"Information needed. Come to Pierre's as soon as possible," a voice drawled as Sherlock sat at a table, a glass of water in his hand, his legs crossed underneath the surface as he saw Irene Adler sit opposite him, her hand pushing her brown hair from her face, dropping her bag onto the table.
"I knew you read my blog," Sherlock said smugly.
"That's because I'm watching your every move Mr Holmes," she informed Sherlock. "Now please do tell me why I am needed here so late in the evening."
"You have told someone about what happened to Moriarty," Sherlock stated. "Don't even try to deny it because I know you did it."
"And what would make you say that?" she wondered aloud as she poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher which was resting on the table whilst Sherlock simply just continued to look at her.
"Some man broke into my flat today. A man, who calls himself Walter Matthew, a very famous hit man apparently," Sherlock informed her and she raised a brow.
"Oh really?" she asked. "How terrible for you Sherlock. I do hope no one was hurt."
"Fortunately no one was injured," he assured her, knowing sarcasm was laid thick and heavy in her voice as she spoke. "But he said something interesting to Scarlett."
"Your little girlfriend who is pregnant?" Irene asked and Sherlock went silent for a moment and she chuckled lightly. "I take it that this is not a reason to toast then?"
"Regardless of her condition," Sherlock shook off, not wanting to discuss her being pregnant. "He said he knew how she had shot Moriarty. You're the only one who knows that piece of information Miss Adler."
"I must have let it slip," she shrugged lightly. "My boss may have managed to worm that piece of information out of me...especially considering he is not happy you have decided to poke your nose into his business."
"Who is your boss?" Sherlock asked.
"You'll find out if you continue your prying," she replied.
"So what are you then? A secretary to the criminal class of London?" Sherlock asked her and she laughed once lightly and took a drink of her water.
"You could say that," she said. "A made up job just like yours Sherlock."
"Apparently so," Sherlock agreed. "And the hit man tonight was a warning, was he not? Your boss wants me to stay out of this."
"He thought if he could get to your beloved Scarlett then you would receive the message. But it seems your little girlfriend is invincible."
"No one is invincible," Sherlock told her. "So your boss is a loan shark, correct?"
"Amongst many things," she agreed. "He's an extremely powerful man. The government have been trying to bring him down for many months now but have yet to succeed and I doubt they ever will."
"Yes," Sherlock mused and then he smiled cockily back to her. "But now that they have you on their team I imagine that must make life easier."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she told him and Sherlock chuckled at her.
"I did think you were quite smart. Clearly I am mistaken. You're a double agent, aren't you?" Sherlock said and her face fell slightly and Sherlock nodded.
"I shall take that as a yes," he drawled. "I imagine Mycroft hired you then? Considering he is the Government it would only make sense for him to do so."
"And why would you think I am a double agent?" Irene managed to strangle out a whisper.
"When you dropped your bag onto the table I saw a letter in there, addressed to a Mycroft Holmes which means you're part of the government and the criminal world at the same time which can only mean a double agent. Now if you never dropped your bag onto the table then I wouldn't have known for you seem very relaxed playing a master criminal's receptionist." Sherlock informed her and she stood up quickly and then looked down at Sherlock as she did so.
"I'm warning you," she told him. "If you don't stay out of this then there will be trouble Mr Holmes. For everyone."
...
"How does he know?" Mycroft snapped down the phone to Irene.
"He saw the letter to you and he managed to deduce it from that," Irene informed Mycroft. "What do we do now?"
"You keep your role in Mr Morris' little game. We don't have the sufficient evidence we need to arrest him yet," Mycroft told her. "He's not leaving any paper trails and none of the deaths can be traced back to him and his loan shark business."
"And you do realise that if your brother continues poking around with the police then he is likely to have him killed. He knows all about Sherlock," Irene said and continued walking down the pavement.
"Who doesn't know about Sherlock?" Mycroft droned. "My brother knows he could be hurt but he shall continue investigating and he will manage to find out about Mr Morris and when he does he shall give him to the police or he will be found dead."
"And you're willing to let him do this?" Irene asked. "To continue risking his own life?"
"Sherlock has a mind of his own," Mycroft told her. "God knows it's a dangerous thing."
...
"So why don't you just ask your brother who the loan shark is?" Scarlett asked Sherlock on the evening of Boxing Day. "I mean if Irene is working for him and then relaying the information back to your brother then he will know who it is."
"Do you honestly believe that Mycroft would willingly tell me anything Scarlett?" Sherlock asked her and she cocked her head to the side and sighed slightly. She remained sat on Sherlock's sofa whilst he took to the desk, looking through paperwork.
"No," she agreed. "I suppose he wouldn't want you involved...even though you could probably solve this easier than he could. And if he knows of this loan shark then why not arrest him?"
"Possibly there is no evidence," Sherlock mused, searching through the phone numbers of the deceased victims of the hit man, seeing if any number matched. "And he wouldn't want some consulting detective to find any of this out because it would make him and the Government look bad, especially considering how they have an agent in the middle of it all. Can you imagine the shame?"
"And yet you're still trying to solve this," Scarlett murmured.
"Of course," Sherlock said. "If it makes Mycroft look bad then how can I possibly resist?"
...
Scarlett walked along the pavement of London in the cold evening air as she made her way back from work. Sherlock had been out on the twenty seventh of December, trying to gather more evidence to find whoever this loan shark was. And so Scarlett had gone back to work early as there was no long Christmas Break for the justice system.
"Miss Jenson?" a sudden voice asked her as she managed to bump into a tall man, not looking where she was going.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You're coming with me," the man said and Scarlett raised her eyebrows at him and pushed past him.
"I think not," she replied. "I'm fed up of having people tell me what I shall and shall not do."
"My boss," the man said, his brown hair swaying in the breeze as he walked beside her, "does not take kindly to people who disobey orders."
"And I am guessing your boss wants to use me as bait to get Sherlock off the case he is working on?" Scarlett snapped, continuing to walk briskly through the crowds before she felt the man grab onto her arm and a round thing pressed onto her stomach, hiding in between their coats as she felt the gun on her jumper.
"You're very clever Miss Jenson," he observed in a strong Russian accent.
"And I'm smart enough not to trust you," she said and snapped her arm from his grasp, but he continued to grab onto her other one, leaving Scarlett no choice but to try and push him from her.
"Get off!" she snapped, attracting stares from people around them. As she finally managed to free her arm of his strong hold, she fell backwards due to the force. She landed awkwardly onto the paving and as she did so she felt a weird sensation go through her stomach. The man looked down onto her and knew something was wrong as another man stopped and asked if she was okay. The Russian took no time in rushing off back through the crowd, leaving Scarlett Jenson wondering if her baby was fine inside her stomach.
...
A/N: Very busy weekend this week which has left me with only this afternoon to update! Hopefully I shall update again soon anyway. So, please do leave me a review to let me know what you think of it so far as the plot is thickening again! So thank you to everyone reading and do review!