The Man in Black
Sherlock and John walked quickly into their flat and hurried up the stairs. John sat down with the laptop and started to blog about the case they had just finished that day. Sherlock flopped down on the couch, after putting his robe over his clothes, and laid down straight on his back. He put his hands over his mouth in a praying stance and closed his eyes.
John took a sip of his tea and looked at Sherlock; being the most quiet he had been in a long time (3 days to be exact). He chuckled to himself and went back to typing. Suddenly, Sherlock jumped up from the couch and grabbed his scarf and coat.
"We need to go somewhere…" Sherlock said, "Let's go, John. We need some air". He headed down the stairs and before he opened the door, he yelled, "We're going out, Mrs. Hudson. No point in waiting for us!" He heard a distant response of," Ok dear, have fun!" from another room and started to walk out the door.
John was definitely not in the mood to go anywhere. He had a horrible date with a woman named Corey the night before; filled with car chases, gun shootings, and Sherlock almost getting them killed. But he had to go, because it is never good to leave Sherlock alone, especially at night when his mind is running with thoughts. John grabbed his coat and phone and ran out the door to catch up with Sherlock, who was already down the road.
The 2 men walked for quite some time before they appear upon a little pub and walk inside. They took the seat near the window as the bartender came to see what they wanted.
"Nothing for us, thanks" Sherlock said before John could say anything. The man shrugged and started to walk away when John quickly added, "But, I'll have a glass of water, thanks". The bartender nodded and went behind the bar. Sherlock and John were quiet for a long time. Sherlock was staring out the window, only looking at John when he took a sip of his water.
"Ok…" John started, "What is it? I know that face. What's going on?" Sherlock sat up in his seat and put his elbows on the table. He leaned forward slowly.
"Don't look now, but a man out there has been following us since we left Baker Street." Sherlock said quietly. John slowly turned around and saw a man in all black with a gun in his hand. He was wearing a hat that covered his face, so John couldn't see what the man looked like.
Sherlock slapped his face and John jumped back in his chair. "You idiot!" Sherlock yelled, as quietly as he could, "I told you NOT to look". Sherlock looked out the window and saw the man, starting to head towards them. Sherlock got up quickly and grabbed his phone off the table, "We have to leave…NOW!" John got up and followed Sherlock, who had gone behind the counter, looking for a back door.
"HEY! You're not allowed behind here" the bartender screamed as they made their way through the crates of beer and wine in the back and out the door.
"Sorry!" John yelled quickly as he followed Sherlock, who was already halfway down the street, walking rather fast. When John caught up with him, he could see Sherlock was shaking and looked kind of afraid. John wasn't used to Sherlock being afraid, so he knew something was very wrong. Sherlock started to run as he heard the footsteps of the man in black getting closer. They speed to a nearby ally and ran to the other side.
"Sherlock…" John started. Sherlock looked at John, scared and serious and John knew this wasn't the time to talk. They neared the other side of the ally when John started to slow down a bit. Suddenly, Sherlock grabbed his hand and started to almost drag him down the street, speeding up whenever he could. John quickly got his breath back and got a better grip of his hand. The 2 ran down the street and into another ally. They pressed up against the wall, trying to confuse the man.
"You know…" John started, gasping between each word to catch his breath." You just… willingly…grabbed my hand. If I know…the real Sherlock, he would have...never done that." Sherlock just stared at him, trying to smile, but he couldn't. He looked serious on the outside, but inside, he was scared for his and his friend's life. They caught their breath and ran back out into the street.
"Sherlock, People better not…"
"SHUT UP AND RUN" Sherlock yelled. They ran as fast as they could as they heard the man's footsteps get closer and closer. When they finally made it to Baker Street, Sherlock and John ran to 221B, slammed open the door, slammed it back shut, locked it and ran up the stairs.
The 2 men looked at each other; they ran to look out the window. The man in black was staring back up at them, the gun pointing up at the sky. 3 gunshots were heard and the man walked away, disappearing into the night. Sherlock and John backed away from the window and fell into their chairs at the same time. They were gasping for air and in between each gasp was a small laugh of some sort.
"What the hell was that about" John said when he caught his breath. They both laughed quietly for what they just went through and John went to make some more tea."Would you like some tea, Sherlock?"
"No thanks, John" he said. While John was in the kitchen, Sherlock heard a beep on his phone. He took it from his pocket and look at the message. It read: Come here, Sherlock. Something's wrong- MH. Sherlock sighed and under his breath said, "Oh for God's sake" His brother, Mycroft was sitting in his office waiting for a response. His phone beeped and he saw the response of: Not right now, brother. I just had a very long night- SH.
Mycroft sighed, remembering his brother's stubbornness from childhood. Mycroft sent a message back saying: I know…That's what it's about- MH. Sherlock sighed, remembering his brother's bossiness from childhood. He got up and grabbed his coat again. John came in as Sherlock started down the stairs.
"Where are you going?" John asked confusingly. Sherlock sighed and put his hand up to John's shoulder.
"I have to go back out'' Sherlock sighed, "It's Mycroft. He knows something about what went on tonight." John put his teacup down and stood in front of Sherlock, blocking the door.
"Are you serious?" John asked, yelling. "We ALMOST DIED just now…again! I'm not letting you go back out there by yourself and I'm certainly not going back out" Sherlock pushed John out of the way and pulled him aside.
"John…" He started," I like that you are worried for my safety, but I'm also worried for yours, and Mrs. Hudson's. If your lives are in danger, I must try to stop it. I promise I'll be back before you know it. I promise…" And with that, John watched the great Sherlock Holmes walk back out into the night, not knowing if he would ever return back on Baker Street.
