Chapter 8: They'll Be Brought To the Light~

Mycroft and John sat at a table in Speedy's café, two large mugs of cocoa with marshmallows in front on them.

Mycroft clasped his hands, staring into the froth of his drink,the winter's chill visible through the window behind him,seeming to emanate from him.

John drew a shaky breath.

"Donovan." Mycroft said, slowly.

"I know...she's...I can't call her what I want to...Not that we're not both adults, there just isn't enough colorful language in English to describe her."

"She's always hated my brother, but to so ...purposefully beset him,...attack him,...revel in his episode...There is more than a bitter rivalry between them..."

"Yeah, that's obvious...*eherm* even to me..."

"We will have to get to the bottom of what is different about it from before...Or rather, what it was we didn't see before..."

"Do you think she had some kind of involvement with Moriarty,and that's why she made Sherlock look guilty?"

" A possibility, but one must always rely on facts before instincts...But I trust your instincts ,John...My brother has always trusted them as well..."

"I thought your brother only ever tolerated my in put because he loves me?"

Mycroft smiled."No...No, while love you he does...more than you are aware, I think...he also holds you in the utmost respect,and never forget that. For that reason I too ultimately respect your discernment."

"Good, because I have something to tell you...Something utterly...hair-raising..."

"With Sherlock how could it be anything less?"

"His wounds...weren't forced open again by exertion..."

Mycroft licks his lips. "I'm listening..."

"Mycroft...I think, Sherlock is still being tortured by some one.I don't know how, I don't know why...It seems very improbable since he's been with us most of the time he's been back. But there are signs of very clean cutting marks ,almost perfectly concealed by the forming scar tissue, almost hidden ,except, to be quite honest, I'm rather good at my job.A little too good, so my fellows in Afghanistan said. I never forget the look of a wound. The single bruises ,the bleeding, it's always right there, on the backside of my eyelids, always exactly the way I saw it. But I didn't see it initially the same way as I did about 20 minutes ago ,when I made him let me have a look. And I had to fight him too...which is normal, so I may not have thought anything about it...except rather than being irritated,he was defensive. Almost desperate...And..."he swallowed, the intensity of Mycroft's concentration almost unnerving him,

"He said something too...about how maybe I didn't know the full extent of his wounds yet. He likes to be dramatic...but this was almost..."

"Cryptic."

"Well, yeah..."

"Alluding to something you didn't wish to consider...not in your darkest dreams?"

"If he thinks he's gonna be able to keep a secret like that living with a bloody doctor ,he's really not as smart as all that."

"Oh,but you see, he knows he can't keep it a secret, which is why he's so desperate to. That's my little brother for you, never knows when to let go of something. If he's most desperate for you not to find out, you are probably the reason why he must continue to experience the torture,and knows that if you know...you'll intervene, possibly to your own harm. So, it's obvious...he's painfully predictable at times ,I am afraid."

John swallowed, the thought of Sherlock still being tortured , on his behalf, making his stomach so tight and sick,that a 9 pounder cannon couldn't even break the ice within it.

"I'm afraid I don't follow."

"Some of the War has followed us home, John. And Sherlock has made a deal with the Devil, in an attempt to trap him, and hang him with his own rope. The only problem is, my brother is not well. He might hang himself, like a proper Judas to his own cause, if he isn't careful..."

"So, what do we do?"

Mycroft swallowed, "We go by the facts. You have found data of a medical nature,and we have reason to believe Sergeant Donovan is playing foul. So, you will monitor his status very close and cautiously,and I will run background checks on Sally Donovan ,to the uttermost detail."

"And what do we do about Sherlock in the meantime? How do we keep him from doing whatever it is he is doing?"

Mycroft swallowed, "The hardest part is, we don't. Not until we know something for certain..."