by Janina Woods
I harrumphed in a way that expressed my disdain at being spoken to like... I was usually talking to others. But as quickly as the hot feelings had built up inside my chest, they evaporated into thin air, as I realised just that. I wasn’t her superior, in any regard. Not right now.
“You’re right. I’ll follow your lead.”
Lou’s eyes shone with a glint of an apology. She took the lead and we quickly travelled along the ground, between the numerous pillars that had been erected to keep the ship in one place. It was always a treat to see Lou out in the field like this, showing off her skills beyond the political and social circles she usually navigated. I still believed that she could easily outdo me if she changed her missions to be closer aligned to mine. Maybe she could take over for me for a while.
Maybe forever.
I shook my head. I was only just nearing the end of the forty-second year of my life. Sure, I was ancient compared to many of my colleagues, but I knew I would keep fighting until I could no longer move, and that would hopefully be a while yet. And to put matters into perspective: Lou was older than me still, and yet she showed no signs of slowing down.
We had reached the set of metal stairs that connected the numerous galleries around the room, which reached up to the ceiling. The air smelled of wood, water and paint. It wasn’t unpleasant. As we moved I was aware of a growing number of shadows gliding almost without noise through the partial darkness around us. Other agents had spotted the location of the celebration and were moving into position just as we were.
As we sneaked up the stairs, careful not to create too much noise on the metal, there were already two other agents in front of us, and at least two behind. Apparently they had all decided to surround the culprits on the ship, instead of the whole building. It was a good plan.
The vessel had obviously been brought into the dry dock for repairs, which had long been completed, but it couldn’t very well be moved out of the building while the Thames was still frozen. I wondered if the owners of the dock were in league with Sarah Deville, or if she had simply appropriated the space, as it had been empty for a while. Then I remembered the record for the purchase of a passenger ship on Chapman’s desk. Another puzzle piece that neatly slotted into place.
It wasn’t a very large ship, but it was at least fifteen feet from the ground to the deck - a jump which few people would be willing to make. And if we could cut off the escape paths on the walkways... well, then maybe we could get everyone to surrender without much bloodshed. And I could stand back, as promised. There was a chance this could still work out.
The agents in front of us had stopped just one level below the deck and we decided to join them. They turned to see us and the three others, who had been behind us, and we all nodded a silent greeting at each other. It wasn’t dark enough to ignore the look on the agent’s faces as they recognised me, but none said a word. Of course they didn’t. They were professionals and we were on a dangerous mission.
“We wait until we hear the signal,” Lou whispered, clearly the woman in charge here. “Prepare yourselves.”
The others nodded and moved into formation, so they could jump up the stairs one after the other. Said signal would be a high pitched note from a whistle, which the leader of the operation was carrying. I hadn’t even asked who it was.
“Mycroft.” Lou had leaned in and placed her mouth next to my ear. “Stay back until most of the agents are on the ship. If anyone can recognise you immediately, it’s those people above us. I’m not telling you to stay out of this completely, but...”
“You don’t think any of these untrained, coerced citizens could actually hurt me?”
“Of course not. I know how good you are. But some of them were willing to kill for the plan, so I don’t think they’d need much coercion to take a shot at you as well.” Lou shook her head. “Alright, at least wait until we have cornered Deville. I give you permission to act freely after that. To do what you need to do.”
I released a breath and nodded. Somewhere up there was Alexander Thompson, and I wouldn’t rest until I had removed him from the scene. I barely had time to prepare myself mentally before the sound of a whistle sounded loud and clear through the building, above the voices and the music. And then everything happened at once.
It had been so long since I had been part of a large operation, so at first I simply watched the agents in front of me take off. They bounded up the stairs with all the grace of a pride of lions on the hunt. It made me proud to fall into step behind them - to be part of such a magnificent group.
As I reached the gallery above, I jumped onto the wooden walkway, but stayed behind, for now just taking in the scene in front of me. The deck of the ship was illuminated by a series of yellow electrical lights, which had been placed strategically along the ship. The vessel, a small ferry perhaps, had a hull painted in a dark blue, with a white stripe on top. The bridge was situated in the middle: a low cabin crowned by a chimney. A steamboat, then.
The group around Deville had evidently been distributed across the whole deck, as was obvious from the position of various relinquished items. The agents descended on the ship like a swarm of hungry grasshoppers, throwing themselves at everyone they could reach, before anyone even had a chance to draw a weapon to defend themselves. I could hear the odd gunshot, but the prevalent sound was confused shouting. There were more agents than enemies, and they took advantage of their numbers by making arrests, not kills.
It took me a while to spot Thompson, just as he retreated into the bridge... No, he had been pulled into the interior. By whom? I twisted the handle of my cane and unsheathed the long, elegant blade contained within. With the hollow wood in one hand, and the blade in the other, I ran over the walkway towards the ship. It swayed under my feet, but I didn’t give it any mind. Where was Lou? I couldn’t see her. Had she pulled Thompson to safety? Had Hawkins? No, he was at the bow of the ship, pressing a woman to the ground and securing her arms.
I had reached the ferry and jumped onto the deck, narrowly missing the head of a grey-haired man, who stared up at me in horror.
“Holmes?” he shouted. “But how?”
The agent on top of the man had trouble restraining him, but I saved him the effort by knocking the guilty party over the head with the cane. He promptly fell unconscious. The agent looked up at me, and it struck me how young he was.
“No rules against evening your odds,” I said. “Safer this way.”
“That’s what you call it? Evening your odds?” I heard someone shout, close by.
I turned to find the origin of the voice and was faced with an extremely furious Arthur Chapman. He had a pistol trained at me, and everything in his expression told me he was about half a second away from firing it. I dropped to the floor immediately, and it wasn’t a moment too soon. Two shots rang out in quick succession and I heard a pained shout behind me, but there was no time to look after anyone else. Chapman was thoroughly ruined now and he knew it. There was nothing to lose for him anymore.
The deck between us was free, but he was too far away for me to reach him from the ground. I had evaded the first attack, but now I was a stationary target. There was no time to have a moment of panic, so I rolled to the side, closer to the railing, hoping to avoid the next shots - which never came. I heard Chapman shout in surprise, as an agent jumped him and knocked the pistol out of his hand.
Much to my dismay, my adversary wasn’t shaken by this sudden attack. He turned around and delivered a swift and well-placed punch to the young agent’s face, who toppled over. Still, this brief confrontation had given me enough time to rise to my feet again. With my blade drawn, I pushed forward and sank it into Chapman’s body, which was only protected by a dark suit. In a flash of compassion, I hadn’t aimed for his heart, but rather for his shoulder, where I knew it would make him unable to use his right arm.
“I knew it
was too good to be true,” Chapman hissed as we sank together to the floor, my weapon still stuck in his body, my own arm hurting in sympathy. His head hit the wooden deck and he cursed under his breath. “Fine, you win. Now get that bloody thing out of my arm!”
“You fold rather quickly,” I huffed and obliged him by pulling my sword back.
He pressed both hands to his shoulder, where the blood flowed freely.
“Believe me, I never wanted this outcome,” he managed to squeeze out between clenched teeth. “I’m not made for any of... this. But the opportunity was too good to pass up.”
“I can’t deny that I wouldn’t have jumped at a similar chance.”
Chapman laughed, his voice hoarse, but I had a feeling it wasn’t about my comment, because it sounded much darker.
“Guess I’ve held you up long enough.”
I didn’t even grace him with a response, but whirled around to jump towards the bridge, where I had seen Thompson last. Many people shouted after me and tried to reach me in one way or another, but they were intercepted by my colleagues, or I simply knocked them out of the way.
The agency seemed to be having the upper hand. As the commotion on the deck died down, there was a loud noise from the inside of the bridge. I looked around while I ran, but I still couldn’t see Deville anywhere. This wasn’t good. Finally I jumped over a few stragglers, careful not to hit anyone with the blade, which was still dripping with blood, and kicked down the door to the bridge in one fluid motion. What welcomed me inside wasn’t at all what I wanted to find.
Lou was cornered on one side of the room by two people - a man and woman. The tall man was dressed in a dark tweed suit and held out a knife in front of him. I couldn’t see his face, but his head of brown hair seemed vaguely familiar. The woman was wearing a housemaid’s uniform on her frail frame, black hair stacked high on her head, and held up a pistol. While the woman carried herself with confidence, arm unwavering, the man actually looked like he’d drop the knife any second and run.
In the back of the room, against the windows, stood Sarah Deville, Thompson in her grasp, pistol trained against his head. Lou had her weapon aimed at Deville, and despite the vocal pleas of the man in front of her, didn’t lower it even a fraction. I relished the look of surprise on Deville’s face as I entered the room, but it didn’t unsettle her enough to make a wrong move. Unfortunate.
“I’m afraid the reports of my death were an exaggeration,” I stated, brandishing my sword. “I am commonly underestimated, but with our history I thought you wouldn’t make that mistake.”
“Get in line. I’m always underestimated. The perks of being born a lady,” Deville snarled. “Did you think it would be that easy?”
As if on cue, the noise outside erupted again. Through the window behind my enemy I could see the topmost galleries around the room, and they were full of people running towards the ship like an approaching wave. In a blur of motion, they descended onto my fellow agents, who had barely finished tying up most of Deville’s people. The fight that ensued turned bloody in an instant. I could see that the agents weren’t outmatched in skill, but definitely in numbers.
“We followed our - or should I say your - man Thompson this morning. I’d been suspicious since he returned. Why had no one else spotted you on your way back to your house? It was too neat. Too perfectly executed. Still, I knew your lot wouldn’t pass up the chance to attack tonight, and I also knew that you would be here, should you indeed prove to be alive. You wouldn’t miss the chance to add another jewel to your crown,” Deville spat.
“Is that how you see me?” I exclaimed.
“Mycroft, don’t listen to her...” Lou said, plainly ignoring the two people still threatening her life.
But I had enough.
“You plunge my organisation into disarray, derail my whole life, make me fake my own death and on top of that you insult me personally. Give me just one good reason why I shouldn’t end your life right now.”
Deville squeezed Thompson’s arm and made him cry out in pain. He didn’t dare move with the weapon pressed to his head. He didn’t even dare to speak. Deville must have made a very thorough impression on the man. I could only see his eyes pleading with me, full of tears.
“You’ve made coming up with that reason rather easy. One wrong move and this traitor will have drawn his last breath. You’ll all wait patiently until my men have taken care of the situation outside, and then come quietly. Contrary to what you may think of such a lowly woman as myself, I am the head of Clarke’s business now, and you will soon see how loyal they all are to me.”
I didn’t lower my sword, nor did I acknowledge her instructions. Someone crashed into the wall outside, making the windows vibrate in their frames. I heard pistol shots and screaming. Behind Deville I could spot one of her own men run towards the bow and collapse halfway, struck by a bullet in the shoulder. In my mind’s eye I could see agents dropping to the ground, pools of blood spreading on the floor. Why was there always so much blood?
The man in front of Lou withdrew his knife and turned towards me. Now that I could see his face, I recognised him immediately.
“Your life is derailed?” he shouted. “You’ve put me on the list of the Secret Service’s most wanted fugitives! I’ll have to leave the country... go to Australia or even further!”
“You know the Service has agents in Aus-”
“Shut the hell up!”
Evans jumped towards me, bridging the few feet at an astonishing speed. I had hoped he would be too emotional to attack me properly, but I could see a sure step and an expert grip on his chosen weapon. He didn’t hold it far from his body, where I could’ve easily hit it out of his hand, but only lunged forward as he was in my reach.
But Evans could only jump so far, and as soon I saw where he put his weight, I slipped away to the left side. He fell forward as I turned and attempted to hit him with my cane. But I hadn’t taken his evident enthusiasm in the quest to hurt me into account. As he fell forward, he pushed himself off the wall and came to rest gracefully on his feet. I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Still, I wasn’t about to reward him for his skill. I brought my right hand down, slicing through Evans’ left, which still supported him on the wall. He lost at least one finger and dropped his knife like hot coal as he cried out in pain. Soon, the ex-director of Newgate prison sank down to the floor, clutching his bleeding hand. I kicked the knife to the other side of the room, and then brought my cane down on his head with no small measure of satisfaction. I had successfully avoided stabbing the bastard.
Deville hadn’t moved. But the woman in front of Lou made a mistake by turning her head as Evans expressed his discomfort. Lou didn’t miss her chance. A few seconds later the only conscious antagonist in the room was Sarah Deville herself. I stepped over Evans and joined up with Lou, the wheel of the ship now the only thing between us and her. And Thompson, of course.
“Mycroft...” he whispered, not daring to speak out louder. “I’m so-”
“Do you want me to kill you?” Deville hissed.
Thompson shook his head energetically, but as the weapon was pressed closer to his head, he once again kept stock still. The commotion outside had started to die down. There was no way to tell if Deville’s or our people had won the fight. But Lou cleared up the situation easily by producing a high-pitched sound with her whistle. Not seconds later, I heard two answering calls.
“Seems like you’re out of options,” I concluded, not revealing that the two tones weren’t a good response for us at all. Deville didn’t know this, but it wouldn’t take long for her to find out, so we had to solve at least this situation to our satisfaction. “We’re not here to harm you, only to take you away.”
“Of course. As if I’m going to believe any word out of your filthy mouth. We’re only here today because you slaughtered a who
le warehouse full of my people like the grim reaper,” she spat. “Believe me, I’m not exaggerating. I’ve seen them.”
“I had to save my friend. I was alone. There was no other way.” I didn’t owe her an explanation, but as long as I kept her talking, she wasn’t shooting Thompson.
“Is that what you keep telling yourself? You impaled my fiancé! How couldn’t there be another way?”
This was something I had asked myself many times over since I had carried Hawkins through the bloodbath in the warehouse. Had his life really been worth all of theirs, just because I hadn’t known them?
“I know about your child. I am sorry, Sarah.”
“The hell you are!”
Lou opened her mouth, but Deville shut her up with a snarl.
“No, I don’t want to hear your arguments. I am in the right here! You’d do anything for your precious job, isn’t that right? Well, there are other people, who are also proud of their work. It took me years to earn the respect of Clarke’s gang. I was finally at the top, and not only that, I had found love where for so long, I had felt absolutely alone in this world, until...” Sarah wavered for a moment, arm going slightly slack.
I took the opportunity immediately, but could only make half a step, until she had refocused and pressed the gun against Thompson’s head again in earnest.
“Why am I even explaining myself to you? You don’t care. There are easily hundreds of people, who’d jump at the opportunity to do you harm, and that’s the core of the issue here. I’m not the monster. You are! Now put down your weapons and step back to the wall. Or this one will pay for your crimes!”
“I don’t respond well to threats,” I responded.
“You bloody well should!”
Deville closed her left arm around Thompson’s throat and all but throttled him. He grasped at her arm, but her hold was strong. He gurgled some words that could’ve been a plea, or my name, or both. A strange feeling spread through my chest. It strangled me just like Thompson in Deville’s arms. I didn’t want to think about it too closely, but I had no choice.