Hello again! I'm really sorry, but real life decided to kick into gear. I will not abandon this story, promise. I know it's been ages, but I do hope this chapter makes up for it. I will do my utter best to write another chapter soon. Thanks for all the reviews! 41, wow. You guys are amazing! Sorry to keep you waiting!

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Chapter 6- Four Funerals and a Scorpion

Even with the joint funeral for V-Unit, the turnout was small. It was, however, a passionate memorial .The sky was heavy and grey as it made its sorrow known for the deceased team.

Owl, Bear, Dingo and Iguana were buried side by side, their camaraderie extending even into death. Every living member of K-Unit was in attendance with the entirety of M-Unit. The normally raucous Eagle and Caiman were quiet with respect, the brash Wolf and Hawk still. Fox and Snake had taken it the hardest, retreating even further into themselves. Lyrebird and Stingray were in shock, silent tears rolling down their faces as they stared at the four coffins. Cougar, too, felt the salty droplets drip down his cheeks as he remembered the four men. He listened to the loud wails of Owl's mother and quiet sobs of Bear's father. He watched as Iguana's senile grandfather momentarily realised what had befallen his grandson: the painful comprehension gone faster than it came. He briefly smelt the cigar smoke curling from the mouth of Dingo's mother: her hands shaking horribly as she went to light another.

The coffins were lowered one at a time. First Iguana was placed, leading as he always had done; Owl was next, buried with blatant grief, Bear following with quiet sorrow. Dingo was last, his exuberant care tainted with smoke, salt and death.

Cougar lifted a handkerchief to wipe his eyes, the cloth already soaked. For a moment, there was a grief-filled silence. Heads were bowed in misery, guards were dropping like tears.

An undertaker shifted, his hand reaching under his long, black coat. The movement was swift, something even alert soldiers might not have been able to stop. No one was even aware of the discrepancy until an undertaker slumped. The man fell with his mouth stuck in an expression of shock. Screams ripped the air as eyes fixed upon the gun. Cougar took one look at the silencer equipped firearm and shoved Owl's mother to the floor. He could vaguely see the other soldiers lunging for the other guests, more concerned about the two shots that went off in quick succession. He noticed a bullet whizz past his head just as another body fell with a sound thump.

"Get to your knees! Hands in the air!" A voice growled from somewhere behind Cougar. Rough hands grabbed the medic, pulling him to a kneeling position. He struggled hopelessly, his gun traded for a backhand across the face. Coarse rope bound his hands too tightly for comfort. Glaring furiously at the back of a black-clad figure, Cougar noticed the similar treatment being given to his fellow soldiers.

The medic's eyes fell on the dead body of the first shooter moving immediately to another undertaker's corpse armed with a silenced gun. His sight landed, moments later, on the third undertaker. The man was bound and blank faced. One of the two black-clad men kicked him in the back, letting him face plant into the dirt. The undertaker did not make a single sound.

The bulkiest black-clad man gave a toothy grin and growled something to the undertaker in a voice that identified him as the leader. The undertaker made no noise, not even as the leader reached for an unsilenced fallen gun and pistol-whipped the undertaker in the head.

"Take them back to base." The leader snarled triumphantly, his eyes gleaming with delight. "Scorpia ain't gonna wait for long."

Cougar barely assimilated the information before his eyes widened in horror. Seconds later his brain rattled in his skull and everything collapsed into darkness.

Line Break

Molly Hooper found herself enjoying the morgue, the peace, quiet and total lack of Sherlock. The man made her blush and stutter, but worst of all she could not tell if Sherlock truly existed. Almost as if it was aligned with her thoughts, her phone began to trill. She let it buzz on her desk as she mentally began a battle. The caller ID read just the man she both did, and did not want to see, leaving her with a decision.

She waited, eyes focused on the phone and fingers clamped tightly on the clipboard. She brought all attention to her resolve, and waited with baited breath.

The phone went quiet.

She smiled slightly to herself, triumph and guilt filling her. The first step taken, the first step to get over this ridiculous crush-

The phone warble again, each beat somehow louder and more urgent.

She squeezed her eyes shut, clutched her clipboard and froze her lungs began to constrict. She was not there. She was not there. She was not there.

She opened eyelids, just to see a small, blurred slit, but that was all it took. One, shaking hand reached for the phone, bringing it hesitantly to her ear.

"H-hello, Sherlock," she muttered cautiously, guilt overhauling any other emotion.

"Molly," he greeted with his usual, sharp voice. There was something else there, a tinge of desperation that she caught. "I need to come down to tomorrow, borrow a body." There was forced casualness in that tone, and concern crept into Molly's mind.

"That shouldn't be-"

"I might be late," he interrupted, that nonchalance almost transparent. "My brother has plans to start a war this week; you know how horrible that is for traffic. Then there's the weather man, he predicted heavy deluges and horrible fog. Different man to usual. Divorced, I could tell. The map malfunctioned, told a completely different story. Everyone kept that a secret, though. Went on as normal. Anyway, see you then."

The line went dead.

Molly shook a little, her mouth hanging open. Sherlock did not excuse himself. Sherlock did not make small talk. Sherlock would recognise more than divorced.

Her brain finally caught up to the conversation, the part she kept completely separate kicking into gear.

'Sherlock?' she thought, wallowing in utter confusion for seconds as her old experiences pulled themselves to the surface. She laughed to herself, and the corpses, in that grey, empty morgue.

Molly grinned a little as her fingers slotted perfectly around the familiar, cold handgrip.

With a sense of relief and wholeness she readied the gun.

Line Break

Sherlock Holmes pocketed his phone with shaky, confused movements. Anger welled in his eyes and he spun around, facing the only other person in his flat.

"Why?" he hissed, fury flashing through his body. It was visible in his tense muscles, his deadly tone and icy eyes. "Why, Alex?"

The blonde turned up his lips in a vague imitation of a smile. Sorrow creased his face, but determination simmered in his dark brown eyes. "Now is not the time, Tom," he stated with utter calm.

"Why not?" the brunette spat out. "What's this emergency you had me call in about?"

"You told them about me?"

"The emergency, Alex."

"Did you tell her about me?"

Sherlock growled. "'Then there's the weather man'," He recited, accent already flickering into Tom's. "That's you. Then 'he predicted heavy deluges and horrible fog' is code for a major problem, unknown. 'Different man to usual' you're not the higher ups, you're not even known. 'Divorced, I could tell' means you're a former agent. 'The map malfunctioned, told a completely different story' you deserted, faked something. 'Everyone kept that a secret, though. Went on as normal.' I told her to keep quiet. Happy?"

For a moment, Alex was silent. "Will she help us?"

"It's her job."

The blonde nodded slowly, before snatching up the remote. The television burbled into life, flicking through channels, until, finally, he stopped. Alex flopped onto the sofa, crossing his jean-covered legs and increasing the volume. "Watch," he ordered firmly.

Cautiously, Sherlock skirted around until the screen was visible. His eyes widened in horror as he froze.

"-has disappeared from the funeral for V-Unit, including the undertakers, James Matthews, Yanek Gabler, Harold Wild and Cooper Black. " the announcer burbled sombrely. "The missing list amounts to Carl Blake, codename Wolf. Neal McPherson, codename, Snake. Jake Right, codename Stingray. Oscar Green, codename Eagle. Jake Brown, codename Lyrebird. Mark Farrow, codename Caiman. Derek Swanson, codename Hawk. The civilians missing are Ben Daniels, Jean Mire, Johnathan Trent, Dorcas Mills, Doctor Haley Stevenson and Doctor John Watson. If you see any of these people please-"

Alex finally let the stewing fear overtake him. His breathing became sharp and his hands started shaking as he stared at the television screen. Fingernails dug into the sofa just as his teeth clenched on his bleeding lips. Bile rose in his throat and a headache pounded in his temples. He took a deep breath, clinching the lid down on his emotions. He relaxed, blank mask snapping into place just as Sherlock whipped his head around.

"Explain, Alex," the detective snarled, his hands darting to the side table. His grip tightened on the pistol, flicking the safety off. "Explain right now or I swear to God I will put a bullet through your head."

Review Responses:

Doctor Frostybuscus- Sorry for being so late! Thank you, I hope you liked the chapter.

yashendra2797- Thank you, seriously, thanks and once again I am so sorry for taking so long! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Guest- Thanks loads! I like writing detail, I'm glad you liked reading it! I also like the dramatic... I'll try to! If you read it, I hope the chapter was good!

SeeSea19- I shall take that as a good sign, for me, not for you. Thank you the amazing review! I really hope this chapter was just as good!

Alex Rider's Spygirl- You're welcome! Yeah, I finally get to trap everyone in a little box and make them interact! It's fine, you've powered my story through so many writer's blocks so far, thank you. I remember reading your review and thinking, I should wish her luck, anyway, I'm thinking that luck back in time. Anyway, I bet you did brilliantly! Thanks for the awesome, inspirational review. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Kale of the Dragons- Thank you! Well, I hope this lives up to your expectations! I like cliff-hangers, and I'd laugh maniacally each time they came into play if I knew how...

grimmich- Finally I get to write, and you get to read, something other than characters skirting carefully around each other. Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sparky199- Yes! Yes I have updated and will do so again until I finish this story! Thanks loads, I hope you continue to enjoy this story!

rainbowchameleon- Thanks! I hope you liked the new chapter!

FateOfChaos- Thank you! I am so glad to do enjoy this! I'm back now with another chapter! Seriously, a year? Huh, that was one crazy year... I hope this is as good as you expected!

I'm out of breath from smiling so much! You guys are awesome!

I hope to be back soon, sooner than a month. I will update before March hits the fourteenth, probably, hopefully. This story will not be abandoned though, never abandoned. Thanks for sticking with me, guys!