"Well, he's a..." Ash began but was interrupted by a well dressed man strolling into the room swinging an umbrella.
"Gareth Harrogate is a 45 year old banker who was kidnapped 2 days ago and is still being held for a ransom of half a million pounds," Mycroft said as he passed over a file to Sherlock, he then turned towards the con-men, "Sorry for my interruption."
"And you are?" Mickey asked.
"Mycroft Holmes," Mycroft held out his hand which Mickey shook somewhat reluctantly.
"Hang on. Holmes?" Ash questioned.
"Hmm, yes, Sherlock is my dear little brother."
Sherlock did not react to his brother's sarcastic tone; his attention was on the file. Lestrade pointed at the paperwork, "Erm...How did you get hold of that?"
"Are you seriously asking that question?" John replied giving the inspector a pointed look.
Lestrade huffed, "There must be somewhere that is off limits to the Holmes brothers."
"We need to pay the ransom," Sherlock said firmly to the room at large, "Gareth Harrogate is important for some reason. We need to get him back."
"The police don't give into ransoms," Lestrade stated.
"Yes," Mycroft agreed, "Except, the police are no longer handling this case."
"Wait, I see where this is going," Mickey fixed his glare on the elder Holmes, "We are not doing it."
A few glances of confusion were shared between some occupants of the room but both Holmes men knew what the conman meant.
"I'm afraid, you don't have a choice," Mycroft spoke; his tone dark, "We have regrettably not been able to deal with Moriarty appropriately and so these games must be played."
"Well, you can play them on your own," Mickey's voice was beginning to rise.
"I'm afraid that isn't an option," Mycroft sneered back.
"Oh, come on, what exactly are you going to do?" Ash laughed hollowly.
"I wouldn't go there if I were you," John muttered. Mickey turned to look at him.
"Are you threatening us now?" Albert quirked his brow.
John held his hands up, "I'm not threatening anyone."
Mickey took a step forward towards Mycroft, "We are not raising half a million pounds to pay a ransom."
"Oh I think you are," Mycroft bit back.
"And again I ask, what are you going to do about it if we refuse?" Ash also moved towards Mycroft.
"You won't refuse."
"Oh, won't we?" Sean joined in, stepping up next to Ash.
Suddenly a shout rang through the room, "Stop this! Stop this now!"
Everyone turned to see a furious looking Mrs Hudson standing at the edge of the kitchen with her hands on her hips, "You 'men' need to grow up!"
"I agree," Emma said walking to stand by the land lady, "I mean, you may has well just pull your pants down and have done with it."
Mrs Hudson blinked, "Yes...well...that's not quite how I would have put it but...honestly, you 'men'...you need to put your bloody egos to one side and start listening to each other. Starting with you," she pointed at the con-men, specifically Mickey, "You need to realise that you are involved now whether you want to be or not; accept it." She turned to face Mycroft, "You need to stop waltzing into rooms and ordering people about."
John and Lestrade both chuckled at that comment earning a stare and their own telling off, " And you two," Mrs Hudson began, "You two shouldn't let it get this far. You are the responsible ones!"
"Sorry, Mrs Hudson," John was serious again instantly, "You're right."
"Good, ok," Mrs Hudson sighed taking her hands off her hips, "John, you may want to check on Sherlock."
John frowned and looked around. It became apparent that he, and indeed no one else in the room, had noticed that Sherlock had disappeared.
"He is in his room," Mycroft said knowingly and, if John didn't know better, with a hint of sadness.
"Right," John nodded as he turned and left.
...
The door to Sherlock's room was not shut completely so John just pushed it gently and slid inside. Sherlock was sitting on the edge of the bed, eyes closed, with his hands in a prayer position under his chin.
"You ok?" John asked rather tentatively.
"Couldn't think properly," Sherlock answered, "Has Mycroft issued a threat yet?"
John smiled, "It didn't quite get that far; Mrs Hudson told us all off."
Sherlock opened his eyes and tilted his head, "Mrs Hudson told Mycroft off?"
"Told him to stop, "waltzing into rooms and ordering people about."
Sherlock smirked, "I wish I had been there."
John snorted,"Yeah... except..."
"Except, what?"
"Well, you are usually guilty of the same thing."
"I don't 'waltz'"
"You do a bit."
Both men stared at each other for a moment before sharing a smile.
"You coming back out?" John gestured towards the door.
Sherlock didn't reply.
"We should see if Mickey and his crew...gang...whatever... could stay somewhere else. That would lessen the amount of people around here."
Again Sherlock was quiet. John sighed, not quite knowing what to do or say but he continued, "We could send Lestrade with them; you know, just to make sure that they actually do the job. Although, I'm sure Mycroft will have them..."
"He'll keep coming back, John," Sherlock interrupted quietly but purposefully.
John looked at his friend. He understood.
Sherlock stood quickly, startling John out of his momentary daze, "I think, it's my turn."
"Excuse me?" John blinked.
"I think it's my turn to, what was it? "Waltz into a room and order people about"?" Sherlock moved to the door.
John couldn't help the grin that formed on his face as he followed the revived detective out of the room, "I'm right behind you."
...
When they reached the living room, it became obvious that not much had been said in their absence but the room had relaxed to a degree as everyone bar Mrs Hudson had sat down.
"Right, here's what's going to happen," Sherlock stated firmly, "Mickey and his crew are going to set up a con to raise the half a million required to get Gareth Harrogate back. Lestrade, you are going to help me and John, by questioning those close to Mr Harrogate- we need as much information as possible if we are going to piece this together. Mycroft, you will..."
"The lockdown at Scotland Yard is being dealt with," Mycroft butted in, rolling his eyes. "Nice to see you back, little brother," he said as he stood up, "We'll speak soon. Good evening, everyone." And with that he left.
"What is the time scale?" Mickey asked.
"As quickly as possible," John answered glancing at Sherlock who nodded.
"Ok, I'll come back in the morning," lestrade said as he checked his phone and started moving to the door, "Let me know if anything changes."
"Find out who was involved in the investigation of Harrogate's kidnap," Sherlock told him.
"I'll see what I can do," Lestrade said before making his decent down the stairs.
"So...where are we going?" Sean leaned forward in his chair.
John looked at Sherlock who shrugged noncommittally.
"Well, my spare room has two single beds; my nephews like to come and stop," Mrs Hudson said.
"My room is upstairs," John offered, "I can take the couch."
"Someone may as well sleep in my bed," Sherlock said.
"You should sleep in your bed," Mrs Hudson told him pointedly.
"Ok," Emma took control, "Me and Sean will take Mrs Hudson's spare room. Mickey and Ash, you can sort yourselves out in John's room and Albert, you can take Sherlock's."
"Why do I have to share a room with Mick? He snores, you know," Ash groaned.
"We could just find a hotel," Mickey stated but he caught the quick glare Sherlock shot in his direction. "But I guess that wouldn't be playing the game," he amended grudgingly, leaving John wondering just what had gone on in the time when he was out of the room.
"What I want to know is," Albert drawled, "is Sherlock's room a safe place to sleep?"
Sherlock face registered confusion and John held back a laugh, "It is. It's the only place he keeps tidy."
"Hmm, unfortunately," Mrs Hudson grumbled quietly.
Emma suddenly realised she hadn't factored someone in, "Erm, where is Sherlock going to sleep?"
"Wherever he crashes in a few days time," John told her.
...