Chapter 11: Sigma

John:

"up2u. Advance the game. U.M.Q.R.A." John stared at the scrap of paper in his palm as the sound of the plane faded into the distance. It was up to him now. But how?

"What are you looking at?" asked Mycroft. John continued to look at the page for half a second longer, then looked up nonchalantly.

He'd never been particularly good at lying or acting. The ex-army captain was too straightforward for that. You couldn't lie to a grenade. All you could do was be out of the way when it was thrown. And he was very good at that.

Everyone knew that Sherlock tended to keep John in the dark. Most thought it was so he could show off more when all the pieces were in place. But it was actually because John preferred it that way. The less you know, the less you can give away... and the more real your reactions when you found out.

It was for that reason that Mary had shot Sherlock, something that wasn't in the plan. They were supposed to cotton on to Mary's false false past, rush to save her from Magnussen and his mysterious contact (AKA Sherlock), and 'accidentally' shoot the guy before that contact could be discovered. When Sherlock was admitted to the ICU, John had thought the plan had been compromised, and when he'd figured out what had really happened, he'd been furious. It wasn't until later that he realized how much that anger had accentuated their "argument" over Mary's past.

"Nothing much," he told Mycroft, as he extracted his wallet and slipped the paper carefully into it. "Just...an old memory."

Lying, no. Misleading...you could mislead an enemy. John had been doing it for years. Poor, clueless John Watson, always in the dark, always trailing the great Sherlock Holmes, little better than a loyal guard dog.

Well, John had actually solved a case or two before Sherlock got the answer. He'd let Sherlock take the credit, of course, but thanks to John, who paid attention to every case that came through their door, Sherlock had already known about the bodies stolen for the Canterbury Project when he walked onto that plane. John might not have been able to stop Sherlock making the mistake that endangered everything, but it was thanks to him that the consulting detective had been able to save the Plan.

He hadn't lied to Mycroft; U.M.Q.R.A was an old memory. And a rather odd one, for the events at Baskerville had had little to do with the Plan, and the rather embarrassing U.M.Q.R.A. lead had been totally unconnected to the case.

...And, thus, the only thing that wouldn't have been reported to Mycroft.

Moving over to the car, out of sight of the others, John pulled out his phone.

Sherlock had bought John this phone as a Christmas present, to replace the older-model castoff from Harry. He'd kept the old phone for sentimental reasons, but he'd found the newer smartphone more useful.

It had a five-digit unlock code. John, knowing that Sherlock would break in anyway, hadn't put a lot of effort into his code. But now, instead, he entered the numbers next to the letter (86772). the phone lit up with the words "Sigma Code Activated." There was a pause as the program ran, and then a text message appeared on the screen.

John,

I apologize for all the pointless texts I've sent you. Each one contains a tiny coding error which the Sigma Code compiles into a single message. As this message was never truly sent, nobody can intercept it.

I haven't much space to explain. Your marriage was more important than the Plan, but the Plan must continue. When the time is right, send the text now in your outbox.

-SH

John glanced at his watch. Well… it had been about two minutes now. That seemed long enough.

"Send all?" queried the phone.

"Confirmed."