Once again, thanks to . #cutid1 for the transcript of the episode!
Transcript by Ariane DeVere aka Callie Sullivan.
…
"John, I never liked Sherlock and now that it's all over the news that he's the one responsible for those horrendous crimes you are always trying to solve," she pauses to burp and John swears he can smell the alcohol from here.
"Your sister, no doubt;" Sherlock starts and John looks over to him, "she convince you that our relationship has reached its bitter end?" John ruefully smiles as he covers the microphone with his hand.
"She's trying to."
"Well," Sherlock grimaces and John watches Sherlock mouth the word 'drunk.' John's eyes widen. He swears he could see the word as it left Sherlock's mouth.
Jim had tried to get him to realize the little moments that showed the whole picture, but this is just a coincidence. He knows Sherlock is not any of the things they have been portraying. Besides, John had been the one to point Sherlock in the right direction; he answered the question in just the right way.
Like you always do.
John shakes Moriarty's voice away.
"Are you even listening to me! God John you're such an idiot for staying with him!" John flinches and Sherlock begins intently watching him. Harry disconnects. The word idiot floats in the air too.
What are you: an idiot, a drunk or a criminal?
He's the idiot, his sister the drunk-
No.
This is Moriarty. He knew what would be said, and what conclusion he will have taught John to reach. John blinks.
"What sort of Kidnapper leaves clues?"
"The sort that likes to boast; the sort that think's it's all a game."
Isn't Sherlock the one who treats it all as a game?
The game is on, John!
He credited it to Moriarty, but wouldn't that be the best thing to do?
"He didn't need to be there for the execution. Murder by remote control. He could be a thousand miles away."
Then there was Claudette. Yes, Moriarty taught him to see the connections so he'd see these ones.
"I'm leaving."
"John." Sherlock seems a bit hesitant. What was said? What conclusions did that lead John to?
"I need to see someone." Sherlock watches the door close behind John and closes his eyes. Moriarty warned that he would test John's loyalty, and though it had been strong before, doubt has managed to crawl its way into John. He's going to see Moriarty, instead of talking to Sherlock, he's leaving.
Hopefully, when John fails Moriarty will leave them alone and not kill them.
Then again, what about Jim?
…
"Not me." Moriarty grins and John's glare falters for half a second. He doesn't feel completely safe with Moriarty, honestly, but he has to figure this out for Sherlock. "I didn't tell anyone to do anything."
He wrote it out, left it out and happened to guide someone, Moran, to the room, but he didn't instruct anyone to do to anything.
Isn't that beautiful?
"It has to be you; I have no idea why it wouldn't be."
"No?"
"They are going to arrest Sherlock," John breathes out his worry.
"Are you worried he's guilty?"
"No." John is firm. "Especially if you're not." Moriarty grins and moves to sit right in front of John.
"So you think I'm lying?"
"You don't have to be." John shakes his head. "Sherlock has a lot of enemies. Five assassins moved in next door to us!"
"Five?" Because when Mycroft talked to him there were only four.
"Once I knew to start looking, I found them." John answers, not bothering to ask how Moriarty knew these things.
"What are you going to do? Expose him?"
"He's not a-"
"Fraud?"
"Moriarty-"
"A fake, a phony, someone who 'took you in' just to watch you follow him." John narrows his eyes.
"He planned all of this to test you," John shakes his head "he'll ask if you believe them, insist on making you feel guilty when you figure him out."
"No." John smiles in a way that could kill a man. "Not at all. I've figured you out. I don't know how, but you did this, I'm sure." John turns to leave and Moriarty lets him, letting a smile grace his face after the door closes.
"Maybe you're learning the players Johnny boy, but you still have no idea what the game is."
…
John should be here when they arrest him, if this truly is to test his loyalty, so he's not surprised when John comes bounding up the stairs.
"What did Moriarty have to say?"
"You're a criminal."
"Oh?" The doorbell rings and Sherlock's eyes leave John to look to the door. What perfect timing Moriarty had. "Well here they come to take me in."
"You're kidding." John turns as Lestrade comes up the stairs.
"The answer's no."
"But you haven't heard the question!"
"You want to take me to the station. Just saving you the trouble of asking." John turns to Lestrade to hear his denial but he just takes a breath.
"Sherlock ..."
"The scream?" John can practically hear her screaming now.
"Yeah."
"Who was it? Donovan? I bet it was Donovan." What did she do? "Am I somehow responsible for the kidnapping?" Oh, she is the one who thought him guilty. "Ah, Moriarty is smart. He planted that doubt in her head; that little nagging sensation. You're going to have to be strong to resist. You can't kill an idea, can you? Not once it's made a home" he reaches forward and briefly places his index fingertip on Greg's forehead between his eye, "there." Sherlock glances to John as he lowers his hand. "Not even those who know you best." John feels the guilt begin to settle in his stomach; he was doubting Sherlock, wasn't he?
"Will you come?"
Sherlock turns away, sitting down at the laptop and beginning to type, "One photograph – that's his next move. Moriarty's game: first the scream, then a photograph of me being taken in for questioning. He wants to destroy me inch by inch." John wants to blurt in that Moriarty said he had nothing to do with this, but that's taking the criminals side over Sherlock.
"It is a game, Lestrade, and not one I'm willing to play." Sherlock pauses, "give my regards to Sargent Donavan." Is that it? Is she not Sally anymore? After Lestrade leaves, John moves to the window to watch him go.
"They'll be deciding."
"Deciding?"
"Whether to come back with a warrant and arrest me."
"You think?"
"Standard procedure." John looks to Sherlock briefly,
"Should have gone with him. People'll think…"
"I don't care what people think."
"You'd care if they thought you were stupid, or wrong."
"No, that would just make them stupid or wrong." Angrily, John turns towards him. Sherlock is so… so Sherlock that John knows he's innocent, because if he were a criminal no one would catch him, and he'd be a lot more arrogant than annoying right now, but why doesn't he care?
"Sherlock, I don't want the world believing you're..." John breaks off as Sherlock locks eyes with him. Sherlock's daring him. Does John believe? Has Moriarty convinced him?
"That I am what?"
"A fraud." Sherlock rolls his eyes and sits back in the seat.
"You're worried they're right."
"What?"
"You're worried they're right about me." Sherlock's worried Moriarty was right about John.
"No."
"That's why you're so upset. You can't even entertain the possibility that they might be right. You're afraid that you've been taken in as well." That's Moriarty's phrasing. Sherlock narrows in on the look of recognition on John's face.
"I'm not."
"Moriarty is playing with your mind too." Sherlock slams his hand onto the table. "Can't you see what's going on?" John turns towards the window.
"No, I know you're for real." Sherlock knows Moriarty is listening, on the edge of his seat to see if the loyal knights are really loyal.
"A hundred percent?" John looks away from the window to Sherlock.
"Well, nobody could fake being such an annoying dick all of the time." Sherlock almost smiles as John looks away.
"That was fast." John swallows as he lifts the phone to his ear. Sherlock has moved to the armchair.
So, still got some friends on the Force. It's Lestrade. Says they're all coming over here right now, queuing up to slap on the handcuffs: every single officer you ever made feel like a tit, which is a lot of people.
Sherlock ...
"Evening, Mrs Hudson." Lestrade opens, as if he wasn't about to ruin her night
"We need to talk to you!" Donavan shouts,
"Have you got a warrant? Have you?" Sherlock puts on his coat as they continue downstairs.
"Leave it, John".
"Really! Manners!"
He's not surprised that John is a tight ball of tension as the cuffs come out. Sherlock is sure that if he said so much as 'go' that John would unleash enough fury to take down all of the officers in the room and allow them to escape, but that would make John an accomplice and not another victim.
"Sherlock Holmes, I'm arresting you on suspicion of abduction and kidnapping." Just the one charge then?
"He's not resisting." The tension is so tight Sherlock could set him off with a nod, he's tempted to. He's love to see John rip through the force. Instead he attempts to calm him.
"It's all right, John."
"He's not resisting. No, it's not all right. This is ridiculous."
"Get him downstairs now." Greg instructs, eager to get this over with. He knows Sherlock is innocent, and that all of this is pointless and he hates that he's being made to do this.
"You know you don't have to do-"
"Don't try to interfere, or I shall arrest you too." John wants to punch Greg, but before he can decide to, Greg turns and leaves the room. John turns to Donavan who is standing near the door. She's wearing a smug grin that doesn't help the situation.
"You done?"
" Oh, I said it. First time we met."
"Don't bother." Seriously, John is on his last nerve, the same people who couldn't do their job well enough to arrest Moriatry's are now going to arrest Sherlock?
"Solving crimes won't be enough. One day he'll cross the line. Now, ask yourself: what sort of man would kidnap those kids just so he can impress us all by finding them?"
"What kind of officer lets a known criminal get away and then arrest the only one who could find him?" Donavan shakes her head, still smug. "It seems the only time you do your job you arrest the wrong man." She frowns, ready to retort when the Chief Superintendent walks in
"Donovan."
"Sir."
"Got our man?"
"Er, yes, sir."
"Looked a bit of a weirdo, if you ask me." John looks towards him and his fist clenches.
"Often are, these vigilante types." The chief turns to see John smiling at him with fury. Must be another weirdo. "What are you looking at?"
And John has truly had it. Sally's eyes widen and she instantly lowers her head as if she knows what's coming and can't bear to look. John starts to move on instinct and he doesn't realize the extent of what happened until he hears the scream and sees the bloody mess he's made of the room.
"John." Sally is in shock, and does nothing to help the man with the broken nose, nor the police officer who grabs John.
"Are you all right, sir?"
John decides, as he is thrown against the cop car, that he should've punched him harder. Sherlock can read the story and lets the amusement show in his face. He knew John was close, but to have been pushed, he wants to know what the man said.
"Joining me?"
"Yeah." There's the deadly smile. "Apparently it's against the law to chin the Chief Superintendent."
The officer behind Sherlock unlocks the cuff on Sherlock's right hand and transfers it to John's right wrist, chaining the boys together. Sherlock can definitely pick it now. Sherlock looks over his shoulder, watching what the officers are doing and where they're standing. Before he can act John sighs.
"Sherlock, what is this?
"A test." John's face falls.
"Who's? Sherlock," John's voice gets low. "Tell me it's Moriarty's, please." Sherlock grimaces, he looks to the radio.
"Would you believe me?"
"Yes." This is the moment, isn't it, to see where John will fall. It makes little sense, but Sherlock decides to claim it, so he can blame John picking Moriarty on himself. Sherlock notes this is to test John but he once again fails
"It's mine."
"You son of a bitch," John says with amusement and a small laugh and Sherlock grins. "I knew you were innocent."
Sherlock wants to kiss John, he wants to crush him in a hug and proclaim to the world that he has the best man with him, the most loyal man, the man who beat Moriarty, but this is neither the time nor place for that. Instead, Sherlock smirks.
"A bit awkward this"
"I never truly doubted you."
"I know, but I was thinking more about our imminent and daring escape."
"What's that?" John is a fast thinker, it's saved many of the English lives in the war, but this moved faster than he could process.
Sherlock reaches through the open window of the car with his free hand and presses down on the Talk button. Instantly the officers behind them double over in pain and grab at their earpiece when a high-pitched squeal of feedback rips through it. Sherlock reaches behind him and pulls an officer's pistol free, instantly raising it. John's hand follows. John gasps in surprise at the rapid turn of events as his brain catches up. Sherlock calls out as he aims the pistol towards the nearest officers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, will you all please get on your knees?" Sherlock fires the gun in the air twice, and John makes a note to teach Sherlock gun safety. "Now would be good!"
"Do as he says!" Greg directs everyone to get down as he kneels.
"Just-just so you're aware, the gun is his idea. I'm just a ... you know ..." Sherlock aims the gun at John's head.
"... my hostage." John lets out another gasp
"Hostage! Yes, that works – that works." He whispers to Sherlock. "So what now?"
"Doing what Moriarty wants – I'm becoming a fugitive. Run."
That last line sounds so much like a Doctor Who episode that John can't help a chuckle as he begins to follow after Sherlock.