"The Widow" Bertha

When Sherlock Holmes rushed to the Thames Office, several girls sent by Mrs. Thames to meet the "hostages" were also there.

Now that things are going on, keeping one's own people near the Italian territory will only increase the risk of exposure.So Bertha called them back, and the girl in the red-light district got a key piece of news before finally leaving.

In the past, Katie's roommate Landa, with red eyes, whispered the whole incident to Mrs. Thames, and then added: "I gave some money to the prostitutes nearby, and they got a lot of news from the Italians. , It is said that Katie has been dragged away from Marco's place, and it is said that it will be sent to the underground sewer, madam, please save Katie!"

Mrs. Thames, who was sitting on the chair, was expressionless, but clenched her back teeth.

She closed her eyes, tried her best to calm down her tone, and said comfortingly: "You don't need to beg, Randa, Katie is mine, and there is no reason to let her own people die by themselves. Help me call Ned over .”

"No Ned."

Thomas Thames, who was leaning on the side, took the initiative to speak: "Want to take someone to the underground sewer? I will go."

Bertha was stunned: "You?"

You must know that Thomas seems to be extremely sensitive to those weird things, and he is not in a good state just in the face of dead experimental creatures, so he went directly into the underground waterway to get close to the research of the Truth Society, is that okay?

Thomas nodded solemnly.

The young man's ice-blue eyes were full of determination, obviously this was not the result of his momentary excitement.

"Ned is the logistics, so there's no reason for the accountant to always lead people to the front," Thomas said, "and since Sykes' thick line can be recruited in the sewer, it proves that it doesn't matter who goes. I am responsible for the firm, ma'am, at the same risk, why Ned and not me?"

"..."

What else could Bertha say?

Thomas is not an easy person to persuade, he has made a decision, there is no reason for disrespect.

Besides, he was right, Ned Morrison led the team, but he himself was of little use.It's just that Sykes's fever has just subsided, but his mind is not sober, and Bertha has no one to use.

Then only let Thomas go.

"Okay," she let out a long breath, "Go find someone. If there are children who don't want to go, don't force them; even if they want to go, you have to explain the risks."

"I will."

Thomas understood what Bertha meant, and he smiled: "Don't worry, ma'am, everyone is a gangster, who doesn't have his head tied to his belt? We have nothing but this life."

"Stop talking like that again."

Bertha pursed her lips in displeasure: "I have done so much, not to let one or two of you die in vain."

After she finished speaking, she thought about it.

"Go and inform the Irish and the Gypsies," she said. "It's because of the Irish. Dawson and the others will bring someone over. As for the Gypsies, you can go to Ned for money."

Where the money is in place, so is the loyalty of the gypsies.

When Thomas left, Bertha turned to look at Holmes.

The young detective, who had been watching from the sidelines, said, "As for the movements of the Italians, that's reasonable. All the incidents started because the Irish died of underground creatures. If they want to take revenge on you, they are likely to deal with yours in the same way." people."

Bertha rubbed her forehead: "The leather book you sent contains a map of London's underground waterways."

Holmes: "As well as all the building signs of the Truth Society built in the underground waterway. They have a laboratory below. It seems that the scale is not small. It is very likely that the Italians took your people there."

Bertha: "I understand."

After finishing speaking, she looked up at Nancy: "Nancy, go and prepare enough kerosene and fire pockets, and then let the boys have a share, and burn all the underground farms and other things along the road."

Under normal circumstances, no one stays or stays in the underground waterway, and there is no large area of ​​flammable substances. After burning the things that should be burned, the flame that loses the burning materials will go out by itself.

So Bertha was not afraid of hurting the innocent—who would go down the sewer if they had nothing to do?What happened to him is what he deserves.

Nancy nodded silently, turned and left with Landa.

Bertha and Sherlock Holmes were left in the office immediately.

A brief silence spread, and in the end it was Bertha who raised her eyes first, her dark golden eyes filled with suppressed anger.

"That child found you." She said without beginning or end.

But Holmes knew who Bertha was referring to.

"Yes," the detective tilted his head, "it was he who handed me the evidence—the leather-covered notebook. What's the situation?"

"I've hired the best doctors."

"Do your best."

It's just that Sherlock Holmes didn't seem optimistic. He said calmly: "He was shot in one arm, and if he wasn't treated in time, he might not be able to save it. But if the rescue is done properly, it should be no problem to save his life."

Bertha laughed dryly.

She did not believe that Holmes did not understand what it meant to a slum boy to lose an arm.

Losing an arm means that the young and middle-aged man has lost most of his job opportunities, and it means that a family that is not well-to-do has more mouths to eat for nothing, but less labor.

This can wear down a family, and so many workers sometimes prefer to die at work rather than become disabled.

Sherlock Holmes naturally sensed what Bertha was thinking.

But he said indifferently: "At least fortunately, he lost his arm for your firm. He is very proud, so I don't think you need to feel guilty."

Bertha sighed.

"Let's go," she stood up, "You can meet with Thomas, and I'll change into clothes that are more convenient for me to move around."

If Katie couldn't be rescued, she was really guilty.

***

When Katie awoke, the first thing she felt was a sprinkling of icy water on her forehead.

The cold water droplets touched her skin, which made her shudder and opened her eyes.Then came the pain in the back of the head.

Last night she was involuntarily dragged out of the room, beaten up, and then two Italians carried her out of Esposito's apartment and stuffed her into the underground drain in extremely rough ways.

Stumbling all the way, finally Katie's head hit the wall while struggling and passed out.

She forced herself to get up, touched the back of her head, her hair was sticky, and she didn't know if it was water or blood.

It was dark all around.

Just as she was trying to figure out where she was, a door suddenly opened opposite her.

The bright light outside caused Katie to cover her eyes.

After she got used to the light, Katie lowered her hand and saw Marco Esposito.

The thin and shabby Italian leader looked down at her, his brown eyes were full of either pity or contempt, and when his eyes met, he said coldly, "A prostitute."

Katie immediately understood what had happened.

The kid named Phoenix...I'm afraid something has happened.

"Why, do you think I'm dirty?"

Katie sat on the ground, curled her lips in embarrassment but fearlessly: "It's a pity that you deserve this."

Marco narrowed his eyes, but remained indifferent.

He raised his hand: "Do it."

Then several Italians swarmed in and dragged Katie out of the narrow black room like a dead dog.

Even if Katie was uninjured and fully armed, it would be difficult to deal with the male thugs who were away all year round. She struggled desperately, but to no avail.When passing by Marco Esposito, she heard the steward of the Italian leader say to him in heavily accented English: "The gentleman means... a virgin must be used."

Katie was taken aback.

However, Marco's response was just to sneer: "He himself gave up this research, threw the hot potato to me, and didn't care what I did-you guys wait."

The two Italians who were dragging Katie stopped.

Marco turned around and strode forward.

Katie, who was lying on the ground, could only see a corner of the Italian's exquisite coat, and then the man squatted down and roughly grabbed her hair.

The scalp hurts from being pulled, and the wound on the back of the head hurts even more.Katie knew that her expression must be very ferocious at this time, but she laughed out loud instead.

"Not afraid? It's best not to be afraid."

Marco Esposito laughed too.

He pulled Katie's hair and leaned into her ear: "It's cheap for you. According to the original plan, the little girl from the Bourne family should be on the altar. This is the real blow to Mrs. Thames."

Katie understood immediately.

She smiled sweetly: "It's a pity you couldn't catch Lyanna."

Marco: "If you can't catch her, don't you still have you?"

Katie: "So you're a cultist too."

"Don't," Marco tilted his head and corrected seriously, "I don't believe in these things. But—"

The smile on the man's face disappeared.

"Trouble the Sicilians and make me a stray dog? I can't touch the government, I can't touch you? She will come to save you," Marco said coldly, "It's just a woman's benevolence, but it just happens to be enough for me to catch them all. .”

"Let me also try to see how useful these weird things are."

After speaking, Marco Esposito drew a small knife from his arms.

Katie only felt pain in her arm, and the extremely sharp blade in the man's hand had already punctured her veins.

"Take it over."

Then the two Italians moved forward again and directly "threw" Katie out.

It wasn't until she rolled several times and landed heavily from a high place that she fell badly that Katie realized that Marco Esposito didn't mean to kill her as a sacrifice.

She waited for a long time before trying not to faint again, and her exposed limbs felt burning pain from falling from a height, and Katie struggled desperately to turn over——

Under the glare of the arc lamp, Katie was finally able to see the whole picture.

It's a... mass grave.

When she touched the bones under her body, Katie almost screamed, but soon her scream was drowned by greater fear in her throat——

On the closed ceiling, there are densely packed creatures that look like birds but are not birds.

When Katie fell to the ground, they all turned their heads, their sharp beaks opened slightly, and they wailed like children.