Billy's stomach rumbled. That was nothing unusual, but he wondered about the pellet which Moriarty had injected into him.

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide....

"Abide with me". It was one of his favorite hymns, and he let it pass through his head now, as he did during other times when things weren't going so well.

Turning his head, he looked toward the light that shone around the crack in the room door.

 

Tennyson landed in a poorer section of town. Looking around, he saw two children standing on a street corner to his right. He headed towards them.

"Apples!" one of the children called. "Get 'cher apples! Apples, luvly, ten credits a pan!"

The second child sat on a stool next to a small crate of apples. He looked up as Tennyson approached. "'Ey, look 'oos 'ere! Where've you been, Tenny?"

The child who'd been calling turned around. Her eyes seemed to light up her dirty face. "Hullo, Tenny! Long time since we've seen you!"

Tennyson grinned under the bandanna he wore. "Wheeeurr!"

"Whatcha doin' down here?" the child who'd originally been 'hawking' asked, trying to wipe a smudge of dirt off her face with an equally dirty hand, which didn't do a bit of good.

"Are y' workin' fer Mister Holmes?" asked the other, his eyes shining.

Tennyson simply nodded, though he preferred to think of it as working with Mister Holmes rather than for him. Leaning over, he dug the sketch copy out from under his keyboard, and handed it to the girl. "Whirrr-irrrr?"

The girl took the picture, and her companion leaned over her shoulder. "Mmmm....nope. I'd've remembered seein' him."

"What's that 'e's got on 'is face?" the boy inquired. "Little odd, ain't it?"

Tennyson sighed. Normally, he would have taken the time to explain, but the situation was far to serious to do so. "Whirrr-beep!"

He took the picture back as it was handed to him, waved, and took off.