Sherlock Holmes in 2012: LORD OF DARKNESS RISING Read Free Page A

case – from one of the upper balconies surmounting the majority of the audience seating. He was observing nearly a hundred agents that were examining every seat one by one below him, and couldn’t help but think this was all a waste of time. If (and that was a BIG IF) Adnan had been stupid enough to plant a bomb two nights ago – ready to be detonated in four days hence – he would not have shown himself the way he did. I mean why would a guy, in hiding, start teasing the authorities at the very moment he’d need to be the most invisible? A question to which Ashford had no answer. He was still lost in thought when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. Ashford turned around to find himself face to face with Sherlock.
    “How did you get in here?” Ashford burst out.
    Sherlock snickered, “Through the back door, as every actor should, Agent Ashford.”
    “Why are you here? Just tell me that and then get out !” Ashford shouted.
    “Don’t yell, Agent Ashford – you’re liable to detonate Adnan’s bomb with the reverberation of your voice around this place. Did you know that you could hear a pin drop on stage from this vantage seat?”
    “Enough, Sherlock! You tell me what you’re doing here…”
    “I heard you, and I believe I told you what you wanted to know.”
    “You didn’t tell me anything…”
    “Yes, Ashford, I did, but you didn’t listen and you didn’t observe.”
    “Okay, enough games. You’re here because you know there’s a bomb in this theatre and you’re hoping to find it before it explodes, killing 1600 people in 48 hours – am I close?”
    “Yes, close but not close enough!”
    “What else is there?”
    “Two things you or Weisberg haven’t considered.”
    “And what are those?”
    “First, you have no idea what type of radiological bomb you’re dealing with – correct?”
    “Well, there not many of those, as far as I know. And once we’ve located it, our expert will be able to tell us what we’re dealing with.”
    “Good! But then there’s the second item which I believe you have set aside.”
    “Okay, go ahead – I’m all ears.” The sneer in Ashford’s voice was unmistakable.
    “You remember the meeting in August, to which my brother Mycroft was invited?”
    “Sure, I read the report, yes. And by the way, the minister has yet to acknowledge your relationship. But do go on.”
    “What I said then is that the 2005 bombing of the London underground hadn’t killed enough people – do you recall my saying that?”
    “Yes, I do, which begs the question: how many does Adnan need?”
    “As many as he can get – that’s the answer, Agent Ashford.”
    “So, what you’re saying is that Adnan has placed more than one bomb – or one in each of the theatres lining Broadway?”
    “No, Agent Ashford. Just think of this one device, being placed at the heart of Manhattan in a theatre located on the longest stretch of road in New York and tell me what you need to find.”
    “A biological weapon of unsurpassed capacity – capable of killing the hundreds of thousands of people working or living in and around Broadway – is that it?”
    “I’m afraid so. And if I were you, instead of looking under the seats, I’d look into the ventilation system of this place, where Adnan could hope for the fastest and deadliest propagation of whatever virus he would release in 48 hours.”
    Ashford got out of his seat in a bound and rushed through the side door, leaving Sherlock smiling with satisfaction. He knew these FBI agents were extremely thorough and if there was a bomb in this theatre they would find it.
    Two minutes later Ashford came through the side door again and sat down beside Sherlock. “Okay… , now tell me what you meant by “like every actor should” when you talked about coming through the back door?”
    “Ah,” Sherlock chortled, “I’m glad to see you’ve got your wits about you, Ashford.”
    “Okay, okay, just let’s have