AN: Mycroft being who he is, and Mary being who she pretended not to be, this talk obviously had to happen. The deal didn't have to happen, not exactly, but I like to imagine it did – it would rather explain Mycroft's approach in HLV.
I don't own them (I'm not Magnussen to own people). Hope you'll enjoy my view of this.
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Mycroft had known who ‚Mary Morstan' was the moment she first came in touch with John Watson, of course. He had her very closely watched, but her intentions seemed to be quite innocent and she seemed to be good for the doctor, and so he let it be.
Until, of course, Sherlock came back to London.
That changed everything.
Really, even if there wasn't any impure intention left in Miss Raleigh-Anderson, it would still be a wise precaution to speak to her in advance – people with her training didn't react well to unexpected surprises, and who knew what Sherlock had in store for them.
So Mycroft actually thought he was entirely justified in picking her up that afternoon. Not that it would have stopped him if he hadn't.
Of course, picking up Alice Raleigh-Anderson wasn't exactly as easy as getting the attention of her boyfriend had been those years ago. He was well aware that she was always armed, and even without a gun could make a situation difficult.
He was a little apologetic about the way it had to be done, really, and injecting people with things always made him think of Irene Adler – he hadn't liked it when she drugged his brother either, so naturally he could see how Dr. Watson wouldn't like his girlfriend being put under the influence. But regretful as he may be, there was no other way in such cases.
At least he took care to have her comfortably seated when she came, although, of course, she was disarmed and shacked to the chair. The reflexes, again. It was really very unpleasant.
She woke up, looked around herself, took his measure and didn't say a word, exactly as Mycroft had expected.
It was his turn.
"Good afternoon, Miss Raleigh-Anderson," he said, to make the situation clear from the beginning. She didn't seem surprised. Mostly resigned, if something.
"I apologize for the manner of my contacting you," he continued. "It was somewhat urgent, and I was not certain you'd make time for me otherwise. I'll be glad to unlock your shackles now that you are awake and I don't have to worry about a sudden reaction. Though I will be keeping the gun a little while longer, if I may."
She still didn't say anything, so he got up and freed her, then returned to his own chair.
"Now to the purpose of this meeting. You have been in a relationship with Dr. Watson for approximately a year now, living with him for the last six months. I believe you know of his past friendship with the detective Sherlock Holmes?"
She spoke for the first time, finally, and if he wasn't mistaken he saw a little bit of relief in her eyes as she said: "You are Mycroft Holmes."
"Yes. I see Dr. Watson has told you about me. Very kind of him. Now, the reason for your presence here is that Sherlock Holmes, unbeknownst to your boyfriend, is actually alive."
"What?" Even professional assassins could be thrown, it seemed. But then, Sherlock had that effect, dead or alive.
"Indeed," Mycroft said simply. "The faked suicide was necessary for serious reasons which I will not divulge at the moment. The important part is that Sherlock is back in London, and in fact intends to make himself known to your boyfriend just tonight."
"Oh. That is not exactly...convenient," she replied, composed again.
"I suspected as much, and tried to tell my brother, but as ever, he won't take my advice. So I apologize on his behalf for your spoiled evening. One of the reasons I brought you here is that I thought it would be safer for you to be warned in advance."
"As opposed to John? Don't underestimate him."
"I do not doubt his physical abilities, nor his righteous anger, but I also know he would not seriously hurt my brother. You, on the other hand, do not know Sherlock, and you have your training."
She nodded. "How long have you known about me?" She asked.
"Since the moment you met Dr. Watson." He refrained from saying 'obviously,' but his tone conveyed it without words.
Miss Raleigh-Anderson inclined her head again. "I have wondered, when he told me about you. When there was no contact, I simply assumed you didn't care about your brother's friends."
"I gave him my word I would. I do not believe he would have been able to leave otherwise," Mycroft explained, not particularly inclined to admit that he would have cared anyway, for Sherlock's sake.
"So I assume I've been watched?"
"In detail. You still are."
"Oh. All right, then," she accepted easily, sounding actually almost relieved - like her world was making sense again. "And I suppose you want my assurances that I'm not going to touch your brother?"
Mycroft shook his head, slowly and deliberately. "Assurances would not do me much good. First, I want to make it clear what would happen to you if you did – but then I presume you've already deduced that?"
She almost smiled. "Yes. The moment John told me about you, in fact."
"Good. Secondly, I propose a deal. I believe that you will be shortly contacted by one Mr. Magnussen."
She frowned. "The owner of those newspapers?"
"Yes. Also a rather experienced blackmailer," Mycroft added. "You were of little interest to him so far, but with Sherlock, the missing link between me and Dr. Watson, back in the picture..."
"He knows about my past," she deduced quickly.
"He knows about everybody's past," Mycroft pointed out. "That's his business."
"What do you want me to do?"
"I want you to do, just once more, what you were trained to do."
Miss Raleigh-Anderson blinked. "Don't you have your own people for this kind of thing?" She asked.
"Oh, certainly. But he, you see, has people everywhere. The chances of the plan getting to him are too high to risk. You, on the other hand...I'm not really hiring you for that job. I don't want you to do it now, or as soon as possible. Only when – or if – he contacts you. Tell me, if I hadn't told you about this in advance, how would you deal with such situation?"
She only inclined her head, very slightly, to indicate that yes, his deduction had been right. She would have resorted to her old line of work anyway.
"As I'd though. So, all that will change is that I will guarantee you not getting prosecuted. The case will be swept under the rug. Oh, and I will need to be notified after the fait accompli, since a burglary at his...seat would be necessary, of course." He frowned. "It might be useful to get him to tell you some codes, but I don't want to inconvenience you too much – really, do what you'd do on your own, if you prefer not to deal with something so distasteful..."
She seemed amused. "You know who I am. Surely you know I don't mind distasteful."
"Yes, but you choose to abandon that job."
"You can never truly abandon things like this. You cannot go back to...caring. But then I'm sure you know this. And besides, there will be documents about me in his house, too. Getting the codes is in my own interest."
Mycroft smiled and got up, taking her gun out of his inside pocket, handing it to her. "It has been very pleasant cooperating with you, Miss Raleigh-Anderson. My apologies for abducting you in this manner."
She smiled in return as she got up, taking the gun back from him. "Oh, that is quite all right. I understand. I shall take you taking more trouble with me than you had with John as a compliment."
"It certainly was, though I had underestimated your boyfriend, that time," Mycroft said, opening the door for her.
She raised her eyebrow. "Well, the important thing is you don't do it anymore."
"No. And I'll be very careful not to underestimate you," he said, quite serious.
"Then I think we'll get on wonderfully."
And with that, she left, and Mycroft felt very content. That was one more worry off his back.
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AN: If you want more of Mycroft and Mary together, look for Getting A Job on my profile - it shows what happens when Mycroft isn't happy with the way Mary's assignment went...