Sher laid on the cold floor. Her body was suffering from the tiredness and the abuse it went through in the past few hours. Moriarty was standing atop her, looking down at his uncooperative prisoner.
"In a quarter of an hour," said the man who pretended to love her, "There will be the third call. You will speak to them. You will do as you're told. You will not whine or disturb what I'm attempting to achieve. Understood?"
She looked at him, hate running through her veins to the man she shared bed with in the past months. "No." She said.
He kicked her stomach and all the air was out of her lungs.
"No." She managed, breathless.
He kicked her again. "You will talk." He said.
"No."
Another kick. "You will say what I tell you."
Aching body. Aching everything. "No."
"You will do as I say." He said with another kick.
"Or what?" She looked up at him. "You can't... hurt me any... more than... you already have."
"No," Moriarty said contemplatively, "you don't respond to pain, do you? But you respond to promises."
"What?" She asked, not understanding.
"You wouldn't do the first talk until I promised you could see James." He Said. "So I will promise you something now, too."
"And what do you think..." breathing through the pain, "you can offer me?"
"I will let you talk." He looked at her. "With your own words, your own voice. You could talk to Dr. Watson."
Sher looked at him, disbelieving. "And how could I know... if you're lying?" She asked.
"You can't." He replied with a smile. "But will you truly take that chance?"
"I'll make the call." She mumbled.
"What?" He asked.
"You heard me perfectly well," she said.
"Yes, I did," he replied, "but I still want to hear you again."
"I'll make the call." She said, loud and clear. "Happy?"
"Very much, yes." He said and pulled out the phone.
They answered on first dial.
"Hello?" Said Watson.
"Hello, John." Sher said, repeating the words Moriarty was whispering in her ear. "How are you guys going on?"
"We know who the girl is." John said. "We know all about her."
"Well, if you haven't found her yet I guess you don't know everything." She was too well aware of his hand on her shoulder, his breath on her neck.
"It's just a matter of time."
"Oh," her voice didn't pass the laugh in Moriarty's voice. "But you have no time. Two hours has passed already."
"And we have six more." The voice in the phone said.
"Not anymore. Now you have two."
"Two hours?" Watson asked in surprise.
"To make things more interesting." Moriarty whispered in her ear and she said to Dr. Watson. "Somebody here wants to talk to you." This was her sign, she knew, and started talking. "It's me, Sher." She could hear the tension in the room at the other side of the line relaxing and panicked. "If anybody but Dr. Watson speaks, he'll hang up."
There were a few seconds of silence before a reply came from the other side of the line.
"Call me John." He said. "Dr. Watson is too official. How are you? How does he treat you?"
"He treats me ok," Sher said, hesitated and added "but I'm still hurt."
"Did he hurt you?"
"Not physically."
There was a short gasp from the other side of the line. "Sexually?" John asked, angry.
"No." She was quick to relax him. "He never made me do anything against my will."
There was silence, in which Sher remembered of something important she must not forget. But it was not for the ears of everyone.
"How many people are listening?" She asked.
"Three." John replied.
"Who?"
"Myself," he said, "your father and your uncle."
"Uncle?" She said, confused. "Mycroft has a..." but then understanding had arrived and she connected the final dots. Mycroft insisted he is not her father, and he was true.
"No." She said. "No, that can't be. It can't be. John, please tell me it's not true."
"I'm sorry," he said, apology true in his voice.
Suddenly she realized Mycroft was listening. "You liar!" She screamed. "Liar! Why the one thing I wanted to figure out as a lie is true? You lied to me since I was a child, couldn't you lie to me about this, too? Why is everything in my life a lie?" She cried out and started weeping. It was only later when she relaxed she even noticed the phone was hung up.