"The Widow" Bertha

Phoenix took Bernie and Benjamin to the laboratory at the address when it was almost dawn.

This laboratory is far away from the Whitechapel district, and is close to the pier. Since all the sites of the Truth Society were confiscated, the gate was still sealed by Scotland Yard. It was obvious that no one had visited it for more than half a year.

Seeing this gloomy scene, Benjamin couldn't help muttering: "Is there really no problem?"

Phoenix himself has no bottom line.

But he couldn't reveal his fear, so he had to force himself: "It's been half a year. If there were any strange creatures, they would have starved to death or fled long ago, but I haven't heard of any incidents of animals hurting people around here."

This not only convinced Benjamin, but even Phoenix himself felt very credible.

He took the lead in bypassing the cordon set up by the police, and entered through the window from the back of the laboratory.

The laboratory was remodeled from a dock warehouse, but it looks similar to Dr. Lang En's place. It also separates the experimental area from the office area. The three of Phoenix have all run back for Dr. Lang En's people, so they are familiar with Avoid the test area and go straight to the office area.

Judging from the thick dust in the room, no one has been here for half a year.

"Ben, you look at the drawers, Philip looks at the desk," the oldest Bernie directed, "I'll see if there is a hidden compartment."

"it is good."

The three split up.

Bernie skillfully began to fiddle with the picture frames on the wall. In order to prevent Benjamin from being afraid, he chatted with Phoenix from time to time and joked in a low voice: "What do you think if I open the secret compartment and a monster comes and bites me?"

Felix didn't even look up: "Run away."

Bernie: "Can you outrun the monster?"

Phoenix: "As long as I can outrun you and Ben."

Bernie: "... brat!"

The atmosphere in the darkness suddenly relaxed.

Bernie fumbled around the picture frame and artwork display, and finally found a vase that was placed too stably. He twisted it a little, and the picture frame next to the vase automatically popped open.

Like an open window, revealing what's inside.

"Look here, look here!"

Bernie immediately reached out and took out the thick leather book.

"Is there light?" He opened the cover of the book.

"Have."

Phoenix leaned forward and lit a match, and the contents of the cowhide book immediately appeared in front of their eyes.

——A huge, densely packed map.

At first, no one could understand where the map was, until the match in Phoenix's hand was burned out, the youngest boy with the brightest brain was stunned immediately: "This——"

"Do you know what this is?" Benjamin asked nervously.

"Hold on."

Phoenix lit a second match, confirming his suspicions: "This is a fucking map of London's sewers!"

As he spoke, he lit the third match, and saw the "farm", "laboratory", as well as the "altar" and "burial pit" marked on the map.

The hearts of the three sank immediately.

The boy lit the fourth match, flipped through the cowhide book, and presented all kinds of experimental research and content about laboratory animals in front of him.

The fifth match was lit, and the leather book was turned to the end, indicating that the laboratory was going to be sold to the Esposito family due to poor management and lack of funds before Scotland Yard confiscated the property of the Truth Society.

This is what they want!

The match went out, and Phoenix looked up at his companion in the darkness: "Go."

Bernie immediately closed the leather book.

He took the lead and walked in the front, and the three of them stepped out of the office area of ​​the laboratory one by one——

What greeted them was extremely bright lights.

The dazzling light made them barely open their eyes, and Bernie only heard a few words of Italian, which he understood a little, but not clearly.

"Is it them?"

"Yes."

"Do it."

—he knew the voice that said the last sentence, it was Marco Esposito's butler.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Bernie's heart, and finally settled on one sentence: They fell into a trap.

"Go, go!!"

Bernie turned around and pushed Phoenix and Benjamin who were about to leave the office, knocking the two teenagers back.

"Come on, go through the window and walk into the back alley!"

He grabbed the heavy wooden door of the office.

The next moment, countless gunshots pierced the deathly silence of the dock area at night.

Phoenix and Benjamin were stunned for a while.

The two boys were knocked to the ground by Bernie, and they didn't realize what had happened until the stray bullets flew through the wooden door and flew into the room. The unstoppable gunfire showed that the number of gunmen outside was far beyond the two of them.

Under the bang of the gunshots, the cowhide was pushed in through the crack of the door.

Only then did Phoenix react to everything.

He staggered and picked up the leather notebook on the ground.

There was a bloody handprint on the brown leather book.

"Go, go!!"

Phoenix pulled up Benjamin, who was still in a daze, and said, "Jump out the window and go to the back alley!"

Benjamin: "This—"

Are they betrayed?

Is it a trap?

Did Katie do it on purpose?No, it won't be, even the flustered Benjamin realized that this would not be the case, because they had already obtained the evidence that the Italians were involved, and if it was a trap, they would definitely not put the bright evidence here and let them take it away.

Then it is...

Benjamin was nearly dragged from the window by Phoenix.

The two teenagers stumbled and fell to the ground and pulled each other up. Benjamin looked up at Phoenix in the darkness, and tears welled up before he could speak.

"Filly," he choked out, "has Katie already—"

"Don't think about it."

Phoenix held the leather notebook in one hand and supported Benjamin in the other, interrupting him: "Run, don't even think about it!"

The two teenagers ran wildly towards the back alley.

The Italians followed suit.

The back door of the laboratory was kicked open, and the gunshots exploded in the narrow alley almost immediately after.Phoenix and Benjamin staggered and ran forward, the latter was only half a step slower, and a bullet hit from behind with a "swoosh"——

Then burning pain exploded from Benjamin's shoulder.

This directly caused Benjamin to slip and fall to the ground.

"No, no, no, no..."

"Book!!"

Phoenix scrambled and dragged Benjamin, dragging him behind the sundries.

Am I dying?

The severe pain and the dripping blood caused Benjamin to have such a thought in his heart, followed by boundless fear: "No, Philip, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!!"

"You won't die, come with me."

"Where are we going? Where else can we go?!"

"Let's go!!"

Phoenix almost used all his strength to drag the crying Benjamin to the wall of the back alley against the pursuers and bullets.

"Hurry up," Phoenix shoved the leather book into Benjamin's arms, "Think about your parents!"

"Bernie, did Bernie also—"

"Benjamin!!! Bernie is dead!!!"

The 19-year-old boy was startled by a growl from Phoenix.

The youngest boy's tone was very serious: "I'll ask you to go up, and you run after you go up, don't fucking think about these useless things, go find Sherlock Holmes, you know where he lives, give him the evidence, let him Go find Madam and save Katie."

Benjamin: "..."

Phoenix: "Did you hear that!!!"

Benjamin: "Then you, what do you do—"

Phoenix grabbed Benjamin by the collar and pulled him up from the ground.

"You're the only one of us with a father and a mother, Ben," he whispered. "You're not going to die, I promise you."

As he spoke, he bent down and knelt on the ground.

The boy patted himself on the shoulder, motioning for Benjamin to step on it: "Get lost!"

——In hindsight, Benjamin Browning doesn't really remember what happened.

All he remembers is that he was terrified, terrified; he was also in pain, and he could hardly breathe from a gunshot wound in his arm that was bleeding endlessly.The urgent environment and agitated emotions, coupled with serious injuries, made Benjamin basically become a machine obeying Phoenix in the end.

He knew he couldn't do it.

But Phoenix's words reassured Benjamin.

Fear, despair, and anxiety mixed together, causing Benjamin to lose his ability to think. He just held back his tears and stopped the question and hesitation, and stepped on Phoenix's shoulder.

Because of an arm injury, he almost missed the wall, and Benjamin eventually rolled from the wall to the other side.

He almost lost his breath after hitting the ground like this, but no, he had to get up.

The boy dragged his injured body for several steps, and finally "dragged" himself off the ground by leaning against the wall, and ran wildly along the road with the leather book in his arms.

It wasn't until new gunshots sounded from the alley behind him, but the boy left behind didn't keep up, that Benjamin belatedly figured out what decision Phoenix had made.

The unstoppable blood drenched his clothes, dripped down the fabric all the way to his fingertips, and then fell to the ground.

The boy's crystal tears fell to the ground together.

When Benjamin Browning realized he was the only one alive, he ran and howled.

***

early morning.

Sherlock Holmes had been up all night, and when there was a loud bang at the door of the flat he got up from the sofa at once.

The vigilant detective stood there in contemplation for a moment, ruled out any possibility of being attacked, and then took a step forward.

He opened the door directly.

Those standing outside are indeed not enemies.

It was a strange boy, dripping with blood, panting, and not one step away from coma.At the sight of Holmes' sober face and non-pyjamas attire, he burst into tears before he could speak.

Nobody spoke.

The boy just handed over what he was holding tightly in his arms.

It was a cowhide book soaked in blood.

Sherlock Holmes opened it, and then he understood the identity of the young man.

"I did it."

The boy choked up and said, "I brought back the evidence, I am not a traitor."

Holmes: "..."

"Please, sir," he cried, "help Katie."