"Here you are, Mr. Holmes," a young woman who bore a passing resemblance to Anthea said, breezing into the room with two garment bags which she hung from the back of the door. "They're still decontaminating your clothes, sorry, but these are-"
"You're American," Mycroft said, cutting her off.
"Problem?" she asked.
"My brother went to get a doctor."
"Yes, I know. You're fine, by the way. The last blood tests came back completely clear."
"Who are you?"
"You can call me Adira."
"Is that your real name?"
"No."
"Do you know my PA?"
"Should I?" She had moved closer to the bed and finally sat in the chair beside it.
"Ah, Mr. Holmes, so good to...what are you doing in here?"
Mycroft and Adira both turned to see a man wearing a doctor's coat come into the room with Sherlock close behind.
"Just bringing some clothes," Adira said, standing up. "Feel better soon, Mr. Holmes," she added before turning and leaving the room.
"I apologize if she disturbed you…" the doctor started to say, but Mycroft dismissed it with a slight wave of his hand.
"Hardly. She was just dropping off some clothes while mine are decontaminated."
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine, Doctor…"
"Sorry, Hawes. Doctor Robert Hawes."
"Now that we're all acquainted perhaps you could tell me where I am."
"Swansea. You're still in Wales."
"Is there any news of my sister or Doctor Watson?"
"I'm sorry but I've not heard anything about either of them. I'm only here to discuss the drug that was used on you."
"You know what it is?" Sherlock asked.
"Yes, of course. It's one of the drugs developed in the 80's at Baskerville. It works like a hallucinogenic, except that the subject is unconscious. That's of no importance, of course. What matters is that you will both be perfectly fine with no lasting effects."
"You assume that we were both perfectly fine before this happened, a fact which several people would dispute," Sherlock replied.
"The director is waiting to meet with you so once you're dressed-"
"Yes, yes, I can dress myself."
"Someone will escort you to his office when you're ready."
The doctor left and Sherlock smirked. "He was much too easy to intimidate. I do hope the rest of the people here are at least slightly challenging."
"This isn't a game, Sherlock. We are the ones in custody this time."
"Get dressed so we can meet whoever is in charge and get out of here. I'm going to see what information I can get out of whoever might be in the hall."
When the door to her room opened again, Jocelyn was sitting on the bed, staring at the wall.
A man in his 50's entered, wearing a suit. "Hello Miss Holmes," he greeted her.
"Sorry, do I know you?"
"The nurse said you didn't remember anything about how you came to be here. I'm Dr. Tom Hays, your psychiatrist. You've been my patient here for four years."
"No, that's not true. I've not been here, I have never been here before."
"I had hoped that this was a minor relapse but it appears that things are more serious than I thought."
"I have not had a relapse!"
"Tell me, Miss Holmes, to what end would someone go to these lengths if this is all just a ruse?"
"To get information about my brothers."
"And what information would someone want about your brothers?"
"You tell me, you're the one trying to get it."
"Miss Holmes, I assure you that I only wish to treat your mental illness and determine what triggered this episode."
"I am not having an episode. I was with my brothers, and somehow you kidnapped me and brought me here...wherever here is. My brothers will find me, I promise you that. They will save me and kick your ass."
Dr. Hays raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Clearly your mental defect is-"
"I am not defective!" she yelled, cutting him off. "There is nothing wrong with me!"
"Do you really think you are behaving as a sane person would behave? I'll be back later with your medications."
Once the door was shut and re-locked, Dr. Hays started down the corridor.
"Is she going to be too much of a challenge for you?" Moriarty asked, stepping out of an alcove and momentarily startling the doctor.
"No, not at all. She's stubborn, but with the drugs that you have here I will be able to get the information that you seek."
"Because she's defective?"
"That's what I'm going to convince her of, yes."
Without warning Moriarty had the doctor by the throat and pressed him to the tiled wall against his back. "Do not ever call her defective again. Do not even mention the word 'defective' in her presence. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand," the doctor, taking in a deep breath when Moriarty released him. "May I ask why?"
"Because," came the reply as Moriarty walked away, "I said so."
"The Queen is just letting us use this place?" John asked as Harry opened the door to a rustic but spacious lodge.
"As I told you when you visited the Palace, she is a big fan of your blog. She's also aware of the role that Mycroft Holmes plays in keeping the Empire running smoothly, and when Mycroft contacted me and told me his fears, I asked Her Majesty if we might use this lodge for a bit. It's remote and no one will be coming here. It's perfect."
"So, what do we do now?"
"We get settled in, and we wait."
"For what? And for how long? I'm sorry but I cannot just sit here and do nothing while-"
"Doctor Watson, there is nothing else for us to do. We don't know where Jocelyn is, or where Sherlock and Mycroft are. Right now the best thing we can do is keep you out of the hands of the enemy. We won't be just sitting around doing nothing anyway. There is a secure internet connection here, and I can access the MI6 network."
"MI6?"
"Yes, we have to assume that the very highest levels of military and national security are involved any time Baskerville is part of the equation."
"And you have access to MI6?"
"I advise Her Majesty on all matters that impact the Empire. Of course I have access to files that concern the security of British subjects."
"The Holmes brothers, how nice to finally meet you both," the director said, rising up from his chair as Mycroft and Sherlock were shown into the office.
"Aidan Howard, I always wondered which agency you ended up with," Mycroft said.
"Have we met previously?"
"No, your file just passed my desk briefly, before you were installed here as director obviously."
"Please, have a seat so we can get started."
"I'll stand, thanks," Sherlock replied.
"Forgive my brother. He has no manners."
"It matters not whether he sits or stands. I need to know what you read in that file, Mycroft. May I call you Mycroft? Mr. Holmes would be too confusing, there being two of you, don't you think?"
"Where are my sister and Doctor Watson?" Mycroft asked.
"I'm afraid we've no idea. By the time agents got to your sister's house in Stonehaven, it was empty. No sign of Doctor Watson or Jocelyn, but no sign of a struggle either. Your sister's car was still there but there were several other sets of tracks from vehicles that came and went within the few hours before our agents arrived. The tracks are being analyzed now."
"And what is it you hope those tracks will tell you?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Better than doing nothing, though."
"What are your plans for us?" Sherlock asked. "Clearly you aren't going to just let us walk away."
"You are needed if we are to find your sister. There is also much that you need to know about what happened to her when she was at North Wales." The director opened a desk drawer and pulled out a folder. "I believe this is what you found, Mycroft. However, I don't know how much of it you read."
"Very little of it, I'm afraid."
"Read it now then."
"Had time to redact it, did you?"
"It hasn't been redacted at all. I need both of you to help us stop James Moriarty, and to stop him you must know what it is he wants to accomplish. That can only be understood by knowing what was done to your sister."
"They were experimenting on ways to hide information in her mind for retrieval at a later date," Sherlock stated. "Moriarty wants whatever that information is."
"No," Mycroft said softly. "Dear god no, that is not what they did." The report closed, the eldest Holmes clutched it to his chest.
"Then what? Mycroft, what is it?"
"They were experimenting on giving someone a whole new personality."
"Did they succeed?"
"Unknown. They hadn't been able to confirm it before the operation was shut down," the director said.
"Jocelyn has been under the care of a psychiatrist for her bipolar disorder. Surely if there was another personality that would have been discovered." Mycroft handed the report to Sherlock so his brother might read it. "The other...subjects?"
"Most are dead, all ruled suicides though those deaths are being re-investigated. Other than your sister, we've only been able to locate one other still alive, but he suffered a mental breakdown six months ago and has been in an asylum ever since. There are a few unaccounted for, and we've teams working to locate them."
"You think Moriarty wants to bring the alter out in Jocelyn? To what end?" Sherlock put the report back down on the desk. "It's unlikely that this alternate personality knows anything of value if Baskerville hadn't even been able to confirm if they were successful."
"And what might she tell him about her brothers?"
"Joceyn wouldn't-"
"The other personality would, though, and that personality knows everything that Jocelyn knows. So how much does Jocelyn know about the work you do, Mycroft?"
"Not much, really. She knows that I'm not a lowly paper pusher but as for the specifics, she's never really cared. She knows nothing that could threaten the security of the British empire, Mr. Howard."
"You can call me Aidan, and anything that she knows about you could be a threat in the hands of James Moriarty."
"Don't you dare threaten my sister's safety," Mycroft practically growled.
"We must do what we can to ensure the safety of the British people. Her life is not worth more than the lives of millions."
"She doesn't know anything!"
"Mycroft," Sherlock said gently, coming closer to put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll save her, I promise. That's why the director is telling us this, isn't it?" He turned his eyes to Aidan Howard. "You wouldn't be telling us any of this if you didn't want us to find her, would you?"
"I don't want to see her harmed any more than you do. My assistant will provide you with what you'll need."
"You know where she is, don't you?"
"No, Mycroft, I do not. I trust you two will be able to find her, though."
"Find her how?"
"Everything that was recovered from the old hospital has been brought here. You will be given complete access to all of it, minus any unrelated records, of course."
Adira knocked on the door and then came in. "Hello sirs. Whenever you're ready I'll take you to see what was collected from the old facility and get you ready to head out after Moriarty."
"And what about Doctor Watson?" Mycroft asked.
"We'll continue to look for news on him, and will update you when information becomes available," the director said.
"Any news?" John asked, joining Harry in a large sitting room.
"Mycroft and Sherlock are still in Wales, at a high level secure facility," came the reply as Harry scrolled through the screen on his phone. "All settled in then?"
"There are clothes in the closet, all in my size."
"Mycroft is very thorough in his contingency plans."
"So what do we do? We're going to get them out, right?"
"They are fine. We need to figure out where Moriarty has taken Jocelyn. Our concern is her safety. The Holmes brothers will be joining us soon enough."
"How can we possibly find her?"
"John, have more faith, would you? All paths seem to lead to Baskerville so that is where I am beginning our queries."
"Doctor Stapleton?"
"No, I've gained access to the backups of all the computer records for Baskerville. Far safer than talking to people since we don't know who we can trust."
"How are Sherlock and Mycroft going to get themselves out?"
"I know someone in MI6 who is currently working at the Swansea facility."
"So what can I do?"
"You know how Sherlock Holmes thinks. I've got the files on James Moriarty. Help me read through them to find some clue about where he's taken Jocelyn."