A/N: I feel kind of bad just for having this idea, but I felt that it would make a good, if not somewhat decent story. So here it is, enjoy!
I do not own the geniusly brilliant and brilliantly genius works of either Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Steven Moffat.
The first and only time Sherlock Holmes showed any kind of emotion, aside from misplaced excitement, in all the time that Doctor Watson knew him was one autumn evening when Lestrade came by Baker street. As usual, Sherlock had been quite bored for a few weeks prior. He was staring out the window at Lestrade's lone police cruiser when Mrs. Hudson escorted the DI into the flat. He looked nervous, wringing his hands and staring at his shoes.
"Please tell me you have a new case," Sherlock said while turning to face the detective. "what's happened?" he asked, deciding what his demeanor had to do with the new case.
Lestrade looked up at Sherlock, "I think you'd better just come, this one hits a bit close to home."
Sherlock furrowed his brow, quickly grabbing up his coat and scarf, and followed out the door, Watson close on his heels.
John knew that something was horribly wrong the minute that Sherlock got in the police car. The ride to the crime scene was particularly tense and quiet. Sherlock had an unexplained, unpleasant feeling that something very bad had happened. He hated the not knowing, but judging by Lestrade's behavior, he knew that it was best to just find out in time.
The cruiser pulled up to a seemingly benevolent street with a bit of crime scene tape blocking off an alleyway. The buildings to either side and people crowding around concealed the body undoubtedly left there. Sherlock bolted out of the car and started towards the end of the alleyway and the crowd split at the sight of him. A bad sign indeed. The closer he got, the stronger that unpleasant feeling got. He could now classify it: dread.
Step by step, he slowed. The body became clearer and clearer as he got closer and eventually, he was standing directly over it. His eyes purposely skimmed up from the man's expensive-looking shoes, his designer trousers and sleek yet worn black jacket (fresh gasoline stain on the left side of the chest), and finally up to the face.
Sherlock had recognized the man from the moment he saw the body, face up on the pavement. Even so, the shock didn't really strike him until he laid eyes on the pale, drained face. He was rendered speechless staring down at the corpse as Lestrade and John came up behind him.
First came John, he stopped short as soon as he saw the man, a barely audible "Oh my god," escaped his mouth.
Lestrade sauntered up shortly after. "I'm so sorry."
The detective said nothing, futilely searching for his usual stony emotional mask to cover the shock. He simply stared down at the pale face of Mycroft Holmes, whose eyes were set in a blank stare straight upwards.
Sherlock eventually tore his own eyes away from the face of his dead brother and decided that he had a job to do, and he had a hunch. "Has anyone got a match?" he said, no sign of a quiver in his a voice. He spun on his heel, looking for an answer. Lestrade pulled out a matchbook and handed one to him. He crouched over the chest and struck the match on the pavement. Though surely the whole crowd was confused, no one would dare question him at the moment. If there was one thing Sherlock knew about his brother, it's that he would never go near any type of grime, especially not in his good suit.
He gently brought the flame over the stain on Mycroft's chest, it quickly lit up. Sherlock stood back and looked over the inevitable clue: a capital 'J' connected to a capital 'M' in flames over Mycroft's heart, confirming all of their worst fears.
"It's Moriarty."
A/N2: Another chapter to come. I'm not making any promises that it will be updated soon though seeing as I still have Shadow Puppets to write. Please please PLEASE review!
P.S. I've woven a secret message into this chapter. It's double encoded with a cipher. I may do this with all the chapters, but never the same kind. Good luck and PM me if you find it!