"I cannot believe I let you convince me to break the law!" Elizabeth sighed, putting her face in her hands.
She and Sherlock were currently in a holding cell in Scotland Yard. They had broken into a suspect's house in order to catch him red-handed. They had been successful of course. The criminal had been apprehended. But apparently, Lestrade felt that breaking the law in order to catch a dangerous man still warranted punishment.
This was their punishment.
Sherlock and Elizabeth had to stay the night in the holding cell. Lestrade would let them out when he got here in the morning.
"In my defence, it didn't take a lot of convincing," Sherlock replied.
"Be glad John isn't here," Elizabeth said. "He would be giving you hell for this."
"And you aren't?" Sherlock quipped.
"I don't count. I'm your kid. I'm supposed to respect you and obey you. John doesn't have to, he chooses to."
"You both have a need for thrills and adventure. He was a soldier. You get yours from me."
"Why is it that I get most of my flaws from you?" Elizabeth asked coyly.
"I don't know, ask your chromosomes, see if they know."
"I don't understand! I was just following you!" Elizabeth ranted. "Why is Lestrade punishing me for obeying my father?"
"He is punishing you for not talking me out of it."
"Like I ever could've!" Elizabeth pointed out. Sherlock nodded in agreement.
"You are the only one who could possibly have a chance, though," Sherlock remarked.
"Again, I'm your kid," Elizabeth argued. "You don't have to listen to me. I think you listen to John more than anyone else."
"No. John is the voice of my conscience," Sherlock said. "He's the one in my head telling me what's right and what I should do. You're the voice in my head telling me to do whatever I can to catch the criminal no matter the consequences."
"Oh, so I'm the little devil sitting on your shoulder, and John's the white angel?" Elizabeth chuckled.
"In a way, I guess."
Elizabeth thought about that analogy for a moment. Then she said, "Well as the little devil, I suggest that we try and break out of here."
"Little angel John disagrees," Sherlock laughed.
"When do you ever listen to him?" Elizabeth replied, grinning.
"True," Sherlock did a quick deduction of the cell. Elizabeth watched and waited to see if he came up with anything.
"I don't see anything helpful," Sherlock confessed after running about the cell for a few minutes.
"We could pull the fire alarm," Elizabeth pointed to the wall where an alarm was in fairly easy reach.
"That's not clever at all though," Sherlock shook his head. "We are Holmeses. We will be clever or die."
"Or rot in a cell overnight," Elizabeth finished.
"Do you have anything useful in your pockets?" Sherlock asked. Lestrade had taken their coats from them, along with their phones, wallets, and Elizabeth's book.
Elizabeth searched the pockets of her jeans, "I've got three pounds, a packet of sugar, and... yes...a paperclip!" She offered the clip to Sherlock, who took it and began to fuss with the lock. He had it open within two minutes.
"May I ask," Sherlock said as they went into Lestrade's office in search of their coats, "why the sugar packet?"
"Habit," Elizabeth explained. "My friend Adrian is a diabetic."
"Why aren't they in here?" Sherlock wondered, puzzled after they had looked in every corner of the office.
"Maybe he left them in the bullpen," Elizabeth suggested. They went out to the desks. They didn't find the coats.
But they did find Elizabeth's book. Little Women was sitting on Donavan's desk. A note on top of it read: We aren't idiots. We knew you would get out. Have fun finding your things. P.S. I think Anderson set some pretty interesting traps for you. See you in the morning, Lestrade.
"Great," Elizabeth sighed. "Book, check. Now two wallets, two coats, and two phones to go."
"We'll find them," Sherlock seemed very confident. "After all, he did say Anderson set the traps."
Bright and early the next morning, Lestrade walked into Scotland Yard. Anderson had left some pranks for Sherlock and Elizabeth the night before, but Lestrade figured that the Holmeses' were probably long gone.
He was very surprised and amused to find Elizabeth and Sherlock trapped in a net, suspended from the ceiling. Anderson must have spent a fortune on that net! They were hanging about three feet from the floor.
"Learn your lesson, jailbirds?" Lestrade could barely hold his laughter at bay.
Sherlock and Elizabeth scowled in annoyance.
When they walked out of the bullpen, Lestrade could have sworn he heard Sherlock make a remark,
"Anderson doesn't know who he's messing with!"
Soo... Continue with Sherlock and Elizabeth's revenge?