Chapter 17: Mr. Holmes

„My name is Adrian. I would like to speak with you," the blonde said loudly, before quickly reaching into his pocket to check the phone. „Mister… Holmes? Yes… Do you have a moment?"

After a pause they heard footsteps, just before the door slightly opened, revealing for them a little bit of the living room, as well as a sturdy metal chain holding the door, which prevented anybody from just barging in.

„What do you want?" Asked a rather tall and lean man. He was wearing a jacket over a dark shirt and matched with a pair of jeans.

„It's about your investigation. I believe me, and my friends, might have some useful information for you. Might we come in?"

Mister Holmes hesitated, stealing a discreet glance over his shoulder, at the door leading to the bedroom, but as his gaze returned to Adrian, he was already armed with a smile. „Yes. You might," he said, before closing the door, to take off the chain. When it opened again, they could enter.

'Why didn't he ask how do we know what he is doing?' A thought crossed Sam's mind.

The whole group slowly moved inside. The living room was rather plain. Old sofa, coffee table, one armchair, a TV, and a cabinet with some old decorative porcelain. There was an open passage, only with a doorframe, leading to the kitchen on the right, and on the left white door led to the bathroom. It was slightly open, so they could recognize what was hidden behind. The only blocked path was the one leading to the bedroom.

When Rose closed the door, the man gestured for them to sit on the couch, but none of them did.

„So what can you tell me? Were you there? Have you seen it?" the detective asked.

„We have some photos done at the time of the incident you are investigating, in the place where it happened," Adrian said.

„What's in the photos?" The man's brow furrowed.

'Is he annoyed? Why not curious?' Another thought crossed Sam's mind.

„The boy whose death you are investigating," Adrian retorted only hesitating for a second, which couldn't raise suspicion in anybody who actually didn't know he was lying.

Mister Holmes's eyes went wide. He was shocked, which only further raised Sam's suspicion, as the fact of having a photo of some guy was not that surprising. Still, he couldn't cross out that there was a fact he was missing, which could explain such an emotional state.

„Do you bring them here? You want to sell them to me, don't you?" the detective asked, glancing at the rest of the crew before his eyes returned to Adrian.

„No. The photos are at a different location. I can take you there if you want to see them..." He hesitated. „But first I want to see the cash," he added.

'Smart,' Sam deemed. 'He makes it seem like we are more interested in payout than in him.' At the same moment, he got slightly distracted, as he noticed Isabella, slowly moving toward the door leading to the bedroom. She was graceful like a cat. 'What is she doing?'

„How much do you want?" Holmes asked bluntly.

„We take a hundred for a photo," Adrian said.

Sam couldn't shake off the worry that Isabella, despite her ghost-like movement, would be spotted. The place was too cramped.

„Wait, wait, wait!" He said, taking a step forward, gaining all attention, to distract everybody from what the silver-haired beauty tried to pull off. „A hundred? That's not enough for all of us. Two hundred."

Adrian gave him a look. It was discreet, and yet Shephard could tell he wished to know what the hell the teenager was doing. After all, if the price was too high, the detective could decide to not buy the photos, which would put the whole scheme in jeopardy. And yet he decided to do it, putting his trust in the girl whom he barely knew.

In those few hours, Isabella appeared in his eyes as an intelligent, quick-on-her-feet girl, who wouldn't try to do something stupid without a good reason. He trusted his judgment, betting on her with the outcome of the mission on the line.

„Two hundred?" Mister Holmes asked. „Maybe I can pay this much, but I need to first see the photos. All of them."

'Twice the price, and he didn't even budge? Look at this flat. This guy has to live from payday to payday, and yet the money doesn't mean that much for him in this case? Is the pay for the job that good? If it was, wouldn't his employer go to a proper agency, instead of a guy like this?' More thoughts crossed Sam's mind. The whole situation was slowly turning more and more ridiculous.

Then a click of the lock reached their ears, as Isabella opened the door to the bedroom. She pushed them revealing a room filled with smoke. There was a desk, which had to be once covered in papers, but now most of them lay on the floor in disarray. A wall behind it was occupied by a large pinboard, but most of the notes and pictures were taken off. The metal garbage bin put in the corner was producing a lot of smoke, which mostly escaped through the open window, leading to a metal fire escape staircase.

Mister Holmes immediately reached into his pocket, pulling out an expendable baton which he swung at the back of her head, but Adrian was fast enough to catch this hand before it could deliver the hit.

„We were too late! This is not the detective!" the silver-haired beauty shouted, turning to spot what kind of danger she just avoided.

She immediately ducked down, bolting to the kitchen.

Her words were meaningless as everybody already knew the very moment they saw the smoke and the impostor pulled out the baton.

Adrian tried to wrestle down the not-detective, but the guy proved to be stronger despite his slimmer build. He freed his weapon, while the blonde tried to tackle him. With one, mighty slam of the handle of his weapon, he forced his opponent to one knee.

„Adrian!" Rose screamed.

Sam opened the cupboard, pulling out two pieces of the porcelain, which he threw at the impostor, forcing him to avoid, which allowed Adrian to roll to the side, but only to jump back to action. Despite the blow he received, he still tried to punch the stranger. His attacks were good and well-timed. It was obvious he had some hand-to-hand combat experience, but despite it, the not-detective avoided them with ease.

His moves were unbelievable. To make things worse, he managed to squeeze in a counterattack, which Adrian only avoided, because Sam kept throwing things at his opponent, making his moves awkward. After all, he had to dodge the flying objects at the same time.

Isabella reappeared. Just in time to witness Adrian getting hit in the face by the baton. He fell on his back, with blood covering his face, but before the impostor was able to finish him off, she came to the rescue armed with a long barbecue fork.

She slashed the man across his back, forcing him to spin on his heel to face her. Sam saw an opening, throwing a porcelain cup, that smashed on his head.

Unable to focus, as he was under pressure from two opposite angles, the man opted to escape through the bedroom, but Isabella jumped to him, slashing him across the side of his face before he got out of her range.

„Argh!" he grunted, stopping on his track. He retaliated by swinging at her, but she was too nimble and countered by slashing his hand. The baton fell to the ground, forcing the not-detective to drastic measures. He bolted to the bedroom exposing himself to an attack. She swung again, missing by an inch, allowing him to take the two necessary steps to jump like a tiger through the open window.

Isabella tried to follow him, but he was simply too fast. Ignoring the height, he jumped off the staircase, landing in an alley below.

"Fuck!" she hissed.

Meanwhile Rose rushed to Adrian, quickly wrapping his head in a tablecloth taken from the coffee table. „Are you ok?" she squealed.

„I'm fine," he grunted, trying to get up.

She stopped him. „Don't move, and hold this here," she urged him, directing his hand to pressure the tablecloth against his wound.

When he did, she bolted straight to the bathroom and returned with some bandages.

„He escaped!" Isabella shouted looking through the open window at the fair escape. „We won't catch him. He is already on the ground," she informed storming out of the bedroom to the others.

„We need to get the hell out of here and call the director. She will know what to do," Adrian grunted as Rose was already bandaging his head.

Sam just stood there, as he didn't know what to do. Chasing the impostor was stupid, and he had no medical knowledge, so he couldn't help Adrian either. He desperately wanted to be useful, so he decided to go into the bedroom and have a look around.

On the right, he spotted the bed. Next to it lay a corpse with a bloody head. A plain-looking gentleman with a balding head, covered by hair combed to the side. 'This must have been our guy,' he deemed not starled by the view at all. His eyes shifted to the other side where the desk and all the papers were. 'They tried to destroy the evidence. He must have gotten too close to something important. But why is the church involved? There must be a piece of information I'm missing...' As he wondered he heard something behind him.

Upon turning around to check the source of the noise, he spotted a black cat crawling from under the bed. The creature clearly tried to go for the window, but he caught it before it managed to escape. At the same moment, Rose stepped into the room.

„We called the director..." She said, only to pause, as she spotted the beast in Sam's hand. „She told us to leave. She said some other people from the church would come here to investigate. Is… Is that a cat?"

„Yes. It tried to escape through the window. It had to get scared by the intruders, so it hid itself under the bed," he said.

„We should take it. We shouldn't let it live on the streets," she said.

„We also should go," he added.

„Yes, about that… Adrian needs some help with walking. He is too heavy for Isabella alone. I can take the cat," she offered with a shy smile.

Sam shrugged before he gave her the animal. He then stepped out to find Adrian leaning heavily on Isabela, with his arm thrown around her shoulders. She didn't seem too happy about this, but she also didn't complain.

He came to help, taking part of Adrian's weight on himself. Together, they escorted him out of the apartment, followed by Rose who held the cat. At first, it tried to escape from her hands, but it soon figured out that the sharp claws couldn't do much to her hands covered by the sleeves of an oversized windproof jacket, and another layer consisting of the hoodie she wore underneath.

„We need to move quickly. The fire alarm was only in the kitchen, but somebody might spot the smoke through the open window," Isabella pointed out as they moved to the staircase.

Sam didn't respond, focusing on walking as fast as he could. Right not escaping was a priority, but after that, he had some questions he wanted answered. Moments later they stepped out of the building, quickly getting into the van.

„Can you drive?" he asked Adrian.

„Yes, I can. My legs are weak, but it doesn't mean I can't use my hands."

„You got hit in the head," Isabella pointed out, ready to argue, but she was ignored.

Adrian turned on the engine and drove with the screech of the tires.

„How did you know?" Sam asked the moment they were moving, looking back at Isabella.

„I told you, I heard two voices when we were outside of the apartment. I could swear, I did. When we got in, the bedroom was the only place somebody could hide. This impostor even stood in a way to prevent us if we tried to barge in there," she explained. „And then I saw whisps of smoke from underneath the door."

Sam sat properly in his seat, content with her explanation. He went silent, as the rest of his questions were for the director.

Less than half an hour later, they were back in the underground headquarters of the church cell, greeted by Elena. She seemed relieved upon noticing them more or less in one piece. They noticed she was holding the stone tablet, broken into two pieces.

„The doctor will take care of you," she said to Adrian.

Victor was in the main hall, standing a few steps behind her, so he immediately helped the blonde to get to the examination room, leaving the girls and Sam with the director.

„Unfortunately, the mission was a failure," Elena informed, raising the broken tablet. You won't receive any faith for it but don't worry about this. Not every mission is a success, and I'm glad that you weren't too badly injured, considering what happened. Ezekiel went to that flat. He will be joined by other members of the church. They will figure out what happened," she sighed. „I'm sorry for this. I shouldn't give you that mission. I kept it for too long," she shook her head. „I was supposed to return it tomorrow, but according to the rules it still should be fine to send you today, and I wanted you to gain some experience after waiting for so long," she sighed. „It was a mistake."

„It was a good lesson for all of us," Isabella pointed out.

Her words surprised Sam, as he thought if anything, she would complain, but she didn't. In fact, she seemed eager to continue, despite the obvious dangers involved in the work.

'Why?' he asked himself.

„We should be more careful," Rose added. „It was our fault."

The cat in her hand was wrestling to escape. After a few seconds, she let it go, and the beast immediately bolted toward the elevator, but it was closed.

„The mission shouldn't be this difficult. You are only acolytes, and don't even have your titles yet," Elena sighed, but her gaze drifted to the cat.

Sam still tried to wrap his mind around the fact that both girls were so keen to continue getting involved themselves in dangerous situations, despite what they had just gotten through. 'There was a dead body for the god's sake!' he thought. 'They must have a damn good reason if they want to keep doing this… Should I leave?'

„That's the cat we found in the detective's apartment," Rose explained, noticing where the director was looking. „I couldn't leave it to live on the streets, but… I can't take it home," her voice got quiet.

„It can stay here. It will bring some more life to this place," Elena smiled, and then she reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the deck of cards. „It's enough excitement for today… You maybe failed your first mission, but it doesn't mean you can't pick your titles," she said as she started to shuffle the cards. „I want you each to pick three. You can take them home to think your choice through. When you are done, just eat the card," she said as she spread the deck in her hands, presenting them to Isabela, who was the closest.

The girl nodded, before approaching. Without any hesitation, she picked three. Rose followed, leaving Sam, who stood frozen in place.

'Should I pick, or should I get the hell out of here?' he wondered. 'If I leave, I won't find what the hell is going on with my life… Maybe, just maybe… Is it worth staying a bit longer?' The thoughts crossed his mind before he mustered enough courage to make a decision.

The temptation was too strong. He approached Elena and chose the three cards. By this time other girls were already checking theirs, but as he glanced at them, Isabella hid her options, by putting them in the pocket of her jacket. Not to hide them, but rather because she was done having a look at her options.

„I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," she said heading for the elevator.

„Y-yes," Rose responded with a smile, as she peeled her eyes off her cards. She pocketed them too, before running after the beauty.

'I'll make my decision in the apartment,' Sam deemed looking toward the elevator.

The cat tried to join the girls, but Rose threw it out.

„You said something about a prayer to receive faith," he asked, turning his attention to Elena. „Not to mention… I have other questions about this mission."

„Come with me" she sighed, before leaving for her office.

Sam followed her, stopping two steps in front of her desk, while she sat behind it, rummaging in one of the drawers, only to pull out an unassuming piece of paper with the words of the prayer printed on it. She gave it to him.

„Why was the church interested in this man? The detective, I mean. And why was he killed?" He asked bluntly.

Elena looked at him for two seconds, without saying a word. „I don't know why he was killed. I don't know much more than I told you, but what I can tell you, is that we wouldn't get this mission if it wasn't in the interest of the church. This man had to know something or could be about to find out something. It could be only a coincidence that he was targeted at the same time. I can also tell you if this mission was important for the church, a bunch of acolytes would never get it," She sighed heavily. „But I won't lie that I know what the bigger picture is. You have to know that it's not an exact science. We generally know what we are doing, but now and then..."

„You don't know what is going on?" Sam voiced his shock.

„Look… The oracle… There is a person in the church called the oracle-"

„I heard about this person from Adrian."

„Good, then I won't have to explain. As I said, her prophecies aren't an exact science. She sees one of many possibilities. Often correct one, but not always. I don't know what she saw exactly, but I can make an educated guess. If the failure of this mission would endanger the church, we wouldn't get it. I would rather say that we lost a chance to hinder our enemies. It was either a small chance or the enemy was insignificant. Otherwise, the mission would end up in more capable hands. We might find soon, or never, but there will be consequences to this failure. I'm not even sure if the oracle knows the outcome, but Mutatio wouldn't make her see what she saw if it was meaningless. Now go get some rest. It was a tough first day..."

Sam shook his head. He was not pleased by the explanation. „Good night," he threw pocketing the piece of paper with the prayer, before heading for the elevator.

He was not sure if Elena told him the entire truth. He was also unsure if the church was incompetent, indeed operated on slivers of information, or kept so much secrecy that even the director was kept in the dark.

It made him worried about the future. Question if he should stay or leave. At the same time, the curiosity lingered at the back of his mind, demanding answers. It was accompanied by the desire to discover more about the strange powers. A temptation that couldn't simply be ignored.

He headed for the elevator. The cat still lurked around, and it attempted to get in for the second time, but Sam picked it up, before gently throwing it out, as the door began to close.