I walked down the dark alleyway, the cold London wind whipping my braid around the back of my head, almost like it was pulling it away from me. Holding my braid with my hand, I fumbled for my keys into my flat. The wind was freezing my fingers and making them numb, so it took me a while to actually unlock my door. Inside my flat it was normal, a chair and a kitchen, save the pistol sitting on the table. I threw my keys onto the couch and picked up my phone. There were two text notifications on the home screen:
From: Definitely Not Jim Moriarty
Get the guns and follow Sebastian's orders. Get to your positions at the pool and make sure to only shoot at my mark.
-Jim Moriarty
I haven't been able to bring myself to open that message. He texted his entire ring of snipers and gunmen, including me, after Sebastian Moran informed us about what to do at the pool, so I didn't open it at first. Now that Jim Moriarty is dead, and he is the man that managed to get me this flat, I just didn't feel like opening the message. Sure, the only reason Moriarty got me this flat was because I was one of his gunmen, but hey, I'll take what I can get. The second message read:
From: (Unknown Number)
Meet me at the top of St. Bartholomew's Hospital at 7:00 AM tomorrow, Kati.
-SM
As I read the text, I thought it was some message in which someone typed in the wrong number, but after I read my name, I knew it was meant for me. The initials seemed very similar. They may be Sebastian Moran's but you never know. The next morning I put on dark clothing, because if the text really is from Sebastian Moran, the only reason he would text me is for purposes that involve guns. I put on a black tank top, green camouflage pants, and combat boots. My hair was put up in a braid as always.
I put the pistol in my pocket and headed for St. Bartholomew's Hospital. The hospital is where Moriarty shot himself and Sherlock "killed himself". Sherlock Holmes is still alive, somehow. I try not to think too much into it, as the whole concept makes my head hurt. I saw no one on the roof, but snuck into the hospital and got to the roof. On the roof I didn't see anyone at first, but heard a voice say:
"You're the first one here."
The voice belonged to Sebastian Moran, no doubt about it. I slowly walked around to roof and saw him leaning against the side of the rock protecting the edge of the roof where I couldn't see him at first. He was armed with a sniper rifle.
"What do you need that for?" I asked.
"Just in case."
"Why did you call me here? It's been years and Sherlock Holmes has dismantled Moriarty's crime ring."
"Maybe we could possibly patch the crime ring back up again. Moriarty was just the spider at the center of the web. We just need to fix it."
"So… travel to multiple countries, some halfway across the world, learn new languages to communicate, and somehow get all of these assassins out of jail. Sounds pretty simple." I answered sarcastically. "There are only two of us, Sebastian."
"I'm not stupid. I've called a few people who haven't fled to other countries or gotten themselves thrown into jail or executed. They should be here soon." Sebastian assured.
"Who are they?"
"You'll learn of them soon enough."
That wasn't comforting. Although all of us shared a common denominator, Moriarty, some of them were pretty mean. Mean for snipers and gunmen, of course. We waited maybe twenty minutes and the first person showed up. It was a woman about my age, with red hair and grey eyes. She wore a black leather jacket, grey jeans, and black sneakers.
"I made it." She greeted us. "The name's Theresa Vail. Nice to meet you."
We discussed our next move until the fourth person walked onto the roof. He wore a green t-shirt and black pants, accompanied by black shoes, and had dark, almost navy blue hair. He introduced himself as Axel Warren.
"Okay, good. Four people to somehow pull a huge criminal web back together," I said.
"I only expect the web to stay in London and parts of the United Kingdom. Jim Moriarty wanted to destroy Sherlock Holmes. We'll aim to do so. Instead of approaching as Moriarty did, we'll stay in the shadows and pick off everyone Sherlock Holmes treasures." Sebastian explained.
"Moriarty used to play games. Strapping bombs to people and giving Holmes a set amount of time to solve a case and save the person. Are we going to do that?" Axel asked.
"I'm sure. It seems like the correct thing to do." Sebastian answered. "First, we need more people in the crime web. I've already tracked down our first target, a sibling Sherlock has besides Mycroft. He seems unaware that she exists."
"Who is it?" Theresa asked.
"Her name is Lyla Holmes. A consulting detective, just like her brother." Sebastian informed us.
Sebastian Moran seems like the person in authority here, he gave orders that we would find Lyla's location by two days from now and kidnap her. As I walked back to my flat I thought about my allegiance to Moriarty's crime ring, which seems like it's being slowly rebuilt. The only reason I joined was because Moriarty offered me a good monthly pay and a roof over my head. The side effects of that included:
Me learning how to shoot a gun
Me becoming a trained assassin
Me watching my own boss and colleagues die right in front of me
But hey, the money's worth it, right? I thought about Lyla Holmes and why we're targeting her. She seems so innocent that I feel like it's wrong to interfere with her. Sherlock doesn't even know that she's alive. I don't even know if she's actually related. She probably is. I questioned the entire plan. Why kidnap a girl Sherlock doesn't even know? It's been more than a year, but I guess we have to start somewhere. I finally came to the conclusion that I would work with Sebastian Moran, Axel Warren, and Theresa Vail for now. I don't know. With only four people working at this, it can't get all that big. Can it?