The Son of Sherlock Holmes

The Blind Banker Part Two

John walks over and he and sits on stools with Soo Lin on opposite sides of the table. Zyair stands with Sherlock at the end of the table. "You saw the cipher. Then you know he is coming for me." Soo Lin tells them. "You've been clever to avoid him so far." Sherlock responds. "I had to finish ... to finish this work. It's only a matter of time. I know he will find me." Soo Lin explains. "Who is he? Have you met him before?" Zyair asks her. "When I was a girl, living back in China. I recognise his ... 'signature.'" Soo Lin nods. "The cipher." Sherlock realises. "Only he would do this. Zhi Zhu." Soo Lin tells them. "Zhi Zhu?" John questions. "The Spider." Zyair translates. Soo Lin unlaces her shoe and takes it off to reveal a black tattoo of a lotus flower inside a circle on the bottom of her heel. "You know this mark?" she asks. "Yes. It's the mark of a Tong." Sherlock responds. "Hmm?" John asks. "Ancient crime syndicate based in China." Zyair clarifies making John nod and turn back to Soo Lin. "Every foot soldier bears the mark; everyone who hauls for them." she explains. "Hauls?" John asks. Soo Lin looks at him making his eyes widen in understanding. "Y-you mean you were a smuggler?" John asks her. She lowers her gaze and puts her shoe back on "I was fifteen. My parents were dead. I had no livelihood; no way of surviving day to day except to work for the bosses." she explains.

"Who are they?" Sherlock asks. "They are called the Black Lotus. By the time I was sixteen, I was taking thousands of pounds worth of drugs across the border into Hong Kong. But I managed to leave that life behind me. I came to England. They gave me a job here. Everything was good; a new life." Soo Lin tells them. "Then he came looking for you." Zyair states. "Yes. I had hoped after five years maybe they would have forgotten me, but they never really let you leave. A small community like ours – they are never very far away. He came to my flat. He asked me to help him to track down something that was stolen." Soo Lin continues, tears pooling in her eyes. "And you've no idea what it was?" Zyair asks. Soo Lin shakes her head "I refused to help." she responds. John leans forward "So you knew him well when you were living back in China?" he asks. She nods "Oh yes. He's my brother. Two orphans. We had no choice. We could work for the Black Lotus, or starve on the streets like beggars. My brother has become their puppet, in the power of the one they call Shan – the Black Lotus general. I turned my brother away. He said I had betrayed him. Next day I came to work and the cipher was waiting." Soo Lin explains. Zyair takes out the photographs and puts them on the table "Can you decipher these?" he asks her. Soo Lin leans forward and points to the mark beside Sir William's portrait "These are numbers." she starts. "Yes, I know." Sherlock nods. "Here, the line across the man's eyes, it's the Chinese number one." Soo Lin continues. "And this one is fifteen. But what's the code?" Sherlock asks. "All the smugglers know it. It's based upon a book ..." Soo Lin is cut off by all the lights going out. Soo Lin looks up in dread as Sherlock straightens up and looks around the room. "He's here. Zhi Zhu. He has found me." Soo Lin whispers scared.

Sherlock runs off with Zyair out the room to find Zhi Zhu "Sh-Sherlock. Sherlock, Zyair, wait!" John calls after them. The Homes' race across the foyer with a staircase at each end and a balcony surrounding the floor above. They stop in the middle and look around to see if they can spot him. On their right Zyair spots a figure running across the balcony, grabbing his father he pulls them behind a statue on a low plinth as a gun is fired. The figure fires a couple more times before running back across the balcony and disappearing from view. Zyair and Sherlock walk out from behind the plinth and race across the foyer and up the stairs after him. They turn and run into a display room where the gunman runs out from behind them and fires again. Sherlock grabs Zyair and ducks behind a display cabinet of skulls as the get shot at again. "Careful! Some of those skulls are over two hundred thousand years old! Have a bit of respect!" Sherlock calls out before pausing for a couple of seconds, breathing heavily. There are no more gunshots after making Zyair frown slightly in confusion. "Thank you!" Sherlock smiles slightly. Zyair carefully peers through the glass of the case to find no one there. "Dad, he's gone!" he exclaims making Sherlock look as well. Just then there is a single gunshot from downstairs making Zyair rush down. He runs into the room they left Soo Lin to find her dead on the table with a black origami lotus flower in her hand. John and Sherlock run in as Zyair leans against the wall angry and upset.