Silence In Belgravia
Silent Affairs
Fifteen minutes later, Sherlock was sat next to Rose again - fully dressed this time - while Mycroft and Harry sat on the sofa opposite them.
Mycroft poured some tea into fine china cups for them all. "I'll be mother." He said, trying to break the ice around them all.
Sherlock wasn't having it though, staring into space in apparent remembrance. "There is our whole childhood in a nutshell."
Everyone looked at him for a second - Mycroft glaring at him with the dirtiest look Rose had seen in a long time - before deciding to ignore the comment and move on; it wasn't going to be an easy meeting as it stood at the moment.
Harry started it all off then. "My employer has a problem."
"A matter has come to light of an extremely delicate and possibly criminal nature." Mycroft continued. "And in this hour of need, dear brother, your name has arisen."
"Why?" Sherlock asked. "You have a police force, of sorts. Even a marginally secret service. Why come to me?"
"People do come to you for help, don't they Mr Holmes?" Harry asked.
Sherlock pretended to think for a moment. "Hmm… Not to date anyone with their own navy." Rose and John just smiled slightly, knowing that if nothing else, the day would be interesting.
"This is a matter of the highest security, and therefore of trust." Mycroft explained.
"And you don't trust your own secret service?" John asked.
"Naturally not." Mycroft replied, as though it were obvious. "They all spy on people for money." Rose just nodded in understanding and both her and John were reminded of the offers they received from Mycroft himself.
"I do think we have a time table." Harry said.
"Yes, of course." Mycroft replied, shifting in his seat slightly. Sherlock just raised an eyebrow at his brother's compliance with the other man. Mycroft opened a briefcase, pulling out a photograph. "What do you know about this woman?" He asked, handing it over to Sherlock, who sat up to take it.
"Nothing what so ever." He replied, looking at the photo of the sharp featured woman, dark hair tied up elegantly and make-up painting her face in delicate colours, enhancing her features.
"Then you should be paying more attention." Mycroft told him. "She's been at the centre of two political scandals in the last year and recently ended the marriage of a prominent novelist by having an affair with both participants; separately." Rose just raised a pair of eyebrows at the interesting information, always one for gossip while glancing over to the photos every time Sherlock changed one of them over. John sipped his tea but lowered his cup to see the photo's better.
"You know I don't concern myself with trivia." Sherlock told him. "Who is she?"
"Irene Adler." Mycroft informed them. "Professionally known as The Woman."
The wording caught Rose's attention though. "Professionally?"
Mycroft looked over to her then, wondering how much she knew of this sort of world. She is still quite young after all, he thought. "There are many names for what she does. She prefers Dominatrix." He saw a look of understanding cross her face.
"Dominatrix…" Sherlock muttered, still studying the images.
"Don't be alarmed." Mycroft smiled at his brother. "It's to do with sex."
Sherlock just looked up sharply then, trying to defend himself slightly. "Sex doesn't alarm me." Rose felt her eyebrows raise slightly at his choice of wording.
But Mycroft just let out a slight, silent laugh, almost unnoticeable but still noticeably mocking. "How would you know?"
At the rhetorical question and slight glares and looks shared between the two brothers, Rose felt her eyebrows raise a little bit more. Surely not…? She thought. It wasn't even like he was unattractive! The sheet incident had been clear proof of that little fact. She had worked and lived with the man several months now and had seen many girls try to flirt with him, many of them very pretty; she had seen the look's John sometimes gave to the darker haired man.
She even remembered when the madman had tried flirting - very badly, at that - with women to try and get something, information or something of the sort. But in all her time she had never seen him with a woman; apart from herself, but that didn't count. Even when they were undercover he was awkward. Well, I never... She thought, taking a sip of tea. Learn something new everyday!
She was brought out of her thoughts by Mycroft speaking again, looking at her this time. "She provides… shall we say, recreational scolding, for those who enjoy that sort of thing and are prepared to pay for it." Rose just took another sip of her tea, pushing away the memories of some of her more adventurous times a few years ago. She wondered briefly if anything like that would be in her folder and felt a slight blush creep up her skin at the thought. Mycroft took out a large brown envelope while she fought her blush, handing it over to Sherlock. "These are from her website."
Taking the envelope off of his brother, Sherlock took out the photographs and flicked through them, each a little more provocative than the last, some with riding crops, others with rope. Some had writing on them, others just had a picture of The Woman and not much - though very much see through - lace clothing.
"And I assume this Adler woman has some compromising photographs." Sherlock said, starting to put the pieces together.
"You're very quick, Mr Holmes." Harry said, a little bit surprised.
"Hardly a difficult deduction." Sherlock replied. "Photographs of whom?"
Harry just got a sort of frozen look on his face. "A person of significance to my employer." He settled for. "We prefer not to say anymore at this time."
Sherlock put the photos on the table, looking between the two suited men opposite them. John was a little stumped though. "You can't tell us anything?"
Mycroft took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully. "I can tell you it's a young person. A young, female person."
John still looked confused and Rose had the idea that this didn't really help at all but Sherlock just smiled slightly, obviously having some idea to who the "young female person" might be. "How many photographs?"
"A considerable number, apparently." Mycroft smiled, obviously not really liking the topic of discussion but he would rather just get it over with, rather than dance around the subject and be awkward about it.
"And Miss Adler and this... young female person appear in these photographs together?" Sherlock followed up.
Mycroft nodded. "Yes, they do."
"And I assume in a number of compromising positions." Sherlock said.
"An imaginative range, we are assured." Mycroft replied, the pair of them talking as though they were discussing a book rather than a case.
Seeing that they were nearly done, Rose leaned over slightly, still not looking away from the two men in front of her. "John, you may want to put that cup back in it's saucer now." She advised quietly, breaking the doctor out of his slightly shocked state as he did what he was told.
"Can you help us, Mr Holmes?" Asked Harry.
"How?" Retorted Sherlock.
"You take the case." Replied Harry, as though it were obvious.
"What case?" Sherlock asked. "Pay her; now and in full. This Miss Adler remarks in her master hood. Know when you are beaten." He told them, turning to pick up his jacket.
"She doesn't want anything." Mycroft told them, catching their attention once more. "She got in touch, informed us that the photographs existed, even told us that she had no intention to use them to extort either money or favour."
Sherlock watched his brother carefully as he spoke, the pieces fitting even better than before, a smile creeping onto his face. "Ohh… a power play. A power play with the most powerful family in Britain. Now, that is a Dominatrix." Rose could see the excitement working it's way through his system once more; he had something interesting to do. "Ooh, this is getting rather fun, isn't it?"
"Not really, Sherlock." Rose muttered, trying to keep him in line again.
"Hm, where is she?" Sherlock asked, getting up from his seat and putting his jacket on.
"Um, in London, currently." Mycroft answered, a little thrown off by his brothers sudden change in demeanour. "She's staying -"
"Text me the details, I'll be in touch by the end of the day." Sherlock instructed them, Rose and John standing up and following after him.
"Do you really think you'll have news by then?" Harry asked. Rose smirked though, knowing that he underestimated them; especially Sherlock.
"No, I think I'll have the photographs." Sherlock replied.
Harry looked impressed and worried at the same time. "I can only hope you're as good as you seem to think."
"Oh, he is." Rose chipped in, smirk still in place and pride in her tone for the genius she worked with.
"I'll need some equipment, of course." Sherlock said, looking to Mycroft.
"Anything you require, I'll have it sent over." Mycroft assured him, but he was cut off before he could finish, though it didn't stop him.
"Can I have a box of matches?" He asked of Harry. John and Rose frowned, looking to each other; they both knew Rose always had a lighter. They kept quiet though, wanting to know what he was up to.
"I'm sorry?" Harry asked.
Mycroft had other ideas however and was about to point out the little fact of Rose's smoking. "Sherlock, I think you'll find-"
Sherlock cut him of though, still talking to Harry and holding out his hand. "Or your cigarette lighter. Either will do."
"I don't smoke." Harry told him, face wary.
Sherlock was patient with him though; as patient as Sherlock gets anyway. "No, I know you don't but your employer does."
John frowned, trying to work out who it could be. Harry stepped forward though, taking out a lighter and handing it over to the Consulting Detective. "We have kept a lot of people successfully in the dark about this little fact, Mr Holmes."
"I'm not the common wealth." Sherlock said, a slight tone of sarcasm to him voice, taking the lighter and turning to leave.
A second passed all round and that was when John decided they should also leave, less they get lost on the way and probably loose Sherlock somehow. "And that's as modest as he gets." He smiled at each man. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Thank you, sir." Rose smiled at Harry before turning to give Mycroft a half smile. "See you another time, Mr Holmes."
"Soon, my dear." He replied with a smile of his own, though she could see he was tired.
Sherlock had gotten bored of the civil ways of interaction and as he left through the doors shouted in a very common and chav-like way, "Laters!"
Rose just chewed her lips for a second before growling out a low warning of, "Sherlock!"