An old mechanical mantel clock handcrafted by French artisans during the reign of Louis XIV boasted exquisitely detailed silver figurine carvings and a Baroque enamel exterior. Its resplendent gold, silver, black, and crimson made what had been the most advanced timepiece of its era look priceless. The hands behind the arched glass window made faint sounds in the silent air. Mycroft Holmes sat in a high-backed chair, quietly gazing at the clock. Sir Arnold Abinson's repeated hints had left him pondering for a long time, yet he still had no answer—the puzzle before him was not the solution proposed by the former Cabinet Secretary, but how many people supported that solution, and who they were. Unable to reason it out, he could only turn his thoughts toward the conversation yet to come and set about directing the Prime Minister's attention toward harmless matters, such as protecting London's raccoons.
Those little troublemakers might just be Russian spies.
The other conversation had no designated location. Mycroft Holmes could not even be sure it would take place as promised; all he could do was wait here for notice. He was unwilling to simply sit here, but there was nothing he could do. He knew full well that he was in the weaker position in these negotiations. He knew full well that the Brexit referendum had been a self-directed farce. No one cared about the interests of the British Empire, and even the civil service system had completely fallen to the politicians after interventionist purges and sabotage by self-serving elements within its ranks. He wanted desperately to do something to change the situation, but he did not know how many people in MI5 and MI6 remained loyal. He did not even dare entrust investigative work to those intelligence agencies.
"You requested a conversation?"
A