Chapter 12, Chapter 03: Time's Up
Chapter 03 The Time Has Come
Moriarty's private residence.
"Do you need any help?"
The one who said this was William James Moriarty, a blond, scarlet-eyed young man who stood quietly in the entryway dusty area.
The stillness was accompanied by a momentary pause in the air.
Albert turned to look at his younger brother.
As a mathematics professor at a G5 British university, he always maintained a calm and composed demeanor.
Standing in the entryway at this moment is as if the light from the doorway has been drawn away from you, your aura is light yet strong, carrying a sense of calm and order.
Albert was 27 years old, while the young professor was 24.
Three years ago, he gained new insights into Riemann functions through a paper exploring the binomial theorem, becoming a leading figure in the interdisciplinary laboratory and earning the title of professor in Europe. A year ago, he received an invitation from a mathematics professor in London and returned to London.
His scarlet eyes were always exceptionally bright, and at this moment, in the light and shadow of the entryway, they looked like deep rubies that were impermeable to the light.
His gaze possessed an innate sharpness.
This is not an aggressive act, but a reflection of rationality and clarity.
His skin was a sickly pale, more so than that of Albert, the retired soldier, with a cold tone that suggested he had spent a long time in offices and research labs.
His neck was long and slender, and his collarbone was faintly visible below the shirt collar, revealing the lean and bony features characteristic of a young man.
Professor Moriarty was outstanding in appearance, but he did not appear fragile because of it. It was as if his scholarly air and some undeniable strength were compressed into the framework of a young professor.
Thus, despite being only in his early twenties, the profound depth he exuded seemed as natural as if he had been tempered over many years.
Albert smiled slightly as he listened to Professor Moriarty's words.
His emerald pupils were like lake water at dawn, gentle yet profound, their light warm yet weighty. It was as if he was silently telling people that he could be a trustworthy older brother next door, or someone who could command respect in any situation.
“Milwaldton hasn’t made any moves, and there are no problems for now,” Albert replied.
Professor Moriarty did not disbelieve his brother's judgment.
On the contrary, he always knew how accurate Albert's intuition was.
But Milwaldton's appearance at Lloyds Bank at this crucial juncture, and his coincidence with Albert's appearance, was so striking that it made one wonder.
The original plan was to send a completely new face to Milverton, with Fred Pollock, who was skilled in disguise and could change his mannerisms almost at will, to act as the matchmaker.
However, Fred was currently assigned to a more crucial position and couldn't leave.
Albert, however, was unconcerned. He believed that he would meet Milverton sooner or later, and rather than waiting for Milverton to make a vague impression on him after seeing him at the bank, and then constantly probing and gathering information about him later, he might as well take the initiative and put the situation in his own hands.
“As it stands,” Albert responded, “even if Milverton learns from Michael that there are scandalous photos of the royal princess hidden in Lloyds Bank, it shouldn’t affect our plans.”
To understand Moriarty's plan, we need to start at least three months in advance.
In fact, in all publicly available records, the Moriarty family possesses a noble status that is almost flawless.
But in reality, they are a global criminal organization currently active in Britain and Europe.
This team is headed by criminal consultant Professor William Moriarty.
His elder brother Albert was calm and collected, and held a high position in the government, controlling national-level intelligence and networks.
Louis, the younger brother, excels at filling in any logical gaps;
Moran, also a retired soldier and sharpshooter, was responsible for eliminating the last remaining risks;
As for Fred Pollock, he was responsible for operating in the gray area, shielding the entire organization from outside scrutiny.
There are no superfluous people or positions in the organization. It does not rely on numbers to succeed, but rather on absolute understanding and trust to operate.
Six months ago, Albert had just retired from the army and started working for a national government agency.
Moriarty's first target was "the corrupt Scotland Yard".
In Lloyds Bank, there are several handwritten notebooks from Vogel.
The pages contain detailed records of Scotland Yard's corruption, bribery, and power transfer transactions over the years.
The text is precise, including the time, bank account name, amount, and name.
It was not merely a notebook; it was a sharp blade capable of piercing through the entire order of London.
For Moriarty's team, obtaining these notes was not difficult.
The real question is, "What do we do after we get the notes?"
If it were handed directly to Scotland Yard, this content would most likely be blocked immediately.
To maintain Scotland Yard's image and preserve public trust in law and order, the London Metropolitan Police Headquarters will likely prioritize an internal investigation, and may even destroy evidence.
They will cover all the scandals up under the rug, keep the city running, and make it seem like nothing ever happened.
However, this was not the result Moriarty's team wanted to achieve.
They want more than just to punish a few officials.
They aim to eradicate one of the cancers plaguing the entire order and gradually reshape London's rule of law environment.
To achieve this, they must ensure several prerequisites.
Moriarty's team cannot leave any trace in the public eye.
We must not be targeted by Scotland Yard;
We must not allow intelligence agencies or detectives to trace our whereabouts;
They must not allow any powerful person to detect their existence beforehand.
For this reason, they devised a "three-layer design" for this operation.
The first layer is controlling "Michael X".
Michael X is one of the most dangerous terrorist leaders in the UK. His main business is drug trafficking, and the weapons and intelligence chains behind him are enough to give the entire British security services a headache.
What's more troublesome is that this cunning old fox has never left enough evidence to convict him over the years.
To save his life, he secretly collected and preserved a lot of evidence of scandals involving high-ranking officials and nobles, especially the unsavory video footage of Princess Marga.
This is precisely where the evil of MI5 lies.
And coincidentally, the task of hunting down Michael X also fell to Albert Moriarty.
Around the same time, Albert received inside information from Mycroft Holmes: "If he successfully solves the Michael X case, he will have the opportunity to be nominated as the director of MI6."
This is a promotion opportunity that Albert cannot ignore.
Although MI6 and MI5 are both national security agencies, one is for external affairs and the other for internal affairs, and their functions are not compatible.
If Albert were to become the director of MI6, it would mean that he would find it difficult to continue using Michael X to advance the program.
Professor Moriarty then proposed a new idea.
We need to capture Michael X, but we also can't let him disappear from the public eye completely.
Thus, Albert devised a trap and successfully captured Michael X.
But before that, Fred Pollock contacted Michael in advance as a criminal consultant, giving him a "way out".
—To extricate oneself unscathed, one must immediately change nationality.
—The UK cannot completely sanction Michael. (In fact, it's impossible.)
Once he successfully obtains new citizenship by leveraging his personal connections, all files related to him will be transferred to the jurisdiction of MI6.
Michael X thought he had escaped a disaster, but little did he know that from that moment on, all his chips had fallen into the hands of Moriarty's team.
The first layer is completed here.
The second layer of design revolves around the "theft at Lloyds Bank".
Albert orchestrated an operation under the name of MI6 that would isolate the two sides from each other.
No secret agents were involved; instead, secret agents acted as intermediaries—getting low-level, unsavory characters from the underbelly of society to carry out the actual thefts.
The task was simple and straightforward.
Let the thieves who broke into Lloyds Bank take all the items from the safe.
They only know to pack up banknotes, gold, bonds, and antiques and take them away, without knowing what they actually stole.
Meanwhile, the agents would secretly delay the police response time to ensure the operation was completed smoothly.
The purpose of this layer's design is very straightforward.
One is to retrieve materials related to royal scandals.
Secondly, they fabricated a major theft that could not be covered up.
On the surface, everything points to an underground criminal organization.
The real mastermind behind the scenes left no trace.
The second layer was then completed.
Currently, Moriarty's camp is in the middle to late stages of the second tier.
After the theft occurred, that was their third layer of design.
The discovery that footage of a royal scandal was found among stolen items from Lloyds Bank will be widely publicized.
In order to shake off the police, thieves would definitely examine all the stolen documents and materials carefully as soon as possible to determine whether they have violated any royal taboos.
However, what they saw was not only Princess Margaret's image, but also the long-standing corruption chain within the upper echelons of Scotland Yard.
Embezzlement, bribery, and power-for-sex transactions.
The names on each page could cause a sensation throughout London.
The media fueled the fire, and police officials, overwhelmed by public outcry, dared not suppress the case privately. The government could no longer remain silent.
Everything that followed unfolded exactly as the script had written, naturally and smoothly landing in the position Moriarty's camp had anticipated.
At this level, Moriarty will be able to achieve his remaining three objectives.
One is to force the public release of evidence of corruption at Scotland Yard.
Secondly, it would deprive Michael X of all his leverage, forcing him to submit completely, thus achieving MI6's objective.
Third, there is no trace in the entire incident pointing to Moriarty's team.
However, they encountered a change of events on the second floor.
Albert unexpectedly met Milverton earlier than expected at Lloyds Bank.
Based on the intelligence they had, Milverton most likely received the email left by Michael X, and following the clues, they deduced that the information about the royal family's scandal was very likely found in a safe deposit box deep inside the bank.
Logically speaking, a big shot like him, skilled in extortion, would never easily let go once he has his eye on something.
Strangely, Milwaldton initially inquired about the safe deposit box business as a client, but then suddenly fell silent and took no further action.
This anomaly was like a sudden nail driven into Albert's attention.
He was more perceptive and calmer than others.
He knew that if a person had both greed and opportunity, yet hesitated to act, it often meant that this person was definitely not what they appeared to be.
Albert recalled the scene in the bank.
His gray eyes gleamed with a dangerous and sharp light.
Unapproachable, yet extremely useful.
Albert said slowly, "I actually think it would be interesting to be friends with Milverton."
Clearly, Milwaukee should be more interested in Michael than in his royal scandals.
He spoke of it casually, as if he were talking about afternoon tea.
But William Moriarty could tell that there was no real friendliness in it.
Albert paused for a moment, his turquoise eyes revealing a unique blend of gentleness and coldness.
"He's more interesting than I imagined."
Interesting implies a manageable danger.
A controllable danger means it can be kept in one's own hands.
Albert tilted his head slightly, as if casually adding, "Someone like him doesn't need to be won over or tamed... Just give him a direction, and he'll follow it on his own."
He wasn't referring to friendship or cooperation, but rather to turning the other person into a sharp knife that doesn't stain itself with blood.
"He is greedy, he is cautious, and he always wants more than just a little."
Albert chuckled softly. “This kind of person is best suited to be the blade. You just need to tell him which side is most profitable, and he will naturally cut in that direction.”
William: "It seems you have a new idea."
Albert's smile was subtle, yet it sent chills down one's spine.
"Scotland Yard, the royal family, the political world... he will take action against anyone."
His emerald eyes flashed with a sharp light. He paused, then said, "Anyway, this knife won't ultimately hurt us."
William glanced at the clock on the wall and said softly, "Today is Saturday, August 23rd."
"Yes, the time has finally come."
All the plans will eventually come to fruition.
Today, the operation officially begins.
A note from the author:
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