Streets Are Uneven When You're Down

AU set after The Hounds of Baskerville but before The Reichenbach Fall

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the property of their respective copyright holders. No infringement intended. The original characters and places mentioned are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to those living, dead, or undead is completely coincidental.

Prologue

John Watson sat stiffly on the hard metal chair as he struggled to maintain a calm, stoic expression. He'd had a lot of practice in that particular exercise over the years but this time it was exceptionally difficult to hide his emotional state. Anger, frustration and worry boiled beneath the surface and he was desperate to be doing something instead being stuck in the small room he currently occupied.

I should be out there, helping with the search. I need to- His thoughts were interrupted by the creak of the door and he looked up to find a man he'd never seen before entering the room.

"Captain, excuse me, Doctor John Watson?"

"Yes?"

The man took a seat across from him and placed a folder on the table that separated them. He withdrew a notebook and pen from his coat pocket before meeting John's curious gaze.

"I'm Detective Inspector Augustin Martz. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

It took John a moment to register what the man was saying.

"Wait, you...you're interrogating me? What is going on? Where's Lestrade?"

"DI Lestrade had been removed from this case due to conflict of interest."

"Conflict of… What 'interest' would he have a conflict with?"

DI Martz studied John for a moment, a grim expression on his face. "I understand the you and he are...well acquainted. He considers you a friend, and since you are now a suspect-"

"A suspect in what?"

"The disappearance of your flatmate, Mr. Sherlock Holmes."

"That's crazy. I was the one who reported him missing! I've been trying to find him for days. He's my friend, for pity's sake. Why in God's name would you think-"

"We've had some new information come to light."

"What new information?"

"We'll get to that. Now, how long have you known Mr. Holmes?"

"Almost two years."

"And you've been sharing a flat at...221B Baker Street, NW1, London?"

"Yes."

"And Mr. Holmes' occupation is a 'consulting detective' for Scotland Yard and for private citizens?"

"He takes cases, yes."

"And what is your role in these 'cases'?"

"I…" How could he explain what he did? "I'm his assistant."

"And you write a blog about it?"

"Yes."

"And as a result of this blog, the two of you have gained a bit of a following. You're recognizable, to say the least."

"I suppose that's true, yeah," John admitted, wondering where Martz was going with this.

"I understand you recently had a case which involved travel to Dartmoor, to Grimpen Village."

John barely suppressed a shudder. He still had the occasional nightmare featuring the hallucinations he'd experienced in Baskerville and Dewer's Hollow. "We did."

"And while you were there you stayed at the Cross Keys Inn, where you were observed having an argument the second night after your arrival."

"That wasn't… That wasn't an argument. We...Sherlock was a bit...worked up and I was trying to help him calm down."

"And what had him 'worked up'?"

"He saw something he couldn't explain and he didn't handle it well."

"What did he see?"

"A hallucination caused by a drug he unknowingly inhaled."

"I see. And did you suffer from hallucinations as well?"

"Not that night, no."

"But later?"

"Yes. Sherlock was...conducting an experiment to figure out what was going on."

"And he used you as a test subject?"

John's eyes widened in surprise. "How in the hell did you find out about that?"

"I have my sources. How did you feel when you found out what he had done?"

"I was a bit annoyed with him. He apologized...in his own way."

"And you accepted his apology?"

"Yes, of course."

"Still, that wasn't a nice thing to do. If it had been me, I'd have been angry. Were you angry, Dr. Watson?"

"Afterwards, yes. I got over it. Sherlock wasn't the one who drugged me, after all."

"Not for lack of trying." John said nothing. "I'd have wanted a little payback, if it were me."

"Payback doesn't really work with Sherlock. He doesn't understand guilt all that well."

"But it would make you feel better, wouldn't it?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Look, I told you, I didn't do anything to him. I don't know what happened, but I do know grown men don't suddenly vanish into thin air!"

"On that we can agree. So tell me, what did happen to him?"

"I already did tell you, I don't know!"

"You were the last person to see him. The two of you went out to an old abandoned tenement and you were the only one who came back. Yes, you reported him missing, and we haven't found a single trace of him, despite a nationwide search. So tell me, Doctor Watson, what am I supposed to think?"

Before John could respond the door opened again and a familiar, albeit generally unwelcome figure entered the room.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" John exclaimed, his heart thudding in his chest as the significance of this man's presence hit him. "Have you found him?"

Mycroft Holmes studied John with an inscrutable expression for several moments before he turned to the third man in the room.

"That will be all, Detective Inspector. I'll take it from here."

Martz looked like he was about to protest but a look from Mycroft silenced him. He gathered up his folder, took one last look at John and left, closing the door behind him with a bit more force than necessary. Once he was gone Mycroft turned his full attention on John.

"To answer your question, Dr. Watson: no, we have not found my brother."

"You can't possibly think that I had anything-"

"I do not. Your face betrays more than you think, and I have ascertained through observation of your interrogation that you truly do not know what happened to Sherlock."

"But you do?"

"I have a suspicion of what may have occurred. I simply need a few more details."

"Will we be able to find him? We'll get him back?"

"One can always hope."

"Alright. OK. What do you need from me?"

"I need you to start from the beginning."

TBC...