Mysteries, Love Letters & Bullets | I.C

[Genkai]

No case was too difficult or complicated for the mind of Sherlock Holmes.

The scruffy detective was currently dressed in one of his many brilliant disguises. While he would normally be dressed in a simple worn out black suit, smoking his usual pipe and making keen but silent observations, at the current moment, he was rather the opposite of formal and mentally present. Sherlock had been hired by a woman who had a few things stolen from her house over the past few weeks. She said she was sure it was her husband who was sore about the divorce and she wanted to put an end to anymore thefts. This of course only assured Holmes of his views on marriage and trust. Romance never worked out for anyone and when it did, it would still surely end in a nasty unsavory ill-tempered divorce in which trickery would be the only sweet scent to sneak into one's nostrils. The man was beginning to make a name for himself around the area of London and from time to time a case would present itself in which he would have to travel overseas to solve something and put evil men behind bars. No matter where he went, he always found himself pleased, not happy per say, but pleased. Holmes loved the chase, the thrill of a new case which could stimulate his mind the way nothing else ever could. Though from time to time, the man did find it bothersome to work alone. Perhaps one day he could find a suitable partner to work alongside, to count on.

Of course the chances of finding someone alike him in genius would be very low. He knew he would have to find someone who wasn't a mirror image of him, but someone who could fill in the gaps. He would need someone more cautious but skilled in combat nonetheless. It was something Holmes was often on the look out for but it never got in the way of the case at hand. And at the moment. Holmes was dressed up in the type of garb a circus clown would wear. The woman's home was on the corner of two streets which often hosted live entertainment on the weekends. Currently it was Friday, around nine or ten in the morning so some tents were being set up already. Holmes knew he could blend in and keep an eye on the place without alarming anyone who might be trouble. Holmes was fairly sure the husband was hiring someone to steal back "his" belongings. It seemed the couple's divorce had earned them both large sums of money and since they were both fairly old in age, he didn't think the husband would risk jail time or injury himself to sneak into a home. The sounds of men hard at work building and discussing fell on deaf ears as he leaned against one of the lamp posts. There were a few stray chickens and hens trotting about but Holmes at breakfast earlier and didn't need to steal a chicken to eat.

Sure, money was hard to come by for him, but he had his ways. Currently, Sherlock lived in a small apartment which he shared with an elderly woman who collected cats. Holmes didn't care for her company very much but she stayed in her room and he, his. He had done a lot to try and scare her off, but alas he did need her help to pay the rent each month. He assumed she was using her savings to pay and he would need to find a new roommate soon or find a more suitable apartment that didn't smell of feline urine and mildew. Luckily he was often on the streets of London because it felt more like home to him than that cramped apartment which often sapped the concentration out of him. It was a useless situation to even try to think in such a depression area. But when it did get cold and rainy, he at least at shelter. Was he a dog or something? He shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced up at the gray overcast sky up above. His rugged face was currently coated in white paint and then decorated with some red circle designs. Then he had on a clown suit which had a few patches sewn on to cover up holes. The outfit was a long pair of black pants and a white top. He then had on a large red bow tie and white and red polka dot blazer. He then had on red large fitted shoes. Of course under his layers was his trusty gun and pipe but he refrained himself from digging out the item to have a relaxing smoke.

From behind him, he heard a group of children talking about the weekend's festivities but he brushed them off and just glanced back at the pale yellow house perched on the corner. It wasn't until one of the pesky children came up and tugged on his coat that his attention was torn once again. He looked down at them and offer a cheeky smile and then told them to move along but they wanted a trick. Holmes looked around, trying to find someone else he could push the kids toward but decided it might be better to just get rid of the problem himself. He bent down and pulled out a small balloon from his pocket and blew into it. He then tied it off and began to twist it into an oddly shaped animal. He handed it to the blond little girl and she gave him a look. "Ah, it's supposed to be an elephant." He told her. It looked like a twisted knot, resembling nothing like an elephant or any animal for that matter. 'It seems balloon animals are not within the realm of talents I possess.' He thought to himself as he pushed the group along so he could try to concentrate once again. The male had been keeping tabs on the area for a while and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He thought back to a few conversations he had with the older woman, his client. She had mentioned she didn't have any new friends in the area, no one she knew who would be wandering around which pretty much confirmed his theory of the culprit being a hired hand. 'This person must be skilled, but not as skilled as I.' He mused and waited.

The night before, he had gotten access to the woman's home and once there he managed to set up a few traps which would give him a vocal alert to anyone in the home. He had set up a fairly simple wire trap in both the rear and front entrances which was hooked to a simple bell. He then did the same thing to the windows but they would also spring a secondary trap. Not only would a bell sound off, but the person trying to enter would find themselves soaked with oil, which had been dumped from above. It was childish but it would still get the job done and slow the thief down. Had he felt more of a pressing matter at hand, he would have gone about it a bit more seriously but he wasn't terribly concerned with this domestic affair. It wasn't really enticing for him but it did pay the bills and feed his often empty stomach. If it didn't do that, it could at least buy him liquor and a night out. Holmes adjusted his bow tie a little bit and adjusted his wig. Atop his head was a light orange wig which took the shape of a cue ball. The hair was curly and fluffy and if anyone assumed it was real, then they were more stupid and gullible than he could ever imagine. As he watched people walk back and forth, going about their day, no one stuck out from the crowd which worried him a little. Even so, he was fairly sure this was a done deal in a matter of mere hours, at most.

- & - & - & -

After she had finished her job as Governess, Mary Morstan took some personal time to figure out what she wanted to do in life. The thin blond knew she enjoyed helping and teaching others. She knew she had a knack for caring about people when many would just push the extra trouble aside. In the current day and age, it was pretty rare to find women in the workplace, let alone offering to become doctors. Most women who did go into the medical field often were just nurses or assistants. That didn't really sit well with Mary but it was the best she could do at the moment. Deep down, she hoped that someday everything would change and that women would be better accepted as doctors or physiologists or even professors. The best a woman teacher could do was become a Governess and teach privately in the home or teach in a small school setting. Sure, those jobs needed to be filled but Mary had enough of the quiet lifestyle and wanted something more fulfilling and enjoyable. The children she worked with as a Governess were fairly well behaved and the pay was really nice but they grew up and she didn't need to linger around any longer. The blond woman moved out into London and for a few weeks, just enjoyed the time off that could be used on herself rather than cater to everyone else and their needs. And it was in this small window of time, when the leaves turned from red to brown, that she realized how restless one woman could be without real purpose.

So Mary took it upon herself to go out and continue to help people, but with more direction than before. The woman applied to the local university and took several classes on becoming a nurse. Since she didn't have any job to help pay for bills, she did take up a side job as a waitress at the corner cafe by the university. When she had downtime, she could study there which was convenient. Since she had saved up enough money during her years as a Governess, she could afford a small apartment close to the school which had a teaching hospital attached to it. It was open to the public and was more affordable than those private practices that some doctors ran on their own. Maybe someday she could open one and ensure it would be affordable to anyone and everyone. She wasn't becoming a nurse or hopefully doctor, for the money, it was to help people in need. That was a much better driving force than greed anyway. Mary was currently sitting in the cafe, she had picked up an early shift at work before she needed to head over to the hospital as she was finally going to get to work alongside some doctors and have some real hands on training. Reading books and taking tests was one thing but this would surely determine if she was fit to be in the field or not. There were stories of good students who could handle anything but when it came to seeing blood and handling a patient, they ended up cracking under the pressure and dropped out of the course. Mary was sure it wouldn't happen to her but she couldn't ignore the annoying tingles of anxiety fluttering around in her stomach.

In order to calm herself, she was finishing up some reading over a cup of tea. Mary had befriended a few fellow classmates so she knew she had someone to talk to over lunch but she hoped that by that time, she would have made more new friends who could help her out. Mary checked the time and closed her large medical book and stood up. She brought the china pure white colored teacup to her lips and finished the last remaining sips of tea. Then she moved over and around the counter and put them in the back kitchen. She passed her boss and told him she was off and would be back the next morning for her next shift. He wished her good luck and she gathered her things and headed out the door. The fall air was brisk and often littered with leaves which would soon be replaced by rain and then even snow. There had been a weather report in the newspaper about the chance of showers during the weekend. She enjoy the seasons between the intense ones. So she enjoyed fall and spring more so than winter or summer. Fall and spring seemed most capable of making a harmony of hot and cold, rather than flat out excluding one or the other. She rounded the corner and looked around. The area was generally crowded with patients or staff, so she just hurried off to her apartment to drop off her things and change. Mary unlocked her door and set her books down and changed out of her formal wear for the cafe and changed into a more light informal dress, which was the color of candy caramel. 'I hope I'm not late.' She worried as she headed out the door quickly and locked it securely behind her.

While she was a realist who knew her chances of becoming a doctor were slim, she still couldn't help but hope a little more than usual. Mary felt free, freer than she had in her entire life. She started off as a Governess at a young age and she finally felt like she had a new lease on life to which she could do whatever she wanted. Though she may be setting her sights a tad high, she was fairly confident in her abilites to learn quick and do good. Walking down the steps and across the street, she walked the two blocks back toward the university and headed inside. She was greeted with a nice warm air which suited her tastes more than the cold outside. No matter how she did today, she knew she would want to treat herself to a nice dinner out on the town someplace. Or maybe she could buy herself a new necklace for taking the first large step to helping others. Her light colored eyes searched around for any familiar faces but she assumed her classmates and now coworkers were off shadowing their own doctor. Mary pulled out the pocket watch her father had given her when she a girl and checked the time. 'I'm not late.' She thought to herself, though it didn't do much to quell the unsettled feelings washing over her insides. Still, she tried to assure herself that she would be fine, that the first day was the hardest to endure.

Turning around, she saw a nurse motion her over to the reception area. 'I must look utterly lost.' Mary frowned as she was told that she was to start her residency upstairs in the minor emergency ward. She was then informed that she would be working alongside a Doctor John Watson. Mary nodded in thanks and headed up the stairs. Along the way, she managed to look at those in the waiting area. Many were probably just sick with a cold or fever, she didn't see anything too severe. But it wasn't the patients themselves that seemed to have her worked up. Maybe if she just did something and could actually reassure herself that she was fine, then maybe she wouldn't feel so uneasy. Finally upstairs, Mary looked around and saw a nurse tending to a man who looked like he had broken his wrist. She took a turn and found a bench to sit down and wait. She looked down at her pocket watch again, which was a nervous habit she seemed to be developing. Slowly she removed her leather gloves and pocketed them. One of her classmates passed by her and flash a wave. "Hello Richard." She greeted him as he passed. He seemed to be happy where she was and it made her relax a little more.

She had nothing to worry about if Richard was doing alright.

[Nightmera]

Sitting at his desk and sifting through piles of medical papers and records, was none other than John Watson. Or Doctor John Watson if one wanted to be precise. One couldn’t believe the amount of paperwork that was involved in a doctors job. Really, if he could skip all of that then he would, as he was more interested in tending to his patients then sitting down and doing paperwork. Unfortunately, he knew the importance of documenting and filing records away, and couldn’t exactly push it aside. They did help in telling his patients medical history in the long run, making them useful in the end, no matter how much he despised it. “The nurses work more with the patients than I’ll ever do.” He half mumbled and complained to himself, letting out a big sigh.

As it would seem at that very moment, he was interrupted by a knock at his door, startling him a bit. Always so jumpy John. He thought to himself. “Come in!” The doctor finally called, his eye’s still glued on one of his patients form who was currently waiting for him at this exact moment. “Doctor Watson, there is a new nurse waiting outside. I thought I might tell you as she doesn’t seem to know quite what to do.” A bit of a high pitched voice spoke, Ms. Evanglion’s head peeking around the door. “Ah, yes thank you. Will be out in a minute.” He began to open a cabinet, pretending to put a file away to avoid eye contact with her.

She smiled, not that he saw, before shutting the door, John glancing over. Nice person really, but sometimes her voice was a bit irritating, and really she would never shut up about her love life. Hanna, her first name, was never quite lucky when it came to choosing boyfriends apparently, and because of that, she often threw winks his way. In which he would often pretend not to see. Not that he would voice any of his thoughts to a soul. Picking up his current patients record, he clipped it to his clipboard, standing up and grabbing his cane before walking out to go and greet the new comer. Really, he wished he didn’t have to use the damn stick for support, but it couldn’t be helped. If he didn’t have it, then it would have taken him longer to get around with that large limp of his. After being shot in the war, there wasn't much that the surgeons could do to repair his leg. Now, most of the time it was stiff, or painful and made it much harder for him to stand for long periods of time. Not that he liked admitting it, and would instead decline a seat if others were standing. He didn't like showing his weakness to others all too much.

Finally, he had made it around the corner and into the waiting area, surveying the room before finally spotting the person he was looking for. Sitting quietly on a bench was a blonde women dressed in the required nurses outfit. For a moment he stood there, observing her. It was apparent that she had a habit of glancing down at her watch every so often. When not doing so, she looked around at her surroundings, observing the room. To him, it was quite obvious that she was nervous, and decided that he shouldn’t make her wait any longer. Walking over, he smiled, switching his cane to his left hand. “I believe you had been assigned to me correct?” he asked, holding out his right hand. “Doctor John Watson.” He introduced himself. Honestly, he was assuming here, as he didn’t know that he was being assigned with a new nurse. Who ever was suppose to give him that piece of info, probably decided that it wasn’t that important. A name at least would have been nice, so he wouldn’t feel like a complete idiot.

--------------

This was a complete and utter joke. A woman dressed in a maids outfit thought to herself. Really, she didn’t like these outfits, they were in bad taste, but it worked well enough for her to get her in. Irene Adler, a hand for hire as a very skilled professional thief. And one being a professional thief, sometimes had to make sacrifices. Which she would consider this as one of them right now. Though, she had to say certain disguises worked quite well. Including being a maid. Anyhow, she was currently dusting a painting, every so often glancing into the waiting room to see the ex-wife talking with a man. Apparently, she had hired him to catch the so called thief. Yesterday night, he was all over the house, setting tripping alarms and a very childish trap. A bucket of oil. That caused her to raise her eyebrow, but nonetheless, she knew that it could do the trick in slowing a thief down if they so happened to fall for it. Not that she would.

Finally, the day was over, the maids bidding their ado’s and leaving for the night. As for Irene, she said her farewells last, going downstairs and out of sight of the woman before ducking into a un-used room. Inside, were white clothed covered objects, many different shapes and sizes indicating certain things as couches and paintings. It just so happens that many of these things, were her client’s. But before she began her last operation, she would have to wait till the lady of the house fell asleep before making her move. Tonight, she was suppose to scoop out a diamond necklace, one that he had given his wife just recently before the whole divorce thing had happened. She knew this was going to be a bit tricky, as the target was in her room where she slept, Inside a jewelry box that she had seen while in there making the bed. And now that wasn’t the only thing she had to worry about. Before she could have just walked out the back door with the object in hand. But now, all her escape routes were practically blocked. And that was when a sudden idea came up. It wasn’t perfect, but it could just work.

Waiting patiently, she took a quick peek outside, noticing a clown standing across the street from them. Irene blinked, confusion sweeping over her face as her eyebrows furrowed. “Why is there a clown just standing there?” She said to herself, watching him for a bit longer. Well, for now it didn’t matter, she was just going to have to take different route then to get away. So she uncovered a couch and made herself comfortable, hearing a bed room door shut upstairs.

After what felt like forever, she finally decided she had waited long enough, getting up from the couch and creeping over to the door. Slightly opening it, Irene peeked her head out, searching to see if anyone was still around. Clear, she quietly walked out, shutting the door behind her softly and heading towards the large marble staircase. Rich Bastards she thought, taking her time as to insure she wouldn’t make a noise while climbing her way up. That may be a bit hypocritical as she was well off herself, but she wouldn’t get a marble staircase. She saw it as a waste really. Rather she would spend it on clothes, shoes, and more clothes. A nice home would be, well nice. But because of her line of work, she couldn’t stay in one place for very long, often moving all over london, leaving out of the country for probably a couple of years, then coming back. But lately, she hasn’t really taken a whole lot of jobs on, settling on living in a nice flat.

Shaking away her thoughts, she reached the top of the stairs, again looking right and left to make sure no one was waiting to surprise her. Once she deemed it clear once more, she walked quietly towards the bed room door, ever so slightly turning the knob and slowly pushing it open. She peeked through the crack she had made to see the lady in her bed, a soft snore escaping from her every so often. For a few moments she waited, then pushed the door open only wide enough for her to slip through. Once in, she immediately, but quietly, moved over towards the dresser that was on the right side of the room. Luckily, the jewelry box was still out and open, and already she could see the diamond necklace inside. Snatching up her target, she briskly made her way out, placing the necklace among her breasts for safe keeping. Irene closed the door behind her, taking a deep breath before going into the next room to start her plan in motion.

Seeing the bucket above the rooms window, she stood off to the side, opening it with one hand. As it should, the bucket tipped over, spilling its contents all over the floor. A loud noise accompanied it and she smiled, rushing down the stairs and to the other side of the home. Irene waited for a few moments, hearing the lady get up and rush towards the source of the noise. If that man was around, he would have heard one of his traps set off and would rush immediately towards it. Meanwhile, she’ll set off another at the window, making her escape before anyone noticed. A cocky grin played onto her lips while she did so, climbing through the window and outside into the yard.

[Genkai]

Since she kept looking at her watch, though she didn't wish to appear impatient, she would have to count the seconds between each interval rather than minutes because they were so frequent. She heard someone speak up at which she turned and stood up. "Yes." She addressed him. "You must be Doctor Watson." Mary smiled to him as he then introduced himself. "Oh, it's very nice to meet you, Doctor. I'm Mary Morstan, I've been studying here at the university but I really hope to get better experience here if possible." She told him. She was sure things would be fine now, it was good that she wasn't abandoned or left to go find whoever she was supposed to find. It was obvious that the hospital was pretty swamped with patients and paper work and everything else. The last thing she wanted to do was to poke around where she shouldn't be to begin with. That would not have made a good impression what so ever. After shaking his hand, she looked at hm more closely as she stepped back. 'I would have pictured someone a little older.' She thought to herself. Since it was her first day on the job, so to speak, she knew she wouldn't be doing anything too exciting just yet. Even so, Mary was still pretty excited about going beyond notes and books and actually seeing what being a nurse would entail in a real life situation.

The day itself progressed fairly well with Mary just following Watson around as he did his rounds and near the end, paperwork. Paperwork was obviously unavoidable in such a setting though it seemed like Watson was more against it than most, which she found a bit funny. Had it not been out of place, she would have offered to help him but she decided against it, as it might seem a bit too forward of her. And they had just met after all. Many people who continued the program and did their residence at the hospital still dropped out for various reason. But the blond was sure she wouldn't fall into that unfortunate category. After about three hours or so, Mary's stomach couldn't help but remind her that it was about time for lunch. 'I could go home and eat or I could go out to the local cafe.' She considered. She was sitting in John's office as he was finishing up some paperwork when she decided to speak up about grabbing lunch together. "If you're not drowning entirely in paperwork, perhaps we could get some lunch together." Mary offered. "It might be easier to talk outside of such a setting and you appear as though you could use a break fairly soon." Mary smiled a little as she rose from her seat.

Now she was wondering if she should offer going to her place for a cheaper meal or not. 'It would be very unprofessional.' She had to remind herself. Mary then decided that the cafe would be good enough for them. She then suggested the cafe since it close and fairly inexpensive and they headed down there. Mary looked up at the sky for a moment as they headed out. It didn't look like the rain would be falling from the sky just yet, but soon. Hopefully it would wait a little longer until their lunch was over. Once inside, Mary and John found a place to sit, one of the last open tables. She sat across him and picked up one of the small menus. The atmosphere was lively, warm and upbeat though it wasn't as hectic as the hospital they had just left behind. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting someone such as yourself." She told John as their drinks were delivered. "I suppose I was expecting someone a bit older." She admitted as she brought the cup of tea to her lips and inhaled. The scent alone was enough to recharge her batteries. "What do you think about someone, a woman, being more interested in becoming a doctor rather than a nurse?" Mary asked him. "I know being a nurse is important but my heart is telling me I can do much more than that." She told him as she finally took a gentle sip and set her cup down.

- & - & - & -

While his heart was admittedly not set on the boring job that had been placed in front of himself, he was still going to see it till the end. A man shouldn't just shirk on his responsibilities, not matter how dull. Holmes was rather glad that the traps had worked, while surely the person believed they had outsmarted someone, they certainly had not. Holmes was sure the traps themselves would be too easy to detect and likely the thief would use it to their so called advantage. After he had seen a maid enter the building, he already knew he had gotten her. Holmes had been over the schedule of those who were to be allowed in the woman's house and the maid was certainly an outlier. He moved around and pushed his surprise out of his head for the moment. 'A woman, who would have suspected that?' But he left her alone for the moment and maneuvered himself around to the back yard. He vaguely wondered if the man who had hired her had some kind of romantic interest in her as he didn't quite understand why not hire a male to do the job without less distraction but Holmes shrugged it off. As he waited for the woman to make her escape, he pulled out his pipe and lit it, taking a bit of an early victory for himself.

As she emerged from the window, she seemed quite proud of herself. He quickly moved over and approached her. He grabbed one of her wrists and twisted it behind her back and leaned over her. "I suppose both of us have miscalculated and have underestimated one another, don't you think?" He asked her as he used his other hand to reach in and quickly grab the items tucked away inside her cleavage. He then stepped back and pocketed the items and patted his pocket. Holmes looked at her and got a fairly decent look at her, if he needed to draw up a quick sketch for the authorities, he could easily do so. "You don't seem like the kind of girl to do a man's dirty work." Holmes commented with a bit of a dry smirk. "Though you appear to be someone who doesn't mind a little dirt now and again." He shrugged a little and looked back at the house. He could deliver the goods to the woman later, for now he was more interested in the one in front of him. He realized he had seen her around before and in his line of work, that wasn't such a positive thing. He removed his pipe and looked back to the woman. "How about we discuss your poor career choice over lunch? Otherwise I could happily hand over your identity to Scotland Yard now and get my payment." He smiled at her. Either way was fine with him though. It was around lunch time now and he could do with a light meal at the moment.

Was it so wrong to assume the pesky woman felt the same way? He had to wait a bit for her to agree to going out, but when she finally did, it didn't exactly ease his worries. 'It's rare to see someone like her in a situation like this.' He thought to himself, regarding the new found identity of the woman robber. They all had a reason to do horrible things, that was something Sherlock Holmes could never forget. He wondered what her reason was. As they walked along, Holmes had a tight hold around her arm, he looked around and found a suitable pub to ease into. "Now I believe introductions are in order." Holmes stated as they sat at the bar and he waved over the bar tender to get them something to drink to start off with. "As you may, or may not know, I am Sherlock Holmes. I have been hastily earning a name for myself as the great genius detective in this area." He said proudly and looked to her. "For a woman of your...features, I'm rather surprised to know you have selected such a sour profession but it does brighten mine up a bit more." He admitted as he looked her over again. "So tell me about yourself, miss...?" He trailed off slightly, hoping to distract his brain by her introduction. "Remember, play nice." He chided.