AN: Continued thanks to Luli27 and Donkey and Skunk for the reviews. Updates only come when the reviews do.

Sorry, it's kind of a short chapter.

OSCOSCOSCOSC

Chapter Eight: The Truth- Sort Of

Once again, a pharaoh eagle-owl swooped in the open front window of 221-B Baker Street and resumed a humanoid shape. Daria strode quietly across the dark room and slipped the Moriarty file back onto the shelf. As she turned to leave again, a floorboard squeaked under her foot. She froze, listening hard, but heard nothing.

Until she sensed a 'dead' patch behind her, one that blocked out any ambient sound, and heard a very authoritative click.

Daria bit back a mental curse and glanced out of the corner of her left eye, only now noticing that one of the doors to the back rooms had been left open. Someone would have been able to slip out of the room and up behind her while she'd been putting the file away.

Someone had.

"Care to explain yourself?" Holmes said conversationally. "Watson, you may come out now. And if you would be so kind as to turn on a light or two?"

Busted.

"I was returning, not stealing," Daria growled, deliberately forgoing every lesson on the pronunciation of the English language Terref had ever given her. The result was the return of her accent with a vengeance, putting sharp emphasis on any guttural or sharp syllables.

"Returning what you stole last week," Holmes corrected as Watson slipped out of the back room and began turning up the lamps. "Now, if you would be so kind as to sit, Miss Nelson?"

"Miss Nelson?" Watson repeated, sounding amazed. "Are you sure?"

Daria turned carefully, holding her hands a little away from her sides to show Holmes they were empty. "This doesn't concern you," she told them. The way Holmes had announced her 'identity' had her a bit off-balance. The man was smart.

Holmes raised an eyebrow, not lowering the pistol he held aimed at her. "Really?" he said, not sounding convinced. "Please, enlighten us."

"I'm surprised that you haven't figured it out yourself, Mister Holmes," she retorted, deliberately ignoring the danger she was in.

Holmes glanced briefly at his friend. "This is Miss Nelson," he said to him. "You will note the way she walks- exactly as she did when she consulted me last week. While she has forgone her disguise, there is no doubt that this girl and Miss Nelson are one and the same."

Daria nodded slowly, making a snap decision and hoping she wouldn't get grilled too badly later for it. "Well spotted, sir," she said approvingly. "I'm impressed. I am Miss Nelson."

"Not your real name, I would imagine."

"Of course not, but it will do. You can put the pistol away- I won't run." Yet, she added silently.

The detective waved her to a seat and put the gun on the table out of reach. "You are a spy," he said. "Working for Professor Moriarty."

She shook her head. "Not entirely correct. I am indeed an agent, but you are not my target, and I do not work for Moriarty." She would tell the truth- part of it, anyway, since her cover seemed to be well-blown as it was. If she could get Holmes actively on her side, then her task would be easier indeed.

"Oh?" Watson put in. "Then if you aren't after Holmes, who is your target?"

"The men I told you were my brothers," she replied. "They are terrorists known as the Black Hawks, and they recently joined forces with Moriarty, if my sources are correct. That's why I wanted to know about the organization."

"So you stole my file."

"I borrowed it," she corrected. "You didn't tell me what I needed to know, so I took a little initiative."

Holmes and Watson looked at one another. Her story seemed to have taken detective and doctor by surprise, at least a little.

"Who are you working for, Miss Nelson?" Watson asked.

"Can't tell you that."

Holmes rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't believe I've heard anything about a pair called the Black Hawks," he said thoughtfully.

"Not by that name," Daria agreed. "They were the ones behind the Museum thefts- there's a note in the file that describes them."

"The ones with the green eyes?"

She nodded. "That's them. I believe their eventual goal will be to initiate mass wars across the globe."

The two men shared another look, Watson's face fearful, Holmes's grave. "Tell me, Miss Nelson," the detective said. "Are you working against England?"

She looked him dead in the eye. "No. I'm working to keep civilization as we know it intact."

"Very well."

Daria started. Holmes had sounded like he was on the verge of agreeing with her. "Very well what?" she asked warily.

"I can help you track down these Hawks of yours, Miss Nelson."

She stared at him. "Seriously?"

He nodded as Watson gaped at his friend. "I am dedicated to wiping out Professor Moriarty and his underground web. The Black Hawks have become a part of that web, so I must ensure they are stopped as wall. On one condition."

"What is that?"

"Stop breaking into my rooms and kindly use the front door."