Team Seven of Heroes Chapter 28

28

“I say old chap, you may dread sampling the heat once more.” Mycroft spoke to Watson. “I would be with such heat and dirty condition. Did I once tell you that I was in Albania where the cold ….”

Watson had ignored the other and moved along the ship railing to the helm. They were not going to the land just yet. The arrangement was they will travel by the dirigible from there but the later was late for a needed refuelling. 

“Watson, you looked in pain. Can I help?” Lady Harkness stood next to the doctor. “I have not been this far East but I am intrigued already. The city looked very inviting.”

“It’s my Lady. A city that both inviting likes the region that almost everyone from the Western side had come to invade and ruled as their extended empire.” It was Lady Jane who cut in. “The Middle East and the Far East are no different from the Dark Continent. Where the British had not landed, the Germans or the Spanish before them had done so. The question remained how long they can secured the invasion to then ruled it like their own backward.”

“A tinge of sarcasm, Lady Jane.” Watson replied with a smile. “I was not here to rule but to heal the ones that lived here.”

“Were you Doctor Watson?” Lord Greystoke joined the discussion. “Medicine had their benefits but the ones that brought it also brought along the mass with the guns. They desire not healing but having their own.”

“More sarcasm? Please excuse me before I vote for the next Frontier Wars.” Watson excused himself and took the walk to look for Sherlock. The sleuth was missing for some hours then and he was later found among the sailors at the lower bunks.

“Herr Heinrich, do tell me more?” The sleuth was seated there with his legs crossed and listening to the sailors’ tales. He saw Watson and motioned him to sit along with them.

“Heinrich here was telling me of the place we are going. He had spent some time there and there are no better guides than one who knew the hidden side of the city.”

The tales told were not of the tourist interest but to Holmes, it was information he was digesting. The current dynasty was on the verge of collapsing. According to Heinrich, the changes were rapid in the last few centuries that they retained the old scripture boards in case the older dynasty was revived. When Sherlock asked on the Mandarin, there was a hush before the sailors continued on.

“The Mandarin held more influence than the Emperor. He was revered like a God and no one dares defy him. Not even the colonial authorities. They allowed him freedom of passage inside the area for his return to the freedom of trade. The Mandarin controls the ports and noting get loaded without his consent. We held the cannons but the Mandarin held the army that he was building. He had ships in the other ports equipped with our weapons. He holds several areas where they made dirigibles for war.”

“I once saw a man fly on a pair of wings.” Another sailor added in. “These Orientals are awesome.”

“Have you seen their fighting fists? It was so fast.” The conversation loose up and more sailors added on. Watson felt confined there and stepped out. He found his way back to the officer bunker and saw Mycroft there.

“Watson old chap, am I glad to see you again? M send this telegram to you.” Watson was surprised that he was referred to by the dame at London. He took the sealed telegram and opened it.

‘Rajah Manuj sent his regards.’

So after that many years the old man was still alive.

“Doctor, do you still carry the Webley?” Mycroft asked. “I have a spare.”

Watson ignored the man and went to his bunk where he remained unless called for food. Sherlock had then heard enough and stepped out of the area to the salty air of the sea. He looked over the railings and at the sea waves. His mind worked like the waves; they never stopped breaking it and absorb all the impact but forever moving forth.

“Amazing how the mind works. We build many things that gave us so many new edges.” It was Lady Jane who said that. She saw the quizzed expression. “I was there at the next most primitive land and we brought them our inventions. We had good intentions; guns to replace the spears, plough for the hand tools, and …”

“Your first assessment reflected your hostility. You resented the changes there.” Sherlock gave his deduction. “You wanted to say we saved them to become slaves but slavery had been with us for eons even before the Spartans and Greeks. All of them advanced in some manner but they still do slavery.”

“True but the one creature that man could not keep in slavery was the wild creatures. They hold a huge wide jaw and fangs for the one bite.” Lady Jane sighed. “It’s just that they have grown smaller than the huge ones with bigger jaws.”

“The dinosaurs? I missed them. I wished I was born then and had traced their origins. I wondered why they were …grown so big and we so much smaller.” Sherlock smiled.

“You can tell God when you meet her.” Lady Jane added in with sarcasm. “She made mine perfectly.”

“Endowed perhaps? I won’t know as they are not mine.” Sherlock parlayed on the relevance. “But the dinosaurs are not here for us to understand. Why do you draw that topic into our quest?”

“The origin of species was what drove us together. A creature endowed with wings when it had none before. Was it to fly or run? I had seen the lioness hunt and speed was not their strength. The cheetah may do so but they hunt alone. Lioness hunts in packs.” Lady Jane gave her reply. “Are we looking at the origin or attempting to evolve these creatures?”

“And why would the criminal world unite to do this? Evolution and crime does not link at all.” Sherlock looked at Lady Jane. “Intrigue me please?”

“I believe the word should be induced me, Mr Holmes.” It was Lady Harkness. “I will do so. When I was with Vlad…. The man you knew as Dracula, he showed me some insight into the works of his. All of you knew Vlad as a blood sucker but he was also into research. His fascination also involved the species and their common link the blood. The blood in all of us including the creature is almost similar in its basic ….molecules. He once told me that with the blood he can trace their origin.”

“So indulge me in my possible deductions?” Sherlock was adamant to see how it affect their works. “They are looking to build an army of creatures that once terrorized man?”

“We don’t know. You are the sleuth, so please do investigate it while the ladies attend to matters privy in the bathroom.” Both the ladies left the sleuth with his array of new assumptions but they did raise a sounding idea. He then retired to the ship bridge to take up the Captain’s Bridge. It was also next to the telegram room.