EXAMS ARE OVER! I'm so happy :D Expect a lot for Molliarty coming at you...now I just need to work out where this story's going. Enjoy!
"I thought you knew what you'd got yourself into." Jim walked slowly around the chair on which a huddled woman was shaking and trying not to cry out loud. Sebastian stood in the corner of the room, a firearm trained at the woman's head. There was something strangely attractive to Jim about a man with so much power in his hands. But now was not the time, he already had enough on his mind in that department. "But I guess...I was wrong." His voice had an eerie sing-song tone and the woman whimpered. "I guess you have no idea what kind of man I am. Have you not heard?" He stood in front of her, hands in his pockets, rocking a little from his toes to his heels. She looked up at him, her hair tangled, her eyes red-rimmed from silent crying with mascara running in black streams down her cheeks. He smiled at her, almost as a father would smile at a child. And then suddenly his face contorted and he sprang towards her like an animal attacking its prey, his mouth shouting less than an inch from her own, "Don't you know you I am?" She opened her mouth in a silent scream and shrank back in the chair. Jim chuckled ominously and walked to the door, giving Sebastian a nod as he passed. He turned back as he reached the door. "I know you thought this would be the best way to protect him, but when you make an agreement with me, you always have to follow through with your end of the deal. I gave you a deadline and you missed it. It's as simple as that. No second chances. And don't worry about your...what is he, your boyfriend?" Jim sneered the word with malice and undisguised disgust. "I've got a very...special surprise for him."
"Don't hurt him." The woman's voice was barely a whisper and Jim raised his eyebrows in surprise as she addressed him. He formed his mouth into a surprised 'oh' and widened his eyes in mock innocence.
"Why not? Because he's such a great politician? Oh sweetheart, we both know that's not true. So what? Because you love him? How touching. I'm sure his wife would love to hear all about your feelings for him. Although I'm sure she'll be much less...threatened by your presence in their relationship in a few minutes." He turned his back and waved a hand over his shoulder as he left the room. "Toodles."
A gunshot rang out as he walked away down the corridor and he smiled. That sound always managed to cheer him up, no matter how low he was feeling. And he didn't have to be involved in the messy clean-up; that was Sebastian's job. He was a good boy really, Moran, although he had developed a sarcastic side recently. Jim would have to beat that out of him sooner rather than later. But for now, he had a date.
Molly was already sat at their usual table when he arrived. She was dressed to kill and sipping a glass of the restaurant's most expensive red wine as he slid into his seat and smoothed his tie.
"I see you've started without me. Bad girl." He smirked and picked up the menu.
"You'll have to punish me later. Have some wine, it really is worth the money." She motioned at the bottle which he gladly picked up and poured from. Molly had learned a lot about wine whilst she'd been seeing Jim. He had very expensive taste in these things and therefore, so did she. Previously, it would be a bottle of whatever was on half price at the corner shop. But Jim liked to show her a good time and introduce her to all sorts of new taste experiences, and Molly was more than happy to follow along.
"It is when it's not your money," he muttered and swigged his wine down in one. It had been a tiring day. Before the crying mistress, he'd had a two blackmailings, a phone call with the uncooperative head of a little-known terrorist movement and lunch with Irene Adler which was always...challenging. All he wanted now was a good meal and a lot to drink. If Molly was in one of her talkative moods, he'd have to sleep at his own flat after going back to hers. He had never taken her there and he never intended to. They weren't a couple, no matter what she thought. Yes, he took her for nice meals and sometimes he bought her things. But no woman, not even Molly Hooper, was going to become a feature in Jim's home. That was his sanctuary. He'd only started letting Sebastian in recently and that was because things hadn't quite worked out with his cleaning lady. She knew too much, he'd had to...cut her loose. Now Sebastian came around to do a few chores and keep the place to an adequate level of cleanliness. Jim had more important things on his brilliant mind than dishes and vacuuming.
"So...how was your day?" she asked cheerily to break the silence which hung between them as Jim drained his second glass of wine in seconds. Inwardly he grimaced. He couldn't be doing with small talk. When he was in a good mood, it was fine...she could chatter away all she liked. Sometimes it was soothing, like having a pet bird. He quite liked hearing her opinions on trivial matters such as guessing which celebrities were secretly a couple (she always got it wrong, how could people miss such obvious clues?) and what Janine the secretary said to Joanne the lady who worked in the canteen about...someone else whose name probably began with a J who worked in another area of the hospital. But tonight, he was not in the mood. And if she kept talking, he might not even be able have an enjoyable few hours at her flat before making his excuses. It was a shame, as he could really do with that release tonight. He had a lot of pent up aggression from the day and he'd learned recently that Molly could take that in a way few other women would be able to stomach.
"It was fine. Have you ordered yet?" He barely raised his eyes from the menu.
"No." Molly knew better than to keep trying to talk to him. She'd had to learn quickly to identify Jim's moods. Normally after a hard day, he was at maybe a seven out of ten on a scale of frustration. That meant a few short answers, some rough sex and then he'd leave. But today was at least an eight and a half. She'd be lucky if he lasted the meal. The last time he'd been in one of these moods, she'd asked him if she could taste his salmon and he'd got up and left without a word. So she decided to leave it. Better to eat in tense silence than to eat alone. She was always very wary of getting on his bad side. It had been a while since she'd seen him really snap...but that meant they couldn't be far off another incident. Last time, they'd been waiting for his driver outside a restaurant and a drunk guy had called something obscene to Molly from the doorway of a kebab shop. Within seconds, the man had been struggling to breath with Jim's hands clamped tightly around his neck. And then he'd fumed the whole car ride home about the fact that he'd managed to get gravy on his tie. So she sat tight. Tonight seemed a likely night for a tantrum and she'd had too busy a day to worry about that.
The meal was uneventful in the end. Very little conversation made for a slightly awkward atmosphere, and Molly wasn't surprised when Jim's driver pulled up outside her flat and Jim made no move to follow her out of the car. He barely looked at her as the car pulled away. Molly felt deflated as she unlocked her front door. She should have known from the outset that there was no way she would be able to have a normal relationship with Jim. If this was a relationship. It didn't really feel like one. She didn't know what it was. She sighed and slumped onto the couch. At times, it was brilliant. They had fun. It was possible to forget that he was one of the world's most dangerous criminals as they ate takeaway pizza and watched American Idol reruns. But that was only when she caught him in a good mood. When she didn't, the evenings ended like this. Maybe she should call it a day. But she couldn't. For a start, how on Earth do you dump a slightly psychopathic killer? She knew exactly what he was capable of. And there was something else. The physical side of their relationship was like nothing Molly had ever experienced before. True, she wasn't the most worldly girl, but she wasn't exactly a prude. She knew what she liked. Or she thought she had, until Jim ignited something new in her. Now she knew what she liked. And no one else would ever measure up to that. She groaned out loud and reached for her phone. Of course he hadn't texted her. He very rarely did. He tended to just show up at her flat unannounced, or they'd make plans to see each other as he left in the early hours of the morning. She'd sent him a few texts, but she never got a reply so she'd stopped bothering. She scrolled through her inbox. There was that text from John from a while ago, sitting there expectantly. She'd seen him briefly since and there had most definitely been an elephant in the room. He never asked why she hadn't replied, and she never acknowledged that she'd received anything to reply to. Now she sat and read it again. She'd hardly given it a thought since she'd read it the first time.
Hi, I was just wondering if you'd thought any more on what I suggested about a drink. Let me know. I just think it might be fun – JW
Maybe it would be fun. He was a nice man. Maybe that was what she needed. Of course, she always found herself slightly awkward around Sherlock and John after what she'd agreed to do for Jim...she pushed it to the back of her mind as she had been doing for weeks. He hadn't needed her to do anything yet...perhaps it would never happen. Jim said he was "waiting for the right time". Who knew when that would be? So that didn't matter. And clearly Jim didn't want anything to do with her tonight...
I'm free tonight if you are. You know my address. Bring wine – Molly x
And now to wait. Part of her hoped he would be busy. The same part of her that was trying desperately not to think about how Jim would react.