The Tattooed Gentleman Ch 06

Author's note:

This chapter begins as Holmes returns to 221B Baker Street after a day spent following up clues while Watson was interviewing suspects. If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend you read the preceding chapters in order.

Chapter 6, Holmes

I arrived at the door of 221B Baker Street shortly after Watson finished his dinner. "Close the curtains Watson," I ordered. "I have been followed. Get your service revolver and come with me to the roof." We climbed the narrow stair to the attic and emerged through a skylight onto the tiles of the roof where, by judicious placement, we maintained a view of the streets below. I spotted a skulking movement of one whom I took to be my shadow in an alley fronting on Baker Street and pointed him out to Watson. "Conceal yourself behind the chimney but keep him in your sight. If he moves, signal the direction. I propose to descend and abduct him from behind."

With those orders, I departed, leaving Watson to continue his surveillance as our pursuer maintained his. A quarter hour of silent stalking ensued, bringing me unawares at his rear where I wasted no time in overpowering him. I restrained him with a pair of handcuffs and, giving a signal to Watson, returned with my captive to our lodgings, by which time Watson had descended from the roof. At the first opportunity, I removed his trousers to reveal the identifying tattoo of his society and inhibit any inclination he might have to try to escape.

"By your tattoo I know all I need of your identity. I further know your decurion will not forgive that you have failed in your mission to eliminate me. If you cooperate and tell me the name of your ultimate target, I may be able to spare you from the gallows at the hands of Her Majesty's courts, although I can make no such pledge regarding your order's justice."

Our captive's only response was to spit at my feet.

"Have it that way if you will. You are mistaken if you thought I proposed to turn you over to the London constabulary. I will remand you to the keeping of the Secret Service of the Foreign Office. Their methods are not as constrained as those of the police. Will you reconsider your position? You may start by telling us how the number of your compatriots."

This produced another burst of spittle.

"Watson, kindly summon our confederate at the Foreign Office and have him bring a few guards to convey our prisoner to the cellars of the Ministry. I fear it will be long before he next feels the sunshine upon his face."

I dashed off a note to Mycroft and Watson brought it to a hackney driver in the street with instructions to deliver it posthaste. In less than a half hour, two carriages arrived before our door and discharged Mycroft and three of his agents.

I left our captive in the charge of Mycroft's agents and he, Watson, and I conferred outside to determine the best course of interrogation. "I have observed our prisoner is not in complete control of his nerves. While remaining stoically silent during our questioning thus far, he nevertheless has betrayed himself when confronted with what we already know about his mission. When I uttered the word decurion he visibly flinched. I propose that we compare the results of our individual investigations in his presence, all the while keeping a close eye on his reactions. We might even go so far as to speculate on details we are unsure of to see if we can coax forth a reaction if our suppositions land close to the truth."

"A capital idea," agreed Mycroft. "You have a reputation as cold and dispassionate, interested solely in the facts. I suggest you maintain that persona. Watson, in his writing, has subsumed his own intellect and thus will arouse no suspicion if he indulges in fanciful speculation about those items of which we are unsure. I propose to commence our interview with a report on what I have learned today."

Thus prepared, we returned to our sitting room and Mycroft began. "In April of this year, a delegation from the Ministry of the Exchequer travelled to the city of Iosi, in Moldavia for a series of meetings relating to a trade agreement between our two countries. The principal negotiator for the Crown was the Deputy Minister of Finance for the Balkan region. In his company were several functionaries from his own Ministry as well as from other interested parties, making a total entourage of twelve. On the penultimate night of the visit, The Deputy Minister dispatched one of his aides to procure a companion with whom to satisfy his carnal urges. The aide proved to be insufficiently discreet, and word of his efforts reached the hosts. None of this would have caused any outrage save for the fact that the Deputy Minister sought male companionship and sodomy is a capital offense in that country."

"Was the aide successful in procuring a partner for the Deputy Minister and was the crime, in fact, committed?" I asked. "The act of simply seeking illegal commerce seems insufficient to incite the wrath of The Brotherhood."

"There is no doubt an illicit rendezvous took place," replied Mycroft. "The delegation departed Moldavia abruptly, their diplomatic immunity frustrating local law enforcement. The embassy has filed a formal complaint, and the Deputy Minister is now persona non grata in that country, subject to immediate arrest should he ever again enter, and due to treaties among them, doubtless meet the same fate in several other neighboring states. In addition, my office has learned that one month later, the Moldavian ruling family officially modified the order of succession, eliminating a nephew from the line. A few weeks after the announcement, that person was murdered, and his corpse mutilated in the same way as those of the two unfortunates the police discovered last night."

"One of the members of that entourage was a Mr. Montgomery," Watson interjected. "I interviewed him this afternoon. It is he who introduced Grigore Sturza to Madame DePanne's house. Furthermore, Madame knows him to be a Nancy. He is without doubt the aide of whom you speak."

Our captive had exhibited signs of agitation during Mycroft's discourse, and at the mention of the name of his comrade and that of the aide, his head snapped up.

"We have clearly established a motive for the presence in London of this contingent from The Brotherhood," said I. "Mr. Montgomery was almost certainly the indiscreet aide, charged with procuring a partner for the Deputy Minister. The comrades of the secret brotherhood are sworn to serve justice upon the guilty parties. Their primary target must be the Deputy Minister, but Montgomery's life is also forfeit. Comrade Sturza was executed for the crime of revealing The Brotherhood's presence prematurely and endangering the mission. By allowing himself to be captured, our guest here is similarly condemned. If his comrades are successful in achieving their goal, they will not return until he too is dispatched."

At this last, our captive slumped in his seat, seeming to resign himself to his fate upon hearing my assessment. Mycroft noticed and pounced on what he deemed to be an opportunity. "I believe my Office can afford you a reasonable level of protection, if you are willing to cooperate," he put to our prisoner. "I would go so far as to suggest we can extract your family from Moldavia and establish you in England."

This last reanimated our detainee, but only to send a third expectoration in Mycroft's direction.

Our interview was cut short by the arrival of a messenger informing us of an emergency at Madame DePanne's house and exhorting me to present myself there forthwith. Mycroft's agents bundled our sullen captive off to his Agency and he, Watson, and I took the other carriage and raced off to answer the summons. All appeared calm at the house when we arrived. We entered to be greeted by Madame DePanne. "Dr. Watson, I did not expect to see you again so soon, nor both of the esteemed Holmes brothers. Follow me to the dining room where I think you will be very interested to learn what has transpired here this evening."

In that room we found Miss Adler and Miss Devereaux standing guard over a foreign man bound with drapery ties.

"Miss Violet, what are you doing here?" asked Mycroft angrily. "Why are you not at Colonel Abercrombie's house?"

"It was my decision," replied Miss Adler. "After receiving your report of the murders, I surmised that the next attack would be made against Miss Devereaux, and that it would take place here, where The Brotherhood would expect to find her. I judged our absence would put this house in greater peril than our presence. And see, we have removed one of the comrades from the field, although he remains taciturn."

"Miss Adler, it is for good reason I refer to you as 'the woman'. It is my singular honor to meet you in person. I heartily commend your sound reasoning and initiative."

"It is indeed a pleasure to finally converse as allies, Mr. Holmes, since we once had the misfortune to be paired as adversaries. Sir Mycroft, the presence of this footpad is distressing to both the inhabitants and the patrons of this house. Would you be so kind as to remove him from our presence? Perhaps you can extract some useful information from him. And I recommend that you extend to Miss Devereaux the same offer you once made to me. It is my opinion that she could become an effective operative."

"With great pleasure," replied Mycroft. "I have subjected myself to more physical exertion this evening than is my custom. Sherlock, I fail to understand your affection for fieldwork. I prefer to apply my brain to the solution of our little mysteries from my office. Watson, please be so kind as to assist me in transferring this prisoner to one of the holding cells at my Agency. Miss Violet, please accompany us that we may consider Miss Adler's suggestion."

With their departure, I was left alone with the celebrated Irene Adler, at various times, diva of the opera, adventuress, respectable matron, and now an agent in diplomatic service. "I too, find it much more beneficial for the two of us to be allied than opposed. We each at one time had the same man as a client and we both honored our commitments to him even after we realized he was unworthy of such honor. You have my undying respect."

"My dear Sherlock, coming from one as illustrious as you, that is indeed high praise," she replied. "As happy as I am to hear it, I would be happier if you would answer a question that has plagued me ever since that little scandal in Bohemia."

"Ask me anything."

"Very well, when are you going to fuck me?"

For the second time in my career, the woman had confounded me. I am well-versed in the workings of the female body, but those of the female mind remain unfathomable to me. Often have I criticized Watson's retelling of my exploits as akin to including a love story in the exposition of the fifth proposition of Euclid, but here was evidence of a woman, possessing a mind near the equal to mine, bearing a physical, and apparently even an emotional attraction to me. However, there would time enough later to apply my brain to the solution of such a mystery. My smaller brain insistently informed me that the answer to her question was a simple, "As soon as we can locate a comfortable place and denude ourselves."

"Comfort can wait until later. Take me now on this very table."

She was dressed in a servant's livery, the trousers of which she now shed, followed quickly by her knickers, revealing a luxuriant bush. My member swelled further in response to the sight and I soon removed all constraints upon its display. She jumped up onto the table and laid back with her legs splayed open in invitation. The table top was of perfect height to position myself at her gate without having to stoop or stretch. I was at first concerned that the unlubricated passage of my shaft might prove painful to her, but my fears were laid to rest as soon as it parted her outer lips and encountered her slick wetness. It was abundantly clear that she had been anticipating our coupling ever since we came into each other's presence.

I thought to prolong the pleasure of my initial descent into her cavern, but her intention was otherwise. She wrapped her legs around my back and I was powerless to resist the strength of them as she pulled me violently toward her until I bottomed out to the sound of her contented sigh. She briefly held me there tightly clamped as we both reveled in the sensations. Presently she relaxed her legs and allowed me to withdraw slightly, although she controlled the pace of my thrusts by alternately relaxing and tightening.

I gave myself over to my own animalistic urges, managing only to vary the angle of my approach so that my glans contacted a different area of her vaginal cavity with each thrust, but concentrating on that area known as the female prostate. Her grunts of delight were my reward as she shuddered with repeated ripples of ecstasy. Soon, years of repressed passion triumphed over any desire to prolong our coupling and both the speed and intensity of my thrusts increased. Knowing that any attempt to contain it would be futile, I felt my ejaculate boil up from the depths of my bollocks and voiced a primal cry as it explosively flooded her innards. "Oh dear Sherlock, if at first I thought I was filled by your cannon alone, its discharge has filled the interstices so that I swear I could burst asunder. When you withdraw, do so quickly that I may feel the exquisite release of the pressure you have created within me."

I complied, and an eruption of milky white lava issued forth from her cleft, frosting her bush and coating her thighs, the sight of which negated any inclination toward detumescence on my part. The exertion left us both breathless, but she soon gave indication of some discomfort, and sat up. "That was indeed a fuck for the ages, but now we must find a more congenial place to restore ourselves ere our next adventure into the libidinous arts. Neither of us is getting any younger and we have years of abstinence from each other to make up for, but such fury as we just surrendered to cannot possibly be sustained."

Gathering up the clothing we had shed, I allowed her to conduct me to a small room in the private quarters of the house, furnished plainly as opposed to the lavish opulence of the assignation parlors but still equipped with a large, comfortable bed. The room was cool, the fire in the grate having burned down to bed of red coals. We added new fuel before shedding our remaining clothing, and took a moment to admire the sight of our nude bodies. She held herself confidently, as if to invite one to examine her physique, secure in the knowledge that the sight inspired the admiration of the viewer. Her smallish breasts and lithe musculature bespoke athleticism. At the same time, her carriage indicated her delight in her sexuality. I already knew she possessed a quality of intellect superior to that of the majority of either sex.

Before long, the chill in the room drove us beneath the bed covers. "How is it that you have been employed by my brother's Agency without my knowledge? He and I have consulted on several cases where the security of the realm has been compromised, and he knows of our history, yet he never revealed any association with you."

"That was my doing. My late husband perished in an incident related to a matter of concern to the Foreign Office. Sir Mycroft recruited me upon its resolution, but I made it a condition of my acceptance that my participation be kept hidden from you. I feared our adversarial history might prove to be an impediment. Heretofore, we have managed not to involve you in cases where I was a factor. In this instance, the need for a person with my skills arose unexpectedly, and only I was available on short notice."

"Well, I am glad of it. It is high time we joined forces. I have no doubt our combined intellects will prove a boon to this fine city. Have you learned anything new from either Miss Devereaux or Madame DePanne?"

"Only that with proper training Miss Devereaux could well become as effective an operative as I. What have your own investigations brought to light?"

"I believe we may have accounted for the entire cadre which The Brotherhood has dispatched upon us. I was able to follow the tracks of the carriage they used to transport the body of Boris to the apartment where we discovered it. I saw by their bootprints that there were three men waiting with the carriage in an alley near the house of Madame DePanne. They abducted Boris at the first opportunity and forced him to swallow cyanide. I detected the distinctive almond smell when I examined his body. In the course of conveying the body of Boris, they likewise dispatched Mr. Sturza, who apparently, was driving the carriage. I noted a disturbance in the pattern of hoofprints at one point in the journey, as well as only two sets of prints between the carriage and the apartment. It seems logical that the leader of the team would be present for the assassination of one of their number. The boots of your prisoner match one set of prints, while the boots of the one captured earlier this evening match the other. I am, however, concerned about how to deal with our captives. Short of a confession, it will be difficult to convict them of murder, and anything less will leave us open to the possibility that one of them may somehow get word back to Moldavia of their failure to complete their mission."

"Let us leave the consideration of those facts until tomorrow," she said as her hands sought out my member. "I have sufficiently recovered from our earlier exercise and find myself ready for another exploration of our sexual compatibility."

With that, she lowered her mouth to the head of my member and began to lick and suck the sensitive spots. She reached down between her legs to scoop up the residue from our previous coupling and spread it over the length and girth. Then she proceeded to lick it off, exclaiming in delight at the taste. Her efforts quickly brought me back to full tumescence. She climbed atop my legs and slowly rubbed her mons over its fullness and further up over my chest to position her quim before my mouth. I accepted the invitation with pleasure, probing my tongue through her outer lips to taste our mingled emissions and enjoy the musky odor that always issues from a cunt that has recently known the thrill of mutual climax.

She thrust her hips forward to allow me deeper access as she leaned back with hands behind her to resume her massage of my cock and bollocks. I brought my hands to her arse cheeks and pulled her tightly against my mouth which produced a fresh gush of her coital lubricant. Meanwhile my fingers tickled the area just below her gateway, occasionally probing around and into her puckered back entry, liberally lubricated by this latest issue.

Bucking her hips at my ministrations, she lost her grip on my member. With the grace of a prima ballerina, she quickly reversed her position so that her back was toward me and she could resume her oral assault while I could continue mine. She mimicked my digital examination which encouraged an even greater swelling in my member as we both surrendered to the intensity of the sensations.

Soon she announced, "Enough of this, I need you inside me!" She removed herself from my mouth, slid down my chest, raised her hips and slowly impaled herself upon me. She alternately clenched and released her muscles as she lowered and the sensation was as if she was sucking me into the silken walls of her cavern. I attempted to raise my hips to meet her but she would have none of it. "For the nonce, I will ride you. Later I will be ridden."

She started a slow dance upon my pole, rising and lowering, rotating to a surprising extent as she did so. Her control over her body was extraordinary. Upon me was a woman who raised the act of copulation to fine art. Her gyrations exposed every crevice within her vagina to the touch of my glans and as each new area made contact, she made little squeals of delight. Gradually she increased both her pace and the volume of her vocalizations until at last clenched her pelvic muscles as tightly as ever I have experienced and gave herself over to an extended series of full-body shudders before relaxing slightly.