Hello (grins sheepishly because she hasn't updated in months). So…. Let's just get to the chapter shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock

Lila closed her eyes and rubbed them hard, until she saw spots under her eyelids. She sat cross-legged on the couch, with Maggie sitting across from her in her office chair, laptop open on her lap. Margaret was frantically typing. Her phone was lying on the coffee table, and every few seconds Maggie would glance at it tensely.

"I don't want to miss any texts." Maggie had told Lila upon coming home and frantically setting up her electronics. "The sooner I get info, the better. Information is our friend

"So, you have to cover for Pug August now?" Lila said, still trying to wrap her brain around all the tasks Maggie had to do. "And Moriarty is starving Gracie." The gum in her mouth tasted like cardboard. "We have to find Silver." Lila suddenly said with conviction.

Maggie sighed and placed the laptop on the coffee table next to her mobile, shaking her head, her short gingery locks swinging in front of her face.

"How are we ever going to pull this off?" Margaret whispered, and Lila could tell that the question wasn't directed at her.

"Well…how important is covering for Pug August? I mean Gracie has to be…"

"More important?" Margaret fixed Gracie with a despairing gaze. "You don't get it Lila. You're too young. Pug August worked for the Secret Service. Like James Bond. His identity is a matter of national security."

Lila nodded slowly, the hot itch of tears coming in at the corners of her eyes. Lila blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the sensation. Of all the times to cry…

Margaret's mobile pinged and both Lila and Maggie leaned forward, Maggie's hands shooting out lightning-fast, scrabbling for the phone. She finally secured it in her hand, only to roll her eyes. Her mouth tightened, an action Lila recognized as a method to avoid crying.

"Who is it?"

"Mycroft. He wants to know if there are any updates." Margaret tossed her phone back onto the coffee table. The phone made a loud clatter, sending Shoebox shooting out from under the couch. Maggie moaned and covered her face in her hands.

"I'll get him." Lila said. She uncrossed her legs and stood, wincing a bit at the pins and needles in her legs as they woke up. She kneeled and pulled the fluffy brown and white cat up into her arms from his hiding spot under the piano. She bounced and scratched the terrified feline behind the ears. Shoebox purred.

"An update on what?" She asked.

Maggie sighed. "Sherlock. Mycroft pays me for info on him. Where he is, what he's doing, the general stalker stuff."

"What?" Lila spun around, her eyes going wide.

Margaret rolled her eyes. "Well I had to make a living somehow. Back in France, I was an actual choir director. Here I'm just a piano teacher. And I know Mycroft, he introduced Sherlock and I a long time ago in France, First day here, a car shows up, takes me to him, he makes an offer. I take it. It's no big deal. Sherlock knows I do it. Turns out Mycroft's made the same offer to almost everyone Sherlock knows. I was just the only on to take it up."

"But who's Mycroft?"

"Sherlock's stupid big brother. He practically is the British Government."

Margaret suddenly shook her head. "What the hell am I doing? I don't have time to talk!" She grabbed her laptop and hunched over it again and then, without typing anything, she set the laptop aside and stood, going to grab her coat.

"Actually, Lila, I think it would be better if I took you home now. You'll just be bored here."

But Lila stood planted in the middle of the floor between the piano and the bookshelf, a mewling cat in her arms. Her glazed eyes stared unconsciously at the ground, her brow furrowed.

"Lila?"

She looked up slowly. "If Mycroft is the British Government, wouldn't he have dealings with the secret service?"

Margaret laughed huffily. "He practically runs the secret…" Understanding suddenly dawned on Maggie's face. Her eyes rose from the floor, and a relieved smile slowly spread across her face. Lila smiled with her.

Maggie tossed her coat back onto the coat stand and flopped into the big armchair, grabbing here mobile on the way.

"You want an update Mycroft?" Maggie muttered to herself. "I've got a hellava update for you."

XXX

Mycroft texted back quickly.

Tell me everything.

I'm going to try to finish this fic soon, but I'd love it if you'd review. Thank you so much to Detective Silence for reminding me about this fic.