A/N: The first chapter of the story takes place in the year 2016 but the subsequent chapters take place in the year 2017.

*Day 1 Undercover*

Marie Holmes ex soldier and MI6's best field agent entered Ben's pub which was across the street from her lavish penthouse apartment having received a text from her latest target of infiltration Jim Moriarty. Marie knew it wouldn't take long for the world's most dangerous criminal to contact her after her father and boss Mycroft spread a rumor that she went rogue and was now working as a mercenary.

The reason for her undercover mission: Moriarty's threat to cripple the British government. However, despite the seriousness of her assignment she felt ridiculous walking into the pub dressed in a pair of form fitting light grey dress pants and a white blouse.

The foul stench in the air from the hordes of people crammed into the place like sardines made her thankful she skipped breakfast before arriving or it would be all over the floor. How Moriarty could stand to spend any length of time in the pub was beyond her. However, her assignment was to bring said criminal down so she ventured over to the bar where alcohol was being served and sat down on a bar stool to wait for her target to arrive. She ordered herself a rum and coke from the bartender.

She momentarily wondered why she let her mother and handler Kat talk her into taking the assignment and signed already knowing the answer. As a former soldier she was addicted to rush of adrenalin danger brought and there was no one more dangerous than the man that made even Sherlock cringe at the mention of his name. The man that was capable of anything when it came to achieving his goals. However, that didn't mean she had to like the assignment. Not when it meant associating with a man she wouldn't mind turning into fish food and no contact with anyone she cared about. Given what her uncle Sherlock did to occupy his time that didn't sit well with her. She would just have to trust that her ex-fiancé and best friend, John, would be able to care for and protect Sherlock in her absence.

The bartender placed her drink in front of her she downed it in one go and set the glass down on the bar. She then heard the claque of extremely expensive dress shoes against the wood floor and knew her target had arrived.

She turned her body with calculated precision to face him before giving him a once over. The first thing she noticed was his ridiculously expensive Westwood business suit and the second was that he was a thin, small statured man in his mid to late 30's that stood around five foot eight inches tall. The third was that he had impeccably slicked back raven hair and in her opinion very expressive and alluring dark brown eyes. It suddenly dawned on her why Mycroft brow beat her into dressing up.

When Moriarty sat down beside her she caught a whiff of his expensive cologne which smelled of coconut. She was thankful his cologne managed to cover up the stench of the bar.

"Moriarty, I presume." Marie said making sure she sounded indifferent.

"You're correct. I heard through the grapevine that you're looking for a job as an assassin. I had an associate of mine do a background check and I'm impressed. What I want to know is what made you turn to a life of crime?" The Consulting Criminal said as he appraised her with cold, predatory eyes.

"This is going to sound cliché but I want revenge against the government that betrayed me." Marie chuckled darkly.

"If you join my network I can help you get what you want." Moriarty teasingly whispered in her ear as he slid a business card under her hand. "I have moles inside the government." The dark chuckle that accompanied that statement sent a jolt of fury through her body but she knew how to hide her subtle reactions even from someone like Moriarty.

"Let me buy you a drink." Marie said in a stern military voice that brokered no argument as she made a show of sliding his business card into her pocket.

"Irish Whiskey." Moriarty said indifferently.

"You heard the man." She snarled and snapped her fingers at the bartender.

"What happened to make you turn against the government?" Moriarty prodded as he slid closer to her on his stool.

"Someone high up in the government sold information on my military units' whereabouts to ISIS which resulted in the deaths of eight men that I cared for deeply. I've decided the only way I'm going to be able to move on is to find the person(s) responsible for the leak and make them pay dearly for their betrayal." Marie snarled and lashed out by throwing a discarded steak knife at the wall on the opposite side of the pub so hard that it embedded itself into the wall. "I'm sorry I don't usually lose it like that." Marie hissed before taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"That was impressive." Moriarty said sounding truly impressed as he downed his drink when the bartender handed it to him before setting his glass down on the bar beside hers.

"If I wanted to join your network what kind of jobs would I be doing for you?" Marie said as she turned her icy gaze on the Consulting Criminal and glared at him as if she were a lioness about to pounce on a gazelle.

"Whatever I deem necessary but your main role will be to take over the role of sniper so my current sniper can solely focus on his job as my body guard and intelligence gatherer. I assume you're proficient in firearm usage." The Consulting Criminal responded with an equally predatory look on his face already knowing the answer.

Marie rolled her eyes knowing he wanted her to demonstrate her skill with firearms so without a word she stood up and headed for the front door knowing he would follow her. If she was honest she was deadly accurate with any firearm so she could prove her point in the bar. However, she didn't want the death of an innocent on her conscience if something did go wrong. Once the two of them made the short journey out into the parking lot she reached out her hand for the concealed gun she knew Moriarty carried.

He smirked and handed her his Beretta 92FS. She accepted the gun and with the proficiency and speed of an expert firearms handler released the clip to check for bullets and found it full before slamming it back into the gun and flicking the safety off. She then pulled back on the slide to load a round into the barrel and took a deep breath in and out before aiming the gun and pulling the trigger firing a single bullet which hit the antenna of a car parked on the opposite end of the lot. Point made she flicked the safety back on and handed the gun back to Moriarty which he accepted.

"Does that answer your question?" Marie sarcastically remarked.

"My god you are sexy." Moriarty responded his voice rising in pitch with excitement.

"Not exactly the descriptor I would use. Oh, before I forget I brought this for you." Marie said as she un-clipped a sheathed dagger from her belt and handed it to Moriarty. "Think of it as a sign of my respect for you." She said watching as he unsheathed the dagger to get a better look at it.

"You're a real ninja, aren't you? I thought Sebastian was making that part up when he told me about you." Moriarty responded sounding truly awestruck as he ran the middle finger of his opposite hand over the blade. A flicker of dangerous madness flashed in his eyes as he sheathed the knife and clipped it to his own belt.

"Problem?" Marie responded with the same military bark she used when giving orders to soldiers in Afghanistan.

"No. It just means I might have more use for you than I initially thought. I will help you get your revenge against those that betrayed you but you must realize that once you become an official member of my network it's a lifelong commitment." He responded and the lit of his Irish accent coming through made the threat sound even more disturbing."

"I knew that the moment you texted me asking me to meet you. I am a lot like you and your nemesis Sherlock. I deduce things about other people which has both saved my life and put it in jeopardy. I am changeable and mostly do what I do for the thrill but this time it's about avenging the deaths of eight men who died because their government betrayed them. Moriarty I am 100% yours to do with as you please." Marie said as she extended her right hand for a handshake.

"Oh, we are going to have so much fun you and I." Moriarty chuckled only this time it sounded out of amusement as opposed to malice. He accepted her hand and shook it firmly.

It was now official she was undercover working for a deranged psychopath.