November 11
Hamish stared blankly at the afternoon scenery through the car window. He hadn't seen Cali since the day she came to school crying. He kept replaying the conversation they had in his head, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt he should say something. When they got home, Hamish saw his dad sitting at the table on his computer. Hamish stopped and really thought about if he should say anything. "What if it really is nothing?" he thought to himself. "But what if something bad has happened?" Hamish finally sighed and went up to his room. He was playing on his phone, trying in vain to get the subject off his mind, but he couldn't seem to shake it. He needed to tell someone who wouldn't let it get out of hand, someone who had all the facts before doing something rash. Hamish felt his face drop when the obvious answer struck him. "Sherlock." hamish pulled up his contacts and started his message.
Hey Sherlock, it's Hamish. Do you remember the girl I had over for dinner a few nights back? Well, she came to school one morning in tears and she said something about her dad, but she hasn't been back to school since. I know it's not a lot to go on but I can't help but feel worried. Thoughts?
-HW
It was about three minutes before the phone chimed.
Yes. That night she was going out of her way to be polite, she avoided eye contact and her posture was enclosed showing signs of fear. She rubbed her arm and looked down whenever myself or your dad talked, a nervous tick suggesting abuse from a male party. She came to school crying you said. Did she tell you anything specific?
-SH
Not really, she said she'd had a rough night and morning, her dad snapped she said.
-HW
What was she wearing?
-SH
Hamish's fingers shook when he typed
Longsleeves and jeans.
-HM
There was about 10 minutes of nothing. Hamish was becoming frantic, then finally the phone chimed.
Lestrade is doing a small investigation. Will keep you updated.
-SH
Hamish let out a sigh of relief before replying with a thanks. After pacing himself, he realized he was getting hungry. He trotted down the stairs and noticed he was alone.
"Hello?" he called out. "Mum? Dad? Joanna?" He looked in the kitchen, and in all the bedrooms, then downstairs to look in the sitting room and saw that last person he'd expect to.
"Cali?! What are you doing here? Are you alright?" He asked, rushing up to her. She was still silent, crying even. He noticed a light bruise on her fair cheek. "Cali?"
"I'm sorry Hamish." She sobbed, the tears streaming down her cheeks was the last thing he saw before the rush of pain and then immediate blackness.
Sherlock and Lestrade walked into the school office and were greeted by a kind elderly woman. "Oh, hi there! How can I help you gentleman today?" She asked
"Hi there, um, we're actually here on a small police investigation, nothing to worry yourself over." Lestrade explained cordially, displaying his badge. "You recently had a student transfer here. First name Cali, not sure of a last name, she's in year 10." Sherlock said coldly and hastily.
"Right, I have her file here." She said handing over the manilla folder. They flipped it open and it didn't take but 3 seconds for the severity of the situation to sink in.
"We've got to go." Sherlock said, dropping the folder and rushing out to the car. He immediately called John, no answer. He tried again, no answer. "Damn!" Sherlock said,shoving the phone in his pocket. Suddenly the phone rang again, "John? John! Hamish might be in danger!" Sherlock rambled into the speaker, but nothing but silence came back. "John?" He asked hesitantly.
"You know, it's funny how time changes things." A lax voice spoke. "Moriarty." Sherlock growled.
"Sherlock my old friend! How are you doing?" Moriarty asked casually. "Where is John?" Sherlock asked threateningly. "Oh he's here, with me. Don't you worry, I wouldn't start the party without you!" Moriarty said with a laugh. "Where are you?" Sherlock felt his fist becoming tighter with every word. "I'm in the spot we first officially met, It was our first standoff." Moriarty trailed off, for a moment. Sherlock was frozen with the purest rage. "Oh listen to me! Getting all nostalgic. See what you do to me Holmes? Well, I'll see you soon! Ciao love." And with the final click of the phone, Sherlock jumped into action. Lestrade already had the car running and ready.
Hamish groaned, wincing at the throbbing in his head. His eyes fluttered open and he took in his surroundings. It was dim and cold, everything was hazy and he couldn't quite make out things in detail. Hamish looked down to see his wrists zip tied to the arms of a chair, his ankles were tied tightly to the legs of the chair as well. He focused on his body to see if he was badly injured, he concluded he had just been knocked out and not seriously hurt. Hamish hung his head wearily, finding no point in a struggle when he thought he heard his name. "Hamish…" It was faint and raspy, and he thought he was imagining it until he heard it again, but this time louder and clearer; it was his dad right behind him. "Dad? Is that you?" "Yeah it's me." The voice confirmed. "You alright?" John asked with a grunt. "Yeah, just a headache." "What's going on?" Hamish asked. "I have no idea." John answered.
-
Lestrade drove as fast as he could while still in control, sirens blaring out a warning. Sherlock was deep in his mind palace, trying to devise a plan. He blocked out all of his surroundings, to focus on the different possible scenarios that could be waiting. Sherlock felt his mind begin to wander, he saw Hamish, Joanna, Mary and John all dead. Shot, stabbed, any horrible thing you could imagine. Tears welled in his icy eyes, clouded with rage and fear. Moriarty would pay for this.
"What about Mum and Joanna? Did they get taken too?" Hamish asked frightened, his voice shaking from a mix of fear and the cold. "Yeah." John choked the word attempting to stay strong. he'd never had a problem when he and Sherlock were in these situations, but he didn't have a family then. Hamish felt the lump in his throat growing larger, and the tears warm tears collectected in his eyes. His head was hung in defeat and a sense of shame when he heard a familiar whisper. He looked up and saw Cali standing there. Hamish opened his mouth, but Cali held a finger to her lips and begged for his silence. "Hamish, I'm not supposed to be here right now, but listen to me-" "You're not supposed to be here? I"M not supposed to be here! I can't believe you kidnapped me and my family!" Hamish hissed angrily, doing his best to keep his voice down. "I know you must hate me, and I don't blame you but I wanted to let you know you're mom and sister are okay." Hamish's expression changed when he heard about his mom and sister. "They're okay?" Hamish asked "Yes. Not even tied up. Just locked in a room. I don't know what he plans on doing but please know I didn't want this." Cali had tears trailing down her cheeks, her body trembling. Hamish looked at her with pity and sympathy before she straightened up. "I need to go, before he notices I'm gone. Sherlock is on his way here." Her final words brought a sense of peace to both Hamish and John.
The police car squealed to a halt in the parking lot of their destination. Sherlock ran up the steps turning to Lestrade "You stay here, call for backup, best call an ambulance as well." Lestrade nodded and flipped open his mobile, doing as asked as Sherlock burst through the doors of the building. All the lights were off, the only light being cast in from the glass doors and a few windows. Sherlock walked with purpose, heading to the pool area. It wasn't long before he got to the metal doors, and pushed them open. He saw John and Hamish tied in chairs, back to back. The both looked alright, no injury done. "Sherlock!" John said relieved. "Have you seen him?" Sherlock asked demandingly, inspecting the zipties, racing to find something sharp to cut them with. "Him? Him who? Sherlock who's doing this?" As the last words left John's lips, a casual yet ominous humming came from the far end of the room. Moriarty stepped out from the shadows, his hand gripped around the nape of Cali's neck. Cali was trembling, quietly crying, a red and light purple mark sat on her cheekbone, and blood on her lip. "Moriarty." Sherlock hissed the name like it was poison. "Sherlock Holmes! Death has done you wonders, Look at that body! Seems Watson didn't get so lucky." He chuckled, releasing his grip on the girl. "What do you want with John and his family? They don't have anything to do with this." Sherlock tried to reason. Moriarty twisted his face into an exaggerated expression of thought before answering. "Well,nothing really but you like them and they like you and, I wanted you, so...I cooked the bacon and called the dog." Sherlock didn't care for Moriarty's casual behavior. "Let them go." Sherlock commanded. "What?! No way! I want to kill them first! That way, when I get around to you, I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you died with no one on this earth who cared about you. You will be broken and eliminated." A silence fell on the room, the atmosphere was tense. "Well, now that our guest of honor has arrived,I suppose we can bring on the other two." Two men brought out mary and Joanna, hands tied, and gagged." Hamish started crying at the sight, John sobbed at even the thought. Sherlock stepped back and relaxed himself, trying not to overreact. Mary and Joanna seemed fine, they didn't look like they had been harmed. "Oh Sherlock, do me a favor, and untie John. Catch!" Moriarty chimed, tossing a pocket knife to Sherlock. He caught it, and examined it to make sure it was safe. Sherlock quickly undid John's ties, and John sprung up, a glaze of pure rage over his eyes. Sherlock went to undo Hamish, but was stopped at the sound of guns cocking. "I said John. Leave the boy there, and John, you can come over here, see your wife and daughter. Moriarty said. John didn't budge, out of defiance. It was about 45 seconds before Moriarty said "Ok, fine. Go get him." The two men that had brought in Mary and Joanna walked briskly towards John, who looked ready to fight. As soon as they were in reach, John swung and cracked the first man in the jaw, but almost instantly a loud bang went off and a few screams of agony and fear filled the room. John lay on the ground, cradling his bleeding leg. "I'm not messing around anymore, I'm getting bored!" Moriarty shouted, his voice growing serious and impatient. The man who shot John, picked him und cuffed his hands behind his back, escorting him to the other side of the room. "John.." Mary whimpered to her injured husband. He took her hand reassuringly, giving her a nod that he was alright. "All right then! Let's get going shall we!" Moriarty announced, swinging his arm out, pointing a gun at Mary. Mary glared at him, not saying a word. He stood frozen for a moment, but then retired the gun to cali, who was standing quietly beside him. "Shoot the boy." He said, stepping back. Cali looked up at him in disbelief. She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She swallowed hard and looked at the gun in her shaking hand. She moved her foot to walk but couldn't move. Moriarty rolled his eyes and shoved her forward, walking behind her, and pushing her until they were right in front of Hamish. "Please don't make me do this." She sobbed. Moriarty's hand grabbed her hair and wrenched her head to face Hamish. She let out a small shout of pain. Sherlock stood frozen, livid at the whole situation. Cali raised the gun to Hamish's forehead, she closed her eyes, pushing large tears down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."
BANG
