Starting on a new multi-chap adventure for Law and Nami. A Sherlock inspired romance, set in the late Victorian Era.

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Elementary Chapter 1

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Honour Amongst Thieves

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Nami drifted through the mansion. Darkness hung like cobwebs in the rooms and halls, only the occasional finger of moonlight showing her the way. Her bright, orange hair was tucked out of sight under a black hood, and her pale skin was smeared with coal dust. A tight black outfit, scandalous in daylight, was the last piece she needed. Even if the guard at the door had woken as she slipped past, he would have seen nothing more than a shadow. Her footsteps ghosted over the floor as she scanned the room for valuables. Nami smirked at the obvious wealth around her. The owner had turned his home into a showcase of opulence. Chandeliers dripped from the ceiling, and statutes wore real diamonds around their marble necks. Most impressive of all were the trophies from his hunting trips. Nami had only heard of such exotic creatures, and she couldn't help but stare at the heads lining the walls. Her lips parted at spiralling horns of an antelope and the strange, leathery skin of a rhino. She gave the lion a wide birth though. Special care had been taken to bring the whole creature back from the continent, and its glass eyes glinted in a way that was too lifelike for comfort. Nami shuddered and turned her attention away from the morbid collection. She had work to do. With a whisper light touch she lifted a few necklaces, stashing them in the flour sack tied to her back. Already she had made more than Bellemere earned in a year at the markets. But Nami knew that this was small change to the man who owned this house. She had to find his safe.

Nami examined every inch of the mansion, drifting from room to room. She checked under every painting, and behind every bookshelf, pocketing valuables as she went, but found nothing. Finally she stood before the master bedroom. She hadn't wanted to go in there; the thought of waking the owner was enough to make her tremble. Nami had no desire to see a noose around her pretty neck! Nami glanced between the window and the bedroom door. It was the hungry pinch in her belly that decided it. With a deep breath, Nami hunkered down and pulled a pot of cheap oil from her sack. Nimble fingers poured the lot onto the hinges and rubbed it in. No effort was spared, and it was a good ten minutes before Nami was satisfied with her work. She pressed her ear to the door, then a cautious eye to the keyhole. With a pause to steady herself, she cracked open the door. She held her breath as she eased it open, but her work had been done well. Not a creak sounded as she slipped in and pulled the door shut behind her.

The bedroom was brighter than she would have liked, and it set her teeth on edge. Nami crept around the side of the room, the gentle snores from the bed setting her pulse racing. Where was the safe? She felt, more than saw, her way through the half-gloom. It was intuition, honed by years of experience and natural talent, that brought her attention to a large mirror affixed to the wall. Tilting her head, Nami examined it. Her eyes trailed around the room before settling back on the mirror, more determined now. She crept over and traced around the edges with a feather light touch. Nothing. Stifling a curse, Nami turned away from it sharply. Her eyes fell on the dim shape of the man in the bed and a shiver ran down her spine. In the gloom he could have been a corpse. Or a monster.

Nami shuddered in disgust as she thought of the rumours that surrounded this man, and the picture of his cold, cold eyes in the papers. He could well be a monster. As Nami peered at him, a wisp of an idea formed, pushing aside her horror. He was tall. Her heart skipped with excitement. Carefully she picked up a chair and placed it by the mirror with the slightest click against the wooden floors. She hopped up and ran a hand along the top of the mirror, her hands trembling. This time her light touch revealed a small catch. Heart in her throat, Nami unhooked it. The mirror swung away from the wall. Her mouth was dry as a bone at the sight of the safe box. She examined it carefully. Her face broke into a smile when she found the makers mark on the side. Franky Flam was the most well respected engineer in London and his inventions could be found in the wealthiest homes in the city. He was also a scoundrel and a good friend. She pulled the picks he'd make her from her sack and silently promised him a kiss next time she saw him.

Nami was soon shovelling jewels and thick wads of bank bills into her little sack. Each note made the tension rise. It was the noose for sure now if she was caught. Carefully she lifted the heavy sack onto her back, and went around putting the room back as she had found it. No sense leaving clues for the nosy policeman. As she went to leave, Nami's stomach clenched. The snoring had stopped. She whirled around, panic ringing in her ears, and stared at the man in the bed. He was lay still. After a few moments the quiet snores started up again. Nami's chest hurt from the tension as she snuck from the room. Her hand clamped over her mouth to stop herself from panting with terror, she clicked the door shut behind her. She couldn't wait to be home.

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It was the blackest part of the night when Nami finally reached her street. Even now she could hear laughter and shouting. She slipped down an alleyway beside the building that held her home. After checking that no prying eyes could see her, Nami slipped her toes into the chinks in the crumbling brickwork and started to climb. She would have to slip in through the window. Her family were housed at the very top of the building. If she tried to go in by the stairs she would wake every other family packed into the miserable place. The night was cold and the wind howled enough to make her miserable as she climbed. Not for the first time she cursed that they lived so high up. Deep down she knew it was for the best though. It was the smallest room in the building, but at least that meant they didn't have to share it was another family. Not only would that make her nocturnal excursions that much harder to conceal, but her family was made up of beautiful woman. Nami knew that strangers would bring them no good. She'd dealt with enough grabbing men, even some with wives and babies at home, to know that they couldn't be trusted. Especially now.

Nami was relieved when she peered through their window and saw the slumbering forms of her mother and sister. Her arms were trembling from the climb and she wouldn't have been able to bear waiting for her family to fall asleep. Silently she pushed the window open and slunk to her bed like a shadow, careful not to step on her sister as she passed. Even in the dark, she could see the gleam off the wet slime in the corner above her bed. She was glad to take it the worst bed in the house though. Bellemere wasn't strong enough for the damp.

Nami quietly moved the bundle of rags she slept on, and pried a floorboard up. The floors here were cheap and thin, but there was just enough space between their room and the ceiling below to stash her loot. She took careful stock of some of her other treasures. She had barely any coin left from her last outing. Paying the exorbitant rent for this hovel meant that she had to be careful to make it last. Especially since she was loath to go out too often. There was no sense inviting the police down on her. She sighed as she placed the floorboard back down, leaning heavily until the treasure beneath finally gave up and the board popped back into place. She shoved her bed of rags back over the hidey-hole and felt her body instantly relax. Finally letting herself feel like she'd won, Nami climbed into bed and was asleep in an instant.

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Nami was woken by Nojiko shaking her. She blinked blearily up at her sister, smiling when she saw her shock of blue hair sticking up at all angles. Nojiko's bedhead was a constant source of fun.

"Get up, sleepyhead! You'll be late for work."

Nami croaked a laugh as her sister tipped her onto the floor.

"Your father must have been the devil to make you so hard-hearted."

Her sister smothered a smile at their old joke. "You're the one with his red-hair! Now git, or you'll have no breakfast from me!"

Nami stuck her tongue out playfully, but shucked her bedclothes anyway. She took extra care with her hair and dress today. She frowned over her selection of outfits for a while, the rich fabrics contrasting with the cheap wardrobe they were housed in. Nami had her mother's knack for bartering, and a sincere belief that you could make nothing of yourself in bad clothes. Part of the reason they lived in this hole, was so that they could afford things that were just a touch nicer than most people of their station had. Bellemere gave a hacking cough, and Nami's eyes flicked guiltily to the slimy mould on the ceiling. Perhaps it hadn't been worth it.

With a shake of her head, Nami pushed the thought aside and plaited her mane of hair before pulling it into a fashionable bun. She examined herself in the cracked mirror she had salvaged. She didn't have the finery of a noblewoman, but smiled none the less. She could certainly pass for a girl from a modest, but respectable family. Just what she needed today. Nami winked at herself in the mirror, then went and joined her family for breakfast. She frowned when she saw it was plain bread and milk. It wasn't as bad as the scraps of rotten food she'd seen her neighbours eating, but she knew she would have to dip into the final dregs of money from her last haul to get something better. Her thoughts wandered longingly to the newest treasures, but she knew it wasn't safe to try to pawn anything off yet. She sighed at the thought of having to wait until the heat died down to cash anything in, but knew she would just have to cope.

"Nami."

Her mother's voice cut through her thoughts. Nami looked up from her food and Bellemere's smile washed over her.

"Good luck with your sales today." She laughed loudly. "Who would have thought, my little street-rat working in a fancy dress shop!"

Nami laughed too, her heart warm. Bellemere's voice was as strong as it had been the day they first met and it never failed make her content. Her smile faded a little though when she looked properly at her mother. Her face was pinched with her illness, and Nami thought she looked a little more drawn than she had yesterday.

"Are you staying home today, Nojiko?" Nami asked. Her voice was casual, but each sister knew what she really meant.

Nojiko's voice was airy. "I'll just pop to the market for some groceries. You know I'm too lazy for real work!"

They all knew it wasn't true, but it was better than admitting that Bellemere was too sick to be left alone anymore.

Nami quickly broke the slightly awkward atmosphere, standing and clearing her plate.

"I'd better go," she said giving her mother and sister a kiss. "Wish me luck!"

She left with a chorus of goodbyes at her back, and scampered down the stairs, trying not to feel too awful. It would do her family no good to know that her job was complete and complex fiction. Bellemere was an honourable person, and would choke if she knew that she was living entirely off a stolen fortune. Nami had been careful to divvy up each haul to match weekly wages, but she still knew that she was pushing her luck.

Out on the street, the morning air crisp and cold, Nami fidgeted with the little purse tied to her waist until she pulled out a folded newspaper article. As she read the worn paper, she felt her spirits lighten. Perhaps she would finally get the chance to try a life on the straight and narrow.

"SECRETARY REQUIRED FOR GENTLEMAN.

MUST BE ABLE TO READ AND WRITE.

INTERVIEWS HELD FROM 9½ UNTIL LUNCH

THE SECOND SATURDAY OF SEPTEMBER

APPLY AT 221B BAKER STREET."

Nami's heart gave a little flutter as she folded it again and put it back in her purse. Her fingers brushed against a plush envelope and feeling it, her pulse calmed a little. She didn't need to pull it out; she'd spent hours with Genzo hammering out the details of her false references. Genzo was a widower. His time in the army had won him many friends and a fair amount of prestige. He'd been good friends with Bellemere for many a year, and beneath his scarred face, he had a heart of gold. He couldn't seem to deny a thing to the pack of street rats who'd found a family in each other. So Nami had gone to him and told him a little of the truth. Nami didn't dare tell even him about the full extent of her crimes, but she did reveal a little sin. She said that she'd lost her job in the dress-shop, and that Bellemere didn't know yet, and things were getting desperate. She'd shown him the advert, the first decent job she'd seen in a long time and he'd reluctantly agreed. Some of her references were works of art, but with Genzo pretending to be her well-to-do father, and a few creative lies from friends that weren't a total disgrace to society, she might just have a chance.

Smoothing down the folds of her plush dress Nami glanced at the sun and tutted to herself. It was past eight, and Baker Street was a fair distance from Whitechapel. She would have to hurry. She set off at a fair pace, though she couldn't help but fret with her hair. Her odds were no good at all if she arrived a frizzy mess!

Her luck held as she came out on City Road half an hour later, and saw a tram starting to pull slowly up the street. With a little whoop of delight she ran after it and clung to the back of the tram with the other urchins. They laughed, and a few pulled at the folds of her dress, curious of her finery. But they recognised her as a fellow guttersnipe, even as dressed up as she was. With only a few well-placed elbows, Nami was left in peace.

She played this trick again and again, dodging from street to street and occasionally running from an annoyed guard. She was nearly trampled by a team of tram horses, and had to walk once she reached the richer areas, but she was pleased with herself anyway. She stepped onto Baker Street at about twenty past nine with an attractive flush on her cheeks, and a smile on her face. She stopped for a moment by a shop front to straighten her appearance in the pane of glass. Her hair had loosened a little, but Nami smoothed it down easily enough. She smiled at her reflection and flashed a saucy wink. She could do this! Hopefully the interviewer was a faint-hearted flat that a pretty smile would blow away.

With one final glance at herself, Nami went and found the right building. The black door was smartly painted, with shining brass numbers. With forced calm, Nami ascended the steps and tapped the dainty little doorknocker. After a few moments she heard a patter of feet and a smart pageboy appeared. He was young, but his chubby face was as sombre as a priest's. Nami smothered a smile. She wouldn't laugh at the child with his gleaming hair and earnest features.

"Who is madam here to see?" He said with that same curiously stern expression.

Nami's lips twitched. "I'm here for the job interviews."

He bowed low, and gestured for her to follow him. Nami tried to look like a regular young lady, but habit made her size the place up for valuables. A vase in the window showed promise, but would be awkward to carry. Nami eyes drifted over the room as she followed the solemn little boy. She was surprised at how understated it was. It was clear the owner had money. Everything there was of the highest quality… but there wasn't much there. Nami was used to the wealthy being desperate to showcase their riches. She knew it was like a competition to them, a game. This man seemed to have decided that the rules didn't apply to him.

The page interrupted her thoughts.

"Mr Wadley will be in presently," he said with a bow.

He melted away, and Nami found herself quite alone in a neat office. It was large, and clean and Nami loved it instantly. There was a wooden desk in the corner that made her mouth water. The desk and matching chair were furnished with rich, green leather and every fitting was exquisite. The inkwell was made of glass, and the pens lined up on the side of the desk were so perfect that Nami felt her fingers twitch. There was also a bench along the wall. It was well made, but obviously put in much later than the rest of the furniture. It was out of place. Nami considered it for a moment. This must have been fashioned into a waiting room of sorts long after the original house was built.

Before she could decide if that meant she could use the bench herself, a man swept into the room. He near thrummed with excitement, but upon seeing her his expression shifted through confusion and then settled on disappointment. Nami smiled and he didn't return it. He was a large man, but it appeared that he had once been much larger, and his skin was loose in a way that made her worry for his health.

"I am Mr Wadley, secretary to the renowned Detective, Trafalgar Law. The boy tells me you're here for a job interview," he said.

He spoke as if there were a bad smell in the room, and Nami instantly disliked him.

"I didn't realise… a woman would apply." His distaste was palatable. "I'm not sure-"

Gunshots fired upstairs and a the ceiling shook under the force of a resounding thud.

Mr Wadley was transformed.

His pasty skin broke out into a sweat, and his face set into a horrible, fixed grin.

"W-well. It would be most unkind of me not to look at your references since you have come all this way," he said.

He ushered Nami over to the desk, and when she pulled out her forged letters he made a big show of flipping open the papers and peered at them. Nami noticed that his eyes didn't move across the page.

"What was that noise upstairs?" She asked.

She'd heard more than her fair share of gunfire in her lifetime, and the sound was jarring in this stately home.

"Of no concern!" Mr Wadley gave a strangled laugh, and his voice cracked horribly. "Well, your references are marvellous. You're a perfect fit for the job, and will start immediately. As of right now."

Nami blinked at him. He wasn't deterred and steamrollered right over her obvious confusion.
"I will take you to meet the Detective. I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy your employment here," he said with that same ghastly smile.

There was a thump from upstairs, followed by a sinister scraping, and he visibly cringed.

After a shudder, Mr Wadley seemed to pull himself together a little. He snapped his fingers at her and swept out of the room. Nami was too confused to care. Even as she followed him out the room and down the hall, she felt like she was in a dream. She barely heard Mr Wadley as he gave her the details of the job.

"Detective Law, spent some time… oh, in the orient somewhere." He waved a hand dismissively as he headed up the stairs. "He insists on being known as Trafalgar Law, as opposed to the proper way of doing it. Some of his letters may be addressed as Law Trafalgar, so it's important that you are aware of this."

Nami had to smother a laugh. Mr Wadley's indignation at foreignness in his household was so great that it even managed to break through his strange, sweaty terror.

They finally came to the top of the stairs. Mr Wadley ground to a halt. His eyes were glassy, as he stood frozen outside the door to the rest of the house.
"Could you introduce yourself, perhaps?" His voice was much higher than it had been downstairs.

Nami eyed him carefully. There was a strain on his features that put her on edge.

"I wouldn't wish for the good detective to think me a fraud." Her voice was wary, but her words seemed to do the trick.

Mr Wadley shook himself and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Right… Right. Of course."

Nami's suspicion was starting to bloom into a pressing dread.

"I'll go in first." He glanced quickly at her. "Stay here. Until I tell you to come in. Then… come in."

Then, with a surprising quickness after all his stalling, Mr Wadley scuttled into the room. Nami immediately pressed her ear against the door. She was able to hear faint voices.

"D-detective."

The new voice sounded surly. "What do you want, Wobblesbry."

Nami's mouth fell open at the curtness of the man. She never would have expected such rudeness from a gentleman!

"I have hired my replacement, sir." The secretary sounded utterly defeated.

There was a long pause.

"I never gave you leave to hire a replacement."

"Y-you did, sir. They're waiting just outside, sir. Very talented individual, sir." Mr Wadley's sounded close to tears.

There was a snort. "Fine, whatever. Bring them in."

Nami stepped back just as Mr Wadley flung open the door.

"In you go!" He raced down the steps and called over his shoulder, "Goodbye, sir! Was a pleasure!"

Spine tight with tension, Nami entered the room.

She found herself in a rather strange drawing room. It was large, and tastefully decorated, but filled to the brim with the most extraordinary things. Odd trinkets spilled from shelves and lay scattered on the carpet. Bookshelves were filled to bursting with heavy tomes and strange yellow manuscripts. On the floor lay the still smoking remains of a bullet-riddled mannequin, presumably to thank for her success with the interview. At the centre of the room was a large couch, and a man was sitting on it. From Mr Wadley's behaviour she had been expecting an aging tyrant, but Detective Law was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. Every long line of his body was perfect, and she couldn't help but stare at the sharp line of his jaw and his thick, dark hair. Burning, yellow eyes froze her in place as they sharpened with interest. They stared at each other for a long time. At first Nami couldn't decide what to do. Then she was sure that this strange man was trying to frighten her. And Nami didn't let anyone do that anymore. She raised an eyebrow, and deliberately gave him a scathing look from head to toe. He was wearing an expensive dark suit, but the jacket was thrown carelessly over the back of the couch, and the buttons of his white shirt were opened lower than was decent. Nothing about him seemed to quite fit. He had everything nearly right. The suit, the gentleman's sideburns... Even the rich leather gloves were flawless. But there were shadows like bruises under his eyes, and she saw a glimmer of gold rings in his ears.

The silence simmered between them, but Nami didn't flinch from his cool gaze. Part of her was screaming that she'd be better a doormat than unemployed, but her pride wouldn't let her be treated like Mr Wadley. Detective Law finally smiled, though it made him look more like a criminal than a gentleman.

"A new secretary. How delightful," he said. "I do hope you don't have to run to work every day."

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Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! More to come soon enough. Let me know what you thought. uvu