The stranger kept his vigil from his car, a few metres from the flat in Baker Street, until the lights went out, and it was completely dark. It was past one o'clock in the morning.

He threw his cigar butt out the window and headed to the hotel. Traffic was light due to the lateness of the hour, and he was able to think about his plan as he made his way back to the scene of his almost triumph from about two years before.

How he hated Sherlock Holmes.

The plan from two years before had been so perfect. Blow up the Palace of Westminster when Parliament was in session, create chaos within the government, and collect a big, fat payment from his North Korean contacts. Yes, if only that damned detective hadn't resurrected himself and returned to London in time to prevent the bombing, Lord Sebastian Moran would have been wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. Oh, he already had money, that was for certain, but it was an inherited legacy. Moran wanted to make his own name in the world, well, in the underworld. He wanted to replace James Moriarty as the world's most famous Consulting Criminal.

The evil genius had promised Moran a share of his wealth and network in the event of his death. This deal was struck with the caveat that Sebastian must carry out his plans later, if it were necessary to dispose of the goody two shoes detective Sherlock Holmes.

Moriarty had despised Sherlock, seeing him as his polar opposite. The detective was firmly on the side of what was moral and just, while James enjoyed playing with people's lives, torturing them just to see how the human psyche would react to certain triggers. In this he had found an ally in the Holmes sister, who was also analytical, curious about what made people tick.

Where Moriarty had thrived on watching people suffer, Eurus Holmes was interested in it merely from an intellectual perspective. Sebastian himself was more like the consulting criminal. He liked to stir the pot, draw people out of their commonplace existence and witness the resulting mayhem.

James Moriarty and Sebastian Moran had been a formidable team indeed.

Then, along cane Sherlock Holmes, with all his superior ways and do-good attitude. A dangerous game of cat and mouse ensued between the two men.

Moriarty had flirted with death, had never been afraid of it. He had always thought three moves ahead, as if he were in a chess game. He had outlined his plan to Moran, about discrediting the detective and forcing his suicide. He had also told Moran what to do, if for some reason he, the famous consulting criminal was unable to follow his plan to its conclusion, and ensure Holmes' death..

If the detective should somehow manage to escape the permanent clutches of death, and Moriarty was dead or otherwise incapacitated, Moran was to contact Eurus Holmes and see that her own plans cane to fruition.

When Sherlock had jumped off the roof of St. Bart's to his apparent death, Lord Moran had concluded the book was closed on Moriarty and Holmes. He made his own plans for fame and glory within the underworld, although for some reason, Moriarty's immense international network kept shrinking.

Then had come the day when the famous detective returned in triumph to London, having miraculously escaped death after all. Lord Moran was in the midst of his own nefarious scheme at the time, but was ready to implement Moriarty's plan with Eurus after his own success.

When the attempt to blow up Parliament had failed and Lord Moran had been arrested, the Eurus plan had to be put on hold. Lord Moran had been stripped of his title, although he still personally continued to use it.

A court case had ensued. With the help of very good, and extremely expensive lawyers, the criminal was convicted only of conspiracy to commit murder. Being a first offense, he was sentenced to three years in prison, of which he served half. Most people were unaware of the fact that a prison sentence was automatically reduced by half if the prisoner did not cause any trouble which would lead to an extended term.

Moran placed the blame squarely at Sherlock Holmes' feet, for the horrors he had endured in prison. The man, who was used to forcing his own attentions on women, and getting away with it, found himself the object of unwelcome attention. He was considered a "pretty boy," with his aristocratic features and smooth skin. Several men were attracted to him. Those men, who were long-term offenders had built up their own network of supporters within the prison. They had the power to do what they wished when the guards were not around. Moran found himelf the recipient of frequent night time visits, where he was violated by these men. The former lord had endured this without complaint, so that he did not risk his early release from prison.

Oh, how he hated Sherlock and wanted to make him pay for the indignities he had suffered.

Upon Moran's release, he had immediately contacted Sherrinford, using the special method of communication Moriarty had set up years before. He had found an underworld hacker who was able to briefly disrupt television communications and project the image of the dead consulting criminal all over London.

With the help of some of his "for-hire" network, Moran had arranged for Eurus to be smuggled out of Sherrinford on several occasions, so she could anonymously spend time around her brother and his friend John Watson. She had somehow managed to bewitch her guards into doing whatever she wanted, so his was the easy part. Moran just had to take care of the transportation back and forth.

Then had come the set-up for Eurus's experiments. Moran had arranged these as well. After the explosion at Baker Street, all had gone to plan, although Sebastian had half-hoped the grenade blast would have killed Sherlock Holmes and rendered further planning unnecessary.

Sherlock and his best friend had gone to Sherrinford to see Eurus, along with the older Holmes brother, Mycroft.

Sebastian had waited to hear from Eurus about what had happened, but inexplicably, all communication had been cut off from the prison. Moran had not known the final result of the psychotic woman's plan, until he had seen the detective return unscathed to Baker Street.

Sebastian had been furious. As he contemplated what to do next, he had seen the television broadcast where Sherlock Holmes had confirmed his engagement to Molly Hooper, a pathologist at St. Bart's Hospital.

A plan had started to formulate in Moran's mind. He mulled over how he could use this new information about the sleuth to his own advantage. A few days later he had made the decision to focus his attentions on the woman instead. What better way to get back at that bastard detective, than to threaten his precious little fiancée? He just needed to figure out how to get her away from the man.

On Wednesday evening, he had seen the flurry of activity at Molly Hooper's flat. It had annoyed the criminal immensely, for he could see she was packing to move in with the detective. That would make things more difficult. He had thought to lure her away from her flat under some pretext or other, but getting her alone would become more difficult once she was situated at Baker Street.

On Thursday night, he had followed the engaged couple to a church. That was something he found interesting. Moran cane to the conclusion that the sickly sweet little pathologist was a Christian. If she was a Christian, she was likely keeping her virtue intact for her husband. Those Christians were renowned for believing in purity before marriage. Sebastian thought with satisfaction that it would give him great pleasure to force his attentions on the girl. She was attractive enough. He almost laughed aloud as he imagined the expression on her fiancé's face if his precious virgin bride was no longer pure. Oh yes, sweet revenge indeed.

Moran had another thought. Perhaps he would carve his initials into that delicate skin , mar her pretty face. With both emotional and physical scars, the girl would probably break off their engagement, or the detective would have a permanent reminder of how he had been the cause of his woman's pain. Glorious!

Sebastian chuckled as he parked at the hotel. He went first to one of the designated smoking areas outside. It was damned inconvenient to be staying in a non-smoking hotel, but worth it for the view from his room. He puffed on his cigar for a few minutes, reflecting on the stroke of luck that had befallen him a few hours earlier.

Moran had continued his vigil at Baker Street the previous day. He had watched as the moving van had delivered the furniture from the pathologist's flat. That had been the final proof to show the pathologist was indeed moving to the security of her fiancé's flat. Sebastian had been angry with himself for not making a move to snatch the girl earlier.

He had watched later as an older couple entered the flat and came out again, along with the engaged couple. He had carefully trailed their taxi and seen the restaurant the foursome had entered.

After parking his own car, Moran had watched until the little group had exited the restaurant and made their way to the Royal Opera House.

The opera house lobby was crowded and it was easy for him to slip in and remain unobserved, while keeping within earshot of the detective.

Then he had heard some illuminating words.

"We'll see you at Sherrinford then tomorrow evening, Sherlock. I hope you can help get through to Eurus by playing your violin for her."

That explained why there had been no communication from the Holmes woman since the tests. It also gave him the information he needed. Sherlock would be away the following evening. He just needed to find a way to lure the pathologist away. Maybe he would tell her that her beloved fiancé had been in an accident and needed her. Yes, that would work. Fear for a loved one was a great motivator for impetuous action.

Moran went upstairs to his luxurious suite and gazed thoughtfully outside his window. He could see the outline of the Palace of Westminster. It was an impressive sight, although it still bothered him that he had not been able to see it blow up.

The man walked over to where his briefcase lay open on the bed. He inspected its contents, making sure he had everything he needed. Inside the briefcase was his loaded revolver, a syringe with which to render the pathologist unconscious after he kidnapped her, and there was a roll of masking tape with which to bind her hands and feet, and to put over her mouth. There was also a wickedly sharp pen knife.

Snapping the briefcase shut, Sebastian rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Sherlock Holmes is going to pay dearly for what he did to me, he thought.

Author's note: So the stalker is revealed. Congrats to those of you who guessed correctly! I tried to craft an explanation for all the things that happened at Sherrinford, and for the big "Did you miss me" thing on all the televisions in London. Eurus needed a confidante on the outside, so Moran seemed a good candidate. He exists in the canon stories, and had a role in this series. I hope you find my explanation somewhat believable. The show, if it returns will certainly not explain things!

Interesting thing I found out about the English jail system. Prison sentences are indeed halved automatically if a prisoner doesn't cause trouble. This afforded me an opportunity to make sense of why it took so long for Eurus's plan to be put into action, because her "helper" was in jail.

Anyway, please give me your thoughts on this chapter. Thanks!