Disclaimer: I don't own Sherlock, or any of the other recognizable characters (from any series mentioned herein).
Why weren't some people shocked by Moriarty's appearance on all of the screens? This is the tale on how Moriarty already made it known to some that he was alive. It all started with Sherlock's name on a list. Sherlock x OC.
A/N - I really haven't fallen off the face of the Earth - I've just been sick. I highly recommend that you don't catch the flu, then a cold, that finally turns into bronchitis. Anyhow, I finally have the energy to write after a full day of teaching. The next few chapters of each of my stories will likely be shorter (5-7 pages, instead of the usual 10-15) as I get my groove back. Thanks goes out for all of the private messages and well wishes - ya'll are awesome!
Thank you to greeksik13, crashjjohnson, fandomenforcer, Just a Crazy-Man, guest, vesna, and Centinibron for the reviews and everyone that is following and adding this story to their favorites! You make my day :)
Chapter 12 - Visitors
A List
Chapter 12 - Visitors
Alex woke up slowly. She blinked her eyes that felt extremely heavy and looked around the darkened room.
Sherlock's room.
She tried to move her arm and winced at the pain from the needle in her arm that was hooked up to an iv.
Her heart was racing and she felt like she'd sweat enough to have run a marathon.
She tried to adjust her position a little and cursed loudly as her body protested any such movement.
The door opened quickly and John came over to check on her. He sat on the stool beside the bed and took her pulse at her wrist. "Are you feeling a bit more coherent today?" John asked her softly.
"I know where I am - if that's what you're asking me." her lips were cracked and her voice was hoarse.
John held a straw to her lips so she could take a few sips of water. "Well, that's a good sign." He gave her a small smile as she managed to take a few sips.
"Why does my whole body ache?" she inquired.
He put the glass back on the nightstand. "The withdraw you had was really bad."
Alex frowned, "I think I remember yelling at Sherlock and hitting him."
"Um, yeah - you did and then you started convulsing and went into cardiac arrest." John explained hesitantly.
Alex closed her eyes and clenched her fists as she vaguely remembered snippets of what she'd done. "Where's Sherlock?"
"He's at St. Barts analyzing your clothes from that day to see if he can narrow down the location you were held at."
Alex sighed softly and looked at John. She had a really unsettling feeling. "How long ago did he leave?"
John frowned as he glanced away from her gaze, "A day and a half ago." He looked back and saw her flinch. He took hold of her hand gently, "You gave him quite a scare. He thought he could take care of you, but then he realized he couldn't. He called Mycroft and had him send over the equipment and a nurse, and he called me to come. He can't be idle - not with Moriarty out there."
Alex nodded tiredly, "What was it he drugged me with?"
"Some type of jellyfish toxin and amphetamines."
"Great." Alex shifted her legs slightly and frowned as she realized something else. "I have a catheter?"
John sat back, "It was the nurse - not me." he said quickly as he stood up. "I'm going to give you a muscle relaxer and I'll have the nurse come in and get your muscles moving. It's going to hurt a bit."
Alex nodded and watched as he left the room.
XXXXX
John cringed at the cries of pain coming from the other room as the nurse began moving Alex's extremities to loosen the tight muscles. He was glad Sherlock wasn't around to hear it.
Ms. Hudson shuttered as another cry pierced the quietness of the living room. She set the tray of tea down and glanced at John, "Isn't there something you can do?"
"I know it seems harsh - but it will help. Her muscles are so rigid right now that it's just really painful. The first session is always the worst." he tried to reassure Ms. Hudson.
After another few minutes, the nurse came into the living room.
John stood up, "How did she do?"
The older nurse smiled, "Well enough - she threatened to kill me when she gets better, she's got a sense of humor. She had me remove the catheter, even though I advised her against it. I think it will only take two more sessions today."
John nodded as he contemplated what the nurse had said. It was a good thing the woman didn't know what Alex did for a living, or she would be afraid of Alex's threat. He headed to the bedroom as Ms. Hudson offered the nurse some tea.
Alex turned her head away as John came in the room.
"You know, you really shouldn't threaten your nurse." he advised as he sat back down in the chair beside the bed. He knew it had been extremely painful for her. She still didn't reply. "Ms. Hudson was worried." He added when she still didn't say anything to him.
Alex sighed heavily, "Tell her I've been through worse." She closed her eyes and tried to breathe through the pain so that it would subside quicker.
"I bet you have." John watched as she took a few deep breaths. "You have some injuries that weren't mentioned in your journal - how did you get them?" he questioned.
She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, "I had a fight with Sebastian the morning I left." She could remember it quite well and still feel all of the damage. She just hoped that Sebastian still hurt.
"What about this welt on your back?" he asked.
"Where?"
John came over and reached behind her and touched the middle of her left shoulder blade, "Right here."
Alex frowned slightly as he touched it. She couldn't remember getting hurt there, "I don't know - it just feels like a swollen knot under the skin. Maybe I got it when I jumped out of the car."
John frowned, it didn't seem likely. "It's still red and looks agitated, I'll keep an eye on it." He sat back down, "Is there anything you want to talk about?" he questioned her gently.
"Like what, John?" she dreaded this conversation and wanted to avoid it as much as possible.
"In your journal, you mentioned that Moriarty . . ." he winced slightly, there was no delicate way to say it.
"Molested me? Yes. But that's all, he didn't assault me - if that's what you're inquiring about. I'm fine." Alex stated firmly.
"Alex, being molested isn't something to just brush off." John was worried that all of her anger over the situation was going to fester.
Alex looked at him and saw the concern etched across his features, "John, please believe me when I say this isn't the first time. I've been trained to deal with this." She waited for that information to sink in.
John sat back and his brows furrowed.
"Is there something else you want to know?" she asked him.
He was quiet for a moment, then looked at her hesitantly. "Were you there when Moriarty killed your father?"
"Yes. It happened a lot quicker than I think Moriarty had planned, but when he saw that I didn't care for the Admiral - he just ended him." She took a deep breath as she thought back to the car ride. "I think he let me escape."
John looked perplexed, "What! Why?"
"It was too easy. Nobody had locked the doors, which they always did. And then," she realized the most important thing, "he didn't drug me as soon as we got in the car." She looked at John, "Moriarty wanted Sherlock to know he was alive and he wanted him to find out Mycroft's part in it all." She shook her head, "I should have gone straight to MI6 instead of coming here. At least Sherlock would be none the wiser."
"Now what makes you think that would be better? Sherlock deserves to know that Moriarty is still alive." John pointed out agitatedly.
"Well, I wasn't thinking from a national security point of view - I was just angry."
"And you'd been shot - you had every right to be angry." John stated firmly.
"Possibly, but I compromised Sherlock. That's exactly what Moriarty wanted, and what Mycroft was worried about all along." Alex sighed heavily, "Did they bring my stuff over?"
"Yeah, Carl brought your bag yesterday. I've got your gun - it's safe." John assured her.
"My phone?" she inquired.
John picked it up off the nightstand, "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to read my texts, then I have some people to contact."
"You need to rest."
Alex nodded, "Your government isn't the only one after Moriarty and I doubt Mycroft has told them yet."
John watched her closely as he handed her the phone. "We decided not to tell anyone about Moriarty - not even Mary or Ms. Hudson. If we can catch him before anyone finds out, it would be for the best."
Alex thought about it - they were right, it would be for the best if no one knew Moriarty was alive. "I need to make some calls."
John stood up and headed for the door, "I'll leave you alone for a little while."
"John, could you tell Ms. Hudson and the nurse that we're going to have quite a few people coming over soon." Alex started sending messages out from her phone.
John nodded and headed to the living room. "Ms. Hudson, she said we're going to have visitors soon." he relayed the message.
Ms. Hudson and the nurse looked at each other, then quickly headed down to the bedroom.
John frowned - had he missed something?
He quickly pulled out his phone and texted Sherlock.
~ Alex is awake and starting to stir up a hornet's nest. JW
He sat down in his chair and waited for a reply. He huffed after a few minutes when he still hadn't gotten a reply.
~ When will you be coming back? JW
Ding.
~ When I'm finished. SH
~Estimate? JW
Ding.
~ DK. Sorry John - it's Molly. Sherlock tossed his phone at me and told me he didn't have time to text.
~ Has he made any progress? JW
Ding.
~ He said he's got it narrowed down to six neighborhoods. Sorry, he's starting to yell -gotta go. Molly
John sighed and put his phone back in his pocket.
About ten minutes later, Ms. Hudson and the nurse came back out.
"What was all that about?" John inquired.
Ms. Hudson patted his shoulder, "She needed to be freshened up. We changed the sheets and her clothes. Women don't want to be seen at their worst, John."
Less than five minutes passed when the first wave of visitors arrived. Four Marines in their camouflaged uniforms, three men in tailored suits, and the American Ambassador himself - all of them went into Sherlock's small bedroom.
XXXXX
Sherlock frowned slightly. He'd analyzed every bit of clothing she had on and he didn't know what else to do to narrow the list down. He even knew the brand of polish used on the banister she'd been slammed against - and he knew she'd been slammed because of the bruises left on her body.
He was angry at Moriarty for putting her through everything he did, especially because he'd poisoned her repeatedly with the drugs. He'd been scared to death when she'd gone into cardiac arrest after she'd yelled at him and hit him. She'd been demanding that he get her something to ease the pain and he'd refused. He'd managed to revive her with CPR, then he'd promptly called his brother and John. He didn't want to admit it, but he cared too much for her - and it was compromising his focus. As soon as John had arrived to take over, he'd left and headed to Barts. He needed to find Moriarty. Sherlock clenched his fists and tried to calm down.
"So, she was kidnapped and you're trying to figure out where she'd been kept?" Molly questioned.
Sherlock sat back and looked at her, puzzled. "Didn't I already tell you that?"
Molly shook her head, "Um -no. You just came in here and started working. That was a day and a half ago - have you slept at all?"
Sherlock rubbed the bridge of his nose, "No, I don't require much sleep when I'm working." He stopped and looked at Molly thoughtfully. "Did Jim ever take you to any posh parties at a high end home?" he questioned gently.
"Jim? Why are you asking about him?" Molly narrowed her eyes.
"Molly - did he?" Sherlock questioned again.
She frowned, "No." She looked at him warily, "Why are you asking?"
Sherlock stood up and held onto her shoulders - he knew she may not take the news easily based on her past reactions. "Molly, Moriarty's not dead."
Molly's eyes widened and she stepped back quickly and nearly toppled over, but was held steady by Sherlock. She shook her head, "You. . . you told me that he was dead. You said he shot himself!" she started to go into hysterics.
"He did - but evidently he used a blank." Sherlock held onto her firmly to calm her down. "He played me, he played Mycroft - he played all of us." he stated calmly as he sat her down on a stool.
Molly took a few deep breaths and held onto the table ledge, "When did you find out?"
"When Alex escaped, before I came here."
"And you didn't think to tell me! Sherlock - what about Tom? Is he going to come after us?" She stood up quickly and fumbled for her phone.
Sherlock's brows furrowed, "I'll have Mycroft's people take you somewhere safe. You can think of it as a holiday." he quickly texted his brother.
"For how long?" Molly yelled. "Two years? I can't be gone that long and neither can he."
"Molly, we'll find Moriarty soon. I promise you." Sherlock glanced at the phone as a text came in. "Mycroft's people will be here in a few minutes. Gather your things." He went with her to the locker room to get her belongings, then they went back to the lab.
She put on her scarf and watched him carefully, "Is Alex anything like you?" she asked softly.
"Yes, I guess. Why do you ask?" Sherlock lifted his brow.
"John said she was stirring up a hornet's nest - you should check on her." she smiled a bit crookedly as she put on her coat.
Sherlock nodded, "Yes, I think you're right. I have a bit more work to do first."
The door opened and two of Mycroft's men stepped in.
"Doctor Hooper, come with us, please." one of them directed.
Molly nodded and looked back to Sherlock. "Be careful, Sherlock and please remember to turn everything off before you leave this time."
Sherlock gave her a small smile, "I will. Follow their directions and you and Tom will be safe."
Molly looked at him once more, then left with Mycroft's men.
Sherlock quickly went to one of the computers and started to distinguish the differences between the six neighborhoods.
XXXXX
Mycroft stood in the room of monitors and frowned as one by one, all of the video and listening devices at Baker Street were found and disabled by the Americans. He crossed his arms as the Head of MI6 came in and stood beside him.
Mallory watched the monitors, "Is she going to stop working with us because of this?"
Mycroft thought carefully, "No, but I think the Americans will be asserting their foothold in the situation."
They both watched as the last of their devices were shut off and the screen went blank.
Mycroft took a deep breath, "I think I'll go pay her a visit - see how she'd doing." He nodded to Mallory, then left.
XXXXX
TBC.
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