Sebastian was at St. Bart's in (what he thought was) a record timing of three and a half minutes. Hopefully that put Mor—or… 'Boss', as he probably should be getting into the habit of calling him, in a better mood. The sniper couldn't help himself, but he was a little bit…curious. It was just beginning to dawn on him how long it had been since he'd actually seen one of his bosses face to face. Not to mention the fact that Jim Moriarty was a special case. Almost no one actually got to see what he looked like; this wasn't something that bosses usually did with their subordinates, let alone what the king of crime did with a lowly sniper…and a new recruit at that! Sebastian really had made it, he realized. He was at the top. If only his parents could see him now.

Quietly, the sniper pulled up next to the alleyway indicated in the text, making sure the doors were unlocked. He sat there for less than ten seconds before a well dressed, sickly looking man stumbled towards the car, swung himself into the passenger seat beside Sebastian, and growled a single word.

"Drive."

Sebastian didn't need to be told twice. He put his foot to the gas, jolting them forward and off into the main flow of traffic again. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea where he was going. Was that something he was supposed to ask, or did criminal masterminds expect their servants to know that already?

Shit. He was going to have to ask, wasn't he?

"Uh, where to, Boss-?"

"I don't know," Moriarty interrupted in an accented voice that Sebastian couldn't place, "Just let me think."

He sounded tired. Or pained. Or both. The sniper decided to risk a glance at his employer, curiosity finally getting the better of him.

Moriarty was…smaller than Sebastian had anticipated. Not to say he looked frail—he wasn't thin enough to concern or draw attention. But he certainly wasn't the hulking mass of a man that the legends had painted him as. He looked to be of average height…not even six foot, if Sebastian had to guess. God, was he really taller than the legendary Jim Moriarty? The thought was…strange.

Actually, besides the only slightly rumpled suit he wore, which was normal for a criminal leader, there were a few things that struck the sniper as strange. One of the main ones being how pained he looked at the current moment. He had his left hand pressed against his forehead with his eyes closed, and his other hand gripping the armrest of his chair weakly. Maybe this was a test of some sort. Maybe Sebastian was supposed to ask if he was alright. He knew 11 different ways to kill someone with a single needle but had no clue what he was supposed to say and not say around a criminal mastermind. His training was, at the moment, useless.

"Boss, are you…?"

"Good God, are you American?" Moriarty interrupted him again in a voice that implied it was very bad to be American. Sebastian had to fight the urge to answer with a 'Sir, yes sir!' that they'd always used in the military. This was high crime, where everyone spoke in soft, sophisticated tones. Something he always had to fight to imitate correctly.

"Y…yes Boss. Originally," Sebastian realized afterwards how stupid that must have sounded. 'Originally'. Why the Hell did he say that?

"Well let's hope you're smarter than the rest of them. And to answer your previous question I would be much better if you'd arrived earlier. What took you so long?"

"I, uh, had to hotwire the car, Boss," Sebastian explained. Irish. That was what his accent was.

"You what?" Moriarty's head snapped over to fix the sniper with a stare that made him want to shiver. Holy shit, his eyes were dark.

"I hotwired a car," Sebastian explained, slightly proud that he'd thought of something Moriarty hadn't, "That way, they can't trace back my car to your previous location."

The criminal stared at him.

"…Boss," the sniper added hurriedly. He quailed slightly at the anger in Moriarty's eyes, and when his eyes returned to the road, he had to fight not to wince at the fact that his boss was still staring at him.

"So now," the criminal said quietly, gaze heavy on the sniper's face, "We are driving a stolen car."

Sebastian mentally uttered a string of profanities that would likely have made some of the more sensitive guys in the army cry, "Um…yes?"

"Tell me what the problem with that is."

"Uh…" the sniper stammered, feeling like he was back in school again, "Boss, I'm not very good at this kind of-"

"This. Isn't. A. Fucking. Riddle," Moriarty said through gritted teeth, "Answer me."

"Someone will report it missing," Sebastian realized, "And give the license plate number."

His boss was silent, still waiting expectantly.

"And," the sniper swallowed nervously, realizing his other mistake, "If we had used my car, it would be traced to me first, and you'd have time to get out of it."

Moriarty nodded, "We don't steal cars, unless it is absolutely…" he hissed in what must have been pain, putting his left hand back to his forehead, "…necessary."

"Yes, Boss. Apologies," Sebastian said simply. Maybe Moriarty was in too much pain to kill him today.

"Apologies don't mean anything unless you change your behavior. Make sure…" the mastermind paused, "Make sure this happens. As for our destination…" Moriarty recited an address to him, and Sebastian instantly committed it to memory. No more fuck ups today.

"I'll have us there soon, boss."

A heavy silence fell. Or, maybe Sebastian just thought it was heavy. Moriarty gave off a sort of aura that crackled in the air around him, dark and dangerous. But again, that could just be Sebastian. It was strange, being unnerved by an employer for once. The last time he'd been intimidated like this had probably been when he'd met his first employer. And that had at least been one he'd done hits for. Sebastian was a bit out of his element, now that he was actually chaperoning a boss around, instead of killing for them. Oh, fuck, what if he ended up a personal bodyguard? Moran had never liked that idea. Hopefully this was a one time thing, and then he'd get to start doing what he did best again. As often as he killed, sitting next to a…well, a technical serial killer was off putting.

"There is a raise in your future, Moran. Diligence pays well," Moriarty spoke again, making Sebastian, to his horror, almost flinch.

What did one say to that? Hadn't he said something about thank yous? Or was disciplined silence better? Fuck…

"Thank you, Boss," he finally said, deciding coming off as rude was a worse offense than seeming naive.

The criminal didn't respond, which Sebastian took as a good sign. For a while they just drove in silence, Moran making sure to keep his eye out for possible threats. His first real job was, in fact, turning out to be almost dull. Though just Moriarty's presence did a good job of keeping the sniper on edge.

Suddenly, a loud hiss of pain sounded from Sebastian's left, followed by a soft curse. When he looked over, Moriarty was cradling his right hand and staring at it like it had personally offended him. His breathing was actually slightly labored, the sniper noted…it seemed like he was in more than a little bit of pain. It took him a moment to notice the shine of silver on his injured palm.

Oh…Moriarty was…Marked? This day kept getting stranger and stranger. Sebastian still wasn't Marked himself…it wasn't really among his priorities in life, anyway. It never happened to most people anyway and, if he was honest with himself, the whole 'mental bond' part of it didn't appeal to the sniper in the slightest. He'd heard that some people had Bonds so strong that they heard each other's thoughts. Not just emotions, like most people heard, but actual, live action thoughts. Plus, there was the fact that unless you had a really weak bond, if your Soulmate died, you were screwed. So, for Sebastian, it was a 'no thanks'.

But Jim Moriarty Marked…that was something the sniper never would have guessed. A criminal mastermind shrouded by rumors that would leave most people shaking in their boots had a Soulmate. Huh. Was that why he'd needed such a quick getaway?

Sebastian chanced a glance at his boss again, to find that he was leaning back against the headrest, eyes closed again. Shit, he really looked like he was hurting; Moriarty didn't strike the sniper as the type who showed pain very willingly, and he was definitely showing it now.

A theory started to form in Sebastian's mind. What if Moriarty had just Bonded, and tried to run? That would explain the pain. Apparently, if you didn't spend the first day or so after the initial Bonding with your partner, things didn't form properly and…well, shit happened. It was supposedly excruciating, and the sniper seemed to dimly remember hearing somewhere that it could be fatal. Something about vulnerabilities of the brain. He never had paid attention to that sort of thing because it hadn't seemed relevant to him.

But now…

Now, he sort of wished he'd listened more. Not that he particularly cared about Moriarty, but given that he was Sebastian's new boss, the sniper felt like helping out would win him a few brownie points.

"Are you alright, Boss?"

"I thought I'd already answered that," Moriarty snapped weakly.

"It's just…I couldn't help noticing your hand, Boss…"

After a moment of silence, the criminal responded, "Just fucking drive."

Sebastian didn't try to talk again.

(o0o0o0o0)

Finally, after what seemed to Sebastian like an eternity, the two arrived in Sussex, in front of what the sniper assumed was one of many flats that Moriarty possessed. He brought the stolen car to a stop, grateful that the job was seemingly over, and was surprised when, after a moment, the criminal still was in the car.

The sniper looked over at his boss, not sure what to do. He was still leaned back with his eyes closed—Sebastian would have thought he was asleep if it wasn't for the look of intense concentration on his face.

"We're uh, here, Boss," Sebastian announced awkwardly.

"I know," Moriarty answered weakly, "Just give me a minute."

The sniper thought for a second. He seemed to be in so much pain…maybe if Sebastian helped him, he'd make a better impression.

"Boss, you look sick. I can help you inside if you want."

"I don't want you to," Moriarty growled.

Sebastian sighed, falling silent again until, to his surprise, the criminal spoke again.

"…But some help would be ideal."

Trying to ignore how much his heart was hammering, Sebastian got out of the car and allowed Moriarty to wrap a weak arm around him. He looked pale. At first, the criminal seemed determined to barely lean on him at all, but it was clear as soon as they got to the stairs that that would be a short lived effort. By the time they got to the door they were looking for, Sebastian was almost completely carrying Moriarty's weight. The criminal grunted as he produced a key from his pocket, opening up the flat.

The sniper's eyes widened. He lived well off now, and his parents had made good money before he'd run off and joined the army, but this was a nice flat. A mix of red carpeting and deeply colored hardwood floors gave it a warm, older feel, but the stainless steel appliances and modern light fixtures hinted at more modern tones. Not that Sebastian knew about that sort of thing.

"Moran?" Moriarty brought the sniper back to reality.

"Yes, Boss?"

"You can put me down."

"Oh. Right," Sebastian hurriedly let go of the criminal's arm, allowing it to drop off from around his shoulders. Moriarty threw himself down into the nearest armchair, and the sniper had just started to leave when his boss's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait," Moriarty called after him monotonously.

Sebastian turned around to find two black orbs staring at him.

"Yes, boss?"

"You are not to disclose this location to anyone, no matter the circumstance. You are not to tell anyone anything about me, including my current condition," he held up his Mark, "Yes," he added, to Sebastian's raised eyebrows, "Even this. If you do by any chance choose to disobey these orders, you will be dead before you have a chance to regret it. Do you understand me?"

The sniper nodded curtly, "Yes, Boss."

"Get that stolen car far away from here."

"Yes, Boss."

"One mistake, Moran. That's all it takes."

"Of course, Boss."

"That's all it takes to convince me of your disposability."

Sebastian swallowed, "Yes, Boss."

Moriarty nodded towards the door, dismissing him, and with a quick, respectful nod, the sniper turned and left.

A/N: No, this is not a Mormor fic. Sebastian is just a teensy bit afraid of his new boss.