Hello dearies!
helencolin : Oh and if you met John tell him...ah...no...hum...nothing...thanks (I wouldn't even dare to say it in your ear).
hardcore-muffin : Yeah I know, I'm a total bitch but you like me (admit it :p :) :D)
thisisforyou : I think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle never gave Lestrade a surname (only the initial G.) and I honestly forgot if he had one on the BBC Sherlock. I'm sorry if made a mistake but it was an honest one :) Anyway glad you liked it hope you'll like this one too.
jtyler1005 : Yes chapter 14 was sexy and chapter 19 might be too so keep on reading (please :p)
Miss Crookshanks : Oh come on you like me (to prove it I have a room full a cakes in my house! You can't deny anything! :p)
Well, instead of trying to convince you, you like me, maybe I should just let you read the next chapter...(hope you'll like it :p)
Chapter 18 – Count the red dots
"So, Sherlock, who dies first?"
"Come on, which one is the most expendable? The DI? The iceberg Anthea? Or, more difficult, can you chose between love and family?" The mad man stared silently then burst out laughing a mad, mad, laugh "Come on come on come on..."
"How long have you been planning that?" Sherlock asked in a low voice.
"Trying to gain time, aren't you?" A crocked smiled appeared on his face and Moriarty looked more and more insane "I'd say four years. But, as you know, I've been on the consulting business longer than that. I wouldn't have done anything to you if you hadn't help to dismantle some of my clients' organisations."
"Linda, Harrison, how many more?"
"I have many followers, Sherlock. I'm a star and I shine brighter than you." The mad man put his hands back in his pockets "So which one will die first?" He stared at Sherlock's face his cold eyes locking with the detective's. Silence fell on the room for a minute or two. "I'm not a patient man, Sherlock. Keep me waiting and I'll chose for you."
Sherlock gave a look to all of them alternatively. The red dots were moving on their chests up and down. His heart missed a beat when he saw John's face. The man looked calm but he knew he was boiling on the inside he wanted to throw himself in his lover's arms and prevent anything to happen to him, escape, fly, but that was just impossible and he needed to be rational again.
The three guards were aiming at them, their eyes cold, their faces expressionless.
"Who, Sherlock? Who do you want to die first?"
Sherlock kept silent.
"All right!" Moriarty took a step in John's direction.
"Anthea!" Sherlock said in a deep and cold voice. The detective took a peak of his brother's face and saw him clench his teeth. From the corner of his eye he saw John open his mouth in disbelief.
"See, that was easy." Jim grabbed Anthea's right arm and pulled her roughly to him "My dear, seems like Sherlock doesn't like you. What have you done for him to dislike you like that?"
"Fuck you Moriarty!" The brown woman spat and the insane man slapped her on the face so hard her knees flinched. If it wasn't for Moriarty's grip on her arm she would have fallen on the floor. Mycroft's hands turned into fists.
"Watch your mouth young lady!" The insane man shouted his face distorted with anger. He pulled the woman to his chest and grinned. "I can't hold this against you my dear, those two have a very bad influence on you. What about I don't kill you and take you with me, I'm sure you and I could go along very well." He said his face really close to Anthea's.
"What about you kill me now, I just can't stand hearing you talking nonsense any more." The amazon answered coldly and Moriarty roared with laughter.
"That's sad you're not Sherlock's sweetheart because you, me, this beautiful chimney and this soft carpet, right in front of him it could have been fun." The mad man closed his eyes and smell Anthea's hair, breathing deeply. The woman looked at the red dot moving on Mycroft's chest then blinked several times. The older Holmes gave his brother a sharp look and Sherlock nodded imperceptibly. He discretely reached for John's hand and entwined their fingers. The doctor looked puzzled but didn't say a word. He squeezed Sherlock's hand lightly. Then the red dots moved slowly from their chests to the three soldiers heads.
"Jim!" Sherlock said and the mad man opened his eyes, he immediately noticed the change of target and twisted Anthea's arm behind her back and his other hand, in which a long knife appeared, at her throat. Seems like the man was always prepared for this kind of dramatic turn of events.
"How?" He hissed.
"You shine too much, you dazzle yourself, Jim." Sherlock said coldly "The car accident? You wanted to freak us out, Linda observed us all the time. The fake bomb? You knew my brother would take us here, you observed him for a long time. He's usually not that predictable but this time he obviously made a mistake. He took us here. The mansion you infiltrated more than a year ago and constantly kept under surveillance. The text message? Just a game of yours and your first mistake, it let us know you were ready to move. You wanted us to panic, you just led us in the right direction. Harrison? You wanted us to move the men from the mansion, replace them, that was too obvious for not to be a trap. We changed our plans, we let you stop the first contingent while two mores were coming from another roads. As you can see we have channels of communication you're not aware of. They watched your men took place around and inside the mansion and for each of yours there are two of ours. Count the dot if you don't believe me."
The mad man counted the dots and twisted a little more Anthea's arm. The woman moaned in pain.
The three guards looked at each other. Conscious the situation was going out of control they started to fear the consequences.
"Put this knife down, Jim, you can't escape, hurting people won't change that fact." Sherlock said soothingly (at least he tried).
"I'm trapped, am I not?" Moriarty seemed lost like a child in a forest and for a second everybody thought he was going to drop his weapon on the floor but he suddenly looked up, a crooked smile on his lips and a touch of madness in his eyes. "If I'm fucked, why shouldn't I do this." He pushed the blade on Anthea's throat cutting the skin a little and blood run along her neck. It was only a scratch but the brown woman's eyes shown fear. Mycroft to a step closer to the mad man.
"Don't!" Jim screamed burrowing his face on Anthea's hair sniffing noisily. "Did I miss something? Seems like, if Sherlock isn't fond of you, Mycroft is." He took a peak of Anthea's face. She was watching her boss with a mix of fear and, what was it, apology? Moriarty frowned. "You knew. You knew this could happen and you volunteered. This is not a question of liking you or not. You volunteered to be the first, if it ever came to the hostage point. You volunteered to give time for the others. Congratulation Sherlock, you made it look real." Moriarty was moving away from the windows, close to the marble mantelpiece and the dots disappeared from his back.
Since their boss seemed to slowly slide into madness and was alone against an army, the guards surrendered. Lestrade took their guns and they sat on the floor, hands behind their heads.
"Come on Jim, it's over." Sherlock said.
Mycroft, eyes still locked with his lover's, tried to move closer but Moriarty shifted a little to face him.
"What would you give me to have her back?" Jim said to the older Holmes in a strange soft voice.
"Nothing." Mycroft hissed
"I could cut her throat up and you would never have the chance to tell her you love her. Or maybe I'm wrong, maybe you don't love her." He cut the white skin of Anthea's neck another time drawing blood again. The woman muffled a scream but tears appeared in her eyes.
"She knows I do."
The woman clenched her teeth and breathe deep then without warning she smashed Moriarty's ribs with her right elbow and the man shouted and loosen his grip on her. She took advantage of the element of surprise and pushed the man on the marble mantelpiece. Jim bumped his head, the knife fall on the floor and the mad man moaned in pain. Anthea freed herself and walked backward to the others. Mycroft threw himself on Moriarty. He grabbed his waist with one arm and put the other around his neck. A perfect position to have leverage to broke the mad man's spine.
"Mycroft!" Sherlock shouted as he saw the fury on his brother's face "Don't!"
Mycroft hesitated a moment and Jim made a futile attempt to escape since Mycroft was half a feet taller, at least 20 pounds heavier and knew exactly what he was doing.
"You are right little brother, I shouldn't get my hands dirty." He released Moriaty and pushed him close to the window. Dots appeared on the man's body. Suddenly glass shattered everywhere and Moriarty fell on the floor shouting.
"Don't worry, They shot the legs." Mycroft said coldly. He took a step closer to Anthea "Are you all right my dear?" He asked opening his arms for her. The brown woman nodded and threw herself on her lover's arms.
John gave Sherlock a strange look and let go of his hand before crossing the room to check on Moriarty. The snipers had shot him on the thighs, it must hurt like hell but his life wasn't in danger. He tore the man's shirt and used it as band aid.
"John?" Sherlock whispered close to him "Will he be all right?"
"He'll live." The doctor said coldly.
"Will you be all right?"
John stood up and saw the anguish on his lover's face.
"I'm mad at you Sherlock but right now I want you to hold me close." The detective closed the distance between them and took the doctor in a warm embrace kissing him feverishly.
Lestrade opened his eyes wide. Everything was so surrealist. He was in a room covered in broken glass, aiming at three ex soldiers. The man who kept him as an hostage for several days was laying on the floor on a pool of his own blood and the thing that amazed him the most was the two couples kissing as if they were alone.
He could ear the soldiers, the good ones, crossing the garden, soon they would be here and clean all this mess.
… … …
You really thought I was going to kill someone. Who do you think I am?
Next chapter drama and maybe more sexy times – not sure yet – (Yes I am still a teasing bitch)