He got half his wish. Mike Stanford was working in the teaching end of the hospital. If ever there was a friendly face, it was Mike's. The two of them had had some pretty crazy times back in their days as students. Mike didn't have access to the PET or CAT scanners and they dared not try an MRI with wires running through John's brain, but there was an elderly X-ray machine still in use in the radiology classroom. Mike set it up, while John lay on the table.
“So.” Mike said as he positioned the arm. “What, John. Was fighting guerillas in Afghanistan not dangerous enough for you? You had to go to the Americas and start up a war there, too? You should have stayed here, with me. We could have set up a practice together.”
“It's not something I wanted to do,” John replied. “It's something I had to do. Surely you must know some slaves, Mike. You can't think that they are truly lesser people than you and I.”
“You mean lesser than me and me,” said Mike. “Hold still.” He ducked behind the shield and snapped the picture. “You aren't a citizen anymore.”
“I wasn't convicted, Mike. I never had my day in court to argue my reasoning.” Mike moved the X-ray arm and John sat up, shrugging off the lead coat. “And think about it, if someone like me can be just arbitrarily made into a slave - it could happen to anyone.”
“Anyone caught trying to blow up a hospital. I read the papers, John. Can't say I always believe them, but in this case, the proofs pretty strong. How could you do it? I just can't wrap my head around you being a master criminal. Yet...”
John tsked. “It's a war. A real war, not like Afghanistan. A war of principles. Of decency.”
Mike turned his head. “It's not like I'm a huge fan of slavery. I'll give you that,” he said. “You were always a very decent,person. Apparently you are also a bit of a blooming idiot. Won't your owner be wondering what's up with you?”
“I don't think so,” said John. “I was more or less foisted on him, and he sent me off with a debit card and smile as soon as he could. I suspect he wanted me to take off. Solves him the problem of figuring out what to do with me.”
Mike put both hands down on the table and leveled an unsmiling look at him. “What are you going to do? Even if you can get that collar out of you, your name's in the registry. If you get pulled over for any reason at all, you'll be back in a collar again, if you aren't just summarily executed. Don't you think you'd better go back to your master, and see if you can argue your way back to citizenship? I've heard that occasionally it can happen.”
John laughed bitterly. “Not for me it won't. I've lived off the grid for two years, I can do it again. If I cross the channel, there are some people in France I know. They can help me reestablish myself.”
Mike sighed. “Well you can't say I didn't warn you. Let's look at the film.”
*bounces* Bwahhhaaa cliff hanger, and I'm loving it so much and every time I click another update. *Is going to go marginally crazy at this point* Love it, on all levels. Can't wait for the next bit.
CLIFFHANGER OMG. I absolutely love how very John John is through all this, and - of course he wouldn't just resign himself to his fate and of course Sherlock isn't going to let him go as easy as that and MORE NOW PLEASE?
As I was reading it seemed plausible that Sherlock had just gotten distracted and done his own thing, but as soon as he made his appearance at the end I thought, yes, course the whole thing was a set up. Sherlock would be very curious to know what John would do and has likely been following him the whole time (probably without any thought of uncovering any abolitionist cells, but rather just to see). And at this point he'd be very curious to know how the collar works. I could see him wanting all the tests done. (Of course we're not going to take it out, I just want to know how it works.)
“So.” Mike said as he positioned the arm. “What, John. Was fighting guerillas in Afghanistan not dangerous enough for you? You had to go to the Americas and start up a war there, too? You should have stayed here, with me. We could have set up a practice together.”
“It's not something I wanted to do,” John replied. “It's something I had to do. Surely you must know some slaves, Mike. You can't think that they are truly lesser people than you and I.”
“You mean lesser than me and me,” said Mike. “Hold still.” He ducked behind the shield and snapped the picture. “You aren't a citizen anymore.”
“I wasn't convicted, Mike. I never had my day in court to argue my reasoning.” Mike moved the X-ray arm and John sat up, shrugging off the lead coat. “And think about it, if someone like me can be just arbitrarily made into a slave - it could happen to anyone.”
“Anyone caught trying to blow up a hospital. I read the papers, John. Can't say I always believe them, but in this case, the proofs pretty strong. How could you do it? I just can't wrap my head around you being a master criminal. Yet...”
John tsked. “It's a war. A real war, not like Afghanistan. A war of principles. Of decency.”
Mike turned his head. “It's not like I'm a huge fan of slavery. I'll give you that,” he said. “You were always a very decent,person. Apparently you are also a bit of a blooming idiot. Won't your owner be wondering what's up with you?”
“I don't think so,” said John. “I was more or less foisted on him, and he sent me off with a debit card and smile as soon as he could. I suspect he wanted me to take off. Solves him the problem of figuring out what to do with me.”
Mike put both hands down on the table and leveled an unsmiling look at him. “What are you going to do? Even if you can get that collar out of you, your name's in the registry. If you get pulled over for any reason at all, you'll be back in a collar again, if you aren't just summarily executed. Don't you think you'd better go back to your master, and see if you can argue your way back to citizenship? I've heard that occasionally it can happen.”
John laughed bitterly. “Not for me it won't. I've lived off the grid for two years, I can do it again. If I cross the channel, there are some people in France I know. They can help me reestablish myself.”
Mike sighed. “Well you can't say I didn't warn you. Let's look at the film.”
“Yes,” said Sherlock from the door. “Let's.”
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How I love it when John gets caught.
*waits impatiently for more*
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*on edge of her seat*
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I'll just wait here, shall I?
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What is this genius?!!!
SO MUCH LOVE IT HURTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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*dolphin noises continue, freaking out dogs*
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