Deal Me In
By Ravenimperatrix aka Eileen George
Set towards the end of the Great Game and beyond.
Sherlock is the property of BBC Drama, et al..
Alexandra Ravenna and OC's are mine and any unauthorized use will be met with a brace of pistols at dawn.
Chapter 1- Boom!
"No you won't!" the sing-song voice of Jim Moriarty calls behind him as he leaves the pool.
Waiting a moment, then Sherlock sets the gun down, "alright?" he asks of his friend, swiftly removing the dangerous coat and flinging it down away as far a possible. "Are you alright?" he asks again.
Getting a positive answer, he retrieves the automatic and runs out the door, belatedly following his antagonist as John Watson's legs nearly collapse him to he ground as the adrenaline leaves him.
The clang of the metal door proceeds Sherlock's return to the pool, the combination of relief and frustration as his quarry had eluded him. Stalking back and forth, John looks up to him, "are you okay?" he asks pointedly.
A distracted, "Me yeah, fine, I'm fine," returns Sherlock's attention to John. After a moment, he tries to thank him in his awkward manner. "That uh, thing that you, uhm, did, offered to do, that was…..good."
Acting as he hadn't heard him, John observes, "I'm glad no one saw that," to Sherlock's continued pacing.
"Hum?" he queries, finally stopping his perpetual motion, bending slightly towards John.
"You, ripping my clothes off in a darkened swimming pool. People might talk."
"People do little else," he returns with a wry smile.
John snorts in amused agreement an starts to stand when he notices a red laser point on his chest. "Oh," he begins in disgust as a door further away opens with a squeak.
A familiar voice calls out "sorry boys! I'm so changeable!" with a clap of his hands. "It is a weakness of mine, but to be fair to myself, it is my only weakness. You can't be allowed to continue, you just can't."
"I would try to convince you, but everything I have to say, you've already crossed your mind."
Sherlock's back is to Moriarty as reds dots waver on his upper torso and neck as he looks to John. Seeing same realization and agreement from his friend, he answers, "probably my answer has crossed yours," as he turns and aims the automatic at his foe's head, his blue eyes cold and steady.
Slowly, he lowers the gun to point at the semtex and diode covered coat on the ground.
The moment is tense, as if waiting for something to alter the dire circumstances of the stand-off.
Unbelievably, the unanticipated distraction comes from a whistling in the distance, becoming more clear as someone approaches from the opposite side of the pool. The door leading from the women's changing room opens to reveal a seemingly oblivious woman in a black one-piece suit, as the origin of the whistler. Midway through a perfectly decent rendition of Strangers in the Night, towel draped over one shoulder and thongs flapping against the cement floor, she slips her feet out and tosses the towel over-top of them. Taking a hair-stick, she grabs her long black tresses and begins twisting them upon her head as she turns to the pool, finally noticing the tableau across the pool.
Three pairs of eyes take in her presence, each noticing something different.
John Watson sees a beautiful woman who could soon become a casualty of the mad-man who'd until recently had been using him as a walking bomb.
Jim Moriarty sees another possible death he can take joy in.
Sherlock Holmes sees beyond the obvious, taking in her muscle tone and while her face and eyes appear shocked and surprised, her body language seems more prepared for action than fear or flight.
Her arms still over her head, but stilled from their occupation, looks over to the men, her bottom lip quivering as if in fear.
Dismissing her, knowing the men before him would find her presence more problematical for them than for him, he gloats, "looks as if we have a stand off, my dears."
Sherlock, one eye on the new addition and one on Moriarty, keeps the gun steady on the coat.
Moriarty starts to chuckle, as Sherlock watches the woman look from the amused man back to him.
Her eyes roll up in her head as her knees start to buckle and her arms quickly fall forward. What is barely perceptible is the object flying through the air and into the shoulder of Moriarty, until he cries out in pain.
Pulling the metal projectile out of his shoulder as he stumbles back outside of the pool, he doesn't notice the woman cross the metres around the pool in record time to grab both men and drag them flying into the pool as the electronics of the vest receive a signal and explode behind them just after they hit the water.
The concussion throws them all to the far bottom end of the pool. Flaming fabric, wood and metal pieces strike the water and particles of cement rain down. The blast finally dissipates as John and the woman come up for air.
Looking around, John notices the lack of one of their party and shouts, "Sherlock!"
The woman dives down and retrieves his friend from the bottom. John notices the bleeding from the side of Sherlock's head and leads the way to the ladder against the side of the pool. Ascending first, he helps pull his wounded friend from the pool, the woman following right behind.
As she deftly moves to pump the water out of his lungs, John grabs the nearby towel she dropped earlier and places pressure of the bleeding head wound. Bubbled coughing as water escapes from Sherlock's mouth is followed by a weak moan.
John sighs in relief at his friend's signs of life. Suddenly the pool is crawling with Specialist Firearms Command and Emergency Service personnel.
Two uniformed emergency workers with a rolling gurney between the come to the poolside and begin to render aid.
John Watson stands off to one side in disbelief as a man in full tactical gear arrives before the woman now standing tall, her bathing suit dripping, and salutes her. "Ma'am, we've collected all of the snipers, but it appears the primary target has evaded us."
A small burst of communication comes over the radio at his shoulder, he answers and a harried looking DI Lestrade enters the pool.
Hurrying over, he looks over the survivors of the explosion. "Dr. Watson, how's Sherlock?" he nods at the consultant, who was being lifted carefully upon the gurney and strapped in.
"Bit pranged up, but barring anything unusual in the X-rays, he should be fine."
"I'll meet you at the A&E, you go on with him," he ordered. He turns to the woman, "and who the hell are you?"
As the woman begins to speak, she's interrupted buy the man who'd been reporting to her, "Ma'am, need to know."
Giving him a cool stare, "on my responsibility, Lieutenant. Send a detail with the ambulance, I want an armed guard on both men at all times," she sends him off with a flick of her hands.
As the wounded man and his entourage leave the building, John watches the woman step closer to Lestrade and begin speaking.
Ok, folks, this is the beginning, reviews are loved…..cupcakes to all.