Anthea is waiting on the helipad at the transit authority when Molly arrives with Lestrade, Donovan, and a few other officers in tow. The PA is casually tapping away at her Blackberry as they approach, she looks up and, much to Molly's surprise, smiles warmly.
"Dr. Hooper. I'm glad you chose to join us."
"Choice implies that there were other options available to me. There weren't. This is where I am needed and where I have to be," Molly says casually, but there is a subtle note of ferocity in her tone.
Anthea smirks knowingly and nods, "Very well. We have 3 helicopters at our disposal, given the team you've brought, that should be sufficient. Seeing as how the security at Sherrinford has clearly been compromised, we will also be accompanied by Her Majesty's Navy and Coast Guard. Any resistance on the part of the island's security will be dealt with in short order." She drags her gaze across the slap-dash group of bobbies behind the pathologist and gestures toward the helicopters.
Lestrade seems hesitant, if only due to Molly's unusually domineering attitude, but he waves his men on and they disperse amongst the choppers. Molly casts a glance over her shoulder at Greg, she furrows her brow and jerks her head in the direction of the larger aircraft, where Anthea has already seated herself beside the pilot and secured her safety belt and earphones. The pathologist pulls herself into a seat and watches Greg reluctantly clamor in behind her while she settles herself in, as Anthea had.
"Molls…" Greg begins, sitting himself next her and buckling his seat belt. Molly turns to him, eyes wide and expectant, he continues, "Are you sure you want to come along? We have no idea what we're going walking into and you've no formal training for this sort of thing. Hell, I could get in deep shit for bringing you along at all!"
Molly snorts. Greg looks at her questioningly as she laughs, "And here I thought I was bringing you along." She doesn't say anything more, turning her attention to the window, watching the rotors gain momentum and the ground slowly drift away beneath her. She shuts her eyes tight, the motion of flight stirring in her chest and nauseating her. She takes several deep breaths, and looks out over the Thames as the city slips away.
The flight into Sherrinford takes about 2 hours, there is little discussion amongst the passengers with her, aside from Lestrade communicating with his team and the military regarding a plan of action. Molly watches the boats from the Coast Guard skipping along the water beside them, leaving long, foaming trails in their wakes. She spots lights in the distance, and seeing as how they're in the middle of the ocean, deduces that this is their destination. She straightens her back and cracks her neck with a tilt of her head. Anticipating the uncomfortable descent, she grips the hand holds by her seat and shuts her eyes.
Before landing, the lead chopper broadcasts a warning into Sherrinford to lay down arms. This is backed by similar warnings being called out to the perimeter security detail via megaphone from the ships below. After a pause, in which Molly can only assume compliance has been established, two armored teams disembark and bleed out over the island, quickly detaining any and all of the faculty population they encounter. It is shortly after that Molly and Greg, along with the others from Scotland Yard, are able to get off the helicopters, and filter into the facility from the roof.
The HMN having made clean work of detaining the employees and security teams within Sherrinford. Anthea and Molly, with Greg on their heels, march directly to the main control room. Looking over at the group of employees, currently lined up against the wall with their hands on their heads while Anthea pecks through the chain of command for information.
Molly rushes to what appears to be a surveillance center, taking in several areas within the prison that are clearly monitored on the regular on the bank of screens before her. Molly looks hard at the controls, but knows she doesn't have the time to figure out how they all work. She looks to the console again, and, seeing a name placard beside one of the monitors, turns again towards the detainees, "Baker! Edmund Baker!" she bellows.
Anthea pauses and looks to her. She seems to understand what Molly is after and looks to her charges, "Edmund Baker?" she looks for recognition amongst them. One man, near the end of the line grimaces and Anthea sees it immediately. She waves her hand toward him, and one of the armed soldiers pulls the man to his feet. Anthea barely looks at him, "Dr. Hooper requires your assistance." Before he can protest, his armed guard drags him to the center of the room and towards the console.
"Sit," Molly commands. Baker does, reluctantly. She points to the monitors and stares pointedly at the man, "Where are they?"
He hesitates, "Wh- Where's who?" Unblinking, Molly leans down until she is eye to eye with the trembling man. She grits her teeth in frustration, then proceeds with an eerie calm,
"I'm a forensic pathologist, Edmund. Do you know what that means? It means that, just off the top of my head, I can think of over 100 ways to kill you without rousing even the slightest suspicion of foul play. I can also make you disappear completely. Cooperate please, I'm not in the fucking mood." She straightens but keeps her eyes on the man at the terminal. Her expression is all the instruction he needs. He punches a few keys and one of the monitors shows a holding cell. Looking closely, Molly can see Mycroft Holmes soundlessly pounding his fists against a glass partition.
"Greg!" she calls. The inspector runs to her side and looks at the screen. "Where is this?" she asks.
Baker looks down at his lap, like a child being scolded, "Level 5, block C."
"Got it." Greg huffs and takes off. Out of the corner of her eyes she sees him approach Anthea and they converse heatedly before leaving the room with a handcuffed guard in tow.
"Where are the others?" Molly asks impatiently. Baker sighs and appears visibly conflicted, struggling to speak to her. She grabs him by his shoulders, turning him to face her. She levels with him again, "WHERE. IS. SHERLOCK. HOLMES?!" she roars.
Edmund Baker begins to cry, "I… I can't…" shaking his head vigorously while sobbing, "I'm not allowed to tell you…"
Molly sighs, coming back to herself. The man is clearly distressed, although she doesn't understand why. She considers a different tactic, "OK, Edmund. You can't tell me. I want you to show me."
Edmund blinks rapidly for a moment, as though processing what she's said. He begins nodding dumbly, then fumbles at the controls, pecking away at the keyboard. On another screen, he draws up a map. This map is not of Sherrinford, but an isolated area outside of Wales. He points at the screen and stutters, "M… Mm… Mu… Mus…grave…" This simple word seems to have nearly done him in, as he begins hyperventilating.
Molly waves down a guardsman, "He's having a panic attack, get him out of here." she mutters, then looks back at the console before her.
What the Hell is Musgrave? Why would Sherlock be there?
Her thoughts are interrupted when she notices something left open on the screen. The map that Baker had drawn up was in a folder titled, "Redbeard." Within it she sees several other file icons, none of them meaning anything to her except one, labeled "M. Hooper." Molly's face becomes grave, and she slowly sits herself into the now vacant chair. She glances quickly at the screen where she had seen Mycroft, noticing that Lestrade has reached him and managed to get him out of the cell. She suspects they will be back to the main control room within a few minutes. She takes a shuddered breath, and opens the file. It contains a single video recording. Molly grabs the headphones that lie beside the monitor and places them gently on her head, her hand shakes as she plays the video.
A small coffin is brightly lit from overhead in an otherwise empty room. She sees Sherlock enter, a gun in his hand, along with John and Mycroft. There's a brief conversation between Sherlock and what sounds like a young girl, but it is interrupted by the voice of a woman. Molly watches closely and strains to hear over all the barking and shouting in the room around her.
"Someone is going to die."
"So many words unsaid. Et cetera…"
"Just look at the name on the lid."
"So, who loves you?"
"She's perfectly safe for the moment. Her flat is rigged to explode in approximately three minutes."
Molly chokes, not realizing she's been holding her breath. She watches in horror and her eyes fill with tears as she listens to the phone call between herself and Sherlock, but this time with commentary for the ominous woman's voice over him.
"Softer, Sherlock…"
A sob escapes from Molly and she claps a hand over her mouth.
"I saved Molly Hooper."
"You didn't win, you lost. Look at what you did to her…"
Her heart is pounding in her ears, her breathing erratic. She wills herself to focus, blinking rapidly until the blur of tears recedes.
"Sherlock?" she hears John.
Time seems to stand still, then, as she watches Sherlock begin savagely pounding on the coffin, her coffin. He grunts and cries as he tears the box apart with his bare hands, before he howls like a wounded animal and collapses to the floor. Her face drops into her hands as her body wracks with sobs, her stomach feels like a stone and her head is throbbing.
She doesn't notice when Lestrade kneels beside her, but suddenly she feels hands on her shoulders. Startled, she looks up and turns her head to see Mycroft Holmes looking down at her. He looks sad, at least, what would count as sad considering it's Mycroft Holmes. He sighs, and looks about to speak and Molly is suddenly afraid of what he has to say, she wrangles some semblance of control and quickly blurts, "Musgrave. Sherlock and John are at Musgrave."
Mycroft eyes widen in shock, his mouth agape, but just as quickly as it came his resolve returns and he nods, walking back toward Anthea.
Molly casts her eyes back to the screen. The recording has ended. She doesn't look at Lestrade, but he stands and gently squeezes her shoulder before trailing after Mycroft. She doesn't know how long she sits there, drowning in her own thoughts, when Mycroft gently leads her back to the helicopters.