Oookay... I know it's been ages since the last update, but I was busy with Uni application...:S But here is an extra long chapter for you brilliant people :) Thank you for reading, and the reviews!
"I don't know."
The words echoed in the detective's head over and over again. He was almost sure that Lily told him the truth, and was completely sure that she meant to puzzle him by doing so. It worked. How could she not know who she was? Amnesia? No. She told John about her origins the first day they met, and she had been telling the truth then. She knew where she came from, she knew her family, her childhood.
There is something I am missing. Thought Sherlock, as he lay in bed after the previous night of talk.
The morning came lazily, and aided by medicine and rest, it took away most of the discomfort as well. He considered himself healthy, although he was fairly sure John would disagree. Will disagree.
When he finally got up and made his way to the kitchen, he expected John to be there, and to start complaining about how the detective should not be out of bed yet. When no annoyed comments came, he was a bit surprised. John should be back from his night shift already. It occurred to him that maybe he was in his room, but then again he rarely goes to bed after returning, he prefers watching telly and resting in his armchair.
An uncomfortable tightness settled in his stomach, although he couldn't quite tell why exactly. Maybe John went on a date with one of his girlfriends, and just happened to stay over. He hesitated for a moment before walking over to the sofa where Lily lay, still fast asleep. She had been sitting by his bed for most of the night, keeping him from being bored, and from getting out of bed. She probably left not long after Sherlock declared that "those useless pills" are making him sleepy against his will. He did fell asleep after that.
"Is something wrong, or is looming a habit of yours?"
The detective's eyes snapped back to Lily, who was still laying on the sofa, looking up at the man standing over her.
"How did I wake you up? I made no sound..." Said Sherlock, frowning at the girl who was very much awake. Lily raised an eyebrow, and briefly looked at the window behind the detective.
"Oh, my shadow. I see. You are a very light sleeper then. Should have expected that." He muttered on, as he sat down in an armchair tapping his fingers on his knee absently.
"Back to the point. What's wrong? Those worry lines on your face are unsettling the least." Lily continued, sitting up on the sofa and brushing her hair back from her face, resting her eyes on the detective.
Sherlock looked at her incredulously and somewhat offended. "I don't have worry lines." But as Lily wasn't the least fazed by his tone, he released an annoyed sigh. "Have you seen John?"
"No, not since he left for work. Why?"
"He hasn't came home yet, and he didn't write a text that he would be late."
Lily's eyes darkened, and she stood up abruptly, circling around the sofa and stopping behind it.
Defense. She is putting the sofa between her and me. Noted Sherlock.
"Call him." She said, with voice too calm, almost forced.
Sherlock still looked at her frowning, but dialed John's number. It rang twice before a distorted voice said:
"Mr Sherlock Holmes. Put the phone on speaker."
In a matter of a single moment, thousand possibilities flew through his brain, but he voiced non, face completely devoid of emotion. He did as he was told and put the phone on the coffee table.
"Done." He answered, loud enough so the one on the other end would hear it as well.
"Good. Now, I am sure we are all aware that our agent is in the room with you, and your colleague, Doctor Watson is here with us. We want a simple swap. No questions asked, no one gets hurt. You give the location and the time. If you fail to deliver the girl, we cannot guarantee the safety of your friend."
The call ended and the room was silent.
"Brilliant!" Sherlock exclaimed, hopping up, and pacing in front of the window excitedly.
Lily for the first time, looked shocked.
"Why would …?" She started, but was cut off by the detective.
"Oh, don't be stupid. You are clever, can't you figure it out?"
"Not with the information that I have." She answered, folding her arms over her chest, and looking at Sherlock expectantly. The pacing man stopped and started at her. "Don't look at me like that, I know you made a deal with your brother, and it concerned me. Out with it."
The detective's phone beeped. He looked at it and showed the text to Lily.
"My brother has eyes on John. We know his location. And we have a little time till we need to call back with a place and time for the swap. Fancy a coffee?"
"Let me get this straight." Lily said as she raised the huge cup of coffee to her lips. "You made a deal with your brother so he would let me stay with you, and in exchange I need to help find out who ordered you to be dead." She finished, looking straight into calculating blue eyes.
The detective nodded once. "Precisely."
Lily took a deep breath and slowly let it out, mulling over this whole deal. It was of course, reasonable. And that's what worried her the most. It felt too simple, too... given, what with the circumstances and all. And those things that sounded the most simple, were the ones which brought great tragedies with them. Although, she had to admit, that right at that moment, she couldn't see any trap in the plan.
'You are a bright person. You have more brain than most. I'm sure you've already figured out that you don't really have a choice in this matter. 'Sherlock said, looking at the girl intently. His gaze seemed to almost see through the skin and flesh, right into Lily's mind. Damn, he is good. She thought.
"All right." She said, determination in her voice. "Deal." Not that I have many options, with John captive and all...
Sherlock gave way to a satisfied grin. "Good." He said as he rose from the table with the momentum of a man who is preparing to hurry somewhere. "Now we just have to figure out how to get more information. We know they have John, but it's still unclear who "They" are exactly... As I've said my brother has some ties with the CIA, and he couldn't find anything..."
"That is easy." Chirped the girl.
The detective whirled back towards her, a questioning look on his face.
"How so?"
Lily grimaced. "We make the swap."
"That's a good idea." Said Sherlock, then his brow furrowed. "Why is it a good idea?"
"They would obviously want to eliminate me, tie up loose ends, and so on. They will operate with the knowledge in mind that I Will Be Dead. If they think me no threat, because of my "unavoidable" demise, they would let their guard down. I could get some information. Then we could follow up on the lead... and in the meantime, come up with a plan to get me out of course." Explained Lily impatiently.
Sherlock's frown deepened. "Why would they want to eliminate a foot solider anyway? This whole situation is ridiculous. As I gathered, you were on the lowest level of the food chain, no offense. Why not just let you go? They surly have to know, that you just want to disappear." He said.
Lily just stared at him, stunned. "Don't you know anything about people?'"She asked. When no answer came, she rolled her eyes, annoyed. "They are Humans." She enunciated the last word. "They are afraid."
"Why is that?"
Her eyes narrowed, as if in recognition. This man knew little about the human psyche. Good Lord... How to make him understand?
She sighed, and spread her fingers flat on the table, collecting her thoughts.
"People have fears, doubts. Even if they knew that I was just going to run like hell and start a peaceful but uneventful life somewhere, they can't be sure. Because I am human too. And we Change. We change our mind so often. We do things totally out of character. We are driven to unimaginable things by emotions. Passion, fear, love..." She explained. When she didn't get a reaction, she started again. Okay... Let's put myself into his shoes. How to make a practical, analytical, and emotionally seemingly shallow mad scientist understand?
Then she started, getting an idea from the dozens of chemical stuff in the kitchen. "Imagine a stick and fire. The effect of the two put together is utterly predictable. Any way you combine them, the fire will consume the stick, and it will become ash. Substitute the two with a person and a situation. The person is the stick, the situation is the fire. So we know, that a person's reaction to a certain situation will always be the same.' She kept eye contact with the detective, know having all his attention. 'But what if, we add something else in the equation? For example. If we dip the stick into oil. The fire will catch it faster, it will burn with a more fierce flame, thus changing the effect. Or if we cloak the stick with some nonburnable material, then it will not burn, so that too changes the outcome. These circumstances can be translated into those emotional effects that forms the human behavior." She finished, looking expectantly at the detective. "Do you get it now?"
Sherlock just stared at her, dumbfounded. Sure, he was aware that his knowledge of human psyche was not equal to that of his knowledge on biology or chemistry, or crime related subjects. Bit still it felt a little humiliating to have himself lectured on this subject. Well, well... Everything for the sake of learning. And this girl seemed like a capable teacher.
"It is, clearer now." He assured, then cocked his head to one side. "You've learned psychology, I presume."
Lily stood up, and walked to the window, just to do something. She couldn't sit still for too long, she was still too agitated. She was fighting her instincts to flee. She smiled as she imagined her head as a little factory of reason and thought. She pictured as bright red alarm bells went off in her head. She was always so visual...
She stopped by the window and stared out longingly.
'It was part of the training.' She answered.
A moment of silence followed, then Sherlock stepped closer, hands in his trousers' pockets. - He dressed before sitting down for a coffee.
"Only one question is left." He said slowly, stopping behind Lily. "Why do you risk yourself for John?"