Myths and Facts - AU - Locked to seaweed_writes

[ihadabadday]

John Watson was a professor of Archaeology, with a focus in ancient Middle Eastern artifacts and history. He was mild mannered and ordinary. People assumed he was boring, university educated and went home to do whatever it is that ordinary people do when.

But John Watson had a secret. He often carried out interesting archaeological missions (for lack of better descriptors) for the British Government. Things that the government didn't want others to find, to keep secrets safe from the public. Not that the public didn't deserve to know. But there was much that John Watson found that would turn history in its head, which would cause chaos among the population.

But this day, he had finished his classes and was sitting in his office. He was researching something he had been working on his entire career.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and thus the other missing Ancient Wonders. The only one that had survived antiquity was the Great Pyramid of Giza. And John suspected that was for a reason. There had been reports of other pyramids being dismantled, of crumbling and collapsing. This pyramid was the height of the pyramid building craze that clutched ancient Egypt for so long.

But that wasn't his focus.

He didn't tell many he was researching the Gardens. Too many other archaeologists had been laughed out of a career for it. No. He wanted to find them, prove their existence before he published anything.

He closed his notebook and tucked it into his messenger bag. It was leather and worn, he had taken it on many of his adventures, and he always kept a gun tucked into it. John left the university ground and hailed a cab. He was off to the British Museum to see the Alexander the Great exhibit that was there. Maybe there was something in the collection that would lead to another clue or breakthrough.

At the museum he was stopped in front of a large stone tablet (a recent discovery) reading the text and translating. It wasn't too busy this day, as it was a Wednesday, but there were still people milling about, talking. And he suspected the Curator, one Sherlock Holmes, was watching or around. Bringing this particular exhibit to the museum had been a feat.

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[ihadabadday]

John made the tea and then brought the cup out to the man. He then settled into a chair himself. He held his tea and smiled faintly.

"What sort of snag?" He asked before taking a sip. He wanted to hear what the man had to say. But he suspected that he would be assisting.

[seaweed_writes]

The man took a sip, somehow managing to not make a little face. It wasn't the worst tea by far that he had ever tasted, but it was rather bland and weak, and he had added sugar, making it overly sweet for his taste buds.

"The workers at the British Museum have translated the tablet of course, and they have managed to determine that what it says is not necessarily what that means. I know that you have already come to that conclusion as well, in a quicker time than it took them to decipher it." He took another sip, then put it to the side, ignoring the tea. "It is one large riddle wrapped up in a lot of smaller ones, and we, the people I work with and I, want you to decipher them and attempt to locate the Hanging Gardens of Babylon."

[ihadabadday]

John sat there, listening. He held the tea before taking another sip. He hummed softly.

"Find the Gardens? I may be able to translate and understand Ancient Assyrian faster than most, but that is almost a fool's errand. People have been chasing the Gardens for thousands of years."

John wanted to. He wanted to chase after this and find them.

[seaweed_writes]

The man crossed his legs and gathered his briefcase from the floor. He opened it in his lap with the lid opening towards John, so he couldn't see what was inside it.

"I do have to admit that you seem very much the trusting type, Professor Watson. Here, you've found a total stranger, of whom you have no idea who he is, his name, or who he works for, and yet, when I mention the Hanging Gardens, you start salivating like Pavlov's dog. How do you know that I am entirely trustworthy?"

He took a manila folder from his briefcase, closed it, and put the folder, still closed, on top of the case.

[ihadabadday]

"You look like Sherlock Holmes. And I did do my research on the man Mycroft." He said with a smile, "And some of my superiors have mentioned you in passing."

John finished his tea and set the empty mug to the side. "Now what motives do you have to find the Gardens? What does the British Government want with them?"

"Or is it the rumor that the Gardens is the final resting place of Alexander the Great and some of the contents of the Library of Alexandria?"

He arched an eyebrow, looking at the man.

[seaweed_writes]

Mycroft raised an eyebrow. It was the closest that he would ever come to admitting that he was.. almost impressed with the man, But for him, it was significant. Though he did resent that this man thought that he looked like his brother. he was sure that he looked much more sophisticated- even if he had gotten the damned famous Holmes nose. It was a curse handed down by the male Holmes line, and he had gotten it. It had somehow skipped Sherlock.

"I'm afraid that I am not at liberty to say what my colleagues want to find in or around the Gardens." He said, glad, that they were finally getting down to brass tacks. This banter was getting tiresome. "Suffice to say that you will be paid handsomely for your time, more so if the Gardens are found, and that you will be supplied with everything that your expedition will need for the trip."

"I can assure you that if it is located, that no harm will come of it. We are not there to ransack it, merely to.. learn its secrets, much like you, I would think."

[ihadabadday]

John hummed as he thought it over. Hm. "Can I have someone assigned to assist? I'll need someone else who speaks the language, who knows the culture."

He grinned almost wickedly.

"I want your brother to come with me."

[seaweed_writes]

Mycroft frowned. "As intelligent as my brother is, he doesn't know the Assyrian language, or culture. And he can't just drop his duties as a curator at one of the biggest museums in on a whim." He said, his fingers lazily tracing over the still closed folder that rested on top of the briefcase in his lap.

"I have a list of the experts that we have gathered for this trip. It is quite an extensive one. Not all of them will be going with you on the physical part of the journey, some will remain behind and handle logistics and disseminate and study the clues that you find along the way. " He does finally hand the folder over to John. "You will find that there are some of the world's best archeologists, anthropologists, and Middle Eastern History experts that the world has to offer. I am afraid that my brother has little to add to your party, other than an... interesting and rather infuriating mascot."

[ihadabadday]

John looked at the folder and then scoffed. "I don't care about your experts. I don't know them. I haven't vetted them. I know your brother and I know how he works. He may not be familiar with ancient Assyrian culture. But no doubt he is familiar with other, more modern cultures."

He got up and looked at Mycroft. "You know just as well as anyone, I'm most likely your best bet to find the Gardens. It could take others years to find them. Now I would like your brother to assist me."

[seaweed_writes]

The frown on Mycroft's face became more pronounced. He didn't like being put back on his heels, even a little bit. John knew that he was valuable, and John knew that he knew. That much was obvious.

"And what makes you think that I can simply find a way for my brother to miss what could be months of work? Who could take over on such short notice? who will handle his bills? I don't think that you have thought these logistics through. It has taken weeks to get this group of experts together. I can't just add someone at the last minute."

In fact, Mycroft had known that John would want Sherlock to come along, and had already discussed it with Lestrade, though he had- not accidentally- not discussed any of this with Sherlock yet. The trip was still unknown to him.

[ihadabadday]

"I suspect you have a plan already in place." He said firmly, "I don't want your supposed experts. They'll just slow me down. They can be waiting eagerly for news or if I need a translation done and I'm busy with other matters."

John shrugged. "I'm used to working alone. I know I can handle myself. And I know your brother can handle himself. And I'm sure Lestrade agreed, but only if the British Museum gets first pass at the exhibit. He's an amazing director, ruthless when he needs to be."

He rose and gathered the tea cups up. "I expect an answer in twenty four hours. You know my stipulations."

[seaweed_writes]

Mycroft stood up, indignation on his face.

"You think that you can just boss me around?" He asked, huffing. "I am not sending the two of you out into the desert alone with no protection or support. That is non negotiable."

[ihadabadday]

"I don't need protection." John hissed at Mycroft, "I've been on dozens of missions for an agency that I'm sure you know of, by myself. I can protect myself and your brother."

He stared up at the other man. "You send anyone else, I will cheerfully send them back to you hog tied with ducttape."

[seaweed_writes]

Mycroft sniffed. "MI6 men? It would be amusing to watch you try."

He sighed, slumping back into a chair and rubbing his tired eyes.

"I have.. a compromise." He said after a short pause. "If you do not take this compromise, then I will find someone else to lead the team, so I suggest that you listen well."

"Your group will go to Iran and find an area for a base camp. At the base camp will be the scientists and protection that I have already assigned. They will be on call, if needed, and will assist you with your discoveries once you return to camp. You WILL return to camp no less than once every 48 hours. You will have GPS, so we will know where you are, and if you are more than 1 minute over 48 hours, you will be found and you will be removed. Is that clear?" HIs tone left little room for argument.

[ihadabadday]

"I will call once every 48 hours. Because if I am close to something, I am not going to leave to go check in physically. But if I am able to check in physically, I will do so." John was not backing down.

The Gardens had been something he had been working on for most of his life. Clues and riddles, dozens of notebooks filled. Any mention of the Gardens in ancient text, and he had a copy of it.

John also knew it would take anyone else twice as long to find them. To know what he knew.

[seaweed_writes]

If there was one thing that Mycoft despised, it was backing down, but it would be hard to backtrack if deep in the desert. He sighed again.

"You will call in at least once every 48 hours, and no matter what, you WILL physically check in every 96 hours or less. I don't care if the hanging gardens are in front of your face. This is my last offer. I will not budge any further, Doctor. I suggest you take it."

[ihadabadday]

John held out his hand to Mycroft, indicating that he would take the offer. He could do once every 96 hours. It wouldn't be ideal for him, but it was better than nothing, and not getting on this dig.

[seaweed_writes]

Mycroft shook his hand, then gathered his belongings and stood. "My people will be in touch." He said, and then he was down the stairs and out the door.

[ihadabadday]

John watched him go and then let out a breath. Well. He rubbed his face and then went to clean up the tea mess. He would never tell Mycroft, but he had purposely made bad tea, to see what the man would do.

[seaweed_writes]

It appears, dear brother, that you are going to be assisting a certain Doctor John Watson in his quest to find the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Sherlock read the text once, then a second time, then a third. What had Mycroft done? He went to his boss, Lestrade, who explained that Mycroft had already arranged for a temporary replacement, they had already been trained and would continue their training on the job, and that he was leaving to go on a research trip for the museum- which wasn't really untrue. His job would be here, waiting for him, when he returned.

"You're off the clock." Lestrade said, in his Essex accent, that was often mistaken for Cockney. "Go home, get packed. I want weekly email updates at least."

Sherlock nodded, his head still rushing through a million thoughts at once. He headed out the door and towards the bank of taxis that always waited for the tourists outside the museum.

"Baker Street." He said, his mind already thinking about the tasks ahead.

[ihadabadday]

John had landed an hour before Sherlock. So he was sitting by the man's gate, reading a paper written on the Gardens. In his weathered messenger bag was all the work he had. He had scanned all the papers and books onto his tablet.

He had brought a few of the ancient documents he had as well, those were in a specialized case which he was resting his feet on.

He wasn't happy that he had to answer to someone during this excursion, but to be able to find the Gardens... He would deal with it.

[seaweed_writes]

When it came to what to bring, most of what Sherlock knew was in his head, so mostly he had clothes and toiletries and his laptop, and a good selection of his favorite teas- he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to find anything in the Iranian desert.

The flight had been blissfully almost empty, Iran wasn't a big tourist attraction, so it was mostly citizens on their way home from their own travels.

He landed, grabbed his small carry-on, and headed out into the tiny airport terminal. He stopped in surprise when he saw John waiting. He had been told that a car would be there, but he hadn't expected John as well.

"Doctor Watson..." He said softly.

[ihadabadday]

John looked up from his phone and smiled. He stood up and adjusted his bag before picking up the case. "Hello Mr. Holmes." He answered, "I only landed an hour ago, so I thought I would wait for you."

He looked at Sherlock, studying him with quick glances. John's expression then settled into a neutral, pleasant one and he just nodded. "Shall we Mr. Holmes? We both have luggage to pick up."

[seaweed_writes]

Sherlock raised an eyebrow. Only an hour, he thought to himself. That is a pretty long time to wait for someone you only know in passing, even if you are going to be working close with them. The man definitely looked him over.. It gave Sherlock pause for a moment, but he let the thought pass.

"Yes, let's get our luggage." He let John lead while he stayed a step behind, watching John carefully.

[ihadabadday]

"Thank you for coming. Though I am sure that your brother did not give you much in the way of a choice." He said as they walked. John enjoyed the brief conversations he had with Sherlock in the past.

The man was quick and incredibly intelligent. He appreciated that.