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It had been years coming, but the aversion to unmarked black vehicles had risen to the top three things that Olivia despised most in the world; just under the man before her and the topic of their conversation.

"How is Mikey?" Moriarty asked, glancing nonchalant through the tinted windows, watching the people of London as they go about their morning. "Did he like my belated Christmas present?" His face twisted into a wicked smile as his deep eyes connected with her own. Her face remained stoic as realization filtered into her thoughts.

"You went to a lot of effort" She spoke, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her own stupidity. She had believed that her presence in England had been orchestrated by the eldest Holmes, but their conversation and the confirmation from Sherlock just moments before had planted doubt in her mind. Yes, the two most logical reasons for Mycroft's unawareness were that the younger siblings were growing sneakier or the eldest was feeling the effects of middle age – it had not occurred to her a third option. Moriarty had planned it all along. "The ultimate problem right? Surviving? Proving you are, what… a god?" The urge grew too much to resist and her teal eyes rolled and drew away from the excited features of the man before her. "You have an awful shot – putting the gun in your mouth and missing." She scoffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Some god" she muttered under her breath.

One day she'd regret how at ease she was around James Moriarty, but that day would not be today. She raised an eyebrow and glanced at his now blank expression out of the corner of her eye. Olivia may not fall in line with the mad genius that is Moriarty, and would certainly be considered 'normal' by Mycroft's standards, but her innate ability to get under peoples skin arguably got her out of more trouble than it got her in – trouble found her wherever she was anyway… so it mattered not an extra fight here and there. It made her life more interesting, to say the least.

"Why bother?" She asked, a more genuine tone in her voice "You could have just asked, I'd have come" It was a truth that they all knew too well. Mycroft's warning to stay away from Moriarty had not come out of brotherly love and concern for her safety. No. The incessant sense of human nature to repeat their past mistakes was the reason behind her brother's words – and she hated to admit that he was probably right.

"Where's the fun in that? It was supposed to be a surprise. SURPRISE!" He laughed a hearty laugh as he raised his arms and folded them behind his head, crossing one leg over the other, nudging her leg with his foot as he did so. She shifted herself closer to the door and away from his reach, rolling her eyes once more. He sighed before continuing "You know, Olivia, this is so much more than reuniting the Holmes siblings"

Another innate ability that Olivia possessed was that of making others underestimate her. Caress the ego of a genius, challenge his intelligence and make them think they're winning. That definitely got her into more trouble than not – but it was always worth a shot. But she took a mental note of the choice of his words 'Reuniting the Holmes siblings'. Why would he want the three of them together again? Single strike? Kill three birds with one stone?

Dragging herself out of her curious mind, she continued. "Stating the obvious isn't becoming of you, James" She snapped, already bored of their conversation. "What do you want?" Even without looking at him, she knew that his wicked grin had returned to his charming features and the sound of him moving to sit next to her confirmed his confidence. She fought the cold chill that surged through her body when he placed his hand under her chin and guided her face to settle centimetres from his own.

"What do I want?" he repeated her question in the first person, quietly and pondered his response for a moment, his fingertips caressing her face, one by one. "It's another surprise, dearie" he laughed lightly before she removed his hand from her face.

"I have no kind feelings for surprises, James" she reminded him with a knowing look. "Now, if you want nothing more than to just flaunt your secrets as secrets, drop me off at the end of the street – I have a hair appointment" her gaze remained strong, contemplating his features. His seemed displeased with her dismissive responses, but he did his best to hide that with a forced smile that did not reach his eyes.

"Very well" he replied, shrugging his shoulders and returning to his side of the car before instructing the driver to pull over. "But you and I both know that a secret is worth its weight in gold" he said in a sing song tone, twisting his index finger around an imaginary piece of string.

Her next move would be crucial to her part in this infinite game of chess that she seemed to be playing, dragged in kicking and screaming by the three men that seemed to love playing this game of chicken a little too much. The simplest detail out of place would turn her position from Queen to kamikaze pawn. Thinking hastily, it was decided.

Too quickly did she seemingly allowed her nerves to take hold of her, ruining her strong façade as the car began to slow down. She grabbed the handle of the car and pulled down as soon as the vehicle came to a stop, but it did not open. She tried once more, to no avail.

"Oh, one thing before you go…" Moriarty began in a faux display of forgetfulness. He bought it. She mused. "The file" Olivia remained still, her hands still gripped to the door handle as if for dear life.

"What file?" she replied, glancing at him from over her shoulder, mustering the fakest sweet smile that she possibly could on her face. The more obvious the better.

"Livie? Don't play coy. We had an agreement" he reminded her placing his hand out and gesturing with his fingers that he knew she was lying. He had probably seen Sherlock handing her the file at the coffee shop. Good. Olivia made she to play on the thought Moriarty expected her to be thinking: All that effort to retrieve the file from Mycroft and it falls straight into the hands of the man that they were trying to stop. It would make for a more believable response. Sighing, she pulled the file from inside her coat, her other hand still clenching the door handle.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere Livie." He spoke matter-of-factly as she handed him the file "See, wasn't that easy" He spoke, as if to an infant. With a gesture, Olivia noticed that he had allowed the locks to be opened on the doors and she made for the exit.

"Oh, one other thing" He called as she tried to shut the door. "I'm going on a little trip. I'll pick you up and show you the countryside." His eyes did not raise from the file that she handed him.

"When? I may need to clear my calendar" she replied flippantly, trying to grasp onto her stronger self.

"Oh, your calendar will be more than clear. I'm sure of it" His eyes were filled with knowing joy that made her anxious. As not to allow him more satisfaction, she slammed the door shut and made her way back along the streets, evaluating everything that had just occurred, suppressing the victorious smile that was threatening to beam on her features.

To say that Olivia loved the elation that came with manipulating those around her was an understatement. True, she had not received the same level of deductive intelligence that her brothers were gifted, but what they lacked in social skills and understanding she combined with the small amount of Holmes-like intellect she was blessed with and made for a force to be reckoned with. This was what she missed most from her time at MI6. The profiling, the pressure points, the chase, the game. She felt somewhat at home again.

The beaming smile burst onto her features as she turned to corner and came face to face with her early morning coffee companion.

"You didn't call" Sherlock was leant against the wall, arm outstretched with his phone display showing 'No Calls'.

She shrugged "I didn't need you" she replied, her face still demonstrating what she felt had been an already successful morning. She walked past him placing her hands into her deep pockets, the change that was meant for the coffees still there. "Oops. Need to pay for the coffees"

"No need" Sherlock joined in her upbeat pace and smiled down at her. "I'm used to having to pick up your bills"

She laughed at his response. "If I bought my own coffees, I wouldn't have been able to afford this wonderful coat" She nudged him in the side as they seamlessly weaved their way around the bustling crowd that occupied the street. "Lucky thing too, it is chilly this morning" With that, she felt the subtle droplets of rain that were threatening to pour down upon them. "Typical British weather" she muttered, hunching her shoulders slightly. The bright morning was being overcome by darkened clouds. Olivia wasn't about to let it sour her mood. She slipped her arm around her brothers, walking with a slightly brisker pace.

"The file?" Sherlock asked as he too picked up the pace.

"He has it" Olivia replied, wrinkling her nose to remove the rain drop had landed on the bridge of her nose.

"He bought the act?" His tone slightly dubious

"Either that or he's been practicing his poker face – I don't know anymore" Olivia shrugged and held tighter to Sherlock's arm.

She really had missed him. Six years was a long time to be without the only person in the world that truly understood you. Surviving was easy but when you were doomed to hide part of who you were to all those that you encountered meant that you were never really able to live. Yes, she had always loved her job, going undercover, taking on some well-developed identity and working the intelligence for her country, but it was tiring and sometimes she was sure that she would lose herself completely one day. That's where Sherlock had always been invaluable. He was her totem.

As she lost herself in her thoughts, she had not realized that they had walked straight onto Baker Street, until Sherlock unhooked his arm from her own to open the door. Olivia stood dead still and shot her brother a curious look. "I don't think this is a good idea Sherlock"

Her turned towards her and smiled. "It's raining. Come in and grab an umbrella at least" He said opening the door and making his way up the stairs.

Rolling her eyes, she followed suit, sure that this would be a bad idea. Mycroft was probably staking out the house for any chance that she would be stupid enough to go there. As luck would have it, it was less than 24 hours since she had been in the country and she had already committed two stupid acts. As she stepped upon the small corridor that lead into the main room, she saw Sherlock standing, looking over to the left hand side, his eyebrows burrowed. He turned to look towards her, his expression changing to one more apologetic. Before Olivia could even contemplate asking what was wrong, a familiar spoke.

"Did I not explicitly say to stay away from him?"

Olivia slowly made her way into the living room to stand before the man sat leisurely in one of the arm chairs by the fire. Looking to Sherlock and back to the man she began to feel sick. The elated feeling had been consumed by the nervous predisposition that came with being in the same room as Mycroft Holmes.

"You're an arse" She whispered, looking towards Sherlock, who stood silent next to her.

"Don't blame Sherlock. He wasn't to know." Mycroft defended, leaning his umbrella against the fireplace before gesturing her to take a seat in front of him. "I knew he'd want that bloody phone back, so I tagged it months ago hoping to find any inclination that The Woman was still alive. Little did I know he'd give it straight to you" He smiled the most genuine smile she'd ever seen, sucking her elation further. She noticed Sherlock's eyes twitch in frustration. Mycroft had 'beaten' him again.

"I wasn't talking to Sherlock" She spat, slumping herself in the armchair, crossing her arms across her chest in a child-like manner "Come to drag me away again? This time, make sure you are the one holding the gun to my head at the airport" she mimicked a gun to her head and pulled the imaginary trigger.

"Oh come on Olivia. Don't be like that. It's Christmas time after all" His tone was bored but his gestures showed nerves. She watched as he rubbed his thumb across his fingertips, avoiding her gaze. "Anyway, I'm not here to send you away, yet"

"Mycroft…" Sherlock began.

"Sit down Sherlock. I will get to you later" Reluctantly, Sherlock followed the instructions and sat upon the sofa opposite them.

Olivia continued to stare at the man in front of her, years of resentment threatening to bubble to the surface. She had already noticed the letter opener on the side and knew that she'd be quick enough to grab it and stab it in the neck of the man before her before he had a chance to realize what was happening – but curiosity bubbled to the surface first. "Then what do you want?"

Mycroft finally looked towards her and she knew immediately the nature of his request.

"No. I'm not doing it" She refused his silent request and pushed herself up out of the chair and hopped over to the kitchen in search of any caffeinated beverages. She opened the cupboard to see a series of beakers with what she suspected to be sulfuric acid in them, which she noted mentally as being another possible cause of death for the man still sat, pompously in the armchair looking towards her.

"You must." He merely replied

"You have the entire agency – get them to do it. Or better still, you do it" She spat

"You know I don't do the dirty work Olivia. And besides, it has to be you"

The preparation of her sarcastic retort was interrupted. "Sherlock, you there?" The sound of an unfamiliar voice coming from stairwell was a lucky distraction for Olivia as she continued to rummage through the cupboards, stumbling upon a bottle of 2011 Sicilian Merlot – not the best vintage but it might do.

Although she could not see Sherlock from her current position, she heard him raise himself from the sofa and walk towards the door to the corridor. There, through the kitchen entrance she saw him, his face just as apologetic as before. From that look she knew that he had expected Mycroft to be in the flat and had walked her right into the wolves' den. Why exactly, she had yet to work out, but she would find out sooner or later.

"Oh Sorry, I didn't know you had company" The man glanced in towards the kitchen and smiled at her with a knowing smile and a cheeky glint in his eye.

"This…" He guided his friend into the kitchen, avoiding eye contact "…is Olivia"

"Hi, Olivia" He said his smile growing as he entered the room with his hand extended. "It's lovely to meet you. I'm John"

Olivia had imagined the moment that she actually met this John Watson for years and it definitely wasn't like this. She took his hand in her own and went to speak, however, she saw his eyes move towards the sound of Mycroft raising himself from the armchair.

"John" he spoke curtly, buttoning his suit jacket before grabbing his umbrella and making his way into the kitchen.

"Mycroft" John replied, confused.

Mycroft ignored the man's confusion and stood before the youngest Holmes. "Here is the file, Olivia. I expect to hear from you by the end of today" He placed the tamperproof file on the only free space on the corner of the cluttered countertop. "And stay off the wine" He added with a sense of exasperation. He nodded to the other gentlemen before taking his leave.

"Arse" Olivia muttered, bottle of red still gripped tightly in her hand. She contemplated whether if she threw it at the corner of the kitchen door, the base of the bottle would ricochet down the stair well and hit the pompous prick in the back of the head. It was a possibility – but the shattering glass would cover the tall man that still stood staring at the kitchen floor. "That was meant for you too" she spoke, placing the wine bottle back in the cupboard, her fingers rolling into frustrated fists.

"ummm… Sherlock? Care to explain?" John Watson stood nervously, glancing from his friend to the woman he obviously didn't have a clue about. Olivia couldn't help but feel a tinge of anger in the pit of her stomach. He had never mentioned her to John.

"Yes Sherlock. Do explain." She turned and leant against her arms on the counter. She raised her eyebrows in anticipation, awaiting the fumbling explanation that was to come.

"John, this is my sister." He spoke, matter-of-factly.

"Sister?" His surprise confirmed her earlier thought. "You never mentioned a sister? What? We've been friends for years! How do I not know this?!" His eyes were wide, glancing from her to Sherlock and back again.

"It never came up in conversation" Olivia and Sherlock both said in unison, surprising both men.

"You are devilishly predictable Sherlock" Olivia whispered, the same exasperation Mycroft had exhibited seeping into her voice. "But even I am surprised you pulled this one off" She pushed herself off the side and reached out to snatch the file from the counter as she pushed passed Sherlock and descended the staircase.

"Why are you leaving?" Sherlock asked, the un-expectancy of her departure apparent in his voice.

"For the same reason you never bothered to tell your best friend about me" She shouted up the stairs. "Because you are an arse!"

Olivia slammed the door behind her and welcomed the rain fall, slipping the second file she'd handled for the day inside her coat.

She took a moment to contemplate the start to her day. It wasn't surprising that it had taken this particular turn, especially when she was surrounded by whom she deemed maniacs. How she thought that it would have gone any other way was beyond her comprehension, but it was the way it was. She had dangled herself like a bait to the big fish and it had apparently worked - then she was caught in Mycrofts net once more. She snarled as she pulled her coat tighter around her and began walking along the street. She just needed to find a safe place to sit and read the mission report Mycroft had handed to her.

Wonder who he wants me to kill today?