Sherlock story
Deleted Memories, Chapter 131
Warning: post Reichenbach spoilers. Hope you enjoy
For all those of you, who have taken the time to review and comment, thank you.
**To those of you that I communicate with on a regular basis, I appreciate you.
*Thank you for your responses, keep them coming.
She sings of a sword so white,
so luminous, that its own light
alone must slay;
she sings of a sword, a sword, a sword,
and I creep away.
~ Hilda Doolittle
Earlier the Same Day.
At first, he heard jumbled noises. Sounds weaved their way in and out of his consciousness. Words and sounds slowly knitted together with voices to form coherent thought.
The second thing John noticed was the flipping of his stomach. He swallowed trying to resist the urge to vomit. He felt as though a thousand pins were pricking his skin. A thousand mosquitoes were a part of some diabolical plan to torment him.
The third thing he notices was disjointed images that slowly pieced themselves together to form complete images as he blinked rapidly to help clear his vision.
He heard a groan.
Oh, he was groaning, lovely.
John blinked a few times more as his military training kicked in.
"You see but you don't observe," a familiar sounding voice in his head commented. Doesn't the man ever give him a moment of peace, John wondered.
He looked around and assessed his situation. Drugged. Short acting. Whoever took him wanted him to quickly be alert. If it was short acting, he was at least still in London, somewhere remote.
Well, he was not Sherlock Holmes but in any other situation, he might have been pleased with himself for figuring out that much. John almost smiled.
The thought of a smile quickly left as another wave of nausea ran through his body.
"Awake Doctor Watson?"
John swallowed away the bile before responding.
"Who are you? Why am I here?"
A brief silence followed.
"You know exactly who I am , and I think you know why you are here."
The Criminal Mastermind stood in the background behind his men. He now stepped to the front smiling. But, his smile was not pleasant. It was the smile one would imagine a cat having if a mouse was about to be put in its mouth and chewed slowly.
John blinked away the last of the drug-induced fog and stared at him wordlessly.
He started to smile a ridiculously happy smile.
Ayyad looked confused for a moment, but stared saying nothing at first. Eventually, his curiosity got the better of him and he had to ask, "I have never had anyone in your situation find it a happy event, care to share what is so joyous?"
"You don't have him," John stated as a fact.
"How would you know that we do not have Mr. Holmes?" Ayyad asked still curious.
"I'm alive," John said simply.
This one was different, Ayyad's mind concluded. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Doctor Watson was going to be as much trouble as Holmes. Well, his day was boring so far, just a few murders and personal threats made. He had not even had a really good explosion thank to Holmes meddling; maybe Watson would make things more interesting, He thought.
The criminal walked closer now, looked down and smiling again.
"I have a small request," He ran one finger slowly from John's ear, down his left jaw line to the tip of his lips. He leaned away and glared angrily but did not say a word, "Since we're such good friends."
He kept eye contact with John but stepped back and stopped touching him. His voice took on a friendly tone as if they were friends having a casual conversation.
"My request is simple because I am a simple man. Call Holmes and tell him to meet you at a location that I will tell you. Make up some excuse. Do not allow him to become suspicious. I'm throwing a party and he's the guests of honor. Do this simple thing for me and I'll blindfold you and have my men drop you off in an alley somewhere. There would be no further need for you, Doctor."
"We will have Mr. Holmes by the end of today regardless, but if you cooperate, it would be ...less chaotic."
Ayyad pause to allow Watson to think.
"So, why don't you make that little phone call and tell Sherlock Holmes to come meet you. Or…, I'm afraid you'll have to be my special guess instead." Ayyad came close again and started to walk around his chair, circling like a predator. John recognized this as a maneuver to throw him off balance. All that it was accomplished was making him dizzy. He wanted to tell the criminal to shut up and be still, but thought it unwise and said nothing.
"Not afraid Doctor Watson? We know how to fix that problem. Asked Holmes if you don't believe me. Not talkative today are we? You are Holmes friends, yes?"
Ayyad continued to circle John's chair dramatically.
He stayed quiet, but observed the man, trying to figure out the best course of action.
"Such good friends as yourselves must have discussed what we did to him, are you afraid yet Doctor?"
"Yes," John said simply as he stared the maniac in the eyes not flinching.
This frank admission both surprised and intrigued Ayyad.
"And yet you will not cooperate?"
"I'd rather die; in fact if I get free, I think I'd like to shoot you for what you did to him." John smiled dangerously.
One of Ayyad's general that was close by, slapped John in the face with the back of his gun. This snapped his head back. He saw stars and flashes of light as he was struck. He let out an involuntary grunt from pain. The general then proceeded to put a gun to John's head and painfully ground the tip into his temple.
John bit his lips and grunted again from the pain but did not try to cover his anger.
Ayyad held up one hand and smiled in amusement at the doctor's courage and loyalty. He liked the Doctor, too bad.
"I have a better idea, how about you die screaming."
He walked over to him and stared. He then bent low and traced Watson's jaw line that was bruised with his finger as John tried unsuccessfully to lean away. "You're cute. It only seems fair that you receive all of the same treatment that Holmes received…" Ayyad paused, "… of course that includes his special treatment as well."
He leaned in toward John's ear and whispered, "Holmes had one special friend; I think you should have two." Ayyad smirked and straightened his body then walked backwards a few steps.
"What's the saying? Shared experiences make the bond of friendship stronger. Let's start slowly." He looked up and waved his arms dramatically.
John became quiet but looked Ayyad in the eyes.
Ayyad nodded slightly and the same soldier that had the slapped him with the gun gave him one hard blow to the abdomen. John grunted and winced from the pain but said nothing.
"Feeling more cooperative," He asked amused.
"I would give...you the finger..., but my...hands are tied," John's managed breathlessly as a response. He should have shut up a part of him realized. Sherlock, he thought was having an influence on him. John almost smiled again. Besides, he realized that the lunatic before him, would do what he wanted to do regardless of what he did or did not say.
Ayyad noticed his expression and was surprised at his words. This at first confused him then he smiled amused. He observed his prisoner closely. He then looked his general in the eyes and nodded again.
The soldier gave several more blows to John's abdomen and a few more to his face. Each blow was progressively more violent. Beside grunts of pain and finally a small moan, John said nothing.
He noticed that Doctor Watson would double over while trying to catch his breath. When he did, he simply straightened himself up and resumed grimly staring back .
Watson was interesting, Ayyad thought, he was strong like Holmes. He wondered how long it would take to break him, body and spirit.
Ayyad tilted his head slightly then held up one hand again and smiled.
John tensed his body and prepare for the worse.
Another one of His men approached Watson with a knife and something else in his hand. John watched him wearily.
He was surprised when no blow came.
John saw the knife as it came toward his ear and leaned away.
Surprisingly, again no new pain came.
He instead felt a tug at his hair as a small piece was cut.
Next, the soldier took a picture and the group walked away.
John closed his eyes briefly then sighed momentarily relieved.
John felt some blood run down his right cheek and left temple stinging an eye as the blood mixed with sweat. He also tasted a little blood and spit it on the concrete floor. He knew he had gotten away lucky, for now at least.
"You may yet get out of this alive. Holmes can trade himself for you. We'll let you go then of course."
John thought about how Sherlock was right; for a Criminal Mastermind, Ayyad was a terrible liar.
"I'll be back Doctor Watson, soon," Ayyad's voice trailed, some distance away now.
John was left alone with horrible images running through his mind. He knew how Sherlock had suffered. His only consolation was the fact that at least Sherlock was safe with Mycroft.