Chapter 18

-October 28, 1901-

Prosecutor's Office

Barok's prediction that Asogi would be called on as a prosecutor in his own right sooner rather than later would come true when his assistant was ordered to meet with Chief Justice Puisne the morning of October 25. When the Japanese man returned from said meeting shortly before lunchtime commenced, he appeared to be deep in thought, but not inclined to consult with Barok just yet – upon receiving a questioning glance from his mentor, he merely asked, "I'd like to look into a few matters relating to this case for myself first – would you allow me to avail myself of your bookshelves today and over the course of the weekend?"

Over the weekend…? On one hand, it was certainly heartening that his assistant was striving to thoroughly prepare himself for his debut in open court, but on the other, something about his current behavior gave Barok pause.

His commission has been reinstated. As his mentor, I should wait until he comes to me with any concerns.

Nodding in response to the request, he only stated, "Should you have questions at any point, feel free to consult with me."

That moment arrived in the afternoon of the following Monday, when Asogi entered their office with a box containing multiple folders related to his new case. Placing his cargo on the central table, which was currently barren of any crime scene recreations as Barok was not engaged in trial preparations at the moment, he then turned toward the desk.

"My Lord, could I ask for a few minutes of your time?"

"Of course." Barok put down the sheet of paper on which he had noted down average travel times, major holidays, and potential invitees to the forensics symposium from the six nations planned to participate in it aside from the British Empire, and rose from his chair to join his assistant.

At first, Asogi seemed to be searching for the right words to lead into the topic, but came up short. Eventually, he settled on, "To start with, it's not something that's particularly pressing – Scotland Yard is still investigating some things about the whole affair, and the suspects' trial isn't scheduled to begin until next Monday."

"Not a murder case, then," Barok observed.

"Correct. Would you happen to have read about the recent happenings relating to Columbus Street…?"

Barok grimaced at the tentative question. "Puisne saddled you with a case relating to that?"

He had read about the affair in question – as a matter of fact, it had been impossible to miss, considering that a specific building on that street and what had purportedly transpired in it had made, and still did make, the front page of most newspapers. Specifically, the address 19 Columbus Street had turned out to be a brothel catering to men interested in sexual escapades with, on average, much younger men, who had apparently been recruited among the telegraph delivery boys affiliated with the central post office.

Asogi responded with a resigned shrug. "The Lord Chief Justice stated that he chose me because no one in the public would suspect me of attempting to shield any potential high-born indicted individuals."

"Ah." The reasoning behind giving a foreigner the case was certainly sound if the rumors were true and nobility had been identified as clientele of that address. "And you had questions about any particular aspect of the assignment?"

"Well, yes…" Once again, Asogi seemed to consider what to say before continuing. "For one, the owner of the establishment in question has apparently fled the country – the Yard suspects that his destination is likely to be America. While I've already issued a warrant for his arrest if he should ever return to British shores, should I also prepare documents for an extradition request?"

"I would consider it a low priority item for the time being," Barok answered. "By the time United States law enforcement acts on such a request, the man will have long entered the country and could be anywhere. Americans occasionally have a rather creative interpretation of the word 'timely,' I've found."

Snorting, his assistant nodded. "I'll defer to your experience, then."

Then, he glanced over at the box he had brought with him. "As for another question… how would you go about presenting evidence and eliciting testimony for a charge of indecency in an open court trial? After all, I'd rather not find myself in the docket for inadvertently saying something, or showing items, that would likewise be punishable according to British penal code."

"I would presume that the process should be much the same in your home country," Barok wagered a guess, not entirely clear on what sort of information the man was expecting from him.

"Actually, that's just it – there's no equivalent charge in the Japanese penal code."

Asogi's words had his mentor staring at him. "There isn't?"

Is he having me on?

However, it appeared that the Japanese man had not been joking. "No – if I recall correctly, there was a short-lived attempt to criminalize male homosexual conduct, potentially in order to approximate Western social norms, but that law was thrown out a good 20 years ago. As for prostitution, while some social movements are frowning on it, it's never been illegal."

Barok raised an eyebrow at that. "It seems the Empire of Japan is rather permissive when it comes to moralistic considerations in their penal code."

Asogi shook his head. "It's not a matter of permissiveness, but of acknowledging some longstanding cultural aspects, I'd say, particularly since we're currently undergoing a lot of changes to modernize while also doing our best to not forget our roots. The Imperial government has a bit of a tightrope act on their hands, and I'd assume that keeping that law when they completely overhauled the penal code at the time was simply not worth the effort."

'Longstanding cultural aspects?' Barok wondered what exactly the man was referencing, but decided that perhaps this question was best answered by some personal research at a more opportune time, also because he was not certain if Asogi would elaborate on his words even if asked, given the topic.

"I see. Well, as the most common interpretation of Christian scripture holds that sex between men is to be regarded as an abomination, that fact was codified in British law back in the 16th century. Until only 40 years ago, sodomy was a capital offense, and while this has since changed, the definition of illegal acts has been widened in 1885 to include a variety of activities that would not have been ruled as related to it before that point."

"Meaning that, in essence, I'll be expected to help enforce a religious taboo, based on a religion with which I'm quite unfamiliar." Asogi sighed. "I suppose that aspect is meant to test whether I'm fit for the position once more."

"It's possible." Barok nodded. "In regard to your earlier question… I would avoid introducing visually explicit items as evidence unless absolutely necessary, as you might jeopardize the support of the jury by doing so. Likewise, if you have to describe any… acts… which were performed by the indicted parties in order to make your case, use only the most clinical vocabulary to avoid censure by the judge or outrage from the jurors, unless you are directly quoting from a document penned by the accused or their affiliates."

"Ah, that shouldn't be too much of a problem – while there is a letter from a client to one of the prostitutes in the documents that were turned over to me just now, it didn't contain anything obscene. In fact, it was a rather flowery, sentimental screed…" His assistant smiled slightly, but the expression was tinged with a hint of bitterness. "To be honest, when I read it, I remembered seeing a kabuki performance of Shinjū Ten no Amijima. One of the two main characters, who are star-crossed lovers, is a prostitute. A lot of the dialogue between them is very similar to the tone in this letter."

He looked away. "The play ends with them committing suicide together."

Barok suppressed a sigh. Asogi's allusion to this Japanese theater piece made one thing abundantly clear: his assistant found it difficult to reconcile his own sensibilities with the demands and constraints of the case. Not that he could fault him for feeling that way – if the feelings described in said letter were reciprocated and neither of the involved parties came to harm, subjecting them to punishment that would arguably harm them physically as well as socially seemed actively unjust.

"Sometimes, we find ourselves forced to prosecute those with whom we sympathize, or those we know to be innocent, based on existing law, precedence, and available evidence."

As I had to with Albert. As unpleasant as the matter had been, Barok was certain that any other prosecutor would have pursued a conviction far more doggedly, and given Naruhodo's eccentricities and tendency to prove his reasoning by the skin of his teeth, that might well have led to his friend ascending the gallows in short order.

The mere thought was painful enough to make him grimace, and he raised one hand to hide his face from any stray glances from Asogi until he could restore his impassive expression once more.

Thankfully, it only took him a couple of seconds to do just that, and he added more quietly, "In trials where the mandatory sentence does not happen to be execution after a 'Guilty' verdict, you have some leeway in influencing sentence severity, but it will require care and finesse. If this is an aspect on which you'd like to strategize further, I'm at your disposal."

"Thank you, my Lord – I might just do that before the trial begins next week. For now, I should probably sort through the evidence and prepare my opening statement…"

With those words, his assistant stepped closer to the table and began emptying the box he had brought with him. It turned out to not only be filled with folders containing copies of witness statements, but also pieces of evidence – letters, ledgers, magazines. The latter, Asogi sorted out immediately, placing them at the far end of the table to signify that he did not intend to use them to make his case.

"Not only would those probably give the jurors a case of the vapors, the Detective Inspector in charge of the investigation compiled a listing of all the obscene materials they confiscated while raiding the brothel," he explained.

"In that case, you shouldn't need them as evidence," Barok agreed, turning away to return to his desk.

Behind him, his assistant appeared to be leafing through something, based on the barely-there sound of pages being turned, yet he had clearly not returned to the side of the table where his usable evidence was located, as no noises of footsteps had preceded it. Was he looking at the magazines…?

Interestingly, he then muttered under his breath, "Bah, people get in trouble for something like this? British high society would self-immolate if they ever laid eyes on shunga…"

Something told Barok that, even if he attempted researching the term Asogi had just used, he would not find any information – but perhaps that was for the best, if these shunga were so much more obscene than the lewd materials that had been confiscated in a brothel.

Enough. This is his case, not yours – advise him if he has any questions, but otherwise concentrate on your own tasks.

He seated himself after this instance of internal self-chastisement and reached for the list he had been working on earlier.

Soon, a nearby clock struck five, indicating that they had arrived at the end of the workday. Asogi rose from the cushion he knelt on while working at his low desk by the door and stretched.

"Well, I'll take my leave for now. Once again thank you for offering your help, my Lord."

"You're welcome. Have a good evening."

Once the Japanese man had departed, Barok completed the last form left in front of him and made to stand. He began traversing the spacious room toward the door, but found his gaze drawn to the central table, where a number of the items Asogi had received from the Yard still remained – including the pornographic magazines.

I should leave it alone. What point would there be in taking a closer look at those collections of tawdry imagery?

Unfortunately, another part of himself instantly pointed out the extreme weakness of his argument. Fact was, he did want to see what exactly the magazines contained, for a number of reasons.

Changing course to round the table, he picked up the topmost issue, the outer covers featuring rather abstract drawings of what he presumed were supposed to be male genitalia, and opened it up to a random page.

The contents consisted of a mixture of photographic prints, drawings, and what appeared to be prose fiction, all clearly intended to titillate its target audience. Whereas the drawings seemed to be designed to depict an idealized male form in close-up, the photographs were outright licentious and showed two or more men of varying body shapes performing various sexual acts on or with each other, the upper half of their faces strategically blurred to ensure they remained impossible to identify.

Barok slowly leafed through the magazine, doing his utmost to take in the material in front of him without immediately passing judgment based on prevailing social mores – considering Asogi's reaction to the imagery, as well the revelation that other countries did not have any laws against homosexuality, it stood to reason that the British indecency statutes were primarily based in third-party disgust at behaviors that did not affect said third party in the slightest. While the prosecution of this case was not part of his duties, avoiding any potential learned moralistic responses would hopefully allow him to see what his assistant had seen, occupying a different point of view…

Oh, stop attempting to lie to yourself. You know exactly why you wanted to take a look, and your reason is much more personal than that.

Sighing at his internal outburst of himself, Barok felt his shoulders slump slightly.

I suppose I'll have an excuse in the unlikely case that someone who has business with me barges in.

Once again focusing on the contents of the magazine, he allowed himself to contemplate the questions he had so far deliberately avoided.

Do I find any of this material… appealing? Well, some of the drawings were certainly aesthetically pleasing, but he could not say that he felt any arousal stir within himself due to looking at them, or at the photographs. While he also did not feel any revulsion even after studying the visual items in detail and for multiple moments, he was not certain how this conclusion reflected on the longing for closeness and physical contact that welled up within him whenever he so much as thought of Albert.

Am I simply misunderstanding what I'm feeling, or would my reaction be different if…?

Well, this line of self-questioning was unlikely to lead anywhere, as Barok was not exactly blessed with an abundance of visual imagination. He also had never fantasized a lot about women, even back in boarding school, when his dorm mates had rarely spoken about anything else and exchanged various bits of contraband featuring the female form in various states of undress once they had known themselves safe from discovery by their professors – to him, erotic appeal was to be found more in words, sounds, mannerisms, and touch, all qualities that had yet to be captured in media intended to arouse men.

Beginning to feel somewhat uncomfortable with interrogating a part of himself that seemed determined to remain elusive, he redirected his thoughts to Asogi's behavior in regard to the case and these magazines.

I may not know a lot about the mores of the Japanese, but these shunga he mentioned earlier are unlikely to be displayed openly, which means that he either purchased them or otherwise sought them out for some reason. Might he have any past… experience… when it comes to physical intimacy with other men?

After all, when his assistant had recovered his memories upon beholding his father's face on the wax figure exhibited as the Professor, he and Naruhodo had appeared quite close…

… Nonsense. Whether he had scrapped the thought almost immediately after it had surfaced in his mind due to the spuriousness of his evidence or because he did not want to contemplate Asogi's sex life ultimately did not matter.

More importantly, he now found himself wondering why the man had decided to spend the last couple of days on researching items pertaining to this case by himself, rather than inquiring of Barok where he might find the applicable laws and related information, thus saving himself time and effort – after all, Asogi had stated not so long ago that he was not at all reticent to consult with him on professional matters.

Did he suspect that I…?

While his assistant had not been present at Barok's more recent meetings with Albert at 221B Baker Street, he might have spied early signs of his mentor's draw toward his friend long before Barok himself had realized it existed. Asogi would not be aware of the fleeting dalliances between Barok and an assortment of young dowagers and noble ladies dreadfully bored with their much older, equally unfaithful husbands, which had occurred long before he had arrived in Britain.

He was present during my occasional bouts of absentmindedness after our return to London…

Of course, he would not have found anything indicating that Barok had frequented the establishment in question, seeing that he had never been at that particular address. However…

I can't claim that I have never visited a similar extralegal 'entertainment business.'

Although prostitution in a brothel setting had been illegal for over a decade regardless of who was offering sex in exchange for money, a number of establishments catering to wealthy commoners, landed gentry, and nobility were never raided or otherwise exposed in practice even today, likely because they employed female courtesans with refined social graces who frequently attended men of considerable influence.

In fact, Klint had been the one who had introduced Barok to one of these 'businesses' when Barok had just arrived in London to begin his university studies, pointing out when his younger brother had initially bristled indignantly at the idea that the women there had not been pressed into prostitution due to poverty, and that no one would come to harm in this particular transaction. "After all," he had said, "you might find yourself interested in wooing one of the many young ladies of high birth in the capital, and if that progresses to a point where physical desires demand an outlet… well, knowing how to please a woman does require a certain amount of practice at first. Where better to learn?"

The lessons Barok had subsequently taken at the establishment in question had come in handy in more recent temporary conquests, although he had never seriously considered courting a prospective wife – any such attempt to found a family of his own would have meant an additional vulnerability for criminal elements to exploit. Still, whether certain specific types of brothels were tacitly accepted by society or not, he had indulged in an illegal 'service' the populace at large abhorred.

And yet, I would have likely never been indicted for anything, even if that particular place had been raided and my name or person found on the premises. While his good name would have likely suffered until the public had found another piece of gossip to invest far too much interest in, he would not have experienced any long-term consequences. Meanwhile, men who sought out the same sort of business for intimate male company, even if said male company was of age and not forced into prostitution, could not expect such leniency.

Quite the double standard, considering that one is punished more harshly than the other merely due to a few lines in the Bible, when a number of other prohibitions listed in scripture are merrily disregarded by most of us on a daily basis. Well, there was nothing for it – as prosecutor, he was tasked with applying existing law, not amending it to conform to his personal sensibilities.

Barok closed the magazine and placed it back on the table. As he had stated earlier, he would gladly assist Asogi in mitigating the eventual sentencing if his assistant was interested in doing so, but beyond that, it would likely be for the best if he concentrated his professional efforts on continuing the preparations for the proposed forensics symposium when he returned here tomorrow.

He left the office for home soon thereafter.

-November 11, 1901-

Office of the Lord Chief Justice

Two weeks passed, of which Barok spent one and a half on aiding Asogi with daily preparations for the progressing trial – since a total of 60 people had ultimately been indicted, the presiding judge had decided to hold public hearings between eight o'clock in the morning and half past one in the early afternoon every day, and to give the counsels for the prosecution and defense time to prepare for the following day's trial session.

In the end, since the brothel owner Giles Shammond and Lord Peter Winterbottom, equerry to Prince George of Wales and the highest-ranked individual who had provably frequented the establishment, had escaped abroad, the harshest penalty had been imposed on Harry Oldlove, the post office clerk who had introduced a number of telegraph boys to Shammond, thereby "tempting them into indecent behavior." Oldlove had received a sentence of a year and two months of hard labor and some of the clearly identified clients had been sentenced to between four and nine months, depending on how much proof existed in regard to their prohibited behavior.

Meanwhile, the telegraph boys, the vast majority of whom had stated that they had not prostituted themselves due to their own inclinations, but because they had relied on the money they had earned to support their families, had only received one to two months – if their paltry pay from the post office had left them vulnerable to corruption and exploitation, the judge had reasoned while announcing sentencing, the primary problem was not one of not being able to resist temptation, something which could not be said for the clients.

Overall, the scandal had been addressed in a rather lenient manner for those involved, but that fact in turn had served to anger conservative elements of society, who had contributed their share of editorials and letters to high-circulation newspapers in which they had raged against the "depravity of the upper classes leading the poor astray." At least none of them had directed their ire at Asogi, who had managed to mitigate particularly the prostitutes' sentences without coming across as harboring too much sympathy for the indicted.

The day before the trial had concluded, Barok had received a memo from Chief Justice Puisne, which had informed him that a group of Royal Society members had completed their tests of the samples Albert had provided for this purpose, and would like to hold an official panel to discuss further steps on production, licensure for law enforcement purposes, and utilization scope after the coming weekend.

Subsequently, Barok had spent Friday evening as well as much of the weekend at 221B Baker Street to discuss strategy with Albert – while his friend obviously did not require coaching where the science was concerned, navigating the political aspects and the potential questioning in regard to the failure of his high-voltage kinesis theorem were a different matter. After all, many an ambitious project had been scrapped not due to infeasibility, but because someone had simply uttered the wrong words at the wrong time.

Now, he was sitting at a long rectangular table Puisne had ordered to be placed in the spacious front area of his office alongside a group of six Royal Society members and the Lord Chief Justice himself, his gaze trained on Albert, who was currently giving an overview of the properties of the substances to his assembled onlookers while repeatedly pointing at a large artist's sketch pad filled with formulae as well as short summaries of the information on which he was speaking.

As per usual, it was exceedingly difficult to not fall under the spell of his friend's enthusiasm, but for once, Barok did expend conscious effort on maintaining as much detachment as he could. He did not know the present scientists, and considering that a very public trial regarding homosexual comport had just been concluded last week, it was entirely possible that at least one of them harbored negative opinions on the subject and was looking for sin and vice wherever he happened to be.

Albert deserves consideration from the scientific community. This is no time to jeopardize the outcome with anything that might be misunderstood.

Thankfully, only one of the Royal Society members sought to speak about the incident at the Great Exhibition after his friend had finished his elaborations and invited questions, and Albert appeared to weather it well: He admitted that, while his calculations bore out when applied to very small-scale amounts of matter, at least theoretically, attempting to transport anything visible to the naked eye was an entirely different endeavor, to not even speak of a living being, and acknowledged that his original formula had lacked a balancing variable that was essential for practical success. Before Barok could add that Asman's death had not occurred due to this slip-up, Puisne took it upon himself to supply this information – of course, he had presided over the subsequent trial, and was therefore familiar with these details, as well.

Finally, none of the present specialists opted to raise their hands when Albert solicited further inquiries and his friend fell silent, glancing in the round while awaiting the conclusions the assembled attendants had reached.

The scientist seated next to Puisne, a rotund gentleman of about the same age as the Chief Justice, leaned toward his neighbor and they exchanged a short, muttered conversation. Then, Puisne cleared his throat.

"Thank you for your informative presentation, Dr. Harebrayne. I am told that three of the present six Royal Society members have independently experimented utilizing the samples you provided, and they have all affirmed that your written documentation is accurate and the substances are efficacious in the way you described. I will present your article as well as the findings of these three scientists to the Justice Minister tomorrow, who will in turn decide whether to approve them for use in criminal investigations, and if so, how the government will offer to officially acquire the information from you."

Albert bowed deeply. "Much obliged, my Lord. I'll await further correspondence once these decisions have been made."

His friend then proceeded to shake hands with the Royal Society members and exchange a few words; it looked as though even the man who had asked about last year's incident did not harbor any reticence or doubt in accepting Albert as a capable scientist.

Excellent. Even if the Justice Minister were to opt against adopting these new forensic methods, his friend was apparently beginning to forge a friendly rapport with members of one of the foremost authorities on the natural sciences in the entire British Empire – that alone was already a valuable outcome.

For now, Barok should probably take his leave – since this morning's collation of weekend incident reports had contained one matter that looked like a case he should see to in person, he wanted to see whether Scotland Yard had sent over the collected evidence and witness statements as he had requested prior to coming here.

Rising from his chair, he approached Puisne, who had likewise just stood up and was now smoothing his frock coat with his palms.

"My Lord, I should return to my other duties."

"Of course, Lord van Zieks. I shall inform you of further developments in regard to Dr. Harebrayne's work as soon as I receive word – after all, while he may of course join the British delegation to the forensics symposium regardless of the outcome, you'll probably want to know how to prioritize his presentation when you create a schedule."

"Thank you, my Lord."

Barok nodded his goodbyes and made for the door, battling a twinge of bad conscience at the fact that he had not excused himself to Albert. Then again…

He's better off speaking to the Royal Society members while he has the chance. I'll apologize to him when I see him on Friday.

He had just stepped into the hallway and set his sights on the nearby staircase when the door behind him opened once more, revealing a somewhat winded Albert.

"Barok, wait!"

Barok, who had turned around as soon as he had heard the approaching steps, raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Is something the matter?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you – did something happen that you had to leave so suddenly?"

"Oh… no, not particularly. I merely decided to not disturb you while you were talking to the other gentlemen."

"Oh, we only exchanged a few cursory pleasantries and each other's cards, so… I would have been able to say my goodbyes to you."

"In that case, apologies for walking out on you, even though we've seen a lot of each other all weekend and are scheduled to meet again Friday afternoon." Barok could not help but smile at his friend with those words.

"Well, that's just it – I wanted to say thank you for helping me plan what to say today, it wouldn't have gone nearly as well without your advice!" Albert's responding smile, filled with joy and accompanied by a dusting of red along his cheekbones, was enough to make Barok's thoughts stutter to a complete halt for a moment.

"Well I, erm…" He somehow could not seem to formulate a sentence after those two and a half words.

Before he could recover, his friend took three wide steps forward, his arms wrapping themselves around Barok's torso in an embrace.

"Honestly, thank you so much… I know I've told you that a lot already, but this is an opportunity I never thought I'd have, and you made it possible…"

Albert's closeness, as unexpected and unusual as it was, felt wonderful, and Barok's hands twitched up to reciprocate the gesture when his higher thought processes finally caught up with him.

Are you completely insane?! What if those Royal Society members exit the office now and see us? It could jeopardize everything Albert had worked on for months, as well as permanently damage his reputation. And yet… god, he was still tempted to throw all caution to the wind for nothing but a taste of the sensation of holding him in turn.

Not here, not now!

Allowing his rising concern to dislodge the traitorous warmth that was beckoning him, he disentangled himself from Albert's arms, aware that his own face was burning in the aftermath of what had felt far more momentous than a simple friendly hug.

"You… you're welcome, rest assured."

Making a show of smoothing his jacket, he then stated without looking at his friend, "I should return to my office. See you on Friday."

Barok had already turned away when Albert's voice sounded behind him once more, its tone equal parts embarrassed and concerned. "Y-yes, until then…"

It would take clear until he had exited the building for his heart to not attempt beating out of his chest any longer.

-November 18, 1901-

Prosecutor's Office

When Barok arrived in his office the following Monday, he found Asogi already present, which was not particularly surprising, as he had managed to oversleep for the first time in multiple years.

In truth, he had found it difficult to go to sleep every single night since the day of the presentation at Puisne's office – the moment he had pulled the blanket over himself, its warm weight had reminded him of Albert's body pressed against him, which had in turn led to concern for his friend, should anyone beyond their circle of close acquaintances ever lay eyes on them during such a moment. In spite of the disquieting thoughts of what might happen, he could not cease wishing for it to happen again.

It had felt so right, to feel another heartbeat against his own chest even through all the clothing, puffs of warm breath against the uncovered parts of his neck, the slight tickle when unruly hair brushed against his nose…

Usually, the memory had seen Barok leaving his bedchambers in short order to have a few more drinks in the study before attempting to sleep again – an endeavor that had not always ended in success.

The lack of rest caused him to stand in the Old Bailey courtroom while suffering from a pronounced lack of concentration, which had almost resulted in mistakes multiple times; thankfully, Asogi had accompanied him and, upon noticing that his mentor had not been at his best, had made sure to compensate for Barok's shortcomings, leading to a conviction for the cur in question. Still, he should have never let things progress to this point – not only was it disgraceful to represent the Crown in such a state, it might well lead to a miscarriage of justice sooner or later, as well.

Whatever this is, I need to rein it in somehow. Doing so would be for the best for both himself and Albert.

Since the trial had only taken up Wednesday and Thursday, it would not have served as an excuse to avoid afternoon tea at 221B Baker Street Friday afternoon – Albert might have accepted even a spurious explanation from him for not stopping by, but Iris would have very likely caught him in the lie.

He had ultimately decided to use the opportunity to challenge himself: He would try to keep from losing track of his thoughts whenever Albert smiled at him, and from initiating physical contact between them for any reason.

As a result of these resolutions, his visit had turned out incredibly awkward. While his friend had done his best to pretend that he had not noticed the change, he had been far less lively for the duration of Barok's stay, and both Iris and Sholmes had sent him quizzical glances more than once.

Upon stepping out of the house with Albert accompanying him to see him off as per usual, Barok had used the short time left before his departure to ask his friend if he had heard from Puisne, but had received a negative answer. Of course, governmental processes always took their time, so that much had not been unusual, but it had still managed to spark the paranoid question whether someone had seen them outside of the Chief Justice's office earlier that week.

Over the course of the weekend, Barok had then spent most of his time weighing his options, eventually arriving at a conclusion that had made him grimace, but appeared to provide the best way forward for both Albert and himself.

I shouldn't see him for a while. Although he had no intention of avoiding his friend indefinitely, it would be a good idea to wait until Barok managed to regain control over his reactions or, barring that, until after the forensics symposium had been held in its entirety.

Still, even though he had told himself that he would make it up to Albert once his friend's reputation as a scientist had regained a solid foundation, his distress at the thought of not being able to meet him, to listen to his explanation of some esoteric process or another, to see his smile for months on end, had been difficult to bear.

"… y Lord?"

The appellation, sounding of puzzlement and a hint of concern from right across his desk, caused him to flinch slightly and look up from the collated incident reports, at which he had apparently been staring blindly for a few minutes.

"Yes, what is it?"

Asogi glanced over at him disbelievingly. "Are you unwell, Lord van Zieks?"

Feeling the corners of his lips draw downward at the assumption, Barok inquired back, "Why do you ask?"

To his assistant's credit, he did not back down at his testy tone, instead explaining calmly, "I've asked you the same question three times over the last five minutes, and it looked like you didn't even hear me. The third time, I was standing right here, and you didn't notice me, either. This isn't like you, so allow me to be a bit concerned."

These words, spoken without a hint of accusation even though Asogi would be well within his rights to be incensed at Barok's recent absentmindedness, promptly took the wind out of his sails, smothering the annoyance with contriteness.

"I apologize – I've had a lot on my mind in recent days."

His assistant's next words were more than a little surprising. "Is there anything I can do to assist you?"

Unless you have the means to turn Albert into a woman, not very likely.

Now annoyed with himself as he forced that thought out of his mind, Barok replied, "I appreciate the offer, but there isn't. If my current… state… should not right itself by the middle of this week, I will see about addressing the problem of my inattentiveness from a different angle. Until then, please bear with me. Now… what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Oh, yes… I was merely wondering if any of the reports from this weekend looked like you might take the case, or like I might be assigned one of them."

"Ah." Barok raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I have to admit to not having read all of them yet. I'll let you know once I'm finished."

"Yes, my Lord." After a final long glance at him, Asogi turned around and went back to his desk by the door.

Eventually, Barok did manage to read through all of the reports, making sure to take notes on any cases his assistant might want to petition the Chief Justice for. He did not see any incidents that looked like something he should see to personally, and thought to himself that it might be better this way – while he would gladly continue to bring Asogi along to court whenever he did have a case, his assistant should not be forced to do more work than his mentor to ensure the opposing counsel did not manage to get their client declared not guilty due to a mere technicality.

He had just glanced up to call the Japanese man back over when he noticed that a legal aide had entered the office to hand Asogi a folded sheet of paper.

After taking a look at the addressee listed at the top of the missive, his assistant approached, holding it out to Barok. "A memo from Chief Justice Puisne for you, my Lord."

"I see. Thank you." Although suddenly more focused than he had been all morning as he knew what topic the message likely discussed, Barok placed it on his desk without unfolding it right away, in turn handing Asogi the incident reports he had thought might interest the man alongside his notes. "Here. Feel free to read over these and see if you'd like to petition for any of them to be given to you."

"Much obliged, my Lord – I'll take a look right away."

Somehow, Barok managed to wait until Asogi had returned to his desk and was busying himself with reading through the material he had just received before he unfolded Puisne's message.

Lord van Zieks,

As we discussed last Monday, I am sending you notification in regard to the government contracting with Dr. Harebrayne. He was furnished with an offer on Saturday, and has left my office after signing the contract a little while ago. Considering that his work will therefore constitute an important innovation in forensic investigation techniques used within the borders of the British Empire, I recommend that he be given a generous amount of time for his presentation at the symposium.

Barok let out a long breath he had held without even realizing it when he reached the end of the missive.

Excellent. This government contract would likely serve to render Albert financially independent, which had always been one of his primary goals in offering his friend the patronage agreement last year.

Perhaps it'll make up for the fact that I have to let you go for a while. Albert was in good hands with Sholmes and Iris when it came to creative application of his extensive scientific knowledge, and would never lack for either friendly company or someone reminding him to take care of himself.

Nevertheless, the thought stung.

And this is exactly the reason why it's necessary. If Barok's self-control was not perilously close to slipping through his fingers, if he was not considering endangering his friend's progress from where he had been at this point last year with his selfish desires, he would not have to keep his distance from Albert for potentially multiple months.

Clamping down on the melancholy at the prospect by giving in to his annoyance at his sudden unbecoming neediness, Barok rose from his chair.

"Asogi, I'm stepping out for lunch. I'll be back in an hour at the latest – if you choose to leave before that point, please lock the door behind you."

"Of course."

Unfortunately, it would turn out that Barok was not particularly hungry, which he realized as soon as he had purchased his food. Instead wandering around for a while to assuage the urge to move he had already acutely felt when he had left the office, he did his best to keep his thoughts from endlessly circling around Albert, eventually managing to eat at least a few bites of his lunch – while his appetite was still next to nonexistent, he knew that completely forgoing food would only lead to his being absentminded and unbearable to be around. His assistant deserved that much consideration, particularly since Barok's current mood was hardly his fault.

Asogi was present when he returned; his assistant had apparently departed only long enough to obtain a portion of fish and chips for himself. He wordlessly nodded up at Barok from his kneeling cushion while making short work of the last morsels left in the paper cone he was holding.

They continued working on their respective tasks in silence, Asogi apparently penning a petition regarding one of the potential cases Barok had flagged for him earlier, while his mentor was busying himself sorting through potential venues for the symposium, which he had tentatively set for mid-March – if he sent out formal invitations to all factions by the beginning of December, even the Japanese contingent should not find it too difficult to make the journey to London in time.

At about 3 o'clock, someone knocked on the door, and his assistant rose to open. It seemed to have been a telegram carrier, as Asogi promptly approached Barok's desk with the requisite paper slip in hand.

"A message for you from Professor Harebrayne."

"Thank you." Barok feigned a slight smile when he took the proffered item from the man – he did not need Asogi to speculate on their relationship. Unfolding the paper, he read the short missive from Albert.

Government contract signed STOP Need to discuss included clause STOP Please visit after work STOP Albert Harebrayne

Suppressing a sigh, Barok moved to stand and reached for his cloak. He sincerely doubted that he would be able to recover what little concentration he had managed to muster during the afternoon hours, now that his mind was once again completely focused on his friend and whatever clause in the contract he had signed required discussion.

Whatever it is, it shouldn't necessitate continued contact between us. I'll let him know that I won't call on him for a while.

"I'll be taking my leave for the day, Asogi. If there's nothing urgent that requires your attention, feel free to leave early, as well."

"Yes, my Lord. I'll make sure to lock up."

"Please do."

As he made his way to the building's main entrance, Barok found that he was feeling a hint of dread at the prospect of meeting Albert for the first time in all the years of their acquaintance.

This is necessary. We'll both be better off.

-November 18, 1901-

221B Baker Street

Forty minutes later, Barok had made it past Mrs. Huston and ascended the stairs to the first floor. Shortly after he had knocked on the suite door, Albert opened it for him.

His friend's smile upon beholding him seemed a little strained. "Ah, good afternoon – thank you for coming."

He pointed toward the sofa. "If… if you'd like to have a seat…? I'm afraid Mr. Sholmes and Iris are currently out, but I can put on the kettle and make some tea before we discuss things…"

"Thank you for the offer, but unless you would like something to drink, you needn't be concerned about serving me anything." Albert already appeared nervous enough without spending another number of minutes on preparing tea neither of them might even want.

"All right…" His friend seated himself next to Barok and reached for the sheets of paper lying on the chest in front of them.

"Regarding my telegram… one of the clauses in the contract I received from the Justice Ministry stipulates that I may not receive funding from private sources in order to prevent potential conflicts of interest…"

He held the contract out to his companion, pointing at the passage in question.

After reading the wording of the clause, Barok nodded – a restraint of trade agreement made sense in contracting for items and substances used in law enforcement, as a less scrupulous person than Albert might well be tempted to sell methods of circumventing their use to a third party. Considering that the last forensics symposium had been canceled right before commencing due to proven lies and falsifications by the very people who had convened it, of course the ministry would seek to preclude a repeat, at least where the paperwork was concerned.

"I see. I hope you were offered enough compensation to where you won't have to consider violating this clause?"

"Oh, quite – in fact, it's far more than I dared to expect, and it's guaranteed income for the duration of the contract, but…" Albert redirected his gaze to his hands. "Well, obviously, we'll have to terminate our patronage agreement, and, and… I never got you any returns on your investment…"

Then, he looked up once more, straight at Barok, and forced out, "Would you allow me to repay the monthly amount you've provided up to now? I'd feel terrible to have taken all that money from you with nothing to show for it…"

Oh Albert. Of course, Barok had not entered into the agreement with a view on profit to begin with, but to state as much would amount to admitting that he had financed his friend as a charity case, rather than a business partner, which might well come across as belittling.

"As I told you at the beginning of our arrangement, I am quite content to wait on said return of investment," he stated slowly. "The clause specifies that you'll be under contract with the Crown for a duration of ten years, and you've not yet had a chance to try and market some of your other inventions for commercial and private use, either directly or indirectly – I'm assuming that you will monetize those items after this contract expires, and will call on you at that point."

"Oh… well yes, I've talked to Mr. Sholmes and Iris about how to proceed with the Baird Project, and they both said that'd just give us time for some refinement of the television while we wait out this contract, and that we'd continue with our plans afterwards…"

"There you are, then." Barok glanced over at the hearth, the flickering flames easier to behold than his friend's face at the moment. "Nevertheless, I'll call on my solicitor to void the formal agreement between us – we can discuss a reinstatement once your contract with the Crown expires, always speaking both of us are amenable to it. You should receive a written confirmation of this fact later this week."

He suppressed a sigh. "Meanwhile, I'm afraid I won't be able to visit for a while… I've been entrusted with a major project by my superiors recently. I don't know yet for how long this will be the case."

"… I see." For once, he was glad that he could not see Albert's expression, as crestfallen as his friend's reply had sounded.

I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to do this. The thought that he was about to leave this place, this man, to not return for months on end, made him want to turn and face Albert, if only to have one more memory of him during the time that was to come.

No. Have some damned self-discipline, for your sake as well as his.

"… If you ever find yourself in need of assistance and Mr. Sholmes and Iris can't provide it for whatever reason, feel free to call on me, but, barring that, I hope you'll excuse my impending absence."

"Of course. Thank you." Albert's voice was but a mutter filled with sadness and… understanding?

Please forgive me for hurting you. Hopefully, time will allow both of us to heal.

"I should leave. Please give my regards to your co-lodgers."

"I will." The forlorn sigh that escaped his friend after the affirmation made him want to take back everything he had said over the last five minutes and stay if it led to the restoration of Albert's beautiful smile.

Self. Discipline.

Without another word, Barok rose from the sofa, gave Albert one last nod without truly looking at him, and made his way to the door.