Katherine wore her best formal workwear, a Vivienne Westwood black knee length dress with a swooping neck line. The shoulders were pointed and the quality of the sticking made her sit taller. The sleeves ended just past her shoulders and once paired with six inch, red souled shoes, she looked like she too herself could run the Government.

She'd been sat in the small foyer for about half an hour. She held a small file of all her back story in her hand. Passport, birth certificate, copy of her CV, marriage certificate...everything. She was the wife of a David Coleman, a head of a successful insurance business. Apart from the name it wasn't too far from the truth, and that was was tickled him more. Jim loved how close he was getting to them under such little protection. But it was that part which had Katherine worried. There were no guards, no snipers, no eyes on her for the first time in almost three years. She felt vulnerable and he was pushing her right into the arms of the enemy. When he told her he was going to make her his eyes and ears...she didn't for one second thin it would be to keep himself safe. But that's all it seemed to be.

No one could identify him. No one knew his voice, his face, his gender was even questionable. But her? She was the first line.

Her eyes looked around at the dark wood and patterned wallpaper. It was much different to the James Bond MI5 set up she'd imagined. It had all been sterilised metal and locked door. Where she sat now, looked better fitted to a high class gentleman's club.

"Miss Austin?" An older woman entered through a door to Katherine's right and smiled. It was only her in the room. "Please follow me." There was no small talk after Katherine raised out of her seat and followed the official looking woman though a maze of corridors. Their path only stopped when Katherine thought it was impossible for it to go on any longer. They entered a small room, seemingly an office. "Take a seat." It was a plain empty desk, but the woman gestured to a seat opposite to hers. "My name is Margaret Waller, I'm the head of communications for Mr Holmes."

"Nice to meet you." Katherine's voice was airy but confident. She didn't play the little innocent for this one. She had to play the confident, clued up, woman who needed this career. She wasn't going the blunder about and babble but she would be realistic.

"If it is alright, we will make a start straight away. Things are very busy around here at the moment." Katherine only nodded for the woman to go on while trying to decipher the pages spread in front of her. "Okay, so, tell me a bit about yourself, why you applied for the position? And what you think you could bring to the job?"

"Okay." Releasing a deep breath, Katherine tried to channel her old persona and every interview she had experienced. "Well, I'm 30 years old, I'm currently unemployed after leaving my job as a receptionist for small law claims business. My interests lie in reading, travelling, erm...I applied for the position mainly because I've been in simpler roles for the past 11 years and I know what I am doing. Although I feel, it will be much more interesting and bring me so much more of a sense of purpose, given the employer." She finished with a smile and took a second to think as the Margaret caught up on her note taking. "I can bring good planning skills, erm, time management, communication, professionalism. I genuinely consider myself to be a strong candidate who would excel and make Mr Holmes work life a lot easier."

"Good, very good." There was a moments silent, where only her pen scratched the surface of the stationary paper. The. Ms Waller started trading looks between the CV and Katherine. "It states hear, you speak four languages fluently, as well as English. Do you care to explain why this is?"

"As I said, a strong interest in travel and communication." It had been an unexpected question. In truth, it was because it had been forced upon her. Granted it had come in useful, the man had an unrealistic amount of clients in South America and Russia. "It's also been useful for the business and people I've worked for in the past." The hardest lies to read were those wrapped in a truth.

"And in your past employment, was there ever any trouble which caused you to cease the contract?" She'd made up six past jobs, around the average for a normal woman of her age and in the field of receptionists.

"No, none at all. I moved recently and my old job was out of the way. Before that, I got a better offer."

Over the past two years, she had learnt a lot. The average working age of a construction worker. The highest pension payout for a woman who had been a teacher all her life and retired at 68. The percentage of men who had an affair, inside and outside of marriage, if they grew up in a working class background and earned more that 25k a year. She knew almost everything about identities, what was normal, what was expected. She could create a life so detailed, those who adopted them even thought it was the truth. Schools. Businesses. Families. Katherine had made it her specialty in such a short amount of time, it was her trademark in Moriarty's web of contacts. She had never disappointed, and a one for herself was not about to be the first.

The questions continued, all of which Katherine had practically rehearsed and planned answers for. There were about twenty in total; scenario and experience related. But it was difficult. This was new to her, normally she just past over the information, she didn't have to play the part. Lucy was gone, she had become Katherine, that wasn't acting. This was.

"Okay, I think that is all. There's just one final form I must ask you to fill in." Katherine quirked a brow and watched closely as Margaret slid a pile of about five papers from underneath her things.

"What is this for?" The younger woman asked, taking the heavily printed sheets in her hand. At first glance, they seemed a lot like the first set of application forms she had gone through so thoroughly with Jim. But then she saw the extra details, the declaration of criminal convictions, the finger print, DNA and blood sample terms and appointment times.

"Just a simple clearance form, it is required for all candidates." Ms Waller must have seen the look of hesitation on Katherine's face as she gave a small chuckle and stood, removing her small reading glasses. "If I have a penny for every time I'd seen that reaction." Katherine looked up, eyes narrowed curiously. "The blood test...and DNA admittedly. But it's the regulations of working here. We will run it through our systems to make sure your record is clear and to make sure everything checks out. It's also so we have it all on record." Katherine nodded and plastered on a small smile of understanding. This was past her experience...over the years, identities had never stemmed as far as blood. Fingerprints...doable...for others. "Please fill what you can out and post it to the address stated. The appointments are compulsory, if you don't attend your name will be withdrawn."

"No problem, they all look fine." Katherine tucked the papers in with all the others she had brought along with her. "Thank you." Ms Waller thankfully showed her the way back through the labyrinth, guiding her back towards the reception.

"You will here from someone in the next three weeks, possibly longer depending on the results." The woman spoke in reference to the samples. "It was nice meeting you Mrs Austin." Katherine replied with a similar greeting and then never looked back as she left the building.

The car was due to be there waiting, two streets away. Black Bentley, regular driver. Regular number plate. Jim had ensured her. Her pace quickened as she walked through the busy streets. She was in the centre of London, alone for the first time in 2 years. She never even drove alone, never mind stood out in the open. This could have been the opportunity they had been waiting for. If there was a 'they'. Jim had assured her they were all gone, they were taken care of. But...there were always others. There would always be others.

That's why, after walking the length of the street twice, she started to panic. There was no car. Just taxi's and people pushing passed her on the crammed pavement.

Katherine pulled the phone from her pocket and dialled the only number, apart from Jim's, she knew off by heart. They didn't disappoint and answered within seconds.

"Sebastian. Where are you? The cars not here." Katherine spoke before they could.

"With Jim. We're on Warwick Way." Sebastian answered quickly. That was what? Twenty minutes away from here, thirty to 40 with traffic. In the background she could here the unmistakable sound of Jim muttering something. "There's been no check ins. They should be close."

Katherine stuttered with nervous laughter. "Expect a call if they don't show."

"Roger that." She hung up the call and dropped it back into the pocket of her coat.

Within the next couple of minutes, the recognisable shape of the black town car swung around the corner. Katherine breathed a sigh of relief, unable to stand still on the spot until the car stopped dead in front of her and she dropped into the back seat.

"You are late." She spat out, unintentionally harsh. The car door slammed shut and her head fell back against the head rest as she breathed deeply.

"My apologies Ma'am." Her personal driver only spoke when Katherine reopened her eyes, rolling her head so she was able to look out the window. "Any stops or straight home?"

"Home please...London is far too busy to deal with today." George gave a small smirk which she caught in the rear view mirror. He was nice, she liked him, she couldn't hold a grudge against him. He knew where he stood and what his job was but he wasn't a cold faced soldier like the others. He reminded her of an older Sebastian...if Sebastian wasn't a cold hearted killer.

Her phone beeped in her pocked, pulling Katherine out of her thoughts. The words on the screen made her almost laugh out loud.

New case. See details attached.

JM.

Sometimes it felt so good to know he cared.

After getting home, Katherine changed into her exercise gear and headed down into the basement to the gym. It was like her own personal one, fit with a pool and everything. She even had her own personal trainer...well...she had Sebastian when he wasn't otherwise occupied.

She needed to get her mind off something other than the end of that interview. He head had been spinning for the past couple of hours, wondering how on earth she could fake a planned blood sample. F she gave her own, and it was traced as Lucy...there was no doubt the government alarms would sound, following shortly by those of Scotland Yard.

With a final exhale, Katherine pushed the complex situation out of her head and jumped onto the treadmill.

She had never been one for working out until she saw the body it gave her. Muscle definition, a gap between her thighs, her call or bones protruding. It was what Jim was most proud of, Katherine thought. It kept her appeal up and made people want to be around her. That's what he told her.

She didn't know how long she was down there, for minutes on end she'd close her eyes and just listen to the rhythm of her own jogging. It felt like she'd gone for miles. But when she opened her eyes one time, Katherine almost broke her ankle as she stumbled. At the bottom of the stairs leading down to the gym, stood Sebastian. He was watching her closely with a small smile which grew with the sight of her fright.

"I thought I'd find you down hear." He mutter with a smirk, pushing himself forward. As always, he was dressed in his black combats with a gun pushed down the from of his pants. Heavy boots and a jacket which was almost too big for even his athletic build. Katherine didn't say anything as she stopped the machine and took several large gulps of water. "Boss wants you." Once again she was silent, dabbing the sweat from her chest with a towel. But she nodded at him, smiling ever so gently. He has known the girl for long enough now to know when something was wrong. "How did it go?"

Seb knew he had been right, when her brow creased and her steps towards him were too...casual for her. She swung instead of placing her feet down, her head rolled...she didn't care about her appearance, she was too busy focusing on something bigger. "Good. I think. But we might have a problem." Katherine looked up, into the snipers eyes and winced.

"Which is?"

"They want a blood sample. Taken by their own doctors." No one thought this would be easy. Jim knew that certain hurdles would need to be tackled. Sebastian knew it was dangerous sending her in there alone, undercover. Katherine...well, Katherine just did as she was told. But she knew it wasn't going to be an easy cruise. No more sauntering the streets with bodyguards and meeting the rich and powerful for brunch dates, she was an agent now practically. Jim's puppet on a string.

"Jim is in his office." Sebastian nodded behind him with his own frown. This wasn't something she needed to discuss with him.

However, Katherine smiled as she went to walk past him. "It doesn't settle me that even you are stumped."

"I'm a sniper, not a nurse." It was a casual quip, not an unusual for Sebastian to do around her. But never when Jim was near by, that she never seemed to notice. Katherine didn't give anything in reply, but as he watched her walk away, he felt the overwhelming need to call out, to stop her. "Before you go..."

She stopped on the fourth step and turned. She was smiling at him, the smile not many others saw these days. Everyone else saw the fake one, the rehearsed one. The smile that spoke 'I am better than you' than 'I am happy'. But he'd seen it from the beginning, around him, Katherine had always strived to prove herself.

"Yes?"

At least...that's what he saw. That was the story he told himself. "...Nothing. It doesn't matter." Others did see her smile. George, Tina, Jim...they all saw it everyday. Just like him.

"Sebastian?" Katherine questioned, noticing his strange hesitation. It wasn't like him. Just like it wasn't like him to avoid her eye contact.

"This is more important, and boss is waiting." She didn't question him again and left, jogging up the last few steps. Sebastian groaned as soon as the door at the top of the stairs slammed shut behind her, and he ran a hand over his eyes. After a moment to himself, he left the same way, purposefully avoiding the path through the house which led by the door to Jim's office. The door which she had just closed.

"You summoned me?" Katherine smiled easily, her breath finally having caught up with her. She learn back on the door and watched Jim stand from his desk, locking eyes on her. But as he walked to her, the quicker his pace got and before she knew it, she was pinned between himself and the door. Her wrist pinned above her with one hand as his other ruthlessly explored her exposed body. Jim's lips were on her neck, her lips, her collar. Parts of him seemed to be everywhere.

Moriarty picked her up with her legs wrapped around his waist. His hips pushed into hers almost painfully. But he felt her clinging too him, he felt how much she waned it ever if it was sudden. He needed that, he needed to feel that. That raw want and need from her. Jim needed to see it through more than her words sometimes.

After a few minutes, he slowed his kisses and lowered her to the ground. Her breath was once again fastened, but so was his. Her hair had been pulled from its high ponytail and Jim's needed to be put back into place with a swoop of Katherine's fingers. She started to chuckle, a wide smile painted across her lips before she gave him one final peck.

"That was unexpected." To her surprise, he joined in. Lightly laughing as he kept her held close, Jim pushed the hair out of her face and kissed the apple of her cheek.

"You've been exercising." Jim pointed out, finally pulling his hands from her and walking back to his desk. "You only do that when you're angry...or troubled." Jim sat, his left brow raised and grinned teasingly. If she didn't know better, she'd think he got off more on her stress than her kisses. "What is it, pumpkin?"

Katherine laughed aloud then, slowly walking forwards to take the seat opposite his desk. "Have you been drugged?"

"I'm in a good mood." He certainly was. First that...attack, for lack of a better word and now pet names. What was next? Long weekends away in a country cottage. She couldn't dwell on it though, whatever had him in a good mood could wait.

"Something's come up, I need your help." Katherine amusement finally ended as Jim looked up at her, curious. "They asked for a blood sample and a DNA sample...and fingerprints. They've arranged appointments, all for next week with their own Doctors."

Jim frowned, but all the while he continued to sort through his own work. "They need this for the job?"

Katherine focused on the bookcases to her left and stood, venturing over to them. She couldn't sit still when she was thinking or when she was nervous. She had to keep herself busy. Her back turned on Moriarty but she nodded, knowing her was watching her. "Something about regulations. They need the sample to run through their systems, make sure everything checks out." Her fingertips played with a porcelain tiger he had acquired a few months back, during a week long trip in China. She hadn't accompanied him, she'd stayed home but still she wished he'd let her go. "Jim..." Her voice choked, but she felt his warmth on her back. To her surprise he had joined her, his hands going around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. "If they get my blood, I might as well walk into Scotland Yard with my hands up now."

"I know." He whispered in her ear. "I'll sort it out." He turned her in his arms and tucked her head under his chin. "We can have fingerprints forged, that's the easiest. I'll figure the other stuff out. I have some people on the inside."

"That deep on the inside?" His connections only went so far. Hands played with the buttons of her suit jacket, constantly unfastening and refastening them, keeping her hands busy.

He put a hand on each side of her face and forced her to look at him. "Darling, I have eyes and ears in places you couldn't even imagine."

Why was he being so calm? So nice? He'd had a lead on a client. Not only that but she had done brilliantly. The bug he planted on her had picked up everything. It was more for him than for her, Jim needed to know she could be totally on her own. He needed to hear for himself how far she'd come, how much he could trust her. And she didn't disappoint. On the drive home, he'd been positively itching to get his hands on her, for no other reason than because he simply wanted to. He wanted to feel her under his hands, taste her on his tongue. He'd made her, now he wanted to appreciate her.

Some doubted that he loved her truly. A few thought he was measly using her. And yes, there were times he did. He used her as a face and a voice so people couldn't get to him, an easy face for clients to pick out that was his name and never his. He used her to get into places he couldn't, Mr Holmes office for example. He used the vulnerability that remained in her to draw in the less confident clients. But that didn't mean he didn't love her. How could he not love her? She'd been so loyal to him from the start. She looked through everything he did and somehow still managed to put him on top, it was remarkable how her little mind worked. For she wasn't stupid, she wasn't boring, she was...his. All his.

"Go get cleaned up." Jim spoke all to suddenly, startling her. He felt her hands cling to him and smiled. "I'll give your good friend Mr Robson a call." He was a good acquaintance of Jim's had been since the business started by the sounds of it. Katherine had worked with him a few times at the start, learning how to forge passports, handwriting, holographic logos. He was good, stern, but good. "You've done well today. As a reward we should go out...for a walk. We'll take the dogs."

Something he seemed to say melted her worry, for Katherine choked on a laugh. "You can't handle them on your own. They run circles around you." She was right. Dogs trained to kill were obedient, until they saw a wild fox or even a field mouse.

"Then pick your favourite and we will take that one." With that, he ended there chat. Giving her a swift slap on the behind, Jim kissed her once and then sent her on her way. She wasn't even out the room before he dialled the number for Robson.

"Hello Patrick, its Jim. You remember my wife, Katherine? Well I need to call in a favour for her."