Moriarty simply ripped Scarlett's cardigan from her body, the blood on both her arms trickling down onto it and creating a mess. Simply, he allowed her to just sit in her white vest top, skinny jeans and flat shoes. He could see she was shaking, probably from the shock of being shot at and of the cold. Moriarty ordered for bandages as he pressed them against the wound which had grazed her arms.

"You can stop baling," he informed her, slightly annoyed he was the one getting his hands dirty, but when it came to Holmes he wasn't as annoyed at the fact. "You're going to live. For now, anyway."

"Just...please let me go," she begged, sounding pathetic as she did so, not wanting to be anywhere near Moriarty. "I...I don't want to die..."

"No one wants to die," Moriarty said, standing tall and looking down onto her. "But we can't always get what we want."

...

"She said she was somewhere big, empty and quiet," Sherlock said as he and John sat in the back of a cab, on the way to Lestrade, seeing if he could possibly help them. "Which means that it is abandoned and a place where no one goes to...which means that it is probably a warehouse in the middle of a derelict area. Because he will need somewhere that he can torture her and she won't attract attention by screaming."

"But there are millions of derelict places around London," John informed his friend who just nodded back at him;

"That's why we're off to Lestrade," he said. "I need a big map to locate all the places that are possible and then satellite images to see if there has been any movement in the last few hours near them. And if there are cars parked outside then we know we've hit the gold."

"And by telling Lestrade...does that mean you plan to involve the police? It might be wiser," John told his friend who simply snorted at John and shook his head;

"They're more likely to get her killed," Sherlock said. "I don't need help."

"This is her life at risk Sherlock," John replied quickly. "You need help to find him."

"If he can sense the police sniffing around then he is more likely to kill her," Sherlock replied. "And you think I don't know her life is at risk?"

"I don't know if you're truly worried for her life or if you're just happy there is something to solve," John admitted. "Because I know you get off on it."

"This isn't a case," Sherlock replied. "Yes, it is a puzzle to solve but believe me John; I am getting no form of enjoyment from this."

"So you don't think he shot her...and...well..." John didn't know how to say it but Sherlock shook his head;

"She was screaming too loudly," he informed his friend. "If he had shot her to kill her then she wouldn't have been able to scream as loudly as she did."

"So what happens if we manage to find out where he has her?" John asked and Sherlock simply shook his head, a small grin crawling onto his lips as he thought about it;

"I haven't thought that far ahead," he admitted. "Go with the flow I imagine."

"Even though her life is at stake?" John asked and Sherlock simply rolled his eyes at John;

"Lives have been at stake before John and I managed to save them by improvising...this is not different."

"But it is," John pointed out. "Because it's Scarlett."

"Apart from that fact," Sherlock droned. "I need to try and not think about that...just manage to solve the case."

...

"Sherlock," Lestrade sighed when he saw the consulting detective enter his office at ten past ten at night. "What the hell is this about?"

"I need to use your lab," he told Lestrade. "For maps."

"What?" Lestrade asked. "Why?"

"Because I just do," Sherlock replied. "It is best if you didn't know."

"It's my lab Sherlock," he informed him and Sherlock simply gritted his teeth;

"And you should think yourself lucky that I came to ask you instead of simply just breaking in like I have done on many occasions," Sherlock said and Lestrade raised a brow and crossed his arms;

"You can't break in because there is a code," he pointed out and Sherlock simply snorted loudly at the man and shook his head;

"Which is completely predictable," he replied. "You should think about changing it...I mean 999...how obvious and dull."

"So why didn't you just break in then?" Lestrade wondered.

"Because I knew that security wouldn't be asleep yet and would spot me on the cameras," Sherlock said.

"Security don't sleep," Lestrade said. "They're not paid to do that."

"You're not paid to work long nights but you still do," Sherlock pointed out. "Now the lab...do I have your permission to use it?"

"Why?" Lestrade pushed.

"Because I need satellite images which are up to date because Scarlett has gone missing," Sherlock managed to say.

"And how is that the police's problem?" he asked and Sherlock walked from his office, John and Lestrade close on his tail;

"Because," Sherlock snapped, "it's Moriarty."

"Moriarty?" Lestrade asked again and Sherlock couldn't help but grit his teeth;

"Yes," he replied. "And I need to find him."

"You mean we need to find him," Lestrade said. "The police are after this creep Sherlock."

"No," Sherlock replied. "You're not to get involved. He'll know if the police come and then she will surely dead."

"You think we're just going to let you go off and search for this criminal?" Lestrade asked.

"You have no say," he said and began to unlock the doors to the lab before walking inside and booting up computers whilst Lestrade shook his head as Sherlock's phone began to ring.

"What now?" he snapped, knowing it would be Moriarty.

"That's not very pleasant," Moriarty drawled back to Sherlock. "Seeing as how I have your dear Scarlett down here with me."

"So you haven't killed her yet?" Sherlock checked and Moriarty chuckled, stuffing his hand into his pocket and simply smirking as he spoke down the phone to Sherlock.

"No," he said. "Not yet...give me time Sherlock...and I will."

"So what do you want?" Sherlock replied, loading up maps of derelict industrial estates with factories in London where she could be and then looking for any sign of life or cars in the past hour.

"To tell you to get the police away," he said and Sherlock suddenly placed the phone onto speaker so Lestrade could hear him. "Because if I even get a whiff of them smelling around then I will kill her. Soon."

"They're not going to get involved," Sherlock promised.

"So why are you with Lestrade now? Apparently you entered Scotland Yard and the only one you'd go to is Lestrade," Moriarty said and Sherlock thought up some lie, not wanting Moriarty to know he was closer to finding him because then he may move Scarlett and Sherlock would have to start the game all over again and he couldn't be dealing with that.

"I was thinking about getting him involved," Sherlock lied quickly. "But I have now thought against it."

"Oh good," Moriarty drawled. "Because she's still alive for now Sherlock...but I could soon change that."

"Don't even think about it," Sherlock warned, his voice low.

"Oh I have thought of it," Moriarty replied and held his gun out again, pointing it at Scarlett, but then with a swift chuckle he moved over to the girl and grabbed her hair, pulling her head backwards as she screamed in pain again at him and he rested his cheek against her neck as he continued talking to Sherlock.

"Hear that Sherlock?" He asked the consultant. "The sounds of her screams...things you'll not be able to stop..."

And then Sherlock hung up. Moriarty looked at the phone, letting go of Scarlett as he saw the end of his call.

"Sherlock," John whispered. "What did you just do? Did you hang up on him?"

"Yes," Sherlock replied, typing ferociously.

"But...he could have hurt her!" Lestrade pointed out and Sherlock shook his head as his phone began to ring again but he rejected the call.

"No," Sherlock said. "As long as I'm on the phone he plans to torture her to get a reaction from me so if I'm not listening he'll stop and get annoyed with me instead."

"And when he's annoyed he may hurt her," John counteracted.

"He won't," Sherlock said defiantly. "He wants me to know when he hurts her...he won't kill her as long as I don't know about it."

"And you're sure, are you?" Lestrade asked. "Because this is an actual life at risk!"

"And you think I don't know that?" Sherlock snapped through gritted teeth. "So why don't you just go away?"

"Because he is of police interest!" Lestrade yelled back.

"And you heard him say that if the police get involved then he is willing to kill her...so you want her death on your hands, do you?" Sherlock asked him, his eyes still on the screen of buildings.

"This is police matters Sherlock," Lestrade said. "This is why we're here...you can't go chasing him on your own."

"And you can't come because he will kill her. I know him," Sherlock replied and realised where she had to be, making a mental note and not telling anyone in the room.

"We can't just let you go Sherlock," Lestrade said. "It won't look good on us."

"Then play innocent," Sherlock said and quickly began to leave the room, running from the lab and to the stairs where he began playing with his phone again and Lestrade and John followed him.

"I can't Sherlock," Lestrade said.

"Yes you can," Sherlock said. "I need to do this alone."

"Whoa," John replied. "Alone?"

"Yes," Sherlock said quickly.

"I don't think so," John said. "I won't let you."

"Me too," Lestrade said as they continued walking briskly.

"You can come," he pointed at John. "But you can't,"he said, pointing at Lestrade befroe he hailed a cab in the fresh air, allowing John to climb into it.

"Sherlock," Lestrade warned him as Sherlock climbed into the cab and began to shut the door;

"When have I ever let you down?" Sherlock asked Lestrade. "And don't even think about doing another drug bust in my flat," he warned and shut the cab door, leaving Lestrade wondering where he was going as it drove off. He could have stopped it if he wanted to. He knew he could have. But the question Sherlock had asked him had made him realise that maybe he could manage this again.