[John]

Clench. Unclench. Clench. Unclench.

It was soothing in a particularly unique way, the constant pattern in the movement of my hands. There was nothing unexpected, and nothing could go wrong. I was completely in control, and it felt good.

Clench. Unclench. Clench. Un-

"Sir, there's been a bit of a problem..."

Clench.

I took a deep, calming breath before I looked up. "What. Problem." I asked monotonously. I forced my hands to relax.

The man in front of me swallowed thickly before continuing. "It's Mr Peters, sir. He, um, showed signs of giving out some of the information. We warned him, sir, but he didn't listen..." The man looked as though he was going to have a panic attack soon if our conversation continued much longer, and he kept eyeing the door nervously.

Clench.

"Why wasn't I informed sooner?" I kept my voice indifferent but I could feel my eyes narrow in anger. The man, I vaguely recalled his name to be Carter, could obviously see the subtle shift, as he began to blabber on about how it was all under control and that I needn't worry. My head snapped up at that comment, and I let out a harsh laugh that quickly turned into a fit of giggles.

I stood and walked to the window, still chuckling to myself, and looked out across the city of London. "So glorious..." I murmured under my breath.

"Sir?" Carter asked hesitantly.

I turned my head, but I didn't do so far enough to allow him to see my face. I immediately stopped my short laughing fit. "Well then. It seems you have it all under control then, right?" I grinned, but the smile did not reach my eyes. He nodded eagerly, and I saw the ghost of a smile begin to start on his own face, no doubt relief from the fact I hadn't maimed or killed him yet. Best crush it sooner rather than later. "But... Well, if its 'all under control' as you so eloquently put it... Why did you need to come to me?" That's when I finally met his eyes. There was no humour in this situation. This man had failed me, and therefore no longer had a significant purpose in my organisation.

"Well, sir, I just needed to check that you knew about it and that you were happy with how everything was going and-"

Clench.

I could see the terror in his face, and I loved it. This feeling of complete control was wonderful, and I could completely understand how some people worked for it their whole lives. I strolled back to my desk and opened one of my favourite drawers.

"I was assured by both you and Marcus that Mr Peters was in no condition to give away any kind of information." I let my eyes trace the object in the drawer, the cold metal that would soon be in my grasp.

"He surprised us all sir, me included. There didn't seem to be any way he could divulge the information, but he seems to no longer care for his own life, sir..." The man's face was twitching nervously, and small beads of sweat had begun to appear on his forehead.

"You failed me, Carter." I said, finally removing the gun from the drawer and running my hand over it lovingly.

"No, wait! Sir, Boss, please! I'll try so much harder next time, I'll never make another mistake, please! I-"

Bang.

Carter crumpled to the floor, his lifeblood pouring from the gaping hole in his chest. It was quite interesting, really, and I would have loved for Sherlock to have been there, deducing everything about the situation from why I'd killed the man to what kind of gun I'd used. Though, that being said, it was probably for the best he wasn't there, he'd have probably just given me a disappointed look, and that would have made me upset...

Stop thinking about him.

I sighed, and walked back around to the front of my desk to check the damage. I seemed to have acquired a voice in my head telling me not to think about my newly-resurrected flatmate, and I really couldn't blame it. There was no knowing what intensity of emotional outburst I would have if I thought about him for too long. Therefore, I would not think about him at all. Easier said than done.

I surveyed the body. Carter had been mid-thirties, not much younger than myself, and had no family that I knew of. Turning to my desk I pressed the intercom and told my secretary to send a car to the from of the building and to have someone clean up the body in my office. I would be paying a personal visit to Peters, as it had been too long (about three days) since I'd last gone somewhere exciting, not counting the encounter with Mycroft and Sher-

No. Don't even think his name.

Fine. Mycroft and his brother. Still, three days was too long, and I needed an adrenaline rush. Even killing just didn't do it for me anymore. It was all about causing other people excessive amounts of pain, then killing them slowly. That's where all the fun was.

I smirked and stepped lightly over the crimson stain in the middle of the room, skipping happily down the hall.


Sorry it's a bit of a short chapter, I'll try to make them longer from now! Good news, I seem to be winning in this competition against my friend! She'll never know what hit her! Thanks so so much for all the reviews, I really didn't expect this many follows and favourites in such a short space of time! I love you all!