Watson, the compudroid, drummed his fingers impatiently upon his armchair with anxiety, wondering what could be keeping Holmes at so late an hour. He perked up as he heard the door open and went to greet his friend. "What kept you, Holmes? I was worried that something terrible had happened!"

Holmes hung his deerstalker cap and Inverness as he answered indifferently, "Nothing, nothing at all, Watson."

"Are you all right, Holmes?" Watson asked.

"Fine," Holmes answered icily, turning on his heel and going to his room.

Watson returned to his chair, deeply perplexed by Holmes' cold manner. What had happened during his walk to make Holmes so distracted? He decided to bring the matter up privately with Lestrade the next morning.

After slamming his door, Holmes placed his hands on his temples and pulled off an elasto-mask, revealing the 'face' beneath that was made of mechanical parts....

---

"Watson?" asked Inspector Beth Lestrade the next morning, as her image came upon the screen. "Is Holmes there?"

"Good morning, Beth," Holmes called cheerfully from behind his morning paper.

"You wish!" the woman with brown hair streaked with grey shot back. As usual, she was clad in her police uniform. "Come over to Charing Cross Hospital immediately. There's been...."

"A robbery?" the detective supplied blandly.

"....Y-yes," she answered, startled for a brief moment. "See you there."

Holmes turned off the communicator monitor and pulled on his Inverness and deerstalker. "But Holmes," Watson said, "you didn't touch your breakfast!"

"I don't need it," he replied coldly. "Let us go."

"Oh...right," the compudroid stammered, now even more suspicious about Holmes' manner.

---

"Somebody came in here and managed to to hack into the main computer files, taking all the ones on some new cures that are being researched for the rarest forms of cancer. My question is, 'why would anyone want that stuff?'" Lestrade asked Holmes as he gazed into the main computer room.

"What did the tech personnel find?" Holmes asked, ignoring her question.

"Nothing; it's as if they just disappeared," she said.

Holmes entered the room and examined it briefly, giving Watson an opportunity to speak with Lestrade. "Holmes has been acting very strange within the last 12 hours."

"What do you mean? He seems the same to me."

"To you but not to me," he replied with a troubled expression.

"He'll get over it," she reassured him.

Watson became hopeful as Lestrade smiled at him. It was rare to see a genuine smile from her, since she was usually being sarcastic or defensive with her wisecracks.

---

Meanwhile....

An old man strolled aimlessly into an electronic department store. He wore an old, yet still in good condition, black modern coat with black pants and boots. He had purchased the pants and boots earlier that morning to match his coat, since he had stepped out earlier with brown trousers and shoes. He had thick grey hair, bushy eyebrows, a moustache, and blue eyes.

Thank the Lord for Tennyson and his aunt, he thought to himself with relief in his eyes.

A female reporter with blond hair and red clothing appeared on the store monitor screen in front of the man. "A robbery occurred in the computer system of Charing Cross Hospital last night, during which security monitors were temporarily put out of order. The files on new topics of research pertaining to cancer were stolen and New Scotland Yard is now thoroughly investigating the matter."

The old man gasped as current security footage showed Sherlock Holmes pacing up and down the room with Lestrade and Watson in the doorway, watching him. It's my attacker, he thought, perturbed, as he turned away from the monitor when the news report had ended. I can't do anything now except remain in the shadows. Beth, I hope that imposter won't do anything to harm you.

I would never forgive myself if you were to get hurt by his deception.

---

On to Part 3!

Back to part 1