AN: Hey guys, got a nice long one for you this time, to make up for the short last one. Brace yourselves, things are about to get complicated.
It was an unusually bright and hot day for this time of year, the kind of day that was just too nice to be cooped up indoors. Molly found the lack of windows down in the morgue almost more depressing than the bodies she had to deal with, and it was always so chilly down there, and not a lot warmer in the cafeteria. So all things considered, Molly decided to eat her lunch outside today. She wouldn't go far, just in case she got an urgent call from the morgue, she was on duty after all, but there was a bench just outside the hospital that would do just nicely for soaking up a few rays as she ate. The fact that it was only a few feet from where Sherlock fell, surprisingly didn't bother her.
She had just unwrapped her sandwich when she felt a shadow falling over her.
"Mind if I join you?"
Molly nearly dropped her sandwich in fright, looking up into the eyes of her criminal ex-boyfriend and worst nightmare. He was dressed impeccably in a dark designer suit and tie, not the casual clothes she was used to seeing him in as 'Jim from IT'. Her eyes flicked to the hospital doors, wondering if she should just run for it.
"Easy, easy darlin', I'm not here to hurt you or kidnap you or anything like that." He said, speaking to her like a spooked animal, holding his hands up for her to see "I just want to talk. Can't we just talk, huh? Just like old times?" He took a seat beside her on the bench, and she scooted away as much as the bench would allow.
"You mean when you lied to me? You pretended to be something you weren't so you could use me to get to Sherlock?" Molly accused, her words trembling slightly.
"Fair point." Moriarty conceded with a shrug of his shoulders, before sitting forward and leaning towards her, "But that's where this time is different, my love, this time I come to you in all honesty. I need your help."
Molly's eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing. "Why would I help you?"
"Because you'll want to, when you hear what I have to say." He sat back again, relaxed, confident.
"Is that a threat?"
"No. I won't stop you if you try to walk away. But you won't." His smile turned predatory "You must be more than a little curious about what I could possibly need from you."
And she was. Molly knew she should just walk away, she knew that it was dangerous just letting this man near her, let alone listening to whatever poisonous lies he had for her. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to just walk away. If he was telling the truth, if it was something she would want to help with, it was almost certainly she would want to know about. Perhaps she should at least hear him out before walking away.
Moriarty watched her, sitting biting her lip, not immediately walking away. He counted the seconds, and knew when she was still there after 37 seconds that he had her attention. Good. He pulled his phone out and started skimming through for the right picture.
Molly took the phone hesitantly when he held it out to her, and looked at the picture. It was the last thing she had expected to see. It was a selfie of Moriarty and a young girl in front of the orang-utan enclosure at the zoo. Moriarty was in slightly more casual, though still clearly designer clothes, crouched down to the girls level. Both her arms were flung around his torso, and his arm not holding the camera up was around her shoulder, and they were both beaming – genuine joy and affection clear on their faces.
"Her name is Kaitlin. She's my niece." Moriarty told her "Her parents – my brother and his wife – were killed in a car accident 6 years ago. Well, I say accident, it was my fault really. A client who wasn't happy with my services ran them off the road, making it look like an accident, fooled the police, but not me. Their killer is dead now, naturally, but that can't bring them back. They had nothing to do with my criminal activities, didn't even know what I was, but they paid the price. And Kaitlin was left an orphan. What could I do but take her in?. I know I'm not a good man, but I like to think I've been a good parent to her. Given her all she needs, materially and emotionally. And I've kept her well away from anything to do with my… criminal network. I never wanted her mixed up in any of it, never wanted her to turn to crime or be a victim of it, like her parents were. But I'm afraid I might have failed in that regard. May I?"
Glumly he took the phone out of Molly's limp hand, and scrolled through to another picture. Molly could see the pain in his eyes as he looked at it himself, before turning his face away from the screen and holding it out for her to take from him. When she saw it she understood his pain, as her own heart throbbed in sympathy, a shocked gasp escaping her lips. It was picture of the same girl, alone this time, bloody and bruised.
"She went missing yesterday after school, her chauffeur got to school to pick her up late and she was already gone, taken by another car. A couple of hours later, I received that, among others like it. I've tried to find her, but I simply don't have the resources, not since Sherlock destroyed my network. And I can hardly go to the police, not that they'd be able to do any more than I already have. "
"That's why you need me." Molly breathed "You need me to talk to Sherlock, to convince him to take your case, to help you find her?"
"To talk to Sherlock, yes, but not to help find her. No, he already knows where she is. I need to you ask him to let her go."
A strangled sound escaped Molly's suddenly tight throat, and she shook her head in disbelief. "No" She choked out. "No, I don't believe you. Sherlock wouldn't… he couldn't, he was with me last night."
"Well that's where we're alike, Sherlock and I. Don't like to get our hands dirty. That's what friends are for, right?" He reached over and swiped a finger across the screen, scrolling to another picture.
"Mary!" Molly gasped, sounding and feeling like she'd been punched in the stomach "No… no it can't be. She… how could she?"
"You mean Sherlock didn't tell you? Sweet little Mary was a CIA trained killer in a previous life. There's not a lot she isn't capable of. Rumour has it, it was her who shot Sherlock before Christmas… but he probably didn't tell you that either. Seems there's a lot he's been keeping from you."
Molly shook her head more violently now, it was more than she could accept. "No, no, I don't believe you, why should I believe you? You're lying, you're trying to turn me against Sherlock. You must have faked those pictures somehow, found someone who just looks like Mary-"
"And let her lay a hand on my niece?" Moriarty all but hissed. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and carried on in a steadier voice. "No. But it doesn't matter that you don't believe me. You think you can just go home and forget this conversation ever happened? I don't think so. So you really only have one choice. To ask Sherlock if what I'm saying is true. And when you do, 1 of 2 things will happen. Either he'll look you in the eye and tell you it's all lies, give you a full explanation of where he's been and what he's been doing the last few days, that leaves no room for doubt… or, he won't be able to tell you it's not true. Perhaps he'll try to lie about it, but not be able to meet your eye, or explain himself. Or maybe he'll own up to it, and launch into a big speech about how it's necessary, and how it'll save lives, and be better for the girl in the long run, when she's being bumped from foster home from foster home, but at least she'll be away from me. And when that happens, when you find out what I'm saying is true… can I count on you to help me?"
"I… I'll talk to him." Molly stuttered.
"Atta girl." Moriarty grinned "All I'm asking is for you to tell him to leave Kaitlin out of this, and we can go back to how it was, fighting man to man, all consenting adults."
Molly bit her lip, then shook her head, squaring her shoulders. "No. If I help you with this, I want you to leave us alone, me, Sherlock, and all our friends. Just let us get on with our lives and you and Kaitlin can get on with yours. No-one else gets hurt."
Moriarty chuckled a dry humourless laugh. "Oh Molly. Nice try, but you can't make bargains when I know you'll help me anyway. Besides, Sherlock and his friends hurt my girl. Nothing can save them from my vengeance now. I can guarantee your safety though, if you help me. I never let my debts go unpaid."
Molly bit her lip again, looking down at her uneaten sandwiches. It was an unfair deal, but what choice did she have? Hopefully it was all unnecessary anyway, she still couldn't believe that Sherlock could be responsible for a thing like this. Slowly she nodded, and got to her feet.
"I'll talk to him." She repeated, stronger this time, before turning to walk back into the hospital.
"It's all I'm asking." Moriarty responded. "Oh, and Molly?" She stopped a few steps away and turned back to look at him. "Sherlock will put up quite an argument to convince you what he's doing is right. Just remember, Kaitlin has been through so much already, dealing with the death of her parents at such a young age. She should never have had to suffer this, and she shouldn't be made to suffer anymore. I'm all she has and she needs me. It's her you're doing this for, not me."
The girls battered and bruised face filled Molly's mind. She gave a stiff nod, and walked back into the hospital, dropping her food into a bin on the way. She was no longer hungry.