I am so, so sorry for how late this is. Real life got in the way, and I'm not even sure about how this chapter is, but I wanted to update to let you know I'm still going on with this story.
Apologies for any spelling/punctuation mistakes I have made and failed to correct.
If you have followed/favorited/reviewed this story since the last chapter, then thank you SO much. This one's for you.
Emily had no idea how long they had been inside the museum for. All she did know was that it was past closing time; no members of the public were inside. No members of staff either. She, John and Sherlock were the only people that she was aware of. Though if Sherlock was right, (and a tiny part of her hoped he wasn't; he didn't need his ego boosted all the more) There was someone else in the building with them.
On their second meeting with Andy, she was ashamed to say she had zoned out, her tiredness clouding over her brain for those few minutes they were standing in the China display room. It had taken Sherlock explaining his reasoning why he had come up with this idea for her to understand why the three of them were still there. She managed to refrain from shouting the word 'Brilliant' out loud upon hearing his deductions.
After unsuccessfully managing to convince the manager to allow them to stay after hours, Sherlock had suggested John find himself the cafe to get himself something to eat while he take Emily around the museum. At this idea, she had awoken completely, and had actually been excited about the prospect of being around Sherlock for that length of time. She later discovered that it had been a plan the pair had come up with in order to hide themselves away so they could stay after hours. Emily couldn't help it, she felt a little used. But her amusement at seeing Sherlock so fascinated with the ancient skulls sort of made up for it.
Now, as she stood leaning against the wall with her head resting against John's shoulder, her eyelids unable to stay open for long, the pair waited for Sherlock to give them his signal. Though whatever his signal was, Emily dreaded to find out.
At that moment in time, she wanted nothing more than to be in her bed, snuggled under her quilt, maybe even trying to watch a film in the living room. Or she could go and sit downstairs with Mrs Hudson. Maybe she could even be snuggled under her quilt whilst trying to watch a film with Mrs Hudson. Now that was something Emily was going to have to do in the future, though it probably help if she knew what kind of movies her landlady enjo-
"John. Emily." Sherlock called to them, making Emily's eyes snap open. "You can come out now."
The two had made their way into the room, Emily a little more sluggishly than John. She had opted to sit at another desk and listen to their conversation. Though that plan wasn't working out too well as her eyes were already drooping shut once more as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand, her elbow resting uncomfortably on the table before her. She only caught a few words that were spoken. "Zhi Zhu" and "Spider" (The latter word made her unconsciously shudder and gained her the attention of the other three people. She ignored them but she thought she heard Soo Lin ask why she had yellow paint on her face.)
"Tong" and "Ancient Crime syndicate" quickly followed. But Emily was drifting off further and further into dreamland, not to mention close to falling off her stool.
It was only when the gentle voice of Soo Lin stopped mid-sentence and the lights went off. She opened an eye a fraction to notice Sherlock standing up straight, looking around them sharply. When his gaze landed on her, she opened both eyes and stood form her seat. The lights turning off had nothing to do with the Consulting Detective. This thought was only reinforced when Soo Lin began to speak again.
"He's here. Zhi Zhu. He has found me." Before anyone could stop him, Sherlock ran, racing across the room so fast Emily felt the breeze he created.
"Sh-Sherlock. Sherlock, wait!" John called to him softly, though it was difficult to miss the urgency in his voice. He turned to Soo Lin and grabbed her hand. "Come here. Emily, you too." He held his other hand out behind him as he moved. Emily took it without hesitation. "Get in. Get in!" He instructed the pair as he pulled them across the room to a cupboard storeroom. Leaving the door open to hear what was going on.
At the sound of gunshots, John looked down at Emily, knowing she was more than a little worried about their friend. He looked away from the blonde and turned his head to Soo Lin.
"I have to go and help. Emily, stay with her."
"What- But-"
"No arguments. Bolt the door after me." He squeezed Emily's hand as he moved past her and hurried off.
Emily looked to Soo Lin and thought she had never seen a more dread filled face. Quietly, she inched over to the girl and slowly took her hand in her own.
Soo Lin, grateful for the company of the blonde, interlocked their fingers and waited. It was all they could do to stop themselves from outright panicking. Or it was for Emily at least.
Neither of them realised they hadn't bolted the door as John had instructed.
"It's gone quiet." Emily felt ridiculously stupid as she whispered the obvious. "Why has it gone quiet? It's always a bad sign when things go quiet." But she got no response. Not that she was really expecting one. With a deep breath, she moved back to the space she had occupied before, poking her head round the corner to take a look at what, if anything, was happening. Soo Lin, began to crawl beside Emily and peered over the top of the table. The only thing worth noticing were the papers that fluttered with the breeze. Emily's brow creased. They were nowhere near an exit. How could the papers be fluttering?
As one, the girls stood slowly, still holding onto each other's hands.
After catching glimpses of the crime movies that her brother used to watch, she knew instantly, that someone was behind her. Why? Why were they always behind the good guys in dark places? She turned her head ever so slightly to make sure she was correct and quickly spun the pair of them round to face the new arrival.
The affection that overtook Soo Lin's face didn't go unnoticed by Emily. But since she had missed the conversation that had taken place before Sherlock's disappearance, all she could do was wonder why the affection Soo Lin wore was so strong.
Emily had been about to open her mouth when Soo Lin beat her to it; speaking to the man in her native tongue before reaching out her hand to gently cup his face.
"You want her, you go through me too." She whispered, ruining the moment. Sebastian had always told her bravery was just another word for stupidity. She had never truly understood what he had meant until that moment. She eyed his arms that appeared to be full of muscle and mentally slapped herself. Yes, she could defend herself, but there was no way she was going to be able to hurt this guy. She should have just fled with Soo Lin moments before. But he had a gun. They both could have been shot in the back.
The man before her eyed her once before turning back to Soo Lin and reached for his weapon, pointing it at Emily's head.
"No!" Soo Lin, who realised his intentions, whispered and pushed the blonde away as the trigger was pulled. Instead of Emily, it was Soo Lin that fell to the table, bullet firmly lodged in her head.
No one noticed Emily's head knock against the table. No one noticed the trail of blood that began to leave the blonde's head. No one noticed her lose consciousness.
John had made it to a rather grand looking room as he stopped for just a moment to catch his breath. Though he knew he wouldn't stand around for long, he still hadn't managed to find Sherlock and he was getting a little more than fed up with not being told everything. As he scanned the area for rooms he had not already searched, or ran through, he heard a gunshot. It was an unmistakable sound. He knew that, though he couldn't help the tiny part of him that desperately wished it wasn't. His face filled with horror when that tiny part diminished into nothing.
"Oh my God." He raced back to the stairs as he tried to think logically. He had only heard one gunshot, which meant either Soo Lin had been shot, or Emily had been shot. He wanted neither of those options to be the case.
He pushed all the energy he had into running down the stairs, across the foyer and finally, finally, back into the restoration room, though he stopped for just a second to look around before moving in completely, still checking his surroundings for any sign on a gunman. He carefully made his way across the room, only stopping when he noticed the body lying on the table. The hand of Soo Lin held a black origami lotus flower. He groaned slightly to himself; they had been too late.
It was only after a moment more that he noticed the legs of Emily sticking out from behind the table. Fear coursed through him as he imagined the worst, logic leaving his brain completely as he hastily dropped to his knees beside her and turned the blonde to face him.
"Emily." He murmured and inspected her for any signs of a gunshot wound. He was only somewhat relieved when he found none. But the blood on her forehead and floor quickly diminished that relief. "Oh God! Emily. Emily, wake up!" He no longer cared if the gunman was in the room. "SHERLOCK!" He shouted and silently hoped wherever his friend was he had heard him. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he began to call for an ambulance, all the while muttering Emily's name, instructing her to wake up.
The door swung open and in raced a haggard looking Sherlock, though he stopped at the sight of Emily being practically cradled in John's lap. He almost skidded across the floor to reach the pair and knelt next to John who was barking orders down the phone for them to send an ambulance and the police. He placed two fingers on the blonde's wrist and felt a wave of comfort when he felt a pulse. Though she was bleeding and unconscious, he had no doubt she would make it. She was a rather strong one after all. This thought did nothing to calm his wildly beating heart.
"I shouldn't have left them." John uttered when he had hung up. "I shouldn't have left them. This wouldn't have happened." He shook his head, disappointed with himself at his actions.
"John, if you'd have stayed all three of you would be dead. I have no doubt of that."
"But they would have stood more of a chance."
"Yes. But, the outcome would still have been three dead bodies instead of one."
John, who couldn't stand the sight a dead Soo Lin and an unconscious Emily, tired of listening to the emotionless voice of his flatmate, moved Emily gently so she was cradled on Sherlock's lap instead.
"I'll wait outside for the Ambulance. Or the police. Whichever one decides to get here first. Try and wake her up." He snapped and left the room. Not looking back to see that Sherlock was gently stroking the hair away from Emily's forehead.
"Not my Wotsits Sherlock." She uttered as her eyelids fluttered slightly. Sherlock looked down to her and opened his mouth to tell her to keep her eyes open when they abruptly shut once more, her body relaxed in his grip.
He couldn't help the slight smirk that lifted his lips at her words. Oh, yes. Emily Cooper was going to be just fine.
The boys had accompanied the police officers to Scotland Yard. John demanding he be allowed to speak to Dimmock, Sherlock watching as Emily was placed in the back of the Ambulance.
They had angrily marched their way through the hallways of the building, neither speaking a word to each other but knowing the way to reach their destination.
Now, as they were being ignored by Dimmock who rummaged through paperwork, John was only getting angrier. This case was obviously not being taken seriously. If it had in the first place, Soo Lin would not be dead. And Emily would not be unconscious in the hospital.
"How many murders is it gonna take before you start believing that this maniac's out there?" John essentially spat. Dimmock merely walked between them, heading for another desk. But John turned and followed him. "A young girl gunned down tonight. That's three victims in three days. Nearly four; Emily's currently in the hospital after being knocked out possibly having stitches because of this man. You're supposed to be finding him." He obviously didn't know if Emily was having stitches, but he thought if he added a bit of extra damage it couldn't hurt, might get the effect he was hoping for. It had worked. Dimmock paused for just a second. Barely noticeable. But Sherlock and John, watching him keenly, noticed.
Tired of being ignored, Sherlock walked across in front of John to get near to Dimmock. John, in his exasperation, stepped away a few paces.
"Brian Lukis and Eddie Van Coon were working for a gang of international smugglers – a gang called the Black Lotus operating here in London right under your nose." He leaned closer to the man to emphasise the last point. It was only then that Dimmock looked round to the taller man.
"Can you prove that?" He questioned.
Sherlock straightened as he thought. The bodies were being taken, or were more than likely already at St. Bart's. Perhaps he could ask Molly if he could take a look at the bodies, or more specifically, the feet of the bodies. He might as well check on Emily while he was there.
FB