Doctor John Watson? A quick search through his memory fortress confirmed Mycroft's inkling that he had never heard of the man. Mycroft knew, and could recall with perfect clarity, the names of all his enemies, both within his occupation and his personal life. None of these people were called 'John Watson', and they were certainly not the type of people to be pursuing the traditionally caring role of a doctor. This 'Doctor John Watson' already sounded like a good candidate, but knowing so little about him unnerved Mycroft to a degree.
The government official could not profess to knowing nothing about the man, because John Watson's title and occupation revealed a lot about his character. For example, people who had trained to become doctors usually possessed caring, loyal and patient personality traits. These were all desirable qualities in a person who was intended to be a permanent, calming influence on Sherlock, and it was an undeniable truth that a doctor would be very useful if Sherlock did somehow relapse into his addiction, or become injured in any way whilst pursuing a criminal on one of his cases.
However, because John Watson was also an army doctor, this indicated to Mycroft that the doctor had the capability to protect Sherlock from being harmed in the first place, which was even more of a desirable outcome. The doctor was likely to be physically fit, to have been trained in both hand-to-hand and armed combat, and to be extremely brave, meaning that he would adjust easily to Sherlock's lifestyle of chasing dangerous people through the streets of London at all hours. Therefore, it was highly probable that a man like Doctor Watson would be perfectly willing and capable of keeping Sherlock safe, something which Mycroft desired above everything else, but the doctor would also be unlikely to have any qualms about telling the detective when he had overstepped the mark. In time, this could prove to be useful, with Doctor Watson's placement by Sherlock's side helping the detective to progress, rather than just simply ensuring that things didn't get any worse.
"Hello? Mr Holmes? Are you still there? The line's gone awfully quiet."
"Yes. Apologies, Doctor Stamford, I was lost in my thoughts."
"That makes a change," Mike tried feebly to make a joke, but his efforts fell upon stony ground. It was painfully evident to both parties that Mike had chosen the wrong person to try and provoke any sort of emotional response from, whether it be good or bad. Mycroft was not a man that appreciated humour when used just for humour's sake. He didn't approve of anything that wasn't done for a purpose. Actions such as these were illogical, and a waste of precious time.
True to form, Mycroft chose to ignore Mike's last comment. The closest things to humour that the Holmes brothers would reluctantly acknowledge were witty remarks, and sarcastic retorts. "Thank you for your suggestion, Doctor Stamford. I will pursue the matter in due course."
"Oh, alright then. Erm, glad I could be of assistance...I think. Bye then," said Mike tentatively, not sure if the government official would be particularly pleased if he ended the call first. In the doctor's eyes, Mr Holmes might deem such an action to be rude, and Mike didn't really want to experience the wrath of Mycroft Holmes. Sherlock was bad enough, but the doctor had a feeling that his brother was even worse. It was a shame that St Bartholomew's hospital didn't offer courses exploring 'the correct social protocol for ending an awkward telephone conversation with a man that possesses the power to destroy your life in the blink of an eye'. Mike would have attended that class. Not only would it have been extremely useful at present, it would have broken the cyclical routine of his dull, everyday life.
"Good bye," said Mycroft politely, completely ignorant of the fact that he was interrupting Mike's inner dilemma, before ending the call. He didn't usually communicate with people by telephone if he was in a position to text them, but this current situation was complex, as was everything else regarding Sherlock, and therefore deserved more care and attention than other dilemmas. The nature of the situation rendered it difficult to explain accurately and effectively to ordinary people via the medium of text messages. Sherlock deserved better than that; he deserved to have his future decided thoroughly, rather than through a few simple text messages whose meaning could easily be misunderstood.
On that note, he typed a quick text message and sent it to his assistant, Anthea. Even taking all of his earlier reasoning about appropriate methods of communication into consideration, the chance of Anthea misunderstanding a direct text message from her boss was extremely low, as Mycroft would never employ somebody who would be incompetent enough to do that. The message read as follows:
Need data on a 'Doctor John Watson' ASAP. Enter additional search criteria as follows; 'army', 'doctor' and 'Afghanistan'. MH
Mycroft set his phone on the desk and waited for a response, estimating that Anthea would reply with everything he needed to know within five minutes. The car bringing Sherlock to the Diogenes Club would arrive in just over fifteen minutes, giving Mycroft time to evaluate Doctor Watson's suitability and set the wheels in motion for Sherlock to seemingly 'encounter the doctor by chance' if the man met all of Mycroft's criteria, by the time that the detective arrived. Sure enough, Mycroft's phone bleeped with a text message from Anthea just before the fourth minute began. Her reply read:
Doctor John Hamish Watson, army doctor for Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers, honourably discharged on a permanent basis over a month ago after being wounded in action in Afghanistan. Temporarily residing in London whilst finishing a mandatory course of counseling. Therapist believes that any remaining indications of an injury are psychosomatic, with Doctor Watson possibly suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. He has an hour long session tomorrow, starting 1pm, after which he will walk home via Regent's Park as usual. Will there be anything else this evening, Sir? A
Mycroft responded immediately, thanking Anthea for her information and dismissing her for the evening, before digesting this new data. Even Mycroft himself couldn't have planned how fitting Doctor Watson seemed to be. People would be forgiven for thinking that the whole arrangement had been preordained. Mycroft may have had minor cause for concern if Doctor Watson's physical injury had not healed, or if he had still been posted abroad, but neither of these worries were relevant now. Admittedly, if Doctor Watson was indeed currently suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, it might be unfair and unwise to expose him to Sherlock's demeanor and way of life on a permanent basis. However, Mycroft could see no impediment to arranging a trial run, briefly exposing the two men to each other and observing how they reacted. The sooner this happened, the better it would be for everyone involved. Mycroft deduced from Anthea's information that the risk of Doctor Watson's condition deteriorating after brief, supervised exposure to Sherlock's eccentricity was low, and therefore it was safe to proceed. The government official might come across as sociopathic or simply antisocial, but he would never endanger the wellbeing of another person without their prior knowledge or consent.
Realising that the ten minutes that had been allocated between receiving Anthea's text and Sherlock arriving were very nearly up, Mycroft managed to send a text to Doctor Stamford before the sound of his brother arguing loudly in the corridor with the driver of the government official's car came into earshot. Trust Sherlock to be early for something when he didn't need to be. Usually, just getting the detective to turn up somewhere that Mycroft wanted him to be was a bonus. Mycroft swore that his brother did it just to annoy him.
Dr Watson is suitable. Be in Regent's Park from 1:45pm onwards tomorrow. When you see Dr Watson, engage him in conversation and find a way of mentioning my brother in a positive light. Do as I say, and I will see to it that your monotonous life is monotonous no longer. MH
With the click of a few buttons, Mycroft had successfully orchestrated another segment of Sherlock's life. Now all he had to do was ensure that Sherlock never deduced what he had done, for fear of said younger brother rebelling against it and ruining what could possibility be the most important encounter with another human being of his life. Mycroft never thought that he would say this, but meeting his brother might be one of the best things that ever happened to Doctor John Watson, and vice versa, given how well the two men complimented each other in theory. Now all the government official had to do was to arrange a meeting between Sherlock and John, without either of them being aware that they were being used as puppets in Mycroft's well-meaning ploy.
For an ordinary person, this would be easier said than done. For Mycroft Holmes, it was child's play.