Chapter Six

Third Person POV

Sherlock was leaned against a cab when Kayla emerged from the abandoned building. "What?" she asked when she realized he was looking at her funny. Sherlock smirked and then pushed off of the cab. "Nothing. How about lunch?" he asked, getting into the cab. Kayla rolled her eyes and got in after him. "Lunch sounds wonderful."

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"How did you do it?" Sherlock asked taking a drink of his coffee. Kayla raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Iʼm good at what I do." she replied, picking at a piece of lettuce from her salad. "And what exactly is it that you do?"

"Youʼre the consulting detective. You figure it out." she challenged, grinning when he glared at her. "Is everything alright, Kayla? Youʼve barely touched your meal?" Angelo asked, coming over to the table they were sitting at. Kayla looked up at the larger man and smiled. "Iʼve eaten the chicken. Thatʼs a start." she defended, a smile playing at her lips.

Angelo chuckled fondly. "True. Iʼll give you that one, dear. Itʼs wonderful to see you back and out with our dear Sherlock again." he said before the cook called him into the kitchen. "Thank you, Angelo." Kayla called to the owner and then chuckled to herself. Sherlock sat quietly and watched the exchange, a small smile on his face. He never understood how she could be so comfortable around people, but it amazed and intrigued him. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and read the text.

Lestrade just texted me. Whatʼs going on?-JW

Sherlock grinned and quickly replied.

Iʼll explain later.-SH

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and returned his attention to the woman who was sitting across form him. He had to admit to himself that the purple of her shirt was very flattering to her features and her hair color. He couldnʼt understand where the accusations of blonds being unintelligent came from. Kayla was brilliant. He had been quite disappointed when she dropped out of college. She had such potential. Her grades were fantastic and she had knack for picking peoples minds. He was jolted from his thoughts when something was thrown at him. He looked down and picked up the small, rolled up piece of napkin.

He looked up at Kayla and raised an eyebrow. Kayla laughed. "Quit staring at me like that. Itʼs unnerving." she said and Sherlock couldnʼt help the smirk that formed when he saw the slightest shade of red tint her cheeks. "Ready?" he asked, getting up and slipping his coat on.

Kayla let out a shaky laugh and got up as well, slipping her jacket on. "Ready." she said, walking ahead of him and out of the restaurant. Sherlock chuckled and followed after her, wrapping his scarf around his neck after he paid. When he got outside, Kayla was leaning against a cab waiting for him.

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Sherlock and Kayla were talking about the chemicals used in making a nitrogen bomb when they arrived at the hotel Kayla was staying at. She hadnʼt realized how late it really was when they left Angeloʼs. "What about Sodium chloride?" she asked, rounding the corner of the hall her room was on.

"Too messy." he replied. Kayla stopped abruptly when she saw light streaming out into the hall where her door was. She ran forward and into her room. She stopped in the doorway. Everything was strewn around. Her clothes were thrown all over the floor, the mattress was against the wall, the chairs were laying on their sides, and all the drawers were opened and gone through.

"Damn it!" she cursed, walking into the room. She sighed and leaned down to start picking her clothes up. "You seem awfully calm about someone breaking into your room." Sherlock said, kneeling down and helping her. She looked at him and sighed. "Just used to it. Happens a lot in my line of work." she said, throwing the clothes back in her bag.

Sherlock remained quiet and helped her put her clothes back. She stood up and went over to the mattress. "Whoever was in here was determined to find what they were looking for." she said, putting the mattress back on the bed. "Did they find it?" Sherlock asked, fixing the chairs.

"Iʼm not stupid enough to leave it without me being here." Kayla replied.

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"What is it?" Sherlock asked after they got the room back to normal. Kayla looked at him confused. "Whatʼs what?" she asked. Sherlock rolled his eyes and sat down in one of the chairs. "Whatever it is that was the cause for the raid in your room."

"Oh." she said, realization hitting her. She reached into her back pocket and pulled her wallet out. She opened it and pulled out what looked like a black credit card. "This is a macro chip. This specific one holds all the information about the American government. Each agent is entrusted with one on a different country. Whoever was here was looking for this." she said, holding up the card.

Sherlock looked at the card and then at her. "Secret agent." he said, a smirk forming. "I shouldʼve known. Thatʼs the reason I could never read you. Thatʼs part of your job. To make sure no one can figure you out."

Kayla grinned and moved her jacket to the side to reveal a solid black glock tucked into her pants.

"Now howʼd I miss that." Sherlock asked, smirking at her. "Iʼm good at hiding things." she said, returning the smirk.

By this time, it was dark outside and it was getting late. "Sherlock, I want you to keep hold of this. Whoever was looking for this isnʼt just going to give up so easily. They know I have it, but they wonʼt expect me to trust it with someone else." she said, extending the card to him. Sherlock raised an eyebrow and took the card from her, inspecting it. "Why me? Why not your brother?" he asked, not looking up at her and memorizing each and every detail of the card. Kayla was silent for a moment before answering. "I trust you. With my life and now my work, which I think is sometimes more valuable than my life." she told him. Sherlock looked up at her then.

At that moment, he wanted to envelop her in a hug and tell her she was wrong, but he held back those emotions and buried them like he did with all the others. He stood up then and slipped the card into his pocket with his phone. "Youʼre staying with John and me." he said.

"Wait. What?" she asked, surprised by his sudden statement. He turned and looked at her. He smiled and threw her bag to her. She caught it easily and slung it over her shoulder. "No arguments. You can stay in my room for your stay." he told her, walking out of her room.

"What about you? Whereʼll you sleep?" she asked, catching up with him. "I can sleep on the couch." he said simply. Kayla laughed and stopped him by touching his arm. He stopped and turned around to look at her. "Thank you. Even though I would have been fine on my own, thank you anyway." she said, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. Before Sherlock could respond, she walked past him and went to the check in/out desk to check out. Sherlock looked at her bemused, a small smile forming on his lips as he followed after her.