London Calling.
"(…) London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls (…)"– The Clash "London Calling".
Warnings: Crime and everything that comes with it.
Timing: 2016, a year after "The Cabbala"
Rating: M.
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen original comic books © Allan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Neverwhere © Neil Gaiman. Atomic Robo © Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegner. Stargate Atlantis © MGM Studios. Hellboy (in character of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen) © Michael Mignola. Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge). The story © Archer Black.
Dracula (in character of Wilhelmina Murray) by Bram Stoker. Allan Quatermain by sir Henry Rider Haggard. Orlando (or his/hers alike) by Virgina Woolf.
Meet the Enemy (part 3).
?
Thames River. Docks. London Below.
They had to walk to the docks. There was no public transportation in London Below and no one really used private one – cars were of no use in narrow stair cases and tunnels. Some tribes used barges and small boats to move along the underground rivers. At least those large enough. But these boats were not meant as anything else but business and certainly not to transport people. Not living ones anyway.
There was only one transportation method that sometimes passed as 'public' and that was small ferries that boatmen used to ferry people from one bank of a river to another. But that was an exception usually reserved for occasions when Floating Market would happen in a place where individuals could not walk by foot or for situations when bridges were not easily available.
At least that's what Marquis de Carabas explained to them as they walked to the docks through maze of tunnels, catwalks and dark alleys. He was leading them to their destination through the shortest way he knew and that meant a lot of short-cuts that he was familiar with. And he knew the London Below like few others.
That trip took them by some rather interesting places, interesting for those who liked danger – there were moments where it was better not to look down. Or up. Or to the sides. Or anywhere. It was enlightening experience to discover just how many dimensions someone could stuff into such a confined space that was London Below, in fact there were moments where reality looked more like one of those visual constructs from abstract paintings that was meant to trick a mind into semi-insanity with depictions of non-Euclidean spaces. Either the person who designed these places was too much into Lovecraftian mythos1) or they watched too much Road Runner2) cartoons.
Finally they have reached their destination and to everyone's relief they could walk into the open air again. The relief was short lived however when they realised that that the weather was rather ugly – cloudy, cold and with light drizzle. The weather and the time of the year made it pretty dark and gloomy day, a perfect setting for what they came for.
But when they have approached the crime scene the weather seemed to be delightful in comparison to the sight before their eyes.
There, stretched on high wooden fence that surrounded some old barracks, hung a young woman, a very young woman in fact – she seemed to be no older than 16-17 years. Her arms were stretched and tied to the planks with ropes, her head hung over her chest, the brown hair were dirty and covered with blood, most probably her own. But that wasn't what caught everyone's attention – it was what lay at her feet.
There was a small crowd of onlookers that didn't dare to come too close to the gruesome scene. They stood at what they must've considered a safe distance and silently talked among each other. Sometimes one would point a finger at something.
"I'm not sure what to think about this." Robo admitted silently so that only his team mates could hear him. "Is it disturbing, or is it outrageous?"
"It is disgusting." Spike offered his input.
"It is both disturbing and outrageous." Door replied. "I don't know which more than the other."
"It's neither. It is merely an anthropomancy." Kroenen corrected them and walked closer to the dead girl, taking a good look at the scene.
The girl's abdomen was cut open up to just below the sternum and her entrails fell to the ground. She was clearly murdered right there.
"A what?" Spike glared at the Occultist.
"An anthropomancy. A divination technique consisting of throwing human intestines in order to see the future in them. A virgin's intestines work best according to the tradition." The German explained. "In some instances it was considered best if the viscera fell out the abdominal cavity by themselves and not been thrown by hand."
"This is seriously sick." Robo hissed.
"I have never seen any use in such practices." The ex-Nazi shrugged. "One cannot foresee something that is not predetermined, we can guess the direction it will roll at best, but there were always those who insisted on trying."
"So you're saying that someone was playing fortune teller with this girl?" De Carabas blinked and looked away from the victim.
"There is such possibility." Kroenen nodded.
"Or it is just a gruesome display of sorts." Robo shook his head.
"Slender says that it can be both." Spike conveyed the creature's words to the rest of the team.
"We need to take a better look at her." Kroenen agreed.
"HEY! No taking souvenirs!" They suddenly heard a man shout and turned into his direction.
The man that was yelling was now trotting into their direction. He wore some sort of apron and looked rather irritated.
"It is all right Mr Taylor." Door greeted the strange man. "They're here with me."
The man suddenly stopped, blinked and then continued to approach them, this time walking in brisk pace. He was elderly but not old, his hair was grey already yet his face was not very wrinkled. He didn't wear any glasses but he had pretty impressive moustache.
"This is Mr Taylor; he is the feldsher that was aiding me." Door introduced the man to her group. "Mr Fisher, these are the people I mentioned before, the League. This is Doctor Tesla, Spike, Slenderman and Doctor Kroenen." She gestured at the four men. "Doctor Kroenen is a surgeon and he would like to talk with you about the victims."
"Hamish Taylor." The man nodded to everyone but did not offer anyone a hand to shake. "Apologies for yelling, but you understand that I can't have people taking reminders."
"We understand." Robo nodded with sympathy. "What can you tell us about this girl?"
"Not much, I only got here. I was just shooing off the scrap collector who found the corpse when you people came." The man said. "This is the fishermen turf but the Sewer People and the alike are always around so there was a chance that the scrap collector would claim the body and take it to the Sewer People's camp."
"What do they need dead people for?" Spike asked with a hint of anxiety, not sure if he wanted to know.
"Often they just ignore them, but when the occasion calls they collect them and put them on the Floating Market. Usually soon enough someone recognises the corpse and informs the family who then can come and buy their dead away to bury them properly." The Feldsher explained. "If not, they will sell the corpse to anyone willing to pay. What happens next depends on who bought the corpse, not that Sewer People really care. More often than not it's someone willing to actively seek for the corpse's family to re-sell the dead to them."
"But now, since it is a matter of League's investigation, she is under your jurisdiction." Marquis finished the explanation. "It means that the Sewer Folk will not interfere. It was decided that for the duration of your work here, you will have legal authority and superiority in proceeding with your inquest. The Charter states clearly that the League is fully recognised in London Below as per Queen Gloariana's wish that Duke Prospero followed to the fullest."
"Splendid." Exclaimed Kroenen. "Now, if you will, we should examine the body." He turned to the Feldsher. "I do not suppose that you have a camera on your disposal?"
"I'm afraid I do not." Feldsher shook his head. "If I did I would document previous deaths with it."
"What do you mean; you do not have a camera?" Robo almost jumped in shock. "Everyone has one these days. They're on everything whether it needs one or not."
"We are in London Below; modern technology from above doesn't work here." Door reminded the robot. "We have analogue cameras here, but they're hard to come by."
"I believe you told me that Black Friars took a mug shot of Richard with a Polaroid." De Carabas pondered for a moment. "And I think I saw an old box camera at Old Bailey's camp, but I'm not sure if he still has it. And then there is the man who has the photography booth at Floating Market, but I don't think he'll be easy to find. These are the three I know of. Which reminds me that I really need to get myself one."
"In this case we will have to do the way you have done so far." Kroenen ignored the Marquis and turned to the Feldsher. "Let us have a visual examination of the corpse, just watch where you step, we wouldn't want any of us to step on an intestine."
They carefully approached the dead girl, mindful of the intestines on the ground. Kroenen noticed that it was just intestines; other internal organs were still inside of the body.
"Her hair is covered in dried up blood." The Feldsher stated. "It looks as if someone grabbed her hair to lift her head."
"Yes. And the state of the blood indicates that it had time to dry, which means that the young woman hangs here for some time already." Kroenen agreed and pointed at her arms. "Notice that she was alive when she was hung here, the ropes chaffed her skin and it look like she was struggling and trashing."
"But her fingernails are clean." Feldsher gently inspected her hand. "She did not scratch the murderer. Perhaps she was somehow stunned and came to when already tied up?"
"Possible. But she was definitely alive; the blood spray in the ground suggests that her heart was beating when she was cut open." The German pulled pair of latex gloves and donned them over his black leather ones. "Let's see if she has any wounds or marks on her face and throat."
He gently lifted head of the dead girl, mindful that it might have fall off if the neck was twisted and the skin broken there. It was firmly attached though, her throat didn't show any signs of injury and her face was intact expected for blood tear-marks that led to her eyes. Or rather empty eye sockets.
"Bloody hell!" The Feldsher yelled.
"The killer took her eyes…" Kroenen mused. "He used her entrails for fortune telling and then took her eyes… Or did he?"
"What do you mean?" Door asked fighting the wave of nausea. She was accustomed to gory sights, it was part of the life in London Below, she once opened man's chest with her power but even she had her limits. This was bordering in these limits.
"It means that I need to do two things." Kroenen gently let the girl's head go. "I want to perform an autopsy and I need to consult some grimoirs, I hope you have the ones I need or know where to find them."
"That can be organised." Door nodded. "And you can use my library, though it would be easier if you could tell me what book you need."
"I'm not entirely sure myself yet." Kroenen shook his head. "It is but a hunch. How about the corpse?"
"I can have it transported to a place where you should be able to perform examination." Door glared at the dead body with something akin to sick fascination. "Do you want to perform the autopsy or access to the books first?"
"Hmm… Autopsy, it may reveal some more information. Books won't go anywhere." Kroenen decided. "Dr Tesla and Spike, would you process the scene? I'd prefer to have a sketch of how it all looked like, including how the intestines lay." He turned to Slenderman. "Slenderman, Herr Taylor and I will handle the corpse when you're done."
"What about me?" Door asked.
"I'd appreciate if you could personally secure the area for the autopsy." Kroenen asked. "And set of surgical tools that I could use."
"We can do the work in my place, I have small operating room." The Feldsher offered. "It is nothing big, merely a place for patching people up, sewing some wounds, setting broken bones, sometimes amputation. But it is clean, well lit and I have proper table there."
"I do not require anything more. Thank you Herr Taylor." Kroenen nodded. He remembered that during the war he had to work with less than what the Feldsher had. Naturally he would always prefer modern settings over the ones he often had to use – he was amazed what luxuries modern surgeons had – but he was more than capable to make do with what he had.
"It that case, Door, would you mind trying to find the girl's family?" Robo asked. "Someone probably noticed her missing, or will notice soon, you have connections here, maybe you can find them so they can take her body after Kroenen and Taylor are done?"
"Good idea." Door nodded. "I will leave you to work here." She turned to De Carabas. "Marquis will stay here in case you need me, he'll know where to find me."
"As you wish." Marquis bowed to Lady Door.
Door looked at the entire scene one last time and left.
TBC.
1) The cyclopic city of Ryloth anyone?
2) You know the ones with crazy ideas of Willy E Coyote who tends to paint tunnels on rock and the Road Runner actually runs though, and such things.