Chapter 7: Chapter 02
"Brother Reid!"
The brown haired man shouted as he leapt into Jonathan's arms
Out of instinct, Jonathan dropped his tools once more and caught the man, unconsciously using a bit of enhanced strength to resist his momentum.
The man was too surprised and joyful at their reunion to realize that Jonathan had stopped a rushing 6 feet tall man who weighed over 80 kilograms in lean muscle with zero effort.
Realizing his mistake, Jonathan dropped the man, unceremoniously. The man hit the floor quite roughly and looked up as if he had been wronged.
"Who are you and why do you have keys to my house?" Jonathan asked, curious
The man's face seemed to dawn with realization as he saw what had happened.
Laughing to himself, he looked at Jonathan with a smirk
"I know I've gotten taller but I didn't believe you'd forget your best friend." The man replied with a grin
His words caused Jonathan's brain to malfunction as he figured out who the unknown man was.
The picture in his mind and the man standing before him were two completely different people. Still confused, Jonathan asked for confirmation
"John? Is that you?!"
"In the flesh. It is good to see you again, Brother." John answered, smiling widely
(Picture)
Instead of John, it was now Jonathan's turn to rush in and embrace him. Laughing loudly, John hugged him back with equal vigour before patting his back hard.
"Enough, you old bear. Unless you want to kill a war veteran on home soil" John joked.
Jonathan released him but he still couldn't believe the small boy who had once followed him around, shouting about how he'd become a doctor had turn into a fine young man who radiated order and discipline in every movement.
Unquestionably, a soldier in every facet.
Jonathan couldn't help himself and fired off a few questions that John was ready to answer.
"But you used to have blonde hair?"
"Sun kissed. The colour returned as I got older."
"But you were tiny?"
"Growth spurt during my teenage years"
"But you were skinny?"
"I've been home for 2 years now, Brother. I have a medical Practice but as a hobby, I help a gifted detective solve crimes.
A hobby that pays quite handsomely. I've ensured I stayed well fed"
Seeing Jonathan run out of question, Elisabeth saw her chance to intervene in the conversation
"Dr. Reid. You haven't introduced me to your friend"
Snapped out of his thoughts, Jonathan quickly made the introductions.
"Right! My apologises. Lady Ashbury, this is my long time friend, John Watson. Mr Watson, this is Lady Ashbury, my partner"
"Doctor Watson! A pleasure to meet you, Lady Ashbury" John corrected as he bowed slightly in her direction
"The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Watson" Elisabeth replied
"You've become a doctor?" Jonathan asked, surprised and proud
"Of course! I couldn't let you wait for long, could I? Also I've heard a great deal about the infamous Blood doctor"
"Blood doctor?" Elisabeth asked, intrigued
"You see, Dr. Reid here is quite the legend amongst us soldiers. Some say that with just a plastic tube and some blood, Jonathan Reid could raise the dead. As a frontline medic, he was often covered in blood as he operated on the soldiers. Also with his speciality in blood transfusions, it wasn't difficult to deduce where he earned his moniker"
With everything that had happened since he arrived in London, Jonathan had forgotten that embarrassing name. Seeing Elisabeth look at him in wonder made him feel even more embarrassed.
"Enough of that! Why are you here?" Jonathan asked, quickly trying to change the subject
Understanding Jonathan's act, John acquiesced "I came to check up on Lady Reid. She has been in bad shape, Brother. Some unknown people have been hanging around your mansion so I've asked Scotland Yard to send a patrol to safeguard it"
Ironically, John's action had made his mansion less safe as the unknown figures were Ekons Old Bridget had entrusted to protect Jonathan's mother at his request.
Replacing a race of immortal weapons for underpaid and generally, overweight coppers was a bad deal but Jonathan appreciated the sentiment.
"Thank you, John"
"Of course. I couldn't stand by and watch my brother's home be vandalised. Anyway, How is Lady Reid, today?" John asked
A silence fell as a gloom settled over their happy reunion. Elisabeth, quietly grabbed Jonathan's hand and squeezed, tightly.'
John, having been exposed to London's most brilliant detective for two years. had begun to develop considerable powers of deduction for himself. Jonathan's lowered gaze and shaking hands, Lady Ashbury's silent actions and the doctor's bag in Jonathan's hands told him all he needed to know.
"I am sorry for your loss, brother... You can take comfort in knowing that she is finally at peace. I just wish I could have done more"
Jonathan nodded gratefully at John's words. He understood just how close John and his mother was. He called him brother, not merely out of brotherhood but mostly because he had considered Emelyne as his second mother. Her loss was a pain that both shared.
"And you for yours. I have no doubts that you did everything you could. She spoke of you in her final moments, grateful for the care you'd shown her and regretful she could not see you nor I get married." Jonathan smiled, reminiscently
John chuckled at his words. Like any mother, as soon as he returned from the war, Emelyne had badgered him about marriage and children. He had told her he wasn't against the notion, he just needed time to readjust to civilian life.
Adamant, she continued badgering him constantly. John finally realized that she must've felt her time coming and wanted to ensure that her boys would be fine without her. John just regretted that he couldn't show her his Mary.
John looked back at Jonathan and smirked.
"She must have been quite pleased that you finally brought someone home, eh brother?"
Jonathan sighed and shook his head while Elisabeth just laughed at his words.
Unperturbed, John continued to tease Jonathan.
"Quite the feat you've achieved, Lady Ashbury. Melting the heart of this statue. I remember suitors lining up and down the street, vying for his attention. Some had speculated that he might have 'unusual' tastes like the old Housekeeper but he quickly dispelled those rumours."
"Is that so? Dr. Reid never told me about this" Elisabeth spoke while looking at Jonathan
"It was nothing of importance, my lady. Just a few old men entranced by the idea of having a doctor as their son in law. Mere politics, I assure you."
Before they could continue teasing Jonathan, a constable burst through the door breathing heavily.
Evidently he had been running as he immediately stopped and leaned over to catch his breath. Once stable, he looked up apologetically at the occupants inside the house.
"Apologies, Sir, Ma'am. Dr. Watson, I have important news, we have discovered the mass murderer's location! Mr. Holmes has requested your presence immediately."
Initially annoyed at the abrupt appearance and interruption of his long awaited reunion, John's face changed instantly when he heard his words.
Looking at Jonathan and Elisabeth quickly and apologised.
"I'm sorry, Brother but it would seem that our reunion will need to be resumed at a later date.
Lady Ashbury, A pleasure to meet you. Once things have settled, we must have couple's dinner." John suggested as he quickly leaves the house.
Confused, Jonathan points at the doctor, speeding out his home while looking at Elisabeth and asks
"Did he just say couple's dinner?"
"Really, Jonathan? There is a mass murderer in London and that is what caught your attention?" Elisabeth shook her head in disbelief
"If I am a statue then that man is a stone wall. He would think a lady tripped if she threw herself at him" Jonathan mocked playfully, still bitter about his earlier comment
"Jonathan..."
"Yes yes, I understand. So, a mass murderer in London? Are there any chances of supernatural entities at play?"
"Just because we are not human does not mean we are all monsters. Remember, Jonathan, humans are just as capable, if not more so, of evil as we are."
"You are right. I apologise."
"If you are worried about your friend, why not follow him?"
"Why would I worry?"
"Because you, my dear doctor, do not ask questions thoughtlessly. You believe that there might be strange powers at work. If not, you would have asked for my opinion.
Go. I will return to my mansion and wait there. Come see me once you are finished"
"Thank you. I won't be long" Jonathan said before kissing her and disappearing into the shadows.
*************
[The Crypts, St. Paul's Cathedral]
A man in a brown coat stood patiently behind a door trying to catch his breath as heavy footsteps moved towards the room he occupied.
Right before the owner of the footsteps entered, the man held his breath and lifted his coat above his head in an effort to blend into the darkness around him.
A few second later, a guard in a bowler hat walked through the door carrying a lantern, inspecting the area as he entered.
Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, the guard turned around and proceeded to leave when he noticed something behind the door.
Before he could investigate properly, the brown coat man attacked.
After disorienting the guard with a stun attack to the side of his head, the man quickly delivered three strikes to the throat, rib and knee, effectively disabling his opponent before depriving him of his hat and lantern.
His timing and striking techniques were a artful display of precision and efficiency but unfortunately, there was no one there to witness it.
His opponent had been stunned, attacked and robbed before he could register his attacker's face, let alone their movement. He could not even let out a sound of pain as he crumbled to the floor in a heap.
The man in the brown coat wore his loot before rushing down the staircase the guard had come from.
At the bottom of the stairs was a walkway with low stone guardrails and pillars that functioned as an observation deck for the ground below.
In the middle of the Cathedral's crypts was a table set on an elevated platform. At each of the platform's four corners stood a tall brazier torch.
On the table was a mess of melted candle wax and in it's centre laid a young woman, seemingly possessed from her erratic movements and guttural vocalizations.
Stood over the lady was a dark cloaked figure. Their face was hidden but the low, deep and eerie chants that reverberated from it's figure inferred it was male.
Around the hooded man and his ritual area were four guards and a few metres away, another hooded figure stood, silently watching the proceedings.
Transfixed on the ritual below him, the brown coat man did not notice the guard who had snuck up on him with his arm raised. Right as he was about to strike, another figure appeared out of the dark, John.
Utilizing his strength, he grabbed the guard back and put him into a headlock.
Finally realizing his mistake, the brown coat man turned. Upon noticing his saviour presence, he acted and held the guard's nose and mouth closed, increasing the efficiency of the sleeper hold.
"Watson! Perfect timing!" The man exclaimed
"I like the hat" John stated
"Oh, really? I just picked it up. Where's Lestrade?"
"Getting his troops in formation." John replied before noticing a spot of red on the man's shirt
"Is that your blood or theirs?"
"I don't know. It's an old shirt"
"Did you remember your revolver?" John asked
"Ahh, I knew I forgot something. Thought I'd left the stove on."
"I thought you might so I've sent word to Mrs Hudson. Wouldn't want our residence burning down now, do we?"
"How did your visit go, by the way?"
"It went lovely, thank you. My brother was there and we finally got to reunite."
"Congratulations, Watson. I must meet him one day but for now, I think that's quite enough"
John looked confused before looking down at the guard he had been holding during their whole conversation without realizing it
"You are a doctor, after all" The brown coat man added
John nodded and gently dropped the man onto the ground before standing back up and dusting off his coat. The brown coat man offered up his hand which John took and shook.
"Always nice to see you, Watson"
"Same here, Holmes. Shall we?"
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