The Reichenbach Plan

Chapter 3: A Trap Worthy of a Shikari

A gloved hand slipped an oiled key into the alarm box. It turned silently, the single beep muffled by the thick cloth held over the speaker. The door turned silently on the hinges. When he had come earlier, in the guise of a window cleaner, he had made sure they were well lubercated. He walked across the roof, his boots making no sound. He came to the edge and removed a small monocular from his vest pocket. He looked through it down to the street below. Through it he could see Hugh Boone asleep in a ramshackle lean to. Knowing that time was of the essence, he knelt down and prepared his rifle. A few second later a shot rang out. Below people screamed and scattered as Boone fell to the ground. The sniper prepared to rise from his prone position when he felt a weight on his body. It didn't feel extremely heavy, so he prepared to rise. He suddenly felt a pistol pressed to his temple. "I wouldn't do that if I was you."

Two Days Previously

Watson returned to find Sherlock surrounded by papers suspended by twine from the ceiling. "Finally building some walls for your mind palace?" he quipped. "Trying to track a tiger in tall grass" Holmes answered. "The data seems to connect at various loci making the wall impossible." Watson walked over and stared at the column which consisted of notes, newspapers, and other papers of varying sizes. "Is this all Adair's work?" Holmes pointed to two strings, "Adair had chased the trail as far as connecting one company to a MP. It even has a familial connection, uncle and nephew. What he found was just the beginning." Is there anything I can do to help?" "Two things, first..." Holmes pointed to where a laptop was attached to a printer, "...print off any additional information I require. The second: be silent. Just hand it to me through the column, don't enter it." Watson nodded and positioned himself near the laptop. He watched as Holmes rose and fell, his fingers trailing paper after paper. Almost inaudible words trailed from his mouth. To anyone else, it would appear he was having a fit. Watson knew better.
If Watson could see what Holmes saw when he was in his mind palace, he would be amazed.  entered his mind palace. Holmes found himself in the orchestra pit of the London Philharmonic. The orchestra seemed to be playing different music. Holmes quickly realized that it was the same piece, just the orchestra was playing at different places of the music. Holmes rapped his baton and began to conduct. Holmes running his fingers over different pieces of paper, occasionally jumping from one paper to another across the column. Some of the instruments were following his conducting, some were stubbornly playing the place they were. A barked order produced a paper a few seconds later. Someone new joined the bassoons and now they are playing in place. Several orders; several orchestra members, more harmony. He glanced down at the composition only to find several pages of blank sheet music. Sheet music, The Woman, GET OUT!! Focus. His violin appeared in his hand. A pencil appeared on the podium. Fingers and orders flew. Hand flying from bow to pencil. Parker appeared in the pit playing a jaw harp. Confusion, distraction?...no connection. A phone call made, a folder arrives. Jaw harp enhancing music. Holmes' fingers moved with even more fervor. Compose, fill in the gaps. Music coming together. Barked orders produce a pen and pad of paper. Bach for this place, Handel for this place, Beethoven to tie the harmonies. Scribbling, tearing, hanging. Rimski-Korsakov, Wagner...Nazi...More scribbling. Music reaching the final movement. Holmes' gestures, bringing the whole Philharmonic to a loud crescendo.  Finale. Holmes emerged from the tower to morning sunlight peeked through the window. He glanced over to find Watson asleep in his chair. He nudged him awake, "Come, we are hunting the Tiger."

That night Watson found himself in black, crouched behind an air conditioner. Below he could hear the sounds of London, the lights of which through everything on the roof into shadow. He felt Homes at his elbow, as he watched the door leading to the stairwell. The soldier in Watson was on high alert, noting positions, access routes, points of entry, etc. The sounds of London traffic died down as midnight approached. Suddenly a laser dot appeared in front of him. A signal that someone was opening the stair access. His eyes watched as a black shape opened the door and crept toward the far edge. A large black backpack, strapped tightly to avoid noise, gave the shape a hunchback appearance. He watched as the shape became prone near the far edge. The figure appeared to stare at something through a monocular for a period of time. The sniper undid the backpack and pulled out a box about the size of a loaf of bread. A rifle was assembled, and then attached to the box. The sniper removed a line of cable and proceeded to lower the contraption over the edge. They watched as the man slipped on a pair of goggles and started to lower the contraption lower. He stopped and started pressing buttons on a wrist control. A few seconds a shot rang out. At the shot Holmes sprang from his hiding place and jumped on the man's back. The sniper started to rise, only to be stopped by a member of SCO-19 with a gun to his temple. The sniper started to let the cable slip through his fingers only to have Holmes grab it. "It would be a shame to destroy a Von Herder rifle," he said. The police soon had the man standing and goggles removed. "Lestrade, let me introduce you to Colonel Sebastian Moran." Pulling up the contraption, he handed it to him. "And I believe you find that to be the weapon that killed Ronald Adair. With that he proceeded to turn quickly, and walk toward the stairwell.