SHERLOCK'S POV
I opened my eyes, no longer in my mind palace feeling refreshed and ready to work. I knew what needed to be done, what question needed to be answered, what words needed to be spoken. I now knew the answer to the problem that was Abrielle's case, and with that I could figure out where she was. I blinked, gaining my senses as I looked over towards John and Soo Lin Yao. Clearly they had just finished a conversation so I obviously hadn't been absent from reality long. I looked towards Soo Lin. I needed information. Information from her. So information I would get. It was time to use my key, Abrielle's answer that she had so joyously provided.
"Who are they?" I questioned her, my eyes steely as I awaited her answer. I needed to know who these people were, the webs that led to our spider. Our acrobat, Zhi Zhu, was the muscles of the operation, the slave that carried out all of the brunt work. The webs, they were what had taken Bree from me. Not him, not the slave. Oh, no. It was someone more powerful. Someone who had known she was on their trail. It was someone a part of a bigger whole. And they were what I needed to track down. Zhi Zhu did not matter at all. It was this gang that mattered now.
"They are called the Black Lotus. They are very powerful in China. Very powerful." She explained, tears filling her eyes as though she were remembering memories from her past. Very powerful Chinese gang. A gang that had my friend. A gang that had abducted Abrielle and had caused her blood to spill against a fence in a shallow back alley. The person responsible finally had a name … the Black Lotus.
"Sherlock, I've heard that name before. Bree was researching them." I heard John say, causing my ears to perk up in curiosity. Abrielle had known who the culprit behind the murders was. She knew. I should have known, that genius girl! She was certainly something. She had secretly been executing her own investigation behind our backs without even letting on that she knew or even seeming the tiny bit suspicious. That girl was a genius. And it both excited me and angered me all the same. She was a genius, and it got her kidnapped, because she knew.
"I told you she was ahead of us." I murmured, a large smile on my face as I looked to John. This was getting fun! Abrielle Watson was an enigma, that I haven't said enough, and I had yet to figure out her secret job that she had been hiding from us for all these months. However, this was one thing I did not see coming. I did not expect her to be quicker, smarter than I. I did not expect her to get further in the investigation, and I certainly did not expect her to get kidnapped because of that. Abrielle Watson knew who the killer was, and that just made her so much more interesting!
"Yeah, when I went to get the dead man's journal detective inspector Dimmock told me that Bree asked him to dig up any information on the Black Lotus gang." John explained, confusion rooted deep within his voice. Why did she go to the police … no, I knew why she did that, she wanted to get the most accurate information she could on the gang before she brought them down. The real question was why didn't she come to us with this information? Why did she hide this from us as if we were the enemies? What was she so scared of that she wouldn't tell me? It just made no sense. How long has she even known about all of this anyways? It couldn't have been too long, after all she was kidnapped after weeks of actually starting the case, so if she was in fact kidnapped because she knew their identity then it must have been relatively recent information for her to find out. But that didn't make sense … she had known the moment we had stepped into Van Coon's place. I had heard her slip up. I had heard her say it. So why was she kidnapped so late into the case? She had known for weeks beforehand.
"It was the name she whispered when we were at Van Coon's flat too. She knew way before we did who was behind this, which makes me think that whoever was behind her kidnapping worked for them, most likely our acrobat."
"So if we find the Black Lotus gang we find her kidnapper." John continued, finishing my previous thought. I nodded my head, confirming his thoughts. We were so close to finding her, so incredibly close. Not to mention, this case was as good as solved now that we knew the name of the gang that had murdered those people. All we had to do now was track them down. Nothing more nothing less. It was time to end this case. I looked to Soo Lin ready to say my goodbyes and leave this place, but something stopped me. For some reason I felt something nagging at my head, something telling me that somehow in someway this woman was connected to Abrielle. I just didn't understand how. Something about her just reminded me of the young woman. She was confident, and brave and held herself in a way that just screamed Abrielle. And it just stopped me from leaving. I needed to know more. It made me curious, curious about Abrielle. Curious about Abrielle's past. Curious about her secret that she was hiding, the job that she was hiding from us for some reason. The job that I was so obsessed with finding out. The job that perhaps Soo Lin Yao knew about.
"Do you happen to know anyone by the name of Abrielle Watson?" I asked her, desperately hoping that my instinct was correct. It had to be, it was the only explanation that made any sense! Not to mention, for Abrielle to know the name of the gang that had committed the murders, and for Soo Lin Yao to be the next victim is a pretty big link for it to be a coincidence. Soo Lin must have at least heard of her if not met her. After all, Abrielle must have known way before us that she was a victim.
"You know the Feng Hui?!"
"I'm sorry? What? You know Abrielle?" John questioned, once again confused with what was going on. Of course she knew Abrielle, the only question was how? She called her wise phoenix for a reason, a reason that neither John nor I understood, and a reason that I very much wanted to know before I left this building.
"How?" I questioned in a bored tone, trying to figure out what could have possibly connected the two in such a way. It must have been a long time ago, as she seems elated, even surprised to hear her name. That paired with the fact that she also sounds hopeful, maybe of being able to see her again which leads me to conclude that Abrielle must have made quite the impact on Soo Lin, which means their meeting was not a short one. No one could have had a bond with someone after such a short amount of time. So they met a while ago, in Abrielle's past perhaps? Now, the one question I was rather hoping Soo Lin could provide is how they met.
"One day, during a meeting of the black Lotus gang havoc broke out. I wasn't inside the building at the time but I was told by one of my friends that someone had shot down five of the leaders dead. One had escaped, but the other five weren't as lucky. The next day, five new leaders were appointed and everything was fine. That is until a year later. I was there that time, and I remember clearly what happened. A woman with hair as dark as coal and eyes as bright as a diamond came out of nowhere and shot down all six leaders. Some of the guards shot at her, but it was no use, she was strong, and she fought as if she wasn't shot at all. She grabbed my hand and led me out of the chaos, she took me to a flat not far from there and she helped me. She stayed with me, and she fed me, and slowly nursed me back into health. She was like the mother I had never had. She loved me and cared for me and a year and a half later she took me to a helicopter, gave me a bundle of british money and I was sent here. Feng Hui saved me from a life I never wanted, and in return I kept her identity secret from the world." Soo lin explained, my eyes widening in curiosity. Abrielle was a spy or criminal of some sort, I had been right about that. Either she killed the leaders because they were competition or a threat to society. The fact that she had saved Soo Lin leads me to believe she is a spy, yet she is naturally kind hearted personality wise which could still mean she could be a sniper or assassin for some criminal organization. From my understanding it sounds like she has a lot of experiences with guns which shows she has years of training in all combat skills. She must know defensive strategies as well, as it does sound like she knew how to avoid bullets. But that didn't help at all! I wanted … No, needed to figure out what her job is! The secret that I have been trying to figure out since the moment she had knocked me down and embarrassed me in front of everyone. And now, now that I know who had kidnapped Abrielle, now that I knew Abrielle was going to be found safe and sound, now I wanted to figure out what that job she is hiding is. That I was sure of.
"What's with the name?" John questioned, snapping me out of my thoughts with his confused nature and his quite obvious question. No offense to John, after all he was my friend. It was just so annoying to hear something so dull after learning something so interesting! Shouldn't he know by now that stupid questions are not permitted when working with me?
"It translates to wise phoenix. Now then, Abrielle Watson, have you seen her recently? She was kidnapped about six months ago and we want to know if she has sent you anything, messages, calls, texts?" I questioned, watching Soo Lin for anything that would tell me if she had been in contact with the woman.
"No, not at all. However, if it is any consolation I can assure you that she's fine."
"What do you mean?" John inquired, asking the question that I too wanted to know the answer to. I just didn't understand, Soo Lin was speaking as though she knew this for certain, as though she had talked to Abrielle recently and knew she was alright. However that was clearly impossible due to the fact that she had told us she hadn't seen or heard from her lately. Nor was she lying about that fact. So how did she know Abrielle would be alright?
"If she wanted to escape her kidnapper she would have done it awhile ago, she taught me how to escape any type of bond or handcuff, and she most definitely knows how to overpower someone. So that means that if the Black Lotus has really kidnapped her then she's biding her time to kill the person. She's perfectly safe. Who are you to her, you must be someone close if you're worrying." Soo Lin replied, giving John a kind smile. Abrielle definitely cared for this girl if she had mothered her back to health and taught her self defense to keep her protected. And just knowing that caused me the need to protect Soo Lin Yao with all my being. If Abrielle cared about her safety then so did I. She was not going to be harmed. And nothing, not even the black lotus would touch a single hair on her head. She seemed to be one of Abrielle's best friends, and that was a bond that must never be broken. I will protect her friend just like she would protect mine. Soo Lin, as of right now was under my protection, and no one was going to hurt her. Not ever!
"I'm John Watson." My friend stated, the conversation pulling my thoughts to a mute dull. What were they talking about again … Names, hm, no. Wait …relation to Abrielle. That's what it was! Why did John give her his name? Did he think she would figure out the connection, because let me tell you, I'm pretty sure she won't, after all, she was just a dull person like everyone else. It wasn't like she could deduce like me, let alone connect one thing to another like Watson to brother.
"She's mentioned you before. You are her kind Doctor brother are you not?" She questioned, causing John to shake his head yes, no words able to escape his mouth at the present time. So maybe she wasn't an idiot. Perhaps that is why Abrielle took such an interest in the girl! It makes sense, after all, that was the reason I became friends with John.
"She really looks up to you. She told me once that she's a killer, a destroyer of worlds, and a bringer of tragedy, when all she wants to do is help people, and save lives just like her amazing brother." Soo Lin stated, a smile on her lips as John looked at her in complete and utter shock. To be perfectly honest it looked like he had never even thought about it. Like the thought of his influence on his younger sister hadn't even crossed his mind. Well, I could see it. It was clear on her face whenever she looked at John, the awe, the admiration, it was all written across her eyes like an open book. She looked up to him, she wanted to be just like him. But something was stopping her. She thought herself too impure to be like John and clearly it was because she killed for her job, whether that job was bad or good. And the truth of the matter that she failed to notice is that at the end of the day, John was not pure either. He was a soldier, he had killed too. Granted, he was a doctor, so he probably hadn't killed many, but he had still killed people. He was no more pure than Abrielle was. And she, in my eyes at least, would be just like John, yet kinder and gentler, and brighter and better. She was the best version of herself that she could possibly be and I admired that about her. She was passionate about being her, a trait most girls did not have. She was comfortable in her skin and she was totally alright with snapping a few bones and spraining a few arms if it means doing what is best to protect others and that is what makes a wonderful person so great. She is amazing, and if I ever had the guts to say it to her face I would. For some reason she is different, a good different. A different that makes me feel … Something, some strange unknown feeling, whenever I'm around her. She makes me feel complete and I swear that soon, very soon, the person that has taken away my friend, one of my best friends will pay. She means everything to me, and no one. Not one person on this earth is safe from my wrath when they decide to take that person from me. Abrielle Watson is my missing puzzle piece, and soon, really soon our puzzle would be complete.
