Prologue
Yay, I'm back!
This story takes place directly after the incident at the pool but without all the Irene Adler drama.
BANG!
The door slammed shut, and they all turned towards it in alarm. John rushed forward as Greg joined him, trying to find a way to get it open.
"Don't bother!" shouted Hawkins from his spot across the room, strapped to the chair. "It's sealed. Trust me, there's no way out."
Sherlock turned, his eyes scanning the walls and ceiling.
Donovan rushed over to the bomb as it counted down. "There's gotta be something—"
"There's nothing," sneered Hawkins. "Nothing's going to stop this bomb."
"Oh, dear…" said Mrs. Hudson, wringing her hands.
"What do we do?" asked Molly, staring at the bomb behind Hawkins.
John pointed at Sherlock. "Mind palace!"
"Hmm?" asked Sherlock, looking up at him.
"Use your mind palace!" said John.
"How will that help?" asked Sherlock.
"You've salted away every fact under the sun!" shouted John.
Sherlock's voice rose as well. "Oh, and you think I've just got 'How to Defuse a Bomb' tucked away in there somewhere?"
"Yes!"
Sherlock paused. "Maybe." He brought his hands to either side of his head and closed his eyes in concentration.
"Are we really—" Anderson began.
"Shut it!" hissed John.
Sherlock dug through his mind palace for a while, getting more and more frustrated. After a while, he finally shouted and dropped his hands, looking up at them all in defeat.
"Oh, my God!" exclaimed John, turning away.
Sherlock rushed over to the bomb, his eyes raking over every inch of that bomb.
"Give it up!" taunted Hawkins with a laugh. "There's no blue wire to cut, there's no off switch, there's no special sequence of steps. There's only one way to shut down this bomb, and it's in my head."
Sherlock turned towards him.
"There's no time to try different codes and no time to get me to talk." Hawkins turned his head towards him. "Let's face it: there's no way out this time." He smirked in victory. "Just lie back and lose."
"Oh, my God…" muttered Molly, staring at the floor in disbelief.
Sherlock stared back at the bomb in shock. Hawkins was right; his boss had pulled out all the stops. There was absolutely no way to disarm this bomb except the code locked inside Hawkins' head. He glanced up at the countdown on the bomb: 2:08.
Sherlock turned back towards the room, staring around at each of his friends and colleagues. Each person was off in their own world, despair overwhelming them. He stared sadly down at the floor. There was nothing else he could do.
This was the end.
Yes, it's short and confusing, but it'll get better. I'm writing this in the style of an episode starting out in the height of action and then going back to see what led to it. Have patience.