Twins
Chapter 6: .............
by Mary Christmas (unicorn_76010 at lycos.com)
Holmes walked alongside Hunter through the busy metropolis. He took
note of every alley and sidestreet that they passed, as each could be a
possible avenue of escape... if escape became necessary. Several vendors
came forward and tried to get them to buy their wares, but Hunter merely
smiled genially and waved them off. Holmes figured that the American must
care very much for his country and countrymen. Why else would he sacrifice
his identity to go and save them every time there was an emergency? The
Big Guy got all the credit for what was actually Hunter's doing.
"So, where, um... exactly did you want to go?" Hunter asked as they
passed the Quark Tower.
"I am looking to see if the two men I told you about are out
amongst the people," Holmes lied. He wanted to get as much of a feel for
Newtronic City as he could. "I can see that they are not, so I suppose the
first place we should go is the transport station."
Hunter nodded and said, "Well, we're not too far from there now;
it's just around the corner...." He was interrupted by a loud bark coming
from behind them. The two men turned around. A large dog stood there. It
was the size of a bus.
Holmes tensed as it lowered its head. It opened its mouth and
licked Hunter, who fell over. Holmes suppressed a smile as the boy robot
came flying up, followed by a woman in a white lab coat. He waited to make
sure Hunter was completely preoccupied, then quietly walked off. As he
walked around the corner, he heard the boy say, "Bad Pup! You weren't
supposed to eat that stuff! I am so
sorry, Lieutenant Dwayne!"
Lestrade suppressed another sigh. The clerk at the station was not very
helpful. If it wouldn't have caused an international scandal, she would
have jumped across the desk and threatened the man with her fist. Well,
Watson had actually restrained her, by reminding her of the scandal. She
looked over at her boss. Grayson looked as annoyed as she felt. Deciding
to take matters into her own hands, no matter what she caused, she
grabbed the man's collar and pulled him towards her.
"Look, mister," she growled, "I am hot and tired. Do you really
want to make it worse by annoying me?" The terrified man shook his head.
"I didn't think so. Now, just tell us what happened to the last
compartment on transport number 214 and we'll all be happy."
"I...It was e...ejected," the man stammered. "Over the Atlantic...."
"Was anyone in the compartment?" she asked, her heart beginning to
beat rapidly. Watson had told them that 214 was the one Holmes and the two
criminals had been on. Upon arrival, they had been told that 214 was in
need of repair, that something was wrong with the last compartment. The
man they were talking to now had been the conductor for that flight. They
had then proceeded to ask what exactly was wrong with it, but met with
stubborn silence, until now.
The clerk swallowed nervously, and Lestrade jerked him. "Y..es. A
man."
"What did this man look like?" Grayson questioned, pretending not
to notice the clerk's reddening cheeks.
"He... uh... was... t-tall with br-brow... nish red hair. He... uh...
had blue eyes, too."
"Where is he now?" Lestrade asked in a whisper, fearing she already
knew the answer. She let go of the man abruptly when he refused to meet her
eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said, rubbing his throat, "but it was already too
late when we noticed the compartment missing. For some reason the alarms
didn't go off."
Lestrade shrugged, turned around, and walked towards the entrance
of the station. She ignored Watson's and Grayson's calls for her to come
back. She needed to get away, before she gave in to the tears that
threatened. As she passed through the doors, she was going so quickly that
she tripped over the slight ledge. Someone reached out and grabbed her
arm, stopping her forward momentum.
"Careful, Lestrade, we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself," Holmes
said in an amused tone.
"Holmes, how dare you put yourself in danger like that! I thought
you had finally got used to calling for back-up... I thought you were dead."
Holmes smiled. "I almost was. However, it is clear now that I am
not. I honestly did not think I needed back-up or I most certainly should
have called you." He stopped and looked over in the direction he came from.
"Listen, when that lieutenant comes around the corner, I want you to ask
him if he's seen me." He quickly moved and hid behind an empty desk.
Frowning, Lestrade looked around the corner. Sure enough, an
American wearing a US Military uniform strode into view. She straightened
her shoulders and walked up to him. "Excuse me, sir?"
The man looked at her, then away. "Sorry, ma'am, but...." He
looked back at her quickly. "Have we... met before?"
"Now there's one I've never heard before. No, we have never met.
Unless we met before I was ten. I don't remember anything before that.
Now, I'm looking for someone. Maybe you've seen him? His name is Sherlock
Holmes."
The lieutenant frowned. "What does he look like?"
"Oh, he's about an inch taller than you, has reddish brown hair,
blue eyes...speaks with a British accent...."
"Then he was telling the truth!"
Lestrade stared at him, wondering what Holmes had done this time.
As soon as she thought it, he came out from behind the desk.
"Of course I was telling the truth. However, I knew you would never
believe me unless you had proof. Lieutenant Hunter, I'd like you to meet
Inspector Lestrade of New London. It was thanks to her that I was brought
back to life."
Lestrade extended her hand, and Hunter took it. He was still
staring at her. "Are you sure we haven't met? It's not a come-on; I really
think I've seen you somewhere, recently."
Lestrade laughed. "This is the first time I've set foot in America."
Hunter started to reply, but was forestalled by Holmes asking, "I
do hope you straightened out that fiasco with the puppy, Lieutenant."
Hunter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, the doc's gonna give him the
antidote. Rusty let him get into a growth serum one of the scientists came
up with. Everything will be okay now. Except for my dry cleaning bill.
I've got doggy slobber all over my uniform."
Lestrade frowned and shook her head, deciding she would be better
off without knowing.
"Listen, Mr. Holmes, since I know you're who you say you are
now, I've gotta get back," Hunter said. He nodded to Lestrade and walked
away.
"Holmes!" Watson cried from inside. They both turned to look at
him and Grayson running towards them.
"Glad you're okay," Grayson said grudgingly.
Holmes smiled and raised an eyebrow.
"Rusty," Slate admonished, "you're going to have to keep a leash on
Pup. Just until you can train him better." She stopped and showed him the
special kennel she had fixed up. "And when you're done playing with him,
put him in here. It has food and water dishes, and a place for him to...
uh...relieve himself."
Rusty nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry, Doctor Slate. I didn't mean for
that to happen. He just took off before I could stop him."
Doctor Slate sighed. "That's why he needs to be on a leash. So
nothing like this can happen again. We're lucky it wasn't anything more
dangerous than Doctor Robinson's growth serum. Now, go play until power
down time. If you don't want to keep Pup with you, put him in his kennel."
Rusty smiled, forgetting to be sad in that way little kids were
wont to do, and ran off to go play his latest video game. Slate smiled and
shook her head. She then went back to studying the stats on the 7b1
formula.
Several hours later, she frowned. It was all just a bunch of
words. None of it made any sense. Before she could go anywhere, Professor
Mortan walked into the lab.
"Hello, Doctor Slate. I have been wanting to meet you for a long
time. In fact, I believe you'll be the first test subject for the
substance. Fenwick!"
The disfigured scientist walked into the room carrying a bottle and
a syringe. He handed them to Mortan, then grabbed Slate and handcuffed her
hands behind he back. Her eyes widened as Mortan came closer with the
bottle and syringe.
"Hey! What are you doing to Doctor Slate?" Rusty cried. He started
to go to her, but Pup was faster. The dog growled and leapt at Mortan,
making the man throw the bottle up in the air. He stuck the puppy with
the syringe. Pup yelped and dropped back. The bottle came down on the
ground, breaking, and the substance started to seep towards Slate.
On to Part 7!
Back to part 1,
part 2,
part 3,
part 4, and
part 5.
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