We bade Hans good-bye and again waited for the notification that our part had once again began. Watson had a question for me, “Holmes, how the duce did you know that Vladivostok was on the Primorye Peninsula?” So I told him the case I had undertaken, which he probably would have labeled “The Adventure of the Poached Fabrege Imperial Jeweled Egg and the Chekhov Challenge.” Anton Chekhov was a Russian physician, short story writer, and playwright. His brief playwriting career produced four classics of the theater. His best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practiced as a doctor throughout his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife," he once said, "and literature is my mistress". Something Watson held in common ambition. The challenge had been made by Dr. Chekov that a real Frabrege Jeweled Egg be used as the center of one of his lesser plays, that no one could steal it while under his guard. I supposed he felt the play was not as well written as his others and needed some gimmick to draw attention. It was the 1900 Trans-Siberian Railway egg that he had borrowed. He had an elaborate safe constructed and a special Imperial Guard detachment to secure it. This challenge however was merely a magnet for criminal gangs all over Europe. I had just finished a small job for the Tsar’s widowed mother when I was called in to help the embarrassed Doctor to recover the stolen egg he had on loan. It was quite a coincidence that I had to follow the crooks on the real Trans-Siberian Railway, all the way to Vladivostok to recover it. The substantial fee, paid by the Tsar himself for the return of the egg, was used to purchase my beloved bee-farm. Recounting the tale took less time than would have taken had Watson written it up, for I did not embellish it or romanticized it as I have complained about his writing. No I kept to the pertinent problem, the apparent and hidden clues uncovered, the purely logical sequence that revealed the inside collaborator to be the debt ridden theater owner, and the resulting chase of the master crook that ended with recovery of the jewel encrusted egg. We turned in late, expecting we once again would cool our heels for developments to mature. It did not take long, in fact the next morning we were awoken early and told to ready our weapons. “The Professor had returned to his Krupp offices yesterday, in fact just that morning when I contacted you. We expect him to be there late tonight, as he keeps late hours going over the reports of his experiments. He has been trying to determine what happened and how to control that device. We don’t know how long he will remain here, so we need to strike this day.” Hans informed us. “Are the factory offices closely guarded, and does the Professor have a personal body guard?” I inquired. “Once you get through the front gate, there is not much in security. We have papers from Jack that will gain us entrance. The offices have night watchmen. The Professor usually keeps late office hours. We do not know the current standing of the Professor’s personal guard during the evening, but the Prussian Secret Police has set up a squad to back up the night watchmen during the night. They are not overly concerned about the day shifts because the factory is so busy. And Jack was the one to set up the night protection as the Professor’s security head. If the Professor has a personal bodyguard during the day, it would be one of his own Agency’s men, as he does not trust the Prussian secret police or military. It is for this reason, we believe the surest way to get to the Professor and take him out is a daytime hit. We have arranged a meeting for you two this afternoon posing as agents of the Kaiser with important logistical matters to present.” Hans produced two business suits from a suitcase he had brought. He also gave us a briefcase with stacks of phony reports concerning supplies. And conspicuous for a business meeting a Schnapps bottle was also present. As I picked it up to examine it, Hans said, “That of course is filled with an extremely combustible fluid. You must grab up his plans and set them on fire. We cannot chance that we take them and are caught while fleeing. They must not once again fall into their hands if we can get them.” He tossed me a box of matches, which I pocketed. “Once you slay the Professor we will quickly take you to the Swiss border. You must go to Zurich, I understand you are to wait there for orders from Jack.” Watson and I put on the business suits and concealed our pistols in one pocket and our large cylinder silences in the opposite. Hans had done an excellent job of guessing our sizes, for the suits fit quite well. I looked in the mirror and saw a successful middle-aged middle management figure that cut a sharp impression. Watson and I could surely pass inspection as agents of the Kaiser. In fact I liked the cut so much, I decided to keep the coat jacket for myself back home.