So most of you guessed that Dale was part of the group... Poor Dale, I know he's working for the wrong guy but I do feel a bit sorry for him. :) Thank you all again for your reviews and follows! It's just awesome! After this chapter, it will be the most amount of chapters that I've had in a fanfic so that's cool! :) I'm just glad that so many people like it!
"She's not answering her phone." John huffed, tapping it in annoyance to try ringing Mary again. Sherlock was sat next to him in the back of a cab, his calm exterior only making John feel more worried. He could see that he was starting to treat Mary as just another victim, collecting the data in his head as they made their way to Baker Street.
"You've already tried ringing her five times, I would say the likelihood of her answering the sixth time is fairly low." Sherlock mumbled, raising his hands to rest under his chin. John looked at him in irritation before sighing and putting his phone back in his pocket, making sure that it was close enough to him that he would feel it should it ring.
"What if she's not at Baker Street and we're wasting our time travelling over there when we could be trying to find her?" John asked and Sherlock closed his eyes as he answered.
"We are trying to find her. However the other alternative would be to sit around pointlessly and wait for Moriarty to contact us. Which option do you prefer?" Sherlock responded and John pressed his lips together, the silence making Sherlock make a hum that sounded like 'I told you so'.
The rest of the journey passed in silence as Sherlock's body language told him that he didn't want to be disturbed. Every second ticked by horribly slowly until finally, they reached Baker Street and even before the cab had come to a complete stop, John had stood up and opened the door, skipping out and jogging to 221b, hearing Sherlock behind him telling the cab driver to wait for their return.
John sprinted up the stairs, Sherlock now close behind him and threw open the door to his old flat. He glanced around quickly and called out Mary's name but there was no reply. Still calling, he checked the different rooms but there was no-one around. He began to feel fear fill him as he heard his former landlady's voice coming from the front room.
"Sherlock, what's going on?" She asked, sounding as worried as John felt. "It's all over the news that that horrible man's back and I've not heard a peep from anyone! Would it kill you just to tell me what's -?"
"Mrs Hudson, have you seen Mary recently?" Sherlock interrupted and John strode back into the room to hear her reply. His worrying was only justified as she shook her head.
"Mary? No, not today. I've not seen her some quite some time actually or any of you for that -."
"Have you heard from anyone today? Anyone at all?" Sherlock said, cutting her off again.
"No, no-one, that's what I'm saying; no-one ever tells me what's happening!"
"It doesn't have to be someone you know. Has anyone, anyone at all, been here today?" He asked urgently and Mrs Hudson thought for a moment before shrugging.
"There was a woman just before you arrived asking me about that empty flat downstairs. I took her down but she didn't seem too interested. Don't blame her really, she looked too posh for that damp old place." She replied and Sherlock stepped towards her to take her by the shoulders, making her jump a little.
"Did she have dark hair that was pinned up? Red lipstick and nails and was she wearing a black dress covered by a long coat?" He asked and Mrs Hudson raised her eyebrows at him before nodding slowly.
"It was a bit perculiar now you mention it, she asked me to let her have a quick look by herself and then left fairly quickly. Not to mention that it was getting quite late when she came. She didn't leave me a number or anything." She said and Sherlock let go of her before moving quickly to the staircase, shouting as he began to run down it.
"I need to go downstairs. Bring your keys!"
"Oh really. That man will be the death of me all this running up and down stairs." Mrs Hudson muttered before she looked at John who was stood in the middle of the room, the realisation that Mary was in trouble paralysing him. "Are you alright dear?" She asked and John blinked at her before clearing his throat and forcing a smile on his face. It would do no good to worry her any further.
"Fine Mrs Hudson. Just fine." He replied before following Sherlock down the stairs and hearing Mrs Hudson behind him, complaining under her breath about Sherlock and John's strange behaviour.
When they met Sherlock at the door, he was practically bouncing with anticipation, his eagerness to get into the room blatant in his posture and when Mrs Hudson finally unlocked the door, he barged in, stopping only for a second to glance around the empty room before moving into the bedroom. John and Mrs Hudson waited for him in the main room, John recalling the last time they were in there and when it had led them to meet Moriarty for the first time.
"I knew it! You just couldn't help yourself Irene Adler!" Sherlock's voice exclaimed and John's curiosity got the better of him, causing him to walk into the room where Sherlock was.
"What? What is it?" John asked and Sherlock turned to face him, his eyes glittering as he held up a small piece of paper in his hand.
"Pressure point." Sherlock announced, stabbing the air with the piece of paper.
"What?" John asked, utterly unsure as to how that would help them find either Molly or Mary.
"She's written those two words down. 'Pressure point'. She's made me remember something that I tucked away in my mind. She tried to tell me at dinner too. When I asked her what Moriarty had on her she replied, 'my pressure point you mean?' Ugh, stupid!" He scrunched the paper up and spun in a circle, bringing his hands up to his head as he scolded himself before he stopped suddenly and moved towards John so that he was only inches away from him.
"We have him." He whispered and John shook his head to show he had no clue what Sherlock was on about. "Moriarty. We have him."
"Right." John responded, the look on Sherlock's face telling him that that was a much smaller reaction than he had hoped for. "We might have him but there are two people that we still don't have Sherlock. Mary and Molly!" He raised his voice and his words seemed to trigger a change in Sherlock's expression. He took a step back and closed his eyes, bringing the hand which was still clutching the scrunched up piece of paper up to rest on his face.
"Of course." He muttered before opening his eyes again, the wild look in them now no longer visible. "Sorry. Got a bit carried away."
"Yes, you did. Now please can we try and find my wife and our friend?" John asked, his voice passionate as he heard Mrs Hudson hurry into the room they were in.
"What was that about Mary and Molly? Are they alright?" She cried and Sherlock shook his hand at her.
"Not now Mrs Hudson." He replied before getting out his phone. "I need to make a move to force Moriarty to play and what Irene has given us will help me." He looked up at John and saw the worry in his eyes. "It's the only way that Moriarty will possibly give us a clue as to where they are. I need to back him into a corner."
"I hope you know what you're doing." John sighed and Sherlock smiled at him before looking down to type on his phone.
"I always know what I'm doing." He replied before hitting the send button. John moved around to look over his shoulder to see what the message said.
'I know your 'pressure point'. SH'
They both waited in anticipation for only a few moments until Sherlock's phone buzzed, a reply popping up on the screen.
'Good, you're finally getting there. Well, let's see how clever you really are. If you know where Mary and Molly are, come and get them. JM'
John looked up at Sherlock after he read the text and saw that he was staring intently at the phone until a buzzed once more.
'Oh and you have thirty minutes before the houses go boom. JM'
They both read the second message in silence before John registered one word in particular, making his stomach twist in a knot.
"'Houses'. Sherlock, he doesn't just have Molly in a house, he has Mary in a different house somewhere, that's what that means. He's rigged them up. Sherlock, you said you knew what you were doing and now he's going to -." He said, beginning to feel panic set in but Sherlock took a step towards him, the intensity of his stare stopping him losing control as he interrupted him.
"John, I know where Mary is but you're not going to like why." He said quietly and John frowned, unsure of what Sherlock was talking about and why they were wasting any time. If he knew where she was, why were they just standing there?
"I don't care right now Sherlock. If you know where she is then let's go and get her!" He shouted and Sherlock nodded before turning to Mrs Hudson.
"Please would you give us a moment Mrs Hudson? Keep yourself safe in your flat, it'll all be fine." He said and she looked at him worriedly before nodding and shuffling out of the room. When she left, Sherlock looked back at John who was beginning to feel more anxious with each second that he was wasting time explaining.
"What is it?" He asked eventually and Sherlock sighed.
"Moriarty has done the same thing to Mary as he has to Molly. He's taken her to a place that she would rather forget, a place that brings back too many memories. He did it knowing that the only way I could find her would be to tell you how I know where the house is that she is in." He stopped and took a breath, causing John to raise his eyebrow at him. "I read the files that were on the USB that Mary gave to you." He said, looking at John carefully who felt as if he had just been hit but hadn't began to feel the pain of it yet. "I was curious, far too curious. Everytime I looked at Mary, my mind would race, trying to figure out everything it could about her and I couldn't rest knowing that all of my suspicions could be answered just by looking at that USB."
"So..." John began, closing his eyes and rubbing them with his hand before opening them again. "Everyone knows about my wife's past, except for me?"
"You did have the chance to find out but you passed it up." Sherlock retorted and John shot him a look.
"I didn't -." He yelled before stopping and exhaling sharply to calm himself. "I'm not having this argument now Sherlock. Later yes, definitely later, but not now. Just...just find her." He said firmly and Sherlock nodded as his phone went again. He opened the message and they both looked at it.
'Tick tock. Better hurry. JM'
As they read the message, Sherlock's phone began to ring in his hand, the screen showing Lestrade's name. Sherlock looked at John, his expression clearly showing that he was figuring out whether he would be punched if they wasted anymore time. After a second, he held his finger up and flicked his screen, obviously deciding that it was worth the risk.
"What have you got?" He asked and John could hear Lestrade's muffled voice reply, his words causing a smile to suddenly appear on Sherlock's face.
"Brilliant! Meet me there and send a team over to 6 Bradburn Street. John will be there to meet you. That's where he's keeping Mary." He finished, not giving Lestrade anytime to reply before he shut his phone and looked at John. "That's where you need to go. 6 Bradburn Street, take the cab that brought us here." Sherlock said urgently and John turned immediately for the exit before he stopped and turned back to face his friend.
"What about you?" He asked as Sherlock tucked the small piece of paper into his pocket before flipping up the collar of his coat.
"Lestrade managed to find Molly's mother who told us their old address. I'm going to go and get Molly."
I'm again interested to know what you think of this as I was really thinking about the Mary thing and I just thought with Sherlock not being able to help but deduce everything about everyone, it would drive him insane not knowing about Mary... Plus it helps him on his way to finding her so that's good :)
PLUS he's on his way to Molly! YAY!
And Irene helped too!
WOOOOO! :) I just hope you share my WOOOOOO! :P
