sherlockbbc_fic | Prompting Part XXXV

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I know this isn't uni!lock, but it took me a bloody month to write this oneshot. It does match your prompt in a way, so I suppose I might as well post it here. So here we go.

= • = • = • =

The first time one of his customers is dragged off to be executed, John buys a corkscrew board and hangs it up in his tea shop. He scribbles down the doomed man’s name on a scrap of paper before pinning it up. Many people who come in glance at the lone scrawl of words and shake their heads. Some send pitying looks in its direction, and others clench their jaws. As the months accumulate into piles, so do the names on the board. There are so many that John has to staple the new ones on top of the old. Sometimes, during closing hours, he stands in front of the board and runs his eyes over the layers of dead people.

It’s not fair, really.

London has been a fine place to live, at least until the British government decided to sew puppet strings onto the people. The best way to create a perfect country, they say, is to grab for as much control as they can. Controlling the population is the first plan they come up with. They snatch ex-soldiers and strong men off of the streets and lock them into special facilities. They force guns into their hands and brainwash them into becoming executioners. Careful records of names are tucked away into filing cabinets, brought out once a month to determine the handfuls of people that’ll be pinned on the killing list. Men and women are killed at the age of forty if they still haven’t started a family.

Since John is approaching the age of forty, the government has sent him a warning letter. He knows there isn’t much time left before they’ll hunt him down. He hates it all. He no longer bothers to remember all of the dead people’s names. There’s no point in letting faded Londoners clog up his head, not when they’re all long dead and gone.

He has lost too many people to count.

= • = • = • =

The second he catches the frenzied notes of the violin, John drops the kettle and bolts out of the kitchen. “It’s him again!” he hollers, bursting into the front of his tea shop. “The violinist!” A loud yelp and a metallic crash slam into his eardrums. He jerks towards the noise to see a wide-eyed Molly clutching her chest. A silver tray clatters at her feet, golden pastries strewn across the tiled floor.

“Molly!” John exclaims and darts over to her. “Did you hear him?” His hands grasp her thin arms, shaking her a little.

Her trembling lips part to release a reply, but John is already dashing off towards the door. He shoves it open, the glistening bell squealing as he runs outside. The quivering brunette is left alone in the shop. Her tongue darts over her chapped lips. “Mike?” she calls, her voice ringing through the silent building. Her ears catch a responding, muffled shout from the storage room. “John’s after him again!” she announces.

There is a pause before footsteps ring through the air. Mike pokes his head out of the kitchen. “The violinist?” he says, rolling his eyes. “It’s the same thing every year.” He lifts a hand and rakes it through his brown hair. His eyes wander towards the door where John had left through.

Molly follows the gaze. Through the gleaming glass, she can see the short blond diving into the crowd rippling in the wide street. Colorful dancers leap into the air, their long, elegant limbs stretched out in graceful lines. She runs her eyes over the shouting vendors. Her ears catch the muffled conversations melting together in a low, constant buzz. She can only imagine the delicious smells of sizzling food and steaming pastries.

“It’s a shame,” Molly says, trying to ignore her tightening chest. “It’s a shame that he’s never found him.”

Mike glances at the pastries flaking by her feet. “Maybe he doesn’t want to be found,” he says. “You ever think of that?”

-tbc-

What a wonderful AU! Really interesting.
Please, update soon!

i love this...

Prompting Part XXXV

many men (the executions begin today - p a r t . o n e)

Re: many men (the executions begin today - p a r t . o n e)

Re: many men (the executions begin today - p a r t . o n e)