The building rose, tall and imposing, toward the skyline in endless patterns of gray stone. Harriet stared upward in disbelief. She'd expected to be taken to a hospital or someone's back room – not a veritable mansion on the outskirts of London. Surely this wasn't her destination? She'd pictured something else, not... this.
The limousine pulled to a smooth, soundless halt outside the door, and Harriet automatically pushed the door open and stepped out onto the black pavement. The front walk, which the vehicle had stopped in front of, was lined with precisely clipped trees and shrubs. This is a mansion!
The silent brunette stepped out her door as Harriet's pseudo-brother exited the front passenger seat.
"So what now?" Harriet demanded brusquely, whirling on her escorts/hosts/abductors. "Where's John?"
"I'm to take you to Mr. Holmes," the brunette replied calmly, still tapping away on her phone. "You should see Doctor Watson soon."
The older, female Watson was just turning to follow the stranger when the stubborn streak of Watson-brand curiosity – of the sort that had tempted John into the war – struck Harriet and she turned to see her initial escort. "If you're my brother," she commented sarcastically, "What's your name?"
"Xavier," he replied calmly, then slipped back into the limousine, which immediately pulled away.
Xavier? What kind of name is that? Harriet turned to ask her companion, then stopped in surprise at the genuine amusement on the latter's face as she glanced after the departing vehicle.
The black-clad brunette looked at her, looking away from her phone for the first time, and asked innocently, "Should we go in?"
*Author's note: I finally managed to write an update! It's hard to write when you have a pretty good idea what's going on, but your characters have gone into hiding. :/ Lol
Oh, and anonymous reviewer 'Someone' - you really need to get a profile. I want to be able to respond to some of your great comments and questions!