198 – Valley of Fear (1)
Now, James Moriarty is not a job to make a living, but a job for self-actualization, as he works as a criminal consultant, and lives as a criminal. So it wasn’t that he wasn’t faithful to his job.
Creating mysteries and contributing to crimes was, of course, one of the few joys of his monotonous life and an obstacle that prevented him from pulling the trigger on his own head.
That’s why failure was something I couldn’t accept. This was not simply due to trust in continuously securing customers, but because of Moriarty’s own pride.
This was similar to Holmes. It may be natural for a teacher and a student to resemble each other in the first place.
Of course, for James Moriarty, ‘failure’ meant failure for customers, meaning failure to achieve their goals.
In that sense, in the case of Mr. Jefferson Hope in The Scarlet Study, which had been commissioned for the first time by Holmes and Watson from Baker Street a few months ago, it was certainly not a failure from James Moriarty’s perspective.
Of course, it cannot be denied that he dealt an unexpected blow to his disciple, and that he failed to eliminate testimony that would definitely be used against him in court if he were to fall one day.
But to Moriarty, such things were nothing more than trivial matters, and he was so arrogant that he could guarantee that his disciple would never even have the chance to destroy his kingdom.
In the first place, in the case of Mr. Jefferson Hope, the mission he entrusted to find James Moriarty, no, M, London’s infamous criminal advisor, was to kill the two people Hope was chasing, so at the point where the murders were already over, Hope was no longer Moriarty. Was not a customer of
He thought of himself as pursuing fairness in his work.
Of course, James Moriarty was arrogant by nature, and as his student Holmes put it, he had a childish side, so if he was cornered, he could act like a villain, but he was definitely like that when he was relaxed.
I work as much as I receive from the client, and I work as much as it gives him pleasure. It was clearly an iron rule.
However, just as even his disciple Holmes often failed, James Moriarty was not a person who never experienced failure. He felt bad every time he experienced a failure, but even as arrogant as he was, he knew full well that he was not a god who could control everything, so he did not deny the failure itself.
Of course, like most arrogant and smart people, James Moriarty never considered such mistakes his fault. In fact, most of the mistakes he had made while working so far were due to the intervention of chance, which he hated so much, or the mistakes of foolish clients or tools.
This incident was the same.
From noble mtl dot com
“It’s a body whose identity cannot be determined because it was shot in the face…” …. “You said there was no contact from any of our clients other than that, right?”
“Yes… “Yes, that’s right, Professor.”
After receiving the report, Moriarty seemed to be in a bad mood and tapped the table with his fingers. As if to appease her master, Sebastian Moran secretly poured her tea in front of her master.
Of course, Fred Forlock, who saw this, knew that the professor’s irritation was not directed at him, but he flinched for a moment as if he had been stabbed in the head. He cleared his throat and pretended like nothing had happened, but fortunately, Moriarty didn’t pay much attention to him right away.
Porok could not help but utter all kinds of curses in his mind about the unexpected situation.
For this request, I was lucky enough to find out the details in advance and secretly pass it on as a code to the pants-wearing pervert I deal with, but I got a sudden call and went down to a place called Burleston, Suss*x. Because I was unable to convey all the information in the end when the professor ordered me to get information.
Porok knew that it was too late now.
But Moriarty opened his mouth as if he had other thoughts.
“That stupid American failed.”
“… “Nothing is certain yet, is it, master?”
Moran carefully expressed his opinion as if trying to appease his mood, but Moriarty shook his head.
It was a request that the client accepted because it was interesting. James Moriarty, who had recently given some welcome words to Americans from the Pinkerton Detective Agency, found it quite interesting that a customer with a grudge against Pinkerton had come to visit.
Ironically, although the client was looking for a heinous criminal in England, most people would rather sympathize with him as a victim.
20 Years ago, when Pinkerton was just starting his business in the United States, he was the one who suffered damage.
The Pinkerton Detective Agency did three things best in America. Bank robbery investigation, security, and hired thugs.
The man had been chasing a man for 20 long years out of resentment for being arrested and executed by a vigilante in his hometown by an agent of Pinkerton.
The man was once from Pinkerton, but he changed his identity several times and went into hiding because he felt his life was threatened by those pursuing him, but Moriarty, who accepted the request, easily told him his whereabouts and plans to kill him.
But when Moriarty received a report that an unidentified murdered body had been found at the target’s Burleston estate in Suss*x, he knew that his client had made a foolish mistake.
“No, no matter how much his head was blown off, if the request had been followed, the client from the United States would not have stayed still. Looks like the idiot made a stupid mistake. “I emphasized that you should not fight clumsily and instead hide in the study and shoot, but it looks like you lost your senses as soon as you saw the target.”
“… “Then what will you do?”
It wasn’t that I wasn’t annoyed. This is why stupid people were the problem. If they were stupid, they could just do as they were told, but they were the ones who couldn’t do what they were told.
However, unlike those idiots, I felt a little better when I heard Moran’s voice, who always did what I expected.
If I thought about it any longer, I couldn’t deny that my client had already failed. Thanks to you, it became annoying.
It was not possible to approach M based on a dead client. It would have been possible if he had been alive. The dead are silent.
However, the fact that the goal was alive was quite annoying to James Moriarty, who pursued his own perfectionism.
Of course, the surviving target had no emotions whatsoever. But it was definitely not fun to see someone who was supposed to be dead come back to life.
“Let’s watch for a few days. Even if the target is alive right now, he’s been on the run for decades. He will hide and try to run away somewhere else like he has been doing all along, then… “I guess I can aim for it.”
Listening to Moriarty’s words, Moran nodded her head faithfully as always. Porok, who heard this, nodded his head a little later.
Obviously, everyone there had different thoughts.
But what is clear is that the next day, James Moriarty was able to laugh happily when he heard the news that his student had participated in the investigation.
He tried his best to hide his disapproving expression by pretending that he wasn’t Moran, who was watching this, but he didn’t care.
Just before making Professor James Moriarty smile, Sherlock Holmes was sipping tea at her brother’s invitation to report and review work and, in private, to see how her brother was doing.
She didn’t hate tea, as she was British, but she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in front of her younger brother, who always nagged her on behalf of her parents.
Of course, it was not like Holmes’ usual behavior, but in front of her family, she would act like a young lady her age.
“Fortunately, Sherlock, your help with those Americans seems to have paid off. We are now able to exchange certain information informally with the Pinkerton Detective Agency, as you wish. “I even got a positive response that we could move toward a common goal if necessary.”
“Didn’t Mycroft clearly say that a positive answer is meaningless in diplomacy? “Are you sure?”
“I am sure because I received a personal reply from Mr. Pinkerton. More than anything… “I’m not bragging, but I don’t think they can easily ignore my position there.”
“Thank goodness. Were those two Americans, Huckleberry Finn and Thomas Sawyer? It was fortunate that they were indeed connected to high-ranking Pinkerton officials. I was lucky. I don’t like their behavior, but the Pinkerton Detective Agency certainly has something we can learn from the UK. Oh, Scotland Yard of course, brother. “Because I’m not stupid.”
“Sherlock. You’re definitely a good kid, but sometimes you say things that can be misunderstood… “I want to emphasize again the need for self-restraint.”
Mycroft Holmes was talking about public affairs, and was originally a person who coldly distinguished between public and private matters, but when he stood in front of his younger brother who was like his sore finger, that boundary could not help but collapse.
If a friend like Watson who suffered from Holmes had found out, he might have been horrified, but in Mycroft’s eyes, his younger brother Sherlock was by nature a very kind and gentle girl. He thought it was just her heartache that prevented her from expressing herself properly.
Of course, it was an excessive misunderstanding on the part of my brother who loved and worried about his younger brother.
But he sincerely wished his brother happiness. I seriously used to think that it would be better for her sister to find a suitable partner and start a family like other ordinary British girls, but because I knew her sister, I did not force her.
Holmes added sarcastically, completely ignoring his brother’s concerns.
“You’re not wrong, Mycroft. Pinkerton may be doing detective work, but in fact, half of them are thugs hired by the state. If you look at what they do, many of them are no different from those old privateers. “I bet it wouldn’t be surprising if people there got shot after they retired, right?”
“… Since this is not a British matter, I don’t think there is any need to talk more about it. We are… “Because we have to talk about things in England.”
Mycroft Holmes sighed softly and put down his teacup. Holmes, who knew the meaning well because it was his family, could not help but raise the corners of his eyes in confusion and ask.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Under the premise that your hypothesis is correct… So what should we do afterward, Sherlock? “What do you plan to do after you capture Professor James Moriarty?”
At that moment, Mycroft could see her sister’s expression turn expressionless.
