SHERLOCK I, II, III & IV • #wattys2016

headlights

Sherlock boarded the airplane, taking only with him his phone and coat. Before stepping onto the plane and walking through the enclosed tunnel, a security guard came up to him and said gently, “You all right, sir?”

“Yes.” Sherlock stared at the man. The accent was strange. Like a mixture of British English and Dutch. He stared at the insignia on the forearm, then at the gun holstered (what airport security guard carried around a firearm with a silencer?) and then lastly at the shoes. Sherlock smirked. In one motion, he knocked the guard into the tunnel and kept pushing him until they were nowhere in sight of other people. Sherlock then ripped the insignia off the suit. It came off like a sticker. Then, with the same hand, he elbowed the guard in the face. The hat fell off, flipped over, revealing a price tag still threaded inside the hat. As the guard fell backwards, Sherlock stepped on the end of one of his shoes, causing the foot to slip out. When the guard was on the floor, Sherlock grabbed the shoe and examined the shoelaces. Just as he thought, the shoe had been threaded with a wire that traveled up the guard’s pants and hooked to his phone. The wire was a decoy wire, programmed to trick the computer system and security systems to believe the guard didn’t exist on the computers.

The detective knelt down and took the gun out of the holster. Sherlock ran his hand over the gun and rubbed his fingers together. Like the wire, the gun had been coated in a thick liquid that appeared invisible on sensors and cameras. Sherlock laced himself with the wire and phone. He then shrugged his coat off and tugged it on the guard. He situated the body so that it appeared the man tripped and hit his head on the wall. He looked at his watch. He had two minutes to thread his shoelace in replacement of the guard’s. Unwinding his shoelace, Sherlock quickly threaded the guard’s shoe and placed it beside the “twisted” ankle. The detective leaped to his feet and ran down the tunnel. He spilled into the passenger compartment just as the stewardess was announcing the doors ‘will be closing.’

“You all right, sir?” the stewardess asked the flustered Sherlock.

“Of course, I am!” Sherlock barked as he made his way down the alleyway filled with eyes directed at him. He gave the seated passengers curt smiles and frowned at those who stared more than was polite. After he found his seat, he took out his own phone and the guard’s phone. If only he could swap the batteries! Sighing in frustration, he stared at both phones, thinking.

When the plane landed in London, England, Sherlock made sure to be the first person up. Sadly, several families squeezed in front of him, but he managed to work his way up until he was the third person ready to step off. The stewardess gave him a suspicious look, which he returned with his charming smile. Her face softened and turned a little red. He finally stepped off and quickly walked through the baggage compartment. He stood in line, deducting everybody in line. He spotted an undercover policeman, a young marine, and a computer programmer. He followed each of their eyes and examined the luggage. Smiling, he saw a computer bag, followed by a metal suitcase. Strategically, Sherlock pretended to be hogging the baggage compartment before noticing a large family behind him. Turning to them, he said, “Oh, you guys can go in front of me.”

“Really?” the mother asked as she cradled her baby, “Thank you so much.”

Sherlock gave her a friendly wink and watched as the family of seven stepped in between the computer programmer and undercover cop. Sherlock quickly made his way to the end of the conveyor belt where the two suitcases he chose came his way. Discreetly, he took the baggage and an extra-large bag that was only seen by him. He quickly unzipped the large bag and placed the two smaller bags inside. Standing up, he wheeled out as if he picked up his own bags. He watched the programmer and cop carefully as they hunted down the belt for the bags. By the time the two were in a fuss, Sherlock was out on the street heading towards Westminster. He wanted to stop by Baker Street to see if Mrs. Hudson and Elise had made it safely.