Meeting at the Diogenes
Canton shrugged, taking a swig of his beer. “Can’t be more of a mess than dealing with the FBI and the Soviets. Maybe these folks will be motivated by something other than proving the size of their… bombs.” Canton sighed, studying his beer label. “So this is pretty run of the mill for you though, after traveling with the Doctor.”
“I suppose, I just don’t like it when it’s based near home. Bad things, especially alieny things, tend to move towards me and Amy, and the closer they start the easier it is for them to reach us and the more paranoid I get.” Rory felt stupid - sipping at disgusting and bitter coffee, confessing that he was basically a coward. This was a good way to make an impression that he was going to be a good guy to have looking out for you…
Canton chuckled. “Buddy, I used to be Nixon’s right hand man. I know paranoia. Trust me, you’re justified.” He sipped his beer again. “But if you’re so worried, why agree to investigate it?”
Rory thought for a minute before answering, making sure to think it through this time. “Because if there are aliens and madmen in London who might be at some point intending to harm Amy, I’d rather be fighting them or fighting to stop them than waiting at home for something to happen.”
Canton considered the other man for a long moment. “You’re a good man Rory. Glad to have you on my side, that’s for sure.”
Rory smiled, pushing his coffee aside. “You too. Partially because I trust you with our lives, but mostly because if you were on the other side, I’d just move to Mexico and be done with all of this.” He called over a friendly looking waitress to get a cup of very milky tea to get the bitterness out of his mouth.
Canton chuckled. “Glad to be of service. So, you’re the expert here. Where should we start?”
Rory nearly choked on his tea. “Me? Oh, well… I think we need to get inside their heads. They’re psychopaths, both of them, so none of this will be ordinary. Or all of it will be, whatever we think it will be, it won’t be. We need to talk to the people on our side who are closest to them. I’m really no expert though.”
Canton considered this. “We should try to get surveillance on them. See if we can get access to the city’s CCTV, try to figure out their haunts. Do you have any names for people we could get info from?”
“Well, The Doctor for the Master, although I don’t know how much he’ll want to talk, and he’s not the easiest man to track down. From what I’ve heard, Sherlock for Moriarty. We can talk to one each - who do you want?”
“I’ll take Sherlock. I’ve been curious about the guy anyway. Any ideas where I can find him?” asked Canton as he drank the last of his beer.
Rory thought for a minute, scratching at the giraffe painted on his mug. “There was a picture of him in the newspaper, looked like Baker Street in the background. I say try there first.”
“Alright,” said Canton thoughtfully. “I’ll also ask around at the Yard, see if they’ve got an address. So what’re you going to do, since the Doctor’s so hard to find?”
“Idris’ll know, I suppose. At the moment they’re doing something with evil beetles.” Rory took a swig of his tea and finished the pastry before he remembered what Idris had said earlier. “Hang on, she said earlier that she, the Doctor and us are going to meet up when they get back. Problem solved.”
Canton nodded. “Sounds good to me. So, want to come with me to find this Sherlock fella?”
“Why not, he sounds interesting. Shall we?” Rory left a ten pound note and a two pound coin, (more than he needed but he liked the waitresses and they all had children) and put on his jacket.
Canton pulled out his cell phone as they left the cafe, and it only took him a few minutes to figure out how to call Lestrade and get Sherlock's address.
"These fucking things. What's wrong with landlines?" he muttered, shoving the phone back in his pocket.