Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Kathryn…
She and James arrived in Kenya without any problems. Immediately, Kathryn set out to find Allan Quartermain. That was her first priority. She had little to no time until the League would show up, demanding the antidotes she half-way promised them, and the Elixir documents.
After a while of intense searching, she found Quartermain in a small clubhouse, still alive, and still ornery. "Mr. Quartermain," she said exasperatedly. "Why won't you just tell me how it is you're still alive?"
"Why won't you tell me why you have Moriarty?" he counted, his enthralling accent capturing her. "And how is he alive?"
"Professor Moriarty ingested, some years ago, a solution known as the Elixir of Life," she explained in an undertone. "No matter how many times you try to kill him, he'll come back. Always. He's my transportation. He has no intention on trying to kill you… Again."
Quartermain leaned back in his chair. "How can I trust you?" he asked. "I've heard of you. You've given Sherlock Holmes quite a challenge, haven't you?"
"I admit that I may have been difficult for him to handle," she said lightly. "But, honestly, Mr. Quartermain, this is for the sake of science. I need to know exactly what makes you immortal."
"I can't tell you," he said, filling his glass with whiskey. "Whiskey?"
"Yes, please," she said. He filled her a glass and handed it to her. "But why can't you tell me?" She sipped the whiskey. It was good. Better than the stuff her cousin was always sending her from Arizona.
"Because I don't know," he said. "A witch doctor simply blessed me. He said that Africa would never allow me to die. So, when I die, it feels as though I've only taken an extremely long nap. Then I wake up and I'm alive again. I've died more times than I would care to count."
"So all it is is a spell?" she asked. "A simple immortality spell. Cast by an African Witch Doctor. Gods, this was a waste of time." She leaned back in her chair and sighed.
"Now, tell me, Miss Bennet," Quartermain said. "What are you really doing here?"
She looked at him with a raise eyebrow. "I feel slightly guilty about what I did to someone we both know," she said quietly.
"Jekyll," Quartermain guessed.
"No," she answered. "Not Jekyll. I've never felt guilty about what I did to him. I was desperate." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I have a debt to repay to Sawyer. This was the only way I could think of to repay it. To reunite him with you." Quartermain gave her a look. "He talks in his sleep, Mr. Quartermain. He would never admit it, but he misses you. You were a father to him."
"So you're luring him here," Quartermain said. "Interesting." He laughed. "You're better than I thought you would be."
"I beg your pardon?" she asked, almost chocking on her whiskey.
"You would sink to any level to get what you need, wouldn't you?" he asked her.
She considered the question for a moment. "Yes, I suppose I would," she answered. Then she realised what he was talking about. "Now, listen to me, Mr. Quartermain, I wouldn't do that to him. Wait…" She thought about it again. She already had. "Damn it…" she muttered. "I need to rethink my strategy again."
"I suppose you would," he agreed. He glanced over Kathryn's shoulder out the window. "They're here…" He stood and disappeared into a back room and didn't come back.
Kathryn looked out the window. The League was walking towards the clubhouse. "James," she said. "They're here. Disappear!" She didn't see to where James disappeared. The League walked into the building and saw her. She assumed a natural position as they walked over.
"Miss Kathryn," Jekyll said, as he took a seat nearby. "How's your shoulder?"
"Fine, thank you for asking," she replied. She slid a package across the table to him. He picked it up. "The Elixir documents. And two antidotes."
"To the Elixir?" Nemo asked.
She shook her head. "No," she said. "I haven't yet found that. One antidote is what will need to be injected into Sir Lucas' bloodstream once he has taken the Elixir antidote. Otherwise, the stress the Wolfsbane put on his body will kill him almost immediately."
Mrs. Harker sat next to Jekyll. "And the other?" she asked.
"That's for Skinner," Kathryn replied. "If he wants it…"
