Chapter Fifty Three

"Where is he?" Mycroft snapped as he stormed into the office. "Where is my brother? And where is Lestrade?"

"Sherlock and John have been sighted at Bart's." Anthea shook her head. "Still no sign of Lestrade. Should I call him?" she suggested. "He still doesn't know we're on to him, does he?"

"At this point, I don't know what he does and does not know." Mycroft sighed, but pulled out his phone as Anthea ran a trace.

Lestrade picked up. "What now, Mycroft?" he sighed with that perfect combination of exasperation and anticipation.

The words nearly got caught in Mycroft's throat. "There's been a security breach." he lied. "What with all the drama of Moriarty's computer code, it's kicked up a few rats' nests. The cockroaches are all crawling out of the woodwork. I need you to come down here."

"Can it wait?" Lestrade asked him. "I'm a little busy right now."

"With what?" Mycroft asked.

"Well, you've put me on the mission of keeping tabs on Sherlock and finding Moriarty... well, that's what I've been doing. And, I'd hate to alarm you..." he said in that tone that never failed to alarm Mycroft. "...But I've found them."

Mycroft perked up. "Where?"

"St. Bart's." Lestrade told him. "On the roof. Both of them." He sounded genuinely concerned.

"We'll be right there." Mycroft told him hastily. "Hold on-..."

But Lestrade had already hung up.

Mycroft looked to Anthea for confirmation.

Anthea nodded. "St. Bart's."

"Get the car out." Mycroft ordered as he grabbed his coat.

"Yes, sir."


Sebastian was screwing the silencer on his sniper rifle when he felt a presence.

"Hello, Moran." Lestrade greeted as he discarded the careful silence he had climbed the stairwell with and just clomped up the rest of the way now that the sniper had noticed him.

"Lestrade." Sebastian nodded back. "You here for the show?"

"Where else would I be, but the front seat?" Lestrade responded sitting down a few steps higher than the landing Sebastian had situated himself on.


Mycroft let out a low growl when his phone call when straight to Sherlock's voice mail. "He's not picking up."

"Dr. Watson was called away for an emergency at Baker Street." Anthea informed him as she got off her own phone.

"A ruse to lure him away." Mycroft frowned. "So he and Sherlock could talk in private."

"He's on his way back." Anthea nodded. "He'll get there before we do, Sir."

"What is he planning?" Mycroft wondered aloud.

"I don't know, Sir." Anthea shook her head. "But whatever it is, it probably won't end well for Sherlock."

"Considering that our main man on the project of faking his death is not doing his job, yes!" Mycroft snapped angrily.

Anthea stared at him in slight surprise.

Mycroft took a calming breath. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

"Don't be." Anthea said understandingly.

Just then, Mycroft's phone rang. "Holmes speaking." Mycroft replied.

"Sir, we are in position." Stan informed him crisply.

"I'm sorry?" Mycroft furrowed his brow.

"St. Bart's, Sir." Stan told him. "Lestrade told me to inform you that we are in position and everything is carrying on smoothly."

"Lestrade, where is he?" Mycroft asked quickly.

"He's-..." there was a brief pause. "I swear he was right here, Sir."

"Keep an eye out for him and apprehend him on sight." Mycroft instructed the junior field agent. "Subtlety is paramount, may I remind you. We don't want Moriarty or his men spotting anything out of the ordinary."

"Sorry Sir, what's this about Lestrade?" Stan asked, confused.

"Lestrade is not to be trusted." Mycroft told him firmly. "From this point, you are the agent in charge. This operation is under your control."

There was a slight squeak of distress from the other end. "... Yes, Sir." Stan managed weakly at length.

"You'll be fine." Mycroft promised him.

"But what should I do after we get Sherlock into the hospital?" Stan asked.

"Excuse me?"

"There is going to be a little switch-a-roo in the hospital to fool Moriarty's men and your younger brother is supposed to be handed off to trusted agents of Lestrade's to be whisked overseas. He hasn't mentioned any names, or anything." Stan explained.

"Well, try to keep your hands on my brother, then." Mycroft pinched the bridge of his nose. "We'll be there shortly."

"Yes, Sir."


"So..." Lestrade drawled out in the middle of dealing cards for himself and Moran. "You're just... sitting around here until John shows up?"

Sebastian shrugged and picked up the dealt cards, glancing at them briefly before redirecting his attention to the street below. "Not much else to do."

Lestrade took his moment of distraction to lean over and peek at his opponent's cards. "Ah, the glamorous world of assassination."

Sebastian snorted and nudged his hand back into the deck. "Shut up and deal me again. You peeked, you fucking cheater, I know you did."

Lestrade laughed back and did as he was told. "Don't flaunt your cards, then."

Suddenly, there was a gunshot loud as a clap of thunder.

"Oh dear." Lestrade said quietly as both stared out of the window. "I don't remember this part being in the script."

"No, me neither." Sebastian muttered as he leaned toward the window, focused entirely on the scene outside.

"I guess you could say the chips are down, now." Lestrade went on casually, pulling out a silenced handgun from his coat pocket. He trained it on the back of Sebastian's skull. "Anything goes."

Sebastian seemed to sense that something was amiss, and turned.


"Goodbye, John."

"Sherlock!"