About a block away from the barber shop, John looks down at the bag they're carrying, then back up at the boy walking beside him. "We need to stash this bag somewhere before we get to Scotland Yard. If they find what we have in there.." he says before trailing off. Specifically his gun that he has in the bag. That would not be a good thing for Scotland Yard to find in his bag, they might think he's a young terrorist or something. And then there would be questions and paperwork and things like that and all of that would not be a good thing.
Stopping his forward progress, Sherlock looks over at his companion for a moment, then glances down at the bag as if he didn't realize it was still there until now. "Yes. Quite right. Of course." For a moment his eyes dart back and forth as he goes through his mental map of London and tries to figure out exactly what to do or where to hide the bag. "I have a place." he finally decides as he looks over at John, tugging at his sleeve to bring him down an alleyway, weaving through buildings. "We have to keep out of view of the CCTV cameras as much as possible, until we're ready to be caught of course." he says with a little smirk over at his doctor.
Chuckling a little, John nods quietly as he easily follows the detective, thinking he actually recognizes some of these alleys but it's more likely that one alley looks like every other one that they've been down. "That sounds like a good idea to me. He probably already knows we've been to get our hair cut. I hope he doesn't want to kill you too much for cutting your hair off." he says as he looks at the brunette again for a few moments, thinking about how odd he looks with such short hair and trying to resist reaching out to touch it, wondering how different it might feel than the other few times he's touched Sherlock's hair.
"Likely he won't be pleased. Mummy was always fond of my curls, she never would have let me get my hair cut this short. And I'm sure you can tell that Mycroft apparently inherited the baldness gene. One more reason Mummy always wanted me to keep my hair long. My dear brother will probably scold me for cutting my hair, even though I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions." he says before touching his hair self-consciously, scratching his long fingers through it for a few moments before he glances at John. "Does it look alright, though? It would be vexing if Mycroft was too upset with me." he says in a slightly annoyed tone, but yet worried at the same time. It seems that under it all he really does love his brother and values the opinion of the man who was more like a father to him.
"It looks good. Different, but good. And I can understand why he could be a bit upset, seeing as you just went off and did it on a whim, but I don't think he should be overly upset. You're right, it's your decision, and it's not like it won't grow back." John reassures Sherlock as he ducks through an opening in a fence after the slimmer boy. "Maybe this whole little experience will help you and he become a bit closer. Would be nice not to have you two snarking at each other constantly. You are brothers and it's obvious you love each other." he says rather bluntly, grunting as he walks into Sherlock's back, stumbling back a step. "Oiy, you can't just stop like that!" he hisses, rubbing his nose a little.
With a slight glare sent in John's direction, Sherlock points to a smallish brick building, set apart a bit from the ones on either side and boarded up. "We can put it in there, it will be safe. I've used this as a stash spot for years and no one has ever stolen anything from inside. Mostly because they don't know how to get in." The older boy explains before he jogs across the street and goes around to the back of the building, ducking through some bushes to a small hatch-like door that leads into what appears to be a fireplace/chimney type of thing, which has a big hole in it leading into the main room.
Though old and sparse, the room isn't as dirty as you might expect. There's the remnants of candles, an overturned chair and a desk, along with what was probably a pillow at one time, but it's degraded enough that it's not usable, though the shape is still recognizable. Ignoring everything else, Sherlock walks over to the right corner of the room closes to where they came in, and he steps on a board which loosens up one end and he leans down to pulls it up, revealing a space below. "In there." he says simply as he looks at John expectantly.
After taking a few moments to look around, John frowns and then follows Sherlock over to the corner, making sure they have all the cash out of their wallets, and removing a pocket knife as well to tuck it into his pants before he tucks the bag under the floor board and stands back up, brushing his knees off. "You used to come here a lot, then? Did you scare the neighbors with your violin music?" he asks, amused at the thought and trying to lighten the mood a little since he has a feeling that this building once had a much more sinister use.
"There's no one that would be listening or that would care if I did that, but no, I would not bring my violin here, the acoustics are horrible and I wouldn't want to ruin it with the dust in the air." The lean detective says as he motions around the building for a few moments, walking over to turn the chair back upright and then touches the edge of the desk for a few moments. "But I did spend quite a bit of time here when I needed to.. get away. When I needed privacy, away from prying eyes." he explains as he looks over at John.
Chuckling a little and then smiling, John nods as he looks around the room, a little more closely this time. He moves away from his spot in the corner and moves around the edges of the room, looking at everything. "I can see it. You running away, lightning these bloody candles and probably making people think that a ghost had taken up residence here. What was this buildings original use anyway?" he asks as he looks up at the ceiling. "Do you know?" he asks as he turns his attention back to the lanky boy who is watching him like a hawk.
Nodding and turning in a stationary circle to take everything in, Sherlock finally looks back at John. "Of course I know, I wouldn't come here without at least having a modicrum of knowledge about the place, to know whether it's structurally sound, or if I would be disturbed by the landlords coming by to check on their building." He says in a dismissive, condescending tone, sighing a little in frustration. "Honestly, John, you should know better, I am not a moron." He points out as he looks at the doctor, but he knows the blonde will not be satisfied with that answer, so with a slightly exasperated expression, he clasps his hands behind his back and starts to explain. "This building has served several purposes. It seems to be originally been built as a tax office, but it was quickly changed into an accounting office. During World War I, they used it as a recruitment office. After that, a few small businesses and charities moved through it, but during World War II, it was abandoned. The area went into decline as it was close to an area where there were several bombings so people left and they merely have not come back since property values plummeted, and the buildings are too expensive to renovate to modern standards." he says as he looks at John, before he adds, "We should go, or we may not get to Scotland Yard while Lestrade is there, much less before his shift ends." he says before he turns back toward the hole in the fireplace, slipping out and then waiting for the smaller doctor.
Intrigued, but knowing that as always, his bloody genius flatmate is correct, John follows him out. "You really did do your research." he says with a little smile and then nods quietly as he brushes himself off, hoping that even after that he looks presentable. Though at least being a young boy means that he has a little more leeway in being dirty. People always expect boys to be a little dirty just because they tend to be more rowdy. "Come on, then.. I know that big brain of yours has come up with some sort of plan, so how are we going to cause a bit of mischief?" he asks with a little grin as he looks at Sherlock.
With a look of a troublemaker that probably caused havoc to his nannies, Sherlock grins for a few moments over at his friend. "We're merely going to try and get into Scotland Yard to see our Uncle Lestrade, and tell him how very mean Uncle Mycroft is being..." he says with a small chuckle, leading John back through the streets, not caring so much about being seen anymore so he takes the most direct route he can to Scotland Yard.
A laugh comes from John before he grins a little and nods. "Nothing too serious though, we don't want Mycroft to get into any real trouble, so just the trivial things that kids come up with.. won't take us to the park, won't give us cake or something as ridiculous as that." he says with a little smile, grabbing onto Sherlock's sleeve lightly to keep the taller boy from running off without him since he was starting to get ahead a bit, clearly excited about the trouble he can make for the Yarders.
After rolling his eyes a little, Sherlock glances at John, giving the other boy his best 'you are an absolute idiot' look before he stops at a crosswalk to wait for the light to turn. "Of course, John. And while I think it would be nearly impossible to get Mycroft into the type of trouble that would do any real damage, I don't wish that sort of treatment on my brother." he says simply as he looks over at John, then starts walking again, glancing up at the building that is starting to come into view.
"Good." John says simply as he looks at Sherlock, and then when they get closer to the Yard, he changes slightly, his grip on Sherlock's sleeve getting a little tighter and he shuffles closer to Sherlock, putting on more of a meek look and one of a child who is distraught and a little scared to be in the big bad city all by himself.
"John, what the-" Sherlock begins, then he catches on and smirks a little. "Well done, John. I underestimated your acting abilities." He mutters as he schools his features and watches the apparently younger boy, finally approaching the building and putting on the air of a boy trying to look tough and strong for his friend and trying to be an adult as he casually approaches the Yard building.
SO sorry for the delayed chapter. I had a really bad week, and I couldn't write, and then by the time I started writing I didn't think I could get two chapters done, so I decided to just delay and give you one. I feel like a jerk for it, sorry all! Thank you for anyone who has stuck with it, and to those who are reviewing! I love to hear what you guys think. Enjoy!
Reviews/Comments welcome!