Sherlock Story
Forgotten Memories, Chapter 86
A disclaimer: Sherlock belongs to BBC along with the talented writers and amazing Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch. No money was made. The story, however, is my original thought and comes out of my overactive imagination. Other characters introduced are also mine.
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*****.***Warning this chapter M just in case, Violence. ****. ****
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…. The Game…
"If you're going through hell, keep going." ~Winston Churchill
Sherlock stood on shaky legs waiting in the darkness. He was cold. The cold air on his bare feet seemed to direct the chilled air to the centre of his bruised body. He would wrap his arms around himself if he could.
He could not.
A violent shiver ran through his body. This caused a grimace as pain followed the same path. He ignored the cold, and the pain the best he could, and tried to concentrate. He could hear Thomas muffled voice and Sebastian. They were talking. He could not tell what they were saying, however.
"Hello everybody."Moriarty voice announced cheerfully over the overhead speakers.
The thick velvet curtain that he was hidden behind started to rise slowly. Moriarty's attempt at drama. Sherlock would have rolled his eyes if it were not for his headache.
He blinked his eyes as they adjusted to the small amounts of filtered light again.
Concentrate, Sherlock reminded himself.
He strained his eyes as he peeked through the tiny slits in the curtains. He could see them, but they seemed to not be able to see him yet.
He examined Lestrade with his eyes. He now stared at John and Thomas. He was relieved that they looked unharmed. Moran was… unpredictable. He deduced himself and did not like what he concluded. His self-observations were clinical and detached. He moved on quickly.
He looked at the wires that ran from the table, on the floor, and disappeared into the wall. He noticed them attached to Lestrade. Anger burned in him, but he quickly pushed it down.
"Stay detached," Sherlock whispered to himself only, "Concentrate."
The nausea chose that moment to return again.
Bad timing, he had to think.
He swallowed several times and briefly closed his eyes and stilled his body. After a moment, he opened them again. He wanted nothing more than to get everyone in the room, medical care. As long as they did not force him along to the A/E with them. He might even allow himself to pass out when he knew that they were safe, as long as that occurred in his flat. He would not even yell at John this time if he hovered.
He took another breath. The nausea was not as severe now. Sherlock opened his eyes.
He looked around the room and examined possible escapes. They only had to stay alive. He was sure of one fact. No matter how many times he told Mycroft to stay out of it, he was sure that his brother was on his way. It was just a matter of playing the game to win and staying alive until then.
Staying alive should be an easy thing to do, he told himself with humorless mirth.
Sherlock was cold and started to shiver more. He finished examining the room and noticed Moran. He was now reserved and business like. They locked eyes for a moment. Sherlock saw the hint of amusement on Sebastian's face before it went away.
So, he thought that Moriarty was now watching. That was the only thing that explained Moran's sudden lack of excessive cruelty. He had a few more injuries from his time alone with Moran.
Sherlock redirected his thoughts.
Sherlock noticed some of his clothing at Thomas' feet. His eyes went to his beloved coat. He hoped that it would not become soiled. He loved that coat. The younger Holmes sighed and shivered more. There was no heat in the building.
Sherlock looked upward. He was locked in a clear plastic cylinder shaped container. His hands were handcuffed in front of him and secure by chains to his legs. He had his dress trousers and shirt only, but no shoes, socks, jacket, or coat. Judging from the drain and the holes in the side, there was a reasonable possibility that he was about to get wet.
"Better and better," Sherlock said to himself.
A clicking sound made him glance upward. The steady red lights above his head was now blinking in a steady rhythm. Sherlock sighed as the tacky game show music came on.
Moriarty's voice sounded on the overhead speakers.
No one spoke but instead focused on the curtains.
Cheesy game show music continued to play in the background as the curtain slowly rose the last centimeters and stopped. Sherlock was now fully revealed. Thomas and John look intently at the curtains. Moriarty's voice came again.
"Let's begin shall we." Moriarty's voice was slightly loud and echoed in the enclosed tank. Sherlock winced slightly as he stared up.
Donovan stood outside of Lestrade's home as she rang the doorbell for the third time. She exhaled with frustration as the warmth of her breath mixed with the cold night air and fogged in sympathy. All of her mobile phone calls had gone unanswered.
She frowned now as worry started to run through her in earnest. She picked up her mobile to call the Yard, but an incoming call interrupted her.
"Donovan," She answered in a rush.
"Ms. Donovan, I have an idea of where Lestrade might be. I do not have the exact address now, but I will have it in the next…" There was a brief pause, "Seven to ten minutes." The female voice continued. "Mr. Holmes and two other men might also be in danger."
"Tell me everything you know." Donovan said as she jogged back to her vehicle.
Moriarty's voice had a casual happy tone. "I'll make this simple for you. I can see that you had a hard day. The answer to release your precious Detective Inspector, The answer to release yourself, and the antidote for your pet are all within your reach…" there was a pause and something that sounded like someone sipping on tea through the intercom.
"… Sorry, but this tea is positively delicious. What is the phrase? Oh, yes… It's simply to die for." There was the sound of another sip taken, followed by the sound of a contented sigh.
"Where were we? Ah yes, three questions, three locked boxes. All three questions are written and locked in the three boxes at the other end. Three keys are on the table. Simply walk, well maybe run, to the other end of the room, open the box of your choice, read the question and answer them."
It sounded as if Moriarty was munching on a sandwich now.
"Sherlock can even help you. If he is able, that is. From what I read in your blog Doctor Watson, he does not even know that the earth goes around the sun; these questions might be a bit out of his area of expertise. The naughty boy deleted the information." Moriarty chuckled at that.
"Rules," John hissed impatiently as he looked from Sherlock to Lestrade.
"Open one box and free that person completely before the other box can be opened, and the next person is freed. The last box to be opened is the antidote. Don't follow the rules and you get shot, blah… blah… blah, blah, blah, blah… blah." Moriarty's voice sounded slightly bored now.
Another sipping sound was heard on the speakers.
"Sherlock you could just walk away now. Let the rooks sacrifice for their king. I'm sure that you can pick up more pets, if you must." Moriarty's said evenly.
"Walk away Sherlock, while you can." Moriarty's voice now changed to one of deadly seriousness. "Make a choice."
Moriarty waited for an answer.
Sherlock feet and ankles suddenly became much colder. The sound of gushing water was heard.
"Lestrade" Sherlock said simply. It was embarrassing how his teeth were starting to chatter. He immediately felt the cold water as it started to fill the water tight tank that he was locked into.
"I'll leave you to it then, have fun," Moriarty's said before the speakers became silent.
Sebastian's grin instantly came back. "I'll be off." He smirked at the two men as he paused. "Oh, by-the-way, in ten minutes a deadly charge of electricity will pass through the DI's body." He looked evilly at his watch. "Whoops, eight minutes now, I forgot to tell you, you can begin. Ta, Ta."
Thomas and John heard Sebastian's voice echo behind them as they ran down to the other end of the long but narrow room.
Mycroft was pulled to the side of the road as agents canvassed the area. The Yard, officers, ambulances, and a bomb unit were on their way in the general direction.
Mycroft phone rang. He looked at it and frowned."Yes."
"Um, Sir, this is Kevin Patel here. Agent Thomas contacted me earlier today and said that I was to trace a signal and contact you with the address when it comes up. It just came up Sir." The voice of the young analyst said.
"I'll need that address quickly Mr. Patel," Mycroft listened for a moment then agents were running, as cars abruptly left their location.
The box with the name, pet was opened, and the note with the question was run back down to the other end. All three men ignored the fact that there were three armed men in the room. Everyone else had left.
"The question is," John said loudly so that Sherlock could hear, "What are the main four types of galaxies?"
Everyone including Sherlock was strangely silent for a few seconds. John tried not to think about the fact that the water had reached up to Sherlock's thigh. He also tried not to think about the way that Sherlock's body was shaking. Despite this, the words early hypothermia came to his mind.
"Spiral, Elliptical, Lenticular, and Irregular galaxies." Thomas said quickly.
"You sure?" John asked.
"Yes," Thomas said quickly. "But now what."
Sherlock spoke up now shivering more. "T… There should be a lettered key pad somewhere attached to L… Lestrade. Put the galaxies in alphabetical order.
"Elliptical, Irregular, Lenticular, and Spiral."
"E… I… L… S… then press enter. Hurry." Sherlock said in between chattering teeth.
Thomas and John ran the short distance to Lestrade. "Here," Thomas said when he found a keypad that was attached to the tableside.
John nodded. Thomas quickly entered the E… I… L… S... then he took a breath and pressed enter.
Lights flashed and blinked rapidly for a few second then stopped entirely. There was a popping sound as the wrist restraints opened. Both men quickly unhooked the rest of the attachment as they roughly dragged Lestrade away from the table and wires. They were only a few yards away when the lights dimmed at the same time that a sizzling hum was heard. Both men instinctively covered their faces and Lestrade's face as electrical sparks flew yards away from the wires and the table. It only lasted a minute but left the room with the odor of burnt metal.
Lestrade lay suddenly still on the ground. Both men glanced at each other. John check to make sure that Lestrade was still breathing as Thomas grabbed the second key and ran to the other end of the room.
Thomas returned with the second question as he breathed in and out heavily. It asks, What makes up white light?" Thomas looked at both men "I don't remember this one."
"T… The colors of the r… rainbow," Sherlock said.
Both men stared at Sherlock.
"I didn't delete e… everything." Sherlock snapped crossly. "Water rising." He added with chattering teeth.
Both men moved instantly.
"R… Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet." Sherlock said before adding. "In alphabetical order. B-G-I-O-R-V, then enter." Sherlock said as he spit water out of his mouth that got in. The water was passed Sherlock's chin. A clicking sound was heard then water gushed in faster. The water seemed to be filling the tank faster as it gushed in like a waterfall. John entered the letters, he was careful to have them in the right order, despite his shaking hands.
Just like with Lestrade, lights blinked rapidly then became steady.
The three men were preoccupied with getting Sherlock out and never noticed the fact that they were now alone in the room, and a gun battle was taking place. Thomas uttered a soft curse as he tried to help John manually pull the twelve latches open one by one, now that the lock popped open.
The water was passed Sherlock's head now. He was trying to use his legs to push his head above water, but his handcuffed hands were chained to his ankles and gave no room for maneuvering. Sherlock felt his lungs burn as his mind fought against the impulse of his lungs to inhale.
Sherlock finally lost the battle as he inhaled before he realized what had happened. His mind shut down completely as instinct took over and he twisted violently. His previous attempt at calm was forgotten as he tried to escape the watery prison.