Hi. I am so very sorry for the time this particular chapter took. My school is just finishing, so I've been busy with end of the year related projects.

I really want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter; I was really thrilled by the response I got for that part of the story.

I should already warn you that this chapter cuts off very awkwardly, as it was originally supposed to be a lot longer, but I ended up dividing it into two parts. Hopefully I will be able to update the second half soon. It definitely won't take as long as this update took.

Oh, and there is a lot of Mycroft in this chapter – a character I find completely impossible to write, so I apologise for any (all) OOCiness.

Enjoy! X

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The cars arrived at the pool discreetly, as Mycroft wasn't sure if Moriarty was already in the building, even though the possibility was probable. The operation was already risky enough; Jim Moriarty was a smart man, and if he detected their presence then it would all have been for nothing.

John and Mycroft got out of the car quietly, while Lestrade desperately made shushing gestures to his own officers, very much hoping that Anderson would not slam the door of the car.

He could tell that his officers were restless; they had never in a situation like this before. Lestrade had explained absolutely nothing to them; they only knew that they had to be quiet. None of them could understand why their boss was being so submissive, nor did they know who the tall stranger in the suit was. What they could tell, however, was that whatever they were doing was risky, but extremely important. And Lestrade was a clever man, so if he was listening to this stranger, he had to have a reason.

Sally and Anderson also stayed quiet, sensing that this was something they had never done before and that it would be best if they didn't object. However, they were fairly sure that the "freak" was somehow involved. John's presence was a fairly strong hint, but even so, Sherlock Holmes was the only person Lestrade would do anything for. Lestrade had just summoned several officers to a barely used pool without any form of explanation, something extremely rare for him.

Nevertheless they followed silently until they came to a small room. Mycroft heard John whistle slightly, while Lestrade raised his eyebrows, impressed.

The room they now found themselves in was small and dingy, but fairly modern. Clearly it had been used as a room to watch the security footage, but even so, the large television screens and up to date technology looked completely out of place. Going by John's surprised expression, Lestrade guessed this was a fairly recent development. Mycroft smiled grimly.

"I had this installed after the last…incident at this pool" he said, and his remark was met with blank stares from everyone except John and Lestrade. John's face darkened very slightly, while Lestrade winced. Sally just raised her eyebrows, growing increasingly more frustrated.

Mycroft then finally turned to the police officers, who were clustered together awkwardly at the other end of the room, clearly unaware of their role in this. Mycroft's face showed no sympathy as he turned to them, it was completely devoid of any kind of emotion.

"We have a potentially dangerous situation to deal with." He said coldly. "I am from the Ministry of Defence, and in charge of this current operation. You are not required to do anything currently, but, in all probability, I will need you at the crime scene at the end of this evening."

"What crime scene?" Someone behind John asked, but Mycroft said nothing, his cold demeanour not shifting at all. Instead he walked over to the monitors and switched on the laptop beside it, typing in a few simple commands. Sally huffed, now annoyed. She didn't know who this man was, and although Lestrade seemed to look up to him with respect (but also with slight intimidation) she was getting fed up. She had been about to go home when she had been ordered to come to the pool, and she was annoyed that she had only received a very vague explanation to what she was doing here.

"We deal with homicide" she said pointedly, ignoring the look Lestrade was giving her. Her eyes went to John briefly, because he hadn't said anything until now, but he was barely looking at her, instead he was focusing on one of the monitor screens.

"I am well aware of that, Sergeant" Mycroft said coolly with a slight frown; already irritated because of his growing anxiety.

"The freak's behind this, isn't he?" Sally asked Lestrade almost angrily, also irritated. "We're in a small, dingy room with nothing to do, all because of him again. I told you already, we're wasting our time. All our time." She heard a few murmurs behind her, but focused on Lestrade.

John finally turned around to look at her, and he now looked angry. Before he could say anything however, Mycroft opened his mouth.

"That is enough!" he hissed. "I would ask you to leave now, if that were currently out of the question. I asked for competent officers, but apparently my demand wasn't quite fulfilled."

Sally sensed that she might have gone too far, but the quip the man had just made about her competence and intelligence made her furious. She felt Anderson put a hand on her shoulder, and she could feel Lestrade's angry gaze, but she couldn't stand losing.

"And who might you be?" she snapped indignantly, wondering at his audacity. As soon as she asked the question, she wished she hadn't. The man had seemed angry before, but now his expression calmed and cooled, and he suddenly looked dangerous. Sally had the urge to take a step back.

"Mycroft Homes" he said, and his voice sounded deadly. Sally's eyes widened. Mycroft Holmes.

He smiled grimly as he saw that she had made the connection.

"That's right. The freak's brother." He all but hissed, and Sally heard murmurs behind her again. Everyone else had made the connection too.

"Perhaps you might want to explain" John said from behind Mycroft and Mycroft scrutinised him for a moment, before nodding in acquiescence.

"My brother has currently put himself into a very dangerous position with a man named Moriarty. I'm sure his name is familiar to you. Moriarty is not be underestimated, and whatever he has planned for my brother is dangerous. He has snipers set up around in the surrounding area. My plan is to replace his with my own. All of you are here not only as an extra precaution, but also because this will most likely become a crime scene, as I have already said. Right now, we are waiting for Moriarty and my brother's arrival. All I ask for now is that you stay quiet."

"Mycroft!" John suddenly said urgently, and Mycroft turned around, suddenly focused. Sally looked over to John; clearly he knew Sherlock's brother well, if he was using his first name. Until now, Sally hadn't even known that Sherlock had a brother.

She inched closer to the screen and saw Sherlock enter the building. Mycroft hurriedly switched on another monitor, the largest in the room, and everybody could suddenly see the detective, as he walked to the water's edge. His voice was as clear as day.

"I thought you would have more of a welcoming party".

John groaned slightly, and even Lestrade tensed as an amused laugh came somewhere from the shadows. Sally frowned, guessing by everyone's reactions that this was Moriarty.

Anderson stepped forward, next to her, and concentrated on Sherlock, who until now seemed fairly care free and unconcerned. John knew it was all and act, the detective had too much to lose right now.

Moriarty and Sherlock continued with their dialogue, and John could slowly see that Sherlock was getting impatient. The detective wanted to end this, and he was sure of himself that he could, no longer caring about the price. But Moriarty had one final bombshell.

"Who would ever have thought that the detective would fall in loooove"

Lestrade heard the sudden murmurs and titters from his officers (all of who knew Sherlock somehow), but for several seconds the words Moriarty had just spoken completely failed to sink in. He could see John suddenly pale, and Mycroft's face grow angry.

Several of the police offers turned towards John, and looked at him curiously, thinking he was the one Moriarty was referring to. John payed no attention to them, instead he turned to Mycroft.

"But Sherlock said she was safe. She was supposed to be out of the country!"

"Clearly my brother has been fooled" Mycroft said, with a touch of bitterness in his voice, but absolutely no sympathy for Irene. John stared at the screen. The evening had just got so much worse.

"Crap" he said in a low voice as he listened to Moriarty's taunting jibes and saw the shock and fear on Sherlock's face. He was slightly comforted by Sherlock's: "Are you going to talk to me from the shadows all day?" but that feeling quickly disappeared when Moriarty stepped out with Irene Adler on his arm.

"Shit".

The absolute shock on Sherlock's face was there for everyone to see. No one had ever seen the detective look so dumbfounded.

"Who is that woman?" Sally whispered, but everyone, including Lestrade simply shrugged. No one (except John and Mycroft) recognised her.

But judging the way Sherlock was staring at her, he knew her. And she mattered to him.

Lestrade looked at Mycroft, who was staring at the screen angrily.

He had been right all along. Irene Adler had simply been playing Sherlock the whole time, toying carelessly with his affections, and acting as Moriarty's accomplice. If what had passed on the jumbo jet had been enough to drive Sherlock into a moody depression, then what would this do to him?

John watched Moriarty and Irene taunt Sherlock in silence for a moment, until he simply couldn't bear it.

"She has to be faking it" he told Mycroft desperately. "Irene would never do this to him."

"Do what to him?" Mycroft said coldly. "Betray him? Toy with his regard to her; actually make him fall for her? She has already accomplished all of this before, why should she not do it again? How could Sherlock be so stupid?"

Lestrade and his officers listened to this exchange quietly, each shocked. They remembered the one woman Sherlock had brought with him on a case once, but even then he had acted fairly coldly. Some people had thought he was in a relationship with John, but even that was already stretching Sherlock's known capacity to care for someone. For him to actually fall for someone in the way Mycroft had just described was unheard of to them.

John shook his head, refusing to believe what Mycroft considered to be the truth. It was impossible.

Mycroft picked up a small radio device and switched a red button.

"Irene Adler has a history of working with Moriarty, John" he told him in an almost pitiful voice, almost as if John was simply to oblivious and stupid to grasp what was going on here. "I don't need to wait to see what happens, I do not trust her. The question now, is what to do with her?"

John suddenly understood what the radio device was for – the only form of communication Mycroft had with his men. He wanted to set his own snipers on her.

"Don't you dare!" John almost yelled. Mycroft raised his eyebrows at him.

John turned back to the screen, and with a sigh Mycroft did the same. They saw the shock on Sherlock's face suddenly change into understanding, and Moriarty's expression change from one of manic smugness and glee into anger. He grabbed Irene and roughly shoved her towards Sherlock, who immediately reached out to catch her, just as red dots appeared on their chests.

Although John had been expecting it, the shock and fear the moment caused eclipsed all feelings of relief he had felt when he had confirmation that Irene had been used by Moriarty.

Moriarty's snipers were ready to fire, and they were now on very dangerous ground.

John tensed as Moriarty opened his mouth to speak his final words to Sherlock and Irene before he killed them.

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Thank you for reading, and please review!

Laura x