25 years earlier.

James Moriarty Sr. poured himself two fingers of Scotch and lay back in his leather wing back chair.

He was expecting the arrival of his new apprentice at any moment. Some upstart who had been levered into the position by his father.

Moriarty loathed nepotism. His own father had abandoned him at a very young age, and he had never been in the privileged position of receiving any kind of preferential treatment. James Moriarty had worked his way up. He'd worked hard to get where he was today, and today he was in a powerful position in the British Government. Much as he loved his own son, he had vowed to instil in him good work ethics and the desire to work hard to get what you want.

"Never be afraid to put yourself out there", he told his young son, Jim, on his first day of school just weeks previously. "If you want something, son", he continued, "you fight for it."

He didn't want his son to suffer hardship, but he did want him to learn the rewards of hard work. He loved his son more than life itself, and he would do anything to keep him safe.

Today however, Moriarty had to suffer Mycroft Holmes.

He'd met Mycroft only once previously when his father had brought him into the office to introduce him to his future mentor. The boy (because, despite his late teenage years, he still looked like a mere boy in the presence of his mighty father) was confident, stoic, detached. Typically Holmes-like. He was keen to follow in his father's ways, into the British Government, and James Moriarty's office was an influential one.

Over the coming months and years, James Moriarty was rarely seen without Mycroft Holmes by his side. Mycroft proved himself to be intelligent, attentive, fastidious and ambitious, and it was this ruthless ambition that first caused a rift between the Moriarty and Holmes men.

Moriarty had always been a man of ambition himself. He had initially identified with the passion that Mycroft Holmes had shown for his work and his position. However, James Moriarty Sr. had a greater plan. One in which his carefully-planned years in the British Government would prove to be pivotal. He garnered information and contacts, names and locations and leverage. Lots of leverage. He had spent many years meticulously planning his rise with one end goal: to break away from the Crown and into his own Empire.

Mycroft Holmes, as it turned out, was actually just a little too attentive for his own good. He began to notice discrepancies in reports, suspicious movements and records, and things that just didn't add up. He initially approached Moriarty with his worries but, when his concerns were summarily dismissed without investigation, Mycroft became aware that his boss may actually be involved in these activities.

Eager to further himself within the Government, Mycroft threatened to take his concerns to a higher authority and, at this revelation, Moriarty's hand was forced. He had two options: either come up with a way to dis-credit Mycroft Holmes (no small task given his family connections) or prematurely remove himself from his own position in the British Government and go underground to build his Empire.

Moriarty had been hoping for more time. His long-term plan was to wait until Jim was older; more capable of joining him from the start. Moriarty Sr.'s disappearance now would cause his family much heartache but it was a price he would have to pay, if he wanted to be successful. His son could join him later.

Mycroft Holmes would, ultimately, have to pay a much higher price.