The car pulled up outside the same entrance John remembered from their last visit to Baskerville. This time there was a small entourage of five people waiting to greet them. None of them were Major Barrymore.
Sherlock met his friend's eyes, but his words were directed at Mycroft. "Major Barrymore?"
"Was replaced shortly after your visit here," Mycroft confirmed his brother's suspicions. "He couldn't be trusted to further the government's interests... responsibly."
"You couldn't control him, you mean," the younger Holmes said sarcastically.
Mycroft was unperturbed at the words directed at him from the blond. "Just so."
The driver of the car stepped out and opened the door for them. Mycroft stepped out first, followed by Sherlock and John.
A sharp dressed man in uniform stepped forward. "Mr. Holmes, sir. I'm Major Grisham."
The government official nodded coolly, aware of their escort exiting their own vehicle. "Major. Thank you for accommodating my request on such short notice." He looked around at the other four individuals. "I think we should move inside before conducting introductions."
Sherlock observed one of the men, a stock brunette, standing behind the major. The man was staring at John with an almost hungry expression. Even with his slower than normal thought processes, the detective quickly deduced that he was one of the men Mycroft had spoken of in the car. He bared his teeth, almost growling at the man, but a quick squeeze from John's bigger hand stopped him.
The doctor only wanted to get inside. The sun was too bright, the wind too cold and the faces and demeanour of the little group of scientists were providing too much visual input for him to handle. He closed his eyes briefly and summoned up the comfort of the flat. It was getting easier to find his way into Sherlock's Mind Palace, a fact for which he was grateful as it cut out much of the external stimuli. It didn't last long. He felt Sherlock tug his hand and he had to open his eyes to follow the others inside.
As the door to the facility closed behind the group, Mycroft addressed Major Grisham. "As I indicated, this is an issue of the highest sensitivity. Only those with a need to know need continue to the area you've set aside."
The major gave a little bow to indicate his understanding. "Then I'll leave you in the hands of Doctor Blankenship." He gestured towards a tallish blond man. "He was selected as the lead for your team."
Sherlock allowed himself a thin smile. Obviously this major had been hand picked by Mycroft himself. There was no danger from that front. His eyes drifted to the brunette he had marked outside. That man was a different matter.
"Doctor Blankenship," Mycroft acknowledged without breaking stride. "Your reputation precedes you." He nodded to the major as he peeled off from the group. "You're work has proved promising on several fronts."
The idle chatter continued as they made their way through the labyrinthine halls and down several levels. It was obvious the other members of the team were dying of curiosity, but they had been well trained and kept it in check. That lasted until they entered a conference room, their guards waiting outside the locked door.
Mycroft waited until everone had taken a seat except himself. "We'll continue introductions in a few minutes, but first, I wish to tell you why you are here. You are about to be faced with a tired trope of both science fiction and comedy, but I assure you, this is no misguided attempt at humour. The matter at hand is serious and will be treated with the utmost care. These two gentlemen," he indicated both John and Sherlock, "have, hm, had their personalities and the majority of their memories swapped across bodies. It will-"
The room erupted into chatter amongst the four men. There were several exclamations of 'impossible' and 'absurd' as they gesticulated wildly.
Mycroft's fist impacted the table, drawing all eyes to him. "No more so than glowing rabbits and extra human strength. Collect yourself, gentlmen! This is real and you have been brought together to reverse the process." He took a deep breath, then tossed Sherlock's notebook on the table. "The experiment outlined in this notebook was interrupted. We believe we know when, but we don't understand the results. That's where you come in, the psychiatrists and the physicists. Figure it out." He paused. "One more thing before the introductions commence, these two gentlemen will be leaving this facility with me in a few days. Any effort to prevent that will be met with the harshest force. Do we understand each other?" He met each man's eye, waiting for an acknowledgement. When he had got it he smiled. "Now, let's get on with the introductions, shall we?"