Gregory objected, but Barns only stormed up the stairs as he continued to call for Vic and Xavier, and given he was a great many years younger than Gregory; he reached the top of the stairs much sooner than the butler. Since he was not certain which room was Xavier’s and which was Vic’s, he just bellowed for them in the hall.
Soon Xavier stormed out.
“What the bloody hell are you carrying on about?”
“The four are plotting to remove me from my position and return Stone.”
“Well, to begin with, Vic insisted Stone sign a five-year agreement when he became a partner. So even if he wished to return to Scotland Yard, he cannot do so for at least four years and eleven months.”
Barns calmed. “Thank God.”
Vic spoke behind Barns. “Stone does not wish to ever return to Scotland Yard. He much prefers our quieter ways.”
“Quieter ways? Correct me if I was misinformed but wasn’t Jacko and Xavier almost murdered recently?”
Vic rolled her eyes. “We’ve had a lively time recently, but in none of the situations was Stone in danger.” She then sobered. “Are the four causing you serious problems?”
“Yes, they are rallying Parliament to reinstate Stone.”
“But aren’t two of the four the ones who killed your father?”
“Yes, but how does that impact anything? I am nothing like my father.”
“I agree. Your father was a cheat and a liar, the same as the four. You, however, are a brilliant and excellent leader of men. And I only expect you to get better in the future.”
Vic focused on Xavier. “Xavier, can you not rally the quality men in Parliament to make the four leave Barns alone, so he can do his job?”
“I have tried, but even the good men cling to the ways of the past.”
“This is absurd! The ways of the past will no longer do! Wait, didn’t a parliament member have a heart attack while he was promoting a bill recently?”
Xavier nodded. “Yes, but how is that going to help you?”
“Had Barns kept us in the past, there would have been no telephone line to the hospital and the fellow would have died long before help could have gotten to him.”
“But how did the telephone change anything,” Xavier challenged.
Barns spoke up. “Actually, it made a huge difference. Madison thought he only had indigestion, and thus ignored his symptoms. I however, disagreed and called for an ambulance. By the time he realized it was a heart attack, the ambulance and a doctor were already on site.”
“Well, that was lucky for Madison, but that sounds like a one-off.”
“I disagree. The ambulance does not stop and wait in traffic. All carriages and such must pull to the side and let the ambulance pass. Thus, it arrives much sooner than sending a patient to the hospital by carriage. And in Madison’s case, the doctor was certain he would have died had it not been for the ambulance’s quick arrival.”
Vic grinned at Barns. “From what I hear, your ability to track criminals has improved immensely with those fingerprint cards.”
Barns laughed softly. “Yes. Locating the proper person who committed the crime is becoming easier all the time. Our rate of catching criminals has doubled, and now we have high confidence that the person caught is the true criminal, given fingerprints are unique.
“While some of the judges refuse to accept fingerprints as a valid methodology to determine the criminal, I hope to soon get Parliament to establish fingerprints to be unique and a legitimate methodology to locate criminals.”
Vic nodded. “Be forewarned: I expect there will be criminals who will attempt to remove their fingerprints to avoid capture. Thus, any criminals with no viable prints should be sent directly to prison. If they are that desperate to avoid being printed, they are more than likely the worst of criminals.”
Xavier chuckled. “I will bring Barns’ excellent advancements to Parliament’s attention. While he is young, I will point out the value of having such a brilliant young man, who is still in the prime of his life, to oversee Scotland Yard. Having an intelligent young man is a far better solution to our growing problems, than a man beyond his prime years.”
Chapter 14
THE NEXT MORNING, XAVIER and Vic woke to loud, angry voices outside their window.
“Bloody Hell!” Xavier bellowed.
“Perhaps we should move to a room with no windows.”
Just then, Gregory knocked once, then opened the door sufficiently to speak to them. “There is an angry mob outside. It appears that Claire is claiming you have kidnapped her daughter.”
Suddenly someone with a bullhorn spoke. “Unless you send the young girl out at once, we will set your house on fire, just as you did to the lady’s home.” Those without a bullhorn clearly agreed with the bullhorns’ sentiment and threw rocks at the windows, which so far had missed their mark.
Baffled by their inability to break windows with rocks, Xavier got up and dressed so he could stare out the window and see why they were such poor shots. Before he could walk to a window, Gregory advised them both to dress and come downstairs. “While the rocks cannot reach you, I fear the riflemen on the roof of the Wilkensen’s mansion might be able to do so.”
“Vic, get up and put on your armor.”
“Are you going to do the same?” she challenged.
“Of course. This is no time to take unnecessary risks.”
Soon they were suited in their Madagascar silk vests and standing in the hall. “So, where are my soldiers?”
“They are protecting both houses, sir. That is the reason why the rocks are not reaching our windows. Since your house is not protected with a thirty-foot iron fence in the front yard, most of the soldiers are behind a makeshift barrier of items from the basement. We presently appear to be in a stand-off. However, if Vic would use a bullhorn and explain what has happened, then I suspect many of the people will return to their own homes and stop being fools.”
“Sounds reasonable. Vic, are you up to maintaining your temper and settling these fools down?”
“Why do I have to do this? I hate talking to stupid people!”
Xavier grumbled. “As do I. So, given the choice of you or me, who do you think can do this better?”
Vic sighed. “I’ll give it a try.”
Instead of opening the front door, Gregory led her to the barn where hay bales were lined up three feet deep.
Xavier grinned. “Well done, Gregory. From this point, the men on Wilkensen’s mansion can’t even see us.
Vic hugged her butler/father for his grand foresight.
“Don’t feel too secure, Vic. Those men will no doubt move to a better position the moment you begin your speech. So, I have written you a short speech. If you want to make changes, do it now.”
Vic didn’t know if she should be angry or pleased by Gregory’s presumptive speech. However, upon reading it to herself, she gave him another hug. “It’s precisely what I would have said if you had let me write it.”
Vic moved to the right side of the haystack, suspecting that the men with rifles would expect her to hide behind the haystacks, since it was the hardest place for them to hit. She then focused on Xavier and Gregory. “You two need to leave the barn entirely. And stay away from windows, just in case I piss them off!”
To her amazement, both returned to the house without a single word.
“You could have wished me good luck,” Vic grumbled.
On her own, Vic lifted the bullhorn and read Gregory’s speech.
“To those throwing rocks. You are being played. The men with rifles presently on Wilkensen’s roof are assassins. They have concocted a story to rile you up while they kill you. You are simply “fodder to die.” Then they plan to blame your deaths on us. Don’t let this happen. Go home at once. No one needs to die today.” Vic paused and then added her own thought. “Well, the assassins should die. But no one else.”
Having said her bit, she decided her safest spot was not behind the haystacks
where they would expect her to be found. Instead, she crept into a narrow space between the barn wall and a trunk. If they randomly shot the barn, she might be in danger, but the inner wall had several layers of steal nailed to the bottom to keep rats away. For a bit more safety, she opened the trunk, letting the lid hide her.
Tubs spoke near the trunk. “Good hiding place. I’m taking the window. All the idiot people ran off, so shoot to kill those that arrive.”
Vic soon discovered a flaw to her hideout. She could only shoot their ankles, which she did with gusto. Thank God Tubs was at the window, or this would be the most embarrassing shootout ever. Once there was only silence, Vic climbed out and surveyed the dead bodies.
Tubs patted her back. “You did really good.”
“Tubs, I could only see their ankles.”
“True; but being shot in the ankle brought them down hard, which made finishing them off child’s play. They didn’t even try to shoot me. They were all hugging their ankles.”
“Were they really assassins?”
“Some of the worse assassins in London.”
“Then why didn’t they see me?”
“They thought you were on the far side of the hay bales. But never did they expect you to shoot them in the ankles. Even when they painfully discovered they were being shot, they still believed you were behind the haystacks, so they kept pumping bullets into the hay while you pumped bullets into their ankles, making it the easiest kills I’ve ever had. I shot them all in less than thirty seconds.”
Vic smiled. “We make a good team.”
Tubs chuckled. “No, we make a great team!”
As Tubs was closing the barn doors, the head of Scotland Yard drove up and hurried to the mass of dead assassins lying on the ground.
He quickly assessed each man. “God’s above, how did you kill so many of my troubles?”
“It was the easiest task I’ve ever had. Vic shot them in the ankles. Turned them all into whiny babies, which I quickly silenced for good.”
“Why did Vic shoot them in the ankles rather than the head?”
Vic sighed and invited Barns in. “Truth is, that’s all I could see, so I took out their ankles. Who knew they were such babies!”
Tubs focused on Barns. You want me to get rid of the bodies?”
“No, I’ll call for a wagon and have them processed.”
Vic frowned. “Tubs isn’t going to be in trouble, is he? They were assassins, here to kill me and Xavier. Tubs just helped keep me alive by shooting a bit higher than I could.”
Barns laughed, which let her know Tubs wasn’t in trouble.
“Where’s Xavier?”
“I have no idea. He should be somewhere in this house or Vivian’s. It’s possible there is a war going on at their home as well. This has been a really rough month. People have stopped behaving.”
“I totally agree. This has been a horrible month. But thankfully, yesterday, Xavier spoke to Parliament about a long list of extraordinary efforts that I’m working on to improve Scotland Yard and make our country safer. Not only did I receive a standing ovation, they even gave me a raise. Removing the ten worst assassins in London will be the cherry on the top.”
Barns paused. “I know Tubs is the one who actually killed them, but that will just upset the members of Parliament.”
Vic sighed. “There are many parliament members who don’t like me either. Maybe you should just take the credit. It’s not like there are any of the men alive to contradict you. You can say you and Meyers had learned we were under attack and you came to our rescue.”
Barns grimaced. “The problem I have is that shooting assassins in the ankle won’t improve my image.”
“Well, then I will take credit for the ankles and you take credit for the headshots.”
“Will Tubs not mind?”
“Tubs does not want any credit. In fact, he planned to dump them in the Thames tonight.”
“Then, I’ll do that, but I’ll share the headshots with Meyers. He’s a superb officer.”
“I think so as well.”
Vic grimaced. “But first, let’s find Xavier. We had Claire, only I think she may have escaped while I was shooting ankles. So, we cannot send her to Switzerland yet. However, in case Block has taught her to be a mesmerist, I don’t want her playing with Xavier’s head. So, let’s find Xavier and make certain he is still sane.”
Barns chuckled. “You seem to be killing a great many people these days.”
“That is not so!” The only person I killed was Block, and he was a mesmerist and tried to mesmerize Xavier. So, I killed him.”
Barns grimaced. “You do know that no one believes in mesmerist anymore?”
“I’ve seen too many cases of mesmerism to not believe that it is real. However, if calling it ‘hypnotism’ makes you feel better, then use that word. The only difference in the two that I can see is the ‘doctors’ who treat patients with ‘hypnotism’ have rules to follow. But otherwise they seem the same to me.
“Fine, but I will call it hypnotism,” Barns replied. “Otherwise, I would sound like a fool. There are far too many scammers claiming to be a mesmerist.
Vic grinned. “That is an excellent point. Scammers have destroyed the credibility of mesmerism. I will use the word ‘hypnotism’ as well. Now let’s go find Xavier.”
When they left the barn and entered the house, they found Xavier.
“Well, that was easy.” Barns laughed.
“Are you insane? Nothing has been easy this entire month!” Xavier snapped.
“Well, you are wrong,” Vic insisted. “I left the barn to find you, and when I opened the door, there you were. Easiest task I’ve had all week.”
“Same here,” Barns replied.
Xavier sighed in relief and sat down at the kitchen table. “Then let us hope our terrible days are done with.”
Vic, Meyers, and Barns sat as well. “It’s possible, given that Meyers and I will be removing the dead bodies of the ten worst assassins in England,” Barns replied.
“Bloody Hell, Vic! Why did you not call me to assist?”
Vic focused on Barns. “He needs to know the truth.”
“I doubt that it will make him feel better.”
“I disagree,” Vic replied.
Barns rolled his eyes. “Then share away!”
“Tubs and I took out the assassins. However, my part was rather ridiculous. I didn’t hide behind the haystacks because it seemed a likely place for the assassins to expect me to hide. So instead, I hid behind the trunk and the wall with the steel panels nailed to it to stop mice from coming in. And Tubs wisely chose a window.”
“If you laid between the trunk and the steel panels, how could you shoot anything?” Xavier demanded.
“I soon discovered, while I couldn’t actually see the men, I could see their ankles, so I quickly shot at them while they kept firing at the hay bales. They were certain that was where the shots came from. In short time, they were on the ground screaming in pain. Tubs was able to shoot them in their heads while they carried on about their ankles. In less than thirty seconds they were all dead. However, we’ve decided to let Meyers and Barns take the credit.”
Xavier grinned. “Well done, and an excellent decision on who gets the credit. The last thing you ever want is to be credited for is killing an assassin.”
“Why?” Vic asked. “We killed them all.”
“No, Tubs killed ten. And rest assured, there will be hundreds of assassins waiting to fill the void.”
“I suppose that is true, what with all the poor people losing their homes and starving.”
“Sad but true,” Xavier replied. “Fortunately, Barns nor Meyers will be hunted down for killing assassins. These men know if they kill the officers of Scotland Yard, they will be hunted down like dogs. Instead, a new assassin will simply try to make enough money from killing citizens to survive as they hone their new skill. It will take many years of practice before they reach the claim of ‘most deadl
y assassin.’ And even then, they will not go after Scotland Yard.”
Vic grinned. “Then having Meyers and Barns claim the kills will be best for all.”
Xavier stroked her leg beneath the kitchen table. “Indeed, it is.”
“So how did you lose Claire?” Vic asked Xavier.
“She insisted upon going to the bathroom, so I asked a soldier to escort her. When she hadn’t returned in fifteen minutes, I knocked on the door. That received me a scold that no lady could handle matters so quickly.”
“I warned the guard to be alert, for she was crafty. He laughed and promised he could handle her. However, when she hadn’t come out after a half-hour and was no longer responding, the guard broke in and, to his shock, she was gone.”
“Which bathroom did she use?” Vic asked.
“Excellent question. She had insisted upon using ours.”
“Then she probably created some form of steps from the benches and chairs we have in the room, removed the screws from the frame of the glass window in the ceiling, and climbed out. That will leave her on our roof, or more than likely, she made a rope from our bed sheets and climbed down three stories and ran to her carriage that was hidden somewhere nearby. I expect, she is miles away by now.”
“Shall we see which?” Xavier asked.
“I don’t have the energy to deal with Claire presently. Can’t we just ask Gregory to put new sheets on our bed so we can go to sleep?”
“Gregory, can you put new sheets on our bed? Vic is exhausted from her ankle-shooting.”
“Of course.” Gregory went first to the pantry then hurried upstairs. To his shock the mattress was not only bare but ripped to pieces. However, Gregory always kept spare mattresses. So, he rallied the staff and within a half-hour, they had a new mattress, new sheets, and a new comforter.
“Your bedding is ready for you,” Gregory declared with pride.
“Thank you, Gregory,” Xavier replied.
Instead of leaving, he followed Xavier and Vic to their suite and stepped inside and closed the door.
“May I assume Claire was behind the violent destruction of your bed and sheets?”
The Future of Scotland Yard Page 9