Hello there! Thanks to C0ldSteel, Becks93, and JJman for the reviews! (Can we say just until I get around to editing that Mycroft has a severe blocked nose? :D) Sorry for the long time between posts but I got bogged down in work. (All good now though!)
Hope you enjoy the next chapter-it took a rather sharp turn in the opposite direction to where I originally planned. But hey, that's the human brain for ya! Enjoy!
Coffee. Lori needed coffee. If there was a coffee God that could spontaneously bless people with steaming hot cups of liquid gold she would frequently pay homage. Maybe she would even consider getting up early on a Sunday for sed being. It would have to be damn good coffee though.
She weaved her way through the rush hour foot traffic and checked her watch. God dammit it was already quarter past two. It would take her at least half an hour to get to the warehouse and that was in ideal conditions. She dithered whether to sate her craving or not. Her favourite little coffee shop was just around the corner, it stuck out like a sore thumb in the bustling city centre but the hot drinks were divine. She dodged around another angry citizen still undecided.
Everyone seemed to be keeping to one side of the pavement, was there some sort of one way system in place? She sighed and gritted her teeth. Well sod that, she had places to be, psychopaths to treat, possible coffee to buy. Lori slipped out of the slow moving stream and picked up her pace. Unfortunately something large and fast had the same idea. She collided head on with the strange blur.
"Excuse me, careful where you walk Mister!" She brushed herself down and looked up at the living brick wall.
Oh shite.
Double shite.
Triple Mega Shite.
Before her stood the single thing that could actually possibly get her sacked. He swept a bored glance over her and let out a short sigh. She opened her mouth but found words evaded her. The man was just as depicted in his pictures, curly black hair, piercing blue eyes, even through the surveillance images she could feel the arrogance, and now standing in front of him it just seemed to roll of the man in waves. His eyes narrowed at her guppy impression.
Sherlock bloody Holmes. The guy who could tell all your dirty secrets in a single look was assessing her. Fuck.
Lori panicked, what the hell was she supposed to do? If she annoyed Mycroft now then she had nowhere to go. She would be kicked out of the flat and then what would she do? Mycroft was her career. He was her only friend. Jimmy demanded so much attention. Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Think about something different. He's a bloody mind reader.
Fortunately a small man in a tan coat and woollen jumper rescued her. He was vaguely familiar.
"I'm so sorry about him. Sherlock doesn't pay attention when he's on a case, he didn't mean to be rude," he paused and shot an annoyed glare at the younger Mr Holmes. Sherlock's eyes remained trained on Lori, not even attempting to unearth the lie. She knew a lot about the nature of the detective, despite his frequent exclamations to the contrary Mycroft was really incredibly proud of him; even if he was a sociopathic arrogant fool. His words, not Lori's. And with this knowledge she knew Sherlock couldn't care less if he was rude, in fact he would probably go out of his way to irritate. She gave the smaller man a sceptical look.
After a moment's consideration the he nodded. "Actually he's like this all the time." Lori did a quick once over while he spoke; exemplary posture, gun in the back left pocket of his jeans, clean crew cut. Military. Able bodied but not off fighting some unholy war? Injured in combat, probably psychosomatic as seemed perfectly fluid in movement. He seemed like the perfect companion for the detective. He could fight, was calm and collected in life threatening situations and had good people skills; after all she had all but visibly melted with his easy going stance. The soldier gave her a half smile and a weary sigh. The corner of Lori's mouth lifted slightly and her brain regained control of her tongue.
"It's fine. I just hope I didn't break him, poor stick of a man." Oh bugger. She'd gone and done it now. Snarky comments and teasing were commonplace when she and Mycroft shared afternoon tea. The Holmes boys must have more similarities than she thought if the inappropriate teasing was already springing forth from her mouth. She should just leave. She could run away, the coffee shop was only around the corner. Mycroft would kill her if she got involved. It was rule one for Christ's sake.
The man's hearty chuckle broke her reverie.
"Don't worry I'm a doctor, besides the git could do with someone knocking some manners into him. John Watson." He stuck out his hand and she found herself shaking it. Strong grip, either confident in himself or feels the need to affirm his masculinity. Though a Army Doctor would imply a certain amount of humility, not seeking glory or fame, merely to save lives. She smiled warmly, Lori had no orders over association with this Dr Watson.
"Lori Davidson" she smiled and fluttered her lashes. He grinned back at her as Sherlock shook his head, disgust plainly evident. At least he was no longer evaluating her.
"Beautiful name." Lori was shocked to find herself blushing. John noticed and smiled again. Their handshake was continuing much longer than strictly necessary, both parties almost totally ignoring Sherlock's glares. Man, Watson was pretty cute. His face was warm and forgiving, it seemed a shame Mycroft would most likely forbid her from seeing him again.
Sherlock spoke suddenly. "Stop your flirting John, your brain function is limited enough without the distraction of a pretty lady." He sneered the last two words as if Lori had offended him somehow. She probably had simply by breathing, then again, annoying a Holmes was a skill she had acquired sometime after her first breakthrough with Jimmy. Oh bugger. She relinquished John's hand and checked her watch.
"I'm sorry John, but I'm going to have to leave you with him. I'm late for work." She just caught the look shared between the two men, Holmes looked perfectly at ease and John looked angry. Poor guy. He turned back to her and his expression softened. He let out a small sigh, obviously disappointed at her departure. Maybe he thought Sherlock had upset her? That was funny in itself.
"Nah it's okay, oh wait," John rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen. He scribbled something down and gave it to her smiling again. She took it and grinned back. "You know, just in case you get pushed to the floor again and need a Doctor." He finished with a shrug of his shoulders, Sherlock shook his head and grabbed his arm.
"Cheesy much?" she called as he got dragged away by the detective.
"I do my best" he smirked again. Lori shook her head and shoved the number in her pocket. She watched until both men disappeared into the crowd before turning and walking herself. She checked her watch again, and sped up a little.
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
He leaned back into the seat and twisted in the chains. Lori was late. WHY WAS SHE LATE? She was never late. Ever.
Jim's eyes darkened. This was boring, how could he pretend to be broken if no one was here to appreciate the performance. His little Angel had failed him. She had looked so promising, maybe even made him feel like someone actually cared. But no, she was late and she had broken her promise. He was bored of it.
He twitched his foot and watched how all the guards in the room primed their weapons. This used to fun. Even locked up they feared him, not a single person understood the genius of this. Only her, only she had made any progress at all. He had chosen to talk to her, a large oversight on his part but she made him so...
...warm?
Total madness was not all it was cracked up to be. Moriarty mused over the past few weeks. Perhaps he had sunk a little too far into his role. Jimmy was insanity without the ingenuity of his mind. He had let the soldiers hurt him, they went too far. He saw now his need for her had been real. But today the game was back on. Today James Moriarty would 'escape' the warehouse. Today, Jim's plans advanced.
Sherlock wasn't going to know what hit him.
But first he wanted Lori to explain why she was late. If she wouldn't come to him, he'd go to her. Jim nodded at one of the guards. Instantaneously there was gunfire and screaming. Blood splattered the walls as each guard was shot through the head by his favourite sniper. The three men who had tormented Jim were merely shot through the shoulder though. He smiled, Sebby knew him so well.
The tall blond guard soon had the whole room under control, all prison guards either dead or dying. He stepped over two dead bodies and began rummaging around the head guards vest. Jim watched with disinterest. He did not want Lori walking in now before the scene had been set. That just wouldn't do. He cleared his throat.
"I know Boss. But seeing as I just took out a room of highly trained operatives for you without getting us killed, could you have a little patience?" Jim raised his eyebrows. Well it seemed Sebastian had forgotten his place.
"Child's plaaaaay. Unless of course it was beyond your skill set, in which case I'll just have to find another sniper. Do I have to get rid of you Moran?" His tone switched from sing song to death cold in seconds. The blond man gulped. Moriarty quelled a smirk, yup he had forgotten who he was dealing with. His expression was stony as Seb released him.
"Sorry Boss. No, I'm quite happy with my job." Happy? Had Moran also forgotten how to speak to him? He stood up and cracked his neck, stretching.
"I don't pay you to be happy. Any other requests before your resignation Sebby boy?" Moran shook his head and rolled his eyes. One of these days Jim would lose his temper and actually kill the man. For now Sebastian had his uses and the bastard knew it.
He wandered over to the man who had hit him in front of Lori, relishing the movement of his limbs once more. The exact moment of transition from Jimmy to Jim was blurry, he remembered Lori taking hold of his hand and offering him some Galaxy chocolate. Moriarty was a Cadburys man and the mere offering seemed below him. Who even liked that shit? He had refused, much to her confusion. It was the first time he'd ever refused her. In that second he saw her not as his saviour, but an idiot. Everyone had always been idiots to Jim, even Sherlock.
She saw it too, the disappointment and disgust in his expression. Just as he saw the instant recoil in her eyes, the care replaced with a sliver of fear, just a hint. He almost gave the signal then. The Game had been caught out, his act wore thin. But she hadn't said anything. Little Lori continued to play. What a surprise that had been. It made him stop and consider letting her live. He didn't feel like considering now.
Jim stood over the panting dead man and crouched down.
"Hey sweetie, remember this?" His soft Irish tones had never seemed more menacing. He came in very close and listened to his whimpered breaths. He reared up suddenly and punched him hard in the shoulder. Blood swelled out of the bullet hole and the man screamed. Moriarty slapped the cretin across the face to silence him. He pounced on the guard, straddling him as he landed blow after blow. The screaming got louder when his fist impacted with the man's nose. The delightful crunch of bone and bristle made Jim's efforts more frenzied. His knuckles began to ache with the pressure of it. It hurt but everything hurt.
Jim stopped and looked at his bloodied hands. The man's shrieking was making it impossible to think. He could feel Moran's eyes on him. If the sniper got involved right now Jim would kill him. Painfully. This was his kill. The soldier could go fuck off for all he cared. There was a dull thud and something heavy landed next to Jim's thigh. The mouth restraint. He grinned maliciously and made a mental note never to doubt Sebby again.
He didn't need to force the guard's mouth open so he used it to his advantage, shoving the punishing restraint as far down his throat as possible. He spluttered and coughed but it made no difference. Moriarty admired his masterpiece. The man's face was turning a delicious deep purple already, swelling like a balloon. With the restraint in his mouth he looked like a Christmas roast pig. He ought to continue the torment before the weakling lost consciousness. He leant forward and grinned as a spectacular thought meandered through his mind.
"This will only hurt a little..." he pretended to think for a moment, "No, I'm lying. It's going to hurt a lot." He sang at the man and pushed his finger through the bullet hole. The guard paled and cried out a muffled plea for mercy, but with the mouth guard in place it could have just been another moan. Moriarty wiggled his finger whilst kneeling on the man's arms. The body beneath him started convulsing with the level of pain. He watched in glee as the muffled screaming turned to tortured whimpers and then silence.
Moriarty stood up slowly enjoying the feel of his fingers slick with blood. He turned to the next quivering bully and strode towards him.
This was going to be fun.
...did you see that coming? I didn't.
Drop me a review and I will do my best to explain the twistyness in the next chapter!
Blackvelvet97
Xx
