Operation Red Book

"We're going upstairs to Johns' newspaper office. I think you'd like to work there," Moriarty said in the darkness.

“But I can’t write news…”

“It doesn’t have to be about writing news.”

"I can't lift anything heavy..."

"You don't have to carry anything, but you may need to run around. You will become skilled at it."

"But……"

"Well, we're here."

Moriarty's calm voice sounded, he fumbled around for a while, then opened a door, and the strong light made Joshua close his eyes in the dark.

This is a small area with four long horizontal tables arranged in an orderly manner.

Various documents, letters and newspapers were placed on each long table, and there were four chairs on each long table.

At present, there are only four people sitting on the chairs, busy with their work. It is quiet all around, except for the sound of the rain and the sound of turning pages.

"Mr. Moriarty, this... this doesn't look like a newspaper office." Joshua swallowed and scanned the layout of the room.

"This is what newspapers were like in the 19th century... Come, I'll take you to see Sir Johnson, the president of this newspaper."

Moriarty put his arm around Joshua's shoulders, blocking his view, and pushed him to the innermost door. He knocked on the wooden door and opened it without waiting for a response.

“Wuwuwu…wuwuwu…wuwuwu…”

A middle-aged man with gray hair was tied up and placed on the desk in the middle of the room. He struggled hard and kept whimpering.

"What? Mr. Moriarty..."

Joshua was stunned by the scene before him. He turned his head hurriedly, trying to look for Moriarty.

Unexpectedly, Moriarty was being held hostage by a masked man with only his eyes and mouth exposed.

Moriarty raised his hands high, and a sharp silver knife was pressed against his fair neck. At this time, Moriarty still had a smile on his face and did not make any movement.

The masked man held Moriarty hostage and kept retreating. Joshua looked around, stammering, not knowing what to say.

"Relax, relax, Joshua... woo--"

Before Moriarty could finish his words, the masked man stuffed a white cloth into his mouth.

Joshua was about to open his mouth to shout "Help" when the four men stood up at the same time and put on the same black hoods as the masked man.

Each of them had a pistol in their hands, which they had pulled out from somewhere. They quickly moved in front of Joshua and approached him together.

Seeing this, Joshua had to shut up and move backwards, breathing heavily. Slowly, Joshua retreated behind the desk.

The tied man was still struggling and whimpering.

But Joshua noticed that the man's eyes kept moving toward the lower left, as if signaling Joshua to open the drawer on the left side of the desk.

Joshua swallowed and said tremblingly, "Who are you? Why do you treat Mr. Moriarty like this?"

At the same time, his right hand was quietly opening the drawer below, little by little.

"Sir Johnson owes us several months' salary, and this man often comes in and out of his office. Of course we have to arrest him together!"

The masked man on the far left said: "What is your relationship with them?"

"I, I, I came here to find a job. I just arrived in London and I don't have money to pay the rent."

Joshua carefully grasped the edge of the drawer, wondering why it was so difficult to open.

"Put your hands up, what are you doing sneaking around."

The masked man on the right pulled the trigger, and Joshua was so scared that he raised his hands in panic.

"Go, find the safe, and the key to the safe."

A masked man with a female voice spoke, and at the same time, he raised a gun and walked towards Joshua.

Joshua hurriedly pushed the drawer back with his knee and turned around to block the drawer with his body.

Something cold touched his lower back. A masked man pointed a gun at him. A faint voice came from behind him: "What are you hiding? With your small body, can you hide it?"

Joshua felt a sharp pain in his hind legs and was kicked against the glass cabinet in the back row.

"Turn around, put your hands up, and squat down."

Ignoring the pain, Joshua turned around and squatted, watching the masked man open row after row of drawers.

"There is only one pistol here, keep looking." The masked man said to his companions.

This made Joshua at a loss for a moment: "Only one gun?" He thought, "I don't know how to use a gun."

Suddenly, Joshua noticed a large spot under the desk.

He lowered his head and quietly adjusted his glasses with his hand, then he recognized that it was a bulge, and the office key was probably hidden in that spot.

Joshua looked at the masked men rummaging around in the office. One of them had already found the safe, and there was a brass lock stuck on the metal box.

Moriarty was tied to a chair. He forced himself to remain calm and began to observe everything in the room.

The tied man stopped moving at this moment, closed his eyes and breathed steadily.

Joshua was grabbed by the shoulders and thrown to the desk again.

He quietly squatted down, raised his hands high, and while the masked man turned his head, he rubbed under the table, felt the bulge and pulled it off.

Joshua held his head in his hands, his fingers tightly grasping the keys, and continued to quietly observe the environment in the room.

The left wall of the room is covered with documents and thick books, while opposite the door are glass cabinets and solid wood drawers.

In addition to the seats on the right, there is a large window. Outside the window, there is nothing but dark clouds and constant drizzle.

Joshua was lifted up and he looked out the window in panic - there was a large lake below and large fruit trees scattered around it.

"Where is the key hidden? Will you tell us?" The masked man pulled off the white cloth stuffed in Moriarty and Johnson's mouths.

"If you don't tell me, I'll shoot you first." As he said this, he was about to shoot Moriarty in the head.