Jim looked up from his laptop around the crowded coffee shop. So far no-one had dared sit next to him. Just the look he gave them when they looked hopefully towards the empty chair opposite him.
A man in tweed with ridiculous hair was wandering around vaguely, a coffee cup in one hand and a muffin in the other.
"Anyone sat here?" he asked, wandering over to the table.
"Yes" Jim replied curtly. This man annoyed him already.
The man sat down anyway. "They won't mind if I sit here until they get back, will they? Unless they're already here..."
The way he said that last sentence made Jim look up. "What?"
"Oh, nothing. The weather is horrible today, isn't it?" he said, hurriedly changing the subject.
Jim nodded, looking back to his laptop. Just another idiot. Nothing like the only man who'd ever challenged him. Well why should he be? For a few moments this fool had given the impression of knowledge but now just more stupid, human idiocy.
"I'm John, by the way, John Smith"
"Richard Brook" Jim said quietly, telling the same old lie. He never used his real name any more. He missed it in some kind of pathetic way.
"What are you doing?" Smith asked, craning his long neck over the top of the laptop screen curiously.
Jim snapped the laptop shut, catching him on his unusually large chin. "Business. Nothing that you would understand"
Smith looked behind Jim and gave another stupid grin. "My friend's here now but I have a feeling I'll see you again soon, Mr Moriarty" he said, standing up and starting to walk to the door.
Jim turned sharply, seeing Smith talking to a tall man outside. The 'friend' had curly hair and a long coat.
Wait, it couldn't be...
The figure turned and smiled slyly at Jim.
Jim stood and ran to the door, pushing past the other people in the shop. He got out of the door and looked round but they'd gone, nothing there but a strange sound and a swirl of wind.
What the hell had just happened?