THE WAR INSIDE MY HEAD

Thank you so much for continuing to read this guys. It's lovely to hear from you all. Hope you enjoy this. I'm going to try to post every couple of days while I'm working on my other fics. I'm heading to bed since I have work in the morning, but let me know what you think please. - day

3.

Molly sat up and tried to turn her head, but was stopped by the chilling feeling of a nail dragging down from her neck.

"Molly Hooper," the voice boomed sinisterly, "Shh... Don't move. I just want a chat."

She let out a strangled scream as he spurned her head around roughly, allowing her to look into his ice-cold, devil pair of eyes. Nothing is holding this man back.

"Sebastian Moran, how do you do?"

She was struggling to stop shaking. She bit her lip to stop herself from screaming Sherlock's name.

Upon entering Molly's flat, Sherlock sensed a disturbance. First clue being the lack of the woman herself in the open quarters of the kitchen and the sitting room where the telly and couch was. He imagined she would have stayed there for a little while.

She had, he realized upon closer inspection of the cushions and the overturned teacup. She had grown tired after some time and decided to head towards her room. As his mind replayed the movements in his head he continued trailing it by walking down the hallway towards the quaint bedroom that Molly slept in. As he grew closer to it, he heard the low murmur of a voice. It was male but he didn't hear Molly.

He took a deep breath and readied himself to find something, anything or nothing at all. These were dangerous time. He was prepared for nearly anything. He slowly pushed the door opened with the flick of his wrist, turning the knob. His body stilled upon opening the door.

"Sebastian Moran," Sherlock hissed.

The man turned around to meet his glare, his lips curling up to a devil smirk. Sherlock saw Molly tied up to her bed behind him, the Semtex on her chest, her teary eyes frightened with despair. His expression darkened as he darted his eyes angrily to Moran.

"Get your filthy hands away from her."

Molly could see the chilling look in Sherlock's eyes that he was going to kill Moran, the same pair of haunting eyes that visited her earlier.

Molly eyes shut at the sound of Sherlock's voice. He was here. How'd he know to come back? She swallowed a sob down as she opened her eyes to look at him. She was afraid of two things right now. That look in Sherlock's eyes, and the man who had just strapped the explosives to her pajama clad body while she shook and tried not to lash out at him. What was Sherlock planning to do? He couldn't very well save her with this Moran man standing so close to her.

"Sherlock…" She spoke up trying to catch his attention. She didn't like this. She couldn't be afraid of both of them. She didn't think she would be able to bear it. She watched as his eyes shifted just a second in her direction and then back to this killer. Sherlock looked about ready to pounce on Moran, but a small device in the opposing man hand stopped him in his tracks.

"No dice, Mister Holmes. I will press this button and then you'll be one step closer to actually being dead. Not to mention your doll here will be decimated all over this room. You claim to be a genius, now think."

"What. Do. You. WANT?" Sherlock yelled with gritted teeth, his rage almost overcoming him at this point.

Moran cocked his head smugly with the grin still on his face. "Wanted to have a chat with your new pet here, she wasn't very cooperative. Not even with this amount of Semtex on her. New pet," Moran spoke calmly as he stroked the button, "Just as loyal though. Wouldn't tell me how you survive the fall, what a sweet little thing." He began to stroke her hair, with her flinching at every touch.

Sherlock's hands clenched into fists repeatedly. It was the only way he could not lunge at this maniac. Moriarty didn't get his hands dirty, it had been clear for quite some time that Moran was the man who did just that. He had oceans of blood trailing behind him. It would swallow him whole. Sherlock wouldn't mind drowning him in it, at this point. No. This man deserved worse for his malicious deeds.

"She isn't a pet. She's my… friend."

"Friend? Ah, yes James told me all about them. Though…the good doctor here wasn't among the list. He had some very nice descriptive phrases for her. Very colorful." Moran chuckled.

Sherlock narrowed his eyes. "Colourful?"

His eyes casted upon Molly, who was still struggling to breathe with Moran's hand on her head. She looked at him with steady eyes as she shook her head. He knew what that meant. 'Don't listen to a word he says, find a way to run, let me die with him.' His eyes softened at her strength. She was willing to sacrifice herself for him. He darted back to the sight of Moran, whose face was bursting with joy at what he was about to hear next.

"What's your end game here, Moran? Molly is important; obviously you've figured that out. Your question is why? Why does she matter to me? If Jim, dear Jim didn't want her to be killed then why come here and strap a load of explosives to her? You certainly have my attention. I've been looking for you, you know. Of course, you do. My question is why here?"

As he was rambling, Sherlock noticed that for a brief moment Molly seemed to relax. It was something that he had noticed that she found enthralling about him. When he was focused and spitting off deductions that didn't surround her person or life decisions. It calmed her for some reason.

He flexed his fingers before folding them behind his back in a firm grasp. He was waiting. Whatever he said would produce a certain result. Sherlock wasn't sure what it would be yet, but his mind was working. That was good, right?

Moran pursed his lips as Sherlock rambled, his eyes scrutinizing his every word. Sherlock then saw how his lips relaxed when he stopped his deduction, almost as if he let a tiny breath of relief out. Sherlock tilted his head up, his smile beginning to form. Moran's eye flashed a sight of panic as Sherlock continued, "You're not here to kill anyone. If you do that, you wouldn't get what you want. You want answers. You want me give you answers in exchange for her safety. The Semtex, the device, are all... Fake."