Clique of 221B

Chapter 36: Soldiers Today

John looks at Eurus,
"What's this? We're supposed to solve this based on what?"
"This. This is all we get." You tell him.
"Please, make use of your friends, Sherlock. I want to see you interact with people that you're close to. Also, you may have to choose which one to keep." You and John frown. You glance towards Mycroft, he still hasn't looked at me. Sherlock turns and holds out the rifle in both hands, looking at Mycroft,
"What do you make of it?"
"Am I being asked to prove my usefulness?"
"Yes, I should think you are."
"I will not be manipulated like this."
"Fine. John? [Y/N]?" He turns to you both. Mycroft turns his head away from you. "John?" You stay looking at Mycroft but John turns and takes the rifle.
"Yeah, I think I've seen one of these. It's a buffalo gun." He raises the rifle looks into the telescopic sight. "I'd say nineteen forties, old-fashioned sight, no crosshairs."
Sherlock takes back the rifle and looks down at the photos.
"The kickback from a gun that large would be massive," you say, looking at the photo of Nathan. "So it wasn't Nathan."
"Not Nathan?" John asks, confused.
"Glasses, glasses." Sherlock says, pointing at the first photograph. "Nathan wears glasses. Evans was shot from three hundred metres."
"No cuts, no scarring. Not Nathan, then. Who's next?" He moves his fingers across to the next picture.
"Well done, you two. How useful you both are." You and John look up at him, you narrow your eyes. "Do you have a suspicion we're being made to compete?"
John turns to him,
"No, we're not competing. There's a plane in the air that's gonna crash, so what we're doing is actually trying to save a little girl. Today we have to be soldiers, Mycroft, soldiers." Sherlock lifts his head to watch John. "-and that means to hell with what happens to us." John walks away towards the other end of the table. Mycroft raises his eyebrows,
"Your priorities do you credit."
"No, my priorities just nearly got a woman killed." They all briefly glance at you. Because I'm the reason she's not dead, but I'm also the reason her husband's dead. Luckily Eurus interrupts,
"Now, as I understand it, Sherlock, you try to repress your emotions to refine your reasoning. I'd like to see how that works, so, if you don't mind, I'm going to apply some context to your deductions." You hear a noise from behind you and turn to look. Outside the window three men drop into view, suspended by a rope. The ropes tighten and the men are left dangling. Their hands are bound with rope and around their mouths. They all have a large card hung around their necks with thin string. The men struggle against their restraints. You hear a faint,
"Oh, dear God," from Mycroft.
"Two of the Garridebs work here as orderlies, so getting the third along really wasn't too difficult."You all walk to the window and stare out at the men. "Once you bring in your verdict, let me know and justice will be done." You look closer at the men and see the signs around their necks have their names on them. Sherlock turns to her,
"Justice?"
"What will you do with them?" John asks.
"She'll drop them." You say.
"Early release. Sink, or swim." She tells you. John turns to her angrily,
"They're tied up!"
"Exactly! Now there is context." Sherlock puts the rifle on the table and looks at the photos. "Please, continue with your deductions. I'm now focussing on the difference to your mental capacity a specified consequence can make."
"Why should we bother?" Mycroft asks her. John glances at the men outside the window. "What if we're disinclined to play your games, little sister?"
"I have – if you remember – provided you with some motivation." You hear another click from the speaker, and the little girl,
"We're going through the clouds, like cotton wool." Mycroft turns away from her, frustrated. Sherlock straightens up and speaks to her,
"Oh, that's nice. Try to tell me more about the plane."
"Why won't my mummy wake up?" She asks. Sherlock looks back at the photos.
"So it's got to be one of the other two." He walks over to the men outside the window. "Now, Howard. Howard's a lifelong drunk. Pallor of his skin, terminal gin blossoms on his red nose and – terror notwithstanding – a bad case of the DTs."
"So there's no way he could have taken that shot from three hundred metres away." You say, moving to stand next to Sherlock. You both turn to look at the last man.
"So that leaves us with Alex. Indentations on the temples suggest he habitually wears glasses. Frown lines suggest a lifetime of peering."
"He's shortsighted, or he was. His recent laser surgery has done the trick." Mycroft says, as he moves to stand closer to you. Sherlock glances at him,
"Laser surgery?"
"Look at his clothes. He's made an effort."
"That's very good." John says, quietly.
"Excellent. Suddenly he sees himself in quite a different light now that he's dumped the specs. Even has a spray tan. But he's clearly not used to his new personal grooming ritual. That can be told by the state of his fingernails and the fact that there's hair growing in his ears. So it's a superficial job, then. But he got his eyes fixed. His hands were steady. He pulled the trigger." Sherlock turns back to Eurus, pointing at Alex. "He killed Evans."
"Are you ready to condemn the prisoner?" She asks him.
"Sherlock, we can't do this." Mycroft says, softly.
"The plane, remember?"
"Sherlock? Are you ready?"
Sherlock turns his head a little. You look at him as he bites his lip for a moment, then says,
"Alex."
"Say it. Condemn him. Condemn him in the knowledge of what will happen to the man you name." Sherlock turns to face the window. He pauses for a moment but then,
"I condemn Alex Garrideb." Instantly the ropes holding the other two men are released and they plunge down into the sea.
"Congratulations." Eurus says. You all turn back to face her. "You got the right one." She tilts her head towards the door to the right of you, which begins to slide open. "Now, go through the door." John walks towards the screen angrily,
"You dropped the other two. Why?"
"Interesting."
"WHY?" He shouts at her.
"Does it really make a difference, killing the innocent instead of the guilty? Let's see." She presses a button on the remote control. You look back and see Alex's rope released and he follows his brothers'. You look at Eurus who has paused thoughtfully, "No. That felt pretty much the same." Of course it'd feel the same for you. Sherlock turns back and walks to stand near John who is staring towards the window, breathing heavily.
"John." He says softly. John turns to him. "Don't let her distract you."
"Distract me?"
"Soldiers today." John looks at him for a moment, then straightens. Sherlock glances across to a disturbed looking Mycroft, then at you. You nod at him and he turns and leads the you all to the door.