CHAPTER ONE
"Sherlock!" John called as he ran up the stairs and into Sherlock's room. He frantically searched for a clue that would tell him where Sherlock was. He flipped through books that were openly scattered across Sherlock's floor, reading every sticky note he came across. A beeping noise that came from the living room drew John's attention away from the books. He walked over to his laptop, which was sitting half closed on the desk. "Damn it, Sherlock." John whispered to himself as he stared at the tracking map pulled up on his computer. He then frantically wrote the location of the blinking red dot down and left.
"So what exactly is your motive?" Sherlock asked. Sherlock inspected the room around him. It was dirty, most likely abandoned. The main electricity line was shut off, or broken, leaving only the small candle like lights on the wall and fire to illuminate the room. The wood flooring and mantel piece warped due to the deterioration of the room ceiling, allowing water, from either a broken water pipe or rain, to exude in. The wallpaper was worn and discolored and began tearing in unusual spots. Sherlock turned to examine the man standing in the room with him. "Not money." He said excluded when he appraised the man's clothing and accessories. A large ring sat promisingly on the man's right-hand middle finger and a gold watch on his left wrist. "Something's missing."
"What?" The man questioned as Sherlock thought aloud to himself.
"Something's missing!" Sherlock said directly to the man this time. Sherlock walked towards the man, making him uneasy. The man removed his left hand from his pants pocket and moved it towards the inside of his jacket. "Ah, I see now." Sherlock stopped and grinned. Then he turned his back to the man and began walking back to his original spot.
"See what?" The man questioned again as Sherlock went back to thinking aloud.
"A ring." Sherlock answered.
"What ring?" The man, still feeling uneasy, moved his hand further inside his jacket.
"Exactly," Sherlock said, turning around the face the man, "the ring that is missing." The man just stared at Sherlock, saying nothing. "On your left hand, ring finger, there is a recent tan line where a ring has been. The skin color matches that of which is always covered by your watch, which means it has only recently been removed. Otherwise it would have been exposed to the sun and even the slightest change in skin tone would have occurred. Either she left you within the last few hours, or the ring is being used as a reminder of what is waiting for you."
"Shut up." The man said defensively.
"Tell me, your motive for murdering hundreds of people is just for the life of one." Sherlock looked confused for a moment.
"I love her!" The man shouted after a moment of silence.
"Love. Yes, well I suppose that would justify it." Sherlock said sarcastically and then laughed. "It doesn't exist."
"What?" The man began questioning again.
"Must you question everything I say? Are you that stupid?!" Sherlock began walking towards him with annoyance. "Love, it doesn't exist. It's illusion that simple people like you create to fulfill a sense of meaning in life."
"Stop." The man demand as he pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at Sherlock, who stood only a foot away from him.
"Do you really think something as inexplicable as love can exist?" Sherlock began throwing question at him.
"Stop it or I'll shot" The man raised his voice.
"You don't really want to kill me." Sherlock laughed. The man just stared at him, trying to make Sherlock believe that he indeed did want to kill him. "Oh come on. If you wanted to kill me you would have done it already. There is obviously no information you wish to obtain from me. So tell me, why am I here?"
"I have no choice." The man began to cry. "I have to save her. He told me that if I ever wanted to see her again that I'd have to get rid of you."
"He? Who is he?" Sherlock backed away from the man.
"I can't tell you." The man continued to cry.
"Then what about all the other people? The bombing?" Sherlock demanded to know.
"He said you would be at the bombing location!" The man cried even harder.
"He? WHO IS HE?" Sherlock began pacing the room impatiently. Then he went back to frantically questioning the man, who still had the gun pointed at Sherlock.
"Can we not go any faster?" John yelled at the cabby.
"I'm sorry, but traffic is backed up." The cabby answered.
"Okay, thank you." John said as he handed the cabby money and then got out of the car and began to run. He was quite familiar with the address seeing as how it was only a block away from Sherlock and his favorite coffee shop. John ran as fast as he could to the location. It was an apartment building that had been abandoned four years ago after a small fire that left a family of three dead. When John reached the building he tried to jerk open the door but the door was locked. He quickly looked around to see if anyone was on the streets, which was unlikely because of the time. He pulled out his gun and shot twice at the door lock. The second blow forced the door completely opened.
"Sherlock!" John yelled as he ran up the stairs. Just as John opened the door to the room Sherlock was in, he raised his gun. The sound of two gun shots filled the air. However, the first gun shot was not his.
The man, holding Sherlock captive, fell to the ground. Sherlock stared blankly at John as he placed his right hand near his left shoulder. Sherlock removed his hand to find blood covering his fingertips.
"Sherlock!" John ran to him as he hit the floor. "Sherlock!" Sherlock heard John screaming his name as his consciousness went in and out. Sherlock tried several times to get up but was forced back down by John who yelled through his forming tears, "Don't get up! You'll only make it worse." The sound of sirens soon approached and surrounded the entrance of the apartment building.
"John…" Sherlock whispered before completely blacking out.
"Sherlock!" John said as the tears freely began to flow. "We need to get this man to a hospital, FAST!" John yelled at the medics entering the room. They carefully put Sherlock on a stretcher and carried him away.