22.
“Ms. Kewala, I thought we were to go to
Farrington." Ngamba, who was leading the Waziri warriors, approached the
lady. He was dressed in the simple tunic and pants with sandals for his
footwear. He had retained his rungu in the backpack.
“My mistake there, Ngamba. I was to say
Farringdon.” Mindy looked to the street there. Farringdon was a booming area of
London; the station then was a bustling hub of the Metropolitan Railway, the
world's first underground railway. The steam trains were fully established,
connecting commuters from suburbs like Paddington to the city. Due to the high
frequency of trains, the area was often plagued by soot and smoke. The
nearby Smithfield meat market was a hive of activity. That area was also
populated by the African community, which stretched to the surrounding
Clerkenwell area of London; it was small but established, existing with other
broader, low-income Victorian communities. The mix of individuals from across
the African diaspora, including African and Afro-Caribbean individuals who
worked in various London trades.
“Are you uncomfortable, Ngamba? These are
our people too.” Mindy looked at the Waziri warrior.
“No offense, Ms. Kewala. I hardly
travelled out of the estate.” Ngamba looked to the community there. He then
looked to the others.
“Be on alert.”
“Do not worry, Ngamba. My chamber is up
ahead.” Mindy led the way across the street and then two blocks on; she took
the alley in between the buildings. Ngamba looked at the surroundings. Instead
of tall trees and canopied leaves, he saw concentrated structures with
overhanging cables and stagnant smog.
“Here we are.” Mindy stopped at the
doorway. She took out a key and unlocked the door. She went in first. Megmu,
the other lady in the group, took entry, followed by another named Korak.
“Yarty, stay on guard here.” Ngamba held
the last of the warriors back. “We will be fast.”
Fast was the reaction felt by those who
stepped in. Megmu, who had stepped in, was slashed at the chest and dropped
forward. Korak saw the attack had stepped to the left. He unslung the knapsack
and deflected the slash at him. He reached into the backpack to remove the
rungu, but another to his left had slashed the side of his neck. Ngamba, who
was behind Korak, had his knapsack unslung and reached his rungu. He was facing
two assailants then, with Ms. Kewala seen at the rear of the chamber.
“Bundolo!” (Kill) Ngamba called out. He
eyed the two assailants there, dressed in black and holding short swords.
“Hai!” The assailant on the left charged
at Ngamba, who sidestepped the downward swing of the katana blade. Ngamba had
his body turned and swung the rungu hard at the back of the assailant. It
impacted just below the back of the neck. The assailant staggered to the right
side, wobbling in the steps, and then fell to the flooring.
“Bundolo!” Ngamba went for the killing
blow on the back of the head, but he had to sidestep when the other assailant
did a front thrust of the sword at him. Ngamba felt the sword had pierced his
left side of the chest, but it was not fatal. He swung the rungu in a right
swing at the second assailant who had stepped back. Ngamba retreated holding
the wound on his chest.
“Hai!” The second assailant charged at
Ngamba with the sword held in the right hand, and on his left hand, he had on
the dagger drawn from his waist belt. The assailant went in for the kill move
at the neck, and Ngamba took his rungu with both hands, holding it. He swung
the rungu at the assailant right, and at the last moment, he twisted his wrist
to divert the blow to the side of the lower chest.
It worked, for the assailant was hurt by
the low blow and fell to the side. Ngamba was to follow on with the deadly blow
to the head when the bullet impacted his chest. He looked to the shooter.
“Ms. Kewala…" Ngamba muttered.
It was then that Yarty rushed in and was
shot in the face by the lady. Mindy Kewala then stepped over the Waziri
warriors, making sure they were dead.
“You are not a bad shot after all.”
Lieutenant Gavin McLeod stood at the doorway holding the sabre and revolver.
“Get the papers and we can leave.”
“The others…" Mindy looked at the two
assailants.
“Done!” Lieutenant Gavin McLeod plunged
the sabre into the back of the neck of both assailants. Mindy rushed to collect
the papers and then fled the scene with the lieutenant
.It was a successful operation, but they
overlooked the condition of the lady warrior. Megmu, wounded, had crawled to
the doorway and was met by the neighbours there.
“Nisaidie” (Help me), Megmu called out in
Swahili (Kiswahili), the Bantu language spoken by millions across East Africa.
Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes was in deep thought on the case. He had picked up
the violin but did not string the chords. He was still trying to piece the
puzzle together on the people he assumed were involved.
Mindy Kewala was seen in London according
to his boys, but her destination was unknown. The boys reported her being with
a group of her own people. The boys were not familiar with the different
ethnicities but called them "Zulus," the term used to describe any
African descent then. It may be referenced to the Battle of Isandlwana in
1879: The Zulus achieved a stunning victory, wiping out over 1,300 British
troops—a major blow to British prestige.
Sherlock knew that the group was Waziri,
but why was Mindy back in London?
“Greystokes ……. How deep is your
involvement?”
The Oni Society is the other puzzle; how
deep was Doctor Mitsui Ogata involved? He knew of the Oni Society and had
wondered about the role of the doctor, now presumed dead, but it was made known
to him by Doctor John Watson that it was Sukimora who was there.
“So, where are you, Doctor?”
The minister was killed on the presumption
of his link to the treasury functions, but there was a reference to mining.
Brian Leeson was a successful miner before, and why did he join the exchequer
and get killed? How much does he know and with whom? The mining rights in the
Congo were one weak link, but with the numerous deaths related, more doubts
were surfacing
“Congo mining?”
Then it came to his baffling message: the
prefix M. Well, it will mean Moriarty, but he may be wrong. The trail of the
message was that it came from the PM’s office, but it baffled him why Armstrong
wanted him to be involved. He was tasked by the prime minister before to find a
stolen, potentially war-triggering letter, forcing him to navigate high-level
political secrets. Or recover stolen submarine blueprints vital to British
national security. He did once investigate the theft of a crucial treaty, preventing
a diplomatic incident that would have embarrassed the government. All in, he
did serve the interests of the Crown, but most often managed his workings with
the assistance of his brother.
“M may not be Moriarty, but someone else.”
Mycroft is not off the link; he is family,
but his methodology was at times tangent to his brother's. Mycroft's
involvement here may be more than a liaison from the Foreign Office; he brought
in Nayland Smith, and well, he spent more time at the chamber of his than he
did at the club.
“Who are you, Mycroft?”
“Hello, old boy. I am back.” Mycroft
stepped into the living chamber of his brother. He was dressed in his usual
tweeds and sported an envelope
.“I had requested Mrs. Hudson for the
afternoon tea with a generous helping of marmalade for the scones.” Mycroft sat
down at the seat reserved for Watson. “I heard you missed your lunch. Anything
the matter?”
“Where is Watson?” Mycroft was full of
questions.
“One, I was not hungry during lunch.”
Sherlock looked at the violin. It helped him in his moments to think, but his
other inducement was cocaine; it could inhibit the urge to eat and the
accumulation of these neurotransmitters that leads to euphoria, high
energy, and intense alertness.
“Two, Watson may be back in this
countryside.” His boys reported that they lost Watson in the streets.
“Three, I am in need of time to think. The
death of the minister and, of course, Sukimora.” Sherlock sighed. “A good
exponent of the physical arts.”
“So much to consider…" Sherlock
brought his violin bow to his forehead.
“Well, I have more bad news.” Mycroft
handed over the envelope. “Mindy Kewala is seen at Farringdon and then seen
leaving with one lieutenant, leaving a trail of bodies in the chamber there,
supposedly leased to Ms. Mindy.”
“Bravo, Mycroft. You could read those
syllables without losing a single breath.” Sherlock looked at the other.
“Mindy’s eluded us, and the Lieutenant may be piecing the puzzle pieces. Tell
me…"
“Argh …... my headache aches. I need my
medication.” Sherlock walked to his personal chamber and then stopped. “What do
you know of Ian Masterson and his …….”
“Done that. Lieutenant Gavin McLeod was
assigned to watch over Ms. Mindy ever since she arrived. I was to find out that
he is related to Minister Leeson from his wife’s side, a third cousin’s son,
and unknown to us, he is also related to Ian Masterson, the stepson of Mrs.
Masterson's previous marriage.
“Wild sows, they were.” Sherlock laughed
and then grabbed his head with his hands. “That hurts.”
“I think they will take offense to that,
Shelly.” Mycroft cut in. “Anyway, the information was not relevant as no one
checked it. Presumably then.”
“However, now the game is afloat……. Your
words, Shelly. We dug and found out more about it. Ian Masterson was involved
with Leeson in mining in the Congo, an exploration some many years back on the
edge of the Congo basin, and suddenly he requested the transfer to the Far
East. It was logged in that Ian had travelled extensively to northern China and
… to Japan.”
“There were reports of him meeting Doctor
Mitsui Ogata, filed as miscellaneous for there was no alert raised. While he
was there, he also got into the involvement of Emperor Fu Manchu; obvious.”
“An omission of yours. Never too late.”
Sherlock turned towards the window. “I can hear the carriages arrived.”
“Ah, Nayland is here and so is the good
doctor, Watson. I knew those footsteps well.”
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