Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 866 Mycroft Holmes (Second Update)

Wanda was still a little confused when the alarm clock rang, but when she opened her eyes, she immediately realized where she was.

The room wasn't as cold as one would typically experience in winter, and the expected chill that would shoot straight to her brain didn't materialize. The air inside was warm and humid. Thanks to the underfloor heating and humidifier, she didn't experience dry, peeling skin after waking up. She lazily stretched, and then there was a knock on the door. She froze like a wind-up toy interrupted from its work. "Wanda, we're ready to leave," Salomon's voice came from behind the door. "Hurry, the gunship is already hovering upstairs. We need to leave before dawn!"

"Wait! I'm not dressed yet!"

"I told you long ago not to sleep without clothes on..." Salomon's voice faded into the distance.

Wanda, her face flushed, jumped out of bed and frantically tried to put on the uniform lying to the side. It was a new uniform; the one she wore for yesterday's operation was still in the laundry basket in her apartment. She cursed under her breath, wondering how Salomon and the witch could have the energy to get up after making such a commotion last night, and even the energy to come and urge her. After washing up, she ate a couple of bites of breakfast haphazardly, and then followed the fully dressed Salomon out the door.

The shrill roar of the gunship's engines and the resulting gale-force winds forced her to hold her hair down to prevent the simple bun Diana had tied for her from being blown away. Salomon was too lazy to open a portal, so the gunship, capable of extraatmospheric travel, became the standard mode of transport—this fully armed gunship could leave Earth and travel in a secondary orbit, similar to a ballistic missile, delivering passengers to their target location in a very short time. Simultaneously, its extremely advanced counter-reconnaissance system rendered the gunship completely undetectable on US Air Force radar.

"My Lord." The fully armed android in charge of security stood on the ramp, saluting Salomon. To Wanda's surprise, she also saw the Royal Guard in golden armor there. Constantine stood silently to one side, only reacting after Salomon approached. Salomon nodded to him, then spoke loudly to Wanda, who was following behind, "You have three hours of sleep left. I hope you'll use this time to rest well."

"You haven't told us what we're going to do yet!" The ramp door gradually closed, blocking out the engine noise.

Wanda quickly fastened her seatbelt, and then she felt a powerful pull, squeezing her against Salomon's shoulder. She couldn't see the outside of the thick armored cabin, but she knew that soon the ablative armor would generate unimaginable temperatures due to atmospheric friction. That kind of acceleration was beyond human endurance, but the pilot wouldn't consider that. The so-called "getting a good rest" was a joke; no ordinary human riding in a gunship could get a proper rest.

But there were no ordinary people on this gunship. Not androids, not Royal Guards, not Salomon, and not her. Professor Salomon cast a temporary enhancement spell on her, barely managing to suppress her nausea and prevent her from fainting from the acceleration.

"London, my plans have failed." Salomon sounded both frustrated and relieved as he spoke of it. "I didn't expect that detective to be able to find out where he shouldn't have in such a short time. Now the vampires in London's sewers have begun their operation."

"Who?"

“This is not something you can know, Wanda.” Salomon gave her a meaningful look. “In short, we’re going to start a massacre today. Before that, we need to get someone out of the police station and get this over with before MI6 can react. The London Temple has already moved, and our insider at MI6 can buy us twelve hours.”

"Are you going to join us?" Wanda asked.

"No, I have to see someone." Salomon felt a little unhappy just thinking about this person.

The reason the informant in the Immortal City was able to delay for twelve hours was because of this person's tacit approval; the reason Sherlock Holmes was able to outmaneuver Salomon's schemes and reach the finish line was also because of this person. Back when Salomon was still a student at Eton College, he had spoken with him through the headmaster's connections. Salomon's aim was to recruit him to join Whitehall as a civil servant after graduation—more precisely, to join MI6 and work as an intelligence agent among politicians. Salomon rarely spoke of that conversation, because this was the only person he had ever encountered who could intellectually rival him—he bluntly pointed out that the other man had cast a bunch of hooks without expecting to catch anything, and that the real bait was on the hidden hooks. The reason he approached him was simply because Salomon had had a pleasant conversation with the royal princess at a party hosted by a classmate, and he wanted to recruit him as an informant.

Salomon didn't order the Royal Guard to accompany him to the meeting; instead, he instructed them to complete their mission. He himself leaped straight down the ramp and appeared in a flash in an abandoned building on the outskirts of London. Salomon adjusted his cuffs. The man hidden in the darkness before him was, in a way, his mentor, for example, in his taste in suits. That's why Salomon had specifically chosen a suit for this meeting.

"I didn't expect to meet you here."

"Are you still angry about my past disdain, Salomon? Did you think someone directly approached by the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be ignored? No fighter jets were flying through here today, yet I still heard engines. You own fighter jets now?" The man in the suit emerged, leaning on an umbrella. His suit was perfectly wrinkle-free, as if the damp chill of London couldn't diminish his gentlemanly elegance. However, his hair, following the traditional British gentleman's style, looked extremely worrying. "Is it some kind of revenge that you want my inquisitive brother to investigate some unknown secret? Dark blue striped suit, brass cufflinks, and Oxford shoes—a fine combination. When I learned you were studying STEM, I worried you'd become one of those vest-wearing freaks at MIT!"

"I'm giving your brother a much wider world." Salomon strode over. "Do you have to be so arrogant, Mycroft Holmes, a mere cabinet clerk? You're not as relaxed as you make it out to be. If I'm not mistaken, you're carrying a sword under your umbrella."

"You've brought a sword too, Mr. Damonette," the man said with a smile. "Am I really that dangerous?"

“A man who has a gun hidden in the umbrella handle has no right to say that,” Salomon said. “But I’m not here to argue with you, Mycroft. I need your help to keep this under wraps.”

"I've already done it, but I need you to explain why you wanted Sherlock to come into contact with vampires." Mycroft poked the concrete floor with the tip of his umbrella. "Don't you know what kind of disaster Sherlock's curiosity can cause?"

"I know, and I appreciate your help. But I did it to make him suffer, because he has the potential to shoulder greater responsibilities." Salomon stepped forward, showing the other man that he was unarmed. "I need everyone's help, Mycroft, including you. The door that opened for Sherlock Holmes is also open for you."

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(End of this chapter)