at the silver hilt protruding from his throat. The blood pulsed from the wound, it looked black in the dim lighting and then Franco's eyes rolled in his head, saliva and blood frothing at his lips before he pitched over forward and lay still, a dark pool slowly spreading from beneath him.
Warm hands were under Johns arms pulling him to his feet "John, are you hurt?" a voice was asking frantically, shaking him gently, it was Sherlock.
"Fine" John replied glancing down at the dead figure before them on the ground "I'm fine"
"We need to go" Sherlock said, grabbing John by the sleeve and dragging him towards the exit.
"Where the hell have you been, we were supposed to meet back here 15 minutes ago" John managed to splutter out as he stumbled after Sherlock.
"Busy" was the only answer he got. Sherlock shoved the key card into the slot, there was a buzz and the door swung open. They leapt down the steps away from the building and took off across the damp grass and towards Marjan hill.
"Christ Sherlock" panted John when they reached the cover of the trees "That couldn't have gone any worse, as soon as they find the body they'll know someone was in there. What if OASIS panic, think someones onto them and start their plan early beca-"
"They wont" Sherlock said sharply, they kept moving, not daring to stop completely, John was expecting helicopters to appear above them, shining great spotlights through the trees, but it was silent, no evidence of the crime which had just been committed. "They wont know who broke in, thanks to Josef they don't have any footage from this evening. The whole complex is low security, it could have been anyone, a group of thugs looking for something to loot. They wouldn't take such an extreme step without knowing for sure that their the break-in was someone looking for OASIS. Besides there wasn't much on Rykov's computer, he'll know that even if someone did get in there they wouldn't find out much. They're going to be more careful now, that's all."
"What did you find" he puffed to Sherlock as they walked quickly, Sherlock pulled a folder out of the recesses of his coat, waving it in front of him before storing it away again, a triumphant smile playing in his eyes.
"Mycroft was right" He said, his voice calm, but his eyes were dark "Whatever OASIS is planning, England is in danger, and maybe the rest of Europe. I couldn't get into Rykov's computer, it was well protected of course but he's got maps and blueprints in his office of pretty much every major landmark in Europe and detailed layouts of all the underground railways and highway systems. And then there was this" Sherlock held out his phone to John who took it, looking down at the picture Sherlock had taken. It was of a large piece of paper covered in detailed technical drawings or an object at various different angles, small slanted handwriting that John couldn't quite read was scattered across the page. But he didn't need to read it, he knew exactly what it was and suddenly his mouth was very dry.
It was the cross section of a missile.
He gaped up at Sherlock "Are those…how did they…these are long range ballistic Sherlock" he said in disbelief, the words sounding unnatural and unreal in his mouth.
Sherlock nodded grimly, their path becoming easier as the emerged from the dense forest onto one of the many trails which crisscrossed the hill. "Its possible they built them, it would hardly be a surprise if they happened to have a weapons engineer, working for them, but its more likely they've been stolen or commandeered. Whatever OASIS is planning on destroying its big, those kind of weapons can flatten a city."
"We have to get this to Mycroft" John said, the artificial light from the phone reflecting the worry etched on his face "He can send people to find the missiles, stop them being launched, surely this is enough evidence for action to be taken"
Sherlock frowned "Perhaps but its not much to go on, what their targets are, what OASIS is actually planning, we're still in the dark John, we need more information, we need to get into that meeting- and I know exactly where it is" He smiled slightly, the game was coming to its crescendo, Sherlock knew it, he knew this path would take them right to Rykov and to Crawford and it excited him, excited him and worried John.
Sherlock nodded down at his phone, still clutched in Johns hand and John swiped his hand across the screen revealing to reveal the next picture.
It was a building perched on the centre of a large hill on the edge of a lake. It was someone's house, although perhaps castle was a more appropriate word. It was a mass of towering white stone with the signature red tile roofs of most structures in the region. It had three of four various sized towering wings which were attached to the multi-story main building.
The huge flat topped hill it was situated upon was densely covered in forest, the castle rising from the centre so it could overlook the crystal lake before it.
"Not really going for the subtle look are they" John remarked as he handed the phone back to Sherlock, leaves crunching beneath his feet.
"It belongs to an Austrian businessman, perfect place to meet. No one would suspect, or dare accuse him of using his property to facilitate the illegal activity of criminal organisations"
"So how do we get in?" John asked reluctantly "I'm guessing we cant just waltz up to the gates and ask to have a look around inside just in case there happens to be a super secret meeting of influential European figures plotting attacks on their own countries."
"Lets hope Josef has another friend who owes him a favour"