Chapter Nine
( Riley's PoV)
The first thing I noticed is that I was soaking wet, and that there was a constant throb in my head. The second thing I noticed upon waking was the smell. I have always hated the smell of horses, ever since I stayed at a ranch one summer. But I was now faced with that smell, and it did not belong in the urban Dallas area.
The next thing I noticed was the potholes. I was in a vehicle, but no automobile would ever be that bad at absorbing the bumps. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were there, along with another small man. Ferret-faced, I think. Then I'm surprised that I thought that. I seldom ever come up with that word to describe somebody. Unless… no way. Lestrade!? Then… then that means… I'm in Victorian London!
"Miss Willow? How are you feeling?" Watson's voice. But why was he calling me… oh. Of course. This was Victorian London. Gentlemen did not exactly interact with women on a first name basis. Watson was trying to keep up a façade.
"Been better. Where are we going?" I answered.
"Scotland Yard, Miss." Lestrade replied in a clipped, formal voice. "Then you, Mr. Holmes, and the doctor will tell me exactly what happened."
(Same story. Formatting issues. Deal with it.)
"The twenty first century." Lestrade asked in an "I-really-don't-believe-your-story-so-what-really-happened" voice.
I swallowed. I had played the part of the interrogator many times before, but never that of the recipient. Let me just say this- I now know why everybody is intimidated by us police officers. "Yes, Inspector," I replied curtly.
Watson jumped in, and I gave him a grateful glance. "Holmes and I were walking home from dinner at Simpsons' when I remembered I had forgotten my coat. I went back inside to get it. Just as I rejoined Holmes, the storm started. He had just hailed a cab when there was a bright flash of lightning. Then suddenly, we were surrounded by another storm, but we had completely changed location. Holmes and I were getting quite… soaked… by then and we ran inside the nearest building… which happened to be a police station. That is where we met Officer Willow here. She had invited us to stay with her until we got back to London, but on the way home…" Watson broke off here to take a breath.
"Officer Willow's colleague, an Officer Spencer Wade, was shot," Holmes said bluntly, then continued to the part where the shed exploded.
"And the shooter, a Xavier Akastra, sent us back here, but he tagged along to eliminate Spencer's ancestors!" I finished.
Just then, a figure hurriedly broke into Lestrade's office. "Hopkins, what do you want?!" Lestrade asked the ashen man.
Pale faced, Hopkins replied: "Some blackguard just threatened to kill me to "wipe out" my descendents, Lestrade!"
Even though he had addressed the question to Lestrade, Holmes quickly snapped a question at poor Hopkins. "What was their name, Hopkins?"
My heart sank and my blood went cold at Hopkins' response. "Xavier Akastra."
A/N: Yes, Spencer is related to Hopkins! Admit it, none of you saw that coming did you? (Evil grin)