Chapter 12: The Stammering Soldier.
Hayden grinned at Mycroft from her spot across the table. He wasn't paying attention to her but knew that she was looking.
"What?" He demanded.
"I know I don't, but it sometimes feels like I have you wrapped around my finger."
Mycroft looked up briefly from his report, "who's to say you don't?"
"Do I?"
"No."
Hayden snorted as one of Mycroft's secretaries walked up to them. Her name was Georgina Esmond and while Hayden wasn't her biggest fan the secretary was nice enough.
"John Watson is here."
"John," Mycroft greeted upon entering the room, still reading the report, with Hayden right behind him, "How nice. I was hoping you wouldn't be long."
He noticed John standing when he entered and bit back a smirk. Once a soldier, always a soldier.
"Hi, John," Hayden greeted, taking her usual spot by his dessert tray.
"How can I help you?" Mycroft asked, gesturing for John to sit while still reading the report.
"Thank you," John said, sitting awkwardly in the chair, "Um, well, I was wanting to ... um, your brother sent me to collect more facts about the stolen plans, the missile plans."
"Did he?" Mycroft said, raising a brow at the man and glancing towards Hayden, who was eating a piece of his cake, the nerve that woman had sometimes.
"Yes," John said, drawing Mycroft's attention back to him. He turned around to lean against his desk.
"He's investigating now," John assured him. He glared over at Hayden when both men heard her snort.
Mycroft bit back a grin before wincing at the pain in his mouth. He brought a hand to it in hopes of rubbing it away.
"He's, er, investigating away," John tried again.
Mycroft lowered his hand and smiled thinly at John. He knew the man was lying, Hayden had assured him that Sherlock had no interest in the Bruce-Partington plans.
"Um," John hesitated, shifting in his seat. Mycroft enjoyed the power he had over the man, "I just wondered what else you can tell me about the dead man."
"Uh, twenty-seven; a clerk at Vauxhall Cross – er, MI6," Mycroft told the soldier, trying to remember the details he'd locked away ages ago, deeming them unimportant to him, "He was involved in the Bruce-Partington Programme in a minor capacity. Security checks A-OK; no known terrorist affiliations or sympathies. Last seen by his fiancée at ten thirty yesterday evening."
"Right. He was found at Battersea, yes?" John asked, continuing once Mycroft nodded, "So he got on the train."
"No."
"What?" John said.
"He had an Oyster card," Mycroft grimaced again, raising his hand to his mouth.
"He hadn't used it," Hayden continued blithely, ignoring Mycroft's very pointed glare, he'd only allowed her to come since she promised she wouldn't talk, "and no, there was no ticket."
"Then …" John ventured, looking between the two.
"Then how did he end up with a bashed-in brain on the tracks at Battersea?" Mycroft answered, turning his attention back to John, "That is the question – the one I was rather hoping Sherlock would provide an answer to. How's he getting on?"
"He-he's fine, yes," John stammered, obviously not prepared to answer the question, "Oh, and-and it is going ... very well. It's, um, you know – he's completely focussed on it."
Mycroft glanced at Hayden again to see her grinning and shaking her head at John. While Mycroft did enjoy making the soldier anxious he did have other things to get done today. One of them is to get answers from Hayden.
"Is that everything?" Mycroft asked, lifting an eyebrow imperiously.
"Er, yeah, uh yes," John stammered again, getting to his feet, "thank you, sir."
"My pleasure," Mycroft assured before guiding John out of the room.
"I'll see you at home," Hayden called after the man.
A/N: Hello from the other side (other the world from where I used to be)! Hi guys, I apologize for the very long delay in updating this story. I had quite the writer's block and there was a lot going on otherwise in my world. I'm currently in Norway for a study abroad and on top of my summer job I've been too busy/ exhausted to write. I'm hoping that this changes now that I've got more free time but who knows. Anyways, here's my first update in a long time!