Author's Note: This was an idea that I'd had in mind for a while. Hopefully, I've got the characters fine (Though, this is short) & No, I haven't been to Prague, though I'd love to.
Disclaimer: I hold rights to neither BBC Sherlock or ACD canon or the Alex Rider series. I'm merely borrowing.
Stromovka Park, Prague
Sherlock sits huddled under a tree on one of the park benches. He has finished neutralizing Moriarty's network in Prague that evening. Mycroft has since informed him that he will be transported to Serbia the next morning, to root out the last remnants of Moriarty's web.
He tugs the coat he's stolen from a flaxen haired man around him. His expression contorts into a sneer even as he shivers; the man had draped his coat over the back of one of the chairs - utterly stupid.
He estimates that it is nearing midnight, sleep as usual, eludes him. He recalls the sweet notes of his violin; little does he know- that and John will be the only thing keeping him sane and alive in a few weeks.
He gazes at the lake in front of him, there is no moonlight glinting off its waters tonight. It is mind numbingly dull, and not for the first time does Sherlock crave the high the cocaine gives him. Tensing when he hears the sound of distant footsteps, male he deduces, not otherwise injured in the leg, not a man out for a stroll- before he can deduce more from his gait, the man is within sight, and he's holding a thermos flask.
The stranger, whose features he can barely make out in the faint light of a nearby streetlamp, holds out a porcelain cup as he seats himself next to Sherlock. He eyes the man and his possession with wariness, ready to whip out his knife and deal damage. The man turns on a torch and places it in the middle of the bench, and by its light, he decides that is definitely not a good idea. Beside him sits a man with piercing blue eyes, who was supposed to have died in a plane crash and one of the most cold-blooded assassins in the world - Yassen Gregorovich.
"Tea?" Yassen asks in perfect Czech. Sherlock narrows his eyes, if this was an assassination attempt, he would be dead already, mostly by a bullet-the man was not known to be talkative, definitely not friendly. He leans back and glances pointedly at the other porcelain cup at his side. Was that a glimmer of approval in his eyes?
"Jakub." Yassen says quietly as he swirls the tea in the thermos and pours it into both cups. "Am I to assume the cup is poisoned?" Sherlock ponders aloud, in Czech, accepting the name. Jakub shakes his head in the negative, and Sherlock finds no lie, although the man could hide it from him, there is a sort of amused warmth in his eyes which makes him believe.
They drink their tea in silence, neither speaking a word. Sherlock doesn't know how the man found out who he was or how he likes his tea, but they are two dead men, him more so than Yassen, and all dead men have their secrets and tell no tales.
Yassen does not tell Mr. Holmes how he discovered the man. Though he has kept away from his former associates, the instincts he has honed never lie dormant and they pointed him towards this slight anomaly. He presumes the detective is here unravelling Moriarty's web.
On that too, he has no opinion; he has never worked for the man, even though word had reached his ears. He waits until the other is done with his tea. They sit, staring at the lake - two ghosts giving each other company.
The alarm in Yassen's watch beeps- it is two in the morning. It also startles Sherlock out of his reverie. They nod at each other-Sherlock recognizes the unspoken warning and plea in the other's eye and knows it is reflected in his.
They nod again- from one ghost to another.
Jakub picks up his flask and cups and walks away into the night, leaving the torch behind.
Sherlock glances for a moment at the retreating figure, turns off the torch and tugs his coat around him once more. He tips his head towards the sky as the warmth of the tea lulls him;
He thinks of Mrs. Hudson and 221B and John and succumbs to sleep.
Thanks for reading.
Do review and tell me your thoughts on this. :)
