I don't own Sherlock, just messing around while I have the chance.
Sorry for the long wait, but I am trying to get back into a rhythm of writing, editing and posting at the moment.
Chapter Thirty Seven
Sherlock darted across the road, careful of the traffic. John sighed in exasperation as he followed, jolting to a stop before a car could hit him and then carrying on. John watches as Sherlock squatted down and looked to the phone book on leaning against the door. It was wet, droplets running down the plastic and dripping onto the ground.
"It's been here since Monday," Sherlock said as he got up and began to look at the door and then up to the windows, "No one has been around for at least three days," he murmured.
"Could be that they have gone on holiday?" John suggested as he began to look around as well.
Sherlock shook his head, "You wouldn't leave the window open if that was the case, John."
Sherlock went through a nearby alleyway and into the back of the property. John rolled his eyes but followed him as he watched Sherlock take a run and jump to some fire escape ladders. The Alpha had managed to reach them and slam them into the ground before he ran up them. John rushed forwards to try and grab them before they went back up but was too late. He knew he would be able to reach them to bring them down again.
"Sherlock, let me in through the front!" he called out, getting a wave of a hand in his direction. John hoped that he would at least listen to him and open the door for him. John went back to the front and waited. Moving around and grumbling to himself as Sherlock took a while to open the door for him. He went up to the door and pressed the bell, long and hard. He could hear it ringing on the other side, but still, Sherlock didn't answer it. John hears something from inside, he moves to the door again and opens the letterbox and calls out, "What?"
"Someone has been here before me!" Sherlock calls back to him.
"Sherlock, come and let me in," John orders him. Growling in frustration when he was ignored. he could hear Sherlock talking to himself as he went around the flat. "I'm the great Sherlock Holmes and I don't need no ones help," he muttered angrily as he began to march up and down the road. A few minutes later the door opens and Sherlock walks out. John goes up to him and frowns, he is pale.
"Th..." Sherlock began, his voice croaky. He clears his throat, "The milk's gone off and washing up is starting to smell. Someone left in a hurry three days ago."
John nodded, "Someone?"
"Yes, Soo Lin Yao," he said, voice still gravelly, "We have to find her."
"Okay, but how?" John said, shaking his head. Sherlock bent down and picked something up. He unfolded the paper and let John read it.
SOO LIN
Please ring me
tell me you're
OK
Andy
On the back was written.
NATIONAL
ANTIQUITIES
MUSEUM
"We shall begin here," Sherlock said, a little smirk on his face. About to say something he coughed a few times.
"Are you okay?" John asked, concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine," he replied quickly as he began to walk away after shutting the door to Soo Lin's flat behind him.
"You sound like you're getting a cold?" he mentioned softly as he followed Sherlock down the street.
"I'm fine, I assure you," Sherlock said turning towards John, "Now, come, we have work to do."
John gave a sigh as they headed down the road. Towards the National Antiquities Museum.
XxXxX
Sherlock was pacing back and forth looking at the displays as he talked to the Andy that was on the note. It hadn't been hard to find the young man. "So, when was the last time you saw Soo Lin?" he asked, looking away from a display of clay pots. One of them was shiny, compared to the dullness of the others.
"Erm," Andy began nervously as he watched Sherlock move around the room, "Three days ago, here, at the museum," he finished quickly. "This morning they told me that she resigned. Just left all her work unfinished."
Sherlock looked up, "And what was she doing just before she left?" he asked him.
Andy started to walk away, "Follow me," he said as he started to answer, "She does a demonstration for the tourists that come in, a... a tea ceremony, when she's finished she packs her work away down here."
Sherlock and John look around, both of them moving further into the room. In front of them stans a nude female statue. across the eyes is a yellow line and an upside-down open eight on the body of it. The two share a look. They need to find Soo Lin.
"Thank you," John says to Andy as he begins to lead them back out of the Museum.
"Welcome, I hope she's all right," Andy said as he nodded to the two as they walked outside.
John looked up, the sky had gone dark since they had entered the museum. It didn't feel like they had been in there that long, though it had taken them almost an hour to get Andy to talk to them. "Well," John said turning to Sherlock.
"We have to hurry and find Soo Lin, she is in great danger," Sherlock said as he started down the steps.
"If she's still alive," John said morosely.
"Sherlock!" a shout came from Raz as he ran up the steps to greet the two of them.
"Raz," Sherlock nodded, "What is it?" he asked.
"Found somethin' you'll like," he grinned as he began to lead the way.
Sherlock followed quickly, John walking at a slower pace. They head over the Hungerford Bridge and towards the south side of the river. John was now walking side by side with Sherlock as Raz kept leading the way. Raz grins at the two of them as they entered the South Bank Skate Park.
"Aint far," Raz says as he saw an eager look on Sherlock's face.
Sherlock looks around, grinning as he noticed, "If you want to hide a tree you'd do so in a forest, it would be the best place. People would just walk straight past it, unable to decipher what it means, most not even caring unless they were in the know."
"There," Raz says as he points to a wall, "I spotted it earlier," he finishes a smirk on his young face.
Sherlock walks forwards, he can see the yellow paint peeking out beneath other pieces of tags and art that adorned the wall. "They have been here," he muttered, turning to Raz, "And this is the same exact paint?" he asked.
Raz nodded, "Yep."
Sherlock smirked, "John," he called out, now turning to face the Omega, "If we're going to decipher this code, we need to look for more evidence."
"Then we should split up, we'll cover more ground that way," John suggested, "You go one, I go the other?" he inquired.
Sherlock nodded. The two split up. John begins to walk, going under an underpass and coming across the railway tracks. The flashlight in his hand catches something minutes later. He kneels down yellow drops of pain. He glances around, coming across a large wall before him. On it are a number of Chinese symbols in the bright yellow spray paint. He grabs his phone out of his pocket and takes a few pictures. He then begins to call Sherlock, waiting for him to answer. It goes to voicemail three times before he gives up. "Bloody hell Sherlock, answer," he cursed. John started heading back, hoping it wouldn't take long to find his errant friend.
"Sherlock!" he called out when he spotted the man almost fifteen minutes later.
"John," he nodded, not turning around from what he was looking at.
"You really need to start answering your phone," he grumbled to the Alpha, "Now, I need you come with me, I found something," he grinned as he grabbed the mans arm and pulled him along.
"Where is it?" Sherlock questioned when they came to a blank wall.
"it was here," John puzzled.
Sherlock looked at him and then walked over tot he wall, pressing a gloved finger to it and pulling back, "Fresh paint. They much have painted over it when you left." He took off his gloves, not wishing to get the pain elsewhere.
"Fuck," John cursed quietly before his head was gripped between Sherlock's two warm hands.
"John, I need you to focus, Close your eyes," he said, making the omega focus on him.
"Why?" John puzzled.
"I need you to remember, can you remember the symbols?" Sherlock asked, his voice eager.
"Yes..." he began only to be cut off with Sherlock's questions.
"Are you really sure you can remember each symbol?"
"Yes..." John said once more trying to break free of Sherlock's hold.
"Truly?" he said, stopping, hands still gripping John.
John pulled away, "Yes, just let me grab my phone. I took a picture," he said with a sigh, getting his phone out of his pocket and bringing up the pictures he had taken. He handed the phone over.
"Wonderful John," Sherlock grinned as he began to rush off. John grumbled under his breath as he followed him to the main street.
XxXxX
It was an hour later and John couldn't help but let his head fall forward, only to jerk when he felt himself falling to sleep. It had been a long and exhausting day. Sherlock was looking at the pictures that were decorating the walls of their living room. The code that John had found on the wall, with the numbered values underneath in black marker.
"Always in pairs," Sherlock said softly. John just hummed, not really listening, "Number come with patterns," he added as he tapped a pen against his lips.
John opened his eyes once more and looked to his flatmate and friend, "God's Sherlock I need sleep," he said rubbing his eyes.
"Why did he put it so near the tracks?" Sherlock carried on trying to work out the puzzle.
"No idea," John sighed tiredly, head resting on his hand, trying not to nod off.
"Thousands of people pass there everyday John," Sherlock turned to him for a second before looking back towards the pictures on the wall.
John shook his head, and closed his eyes, "Please, Sherlock, just let me get twenty minutes kip and then you can carry on. Unlike you I need sleep, just some of it," he pleaded, hoping that Sherlock was actually listening to him for a moment.
Sherlock stood straight and grinned, "Of Course!" he yelled out.
John jumped and gave a small yelp as his head fell off his hand, "Jesus Christ!" he muttered.
"Of course," he repeated himself taking a step towards the pictures, "He want's information. He's trying to communicate to his people in the underworld. Whatever was stolen, he wants it back," he lifts up a hand and runs it over the symbols in one of the pictures, "somewhere amongst this is the code." He grunts as he pulls three pictures off the wall, "Soo Lin is the only one that will be able to tell us," he said, looking to John who was half asleep on the chair. "John," he called out, waking the man up from his doze.
"Yeah?" he asked, sighing heavily.
"We need to go," he said as he began to head out of the room, grabbing his coat as he did so.
John could have cried, all he wanted to do was to get a little sleep. He needed to rest, just for a bit. With a groan he got up from the chair, looking sadly at it as he heard Sherlock call out for him again. "Where are we going?" he yelled out as he grabbed his coat and slowly made his way out of the flat and down the stairs.
Sherlock was stood on the pavement of the street, "Back to the museum," he said as he put out his hand for a taxi. John sighed as one quickly stopped them.
Sherlock got in and John followed. "Wake me up when we get there," John said as he settled back on the seat and closed his eyes. Letting the world just drift around him so he could at least have a few minutes in the taxi. He had a feeling he needed to be awake enough for whatever was to come.
Thank you for the wonderful reviews, I love them all and you all as well. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter!