A/N-
Teshka- Thank you and Moriarty me? I have noo I dea what you speak of.
FOP Property- Indeed. Poor John I even cut his part out of this chapter but don't worry he will see us next week.
Laratobailey- Thank you so much for your kind review. I love my reviewers so you keep being awesome too!
Ginny19970- Oh I have so much planned for the hound. I hope you won't be disappointed. Also, THANK YOU!
Pinkyndx- Yes, John always gets left behind. Sherlock is telling me it is because his legs are so short…..
Lady Time Holmes- Thank you!
EVERYONE PLEASE READ-
I want to thank everyone who has read and or reviewed. As of this update I have exactly 100 reviews! (The other one I wrote :)) To thank you all I will write an extra one-shot next week that comes from this story/universe/whatever. I have a few ideas but if anyone wants anything specific feel free to request. I won't guarantee I will do it but I might! Anyways thank you all so much. I love you all!
And now moving on-
Sherlock and Noelle sat in a small room waiting. Noelle cleaning her weapons and Sherlock bouncing off the walls.
"Sit down you are making me nervous," Noelle snapped at him as he continued his frantic pacing.
"What am I supposed to do?" Sherlock asked just as irritated.
"Um, Sleep. I know you haven't slept in at least twenty four hours."
"Sleep is boring."
"Well then go take a frolic in your mind palace! Can you just be still?"
Sherlock stopped and looked over the woman. She was tired, understandably so as she hadn't slept for at least as long as he had seen her. As soon as he explained his plan to extract the woman she had set about making it happen. He knew she had pulled some strings to get them the access they needed since she had been making calls nonstop in the different airports as they hopscotched over Europe. On the plane she had even brought papers for grading. He had figured she was simply nervous about the extraction but looking at her now she still seemed on edge. Her eyes kept darting towards the door and her eyebrows were furrowed under the headscarf she had wrapped around her still.
"Sherlock," Noelle's voice brought him to attention, "Stop deducing me."
"I wasn't," he argued stubbornly.
She rolled her eyes, "Then I suppose you were staring at me because of my natural beauty."
"Shut up."
"Stop pacing."
He was about to ask her what was making her nervous when the businessman who was hiding them came rushing in.
"Yahaan!" the man shouted as he left through the back way and Noelle flew to her feet.
"What? What is it?" Sherlock shouted.
"Go out the back with him we have been betrayed."
"No," Sherlock said, "I will not leave you."
"Sherlock!" she shouted, "You shouldn't get caught in my mess. Go now!"
She tried to push him out the way the business man had left but it was too late. Fifteen armed men rushed in surrounding them. From behind them came a slow clap and a bearded man stepped out.
"Bravo, really bravo," he said in highly accented English, "Did you really think you could come here, to my city, and sneak around. Did you think I wouldn't know?"
Noelle's eyes darted towards her weapons.
"You would be dead before you reached them."
"Do you really think so low of me?" Noelle asked.
"No, You could probably take out a good majority of us," he stroked his beard, "You may even be able to escape but could your friend do the same?" he asked.
Noelle spared a detached glace towards Sherlock but he could tell be her stance she was worried about him.
"What do you want?" she asked.
The man laughed, "I don't want anything from you. I am not stupid. I know that you won't give me anything worth anything. Of course you could fetch a pretty penny. Alive or dead. I suppose though after all this time I would rather watch you suffer. Let's go!" he told his men and Noelle was roughly pulled to the side and disarmed as they bound her hands.
They said something in Urdu and a man advanced on Sherlock.
"No!" Noelle shouted before addressing them in Urdu.
They considered him for a moment and appeared to change their mind. They took his coat then tied his hands as well before pulling them both out and into waiting cars.
"I am sorry Sherlock," he heard her voice through the dark, "You should have left me."
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John Watson sat in the middle of a particularly boring lecture during the medical conference. He hoped Sherlock wasn't going to mope all weekend while he was gone. Well he probably didn't even realized he was gone yet. He was probably still spread out on the couch staring off into space. He had asked Noelle to make sure he ate when he was like this and he hoped she had managed to shove some nutrition down his throat. Poor bastard he was actually feeling something and John could tell that it was driving him absolutely insane. Oh well at least John could sit comfortably knowing that he was staying out of trouble. After all he had only been gone for two days and would be heading home in less than 24 hours. What could Sherlock do in that amount of time?
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Sherlock was chained to the wall just far enough away so that he could see his sister but not touch her. He sat on the cold ground with his back to the wall and hands on either side. Noelle was chained to a post in the middle of the room. Her hands were high enough so that she couldn't sit and tight enough that Sherlock could see the way her skin was pushed up.
"So what? Going to torture me Rana?"
"The thought did run through my mind yes," Rana told her.
"Be my guest," she replied decidedly bored.
The man stepped up and pulled out a whip.
"It may be old school but this is my favorite punishment. You are familiar with its history no? Well it is one of the oldest forms of punishment known to the world. 20 lashes 40 lashes the amount doesn't really matter because after a while they just blur into one. Would you like to see?"
He raised up the whip and Sherlock couldn't remain silent anymore.
"Left-handed," the man lowered his hand and looked at him.
"What sis you say?"
"You are left handed. You are a family man. You have three daughters and six, no seven, sons and your wife passed away recently. You are angry with her obviously. Is it because of something she did before or is it just because she was a convenient target after your wife passed?"
Rana looked at him curiously, "That is a neat trick,"
"Deduction," Sherlock muttered under his breath.
"-but it won't save your friend here. I have been waiting for her for a long time. You are right though, Shinia" and Sherlock realized he was talking to Noelle, "This one will be worth his skin. I bet there is someone somewhere that values you. Anyways on with the fun."
Sherlock cried out as the whip came down hard against the woman's back with a snap and blood began to poor out of her back.
Noelle rolled her shoulders, "That won't even leave a mark. Come on Rana use your wrist."
Snap.
"At least I don't have to listen to your music now that would be torture."
Snap. Snap. Snap. The whip landed harder each time leaving marks of blood wherever it landed.
Noelle was still berating his technique after ten and the man let out a sigh of frustration.
"Don't you know when to shut up?" he roared, "Perhaps you do not know your place. Shall I teach it to you woman?"
The man came closer putting his hands on Noelle suggestively and Sherlock let out a stream of insults at the man. Rana however had made a mistake and Noelle brought her foot up to knock his leg out from underneath him landing a kick to his side as he scrambled away on the floor.
"Keep your hands to yourself you-" what followed was in Urdu but Sherlock was pretty sure it wasn't as clean as her usual language.
"I wouldn't defile myself with you!" the man responded before abandoning the whip and choosing to physically beat the woman until she was gasping and leaning heavily on the post she was chained to. She spat at him and he landed a kick to her side that caused her eyes to flutter shut. Her unconscious body weight hung on her arms as she suspended slightly from where she was bound. Rana straitened his clothes and looked at Sherlock.
"Do not hold hope for her. She will not survive for it. I will kill her and I will take my time. As for you-" he tilted Sherlock's defiant face to look at him, "I have not fully decided not to kill you and save myself the trouble. I would not make yourself a burden my friend."
With those words of wisdom he made his way out the door humming some tune. Sherlock sat shock still in the silence. He needed to think but he couldn't concentrate. Noelle was gasping occasionally and whimpering even as she lay unconscious. About an hour later her eyes fluttered and she roused herself slightly groaning softly as she dragged herself to a standing position.
"Noelle," Sherlock called to her, "Stay still or they will come back."
She ignored him, "Sherlock, I need you to start counting when he leaves next. Can you do that?"
Sherlock scoffed.
"Oh that was a stupid question. Count minutes. Start when he leaves as soon as he closes the door."
Just then Rana came through the door, "Shinnia! How are you liking the accommodations?" he antagonized.
She spat at him. He backhanded her.
"You should not insult me," he warned.
"Should I fear for my life? You aren't very intimidating. Your body odor however could scare off the boogieman."
Sherlock hid a smirk. Rana grabbed Noelle's hair and pulled so she was twisted to look in his face.
"Fear for your life? By the time I am done you will beg for death!"
Still controlling her by her hair he smacked her head into the post and Sherlock saw her slump again. Rana looked at her in disgust and walked out of the room. Sherlock had already started when he heard Noelle whisper, "Start counting"
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Noelle was counting too but wavering between consciousness somewhat diminished that. Anyways she needed the rest because what she was about to do was going to take all the energy she could muster.
"Time," she whispered to Sherlock.
"17 minutes 38, 39, 40 seconds."
"Mmm," she groaned and reached with shackled hands into her hair. Her scalp screamed in protest as she detangled a small pin as it was still recovering from earlier but she managed to drag it out.
"What are you doing?" Sherlock hissed.
"Ain't no jail can hold me," she said in a voice laughing as Sherlock's face came up blank.
It only took her a second to get out of her chains and went to move towards Sherlock. She took a step and swayed at the lack of support but after a moment moved again falling in a heap in front of the man. He regarded her curiously as she picked his lock as well. Noelle was insurmountably grateful that the man was for once shutting up.
"Time?"
"19 minutes and 48 seconds."
"Rana is, if nothing, predictable. He has a gloat whenever he can and leaves thereafter for an hour leaving his second in command to check by every now and then. The men know this man only comes in the first fifteen minutes of his duty as he enjoys television more than work. His men have taken up the habit of taking a break during the time between this man leaving and Rana returning. We should have about ten minutes after the guard looks in on us. This is our only chance out."
She looked at Sherlock dead in the eye, "If I do not make it you will keep going. Do you understand?"
"Noelle-" Sherlock began and she saw protest forming in his eyes.
"No. You should have left me before. I appreciate it but I will not let you die due to my enemies. So promise me you will keep going no matter what."
She felt his sharp eyes looking at her, trying to find a point to debate but as they steeled over with a stubborn glaze he nodded.
"Good now look miserable," she laughed with a twinkle in her eye.
She dragged herself back just in time for the guard to come by. The grate creaked open and she hung limply letting her body sway for good measure until she heard the grate move again. Letting out a sigh of relief she let go of the chains falling to the floor.
"We should wait two minutes to give them time to clear out," Sherlock suggested.
"Good idea. Also keep a lookout for my weapons."
"They are in the next room on a desk against the south wall. Wooden if I had to guess," Sherlock rattled off and Noelle laughed. Of course he would know.
"You are laughing," Sherlock observed, "Why?"
"I can either laugh or cry and the first makes me feel better now let's go."
The door was easily picked between Sherlock, Noelle, and a couple or hairpins and they crept out the door. As Noelle predicted there was no one in sight and she found her weapons right where Sherlock told her they would be. Some she strapped on others were stashed away in Sherlock's coat which was also reclaimed. If they could just make it to the street they could disappear into the crowd. They raced towards the door and Sherlock went to grab the handle when Noelle was yanked back hard by her hair.
"Did you think you could escape me again?" the man raged.
Noelle smiled as Sherlock made forward through the door opening it just in time for her move. With a string of insults in Urdu she pulled out a blade and cut clean through the hair the man had a hold of. Rana was left with a rope of blond hair. It took him a moment to realize what happened but by that time Noelle had landed a kick into the side of his neck and scuttled out the door after Sherlock. She heard a string of curses but fell into the crowd that was gathering for the morning market and picking up a bright colored scarf led Sherlock to a safe house.
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Noelle was silently walking down the busy streets and Sherlock was more than a little impressed and concerned at the same time. They stopped and Noelle leaned against the wall.
"We need to get two more streets down," Noelle told him, "Look to the house on the left. It will have a red scarf hanging out the window. We need to go there. Our ride will know to pick us up there but we have to hurry they leave in an hour so they will probably be leaving soon."
"Then why are you telling me this now?" Sherlock inquired.
"Because I don't think I am going to last much longer," and with that she promptly collapsed.
"Noelle!" Sherlock cried as he caught her.
He picked up the woman and walked quickly to the house he was instructed to. The woman who answered the door tried to bat him away but the man who had given them the ride into the country was behind her and cleared the way jumping up with an expletive.
"What happened?" he demanded.
"They knew we were here. She said she was betrayed."
"To who?"
"She called him Rana."
The man and woman shared a dark look.
"Will she be alright?" Sherlock asked as he looked her over.
"Fuck, I don't know. I am not a doctor but if her past experiences have shown us anything she is a tough lady. I think she should be alright. She has a concussion, three broken ribs, and ohh," he hissed, "Punctured lung. We will stop in Germany on the way back. I think I can swing it and get you home in time still."
"I thought you said you were not a doctor?"
"I am not but couple years in the army and some private work after that will teach you a few things. Now tell me what did Rana call her?"
Sherlock responded instantly, "Shinnia."
"Damn," he gave the woman from the door a glance and she pulled out a phone to start making calls,
"She gives different names to different people," he said, "Smart lady. She knows who betrays her. If something like this happens she knows who to find by the name they call her."
"and what name did she give to you?" Sherlock was curious.
"Oh Noelle and I go back before she came up with that trick," he said smiling, "She saved my life you know. Twice actually."
They loaded the woman and took her in a car out to the plane. Sherlock carried her and kept a check on her pulse but despite staying stable she did not wake up. The plane ride was oddly silent with her chatter absent and dragged on. When they finally placed her in a hospital (under an assumed name) she looked even smaller. Her newly short hair framed her face differently and lay uneven around her neck. Her chest rose and fell gently and the pulse of the machine matched hers revealing the fragility of life. And Sherlock found himself once again in a hospital room holding the hand of his sister as she struggled for life. How could people care so much? He could count his friends on one hand and yet not being able to protect them was killing him. How could people care for so many? He settled in for a time and her heart monitor sang him to sleep.
So yup. It's still Sunday so this isn't late. Yay!
Next time we resume the game (No I didn't forget about that.) and head to restricted government sites!
Thanks for reading!
And please review! :) :) :)
