Lucy, Andrew West's fiancée, is a slight woman with a red face, raw from her grieving. It doesn't take much to convince her to let him in. John explains to her why he was there and it of course makes her even more upset.
"He wouldn't do that," Lucy argues handing John a steaming cup of tea, "He just wouldn't do that."
John nods in understanding, easily putting on a face of sympathy. "Stranger things have happened." He says lightly.
She shakes her head wiping at her fresh tears. "Westie isn't a traitor, that's a horrible thing to say."
"I'm sorry," He sighs, "But you must understand…" John tries to say but it interrupted.
"Is that what they think?" Lucy asks looking at him, "His bosses?"
The doctor nods, "He was a young man, about to get married, he had debts…" He's interrupted again.
"Everyone has debts," She snaps, "And Westie wouldn't clear them by selling out his country."
"And that's why I'm trying to get as much information as I can so that Andrew's name isn't thought of in this way," John tells her, "Why don't you go back over that night?"
Lucy inhales deeply, "We were having a night in, watching a DVD, normally Westie falls asleep but he was acting strange, fidgety and quiet. Out of the blue he said he had to go see someone and leaves." Her voice cracks as she speaks.
"Did he say who?" John presses.
Lucy shakes her head and begins to sob.
John makes her some fresh tea and makes sure Lucy has a box of tissues nearby. He's there half an hour longer comforting her and getting her back to the point of not crying.
When she's composed, Lucy manages to get to her feet and offers to show him out. John thanks her.
Out on the doorstep a cycle courier is heading towards them. The man smiles and look between them, "Luce, you ok love?" He asks warmth and love radiating on his face.
Lucy returns the smile and nods, "Yeah."
"Who's this?" The man asks moving nearer obviously not trusting John.
"Dr. John Watson," John greets shaking the man's hand.
"This is my brother, Joe" Lucy explains, "John's going to find out what happened to Westie." She tells her brother, her voice hopeful.
Joe smiles at John giving him a curious look, "You with the police?" He's still not certain of John.
John shrugs, "In a way." He answers knowing they will take any answer he gives.
"Good," Joe says, his tone not reflecting the feeling, "Tell 'em to get off their arse, this is ridiculous." Though there seems to more behind the man's words.
John nods, "I'll do my best."
Joe nods, gently giving Lucy's shoulder a squeeze, and moves past them inside with his bike in tow.
The doctor turns back to Lucy and shakes her hand one more time, "Thank you Lucy, you've been very helpful. I'm very sorry for your loss." He tells her getting a weak smile.
"He didn't steal those things Dr. Watson," She says, "He was a good one."
John watches her head back inside before moving off to find a cab.
Once in a car he settles back and starts to think. His brain feels full with the two cases floating around inside; Alex Woodbridge was an aspiring astronomer and had gone to a Professor Cairns about something important. On the other hand; Andrew West had acted oddly the night he'd died before going off to see a mysterious someone. So John had two people he needed to find to fill in the missing information and found out why these two men died.
As his cab pulls up in front of 221B Sherlock comes out of the door as if to greet him.
John pays his fare and gets out. "Alex Woodbridge didn't know anything about art, though he was an amateur astronomer." He shares with the taller man.
Sherlock gives him a calculating look and nods, "Hold that cab." He says before moving around the car.
John does as he's told and watches as Sherlock talks to a person across the street, it's the homeless woman from earlier. It looks like there's an exchange before the sleuth heads back. He gestures for John to get in the taxi and they set off.
"Listen," The doctor starts getting a hold of the other man's attention, "There was a message on Alex's phone from a Professor Cairns. It seems he went to her about something and she confirmed whatever it was."
Sherlock glances at him, "Anything specific?"
John shakes his head. "She didn't say on the message but if we tracked her down ourselves we could ask" He replies.
"Good work, " The tall man says with a smile.
"Where are we going?" John asks looking out around them.
"Vauxhall Arches," Sherlock answers, "I had my homeless network keeping an eye out for the 'Golem' and it seems we might have a lead."
John nods.
Once they reach the tunnels they get out of the car and head towards them. Sherlock is walking a bit more slowly, buttoning up his coat, and glancing up at the sky. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
John looks at him and follows his gaze to look at the sky, a few stars can be seen through the light pollution illuminating the night sky. "I thought you didn't care about it." He teases with a smirk.
Sherlock returns the smile. "Doesn't mean I can't appreciate it."
They fall quiet as they make their way inside, Sherlock pulls out a flashlight. The halls are very dark with broken patches of light every now and then. As they move through the light picks up lumped figures pressed against the walls of homeless bedding down for the night. Coming to the end of a tunnel a flickering light at the end shows the shadow of a crouched figure. Getting closer the figure moves to stand and the shadow on the wall grows into a giant of a man.
John stares at the silhouette and grabs for the gun that isn't there, "Shit…" He breathes glancing at Sherlock.
The man winks at him and produces John's gun wordlessly, handing it to him.
John smiles grabbing the weapon tightly and feeling better with its weight against his skin.
Moving silently they near the corner at will give them a view of this monstrous man. Behind them there is a clatter of cans and the shadow sprints off. Sherlock doesn't give it a moment before he's speeding after the fleeing assassin.
"Sherlock!" John calls hurrying after them. The two with the longer legs leave the doctor behind easily, John presses forward keeping his ears open for anything that could be counted as threatening. Luckily nothing happens and he exits the tunnels to find Sherlock on the sidewalk cursing quietly.
"No, no, no, he got away in a car," Sherlock hisses, "It will takes us weeks to find him again!"
John lets the man throw his fit, giving him time to calm down. "Or not," He says watching as Sherlock snaps his attention to him, "I have an idea where he might be going."
The consulting detective moves closer invading John's space. "What?"
"I told you; someone called Alex Woodbridge a message," The doctor tells, "There can't be that many Professor Cairns in the book."
It turns out that the Professor Cairns is an astronomy professor at the university and runs a daily Planetarium exhibit. The two hurry somehow snagging to fastest cab in the city and breaking a few traffic laws in the process. When they get out of the car at the Planetarium the two quickly make their way inside.
The building isn't the biggest and locating the viewing theater takes minutes. Inside the room a voice is speaking loudly and lights are flashing showing different images of planets before reversing noisily. The two split up noiselessly; Sherlock heads downward into the theater while John goes into the video booth.
The small room houses only the projector and the other equipment that it needs to run but John also finds Professor Cairns, dead, on the floor. The doctor looks her over and notes the forming bruises around her nose and mouth, knowing that the Golem had already been there.
"Golem!" John hears Sherlock shout over the narrator. Without another moment the doctor runs off to find the consulting detective, drawing his gun as he moves.
It is easy to find the man, especially while he's being strangled and lifted into the air by an enormous man.
"Golem!" John screams cocking his gun and pointing it at the giant, "Let him go or I'll kill you."
The Golem swings around knocking the gun from John's hand but dropping Sherlock at the same time. The doctor throws himself forward and grips the man's massive form. He's like a fly compared to the Golem and finds it difficult to get his arms around the body.
Without any effort the giant grapples John and flings him away throwing him into Sherlock who had been struggling to get up. John rolls over quickly but Sherlock is already on his feet and launching himself at the Golem, he barely gets a hit in before being knocked down again. The huge man leans down and grabs Sherlock around the face, beginning to tighten his hold.
John lunges on to the giant's turned back and wraps his arms around his thick neck, hoping it will get the Golem to release Sherlock. It works. The assassin stumbles back dropping Sherlock and spins quickly only just managing to fling the doctor from his back.
John lands heavily and knocks his head into something solid, for several minutes everything is hazy and swimming. He's lost track of Sherlock and the giant. Two gunshot go off vibrating through the doctor's skull painfully, "Sherlock!" He yells though it sounds funny in his ears.
There's a sound moving away from him followed by something being slammed. A few minutes pass where the only thing that can be heard is the narrator and the noisy playback.
John's vision is starting to clear and he scans the room spotting Sherlock nearby on the floor of the stage, not moving. "Sherlock!" John shouts picking himself up. The world tilts dangerously and he falls over. John's brain whirls but nothings making sense. He keeps trying to get up but everything is shifting and his legs aren't cooperating.
"John." Sherlock says in a raspy voice.
John blinks a few times to focus on the detective who now is in front of him. "Are you hurt?" He asks, his tongue feels heavy.
"A few scratches." Sherlock answers eyeing him carefully.
"I think I have...I have a…?" John tries to say but he can't find the word, he knows what the word is!
"Concussion," Sherlock supplies looking slightly worried and pulls out his phone.
The police arrive quickly and John is gets examined by paramedics, they diagnose him with a concussion. Sherlock takes him home soon after ignoring and avoiding Detective Lestrade's questions.
To John the whole thing is one blurred thing after another until he's lying comfortably on the couch at 221B. He's had concussions before but not since his rugby days and that had been a while ago. He almost forgot how confusing they are. John is trying to piece the events of the evening together when Sherlock comes over with a cup of tea.
"Here." The man says.
John takes the cup gingerly and sipping on the warmth. He eyes Sherlock and notes the multiple cuts on him and the steadily darkening bruises forming around his throat. "You need to clean those and ice that." John tells him gesturing at the injuries.
Sherlock nods, "I will don't worry, first I need to make sure you're alright."
"I'm fine," John assures moving to set the cup on the coffee table in front to of him. A few things happen in that moment, first; John misses the table and the tea cup ends up on the floor, broken. Second; the movements makes the doctor dizzy and upsets his stomach and finally he throws everything up from the day out onto the floor. John lays half off the couch groaning as the world spins.
Sherlock sighs and pats the man on the back. "I'll clean that up." He chuckles.