He knew he was being tested. He knew he was being tested when he saw the tiny old stinky flat that had been arranged for him. He knew he was being tested when his first assignment was to guard a shipping container that turned out to be holding a collection of vintage suits. He knew he was being tested when his urgent call was to bring tea and scones to the meeting on Friday morning. And he definitely knew he was being tested when his real big mission was to dismember his father's bomb operation planned without Moriarty's consent. He never thought twice before pulling the trigger against his father's snipers.
Still, he hadn't heard directly from Moriarty since their last meeting in the cell and he knew he was being tested for it too. But he didn't care, he knew Moriarty had his reasons and procedures and he waited as patiently as he could. He was sure the process would go painfully slowly and that it would last at least a few months, and judging by how he was still being treated by his co-workers he knew he wasn't even close to be over the trial phase.
So, he had to admit he was more than just a little surprised when, after three months of meaningless tasks he got a call from Jim one night personally summoning his services in a kidnap mission and there weren't enough words in the dictionary to describe how confused he felt when, after asking for directions to go there, he was informed that Jim was already waiting in front of the building. He hung up and stared in blank for a few seconds, wondering if this was a prank call or another one of his tests. He walked to his window and looked down to the street, he saw the black Audi A4 parked outside with Moriarty in the back seat. The consulting criminal looked up and waved childishly, rolling his eyes impatiently one second later. It was enough to convince Sebastian to go down.
He grabbed his bag, always ready to go, locked the door and walked down the stairs as fast as he could, cursing under his breath that he had been arranged an apartment on the eighth floor without a lift. He sighed deeply as he sat by Jim's side, putting the bag between them and placing his hand on top of it. The car soon drove off. Jim stared outside the window without saying a single word for most part of the trip while Sebastian patiently waited for his instructions. They had been driving for almost fifteen minutes when the car pulled over in front of a cemetery.
"Be invisible," were Jim's only words to Sebastian during the entire trip. Sebastian gave one small nod and Jim opened the car's door and left. Moran got out a couple minutes later, doing his best to keep himself in the shadows and out of Moriarty's sight as he followed him, also making sure nobody else was following them. They entered the cemetery and continued to walk, in open space like this it was very hard to be kept unseen all the time, but Sebastian was proud of how well he seemed to be doing. They finally arrived at an empty part of the cemetery, where Moran believed an expansion was happening. He smiled triumphantly once he found a construction fence with a perfect view of everything happening in the open field while still completely covered. From the gunpoint he could clearly see Jim with his hands in his pockets waiting calmly as one man dragged another one, seemingly unconscious, his hands tied on his back and a black bag over his head. The man lied there completely still as his boss and the other man talked. Everything seemed to be working according to plan, but he made a point to also pay attention to the man lying down in case he woke up and they didn't notice.
He couldn't hear what was happening there, nor did he know anything about the operation other than it was a kidnap, most probably of the man tied down. The operation seemed to be almost over after a good half an hour of conversation. Jim shook hands with the man and watched him as he collected the unconscious one from the ground and started to drag him. Jim then turned around and started to walk away, the man dragging the other one and following him from behind. Moran stayed in his position, his gunpoint always locked in one of the two men only as a precaution as everything seemed to be working fine and the process almost over.
Then he saw something strange. He hadn't noticed it before so he didn't know how long this had happened, but the unconscious man's hands were suddenly untied and the man carrying him suddenly seemed to be closing the distance between them and Jim as they approached an area with empty graves.
He had to act fast. There were two of them and as far as he knew, only one of him. Quickly he left his bag in his position and grabbed a knife and a handgun. He then got down and crawled between the graves to where they were heading. He hid behind a tombstone and waited. Fortunately, the first man was so preoccupied paying attention to Jim that they passed Moran without even a glimpse at him. He soon left his position and crawled again around the grave to get behind them. The man with the bag removed the bag from his head and, like Moran, hid in the shadows with a gun ready to shoot while the other one continued to follow Jim, who weirdly didn't seem to notice all the fuss behind him.
Sebastian didn't have much time to think. Once he knew the men's attention were all focused on Moriarty he walked softly and with one precise movement cut the man's throat open. As quiet as his operation was, it was still loud enough to make the other two, only a few meters away, turn around. Before the man could reach for his own gun Sebastian pulled the trigger, the bullet going through his brains and disappearing into the night.
He looked at his boss, who watched him quietly, and apparently indifferent to all that was happening. He had to admit his ego was a little hurt by his lack of reaction, and he began to wonder if he was right after all and this was just one more of his unorthodox tests. Jim crooked his head to look at the man shot and made a disgusted face, looking to the other one whose face was facing the ground. Seeing this, Sebastian decided to turn him, so they could see the face of the man who tried to kill him.
Moran raised his eyebrows and dropped his mouth as he looked at his boss, recognizing the man's face as the guard who had beaten Sebastian everyday during his time in the cell. Jim nodded biting his lower lip from inside.
"Get rid of them. I'll call someone to clean up your mess," the boss said surly. And Sebastian nodded before starting to drag the body to drop it in an empty grave. He tried his best to hide his own frustration at Jim's reticent ways, not explaining anything that was happening and seeming so ungrateful for him having saved his life, even calling his heroic act "his mess".
He did all his work as fast as he could, dropping each man into an empty grave and covering the bodies and his gloves and coat covered in blood in a way it was unnoticeable. He was very throughout in his quest to cover up the evidences.
"Grab your stuff and let's go. They'll be here in two minutes," Jim said once he saw Sebastian done looking for anything he might have left behind. The colonel went back to the fence where he had left his bag and met him at the cemetery's gate where their car was already waiting for them.
Both men entered on each side without saying anything to each other, Jim reassuming his position of quietly staring outside and Sebastian quietly waiting for him to say something. This time he didn't have to wait for so long.
"You did okay," Jim said, only glancing at Sebastian. "Too much blood," he stopped to make a scowl "but overall, you did okay."
Sebastian was satisfied to have his efforts acknowledged, even though part of him he was still bothered by how modest his compliments were. "I liked it," he smirked lightly. "It was definitely an improvement from the other missions," he said looking at him on the corner of his eye to try to catch a reaction. "When do we get to do it again?"
"What was that?" Moriarty asked finally looking straight at the sniper "Puppy is excited? Puppy wants to go out with master again?" he asked with faked enthusiasm. "Well, puppy can't," he said gravely. "Not until puppy is done taking his vaccines, or puppy will have to be put down." He raised his eyebrows looking defiantly at the blond man. "Understand?"
Moran breathed heavily and closed his mouth so tightly his lips disappeared. He glanced at his boss, feeling his anger building but trying his best to control himself.
"'Attaboy," Jim smirked as Sebastian seemed to give up the fight and swallowed his pride. The sniper looked outside and recognized the street of his building and smirked to himself.
"You know what, that's okay," he shrugged and the car stopped at the sidewalk as they arrived. He leaned in closer to Moriarty so he was only a few centimeters away from the consulting criminal's ear and added softly "puppy can wait," he stuck out his tongue and licked lightly the man's jawline. Jim turned to look at him, clearly surprised. Moran smirked before turning and leaving the car. Jim continued to follow him with his eyes as he entered the building. Once he disappeared from sight the consulting criminal looked at the driver, who was already looking at him waiting for instructions.
"What? I said go," he said annoyed. The driver shrugged apologetically before driving off, not wanting to contradict the boss.
A.N.: And here I am again! So, I finally decided to get some action going (in both senses). It's also the first time I write something so gory, so please tell me what are your opinions on that, too. I'm really excited for the next chapter and the consequences of Moran's bold move. As usual, I'd love to read your opinions on the story so far.