"Obscurity has no hero"-Coheed and Cambria
Disclaimer: Not mine + No profit = Don't sue me!
A/N: Sorry this chapter took longer than the rest to get out! If any of you guys listen to Coheed and Cambria, their new song "The Broken" is awesome. You should definitely check it out! Ok... back to writing! :-) Lucky Irene! 3
Sherlock and Irene situated themselves on either side of the doorframe. Holmes winked at his lady to reassure her as they waited for their intruder's formal entrance.
"One," Holmes mouthed.
A pause.
"Two."
A slightly longer pause.
"Three." And with a dramatic turn on his feet, Holmes pushed Irene flat against the wall. He rapidly opened the door, momentarily hiding Irene. Holmes greeted their pursuer with a swift kick to his sternum. The intruder was immediately winded and incapacitated. Holmes quickly deducted that this was a solo mission and hurried back to Irene.
"Fool," Holmes said lightly, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Pardon?" Irene questioned immediately, half-offended.
"Well," Holmes gestured to the man on the ground, "This fellow believed this was a one man job." Holmes found it so amusing he even permitted himself a chuckle. "You'd think if you planned on breaking into my residence that you'd be more prepared for me! And definitely not be foolish enough to come alone! He never stood a chance!"
"The only way I'd ever dream of breaking into your residence is alone." Irene began smugly. "And you've never seemed to mind." She paused in thought before kissing him lightly and adding, "Then again, you never stood a chance!"
Sherlock smiled at his love while bending down to handcuff the man on the ground. Holmes was mad this man had the nerve to trifle with him. He was equally mad the man had entered his home uninvited. Both were perfectly reasonable, normal, and understandable even. However, Holmes was filled with a foreign white hot fury that was coursing through his being with admirable persistence. This intruder had interrupted them in the middle of a crucial turning point in their relationship. There would be hell to pay.
Holmes knew the man would be waking soon. With that in mind Holmes securely fastened the man to the hall chair and waited not-so-patiently for his captive to awaken. He didn't have long to wait. Holmes was in front of the man with lightning speed the moment his head began to move.
"State your name and purpose immediately!" Holmes barked.
The disoriented man's head moved to the left and right before settling his gaze on Holmes.
"Now I remember," The young man began slowly. "I was trying to uh, gain access to your room and you kicked me in the chest!" He accused without much heat.
"That was your sternum young man," Holmes corrected dismissively. "Besides, who would blame me?" Holmes asked rhetorically. Holmes shrugged as though the matter itself was utterly unimportant. He cocked his head slightly as he continued his interrogation.
"What information did you expect to gain through this evening's venture?"
"Sir I beg of you to understand! Had he explained to me that it was the home of Sherlock Holmes that needed my services, I would have immediately rejected the offer!"
"So you do know who I am?" An eyebrow eloquently crept up Sherlock's forehead questioningly.
"Who in all of Europe isn't familiar with you Detective Holmes?" Before Holmes could retort the man continued. "It would seem, no disrespect, that your heart is to be your downfall Detective."
Holmes raised a hand and immediately silenced the man.
"While I may not think it's right to strike a captive while bound, I don't always do what's right." That admission caused both of Irene's eyebrows to jump to the top of her face. 'Would you look at that,' she thought, 'he is human!'
Clearing his throat, Holmes continued.
"What exactly are the 'services' you intended to render here for your employer tonight?"
The man stared at Sherlock Holmes in disbelief. He never would have expected the seemingly straight arrow detective to be so cruel.
"Do make an effort to answer quickly." Sherlock's cold voice cut the man's thoughts off short.
"I'm one of Europe's premiere thieves Mr. Holmes," the man began bluntly. "So obviously you have something my employer desires."
Irene laughed at that and retorted,
"No one here has heard of you. That makes you a nobody."
"And what, pray tell, is it that I possess that your mysterious employer so desires?" Holmes questioned, blatantly ignoring the verbal gauntlet Irene had issued.
The man had the good sense and decency to look ashamed. He looked down at the ground then to Irene and guiltily back to the ground.
Holmes immediately struck the man on the side of his face, leaving his handprint on the man's left cheek. He rapidly switched hands and left a companion print on the man's right cheek.
"Stealing people," Holmes said sharply, "is kidnapping! There are no premiere or commendable kidnappers. Only scum that needs to be properly dealt with!"
Holmes grasped Irene's hand. His grip tightened for a moment and something flashed in his eyes that Irene had never seen there before. Whatever it was, it was serious and deadly.
'Oh no,' Irene recognized suddenly. 'Murder! Sherlock wants to murder this man! Well at least if anyone could get away with murder, it was definitely Sherlock Holmes.'
She was snapped out of that particular line of thought when Holmes' voice broke through the silence. Irene only knew it was Sherlock because she was watching him speak. Otherwise, she might not have recognized the cold, lethal tones coming from his mouth. She was so shocked she had to strain to concentrate on the words themselves.
"Tell me everything," Holmes began quietly. "NOW!" he screamed as he backhanded the bound man's face.
Irene froze. She knew right then that she was going to see a different side of Sherlock Holmes this evening. The man was physically incapable of being boring and predictable. And as Irene watched Holmes teeter on the boundaries of his self-control, she knew in an instant that she could never be happy anywhere else.
A/N: How's this for a teaser to let you know I'm not dead?! :-) Happy reviewing!