Sherlock Holmes in 2012: LORD OF DARKNESS RISING (12 page)

Irene sipped on her glass of port. “What makes you think that?”

“He talked in generalities – not in detail. And that, my dear, is a sign of someone knowing a lot more than one lets on. Besides which, he described his acquaintance with a team of engineers that he called a
think-tank
.” Irene frowned. Sherlock smiled in response. “Yes, that’s what he called these people. And this particular group goes under the name of Earth Hawks.”

Irene tittered. “I guess that would be a good name for people who have ‘
a
bird’s
eye
view
’ of the situation.”

“Well put, Irene, because, from Watson’s description, that would sum up their expertise.”

“Would it now?” Irene was getting more interested.

“Yes. He even suggested that they would be prepared to use our time-machines to chase after David Penny through time.”

Irene stared. It all sounded a little outlandish to her. “But did he tell you where these people are located and on whose behalf they’re working?”

“We didn’t go that far.”

“Why not? It would be interesting to know who he is dealing with and why he is so intent to involve you in the matter.”

“The answer to that is elementary, my dear; Watson believes that the person responsible for his wife’s death is a terrorist who may be associated with our David Penny.”

“Did you talk to him about our escapade to New York then?”

“Yes, I’m afraid I did – not in detail mind you. But no matter, I believe John Watson, same as his great-grandfather, is a man of honour, a respectable fellow, whose life has been marred by the unnecessary killing of his wife. He’s simply trying to find out who killed her.”

“That may be true, Sherlock, but we can hardly involve these
Earth
Hawks
in chasing terrorists across continents and time, now could we? We must think of Sarah—”

“That’s precisely what I told him.” Sherlock paused long enough to inhale a breath of smoke. “I cut our conversation short actually, when he asked me where the time-machines were.”

Irene stood up and went to stand by the railing, crossing her arms over her chest. “We need to have a serious chat with the young man, Sherlock. He’s treading very dangerous waters.”

“Yes, Irene, he is,” Sherlock said as he went to join his wife. “I have invited him to have tea with us this Sunday – I told him about your wonderful scones—”

“Oh, Sherlock, they’re not
my
scones
; I only found the bakery—”

“Precisely, my dear – “
Finders
Keepers
” – isn’t that what
they
say?”

 
Chapter Six

Time
Continuum

“Do you know these people, Mycroft?” Irene asked during one of her recent conversations with Sherlock’s brother. These Earth Hawks seemed to be quite elusive for some reason, and Irene didn’t like the idea of having them sniff around Sherlock’s past – or hers for that matter.

“Yes, my dear, we’ve heard of them. They’re quite an organization—”

“What do you mean by “we”? Do you mean the British government is using this think-thank for some sort of surveillance?”

Mycroft sounded a little hesitant when he said, “I wouldn’t have much information about their activities at this point, but I could always make some inquiries.”

“Do you know where they are based and who’s at the head of the organization?”

“All right, my dear… , before I go any further in answering your questions, would you tell me what this is all about?”

“It’s a little complicated, Mycroft, but I’ll try to make this as succinct as I possibly could.”

“I’d appreciate that. At this hour, all I need is sleep… , but do go on, please.”

“As I told you last week, Sherlock and Watson’s great-grandson renewed their acquaintance, so to speak, and at the issue of one of their meetings at the university, Watson came up with the idea of involving these Earth Hawks in finding or chasing David Penny through time.”

“Of all the idiotic ideas… !” Mycroft exploded. “This brother of mine must be fit to be tied, to be sure. I am sending him to the ends of the earth to keep him out of trouble, and he goes searching for it nonetheless! And if that wasn’t enough, he is involving someone else into something that should have remained untold for everyone’s sake.”

Irene listened to Mycroft’s ranting, an inward smile ready to emerge on her lips. Trying not to show her amusement, she said, “Don’t be too hard on him, Mycroft, he had no idea that Watson would be involved with such a group.”

“Nevertheless, Irene, he doesn’t seem to have any restrain when it comes to chasing terrorists across the globe.” Mycroft appeared to calm down a little. “Just tell me that he didn’t say anything compromising, otherwise, I’ll send him to Timbuktu for his troubles.”

Irene couldn’t help but laugh at imagining Sherlock roaming the Sahel and visiting the old pilgrimage site. “At this point, I think Sherlock is well aware of the dangers that could befall him, notwithstanding Timbuktu,” she said with a smothered giggle, “if he were to suggest anything more than what he mentioned already.”

“And what did “he mention already”, that’s what I’d like to know.”

“Nothing more than David Penny being working for Adnan and al Qaeda, I believe.”

“But tell me, why on earth would the young Watson want to be involved with chasing terrorists?”

“That’s because the poor man has lost his wife in the 2006 train bombing in England. And he has a little girl that’s been left without a mother—”

“Don’t say anymore, Irene, I understand.” Mycroft paused. “Alright, let me find out what I can about the Earth Hawks, but in the meantime, I can assure you they are a legitimate organization which, by all accounts, has been extremely helpful in our international relations—”

“But I thought you said you had only heard of them?”

“You’re right, that’s what I said, because I don’t deal with them directly, but my ministry does and I know MI5 does, too.”

“Thank you, Mycroft. It’s a relief to know that someone knows these people. As you can imagine this whole thing sounds so outlandish to me and to Sherlock as well, that it’s hard to come to grips with this
new
reality
. It’s too fantastic for us to believe at times.”

“I quite understand the feeling, my dear, but you can rest assured, as I said, that I am here for you both. Just make sure Sherlock doesn’t do anything foolish, alright?”

“Absolutely!”

As soon as Mycroft reached his office that morning, after a restless night, he opened the Skype window on his laptop. Seeing that Mohammad was ‘on-line’, he called him.

“Mr. Minister, what a pleasure!” Mohammad guffawed, leaning to the back of his chair. “How can I be of assistance on this wonderful day, sir?”

“You can begin by telling me if you’re acquainted with a Dr. John Watson, Dr. Bahareth. And if you know the fellow, I’d appreciate receiving a report of your latest conversation with him.”

Mohammad advanced in the chair and put his forearms on the desk. “Okay, Mr. Minister, I know you’ll find out anyway—”

“Of that you can be sure, Doctor. So let’s have it.”

“Let’s not be unpleasant about this, Mr. Minister. I have known Dr. Watson for only a couple of years. He is a brilliant scientist, sir, and one that I wish I could employ in my team.”

“I bet you would. But all that is not what I want to find out. I want to know what your latest conversation with him entailed.”

Mohammad didn’t know if Mycroft Holmes knew anything about the time-machines or if he even knew that a brother of his was alive in this century. “We talked about his upcoming visit to Washington.”

“Maybe you did, Dr. Bahareth, but besides that did you also talk about Mr. Sherlock Holmes?”

“Okay, Mr. Minister,” Mohammad relented, “I am aware of the famous detective being alive in this century, yes. And Dr. Watson mentioned that Sherlock Holmes had travelled with his wife in two time-machines all the way from the last century – that is to say the 19
^th
century. But that’s all we’ve talked about so far.”

“Very good, Doctor. I’m glad to hear that you haven’t been approached by anyone else yet regarding this matter—”

“How would you know that I haven’t been approached by some other person than your good self… ?”

“I am a politician, Doctor, and as such, I know how much pressure could be applied on you to keep sensitive information from escaping your lips. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Sure I do, Mr. Minister. But now that I have told you, may I ask what you might want me to do about these time-machines… ?”

“Are you hoping to lay your hands on them, perhaps?”

“Yes, sir, I am. We need to examine the possibilities offered to us by these machines. This is an exceptional opportunity to turn the clocks back and maybe understand some of the errors that we have perpetrated in the 20
^th
century and beyond, without necessarily modifying any of the events that are still affecting our lives to this day.”

“I can see what you’re getting at, and let me assure you that none of what you’re suggesting is going to happen.”

“But, if we could at least take a look at them—”

“NO, Doctor. If anyone is going to have access to these machines, it will be me or my brother, no one else.”

“Very well, Mr. Minister, I shall not press the point for the moment, but there is something about this affair that we will need to discuss very soon, sir.”

“What’s that?”

“
Time
Continuum
. That’s what it is. I know all too well that we could not change the past without dire consequences, but the mere fact that your brother has breached a law of nature, would have to be corrected somehow.”

“If you are proposing to send my brother back, the answer is no, Doctor.”

“Okay, sir, as I said, I will not press the issue for now. I’ll be in London next week and if your schedule allows me to spend some time with you, I would make myself available day or night.”

“Very well then, I’ll have my secretary send you a couple of dates and times at which we could meet. However, I don’t think it is necessary for me to remind you that this is not an issue that you would wish to discuss with anyone under any circumstances. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal clear, Mr. Minister!”

When Mycroft closed his laptop, after a few parting words with Dr. Bahareth, he was in two minds; he wanted to call Weisberg and see if the CIA was aware or even used the Earth Hawks in the past. Yet, he wondered how he was going to broach the subject without revealing what he had in mind. The Earth Hawks would be the perfect team to beat terrorists at their own games, using the time-machines as their tools to track down the perpetrators before they committed any more villainous deeds. He shook his head and decided to think about this for a day or two.

Sitting behind a glass-topped desk and surrounded by the latest computer devices, in an office located in one of the imposing towers punctuating Riyadh’s skyline, Mohammad was upset. He was not in the habit of letting news disturb him, but the news of Sherlock Holmes’s presence being common knowledge in the highest offices of the British government certainly troubled him. He was a concerted fellow. He never did anything on impulse. The gentle, yet decisive features of his face divulged an eagerness of character his staff knew was to be trusted. He began pacing the width of his office, from time to time throwing a glance out of the floor-to-ceiling windows. He was not about to miss the opportunity to test one of these time-machines – even for himself – if at all possible, and, on the other hand, he knew that he had to find some way of redressing the situation of Sherlock Holmes being present in the 21
^st
century.

He called one of his close associates to discuss the matter.

“Alright, Ibrahim,” Mohammad began when the young man was sitting opposite him. “What could you tell me about
Time
Continuum
?”

A boyish grin took shape below Ibrahim’s moustache. “Well, Doctor, I don’t know very much about it, except that Time Continuum is like a series of domino tiles. If you disturb one tile, the rest will fall onto one another until the last tile has fallen. But since time has no beginning – not that we have defined as yet – and has certainly no end as far as we know, the domino effect of disturbing Time Continuum will be felt until the disturbed tile (or event) is returned to its original position or state.”

“That’s a very apt description, Ibrahim.” Mohammad smiled. “Now, if I were to tell you that something or someone rather, has disturbed one of these tiles in the 19
^th
century, what do you think this accident could have provoked either in our immediate past or perhaps could engender in our future.”