Sherlock, unsurprisingly, goes to the library on Monday. He does it nervously, of course, but by the time he walks in, he's cool, calm, and collected.

He stands near the entrance, scanning the few faces around to see if Ben is there. He's not, but in seconds Sherlock feels someone right next to him.

"Hello, beautiful."

Sherlock stands up straighter. His stomach turns, but he pushes his anxiety away. "Ben."

Ben laughs. "Come on, this way."

They walk in one direction of the library, and Sherlock can already tell that Ben is leading him to the back of the library, where the cameras don't reach everywhere. But Sherlock stops at a table where a lot of people are surrounding them.

"Here's good," he sternly says.

Ben laughs. "Alright. Here's good."

Sherlock sits down and Ben sits across from him. Sherlock stares at him, trying his best to deduce everything he can about Ben, but there's not much. There are many less obvious things than their first meeting, it's as though Ben made sure to clean up well before meeting Sherlock. He smells clean, and Sherlock knows it's on purpose.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Sherlock asks.

Ben leans forward on his arms folded on the desk. "Can you keep a secret?"

"A—"

"Secrets, yeah. We can have a…a deal."

Sherlock, for almost the first time in his life, is so confused that his head hurts. "What are you talking about?"

Ben smiles. "I'm sure you've figured out by now that all the cases you've done this year are my doing."

Sherlock eyes him, still confused. He doesn't say anything.

"See, I just…it's so fun to control people, do you know what I mean? I know you know. I meet people, I have a trustworthy face, I guess, and they spill their secrets so easily. It's always things that upset them, school, girls, fucking cats. And I solve their problems."

"So…"

"So, you're little friend Jenna? Easily, steal the fucking earrings the princess's daddy gave her. Those girls were at their final straw with that bitch."

"Don't call Jenna that," Sherlock suddenly says. He's even shocked at how quickly he said it.

Ben laughs again. Sherlock wants to punch him.

"Sorry, baby, I didn't know how protective you are of your friends."

Sherlock ignores the name.

"Anyway, most of the things you've solved this year were my doing."

"But how?"

Ben shrugs. "I tell the kids to do something about what hurts them. The earrings, the stolen research paper, the graffiti'd car, the stolen dog, the dead cat, and what's his name's girlfriend? Who do you think the other guy was? To be honest, that one was the most fun. The stupid crickets were my doing, too. And then there was Danny."

"What did you do about the research paper?"

Ben laughs again. "Well, see love, I don't tell the kids what to do. I plant the idea. I told Vince to get you caught cheating or something, so he did. Like with the crickets, I told the boy, 'You know what I did when I was a kid? I let ants loose in my classroom.' And he went with crickets."

Sherlock slowly processes this while thinking of his other cases. "What about…like, the kid who was stalking and threatening Lily?"

"Nah, I didn't touch that. I met him, but he was too creepy to continue. With what he said about her, he deserved to get caught and into trouble."

You're a murderer and you found him creepy? Sherlock thinks, but he doesn't say it.

"Basically, Holmes," Ben goes on, "You're in my way. You're getting everyone in trouble."

"Maybe you should just stop."

Ben laughs. Sherlock sees red.

"Can't you see? It's fun for me. Stupid kids are so easy to manipulate and it's so fun to watch them get ambitious. They think they can take on the world and they end up getting caught by a big headed seventeen year old."

Sherlock frowns.

"At least he's cute," Ben says.

Sherlock glares at him.

Ben smiles.

"So," Sherlock says, "Why have I never heard of you, then? Why is Taylor the first person to mention y—" Sherlock stops. He realizes Taylor knew him as Kai. "Who is Kai?"

Ben smirks. "Me."

"But…your name is Ben."

"Is it?"

Sherlock eyes him. "Isn't it?"

Ben pulls out his wallet and opens it, then begins tossing identification cards on the table.

"Bennett Jones, that's who you're talking to now. Kai Jameson, that's who—" he pauses, clears his throat, and doesn't continue. He resumes tossing cards onto the table. "Jackson White, Keegan Cooper, Jade Griffin, Jason Mackenzie, Thomas Adams, Tyler Roberts, and Kieran Steele."

Sherlock examines all of them. They're all from different places; different areas of England and two are from the United States."

"Nobody notices that you're American in some of these?"

Ben lifts his hand over the table to shake Sherlock's. In a crisp, perfect American southern accent, he says, "Jackson White, how you doin', boy?"

Sherlock gets the chills. Every bit of Ben changed, from his voice to the sideways grin he grows to the innocent gleam in his eye.

Ben drops his hand. "See?"

"So," Sherlock says, "Who is real?"

"According to England and the US, all of them."

Sherlock stares at the cards. He picks them up to examine them, and finds that they're all issued from different times. However, Kieran Steele was issued three years ago, and it's the oldest.

"Nice to meet you, Kieran."

Ben laughs. "Well done, Holmes. Although, nobody else has ever figured it out because I've never shown anyone these cards."

"Why me, then?"

"Because I like looking at your face."

Sherlock sighs.

"And because you can keep a secret."

Sherlock tosses the cards back to him. "What do I call you then?"

"Oh, I have a few ideas of what you can call me." He winks.

Sherlock rolls his eyes.

Ben laughs. "I don't care what you call me. But who would you rather have? Fake alcoholic Ben, the real Kieran, sensitive Jackson, willing-to-steal-your-girlfriend Tyler, or you can have Jade who will gladly shag you if you want. But it'd cost you."

Sherlock scowls.

"No," Ben says, "You definitely want drug dealer Kai."

Sherlock scowls harder.

Ben laughs. "I'm lovin' that face of yours."

Sherlock doesn't say anything. And since he doesn't really plan on having to see Ben again, so it's not like any of this matters.

"So," Ben says. "I called you here to make sure you keep your pretty mouth shut."

"What are you going to do?" Sherlock asks. "Pay me or kill me?"

"Neither. I'm going to simply tell you to stay out of my way."

"Threaten? Not what I expected, honestly."

"I couldn't kill you, darling. And I like my money."

Sherlock shrugs.

"Like I said," Ben says, "I just want you to stay out of my way. Stop solving the cases. Don't tell that stupid detective what you know. Just…forget about me, alright? And I'll stay out of your life."

"I leave you alone, you leave me alone?"

"Exactly, darling."

Sherlock purses his lips. His dislike of Ben overcomes his want of safety for himself. He does want to stop Ben.

"Alright," he says anyway. "I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone."

Ben smiles widely. "Great. But, you know, if you want to meet under more personal terms, I'd be glad to."

"No."

"If you say so."

Sherlock decides their meeting is over. He stands quickly. "Goodbye, then."

"Maybe."

Sherlock glares at him once, then sweeps away in a flash.

He had told John that he was going to Olive's after school on Monday instead of telling John that he went to the library. He didn't want John to get upset or to worry, and the lie works because Olive goes along with it. He does feel bad about lying to John, but he would have felt worse if John was mad at him.

Instead, they go on with their evening when Sherlock 'gets back from Olive's'. He calls John over for dinner and they do homework after, and the meeting with Ben never comes up.