Chapter Thirty-Seven:

Nemo…

Captain Nemo was sitting in the conference room, contemplating the best of all possible ways of aiding Kathryn in her charge of disposing of Moriarty. The task seemed impossible. The man had been killed more times that anyone could count, and yet, still he lived. There must be some way to kill him and make the result permanent. Nemo had thought that if by some miracle or persuasion, she could get him to drink the antidote to the Elixir of Life, they would have to catch him off his guard and do it. But the man was a genius. He could know when they would try to do it.

One of the crewmen ran into the room, holding out a letter. "For you, Captain," he said before leaving quickly.

Nemo looked down at the sealed piece of paper. It was addressed to him in Kathryn's neat and flowing script. He broke the seal and unfolded it. He quickly read over the contents. At first glance, the words formed nothing but an excerpt from a book:

She silently watched him enter the castle gardens from her position under the large oak tree in the heart of the grounds. He looked for her among the many trees and flowers and bushes. When he found her, she was ready. She knew what she had to do; what she would do. She sighed and said, "Good, you came when I called."

"And depart only when you bid me," he replied sullenly. His mannerisms had changed drastically since returning from the wars. He never smiled. He never changed his expression from utter boredom.

She nodded. "Excellent," she whispered. Then she held out a vial. The crystal bottle was filled halfway with a brilliantly bright purple liquid. It shimmered in the moonlight as she held it before him. "The potion, as you asked."

He took it from her and examined it. Finding nothing out of place, he took the cork from the vial's neck. "Thank you," he said before drinking the potion. "You have been an extraordinarily valuable assistance to me." He returned the vial. She silently tucked it into her purse at her waist. "How can I repay you?"

Without a word, nor any indication of what she would do, she suddenly had a long knife in her hand. Then the blade was in his heart. "You can die a thousand deaths," she muttered bitterly. "A thousand deaths. One for each life you've taken from this Kingdom. You've been nothing but a plague to our King and you will be disposed of in a matter of mere minutes." She took her knife from his chest and cleaned the blade on his black tunic.

As she walked away, leaving him to die, a single tear fell from her eye. It was a tear shed for a love that was acrimoniously deceived and destroyed…

Nemo looked at the words on the paper carefully. Kathryn knew he didn't enjoy fantasy. She must have had a purpose in sending him the excerpt. Then he had a thought. Substituting the word 'she' with Kathryn's name and the word 'he' with Moriarty, he discovered what her purpose was. This was her signal that she had found the perfect antidote to the Elixir and wished to make contact with Moriarty to set a meeting time so she could give it to him.

The captain sighed in slight satisfaction. The task was almost complete. Then neither he nor the League would have to worry about Professor J. Moriarty or his evils again.