"He can never know, of course."
The heavyset man nodded. It was a simple request – order – to fulfill, especially considering what he was being offered in return. "Of course," he replied easily.
The woman in front of him narrowed her eyes, suspicion radiating from every inch of her. Not many others would have recognised it – but then, he hadn't gotten to where he was by being like other people. "I don't think you quite appreciate just what you're being offered here," she said, her voice faintly tighter than it had been before. "Getting you out of here is not an insignificant undertaking, and the rest of what you have been offered has taken even more work. If he even so much as suspects-"
"You can tell your superior to stop worrying so much," he said, cutting her off. "I am not unfamiliar with the Holmes family, after all. He knows as well as I do for just how long I managed to stay under his radar, and from what you have told, the younger one isn't as observant as he is. It will be no trouble at all."
"You know that isn't all you have to do, correct? The price of this is more than making sure that you under Sherlock Holmes' radar."
The heavyset man waved away her concerns. "I've known that for some time now. As soon as this meeting is over, I will be dead. Anything and everything that can be linked back to me – paper or otherwise – will be erased. I accepted that already, you know that."
The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And you're willing to do this?"
The man laughed. "The price of freedom…there is no one who will miss me. I suspect that that is part of the reason your superior chose me for this job. And, of course, there is also the added benefit that staying under his radar has meant that there is almost no one aware of my doings, and he knows all that are. I am more than happy to accept if that means freedom from here."
The second eyebrow went up, but this time, he was sure that he had somehow managed to impress her.
'I must admit, I had my doubts when Mr Holmes told what he was planning on doing, but I think I might have been wrong. Perhaps this will all work out," she murmured.
"The documents," he demanded, tired of talking to her already.
"You need to learn how to control your temper if you want this to work," she chided, handing over the bunch of papers in her hand at the same time. "Congratulations, Mr Angelo Cuoco. I expect I'll hear good things about your restaurant."
A/N: I felt like doing something a bit different :)
I hope you guys liked it! As always, please don't forget to drop a review on your way out :)
