Michael Holmes: Secret Son of Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 6: Hello father

"There's always an "off" switch." The boy smirked. "There's no way Sherlock Holmes doesn't know about it."

"What...? Sherlock, what does he mean!?" John questioned his friend. Sherlock burst into laughter. "Sherlock?"

John went towards the bomb and saw it flicking back and forth between 1:29 and 1:28. Sherlock pressed a switch on the bomb. The timer stopped ticking.

The boy looked at John, who was staring at Sherlock in disbelieve. "You... utter...."

"Your face!" Sherlock continued to laugh. "I totally had you."

"I knew it! I knew it! You..." 

"Those things you said... Such sweet things! I never knew you cared."

"I will kill you if you ever breathe a word of this..."

Sherlock did a Boy Scout's salute he learned when he was younger. "Scout's honour." 

 "... to anyone. You knew!" John's eyes were filled with anger again. "You knew how to turn it off! So why did you let me go through all that?"

"I didn't lie altogether. I've absolutely no idea how to turn any of these silly little lights off." Sherlock grinned. Just as he ended the sentence, there were flashlight beams approaching along the tunnel.

"And you DID call the police."

"Of course I did!"

The police came inside the carriage. "I'm definitely gonna kill you." John stared at Sherlock.

Sherlock joked. "Oh, please. Killing me- that's so two years ago." 

John turned to the boy. "Who are you? How did you find us? How are you even here?"

"It was kind of easy tracking you down." He said. "I'm Michael. You can call me Mike too if you want." He went to the famous Sherlock Holmes and shook his hand. "We shall meet again- Mr Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Hamish Watson." Then, he disappeared back into the shadows.

"Who- who is he!?" John shook his head, still confused. "And... And how did he know my middle name!? No one knows it except you and Mary!"

Sherlock smirked. "He looks like fun."

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Back at 221B Baker Street, Sherlock sat on his chair, reading one of John's blog on his phone. "Hmm. 'The Empty Hearse'. Do people still read your blogs?"

"Yes, they still do." John rolled his eyes. He wore his best tie and took his bag with him. "I'm going out now. Don't do something ridiculous like shooting the wall or something."

"With Mary...?" 

"Yeah. You ruined the previous one, remember?" John wore his shoes and closed the door behind him. 

Sherlock put down his phone, looking at the clock. Precisely 7 pm. Where is he?

Suddenly, he heard the doorbell rang. "Sherlock, someone's here to see you!" The landlady, Miss Hudson called. "He seems to be a kid. Is he another client of yours?"

'The kid' opened the door. "Nice to meet you again, Mr Holmes." He plopped himself onto John's chair. 

"Smart enough to sneak the note to me when you were shaking my hand." Sherlock took the note out of his pocket. 

Neat words written on it: I'll be there. 7 pm. - MH

 Sherlock looked up after showing the paper to Michael. "What brought you here?"

"Wait- no." Sherlock stopped Michael from saying another word. "Let me see what I can find on you first."

Michael patiently waited for Sherlock to 'deduce him. He closely observed me, deep in thought. "You're 11 or 12 years old, quite smart for your young age. You're an orphan from Australia, specifically from the Little Hope Orphanage Home. In fact, you just arrived in London today."

"You lost your mother at a young age- she died from a bullet shot. Your father however, has broke up with your mother before you were born, probably for a reasonable excuse, but your mother still loved him even after everything." Sherlock sighed. "I've always assumed that love is a dangerous disadvantage." 

The detective continued. "Even though you come from an orphanage home, you're wearing a seeming expensive necklace, so I guess it's probably passed on from your mother-" Sherlock's eyes suddenly widen and his voice trailed off as he realised what he observed. "Oh my Gosh-"

"Yes, it was my mother's." Michael touched the necklace. Then he glanced at Sherlock. "Hello father."

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Still sitting in the living room, Sherlock stared at Michael in disbelieve. Suddenly, a familiar voice broke the silence. "Would you like some biscuits?" Miss Hudson was standing at the door.

"No, I'm fine." Sherlock waved his hand at the landlady, and turned his attention back to Michael. "Oh, silly. I wasn't asking you, I was asking the boy!" Miss Hudson smiled at Michael. "Don't mind him- he's always like that."

"I don't mind some biscuits." the boy smiled back at her. "Thank you."

"What a sweet boy!" Miss Hudson went to make it. "Sherlock should really learn from him."

Silence.

"So... your mom is Anabelle Powell?"

No reply. Just silence.

Michael yawned. He was still tired after the long trip from Australia. "Do you mind... if I stay here for one night?" Michael looked at Sherlock. "I'll get out of here tomorrow morning."

"You can sleep on the sofa." Sherlock told him, his eyes still remained icy blue. "Just for one night. Be out by 9 in the morning."

Silence.

"Michael...?" Sherlock looked around, and saw Michael already lying down on the sofa. Sherlock checked his pulse. He already fell asleep.

Just then, Miss Hudson entered with a tray of yummy biscuits on her hands. "Oh dear!" She exclaimed. "He's already asleep. Oh well, I guess I'll just eat this."

He turned to her. "But since you already made this..." He whispered. "Don't mind if I do." He snatched the biscuits from Miss Hudson's hands.

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John finally came back at about 9:30 pm. "What... are you doing?" He asked as he saw that the kitchen had become a junkyard. He was currently mixing up some chemicals and pouring it into a glass tube. "Miss Hudson will be furious if she sees this."

Sherlock didn't reply. John sighed and went inside. He was just about to sit on the sofa to watch television when he saw Michael sleeping on it. He recognized him as the boy they met earlier at the carriage. "Sherlock-"

"Just leave him be." Sherlock said, still concentrating on his experiment. "He'll be out tomorrow morning."

"I just wanted to ask how... why..." John looked at Michael, and then Sherlock. "Never mind." John was used to his friend's weird behaviour and actions. He went inside his room.

Sherlock put the glass tube in a plastic bag. "I'll test it out tomorrow." He got out of his seat and put a blanket on Michael.