Chapter Six
Melange
Will Graham never had guests at his house in Wolf Trap, Virginia. When two men in black knocked in his door, he thought they were criminals seeking vengeance. He wouldn't let them in until they showed him their credentials. When they blindfolded him inside their car, he had doubts once again.
Somewhere in another part of D.C., a man was sitting at a computer screen. He could hear a song playing over the radio:
Welcome to your life!
There's no turning back!
Even while we sleep,
We will find you…
He was finishing a delicious apple when a message came up on screen.
Ladybird has made contact with Friday's Child, Black Sheep, and Little Boy Blue. Bo Peep nearby.
The man grinned. This was starting to be fun. He hummed to himself, "Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home!" Meanwhile, the radio kept playing:
Everybody wants to rule the world…
Rose and the Doctor were sitting in the TARDIS the morning after their investigation.
The Doctor said, "Still no clue. What could that blasted weapon be?"
Rose said, "Some kind of electric burst? Like a flash of lightning?"
"Hmm, maybe, but it'd be awfully strange lightning. Never seen such perfect patterns before. It's almost as if…"
"What, what is it?"
"It's almost as if it were designed for a different world. For a world where the physical laws are different. It created such an orderly pattern on the face. It's like it was designed to bring order out of disorder, instead of just following the order that's already there."
"What d'you mean, order out of disorder? It scrambled their brains!"
"Yes, it was supposed to do that. But the traces it left show that it did so in a very orderly way. It's not used to this world, where we already have stable natural laws. It's used to scrambling brains in a world where every moment is a fight against chaos."
"What kind of world is that?"
"Give me time and I'll think of it." He grinned, and Rose followed his example.
Just then, a tinny beeping sound came out of the Doctor's pocket. He pulled out a small cell phone and looked at the screen. "It's our forensic friend," he told Rose, and answered it. "Hallo?"
Rose could hear Temperance's voice. "Doctor, are you with Miss Tyler?"
"Looking right at her. What's up?"
"Um, I'm not sure how to explain this. We're with some people, I've never heard of them before, but they say they're with the government…"
"What do they call themselves?"
"They say they're part of something called SHIELD. Does that sound familiar to you?"
"Can't say I've heard of 'em before. But it's been a while since I was in the States. Easily could've missed them." Covering the mouthpiece of the phone, he said, "It was Eighteen Sixty-Three last time I was here. Had a chat with the President."
"Abraham Lincoln?" Rose asked with a little laugh.
"Doctor, are you still there?"
"Yeah, Tempe. Where are you?"
"I'm not exactly sure. They've taken us somewhere, but they wouldn't let me see where."
The carefree expression vanished from the Doctor's face. "They've what?"
"I was incredulous at first, but they provided satisfactory credentials. I believe them to be aboveboard."
"Tempe, the government can't just take you somewhere! What's going on? What do they want?"
"It has to do with the serial murders. They say we're in danger. Apparently we've witnessed something, or found an important piece of evidence without realizing it. Doctor, they want to talk to you. They asked me to call you."
"Did they say who's after you? Why aren't you safe? Let me talk to one of them over the phone!"
"Hang on." There were muffled, shuffling sounds.
Then a new voice came over the phone, a deep male voice. "Hello, Doctor."
"All right, who are you lot and what do you want?"
"Listen, because I don't have much time. They will find this call and can begin monitoring it any moment. You'll come to The Juniper Tree on Fifth. That's a restaurant. I'll meet you there myself. You'll be escorted to a safe house which is part of a SHIELD headquarters facility. Is that clear?"
"No, it's not clear at all, you haven't explained anything!"
"We're wasting time, Doctor."
"Don't talk to me about time! Start by telling me who you are and then we'll see about coming with you."
"What makes you think you have a choice?"
"I think you know I do."
There was a sigh, and then, "My name is Nicholas Fury. I save the world for a living. I think you know how that is, Doctor."
"That I do, Nicholas Fury, that I do." The Doctor looked at Rose. She bit her lip and nodded. "All right, we're on our way."
"Good." And then the line went dead.
They didn't blindfold the Doctor and Rose as they had Booth and Brennan. But then, since neither of them was from America, neither of them had any idea where they were. They had left D.C. proper and were somewhere in the outskirts. The car drove along a gravel road until it reached a chain link fence with barbed wire and security cameras. Once the car had clearance, it drove inside the fence toward a long building some twelve stories high.
"This is not our usual headquarters," Fury explained to them from the front passenger seat. "This building was established after the alien attack on Manhattan earlier this year, to prepare for any other extraterrestrial hostilities."
The Doctor slapped his forehead. "Oh, of course! The Chitauri invasion of Twenty Twelve!"
"That's why we have an eye on you. Ever heard of Torchwood?"
"Can't say that I have. Doesn't sound familiar, anyway."
"Maybe someday it will. They monitor extraterrestrial activity in the United Kingdom. We gathered all the intel we could from them, including their intel on you."
"And what did they say about me?"
"An ageless, time-traveling humanoid alien who does his best to prevent disasters. That was their general impression."
"Did they mention I'm brilliant?"
"I gathered as much." This made the Doctor smile contentedly. Fury went on, "We have reason to believe that the string of murders which you investigated are connected to extraterrestrial activity."
"And why's that, then?"
"We're not fools, Doctor. That wound pattern is perfectly unique. It was caused by a non-terrestrial weapon."
"And what's your game? Why are you interested in all this?"
"SHIELD is charged with protecting the United States, and the world if necessary, from threats which regular forces are not prepared to handle."
"At any cost?"
"I don't follow you, Doctor."
"Oh, I'm just curious, is all. I don't want to go sharing this brilliant brain of mine with someone who's going to do terrible things."
Fury turned around to look at the Doctor over his seat. "During the Chitauri invasion, the World Security Council wanted to drop a nuclear bomb on Manhattan. I made sure that didn't happen. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to protect the innocent. But there's no one else, Doctor. Either you help us or you're on your own."
"I'm quite used to being on my own. But I'm sure that won't be necessary, not as long as we all keep our noses clean." He looked out the windshield. "Are we here, then?"
The car was pulling into a small parking lot near the left side of the building. The driver unbuckled his seat belt, so the passengers did the same. When they reached the front entrance of the headquarters, Fury placed his palm on a scanner near the door. He then put his good eye up to a retinal scanner a little higher on the wall. Finally, he punched a code into a keypad on the other side of the door. The doors then opened on their own.
"Welcome to SHIELD," he said, and motioned for them to enter first. As they did so, he looked behind him, as if checking earth and sky for anyone who might be following them.
Fury escorted his guests into a large room filled with tables and chairs. There was a salad bar against one wall, and another bar opposite which contained different meats and vegetables.
"A cafeteria? Very nice!" said the Doctor.
"I could go for something," Rose said.
"Please, help yourself," said Fury as he walked toward another group of people. "Doctor, Rose Tyler, I believe you already know Doctor Brennan and Agent Booth."
Booth and Temperance already had turned around so that they could see who was coming in. Temperance approached them with a smile. Booth followed her without one.
Fury said, "And this is Mister Sherlock Holmes, Doctor John Watson, and Mary Watson."
The three Britons had been talking among each other, but now they stopped talking and started walking toward the growing knot of people. Mary smiled suavely, while John attempted to do the same. Sherlock looked as if he were sizing up competition. And that's what he thought of himself as doing.
Rose said, "Sherlock Holmes! I've heard of you. My mum used to follow your cases on the tellie."
"Lots of people do," said Sherlock rapidly, "can't say I'm—" Then he stopped and did something very rare. He did a double-take.
"Something wrong?" Rose asked.
"Yes," he said, "with you."
"Sherlock!" John muttered.
"What have we here? Travelers, but not just any travelers. Oh, you've traveled far indeed."
"He's good," said the Doctor. "Greatest detective in the world, no doubt about it. Keep going, Sherlock Holmes. Where am I from?"
"The North, by the sound of the accent, but a great traveler, you can see it in the eyes. And a war hero, of sorts, though you regret whatever it was you did."
"Sherlock!" John said.
"Lots of enemies and you don't know whether they can find you. An adept liar, almost as adept as me, and an expert at blending in with the locals. Also, a mechanic carrying technology not available to the public yet."
"Suppose that one was obvious," said the Doctor, moving his jacket to reveal the partly-uncovered sonic screwdriver. "But the rest?"
"Great traveler is revealed in the eyes, war hero in the way you carry yourself, only a fighter carries himself like that, but with a purposely self-demeaning manner because you're not proud of what you did, together with the way you scanned this room when you entered it which shows that you were unsure whether you'd be meeting new friends or old foes. Mechanic is obvious, there's a bit of grease on your right sleeve."
"And blending in with the locals?"
"I can think of no other reason to wear such an awfully plain outfit."
"It's fantastic!" said the Doctor with a huge grin.
John held out his hand to Rose. "Hi, I'm John Watson, and this is my wife, Mary."
"How d'you do? Rose Tyler."
"It's so nice to hear a London accent in this place," said Mary with a smile. "How long have you been in town?"
"Oh, just a couple days. And already we're part of a murder investigation."
"One that involves aliens," said Sherlock.
"That hasn't been confirmed," said Fury.
"Please! Your qualification is just prolonging the inevitable. SHIELD is investigating murders committed with an unknown weapon and calling in some kind of futuristic scientist. What else could it be, after your involvement with the Chitauri invasion? Yes, I watch the news."
"You're here to help us solve the murder, not to guess at the bigger picture, Mister Holmes. If you can't do your job, then I'll tell your brother that we'll find someone else."
"Good, then I can investigate on my own. Will that be all, Mister Fury?"
John grabbed his arm. "Sherlock, you should cooperate with these people. We're safe here."
"Don't be naïve, John, we're only as safe as the technology we have, which is clearly outstripped in this case."
"Yes, but it's the safest place we've got."
Mary told Sherlock, "Stop showing off. The Doctor is clearly not impressed."
"What makes you think I want to impress him?"
A new voice came from the corner of the room. "She's right." They all turned to look at a dark-haired young man wearing shabby clothes and thick glasses. Another man, dressed in the most elegant suit imaginable, was sitting nearby. The man with glasses left the table he had been sitting at and came toward them. "I'm not sure exactly how to diagnose you, but it's clear enough that you have a pathological need to demonstrate your talents. Whoever this Doctor is, you believe that he has a lot of intelligence and you want to make sure he knows you do too."
"Sorry, who are you, exactly?" asked John. Although he had been criticizing Sherlock moments ago, he felt suddenly defensive.
The man with glasses sighed and rubbed his eyes, a gesture which he often did when asked a question. "I'm Special Agent Will Graham. I'm a profiler for the FBI." He pointed at the well-dressed man, who had remained seating. "That's my colleague, Doctor Hannibal Lecter. He's here to make sure I get along with everyone."
"I would hardly say that was my purpose," said Hannibal.
"Ah yes, Will Graham," said Sherlock. "I've heard of your work. It's not bad, you have a knack."
"Everybody's heard of you, Sherlock Holmes. So don't waste any time trying to impress me."
"Oh, don't worry, I know it would be a waste of time."
"Sherlock!"
Sherlock went on, "You're easily impressed, though you don't always like what you see. Is that right?"
Will nodded.
Hannibal, who had joined them, said, "Will has a special gift. He can empathize almost perfectly with nearly anyone. It makes him one of the greatest criminal profilers in the world. I'm telling you this because he gets tired of saying it himself." Will nodded again, this time to thank Hannibal.
"Perfect empathy? That sounds awful," said Rose.
"It is," said Will with a bitter smile. Rose stroked his arm.
"Forensic anthropologist, private detective, criminal profiler…and me," said the Doctor to Fury. "And you brought us all here to protect us? Because we looked at a few corpses? I think you're up to something else, mate."
"I brought you here so that you would be safe while you continued your investigations. There are three or four places in the world safer than this one, and if I were concerned only for your safety I could have sent you there. But this place is equipped with everything you could need to catch whoever killed those three people. Including me and my associates. Consider us your assets."
"That's awfully generous of you."
"I'm not a disinterested party, as I'm sure you know, Doctor."
"Sorry, no," said Sherlock abruptly. "I work alone."
"You work with John and me," said Mary.
"Yes, but not with Americans and time travelers."
"Time travelers? What's he talking about?" asked Rose.
"Don't be stupid. Your ticket, the one in your pocket, the corner is poking out. It's for a showing of Gravity, a film which won't be released until next year."
"I told you we shouldn't watch that one," said the Doctor to Rose.
John said, "Hang on, you—time travel?"
"You what?" said Booth, who hadn't spoken yet.
Temperance said, "Einstein's work shows that time travel is impossible. The implications of the role of light cones in general relativity-"
"All right, all right, everyone hold it!" shouted the Doctor. The protests ended. "Listen. I'm a Time Lord. I'm an extraterrestrial who can perceive time non-linearly, which allowed my people to develop time travel. Tempe, the reason I knew so much about those tools was because I'd visited the time they were used. Rose and I came to this city at this time because we had a clue that alien technology was being used."
"In the murder?" asked Mary.
"It looks like it, yeah."
"That's not possible," said Temperance.
The Doctor shrugged. "It's the truth."
"A—a Time Lord, did you say?" asked John. "That's—Wow, that's really—Hmm."
Temperance looked confused and rather betrayed. "That means you lied to me." Booth came up alongside her and put an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Tempe, but you can see that I had to do it."
Fury spoke up. "Now that we've cleared the air of that important fact, may I suggest that you all begin investigating? The sooner you find out what's going on with these murders, the sooner you can go home and we can protect the planet. I think that Mister Holmes has more information than the rest of you, thanks to his brother, so you might want to ask him about it. I have other work to do. You can contact me using the number which I used to call you." He walked out of the room, leaving them apparently by themselves.