Sherlock story

Deleted Memories, Chapter 145

Warning: post Reichenbach spoilers. Hope you enjoy

For all those of you, who have taken the time to review and comment, thank you.

Thank you to those of you who just started to read and post, welcome.

*To those of you that I communicate with on a regular basis, and leave detailed post, I appreciate you.

**Again, thank you for your comments this last week it kept me going.

A/N: I completely rewrote these chapters as well as the others, again. I hope you enjoy. Tell me what you think.

Love and Lots of Tea, Zacha

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear." ~ Mark Twain

The building was massive with several heights. They had managed to avoid detection so far. Most of the externally located rooms were bright and well lit because of sunlight.

The inner rooms were in a semi dark state. Because of this their eyes needed to adjust. This caused moments where it was more dangerous to move until their eyes adjusted.

Sherlock and Thomas came to a new corridor and approached with caution.

They avoided one soldier who seemed to be patrolling the perimeter. That was the second one that they noticed so far. They were on the third floor now.

Two more floors to go.

Mycroft picked up the phone and listen. There was silence for a moment. Mycroft rolled his eyes at the obvious power play and waited.

Holmes noticed that two soldiers stayed close, as the rest walked quickly to carry out what Mycroft suspected was last minute preparations. He also considered the fact that they could be fleeing. Maybe the bomb was already started. Mycroft knew that he would soon find out.

"Mr. Holmes the elder." The voice on the phone line said. The voice on the line was silent again after that.

Mycroft waited a few seconds before replying. Two could play the game.

"Now that I am assured that you know my name, perhaps you can tell me what you want, or am I to guess." Mycroft waited for his reaction.

After a moment of silence, he heard laughter. "Sarcasm is a family trait I see. You're almost as entertaining as your brother. The only thing I love about him more than his wit is his sounds. He stubbornly refused to make much sounds but I did finally get a lovely moan out of him. Soon I plan to finally get a scream."

Mycroft said nothing as his eyes narrowed dangerously. He was careful to keep his voice level despite the fact that he felt his pulse quicken out of rage. He took a breath.

"Now that you've confessed your twisted fetishes, do you want to stay on topic and tell me why I'm here, I'm terribly busy as you can imagine."

This reaction surprise Ayyad who was disappointed that he did not get a more passionate reaction out of Mycroft.

"You know what I have, what you've walked into?"

"Of course," Mycroft sounded insulted.

"And, you still came. You and your brother are alike, aren't you." Ayyad sounded amused.

Mycroft frowned at the statement but said nothing. For all his intellect, he could not see the truth in his words.

"You did not ask about Doctor Watson?"

"I knew that you could barely contain the need to tell me," Mycroft was becoming impatient, however, his voice did not betray the fact.

There was more silence.

"What are your demands?" Mycroft finally asked sounding relaxed.

Ayyad could not see the clinch in his jaws.

Lestrade received a call from Myers. The Inspector was lost in thought and worry. He had already driven to the last location that Thomas had called in. The suspects were already moved and the last dead body was about to be moved when the call came in.

He ran toward the car, with a flood of agents and Yarders following.

He had lost contact with Thomas half an hour ago. Sherlock had only texted once and also was not answering. He sighed, feeling a headache forming. Now, with a new location, the team rushed along with the sirens blaring. Several cars with agents and Yarders followed.

Lestrade picked up his phone now to make another call. His mind focused on Sherlock and John. He closed his eyes and dry wiped his face. A voice on the other end picked up. Lestrade gave the location of where he wanted emergency personnel to meet the team. He thought he would not have time to wait for an ambulance.

He hoped he was wrong but this was Sherlock.

Ayyad spoke with a level voice.

"You have caused me a lot of trouble, men, and money Mr. Holmes. With the exception of your brother, No one has caused more… shall we say irritation." Ayyad paused while speaking for dramatic effect.

"Imagine your brother, you must, what is the word you people use, ah…yes, love him. Imagine your brother when I have finished with him. When I've broken his body, when I've broken his will, when I've finally broken his remarkable mind. Even the strongest man will need someone. What if the people he needs the most are not there. What if his Doctor Watson is dead. His big brother is not there to protect him. Alone with all those terrible images floating around in his mind. Then, he receives a video e-mail of his very specific… abuse. Do you think he would still be able to feel the hands touching him? From what I recall, he does not like to be touched." There was a pause to allow Mycroft to process what he said.

"How long do you think it will take for him to put a bullet in his brain?"

Ayyad paused again before speaking. Mycroft did not notice that he was gripping the umbrella so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"This is the beauty Mr. Holmes. Your brother dies at his own hand, but it's me that really killed him." Ayyad now started to laugh. "How does that sound, Doctor Watson." There was a slight pause before he spoke again, "Doctor Watson seems to be struggling. He does not seem to get my little joke. The man has no sense of humor."

"You're going to die… soon," Mycroft said clearly and slowly. Mycroft's voice was no longer casual but dangerous and threatening.

"So, you do have some emotions. I hardly think that you are in a position to…" Gunshots were heard on the phone line. The call disconnected abruptly.

"I told you…" Mycroft whispered to the air. He hoped that Thomas was with Sherlock.

Anthea came close to Mycroft. Both of their backs were to the two soldiers. Mycroft held the phone to his ear despite the fact that the call was disconnected in an effort to not alert the soldier present to anything wrong.

"I think my brother have arrived at Doctor Watson's location. Let's provide the proper distraction."

Anthea, seeing the look in his eyes, already positioned her hand as close to her gun as possible without causing suspicion. Mycroft pushed a button on the handle of his umbrella. A slight click sound resulted. Mycroft discreetly pulled on the handle to reveal the edges of a blade.

"What do you have in mind, Sir?" Anthea whispered.

Mycroft simply raised his eyebrows.