I realised I'd posted this on Ao3 and not here, so I figured I'd put it up now. Written For 'Let's Write Sherlock', Challenge Four, the prompt being to write a fic 1895 words long ending in the word 'obviously'. This was the right length according to Word, which is what I went off.
Warnings: Non-graphic torture and violence, swearing.
John, you have three missed calls from Sherlock. Ring back? Y/N
Y
The mobile you have called is switched off. Please try again later.
You have six new messages from Sherlock. View messages?Y/N
Y
(1) help me 221b please bring
(2) john 221b pleseh elp me
(3) help me cant
(4) help me
(5) help me
(6) help
Dial Sherlock? Y/N
Y
The mobile you have called is switched off. Please try again later.
Dial Mrs Hudson? Y/N
Y
"Hello?"
"It's John. I need you to go check on Sherlock."
"Why, what's he done this-"
"Just do it."
"Alright, I'm going, I'm going. There's no need to get in such a tizzy, I saw him up here just a few-oh."
"What?"
"He's not here."
"You didn't see him leave?"
"No, he was busy with his experiments; you know what he's like. Nearly bit my head off when I asked him if he wanted anything to eat. I suppose he might have gone out whilst I was washing up; I had my music on, and my hearing's not as good as it was…"
"Check all the rooms. Call me back when you've done."
"But John-"
"Call me back."
End of call.
Dial Mycroft? Y/N
Y
"You have reached Mycroft's phone, please leave a message after the beep."
"Mycroft, it's John. I think Sherlock's in trouble. I'm on my way to Baker Street. Call me back."
End of call.
Incoming call: Mrs Hudson. Answer? Y/N
Y
"The flat's empty. I checked everywhere, your room and his room; there's only the bathroom left, and it's locked."
"Bloody hell. You're sure you can't get in?"
"Bolted. I tried shouting, but no reply…"
"Call the police, call an ambulance. Trust me."
"I'll do it right n-ah!"
"Mrs Hudson? Hello, Mrs Hudson? Mrs Huds-"
Call ended. Ring back? Y/N
Y
The mobile you have called is switched off. Please try again later.
Incoming call: Unknown. Answer? Y/N
Y
"John Watson?"
"Yes."
"Do not call the police. Do not call an ambulance. Do nothing, or she dies."
"Prove to me she's alright."
"You're in no position to be-"
"Do it!"
"Oi, lady. Say something."
"Please-"
"Shut up again. Good enough proof, John?"
"What about Sherlock?"
"He's in no state to be saying anything."
"Do I know you?"
"What?"
"Do I know you?"
"No."
"I know you."
"Do you want me to strangle someone? No? Shut up then."
"Who are you?"
"Doesn't matter."
"What do you want?"
"For you to stay away."
"Not a chance."
"Then by all means, come along. I'll kill them both before you can move a step."
"You might kill them anyway."
"I might. But if you come to the flat, I definitely will. And it will always be your fault, John. Think about it."
"You're-"
Call ended. Ring back? Y/N
N
Dial Mycroft? Y/N
Y
"You have reached Mycroft's phone, please leave a message after the beep."
"Shit! Shit, shit, shit! It's about Sherlock. Someone's got him and Mrs Hudson at Baker Street. They're going to kill them. I don't know what they want. Call me back."
End of call.
Dial Greg? Y/N
Y
"Hello?"
"Greg, it's John."
"Have you been running? What's happened?"
"It's Sherlock and Mrs Hudson. Someone's got them both held at Baker Street, they're threatening to kill them if I go anywhere near there."
"Where are you now then?"
"North Gower Street."
"Well, I'm at the office; I can get in contact with the emergency squad in less than two minutes…"
"I'm not calling the police, Greg, I'm calling you. They said they'd kill them if I called the police."
"Why are you calling me then?"
"I want you to listen. I'm going in, and I'm going to find out who this man is. But if he finds me, if it starts getting nasty, I want you to have help on standby. I'm leaving my phone on and the call connected – if you put yours on loudspeaker, you'll be able to hear everything we say."
"No way. He's probably armed-"
"He's not."
"And you're sure of that?"
"Yes. He said to me, these were his exact words – 'do you want me to strangle someone?' If he'd had a gun he would have threatened to shoot them."
"He could still have a knife."
"A knife I can handle."
"John, this is idiotic. What's to stop me calling out a backup squad right now?"
"Have one at the ready if you like, but if you send them before I get him under control we'll all end up dead."
"Jesus."
"The last thing he expects is for me to go in there. I know they're in the bathroom; I might even be able to hear them through the door. Once we know who he is, I'll go in. Even if he kills me, you'll have your evidence. If I can tell him that, he might give in."
"Might being the operative word."
"What do you want me to do, sit back and let them die? Because he will kill them. Not right now, perhaps, but eventually. They always do."
"I've got a squad getting ready. I hear anything down this phone that I don't like, and they'll get to you in under five minutes. If you need them before then, but you can't say, give me a code word."
"Wretched."
"What?"
"The code word. It's the sort of thing I can slip into a sentence without him noticing."
"Wretched. Got it."
"I'm on the stairs."
"I can't hear anything yet."
"Shh. How about now?"
"I can't hear you; you're speaking too quietly."
"Keep your voice down. I can hardly shout; I'm right outside the bathroom. Wait…what about now?"
"Something."
"Good. Now shush."
"I want to know, Sherlock."
"No."
"I will find out. You will tell me. Do it now, and you'll save yourself hell."
"I don't…no…no, ah!"
"Tell me."
"Stop, stop it…please…"
"Tell me."
"Ah!"
"Stop it, stop hurting him!"
"Shut up lady, or I'll gag you. Tell me."
"I don't have it!"
"No-one's coming to save you. You might have thought that texting your flatmate would make him come running, but I don't see him anywhere. I told him I'd kill you if he did, or if he called for help. So no-one's saving you. You might as well tell me."
"I don't, I don't-"
"Tell me where you hid the evidence!"
"N-ah!"
"I know who it is."
"Jesus Christ John, are you hearing this?"
"Greg, please, listen to me. I know his voice – he's from the Evans case. He had a brother, me and Sherlock questioned him ages ago. When's the trial coming up?"
"Couple of weeks."
"Please. Please stop."
"And Sherlock has the evidence?"
"No, we have the evidence. You think we just let Sherlock waltz off with whatever he wants?"
"He thinks so. He must know someone who works in your department, somehow he knows Sherlock sometimes nicks off with things."
"He thinks that if he can get the evidence his brother won't go to jail."
"Must do."
"Shit. I'm calling a squad now. Lay low. They'll be discreet, they'll get in there before he can do anything to Sherlock or Mrs Hudson."
"You don't know that! If he gets any hint they're coming for him, he'll kill them."
"This isn't your problem any more John. He might be armed. Get out of there and let us do our work. Trust me."
"I can't-"
"Trust me."
"Do you want me to move onto her, Sherlock? Do you?"
"I don't have, I d-don't-"
"I'll hurt her!"
"No! No, don't hurt her."
"You're going to tell me where it is then?"
"I can't. I don't know."
"John, are you still there? I can still hear it."
"I'm here."
"Get out then!"
"I'm not leaving them."
"I've got all day, Sherlock. She won't be a lot of use to you as a housekeeper afterward."
"Landlady."
"What?"
"She's my landlady."
"I don't give a rat's arse what she is. All I know is you don't want me to hurt her. So I will, until you give up the evidence."
"Don't."
"Do you want me to go back to hurting you instead?"
"Yes."
"Sherlock, no-"
"Shut up landlady. Alright then. We'll see how long you can hold out before you tell me where the evidence is. Or before you beg me to do it to her instead. Like I said – I've got all day."
"Get out of there John, they're on their way and there's nothing you can do. He might be armed. John? John? Answer me John!"
"I know where it is. I don't have it, I don't have it-ah! You've got to believe me."
"I don't."
"Please, please, pleasepleaseplease…"
"Tell me!"
"I don't have it, help me, someone, someone help us…"
"I can't sit and listen to this Greg."
"Then go; it's only three more minutes, if that. I know it's hard, it's not much fun for me either, but we'll get them out of there. You just have to wait."
"Help me, help m-ah!"
"No-one's coming to help you. Now tell. Me. Where. It. Is."
"Help, please help me, helpmehelpmehelpme…"
"He knows I'm here."
"He does? Get out then!"
"Not Evans. Sherlock. He knows."
"What?"
"There's no-one else he could be calling to. He's not stupid; he wouldn't be shouting for help unless he knew someone could."
"How could he know?"
"He's Sherlock."
"Three minutes John."
"Please, please…ah!"
"That's all you have to do, wait three minutes."
"Please…"
"I. Said. Stop. Shouting!"
"Leave him alone!"
"Shut up lady, or I'll cut out your tongue and shove it down your throat. It's only him I need to talk to. All he needs to do is tell me."
"Help me!"
"John?"
"Help me."
"I'm going in, Greg."
"No, John! John? John!"
"You might as well stop, no-one's coming to get-what the fuck – stay back!"
"Stop it Evans. It's over. They know who you are, and they're coming for you."
"I told you not to come here!"
"I didn't listen."
"I'll kill them."
"You'll have to go through me first."
"Not a problem."
"John!"
"Fuck."
"Ah!"
"John? Are you there? John? John?"
End of call.
Incoming call: Greg. Answer? Y/N
John, you have one missed call from Greg. Ring back? Y/N
Incoming call: Greg. Answer? Y/N
John, you have two missed calls from Greg. Ring back? Y/N
Incoming call: Greg. Answer? Y/N
Y
"John? John for god's sake, are you alright? Is everyone alright?"
"It's fine Greg, we're fine, we're all fine. Evans is unconscious, Mrs Hudson's unhurt. Shaken, but unhurt."
"And Sherlock?"
"He's…"
"What?"
"He's not brilliant. He's cut, and he's lost a fair amount of blood. Evans got to him with a razor. But I've got him wrapped up with towels and I'll call an ambulance in a minute. He'll be alright."
"How did he know you were there?"
"He saw my shadow under the door, managed not to give me away. Kept shouting until I came in."
"Well, much as I'm glad you're all still breathing, what the hell do you think you're playing at? You could have been killed!"
"I couldn't let him get hurt."
"Three minutes! More like one now. They'll be with you any second, they would have done the thing properly….for god's sake…are you hurt?"
"No. I'm fine."
"And you couldn't wait, not even a minute?"
"I couldn't leave him."
"Obviously."
This was a bit of an experiment really, but it was interesting to try.
Thanks for reading, reviews welcome!
The end.