Summary
Sequel to "The Silent Banker"
They may be home, but life still goes on for Rose Spencer. And life has a little reminder to give her.
A Silent Reminder
Rose Spencer sat on the floor of her room, sketch pad leant against her knees, pencil in hand, drawing a lone, large cat's eye on her page, making sure to get all the detail she could get into the picture.
A few hours ago, she had accepted Sherlock's offer to become his assistant, and worked out some of the finer points in the agreement. She was happy and eager to learn, but after everything that had happened in the past few days she just wanted some alone time at the moment and drawing in her room was just what the doctor ordered.
However, her peaceful atmosphere was rudely thrown aside at the sound of her mobile buzzing in her pocket. She considered ignoring the message until later, then figured that it may actually be important, and so took out the phone, frowning at the words on the screen, sighing deeply.
Put kettle on? Wont be long.
The message was from Zach, and it could only serve to disturb her relaxing bubble. With a huff at the brother that wasn't there to see it, she got up off the floor and went to put the kettle on, hoping for the best.
Going into the kitchen she called out. "Drinks, guys?"
"No thanks." Said John, and Sherlock only gave a short "hm."
Rolling her eyes, she took out two cups, and put coffee in them for Sherlock and Zach. Waiting for the kettle to boil, she went to the living room.
"Should probably warn you both, Zach's on his way." She said a little irritably, hands shoved in her pockets.
"Zach?" Questioned the detective.
"My brother, Sherlock." She smiled, getting a look of understanding and slight mischief from him. That can't be good, she thought.
"Warn?" Asked John carefully, having not been there to see their argument before.
"Argument, John." Supplied Sherlock.
"Ah." Replied John, looking a little unsure. "You want us to leave, or go out or something?" He offered, Sherlock looking a little put out at the idea of leaving.
Rose just chuckled, giving him a smile. "No, of course not! Hey, enjoy the show!"
Sherlock put down his book, and looked like he was planning to do just that when there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." He smiled coldly.
As he left to get the door, Rose looked at where he had been sitting and muttered, "Oh, god…"
John looked at the door way, just as shocked as Rose. Looking back to her, he said, "Nothing good can come from Sherlock answering the door." She just nodded, going back to the kitchen to finished making drinks.
As he pulled open the door, Sherlock found the familiar, shorter man standing on the door step; brown hair as messy as it had been before, dressed in all black. Sherlock just grinned as he saw the flicker of irritation in the man's eyes
"Come on in, Zach." Said Sherlock, and even Zach knew that he was weirder than usual.
Zach entered the dark hall, and made his way up the stairs, keeping an eye on Sherlock at all times. Something just told him not to trust the taller man.
As he sat on the sofa, Zach saw his sister come in from the kitchen, cup of coffee in each hand. He hadn't missed the cut on her cheek, nor the new man in the chair across the room. Rose gave Sherlock a cup, then brought one over the Zach, sitting next to him on the sofa. She indicated to the new man in the room.
"Zach, this is Doctor John Watson, my other flatmate. John, this is my brother Zach. And Zach, you already met Sherlock." She started, making half hearted introductions. John got up and shook Zach's hand.
"Nice to meet you," Said Zach politely, earning a tight smile from John, who went to sit back down, going back to his book, trying to give them some space. Sherlock however, sat watching them, sipping his coffee, looking as though they were the detective's own version of live television.
"So, how have you been?" Rose asked, trying to start a conversation that wouldn't be awkward.
"You know, university. Life's as boring as always." He replied, using one of his sisters old phrases; after all she wouldn't need that one anymore. "And you? See you've cut your face." He said, pointing to her cheek, then smiling jokingly. "Get into a fight?"
Rose went a little red and was about to answer with another joke, carefully not giving an explanation, when Sherlock intervened. "Oh, that's nothing." He said in an off handed manner, getting a sharp look from Rose. "You should see her neck."
She swallowed a little painfully; she had covered her neck with the bandana Mycroft had given her, hiding the gruesome bruises from sight.
"Sherlock." Came a warning voice from behind a book in the corner.
"What?" Asked the too innocent reply from Sherlock, as though he didn't know exactly what he was doing.
"What's wrong with her neck?" Zach asked Sherlock, who went to reply, but was cut off before he could even start.
"Nothing." Said Rose in a hard voice. "It's fine."
Zach turned his gaze to his sister again, seeing her look completely relaxed, but saw the look she was giving her freaky flatmate; he was once again reminded what a good liar she was. Frowning, he told her. "Show me." Pointing to the bandana around her throat, noticing that something was different, but not too sure what.
Sherlock caught a bit more though, like how the way the fingers of her right hand tugged and pulled at the boneless skin of her left hand and recognised the sign; she was getting stressed and wanted a cigarette.
"There's nothing to see!" Rose insisted. But Zach just leant forward and pulled the bandana away from her skin in one swipe, irritating the raw skin of her neck, making her hand snap up to stop the itch somehow.
As he saw the purple and blue marks on his little sisters neck, Zach felt himself get incredibly angry that someone would hurt her. She may act independent, but at the end of the day she was just a fragile little girl, trying to be the big "I am." As she raised her hand to her delicate colourful skin, he saw the bandages on her wrists and grabbed her forearm to try have a better look.
As she felt his small hand grab her arm, she snatched it away, not liking to be manhandled. She gave him a cold look; he knew that.
"What the hell happened?" He said quietly, not looking her in the eye.
"It's kind of a long story…" She said as casually as she could.
"Then give me a summary!" He demanded, voice raising.
Rose had never liked it when her brother shouted, and still didn't; it scared her for a reason that she couldn't fathom.
She took a deep steadying breath, and started to explain. "Well, I was helping out a friend with a problem. They had uncovered something that could get people hurt, and I offered to help… but it turned a bit …ugly…" She summarised, knowing that if her brother found out the full extent of what happened it would only cause more problems; for all of them. Sherlock just raised an eyebrow at her lack of details.
Zach sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "What sort of problem?" Thinking it was a domestic situation; hoping it was just that.
Rose just mumbled, and Zach let out a long, irritated growl of her name.
She looked up to him, the pair of them sort of forgetting their audience in the room. "It was a gang of international smugglers… and murderers." She said in a low voice. She knew he wouldn't approve of her new life.
"What?" Came the predictable shout of disbelief. The answer had instantly drained him of anger, replacing git with a surprise and disbelief so strong he didn't see the seriousness in her face and voice. John looked up at the outburst, knowing Sherlock wouldn't intervene but the good natured doctor was hesitant to disrupt the siblings.
"You heard me." She said, getting a little angry herself.
"You?" He questioned her. "You? Chasing gangsters and murderers? Don't make me laugh! You're just a child!"
"I'm not a child anymore Zachary! I can take care of myself!" She insisted, getting defensive. She hated being called a child more than being called dear.
"Oh, and you look like you've done such a great job so far! You've lived on your own for just over a fortnight, and you're already battered and bruised more than fruit in a blender!"
Sherlock smirked at the entertainment, but thought he should defend his friend a little. "Actually, she gave a lot worse than she got." He spoke calmly and Rose thought she could even detect a hint of entertainment in his tone; like when he had an interesting case, but without the crippling sense of urgency.
Zach rounded on him though, a fire in his eyes that had nothing on the one in Rose's or Sherlock's. John thought it seemed more warm compared to the burning stares he had seen from his flatmates. "And you! I thought you were a Detective! Where were you when all this was happening?"
Sherlock opened his mouth to reply - probably with a smart-aleck comment that would only add fuel to the fire - but Rose beat him to the punch again.
"He was saving my life! At least three times in three days, if I'm right!"
"Sure!" Replied Zach sarcastically. "Look at him! He's just a tall stick! What can he do?"
Wrong move, thought John. Sherlock would take most insults with a pinch of salt, and usually give as good as he got, but John knew the one thing he would not accept was being underestimated. He was proved right when Sherlock gave Zach a cold smirk, and slowly got up from his seat, standing at his full height, walking over to Zach, who had seen the approach as a challenge. The shorter, rougher man got up from his seat on the sofa, moving forward with purpose and raised his fist, ready and aimed at the taller man's gut.
However, Sherlock got there first.
Grabbing the shorter mans fist, he tightened his grip, not enough to break anything, but enough to cause pain. After a few seconds, the detective pushed back, causing Zach to fall on his butt, hand cradled to his chest. He looked up to see the taller man standing over him, intimidating in size.
"I know enough to break you down, and can find out a lot more to make you run for your life.
"I know you pride yourself on being an honest man, even though you manipulate everyone around you; even those you call friends. The same friends you had a party with last night and got a bit too drunk with. Drunk enough to call your brother and agree to check on the little sister for him. He worries, but you don't give a damn, but you swear that you're an honest person, and so you stick to your word. But that same night, you decide to make a big mistake and try to sleep with a friend's girlfriend. But he caught you, and you got into a little scuffle. Now he's ignoring you, and will most likely never trust you again."
Rose was torn between her habit that she always defended her family, against anything. But at the same time, Zach was being a sod. She decided to just let it unfold; if Sherlock over stepped the line, she would push him back.
"You also have a girlfriend, though not for long it seems, you haven't been to see her since the party, and don't quite know how to find out if she knows what you did. That's ok, I'll tell you that one. She does know, she's not stupid you know. But you haven't told your family about her, not even your caring brother. Now that could be for one of two things, but a bit of both in my opinion.
"First, you think your family is too nosey for their own good, and they will only tease you and want to meet her. You think it will scare her off, and I have to say, I would agree with you there. Second, is that you are subconsciously ignoring your family. They think it's on purpose but the truth of the matter is that you simply don't care enough, don't think about them enough to even consider contacting them.
"Now, I would suggest you not make the mistake of underestimating me again Zachary, or I may have to use methods that I am certainly not afraid to use." He finished with a wide, and honestly, frightening grin.
Zach just stared at the man for a few seconds. He was dumbfounded by everything the man had known. The sound of a lighter clicking broke him from his trance. He turned his head to the side, seeing his little sister on the sofa, smoke drifting from her mouth as she breathed out, a white stick in her hand.
Sherlock had made his way back to his seat when he noticed Rose reaching for a cigarette. He knew what she was doing, and he felt a little proud of her for doing such a thing; he quickly stamped it down though. Feelings only distracted him from seeing the important things happening around him; like John's silent curiosity, the flicker of bravery and confidence in Rose's eyes, and the utter horror in her brother's.
"And you smoke now?" He said angrily, forgetting about the tall man who had known so much about him.
"Oh, give me a break!" She said irritably. "I've smoked for years!" She smirked as he stood up, heading towards the door.
As he got there Zach turned around, trying to get the last word in, as always. But Rose had expected this and spoke just as he turned to her.
"Tell Becca I said hi."
He paled, and she smirked. Clearing his throat, he asked, "How did you know that?"
"A friendly stalker told me." She turned to Sherlock. "Did you deal with them yet?" He nodded, knowing what she was talking about. "May want to double check."
Sherlock's expression turned sour at the thought that he had missed one of Mycroft's cameras, but he knew that he would double check anyway, if only to put his mind at rest again. Zach looked incredulous though.
"He's texting you? And it doesn't bother you?"
"Not really, though I wonder how he got my number." Just to annoy him, she added, "He's quite charismatic really."
He grimaced at his sister, thinking that she had probably lost her marbles. To call a stalker charismatic! "Well, haven't you found yourself a man for all seasons." She blushed slightly, not missing his insinuations. "Well, I'll be sure to let the parents know about this." He said, motioning to her person, hand lingering on the cigarette in her hands.
She just stood up to her full height, taller than him, and walked purposefully over to him, taking a long pull on her cigarette as she went. Standing in front of him, she blew the smoke in his face.
"Bring it!" She growled lowly to him, a slow burning challenge in her dark blue eyes.
He just huffed, trying not to cough from the smoke in his face, and turn to walk down the stairs, slamming the door on his way out.
They all stayed where they were for a few seconds, before Rose spoke in a tight voice.
"So there you have it John. That was Zach." With that, she followed her brother down the stairs, and went to her room.
The men just watched her, different things on their minds.
The detective sat at the desk was wondering where his tricky brother could have possibly hidden another camera and how quickly he could find it. His thoughts were also paranoid; if he missed a camera, what else had he missed?
The doctor in his chair was wondering if his friend would be alright after what had just happened. He knew from experience what siblings could be like when they judged you for your choices, and didn't agree with the life you lived.
And the man in the office was wondering what the phrase had meant. A man for all seasons? He found himself frowning in contemplation and resolved to find out all he could about the tiny phrase. It had made the young woman blush ever so slightly, but he didn't even know what it mean. But he would find out.