(This chapter is a bit more serious. The rating would go up a bit because of drugs being mentioned.)
Chapter 28
The case was finally closed. After all that time, it was finally done. As it turns out, the criminals were linked indirectly to the Black Lotus gang London had the good fortune of dancing the tango with a while back. It was a mess of things with this presently solved case, so much time wasted when the answer was staring them straight in the face, like a déjà vu feeling for the Underground Terrorist Group case, that really was the underground terrorist group, quite literally. They should have noticed the signs earlier, but obviously, it was too obvious and overlooked. The markings on the criminals mimicked the Chinese characters graffiti-ed all over the place, each one had a special meaning.
With a lot of effort expended, every little detail became significant. There was the Spider, a crucial point that was overlooked. The criminals repeated Spider over and over, unbeknownst to Sherlock, John and NSY, was the word "Spider" in Chinese sounded similar to "Lord". Thus, this Spider they referred to was their Lord, or the one who commissioned the criminal activity. Each of the five criminals was marked specifically to represent one of the five poisons of Chinese history: snake, scorpion, centipede, lizard, and toad. Fight poison with poison was their motto. All of those creatures were known to be poisonous in one form or another. This gang was particularly fond of using deadly drugs to harm the weak, or thin, or short people passing by on the busy streets and on the platforms. All they had to do was inject a passer-by and run off. Euthasol* was the gang of five's most favourite one to use, it was quick to administer and painful. They didn't have a reason to hurt people, but did it because to watch others suffer was enjoyable for them. Disgusting scums they are!
When Sherlock, John, and NSY found Larry, Curly, and Moe in the old abandoned building, the three were trying to meet up with the dealer of their drugs, but the dealer never showed up. Whatever went wrong in their meeting NSY was sure glad of it, temporarily, it mean one less thing to worry with. Now the search was for the drug dealer and the Spider, but so far not a single bit of information to base a lead on.
Both men were pleased with how the ending turned out to be for this case. It was the best of moods Sherlock had been in for weeks, John couldn't have been happier. To hear his best mate laugh and joke with him at the dinner made everything seem so much more delightful.
If someone else's mood affects yours, then that means just how much you value their friendship.
Another celebration dinner happened at Angelo's. Huzzah! No candles too! Angelo knew better than that, considering John's marriage to his dear Mary was coming up quickly. Very quickly. John had little flutters inside every single time he thought of that special date, but didn't let on because it wouldn't have been manly to do so. "I am a doctor and soldier, no room for sentimental emotions. Compassion yes, but not emotions. Not the same," John reprimanded himself.
Recalling back to when NSY and the two civilians first arrived at the vandalised building everything became clear at that moment. A proverbial light bulb went off.
Sherlock saw every little detail, and formulated an answer immediately.
As much as Sherlock would have jumped at the chance to take ownership of that thought, it was really John who saw everything, and he only formulated the answer. His pride wouldn't let him speak his thoughts aloud in the presence of the unintelligent Yard officers, but now in the privacy of their celebratory dinner it was alright to drop the façade. John will always be his best friend. "John doesn't care what I am like; he has seen the worst of me. After all, potential flatmates should know the worst of each other," Sherlock reasoned internally.
Sitting poised at the table, Sherlock stared at John waiting for his companion to notice. He wanted John to speak first before baring his innermost thoughts. This was a special occasion. Everything had to be exactly right. After a moment's time, John finally looked straight into those gleaming stunning eyes. The pair of eyes may not be able to see clearly for much longer, but they would always gleam. Nothing would change that.
A smile that danced in his eyes for the success of the night, it was by no means Sherlock's last one though, John was certain of it.
The socially awkward talking-encyclopaedia was amazingly brilliant despite his complete lack of tactfulness in almost every situations. He would not let a hindrance destroy his life, Sherlock was Sherlock. He doesn't take NO for an answer. Blindness would only take his sight, but nothing else. Not The Work. Not his beautiful mind. Not his strange behaviours during the wee hours of the morning. Only his sight. A minor set back to the thrilling chase he thrived on.
"Sherlock? Sherl...lock," John dragged the name out into many syllables. "Are you alright? Bit lost in space, are you?" John joked softly, reeling the detective's mind back to earth.
"Yes John. I am fine, more than fine actually. I am just contemplating how I realised I was missing a crucial part in this case, and found it whilst at the crime scene. I kept pushing it away when I should have been focusing on it," responded the consulting detective who had found John's eyes and focused intently on them.
"Yes, and..." prompted John with an accompanying hand wave gesture not knowing which way the conversation would be heading. It was a vague way to start a conversation. Any conversation with Sherlock was like riding a roller coaster, wild and moody. One minuet could be humorous, and the next sombre and depressing.
Without breaking his gaze, Sherlock cleared his throat and took a sip of water. Sentiment wasn't really his forte of expertise. Granted, there were times he employed his emotions as part of the case, but genuine heartfelt vocalisation of his thoughts wasn't the simplest nor common for him at all. He felt insecure and very inexperienced.
"It was such a crucial point, but I didn't realise it because I was too focused on other aspects which clouded my judgement. Stupid mistake. Won't happen again. I...I found...you at the crime scene," Sherlock replied, ending the comment barely above a whisper.
An expression of shock and puzzlement plastered the doctor's face, "I don't understand. Are you alright? You just admitted a mistake in your part. You asked me follow along on the case, just like we always do. We started this case together and we finished it, just like usual. I means, yes, I was there at the building. We both were and a load of others too, but I never left your side. You didn't have a reason to find me. I was right there. You were never alone Are you feeling alright?"
The detective stifled a sigh, he really was rubbish at explaining anything that wasn't related to experiments or crime scenes, "I'm perfectly fine, do stop asking me that. The answer is always the same. Perfectly fine. But you're missing the point. Don't you see it? Of course you can see well, don't answer that. Stupid question. Moving on. You were there with me, and never left me alone with those bumbling NSY officers. You described the building's details to me secretly, even though I didn't ask you to directly. I know you didn't want the others to hear you speaking, that was...good...very good. I thought it was...uh...good...quite good."
As he finished speaking, Sherlock tucked his Heart back into its dungeon deep within his Mind Palace. He earnestly hoped brining out his Heart was a good decision, one that reward him with feelings of joy and appreciation. He couldn't remember the last time his Heart came out. It must have been too painful to cope, so deleted it from his memory. A vague blur of soft red silky grass flashed in his mind, was it grass? Grass wasn't red or silky...it certainly didn't look like a tail either.
A compassionate smile stretched wide across John's face, he knew exactly how this conversation was heading.
This was good. Very good. His Heart felt happy.
Sherlock's words were clear to John now, it was his way of saying, "Thank you for being there with me John, as my best friend, companion, blogger, and as my eyes. I really value our friendship. You, John, are crucial to me. I understand this now, I have people that really are my friend regardless of the circumstances. Alone does not protect me, friends do. I can still solve cases if we work together. I need you, will you stay?"
John reassured his best friend the point was clearly understood and thanked him from expressing his thoughts. Finishing their dinner, together the two of them set off to the flat. Sherlock's hand cupped John's elbow as they meandered through the crowded pavement littered with bins and papers. "Thank you Time. You have been wonderful, it seems you favoured Sherlock in the end and helped him. Thank you, this has truly brought his true self back," John looked at the stars and whispered softly.
In his eyes he saw the night was beautiful, so many stars dotted the jet black curtain gleaming like their eyes.
In whose eyes?
In his eyes the world he saw was magnificent, so many undiscovered wonders just waiting for them.
In whose eyes?
It all depends on whose eyes to look through, but in the end the view is the same.
A-N:
TBC
I'm back at last! It was a crazy week with assemblies, exams, essays, and dinners with friends from far away places. I look forward to reading your comments. Thanks for sticking with me from the beginning of this story, I'm glad I kept your attention as I rambled on in the chapters. Also, as I was in the process of finishing my last sentence I lost a majority of this chapter. It made me really annoyed having to rewrite everything I had just written, but I hope you liked Take 2 of this chapter. :)
**EUTHASOL**- a drug given based on weight of the intended recipient used to stop internal organs from functioning, in other words, to kill them. This is the drug used to "put pets to sleep". It is affectionately (or unaffectionate) refered to as "pink juice" by those in the Veterinarian field because of it's neon pink given slowly in the vein, it is painless, the heart simply slows down and then stop beating. If given quickly, it causes a surge in the heartbeat then stops suddenly. If given in the muscle it is very painful as it slowly spread throughout the body instead of quickly through the blood. This drug is manufactured for animals only, but it does have the same effect with people if given in a high concentration.
