MHA #15, Monday Evening

[pocketpretzels]

As had become habit over the past few months, on Monday evening Watts found himself seated at his kitchen table surrounded by a stack of paper as he wrote to folks back in Toronto.

The most detailed letter went to the Detective and Dr. Ogden, as per usual, given that the former had experience here and thus Watts could be entirely honest about the things he'd seen and done. Less detailed were the missives sent to George Crabtree and Mrs. Hart. And finally, this week, there was a short note he owed Miss Louise Cherry, who'd written him recently expressing doubt that this address was even real. So he was writing back to assure her that no, no one had killed him in a fit of exasperation and he was in fact alive and well, just in Baltimore rather than Toronto.

It was slow going, of course, as he was making an effort to keep his writing as legible as possible. Even then, there had been more than a few sheets he'd had to discard entirely, and the wastepaper basket was starting to fill up.

[ooc: for the neighbour! that he came over is ok to mention, details NFB please.]

Comments

[hasaknightjob]

"Goddess of mothers and children," Steven said. "She also takes care of guiding souls in the afterlife. That's where Marc and I met her."

[pocketpretzels]

"The more I hear of your adventures, the more I am in awe," Watts said, shaking his head.

[hasaknightjob]

Steven's blush was unmistakable, though he did try to duck his head to hide it all the same. "I mean... yeah. In some ways. But it was very quick as well. Don't want to make it sound like I've had years of this like Marc has."

[pocketpretzels]

"You realise that just makes your part in it all the more remarkable," Watts insisted. "That you were newer to it and successful in the end all the same." Yes, sure, team effort and all that but guess whose accomplishments Watts gave a shit about?

[hasaknightjob]

"It was sort of fun?" Steven admitted. The blush wasn't totally gone but he was able to look up at Watts again. "I mean also terrifying, won't lie about that. And not that I enjoyed people being in danger. But being able to do something about it? Hold my own against people and things that were scary? I liked that. It's part of why I don't mind doing it. There's good bits. An absolute wanker at the center of it, but good bits."

[pocketpretzels]

"In a way, that's similar to what I like about my own work as a detective," Watts shared. "Yes, I know the system is far from perfect, and all too often those with money and power get away with things those less fortunate in life may hang for, but- when I get it right, when I'm able to do my part to see that someone faces justice- it's very satisfying."

[hasaknightjob]

Now Steven was watching Watts with avid interest. "What was your favorite case? One you're proudest of?"

[pocketpretzels]

Watts sucked a breath in through his teeth as he thought about it. "Well," he mused, "there was the incident with the Japanese spy. Which I am technically forbidden from discussing but seeing as for you, this is all ancient history, if you're interested I suppose I don't see the harm...?"

[hasaknightjob]

"I am pretty good at keeping a secret," Steven pointed out. "But only if you feel comfortable. I want to hear something you want to talk about. Something that matters to you."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts beamed at him. "Right," he said, after a moment. "Well. For starters, how much do you know about the Russo-Japanese war?"

[hasaknightjob]

Don't be silly, Watts. It didn't involve Ancient Egypt so it barely existed as far as Steven's interest to date was concerned. However, now that Watts had brought it up, Steven leaned comfortably against the couch, his hand resting along the back, and giving Watts his full attention. "Nothing besides, I'm guessing, it involved Russia and Japan?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Right you are," Watts nodded. "The long and the short of it, at least as it pertained to this particular case, is that Korea ended up a protectorate of the Japanese empire. The Koreans, as I'm sure you can imagine, were less than thrilled to be an occupied nation." This all definitely tied back to Toronto eventually, really.

[hasaknightjob]

"Yeah that doesn't tend to work well, does it?" Steven said. Just because he was British and into Egyptology didn't mean he wasn't fully aware of the horrors of colonialism. "Korea tell them to shove off?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Essentially," Watts nodded. "A Korean freedom fighter, a man by the name of An Jung-geun assassinated the Japanese Prime Minister. An had followers- fellow members of the Korean Righteous Army. One of them was a man named Vincent Park, who moved with his parents and younger sister to Toronto not too long ago. He agreed with the aims of the Righteous Army, but was uncomfortable with the idea of murder. Unfortunately, his peace was short-lived- the Japanese sent someone to kill him, only the Japanese agent turned up dead in the Park family's cellar before he had the chance." Watts took a deep breath and another sip of his wine.

"Amongst Vincent Park's possessions was a book, Freedom From Bondage, written by his mother- I have a copy, here." He placed his wine glass down on the coffee table and flung himself over the arm of the chesterfield couch to rummage through his bookshelves before finding the book in question and handing it to Steven to take a look at.

(For the record, the copy currently in his possession was not the copy obtained during the course of the investigation. That's in an evidence box back in 1909 Toronto. This copy was procured after the conclusion of that case.)

[hasaknightjob]

This was the first time Steven had seen Watts moving about so comfortably. A smile crept out that he didn't bother to hide when Watts turned back and handed the book to him.

Sadly Steven did not know any forms of Chinese so once he determined there was nothing in the book he could read, with or without his glasses, he moved on to appreciating the binding which was, for him, historic. "And you're able to read this as well?"

[pocketpretzels]

"Yes," he nodded. "Well. Some of it. It's written in a mix of Chinese characters and the Korean alphabet, and I don't quite have a handle on the latter just yet, it's only newly come in to use amongst the academic classes over there."

He was working on it, though!

[hasaknightjob]

Yeah, the smile wasn't going away. "So a bit of a puzzle, then? Figuring out which parts go where? Like solving a mystery but with language."

[pocketpretzels]

Something about that smile left Watts feeling warm and content, the way a sip of particularly good whiskey spread throughout the body, only better.

"Precisely," he agreed. "Now, we discovered the importance of this book wasn't in the writings itself, but that hidden inside the cover was a piece of micro-photography film, dozens of documents on a single frame. Documents that were used to plan the Japanese Prime Minister's assassination."

[hasaknightjob]

"That one I know," Steven said. "There's things today still in that format, older documents and the like. I've had to dig through them as well when doing research."

[pocketpretzels]

Watts nodded. “It’s a convenient way of fitting a lot of information into something physically small. Not as convenient as your computer devices, of course, but we make do.” Made do? Again with the tenses.

[hasaknightjob]

"We're at the stage now where transferring them to computers is the thing," Steven said. "Transferring everything, really. Even things on paper."

Steven held up the book as an example. Then, sheepishly realizing he still had the book, offered it back to Watts.

[pocketpretzels]

“I suppose that makes sense,” Watts said, not entirely sure how he felt about that. Taking the book, he placed it on the coffee table.

“So, this micro-photography film. It was Russian film stock, meaning the Russians were involved with the assassination. Which, if word got out, would surely reignite the tensions between Russia and Japan once more. Only now, Russia has secured alliances with both France and Britain, meaning they- and the entire British Empire, including Canada, could potentially be dragged in to this conflict.”

[hasaknightjob]

"Books are very much still a thing," Steven assured him, in case that was the worry. "I mean you've seen my flat. Anyway, sounds a bit like World - er, I'm suddenly realizing I don't know how much you'd care to know about the future. Well, a future, I suppose. Nothing saying it'll happen the same on your world."

Contemplating the implications of that meant Steven definitely needed another sip of wine.

[pocketpretzels]

“I’ve done a little research,” Watts said with a wry smile. “World War I, yes. As you say, no way of knowing whether that will happen in my world, but at least I had a hand in actively preventing it from starting any earlier.”

[hasaknightjob]

Steven was glad he didn't have to be the one to break the news about that. At the same time now that he'd been reminded he was left with an extremely vested interest in making sure Watts didn't go back home if that war happened. It might not have been Steven's preferred period of history but it was hard to be British and not aware of how many people had died.

But that was for later, because what Watts had said was rather impressive. "Actively preventing? Does that relate to what you're telling me now?"