Fate Without Time

Chapter 9

When I finally managed to get out of bed and get dressed, I saw that John had just gotten back with the groceries. "Here, let me help you with that," I said as I grabbed a bag. "Thank you, Alis. At least you're nicer than Sherlock," said John. "He didn't help, did he?" I asked. "You two do know that I'm right here, right?" asked Sherlock from his chair. "I'm just teasing, Sherlock. Go back to what you were doing," I said as John and I put the bags in the kitchen. But then, John and I noticed that Sherlock was typing on John's computer. "Is that my computer?" asked John. "Of course," said Sherlock, not looking up. "What?!" John exclaimed. "Mine was in the bedroom," said Sherlock, still not looking up. "And you couldn't be bothered to get up?" I asked. "It's password protected!" John yelled. "In a manner of speaking. Took me less than a minute to guess yours. Not exactly Fort Knox," said Sherlock. "Right, thank you," John paused as we heard a siren. "Oh. Need to get a job," said John. "Oh, dull," said Sherlock. "Listen, um... if you'd be able to lend me some... Sherlock, are you listening?" asked John. "I need to go to the bank," said Sherlock as he got up and got his coat. "Good. I need to get money, too," I said. "That's not why we're going, Alis," said Sherlock as the three of us got into a taxi.

"Yes, when you said we were going to the bank..." John trailed off as we approached the welcome desk. "Sherlock Holmes," Sherlock said to the attendant

A few minutes later, we were in a bank office as a man came towards us. "Sherlock Holmes," said the man as he and Sherlock shook hands. "Sebastian," said Sherlock. "Howdy, buddy. How long's it been? Eight years since I last clapped eyes on you?" asked Sebastian. "These are my friends, John Watson and Alis Harrison," said Sherlock. "Friends?" asked Sebastian. "Colleagues," said John and I. "Right. Well, grab a pew. D'you need anything? Coffee, water?" asked Sebastian as we sat down. "Nah, I'm good," I said. "No," said John. "No? We're all sorted here, thanks," said Sebastian to his secretary. "So, you're doing well. You've been abroad a lot," said Sherlock. "Well, some," said Sebastian. "Flying all the way round the world twice in a month?" asked Holmes. " Right. You're doing that thing. We were at uni together. This guy here had a trick he used to do," said Sebastian. "It's not a trick," said Sherlock. "He could look at you and tell you your whole life story," said Sebastian. "Yes, we've seen him do it," said John. "Put the wind up everybody. We hated him. You'd come down to breakfast in the Formal Hall and this freak would know you'd been shagging the previous night," said Seb. "I simply observed," said Sherlock. "Go on, enlighten me. Two trips a month, flying all the way around the world – you're quite right. How could you tell? You're gonna tell me there was, um, a stain on my tie from some special kind of ketchup you can only buy in Manhattan," said Seb. "No, I..." "Maybe it was the mud on my shoes!" Seb continued. "I was just chatting with your secretary outside. She told me," said Sherlock. "I'm glad you could make it over. We've had a break-in," Seb paused as he gestured for us to walk with him. "Sir William's office – the bank's former Chairman. The room's been left here like a sort of memorial. Someone broke in late last night," he said. "What did they steal?" I asked. "Nothing. Just left a little message," said Seb as we looked at the security camera footage. There was graffiti on Sir William's portrait. "Sixty seconds apart. Interesting," I said. "So, someone came up here in the middle of the night, splashed paint around, then left within a minute," said Seb. "How many ways into that office?" asked Sherlock. "Well, that's where this gets really interesting," Seb paused as we went to the front desk. "Every door that opens in this bank, it gets logged right here. Every walk-in cupboard, every toilet," he said. "That door didn't open last night," I said. "There's a hole in our security. Find it and we'll pay you – five figures," Seb paused as he got some money out of his coat. "This is an advance. Tell me how he got in, there's a bigger one on its way," he said. "I don't need an incentive, Sebastian. Come along, Alis," said Sherlock as we went back to the area where the graffiti was at. I took the pictures while Sherlock was examining the place. I honestly had no idea what he was doing. But after he left the room, I followed close behind him. He was acting a little silly in my opinion.