Sherlock walked into the alleyway with John, wondering what the deal was with Donovan. He always figured that she had a soft spot for dogs if the calendar on her desk had anything to do with it. He didn't want John anywhere near her. He would probably catch something than would be deadly to animals. And the last thing he wanted to know was if stupidity could affect animals as well as people. Coming closer to where the body awaited for them, he rolled his eyes as Anderson came to block his path.

"What are you doing here, Freak? You can't come and contaminate a crime scene! And you got the nerve to bring a dog with you?"Anderson sneered.

Sherlock rolled his eyes at Anderson and was about to insult him but was cut off by a growl. John put himself in front of Sherlock and growled up at Anderson. Saliva dripped from his muzzle and his lips curled back to show an impressive amount of teeth. Blue eyes stared up at Anderson as if daring him to insult Sherlock again. Anderson took a step back in surprise and mild fright at the sudden hostility. He opened his mouth to say something to Sherlock but moved out the way instead.

John waited until Anderson was out of sight before calming down. He licked his chops of drool and shook himself to smooth the fur down on his body. He looked up to Sherlock with a wagging tail and butted him gently with his head. Sherlock, for once, could say he was surprised by John. He didn't expect John to get protective of him over some simple idiot like Anderson. No one was usually concerned with what any names he was called. He could brush it of as he was ten times smarter than the majority of the Yarders. But John was looking at him as if he expected to be lavished with praise.

Bending down, he gave him a small pat on the head. If he could run off idiots like Anderson, he would be more than useful to him. Sherlock walked to stand by the bodies and raised an eyebrow at the writing on the torso of each victim. So far, everything was very interesting.

"Sherlock? Why did you bring John along? Are you mad?" Lestrade put his hand up once Sherlock started answering, "Don't answer that. You know that could get hair everywhere."

Sherlock shrugged and told John to sit, draping the leash around his shoulders. What was he supposed to do? Leaving John alone had not been an option. He couldn't get down the stairs yet with his healing wound and he could get into Sherlock's experiments. Last thing he needed was John getting into his newest liver with the strain of in E-coli it. He didn't bother to answer the question as he went to check over the bodies. He had more important things to do than Lestrade questioning his pet handling skills.

John watched Sherlock as he worked, somewhat curious of his methods. He sat by Lestrade's side and leaned on him with a wagging tail. Lestrade was amused by the greeting and bent down to scratch at his ears. If only Sherlock could be so kind to him. He watched the genius work with John, an ear open for any deductions that the man would come up with. Sherlock had taken out his pocket magnifier and was trying to figure out what the writing was. It looked like some kind of cuneiform.

"What have you got Sherlock? I need anything that you have."Lestrade said.

Sherlock stood up and circled the bodies once more before speaking. "Cult ritual gone wrong. The leader panicked when she realized that cuts went too deep and the sacrifices bled out. The head nurse from the practice up the street is the culprit."he explained.

Lestrade looked at him in disbelief and wondered how he got that from two random bodies. Sherlock gave him his typical 'are you an idiot?' look and started to go in depth about the smell of antiseptic or some other nonsense. When the detective went to bend down and press a hand to the chest of one of the bodies, John barked at him.

Sherlock startled and watched as John rushed over to him, no limp in sight. He sniffed around both bodies with his head low and ears back. He shared a questioning look with Lestrade and removed his hand. John didn't let up and nudged into Sherlock path as he went to examine the other body. Sherlock figured that John was on to something and backed up out his path. John circled both bodies once more before lying down between them.

"What is he doing, Sherlock? Did he find something or did you train him to do that?"Lestrade asked as he took a few steps towards the bodies.

He didn't get too far as John gave off a warning growl at him. Sherlock had a thoughtful look on his face before he realized why John was acting like that. Stupid! He had even read the file on his training, even if it had gone unfinished. He could smack himself for not seeing it earlier.

"No but his former handler had. That is his sign for that theirs a bomb in the area. They're in the bodies, of course. That's why he didn't want me to touch the chest. It's probably activated by a pressure switch."Sherlock said, watching Lestrade turn as white as a sheet.

The DI rubbed a hand on his face and took a step back. Good thing he didn't let his team touch the bodies and only take pictures. They would have been blown sky high by now. He watched as John wag his tail once they got the message. The pup walked back to Sherlock's side and waited for some form of praise. Lestrade wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it for himself. Sherlock bent down and scratched John behind the ears, murmuring soft praises to him. It was strangely tender of Sherlock and Lestrade felt like he was intruding on a moment.

Still, he had much bigger things to do after all. "You can go, Sherlock. Thanks for the help too, John."he said as he gave John a pat before barking out orders and calling for the bomb squad.

The detective and his pup watched Lestrade walk out the alleyway and leaving the two. Sherlock attached the leash to John's harness and stood up. The case had been easy to solve but it was much more interesting to see John in action. Maybe he would keep up with John's training and add his own. Ugh. It would mean having to talk to Mycroft and see what if he could get a trainer for him. He figured that Lestrade would deny him access to one of the Yard's trainers.

Plus, if this kept up, he would be able to take John on more cases. He was already a very helpful assistant. Scaring Anderson was just a bonus along with his skills. He strode out the alleyway with John by his side, ignoring the stares that he got as he walked past. John was his focal point and if he hadn't thought it possible, was getting much more interesting.