Alexei didn't scream or cry as he watched Gary collapse, but his wide eyes and tight, shaking fists made his horror obvious. John tried to go to the mortally wounded man, who shuddered once before relaxing and bleeding silently onto the stone floor, but a minder with shoulders wider than a football field stopped him.

"You see, Alexei?" Mayberry slid his gun back into its shoulder holster and adjusted his jacket and tie. "Everything you do directly affects someone else's life. Or in this case, causes them to lose it."

The boy looked ill: it was obvious that he hadn't wanted the trick to end in murder, even that of a man who'd bullied him.

"If you ever pull such a foolish stunt again," their captor continued, "Dr. Watson will be punished in a way that makes Gary here appear positively fortunate. Have I made myself clear?"

Alexei's upper lip curled in a reflexive snarl, something his father did when threatened by a perceived inferior. "Transparently so."

Mayberry turned to Yuri, who was staring at his motionless colleague and leaning against the bedpost like it was the only thing holding him up.

"Yuri?"

"Y-yes, sir?"

"If you have a problem with what I've just done, now's the time to tell me."

The Russian shook his head vigourously. "No, Mr. Mayberry, no problem at all. He- he wasn't always pleasant to me."

"He was also incredibly careless. A weakness I can't afford to overlook when so much is at stake." Mayberry returned his attention to his hostages. "Your new quarters will not be as pleasant as these ones, but I don't need to remind you that this is your doing."

A mobile trilled. He took a Blackberry out of his pocket, listened briefly to the caller, and said, "Alright, we're on our way up." After disconnecting the call, he told his men, "The helicopter is ready. Let's proceed to the roof immediately. Johnson should have completed the mainframe backups and appropriate deletions by now. But first-" He took a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. "Yuri, come here please."

The Russian's eyes widened. Mayberry couldn't resist a chuckle that sounded more sinister than humorous.

"Come, now. We haven't got all night and you've done nothing to make me question your loyalty or competence."

When the guard cautiously approached, his boss handcuffed him and Alexei together. The sound of metal bracelets snapping shut made John flinch.

"Just a precaution," Mayberry told the boy. "You're probably as quick physically as you are mentally. But before we go: James, search young Mr. Nowak-Holmes and Dr. Watson for Gary's phone."

The man obeyed, his hands quick but thorough. "Nothing, Sir."

"Good. Let it remain here then. All right, everyone, time is running out. Let us proceed."

He strode into the hallway with two of the minders directly behind him. Yuri and Alexei followed while John brought up the rear with the other two guards. Both men grumbled to each other over his head.

"The Cove is shit compared to this place…."

"Damned kid…."

John wasn't handcuffed to anyone, a reminder that he was insignificant in the general scheme of things: mere insurance to keep Alexei from trying anything else. As he glanced into the shadowy rooms lining the hallway, an idea hit. It was dangerous. Some would dismiss it was crazy. Others would say that it was also heartless, as he would be abandoning a boy he'd vowed to protect.

When he and Alexei had been taken to bathe, John had noticed that the bathroom door had, in addition to a brass lock, an ancient deadbolt that could secure it from the inside. He was willing to bet that the room they'd been imprisoned in was the only one in this place that didn't have such a mechanism.

"Alexei," he said slowly, "you trust me, don't you?"

"Of course. You always try to do what's right."

Yuri cocked his head slightly at the exchange, but Mayberry didn't appear to have heard. The skeletal mastermind had taken out his phone again and was talking to someone named Astrid, saying that they were en route to "the Cove" and would be conducting the "medical tests" tomorrow.

John glanced over his shoulder. The two guards weren't even looking at him. It was literally now or never.

Forgive me for leaving you like this, Alexei.

Whirling around, John grabbed one of the two gunmen and hurled him into his colleague, sending them both careening into a suit of armour. During the ensuing uproar, he sprinted to the right, into a room packed with mismatched furniture, and bolted the door. Then he grabbed the closest weapon: a sword that was part of a lethal-looking wall display. It would be useless against a bullet, but he was hoping that Mayberry wouldn't want to waste precious minutes trying to break into the room. John was not essential to their scheme. At least not essential enough to jeopardise their escape.

Mayberry shouted something. A boot thudded against the door, followed by a howl of pain. John couldn't resist a malicious grin as he imagined some over-enthusiastic bodyguard tackling a barrier meant to keep much stronger invaders out.

Voices raged out in the hallway.

"Bolted from the inside, Sir…."

"…shoot the lock?"

"Don't bother."

Alexei's voice rose above the clamour. "Well done, John!"

"We'll find you, I promise!" John shouted back.

"We'll allow Dr. Watson his minor victory," Mayberry said tersely. "We have to go. Holmes will likely be here within the hour."

Footsteps hurried away, gradually growing fainter until all was silent. Minutes later John heard the rhythmic thud of helicopter blades. When it subsided, he dropped the sword onto the carpet and slid to his knees. Now that the adrenalin rush had abated, he felt nauseous knowing that Alexei was still in Mayberry's clutches. His sole consolation was the knowledge that he had two clues: Mayberry's reference to the 'cove', which was their intended destination, and the name Astrid.

If anyone could find Alexei using only two words as clues, it was the Holmes brothers.

The room grew colder as he waited, thanks to the window, whose time-warped frame left it jammed open. After peering outside and seeing nothing but a steep drop and Stygian blackness, John grabbed a tapestry from the wall, wrapped it around his shoulders, and began walking the room's perimeter to stay warm. He knew he should unbolt the door and find a more comfortable location to wait for Mycroft, but he could not stop his hypnotic pacing, which numbed his mind and made the guilt more bearable.

Alexei will be all right. He's a Holmes: danger excites him.

But he's only fourteen.

Fourteen in Holmes years- what's the 'human' equivalent, thirty-five?

I shouldn't have left him.

But I had no choice. And he understood.

A sudden noise broke the stillness. John paused and listened. A moment later, it came again.

The weak moan of a man in pain.

He dropped the tapestry and went to the door. "Hello?" he called.

A reply came quickly.

"Oh Christ… help me…."

The voice was weak and lacking its usual arrogance, but John recognized the owner right away.

Gary. The man was alive.

His physician's instinct took over. Picking up the discarded sword, he unbolted the door and peered out. Seeing no one lingering about, he stepped into the hallway and ran back to the huge room that he'd come to think of as his prison cell.

Gary had been lying on his back when John last saw him, but he'd managed to roll onto his side and raise himself onto one elbow. Blood coursed slowly from a wound below the left nipple area, darkening his shirt and widening the puddle on the floor. He looked up at John's approach, eyes vacuous with pain.

"Please." Blood bubbled at the corners of his mouth as he tried to speak. "Help me."

"Don't move." Dropping the sword, John grabbed three pillows from the bed, stacked them behind the wounded Scotsman, and lowered him carefully onto the soft pile. Gary grimaced at the change in position but remained still as John pulled up his shirt to examine the wound.

"H-how did you get away?" the man whispered.

"It wasn't easy," John replied tersely. "Looks like you've got a punctured lung."

"Will I live?" Gary sounded like a frightened child. John, who'd seen many bullies reduced to this state by pain or fear, nodded.

"Fortunately for you, help will be here soon." John stood up, retrieved the folded flannel that had been used to soothe his migraine hours earlier, and handed it over. "Here. Hold this against the wound, as firmly as you can bear."

As he obeyed, Gary closed his eyes and moved his lips in what looked like a wordless prayer. When he opened them again, he whispered, "That bony fucker shot me."

John knelt beside him again. "That's right: he did. And now Mycroft Holmes is coming. You helped keep Alexei and I prisoner here. He's not going to be happy with you, so brace yourself."

Gary made a noise that was meant to be dismissive, but John saw fear flash across his ruddy features. "I- I just worked for Mayberry. That's all."

"Mayberry's not here, is he? But you are. And just because you're injured doesn't mean Mycroft won't hurt you further." Inspired, John leaned in closer. "Unless…."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you tell me everything first. Then I'll advise Mycroft that you cooperated and make sure it goes well for you. He might even be persuaded to let you go." John hated the latter thought, but Gary really was a minor figure in the entire scheme. "So how about it?"

The Scotsman licked his bloody lips nervously. "Al- alright."

"I heard Mayberry say that they were shifting operations to 'the Cove'. Where is that?"

"Never been there. But I know it's in Scotland. Isle of Lewis."

"Where exactly on the island?"

"I don't know, I swear. Never been there. Just heard Mayberry refer to it."

John glared. Gary raised a placating hand.

"I'm telling the truth, I swear!"

Allowing that it was a possibility, John asked the other question that he desperately needed to know the answer to.

"Mayberry said that he brought Alexei here to save his life. What does that mean exactly?"

The response left John so horrified that he barely heard the sound of approaching helicopters.

"The story's bullshit. It isn't Mayberry's life he'll be saving. Mayberry's got someone- a girl- with cancer. Don't know what kind. But I do know that Alexei's a perfect match as a donor, and they're going to dig some gland out of his head and put it in hers. Then they're going to kill him."