Mycroft Holmes

Elizabeth emerged from the shop, slightly happier then when she had entered. She felt a lot better with her natural hair colour back but she was still miserable and couldn't help but wonder why John had been in such distress earlier. What had made him say those awful things? She and Sherlock were similar, she would be the first to admit it but that didn't mean that they were in a relationship or even had feelings for each other. Even if she did have feelings for Sherlock Holmes, that didn't mean that she would know how to act about them or that he would even feel the same way.

The phone in her pocket had been buzzing practically non-stop, various texts and phone calls, most likely from John and Lestrade, she doubted that Sherlock would be bothered by her absence. Her phone buzzed again and she swore under her breath and pulled it to her ear "Leave me alone" she snapped.

"Miss Wilde, please get in the car." The well-spoken voice said, Mycroft Holmes.

"Mycroft Holmes, I presume" she said, rolling her eyes. She looked around the street for a nearby car "There is no car" she said quickly.

"I assure you there is" just as the words reached her lips, a black car with tinted windows pulled up beside her. The door swung open to reveal a smartly dressed woman on a blackberry. "Get in" Mycroft croaked, Elizabeth muttered "fine" as she hung up the phone call and slid into the car, her hand rested on her wound, which pulled slightly.

"Miss Wilde" the smartly dressed woman smiled "I hope that you are not in too much pain."

She smiled weakly "I'm fine" she hated to admit that she was actually in quite a lot of pain.

They drove for about ten minutes before pulling up into an old-fashioned row of houses. She was ushered into one of the houses, which was decorated with antiques. She breathed in deeply, allowing the musky antique smell to fill her nostrils. The woman from the car gestured towards the room to the right and Elizabeth walked into the lounge based area. She sat herself down on a rather uncomfortable looking sofa and smiled at the man in the arm chair. He was clearly tall, slightly taller than Sherlock and had the same cheekbones, although his were less prominent. She noted his neatly styled brown hair and three piece suit.

"Miss Wilde" Mycroft's eyes widened as he spoke.

"Mister Holmes, I assume this is about your brother." She articulated.

"Very good" he said patronisingly "what are your intentions towards him?"

She smirked "I have no intentions, I assure you."

Mycroft rolled his eyes "Miss Wilde, we both know that isn't true. You may deny it but you have feelings for my brother that much is clear." He repositioned himself, settling his leg over the other one.

"I have no such feelings" she snapped, Mycroft smiled at her.

"Yes, you keep insisting" he murmured "but I think we know differently." He raised an eyebrow at her in a knowing manner and she smiled at him.

She blurted out "Perhaps we do Mister Holmes, you seem awfully concerned with Sherlock's life yet he neglects to mention you and refuses to talk to you. Has he figured it out?"

"Figured what out?" Mycroft asked, annoyance clear in his voice as he sighed.

"That you're fucking Lestrade." She blurted out, raising her eyebrow in a questioning manner "he was upset at the discovery, more upset that he wasn't informed, your brother may not show him emotions but he does have them. I'm happy that your relationship with my Uncle has advanced from sexual partners into a relationship, he deserves to be happy…just like Sherlock does."

Mycroft smiled at her "I want nothing more than Sherlock's happiness but you are a danger to him in more ways than you realise."

She sighed and leaned back into the chair, her side aching "this is a payoff" she muttered in disbelief, bring her hand to her face and running her fingers through her silky hair.

"I just want you to know that there are other options for you" he said quickly and she let out a small laugh and gave him a 'like what' look. A small smile escaped his face as he continued "a place out of the city, wherever you chose and an annual salary, more than you could ever make. The freedom to do what you please, all your needs would be catered to I assure you."

"And the terms?" she asked in a monotone, fighting off the urge to attack the arrogant man in front of her.

"Simple" he articulated "I don't want you to contact my brother ever again."

She smiled "what about my Uncle?"

His face dropped "Gregory would of course be kept out of the loop, it would pain him to find out and you've left him before."

She almost cried as he finished, he was right she had left Greg before without a second word before but she couldn't do that again, he was her only family. "no" she managed, her voice weaker than she expected.

"Excuse me?" Mycroft said, leaning forwards.

"I said no" she said strongly, she stood up to make her point clearer. The pain from her stitches burned and her lungs felt as if they closed slightly as she struggled for breath.

"Are you ok?" Mycroft asked, a small pinch concern in his voice, she nodded and he continued "I can already see there is no changing your mind, just be careful." She looked up to meet his gaze "I would hate to see you hurt or Sherlock, be careful." He stood up and took a step towards her, she flinched slightly at the man towering above her "the car will take you to Baker Street or anywhere you need to go."

"No, thank you" she muttered, deciding politeness would work best, he was after all very powerful and influential, not to mention Sherlock's brother. "You have already done enough Mr Holmes; I will make my own way back. I am only sorry that you have taken time out of your busy schedule for nothing."

"I wouldn't say nothing" he replied eagerly, offer her a small smile. She knew that he shared Sherlock's abilities of deduction and the meeting worked as some sort of window to her mind. He opened the door and smiled as she walked out of it "until the next time Miss Wilde."

She turned to look at the elder Holmes brother once more and smirked "It's Lestrade, Miss Lestrade" Mycroft gave her an understanding smile as she turned and made her way down the stone steps.

Elizabeth looked both ways before deciding which way to go, she favoured right, knowing that direction would take her back to Baker Street quicker. She paused, why did she need to get back to Baker Street? That wasn't her home, she didn't belong there and they didn't want her there. That much was clear by John's outburst. She was walking at a steady pace, her feet tapping against the pavement with every step. She tried to clear her mind and stopped deducing people; the lives of strangers had given her something trivial to think about before. But now even that wasn't enough to interest her, she couldn't understand them and she needed to.

A figure in the corner of her eye snapped her back into reality. She turned, there were two men standing on the other side of the road, leaning against a dark car. They were engaged in what seemed like casual conversation, but at closer look it was clear they were waiting for someone. Elizabeth could see this from the positions of their bodies, one leaning on the car back to her, his head turned slightly to glance at her side of the street. The other man facing him, his eyes glancing occasionally to her as he conversed with his 'friend' Elizabeth sighed loudly. She was being followed and was at least 20 minutes from Baker Street, if she continued to walk, they would catch up to her no problem.

She pulled out her phone and dialled Mycroft's number, he answered within seconds.

"Miss Lestrade, changed your mind already?" he asked hopefully, she could visualise his smile.

She lowered her voice, hoping the guys on the other side of the street wouldn't hear her "Are you having me followed?"

"I have no reason to have people follow you" he answered quickly. She almost hit herself.

"Well someone is having me followed" she mumbled "I am twenty minutes away from Baker Street, I can make it there."

"In your current state?" he questioned.

"Yes" she croaked, "I can do it, if their following me, then they may be following Sherlock. I doubt this is about me, keep him safe."

Mycroft answer was immediate "I will. Stay safe and keep me updated." She murmured thanks and slid the phone back into her pocket.

Elizabeth glanced at the men, who turned to look at her. She smiled at them and ran down the street. It took the men a few seconds to pick up their pace and run after her. The street was long but soon enough she would come to a smaller alley which she could easily maneuverer herself down. Theoretically she had the capabilities to out run them, she had a small body mass and was able to climb without much trouble. However, her injuries would slow her down. The burning in her lungs had started and her stitched were pulling painful as her body moved rapidly. The two men running after her, were mid-thirties and physically fit, evidently trained to watch people (perhaps even kidnap or worse) and would easily catch up unless she used her agility.

The rapid steps of the men behind her were closing in; she let them get closer, close enough to reach out before sharply turning into a small alley. The men were unprepared and struggled to stop themselves crashing into each other. The alley was tight and a few bins were scatted below a wall, she sprung herself onto the bins which wobbled and pushed herself on top of the wall. She glanced back at the men who were entering the alley and used her hands to push herself onto the wall onto the pavement.

She landed on her foot and knee, which hit the pavement hard. She winced slightly, the pain in her lungs and abdomen growing. Elizabeth picked herself up and hurried off towards Baker Street, running as fast as her legs could take her.