note to all reviewers - due to fanfic.net's recent server problems, some reviews are not showing up. so if you have asked me something and i have not responded, feel free to email me. or just review again. y'know whatever. ;)
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Chapter Nine
… Into the Burning Hot Pit of Lava
Have you ever noticed that whenever you have two equally important engagements, they always fall on the same day forcing you to choose one or the other, or nearly kill yourself doing both at the same time?
The Irregulars were playing at a local band fest in Richmond Park. We had managed to fight our way to the opening set this year, one of the most coveted of all sets, next to the headliner. The people who are coming for the concert are just arriving and the denizens of London are still wandering about. The mix of hard core fans and curious newbies equaled pay dirt in job offers.
"I'm searching all around for you
C'mon baby just give me a clue
Elementary deduction
Familiar dysfunction
I'm sitting here alone again."
That was our closing piece, "Sign of the Four." The title was even better when it was just four of us (Holmes, Lei, James and me) in the band. Poor Kevin was the latecomer, but we love him anyway.
Backstage was just a roped off area a little ways away from the stage. Groupies and record agents hung about talking with band members. This was the most exciting part of the concert (for us anyway). The record labels were finally trying to get our attention for a change.
Lei was just talking with the guy from The Music Cartel when Holmes' cell phone went off. That's right, that cell phone. Holmes walked about three steps away, talking urgently with the person on the other end. He came back looking worried.
"We have to go." He muttered. We tried to leave quietly. Luck was not with us today.
"Where are you two going?" Kevin asked. Lei turned and glared at us. Here she was negotiating a deal that just might enable us to get paid for goofing off on stage and we were abandoning her for a case.
"Er…"
"Ummmm…"
"Watson's mom. She, uh, got in a car accident."
"Yeah, she's fine; Holmes was just going to take me to pick her up at the hospital." Lei, knowing that my mother was currently in the States on business, glared crossly after us. The record agent, however, seized on our last names.
"Watson and Holmes? Is that where you get the name 'The Irregulars'?"
Taking advantage of Lei's distraction, we ran for it.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Sharon told us to, and I quote, 'Get down here now, or else.' She didn't wait for acknowledgement." Holmes replied while running a red light. Covent Garden was about ten kilometers (seven miles) away from Richmond Park. Not a great distance physically, but it was on the other side of Greater London on a weekend. Traffic was hell.
Holmes had prepared for this possibility by bringing his own car to the park. We had to ditch the valiant little Ford at the nearest Tube station and take the Underground. We arrived at the top of the Covent Garden stairs to see Sharon pacing the sidewalk anxiously, while Karen stared serenely off into space.
Sharon took one look at us and barked, "It's about time!" We all followed her back down the stair and boarded a train back to Richmond.
We didn't go all the way back to Richmond, which would have been extremely frustrating. Instead we got off at a station near the Thames. We stood in an isolated corner where the sound of our voices wouldn't carry and Sharon gave us our mission.
"Can you get to the warehouse in Southampton by yourselves?" Nods. "Good. You'll be bringing two cars back to the warehouse tonight." Holmes and I exchanged startled glances. "I'll explain when I see you later tonight." Sharon looked like a teacher whose copy budget had just been cut in half. Sharon and Karen took another train to elsewhere in London.
"I think it would be best if we each stole one then drove down to Southampton." Holmes said matter-of-factly. "I think there is a shopping centre…"
"Holmes!"
"What?"
"Never mind." I sighed. I wasn't entirely sure myself. Something about all this was just a little too crazy.
There was indeed a shopping center a few blocks away. A blue Geo parked in the corner caught my eye. We drove the Geo to a car park in the city. In college we called this part of town Bouncers Row because every other door led into a nightclub. It was mainly showy sports cars and SUVs. Holmes boosted a tricked out street racer.
We were just leaving London when my cell rang. I was reluctant to answer it, because I was sure it was Lei calling to rip me a new one.
"Hello?"
"Watson, you do know where we are going?"
"Yes Holmes. I was paying attention the other night."
"Hmph."
"Holmes?"
"What?"
"Never mind." Dear gods, what possessed me to nearly tell him about my dream. Yeesh, wait till all this is over, woman.
It seemed like it didn't take as long to drive down to Southampton this time, but maybe that's just because I knew where I was going. We were pulling into the warehouse when my phone rang a second time.
"Hello?"
"Where the hell did you go?" Lei demanded. Damn, why do I pay for caller ID if I never use it? "Are you working on a case?"
"Sorry, I didn't catch that Lei. You're breaking up. Got to go!" Lei started to call me names as I hit the end button.
"I fear she will be truly pissed at me when I get home. I hope she doesn't lock me out." I told 'Joshua'.
"You are always welcome to crash at my place."
"Is that an invitation or a proposition?" I teased, slipping back into a Southern drawl. This would have been my standard response to any male friend whom I was not romantically interested with. However, tonight, a whole new layer of meaning somehow plastered itself on to the sentence. Holmes flushed. I kept walking forward, who me? Insinuate something? Never, you must be thinking of someone else.
We were one of the first groups back, so we headed to the upstairs hide out. Ink and a few others were waiting up there, obligatory beers glued to one hand. There was an undercurrent of tension in the air. Sharon had probably snapped at all of them as well.
"Y'all know what this is about?" I asked Ink.
"No. But I believe that it may have something to do with the fact that a certain ship put into port last night." He said all of this in the careful measured tones of a business school grad. I think that was the longest string of words I ever heard him say.
Of course this merely raised more questions than answers, but the rest of the gang arrived in a flood of headlights. Sharon was the last up the stairs. With her came a man I'd never seen before. He wore a black suit and trench coat, just like Agent Smith. Everyone waited expectantly.
"Our deadline had been moved up. We need to have our quota filled by Wednesday." Sharon stated flatly. A low rumble of murmuring crossed the room.
"Cor blimey! We can't boost that many cars in four days!" One of the girls called out.
"You will 'boost' that many cars in four days." Agent Smith stared at the girl until she looked at the floor sullenly. Smith scanned the rest of the room. "If the shipment is less than expected, the boss gets unhappy. And when the boss gets unhappy, you get unhappy."
Sharon waited patiently for Agent Smith to finish, then continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "We were ahead of schedule when Shorty got hurt. We'll only have to work one more night to fill the quota."
The murmurs turned to speculation on which day would be the best to 'fill the quota.' The movies never show you how much management and business is required for organized crime. The general consensus seemed to be tomorrow night, since the bobbies wouldn't be expecting it.
"Good idea," Sharon said, "but not tomorrow night. Tonight, at dawn." There was a great deal of grumbling at this which eventually subsided into surly agreement.
"I will see you at the docks on Wednesday night, Sharon." Agent Smith shook hand and left.
"That guy really pisses me off."
"I know."
"One of these days…" The Tigers began complaining vehemently, but resignedly about their fate. Someone turned on the TV, another handed around the alcohol. It looked to be a long night. God, I needed some sleep.
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Questions, comments, critisicms, complaints? Make your voice heard.
.•´¨`•»¦«•Kerowyn•»¦«•´¨`•.
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Chapter Nine
… Into the Burning Hot Pit of Lava
Have you ever noticed that whenever you have two equally important engagements, they always fall on the same day forcing you to choose one or the other, or nearly kill yourself doing both at the same time?
The Irregulars were playing at a local band fest in Richmond Park. We had managed to fight our way to the opening set this year, one of the most coveted of all sets, next to the headliner. The people who are coming for the concert are just arriving and the denizens of London are still wandering about. The mix of hard core fans and curious newbies equaled pay dirt in job offers.
"I'm searching all around for you
C'mon baby just give me a clue
Elementary deduction
Familiar dysfunction
I'm sitting here alone again."
That was our closing piece, "Sign of the Four." The title was even better when it was just four of us (Holmes, Lei, James and me) in the band. Poor Kevin was the latecomer, but we love him anyway.
Backstage was just a roped off area a little ways away from the stage. Groupies and record agents hung about talking with band members. This was the most exciting part of the concert (for us anyway). The record labels were finally trying to get our attention for a change.
Lei was just talking with the guy from The Music Cartel when Holmes' cell phone went off. That's right, that cell phone. Holmes walked about three steps away, talking urgently with the person on the other end. He came back looking worried.
"We have to go." He muttered. We tried to leave quietly. Luck was not with us today.
"Where are you two going?" Kevin asked. Lei turned and glared at us. Here she was negotiating a deal that just might enable us to get paid for goofing off on stage and we were abandoning her for a case.
"Er…"
"Ummmm…"
"Watson's mom. She, uh, got in a car accident."
"Yeah, she's fine; Holmes was just going to take me to pick her up at the hospital." Lei, knowing that my mother was currently in the States on business, glared crossly after us. The record agent, however, seized on our last names.
"Watson and Holmes? Is that where you get the name 'The Irregulars'?"
Taking advantage of Lei's distraction, we ran for it.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Sharon told us to, and I quote, 'Get down here now, or else.' She didn't wait for acknowledgement." Holmes replied while running a red light. Covent Garden was about ten kilometers (seven miles) away from Richmond Park. Not a great distance physically, but it was on the other side of Greater London on a weekend. Traffic was hell.
Holmes had prepared for this possibility by bringing his own car to the park. We had to ditch the valiant little Ford at the nearest Tube station and take the Underground. We arrived at the top of the Covent Garden stairs to see Sharon pacing the sidewalk anxiously, while Karen stared serenely off into space.
Sharon took one look at us and barked, "It's about time!" We all followed her back down the stair and boarded a train back to Richmond.
We didn't go all the way back to Richmond, which would have been extremely frustrating. Instead we got off at a station near the Thames. We stood in an isolated corner where the sound of our voices wouldn't carry and Sharon gave us our mission.
"Can you get to the warehouse in Southampton by yourselves?" Nods. "Good. You'll be bringing two cars back to the warehouse tonight." Holmes and I exchanged startled glances. "I'll explain when I see you later tonight." Sharon looked like a teacher whose copy budget had just been cut in half. Sharon and Karen took another train to elsewhere in London.
"I think it would be best if we each stole one then drove down to Southampton." Holmes said matter-of-factly. "I think there is a shopping centre…"
"Holmes!"
"What?"
"Never mind." I sighed. I wasn't entirely sure myself. Something about all this was just a little too crazy.
There was indeed a shopping center a few blocks away. A blue Geo parked in the corner caught my eye. We drove the Geo to a car park in the city. In college we called this part of town Bouncers Row because every other door led into a nightclub. It was mainly showy sports cars and SUVs. Holmes boosted a tricked out street racer.
We were just leaving London when my cell rang. I was reluctant to answer it, because I was sure it was Lei calling to rip me a new one.
"Hello?"
"Watson, you do know where we are going?"
"Yes Holmes. I was paying attention the other night."
"Hmph."
"Holmes?"
"What?"
"Never mind." Dear gods, what possessed me to nearly tell him about my dream. Yeesh, wait till all this is over, woman.
It seemed like it didn't take as long to drive down to Southampton this time, but maybe that's just because I knew where I was going. We were pulling into the warehouse when my phone rang a second time.
"Hello?"
"Where the hell did you go?" Lei demanded. Damn, why do I pay for caller ID if I never use it? "Are you working on a case?"
"Sorry, I didn't catch that Lei. You're breaking up. Got to go!" Lei started to call me names as I hit the end button.
"I fear she will be truly pissed at me when I get home. I hope she doesn't lock me out." I told 'Joshua'.
"You are always welcome to crash at my place."
"Is that an invitation or a proposition?" I teased, slipping back into a Southern drawl. This would have been my standard response to any male friend whom I was not romantically interested with. However, tonight, a whole new layer of meaning somehow plastered itself on to the sentence. Holmes flushed. I kept walking forward, who me? Insinuate something? Never, you must be thinking of someone else.
We were one of the first groups back, so we headed to the upstairs hide out. Ink and a few others were waiting up there, obligatory beers glued to one hand. There was an undercurrent of tension in the air. Sharon had probably snapped at all of them as well.
"Y'all know what this is about?" I asked Ink.
"No. But I believe that it may have something to do with the fact that a certain ship put into port last night." He said all of this in the careful measured tones of a business school grad. I think that was the longest string of words I ever heard him say.
Of course this merely raised more questions than answers, but the rest of the gang arrived in a flood of headlights. Sharon was the last up the stairs. With her came a man I'd never seen before. He wore a black suit and trench coat, just like Agent Smith. Everyone waited expectantly.
"Our deadline had been moved up. We need to have our quota filled by Wednesday." Sharon stated flatly. A low rumble of murmuring crossed the room.
"Cor blimey! We can't boost that many cars in four days!" One of the girls called out.
"You will 'boost' that many cars in four days." Agent Smith stared at the girl until she looked at the floor sullenly. Smith scanned the rest of the room. "If the shipment is less than expected, the boss gets unhappy. And when the boss gets unhappy, you get unhappy."
Sharon waited patiently for Agent Smith to finish, then continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "We were ahead of schedule when Shorty got hurt. We'll only have to work one more night to fill the quota."
The murmurs turned to speculation on which day would be the best to 'fill the quota.' The movies never show you how much management and business is required for organized crime. The general consensus seemed to be tomorrow night, since the bobbies wouldn't be expecting it.
"Good idea," Sharon said, "but not tomorrow night. Tonight, at dawn." There was a great deal of grumbling at this which eventually subsided into surly agreement.
"I will see you at the docks on Wednesday night, Sharon." Agent Smith shook hand and left.
"That guy really pisses me off."
"I know."
"One of these days…" The Tigers began complaining vehemently, but resignedly about their fate. Someone turned on the TV, another handed around the alcohol. It looked to be a long night. God, I needed some sleep.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~
Questions, comments, critisicms, complaints? Make your voice heard.
.•´¨`•»¦«•Kerowyn•»¦«•´¨`•.