19
"I'm sending you a picture I found tucked between two books on a shelf" she hastened to add and without waiting for him to answer, Sally went on saying there was no doubt that Janine and Jim were siblings and that she would update him in case she found more.
More? Wasn't that enough to prove he wasn't as infallible as he thought he was? With a deep sigh and with John's eyes fixed on him and his phone, Sherlock opened Donovan's text which showed the photo in question. A younger Janine with her raven hair pulled back into a dishevelled bun was hugging an equally young Jim around his waist. And he put his arm around her shoulders protectively. They both smiled at whoever was taking the picture.
Twins! It was not possible! How many times had he repeated to John that it's never twins? Yet Janine and Jim were. They had similar looks and accents, as well as shared some personality traits such as brazen self-confidence, sexual magnetism and incorrigible habit of flirting.
So with Jim truly dead and Sherlock dead in the eyes of the world but actually far from London to dismantle her brother's crime network, Janine had formed a network of criminal alliances of her own. This is how Lord Moran's attempted assault on Parliament and Magnussen's sneaky test against Sherlock and John with the latter having ended up inside a bonfire, was explained.
Sherlock grunted inwardly. Janine had always been there. Observing and spying on him and all those around him, waiting for the opportune moment to amicably sneak in between them and take action. Evidently in the mean time she had delved into the private of each of them, discovering weaknesses and secrets to pass to Magnussen and use against them.
As he handed his phone to John he closed his eyes. Once again he had missed the obvious. Janine Moriarty had come up with a quite perfect plan, worthy of the name she bore. Her brother would certainly have been proud of her.
How stupid he had been to believe he was the one who used Janine to get to Magnussen! It had been exactly the opposite, she had been using him from the start. She had used all of them, actually.
Primarily Mary, relying on her fear her past would be discovered and endangered not only her bond with John but above all the life of their unborn child. So somehow Janine had introduced herself to Mary, became friends with her and let her know who was the man Janine worked for.
At that point it had been easy for her to convince Mary that the man was dangerous and could reach her wherever he wanted. Proof of this was one of the telegrams Sherlock had read before giving his best-man speech, which said 'Oodles of love and heaps of good wishes from CAM. Wish your family could have seen this'.
For Sherlock it was now clear Janine, sitting on his left side, had slipped the card among the other greetings for the newlyweds. And Mary must had been terrified to death by it, enough to conceive the idea that the best way to live the life she so craved for herself was to kill Magnussen.
Then Magnussen himself. Janine had counted on her boss' predatory attitude knowing full well that at the news she was friends with a former CIA agent who had changed her name and now calling Mary Morstan due to a fairly cumbersome past, the slimy man would not have resisted threatening and blackmailing the aforementioned ex agent.
And then him, Sherlock Holmes. The dragon slayer. The one who would do anything to protect his friends, even throw himself off a roof just as Janine well knew. A no-brainer so get him involved. But Sherlock was also her brother's arch-enemy. The one who took the mickey out of Jim, thanks also to Molly's invaluable help. The one Janine wanted to annihilate in the name of her beloved twin brother.
Like her brother previously at Bart's lab, Janine too had deliberately flirted with him. First in the churchyard, during the boring post-ceremony souvenir photo session of the Watsons with their guests and then at their reception.
She had to get noticed, let him know she was the PA of Magnussen so as to lure him into her network. And he had fallen right into it! Not only had he allowed her to settle in Baker Street, sleep in his bed and wear his shirts. Worse still, he had caved in to some of her intimate proposal! Who knows how much she had laughed at it! Their engagement had been a sham to him as well to her.
Shrewdly, Janine had managed to manipulate everyone to her liking and had made sure everyone she wanted to damage was in the same place at the same time. The night Sherlock was supposed to take back the letters with which Magnussen blackmailed Lady Smallwood by entering his office and penthouse, Janine had lied about the tycoon's presence in the building which housed 'CAM Global News'. He was not attending a business dinner. He was there.
She had masterminded everything so that she would appear as an innocent victim while, in one way or another, each of them would come out of there shattered. And surely Janine's plan had gone even better than she expected. Mary had knocked out Magnussen, albeit temporarily, but had shot Sherlock and failed to kill him by a hair's breadth, thanks to her skill as marksman.
All this had led to a real turmoil nearly destroyed all of them. Had brought to light Mary's true identity creating serious problems for her marriage to John. Sherlock very life had been hanging by a thread for several days. But the aftermath of it all lasted for months, until Sherlock had really killed Magnussen in cold blood risking being sent on a suicide mission.
The only one who benefited from all this hustle was Janine. She had made a lot of money exposing him as a sex machine to the papers – same strategy as his brother by the way -, bought a cottage in Sussex, and had been able to break free from Magnussen without arousing any suspicion and devote herself to her next criminal plan.
"Jeez! Moriarty's sister!" John said shocked, showing the picture to Greg who in the meantime had approached both of them, "What is it then? A double revenge?" ventured the DI turning to the consulting detective, "Winston takes revenge on Molly and Janine on you?".
Sherlock was fixed in place, had opened his eyes but his gaze was unfocused. He was fully aware of how badly he had miscalculated the whole situation. Starting from the reappearance of Janine and the similarity between the two Stapletons. If Molly was now in the hands of two crazy psychopaths it was his fault alone.
"Sherlock, do you have a plan?" John asked his friend quietly and when he didn't move, John turned and saw a look of despair on his face. "Sherlock" he whispered sternly to get him to react, "Molly expects you to do something. It is not time to overthink, but to act. We are soldiers, remember?", at John's words he seemed to shake himself. The pallor from his face slowly disappeared and his changeable eyes returned to their usual fighting glint. John was right. It wasn't like him to give up without a fight. And Molly deserved an all-out battle. She had never backed down. She had always protected, supported, fought alongside him.
Sherlock turned to Greg and told him to tell Mrs. Stapleton her son was alive and to ask her if she knew of a place where Winston might have been hiding. Then he motioned for John to follow him outside as he phoned his older brother asking him where he was at that precise moment because he needed a favour. A very important one.
"If you're referring to the helicopter, it's all ready for you and Miss Hooper. You two are expected on the airfield by three o'clock in the afternoon" he tutted wryly as John opened the door of the cab they had managed to stop outside the hospital, beckoning Sherlock to gen on. He replied curtly the trip to Sherrinford was bound to wait, "Sherlock, the helicopter in not a toy…it's a government vehicle for which I answer…" Mycroft started the sermon but his brother stopped him immediately.
"Molly has been kidnapped. I need to check traffic cameras. I'm going to MI6. Either you join me there or make arrangements for me to be given the maximum support to find out what the hell had happened to the ambulance on which they took her away" he spat out talking a blue streak. Mycroft fell silent on the spot, "I'm on my way" he just said before ending the call.
Sherlock let out a deep breath as he allowed his body to ease some of the tension and leaned back in the car, "Thanks, John" he whispered, "Mm?" the doctor turned his head slightly to Sherlock, "To be here. To help me stay focused" he said, hands in his lap and fingers intertwined. John knew him well enough to know he would not reveal his thoughts or feelings to him in full, but he also knew if Sherlock had gotten to the point of giving himself soul and body to Molly – yes, Greg had told him the two of them had spent a passionate night together – now he was blaming himself for not being able to protect her.
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world" John settled himself better in the seat, "Molly is not only Rosie's godmother. She's a priceless friend. After Mary's death she was my lifeline" he said and looking his best friend straight in the eye, added "And she is the woman you love. So…". Sherlock hinted at a smile and nodded his head, some messy curls fell on his forehead giving him a boyish and helpless look.
"We'll find her. You know we'll do", Sherlock nodded again and as he bit his lip asked "What if…what if after all this Molly doesn't want to see me anymore?", John couldn't help but smile at his self-doubt "I honestly don't think this is a possibility", "Why not?" he asked giving a distracted look out of the window and letting out a resigned sigh, "I've disappointed her so many times, John. This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back".
John turned so that he faced him "Okay, Sherlock, are you serious? Are you looking for an excuse to push her away from you? Nobody knows better than me what you're feeling now. You're scared, terrified those two will hurt her, but you have to be confident and use that fear as stimulus to keep looking for her".
Staring Sherlock straight in the eye and with a firm and determined tone of voice he continued "Listen to me, mate. I won't let you give up on the one who makes you a better and undoubtedly happy man. Molly is a strong woman and has endured things from you that anyone would have fallen out of love with you in a snap of their fingers. But not her, not her" he stressed.
Sherlock laced his fingers together even tighter "I know, John. Sometimes, for Molly's sake, I wish she didn't love me the way she loves me. I wish Molly wasn't like that", John chuckled briefly "Now I'll tell you something you told me when we found out Mary's true identity". His best friend frowned and gave him a questioning look, "You told me she is like that because you chose her".
John smirked holding back a few tears that had gathered on the rim of his eyes, "It was true for me at the time and it is true for you now. There is no one else for you, Sherlock, but Molly". Sherlock sniffed a little and after swallowing hard, in a voice hoarse with emotion he said "Thanks again John, for being the friend you are", John was moved and gave him a pat on the knee to let him know he appreciated his words.
When they arrived at MI6 headquarters, Mycroft was waiting for them at the main entrance. Walking with his natural assertiveness and occasionally placing on the floor the tip of his inseparable umbrella in which was concealed a double weapon – a sword and a pistol – as he and Sherlock had recently discovered, he led them into the room with more monitor John had never seen before.
Just as the technicians showed Sherlock that the traces of the ambulance were lost near the Vauxhall Tower his phone gave off the sound of a text message. He ignored it for a moment, focusing his attention on the three cars that had moved from that area in the twenty minutes after the ambulance disappeared. One of the cars, a silver grey Audi Q5, had a false number plate "Keep an eye on that!" Sherlock ordered, but whoever was driving and despite the sparse London Sunday traffic, managed to make the car disappear from the tracking of road cameras.
John standing next to Sherlock with his arms folded, couldn't help but curse under his breath "Wiggins?" prompted to his friend, "Better my clique of homeless people" he replied finally deciding to take a look at the text had arrived shortly before. A sound similar to a grunt reached Sherlock's ears and only the worried looks of John and Mycroft made him figure out he was the one who did it.
His brother took a few steps in his direction asking him what it was. Sherlock turned his device so that both he and John could see the image that was sent to him. "It's Molly" said John pointing with his index finger, raising a roll of eyes in Sherlock for his banal observation.
The petite woman was seated on a steel chair in the centre of a completely unfurnished room with artificial ceiling lights and a window sealed with what appeared to be a grey iron panel. She wore the clothes she was kidnapped in, namely a pair of moss green trousers and a light yellow blouse, no socks or shoes.
Molly bowed head was a sign she was still unconscious, still under the influence of the drug they'd injected into her. Her face was half hidden by the strands of hair had come out of the elastic band that held them in a usually neat ponytail. As far as Sherlock could see from the photo, she didn't look hurt. A table had been placed on her lap stating Sherlock had three hours to find Molly and that once the time was up the room would be filled with water.
"She will drown…Isn't that funny? A fate exactly opposite to that of her dear friend Vanessa! You'll be in hell together, bitches!" Winston's laugh croaked in the voice text that followed the picture. "Hurry, darling!" Janine's mellow and fake voice took over, "The game is on, Sherl luv! Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock!".
Janine's mockery gave them three chills in the back especially the final part of the message which reminded all three of what had passed in Sherrinford four months before. "No clue to her whereabouts, apparently" Mycroft remarked out as he tried to shake off all the bad memories of that day, and get Sherlock back to focus on the most important task, which is where Molly had been taken.
"It's not like that, actually, brother mine" Sherlock said with cold calmness, "Meaning what?" Mycroft sought an explanation as he fumbled with his phone and then showing the screen once more to them, "Are there any bells ringing?" he asked with a satisfied half-smirk.
John and Mycroft looked at each other in shock, "It's the same room Molly is in!" exclaimed the confused doctor first, "Yes, it is. Can you read what is written at the top right?" he asked raising an eyebrow at the two of them, "Protect Molly". Sherlock remained silent for a bit then added "It's one of Eurus' drawings", he put his phone away and looked at his brother resolutely, "After all, apparently, I still need that helicopter. Now" and gesturing for John to follow him, Sherlock turned towards the exit, his coat billowing behind him.
