Sherlock Holmes and The Star of the East (2 of 8)
Author: 
capt_facepalm
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: BBC Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Sarah Sawyer, others
Summary: Christmas time brings a new case for the world's only consulting detective.
Warnings: (cave canem)
Word Count: 10 000+ (This chapter 610)
Author's Notes: For Challenge 002 at
violinandwatch
Previous Chapters
December 23rd
.oOOo.
December 24th
At 0930 Sarah called John’s mobile again. It was unlike him to be late for work. Well, that was not entirely true. He was very likely to be late if he was still running spurious errands for Sherlock or involved in some ongoing investigation. But he had always, always called to apologise and let her know. Dammit! Still no answer. The surgery would be open only until noon and there was a backlog of patients waiting. The other doctors were furious.
.oOOo.
John woke again, numb with cold and parched with thirst. An undetermined amount of time had passed, but surely it was the next day. Christmas Eve. Gus, reacting to some sound outside, began to stir. The van was opened and the dog was removed. John heard angry voices. Father Christmas was arguing with... yes, definitely, a woman.
‘Who the hell is that?’
‘It’s Sherlock Holmes.’
‘That’s not Holmes, you imbeciles!! Do you even have the right dog??’
‘Lady, you said to watch the surgery. Wait for the Sherlock Holmes. He'd be the bloke with the Russian wolfhound. Grab them both. We done just that. It’s the right dog... just the wrong bloke.’
‘Well, the dog was more important, but that leaves some unfortunate loose ends. Have you been following my instructions?’
‘Yeah but that dog has not shat at all. Must be nerves, or somefing.’
‘Give it one more day. Feed her these. If they don’t work, you're going to have to cut her open.’
Her? Gus was a ‘her’? John rolled onto his side and kicked the van walls to get his captors’ attention. Father Christmas swore at him, warned him to stop it, and slammed the door shut. A small car engine started and it sprayed gravel as it accelerated and sped away. All was quiet again until the door opened again and someone climbed in. Father Christmas had returned.
‘John Watson? Don’t be shy... I know your name. I have your wallet. Just do what you’re told and you won’t be harmed. Understand?’
John nodded in reply and mmmph’ed to ask a question. The tape was torn away allowing John to speak again.
‘...sorry... needapissagain... sorry...’
‘Arright, watch yer step.’ John’s hands and legs were freed again and he was hauled, still blindfolded, to the door. The air was cold and fresh, and smelled of the sea. He could feel the sun’s warmth when he turned away from the wind. Once he had relieved himself, he listened to the two men’s conversation and other sounds. There were no traffic noises at all. The wind hummed through high tension hydro lines and hissed through dry tree branches. From the snatches of discussion, John discerned that the woman was the men’s employer, and they were unhappy about how their assignment was going. They had expected to be done and paid by Christmas.
‘You done yet?’ one called.
‘...yeah... thanks. Any chance of a cuppa, or something to drink... anything?’ John replied. Use an empathetic approach: Do not let them dehumanise you.
‘You wouldn’t want that. It might be a long time before we let you out again.’
‘Can I have a blanket, or something to keep warm?’
‘Sorry mate, we don’t have one. Maybe tomorrow, yeah?’
John sighed and tried to appear small and vulnerable. Father Christmas guided him back to the van, but not as roughly as before. Gus was waiting for him inside. This time there was no need to use the stun gun. When John was once again gagged and secured he was surprised that the vehicle remained parked and was not driven away. Gus sniffed him a few times before curling up next to him. Surely someone would be looking for them by now.
.oOOo.
Next Chapter: December 25th (part one)
Please sign the guestbook
capt_facepalm
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: BBC Sherlock
Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Sarah Sawyer, others
Summary: Christmas time brings a new case for the world's only consulting detective.
Warnings: (cave canem)
Word Count: 10 000+ (This chapter 610)
Author's Notes: For Challenge 002 at
violinandwatch
Previous Chapters
December 23rd
.oOOo.
December 24th
At 0930 Sarah called John’s mobile again. It was unlike him to be late for work. Well, that was not entirely true. He was very likely to be late if he was still running spurious errands for Sherlock or involved in some ongoing investigation. But he had always, always called to apologise and let her know. Dammit! Still no answer. The surgery would be open only until noon and there was a backlog of patients waiting. The other doctors were furious.
.oOOo.
John woke again, numb with cold and parched with thirst. An undetermined amount of time had passed, but surely it was the next day. Christmas Eve. Gus, reacting to some sound outside, began to stir. The van was opened and the dog was removed. John heard angry voices. Father Christmas was arguing with... yes, definitely, a woman.
‘Who the hell is that?’
‘It’s Sherlock Holmes.’
‘That’s not Holmes, you imbeciles!! Do you even have the right dog??’
‘Lady, you said to watch the surgery. Wait for the Sherlock Holmes. He'd be the bloke with the Russian wolfhound. Grab them both. We done just that. It’s the right dog... just the wrong bloke.’
‘Well, the dog was more important, but that leaves some unfortunate loose ends. Have you been following my instructions?’
‘Yeah but that dog has not shat at all. Must be nerves, or somefing.’
‘Give it one more day. Feed her these. If they don’t work, you're going to have to cut her open.’
Her? Gus was a ‘her’? John rolled onto his side and kicked the van walls to get his captors’ attention. Father Christmas swore at him, warned him to stop it, and slammed the door shut. A small car engine started and it sprayed gravel as it accelerated and sped away. All was quiet again until the door opened again and someone climbed in. Father Christmas had returned.
‘John Watson? Don’t be shy... I know your name. I have your wallet. Just do what you’re told and you won’t be harmed. Understand?’
John nodded in reply and mmmph’ed to ask a question. The tape was torn away allowing John to speak again.
‘...sorry... needapissagain... sorry...’
‘Arright, watch yer step.’ John’s hands and legs were freed again and he was hauled, still blindfolded, to the door. The air was cold and fresh, and smelled of the sea. He could feel the sun’s warmth when he turned away from the wind. Once he had relieved himself, he listened to the two men’s conversation and other sounds. There were no traffic noises at all. The wind hummed through high tension hydro lines and hissed through dry tree branches. From the snatches of discussion, John discerned that the woman was the men’s employer, and they were unhappy about how their assignment was going. They had expected to be done and paid by Christmas.
‘You done yet?’ one called.
‘...yeah... thanks. Any chance of a cuppa, or something to drink... anything?’ John replied. Use an empathetic approach: Do not let them dehumanise you.
‘You wouldn’t want that. It might be a long time before we let you out again.’
‘Can I have a blanket, or something to keep warm?’
‘Sorry mate, we don’t have one. Maybe tomorrow, yeah?’
John sighed and tried to appear small and vulnerable. Father Christmas guided him back to the van, but not as roughly as before. Gus was waiting for him inside. This time there was no need to use the stun gun. When John was once again gagged and secured he was surprised that the vehicle remained parked and was not driven away. Gus sniffed him a few times before curling up next to him. Surely someone would be looking for them by now.
.oOOo.
Next Chapter: December 25th (part one)
Please sign the guestbook