Firstly: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! I have been so frustrated that I couldn't post and I'm really annoyed that I made you all wait! Basically, long story short, I moved house, we had no internet for a few weeks and then when it finally got sorted out, I turned my computer on and it decided not to work... It then took me another couple of weeks to get it fixed. But OH WELL! I can finally post a new chapter! If you're reading this, thank you so much for sticking with it and I'm sorry for the wait again!
The streets of London passed Mary and seemed to all merge into one as she leant her head against the glass of the window next to her. She had lost where they were about fifteen minutes ago and had also long since given up the idea of trying to escape. Her only chance would be when Dale finally stopped the car and she could get out but she had no idea how long it would be until that happened.
She looked at Dale who was still nervously clutching at the wheel, his brow dotted with beads of sweat and she hoped that all it would take to get him to let her go would be some good convincing. It was obvious to Mary that Dale wasn't a bad person and he probably didn't really want to be doing what he was but he was probably too afraid to go against Moriarty. She remembered that Sherlock had said that he had two kids. Maybe Moriarty was threatening them.
Mary's mind began to think up her plea to Dale, focusing mainly on children and trying to use his kids to her advantage but her mind was suddenly distracted as she began to realise where they were. Her stomach dropped to the floor as her eyes scanned their surroundings, each road now meaningful to her as she mapped out in her head where they were headed.
And then another thought hit her as she began to try and cope with revisiting the house from her past. John had no idea about this place and neither did Sherlock. This part of her life had been well hidden from anyone she cared for and it so happened that those people might also be her lifeline.
No-one but her knew this house existed and for them to find out about it, for John to find her, it would mean that he would have to learn about why itwas so important to her. He would have to find out what she did in there.
To find her, she would have to watch him hate her.
Pressure point. That was what he missed and Sherlock couldn't stop scolding himself for it. It was blatant and so obvious that he was starting to wonder if he had overlooked it because it wasn't complicated enough.
He had heard it first in Baker Street over two years ago whilst sharing tea with Moriarty but at the time, he had been too focussed on the key, too preoccupied with how Moriarty had managed to break into the Tower of London to even really care how he had managed to get out of a prison sentence. But when Moriarty had told him how, he had used those two exact words.
'Every person has their pressure point.'
Pressure point. Two words that were also so important to another man he had managed to make enemies of. How had he missed it?
The cab that Sherlock was in turned a corner and jolted him from his thoughts. He had managed to follow the journey even with his eyes closed and he knew that the last corner had led them to Ravenstone Street and Molly's old house.
"Just here, thank you." Sherlock said to the driver and the cab came to a stop, he paid quickly and got out, his walk brisk as he searched the house numbers for 26. There seemed to be no sign of Lestrade anywhere but he wasn't about to wait around for them, instead he spotted the number he was after and began to speed his walk up to a jog until he came to a stop at the door. Quickly, he glanced at his watch and saw that he had fifteen minutes to spare until the house would explode, if Moriarty was telling the truth. Sherlock wouldn't put it past him to blow something up.
He placed his hand on the handle and was surprised to find the front door unlocked. He pushed it open and was met with darkness except for a crack of light shining through from the door at the end of the hall. Sherlock moved quickly towards it and made his way into the room, hoping that he would be met by a relieved Molly when she saw him but instead, he saw no-one. His heart sank and his mind raced as he started to wonder if he had the right house or if Moriarty had changed his plan until his gaze suddenly focused on the couch that was sat in the middle of the living room. Sticking out of the end of it and resting on the end of the arm rest was a pair of feet that were wearing black male shoes and even before a voice could confirm his suspicions, he knew who they belonged to instantly.
"Sorry. Expecting someone else?" Sherlock shut his eyes as he heard Moriarty's voice, letting the disappointment that he hadn't found Molly after all fill him for a brief moment before he opened them again and readied himself for a new confrontation with the consulting criminal. "If you were after Molly, I'm afraid she had to pop out but I told her that I'd wait here for her in case you arrived."
"Where is she?" Sherlock asked, his tone harsh as Moriarty's feet disappeared for a moment until he stood up from the couch and turned to face Sherlock, a smug smile on his face.
"You know, if just asking the bad guy to tell the good guy the truth worked, me and you would have been out of a job a long time ago."
"This is her home. I was right, you brought her here, back to a place she would rather forget." Sherlock pressed and Moriarty shrugged.
"You were right, well done." He replied before clapping slowly three times in mock admiration. "Not that it helped you in finding her because, as always Sherlock, I'm one step ahead of you."
"I'm assuming then that the bomb threat was an empty one?"
"Here, yes. I mean I might have shot myself and all but I wouldn't think of blowing myself up. Too messy." Moriarty replied and Sherlock watched him carefully as he moved around the couch, his whole body now in view.
"And the other house? Mary's?" Sherlock asked and Moriarty stared at him for a moment before he replied, his dark eyes glittering excitedly.
"Oh no, that's all ready to blow baby." He said, shaking his head as he spoke. "And you've quite kindly made my job easier and sent John riding over there to be her knight in shining armour so thank you for that. Saves me thinking up some way of getting him alone."
"Why that house?"Sherlock asked, trying not to let dread fill him yet. It would not be useful to panic. Moriarty let out a quiet laugh.
"Couldn't resist it. And I knew you couldn't either." He responded, raising and eyebrow at Sherlock. "I waited patiently for you to read those files on dear Mrs Watson. I knew it was only a matter of time before your curiosity and insane need to always be right would have got the better of you and as soon as it did, you betrayed little John's trust. Gave me the perfect reason to drag up something from her past. Why not make you all hate each other? So much more fun than you all lovingly crying over each other." He continued as Sherlock stared at him coldly. "Plus, I thought it continued my theme nicely after bringing Molly here."
"Ah yes. Pressure points." Sherlock said and Moriarty tilted his head towards him with a smile.
"Have you got it yet?" He asked, his tone patronising. "It really did take you quite some time. I made sure to leave you a clue and everything. I picked out those two words especially for him to use because I knew you heard me use them before. 'Pressure point'. But you mustn't have been that clever. You even shot the guy so you mustn't have had any idea. I'd say I was disappointed in you but I've started to expect it from you now."
"Magnusson." He let the name linger in the air between them for a moment before continuing. "You were the man behind him and he was merely your puppet." Sherlock said and Moriarty closed his eyes and smiled as he nodded to show Sherlock that he was right.
"Well done, you got it right. You know, I left my gold stars in my other jacket but next time I see you, I'll make sure to give you one."
"He was your face while you were away." Sherlock continued and began to move forward himself, ignoring Moriarty's insults. "You pulled his strings and he talked. All of his knowledge, all of his information was being fed to him directly from you and in turn, he got to become one of the most feared and powerful men in the World."
"And who wouldn't want that?" Moriarty replied, raising his eyebrows meaningfully at Sherlock. "The man practically jumped at the chance. He was a nobody, a meaningless journalist but he had the potential to be so much more. As soon as I saw him I knew he was perfect for the part. He even creeped me out a little bit." He continued, lowering his voice a little at his last comment to do a mock whisper. "I knew that I needed someone so unbelievably horrible that you couldn't help but hate him. I needed to distract you for a little while."
"But you didn't distract me. I still managed to take down your web. While you were busy creating a monster, I destroyed everything you had made." Sherlock responded, not letting his mind focus on what this revelation meant to him and what he had done to Magnusson.
"Yes." Moriarty replied, his voice dropping to a more serious tone as he frowned. "That was frustrating watching you destroy all of my hard work. Do you know how long it took to create that web? And then you just obliterate it in a mere couple of years. It was so hard sitting by and letting you do that." He stared at Sherlock with a serious expression for a few moments before shrugging and raising his eyebrows. "But oh well!" He sang. "It had to be done."
"Had to be done?" Sherlock repeated before he let out a noise of realisation. "So you could create your new web. 'The Pawns'." He said the name as if it tasted bad as he spoke it. "Which is a ridiculous name by the way." He added and Moriarty frowned at him.
"Well I'm so sorry that I don't have your approval." He replied sarcastically. "But I couldn't care less about that useless group of people. That's why I called them 'The Pawns'. I use them when I need to but dispose of them when the time is right. They were really just a way of showing you that I've not lost my touch since I've been gone. Which I've not by the way." He explained, raising an eyebrow as Sherlock took another step forward, his brow lined as he processed the information that Moriarty was giving him.
"So what were you distracting me from?" Sherlock asked rhetorically and Moriarty watched him patiently as Sherlock began to pace slowly across the room until the answer came to him. "You have another web." He said eventually and Moriarty smiled again as he replied.
"There are quite a few of them you know. Told you I've still got it."
"Magnusson's web. All the people he had working for him, all of the people he blackmailed and all of his sources were yours. You took advantage of being invisible and created a better and more powerful web than the one I was destroying." Sherlock said, feeling a mixture of irritation at himself and dread flow through him and Moriarty's gleeful expression as he walked towards him did nothing to help the feeling disappear.
"And I did it right under your nose but you were so infatuated with taking down Magnusson that you completely missed me, the man behind it all, because you were so convinced that I was dead. More fool you. Plus you had a new exciting villain to catch. Bet that was hard to resist, especially if you were missing me." Moriarty moved closer as he spoke so that he was only a few steps away from Sherlock. "And you did miss me Sherlock. I can tell."
"But don't you see? Now that I know you're behind Magnusson and all of his crimes, you can be punished for them. You're over-the-top comeback might be your downfall."
"Over-the-top?" Moriarty asked with a hurt tone before he tilted his head from side to side as if he were deciding whether to agree with him. "Okay, maybe a little but I couldn't help myself."
"You will answer for what you did, what you made Magnusson do." Sherlock hissed, stepping forward so that the gap between them was now even smaller. "There are many people in this very city alone, not to mention the world, that wanted to see him behind bars for what he did to them and I'm sure that if they learned that it was really you, they wouldn't hesitate in throwing you in jail and losing the key down the Thames and this time, I'll personally make sure that you can't threaten the jury to your advantage."" He finished, his voice low and threatening but Moriarty didn't so much as flinch, instead, he stared at him through cold eyes, his own face now devoid of any amusement or joking expression.
"And then what would happen to you Sherlock?" He asked, his voice steady and quiet. "If they find out it was me all along then the truth comes out that you have killed a perfectly innocent man. They'd probably throw you in the same jail as me and toss both keys in the Thames. Much more of a punishment that just sending you off to die. At least you would have been useful out there for your last months. In jail you're nothing. Boring. Meaningless. I'd give you a month before you went insane."
"That's a price I'm willing to pay."
"You might. But what about Mary? Do you think her and John's baby would be fine without a Mother?" He asked and Sherlock didn't respond, the dread that he had felt before only increasing. "You're forgetting that what Magnusson had on Mary, I have too. Take me down and her little secret will be out faster than you can say the initials A. " He finished, a dangerous glint in his eye and Sherlock continued to stare at him, weighing his options up in his head. Moriarty needed to be stopped. His influence was even stronger and even more of a threat than before but would John ever forgive him if Mary was to take the fall too? Would Sherlock be able to forgive himself if he let that happen?
"And it's not just what I've really got on your friends that will come out either Sherlock. I can make things happen." Moriarty continued, his stare still cold. "What about that list on Molly's computer?"
"The list." He said, the document that he had looked at on Molly's laptop popping into his head immediately. "It was split into three-sections. The first was a name hidden in simple code, the middle was a employee number from either St Bart's or Scotland Yard and the last was a date which I can only presume is a date of recruitment into your group." Sherlock answered, his voice dead as he realised what Moriarty was doing. "The list on Molly's laptop is a list of the members of 'The Pawns'. You're going to use it to make it look like she was in on your plan all along." He finished and Moriarty nodded slowly, a small smile managing to creep onto his face.
"There are plenty of people who will witness that we were dating. All it takes is that fact plus the list on her laptop and a switch in our autopsy reports to make it look like she helped me fake my death instead of yours and bingo!" He raised his hands in the air as he sang the last word. "She's looking at an 'accessory' charge and I can't imagine little timid Molly in a prison cell, can you?" He finished lowering his hands, the excitement in his voice making Sherlock feel sick. "Still keen on making me pay for my crimes?" He asked and Sherlock still couldn't reply, knowing that Moriarty had backed him into a corner that he couldn't get out of. "I thought not." Moriarty said after a moment. "Take me down Sherlock and I take everyone else with me." Moriarty smiled again and walked away from him, not letting his eyes leave Sherlock's face until he had moved behind him.
"So now it seems that we have reached a stalemate. Again. You can't get to me and I haven't really even begun trying to get to you yet. The fall was the first stalemate, neither of us won which isn't fun at all. Plus, I am really not done trying to burn you yet Sherlock." He continued and Sherlock turned around slowly to face him, his eyes meeting Moriarty's black ones. "So because stalemates are utterly boring, I propose a game."
"Another game?" Sherlock asked and Moriarty nodded.
"A simple game of choice. And because I'm feeling generous today, I'll let you go first." He said and the look in his eyes made Sherlock equally as hesitant as he was interested.
"Go on."
"Okay, first one then and remember, you choose." Moriarty replied, pausing as he tipped his head from side to side for a moment before continuing. "Which one of your friends is going to die?"
So this was a pretty important chapter which made it even more annoying that I couldn't post! Okay, I'm getting over that now... just about :P What did you think though? I've had the idea the Magnusson was Moriarty's puppet as soon as I rewatched the series and heard him say 'pressure point'. It really stuck out! Plus it means that he didn't need a room full of files on people because Moriarty was feeding him all of his information! Well, that's where I'm going with this anyway.
But what is Sherlock going to do next?! Is Molly still in danger? He was so close to finding her! Let me know what you thought! (and sorry again!)
