The Detectives Daughter

Chapter 29: A Scandal In Belgravia: Uh- Oh

  ~ Brooke's POV ~

We drove for a while in silence. I looked out the window and watched the bight lights of London pass by.

We pulled into the airport, the driver took us out to the planes and parked next to a large jumbo jet. What the? Dad opens the car door and climbs out, I quickly follow and walk with him to the steps of the plane where Nelson was?

"Well, you're lookin' all better," Dad said putting on an American accent. "How ya feelin?"

Nelson glared at Dad then at me. What did I do?

"Like putting a bullet in your brain," Nelson answered darkly.

"Your friend was close," I muttered.

Nelson smirked down at me, Dad held my hand and walked me up the stairs.

"They'd pin a medal on me if I did," Nelson told us. We stopped dead in our tracks and turned to face Nelson. I glared at him. "Sir."

I walked down a few steps but Dad grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back.

"Don't even think about it," Dad told me sternly.

I look back at Nelson and give him one last hard look and went into the plane with Dad; I could take him... Maybe... Maybe not but I could try!

Dad and I walked down the aisle of the plane; All the seats had people sitting in them... But they were dead... why? I gave Dad a slightly worried look and he returned with a confused one.

"The Coventry Conundrum," A voice said.

Dad and I span round and saw Mycroft walking towards us, "Do you like my solution? The flight of the dead."

I looked around at the many dead people... This was horrible, I just want to be home, I don't want to be here.

"The plane blows up in mid- air, mission accomplished for the terrorists. Hundreds of casualties, but nobody dies," Dad said.

"Neat don't you think?" Mycroft asked us. "You've been stumbling round the fringes of this one for ages- or were you too bored to notice the pattern?"

I thought about what Mycroft said... The clients... About the human ash, the little girl's granddad's body and the body in the car... They're linked to this.

"We ran a similar project with the Germans a while back, though I believe one of our passengers didn't make the flight," Mycroft continued.

"How's the plane going to fly?" Dad asked then answered his own question, "Of course, unmanned aircraft. Hardly new."

"It doesn't fly. It will never fly, the entire project has been cancelled. The terrorists have been informed that we know about the bomb," Mycroft told us.

"How?" I asked.

"Your MOD man," Dad told us.

Mycroft looked at Dad darkly, "That's all it takes: One lonely naive man desperate to show off, and a women clever enough to make him feel special."

"Hmm. Well you should screen your defense people more carefully," Dad told him.

"I'm not talking about the MOD man, Sherlock, I'm talking about YOU," Mycroft said loudly. Dad and I looked at each other. What? "The damsel in distress... In the end you are really so obvious? Because this was textbook: the promise of love, the pain of loss, the joy of redemption, then give him a puzzle... Watch him dance."

"Don't be absurd," Dad defended himself as he held eye contact with Mycroft, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

"Absurd? How long did it take to decipher her email? Was it a full minute, or were you eager to impress?" Mycroft said, venom filled his voice.