"Okay you can handle the situation alright, but again if you need to leave suddenly give us the prearranged signal and we'll take over"
"Yes sir"
"And remember while we aren't paying you since this is a Swiss government job you are to act like you always do and be professional"
"I will be I promise"
"Very well, then we'll let you finish your shift"
And so Sherlock continued doing his normal day job while knowing his pay would be coming from the Swiss government this time around since it was an official request by a Swiss government agent. He would spend the next month simply waiting and hoping for word about the missing Swiss agent and their informant when finally he overheard a conversation that gave him a much needed lead.
"So, have you found the location of the map yet?"
"No and you know better than to speak of such things in public"
"But Jason..."
"No, now then finish your food and then we're going to go to your apartment to finish this conversation"
"Still aren't you interested in trying to break that Swiss agent?"
"Again Jason your apartment"
And so after the two finish eating they pay their tab and start to leave while Sherlock gives the boss the signal that he needed to leave so as to do his job for the Swiss government. And he trails the two extremely carefully to an apartment.
"Right I think I know what I am doing next"
And with that he quickly contacts the Swiss government agent who had requested his help on the mission. And two hours later the agent was at Sherlock's location.
"What's going on?"
"I have a very solid lead on where your missing agent and possibly their contact are"
"Oh?"
"At my other job I overheard a conversation and tailed the two that were having said conversation, they're in that apartment building on the second floor second window that now has blinds and curtains down"
"I see, still I don't have enough evidence for a search warrant from the local authorities"
"Somehow I'll legally get you that evidence"
"Thanks, let's just hope our agent is still alive by the time you get that evidence"
"Don't worry I'll be quick about it I promise"
"Thanks"
And so Sherlock quickly gets to work gathering enough legally obtained evidence needed for a much needed search warrant for the apartment that the Swiss government agent needed access to. As it turned out most of the evidence needed was already legally gathered due to the fact that his main job had recently started recording video and audio of the entire store for safety reasons and his bosses were quite happy to use that evidence to help the Swiss government recover their agent. The rest of the evidence that needed legally gathered was gathered through the fact that one of the two people that had taken the Swiss government agent actually gave Sherlock the evidence thinking he would be a one time courier for a threatening note to the Swiss government as extra money that he could never get at his normal job.
"You're kidding me"
"What is it?"
"Did you even read the note?"
"No, at least I didn't dare when I thought that they could watch me, what is it?"
"Along with the evidence gathered at your other job they just gave you the final piece that will allow me to go to the authorities here and ask for not only a warrant for that location but also help with raiding it as well"
"Okay, that's unexpected"
"Agreed, but a big help ultimately"
"Indeed, shall we go then?"
"Not tonight unfortunately, it's too late to get anything done"
"Understood"
The two go to sleep and then early the next day the Swiss agent presents his argument for the search warrant on the apartment where the missing Swiss agent and possibly their informants was being held. Between all the evidence gathered and the arguments given the German government agreed to help the Swiss agent recover his comrade.
"You've convinced us, however while we approve of the raid and will loan you the officers of this city the raid will not take place during the day like you wish"
"May I know why?"
"Safety reasons primarily agent, that area is known to officers for being notoriously dangerous to raid during daytime hours"
"Understood, I can accept that reason, in fact am I allowed to do some training with the officers planned to do the raid?"
"You may"
"Thanks"
The Swiss government agent got in two hours of training with the officers that would be involved with the raid and then did other things that were needed before the raid was to take place. Finally though it was time for the raid and fortunately the raid went as smoothly as it possibly could with known armed enemies in the compound they were raiding.
"Hey buddy, you're safe, we're getting you and your informant to the hospital to get checked out and then once you're medically cleared we'll talk"
"Have...information..."
"Not right now buddy, heal first then give us the information, besides we might already be acting on it without realizing that you'd also gathered the same information before we did"
The ambulance arrived soon afterwords and the Swiss agent that had brought Sherlock in informed him that the other Swiss agent and their informant were alive and being taken to the hospital.
"I understand, shall I tell my job I can return to normal duties and you can work out the consulting fee once you're assured of your fellow agent's status?"
"Yes, that might be for the best actually"
"Then I shall do that tomorrow since my shift is done for the day"
"I see, I still want you to be careful though in case we didn't catch everyone tonight"
"Very well, I shall await word on your fellow agents status once you deem it appropriate to tell me"
"Once I know one way or the other you'll know, and don't worry you won't be punished for not finding him sooner, I doubt we would have found him without your help and skills in the first place, at least not alive and with a chance of survival. If needed I will fight my superior's if they try and prosecute you or give you bad jobs as a consultant in retaliation for what has happened to my fellow agent, but no one can be touched regarding the agent's informant because those are kept secret whenever possible for a reason"
"I know and I don't begrudge you for not telling me more about the informant, but if I may request it, can I also know the status of the informant?"
"That will be up to my fellow agent"
"Very well"
The next day Sherlock informed his primary job that his consulting job was finished for the moment so they could continue his pay for doing his job as normal.
"Thanks for informing us of this, do you know the status of the people you were asked to help?"
"Not really, but I doubt that there would be news this soon in the first place considering what my job ultimately was this time"
"Very well, depending on what type of news you receive you're allowed to leave early"
"Thanks"
Two days later and the Swiss agent who came to him in the first place showed up at Sherlock's apartment and Sherlock could tell that the news wasn't entirely good.
"What's wrong?"
"The informant is in a coma that's medically induced and the doctors state that they could lose him at any time. My fellow agent isn't much better in regards to the fact that he's also in a medically induced coma, though his chances of survival are greater than his informants at the moment"
"I see, when will we know more about their situation?"
"It could be a while"
"Understood"
Sherlock simply goes back to his normal job when a week later he gets called to the Swiss embassy and since his primary job knew of his status as a consultant for the Swiss government they thought nothing of it to let him go to the embassy immediately with the escort that had arrived at his job to inform him of the summons.
"You called for me?"
"Yes the informant for our agent has died, as for our agent it turns out he got an infection that the doctors did their best to treat however..."
"He's dead, isn't he?"
"Yes, he died of complications from his injuries late last night, we were of course informed immediately"
"I understand, what next?"
"Well first of all let me assure you that what our agent told you is true and you're not being charged with anything regarding our agent's death. However we do want your help in trying to find the rest of the people connected to the two we arrested who had our agent and his informant captured"
"What for?"
"They implied during their interrogation that the organization is bigger than initially expected and as such we need your help in finding them"
"Understood"
"The problem is we don't know where to start, plus you have your regular job which we don't want to take you away from"
"I know that you don't want to take me away from the job that is my primary means of supporting myself but you might have to in the end"
"We'll hold off on that as long as possible though, as such simply keep doing what you're doing until we call for you, and in the meantime we'll start the search"
"Understood"
"And don't forget, if needed come to us immediately and we'll give you sanctuary"
"I know"
"Well for now you have work to return to so we'll let you get back to it"
"Indeed I do"
And so Sherlock leaves the embassy and quickly goes back to work at his normal job with the knowledge that some day he would be forced to leave to return to England and his friends and family, but he also knew that would have to wait until it was safer, either that or something important came up that he would be better off being part of on the front lines in England.
"So, what was that all about anyways?"
"Sorry boss, it's private and not something that will affect us probably"
"Understood"
"In the meantime though I think we might be getting a visit from more Swiss government agents but this time I think they'll primarily be looking for you"
"Why?"
"I'm not going to explain that one, the only thing I will say is that you shouldn't be too worried about it"
"If you're sure"
"I'm positive"
What Sherlock was keeping private on the request of the Swiss government was the fact that his job was about to receive a huge paycheck from said government for their part on helping find their agent because what no one knew, not even Sherlock or the agent who came to him, was that the Swiss government had posted a reward for any information about the missing agent or his informant. Because Sherlock's job had given vital information that led to the arrest of those who captured their agent Sherlock's job was being given half of the reward money while the hospital was being given the other half, though for the hospital it wasn't just because of the care they were giving their agent currently, the money had been planned for quite some time but unfortunately no real opportunity to present it had come up until then.
"So, when will this meeting happen anyways?"
"That I'm not sure of actually"
A week later and they got their answer via a phone call from the agent that had asked for Sherlock's help in the first place.
"First of all, my fellow agent has been released from the hospital and is being sent home, his informant actually survived his injuries as well and is being offered a home in Switzerland for the work he's done for the Swiss government"
"Wait, I was told that they both died from their injuries"
"That was a necessary ruse to protect the two of them while they were in critical condition and attempts were made on their lives the second day they were in the hospital"
"I see, what about the fact that the informant is a German citizen?"
"Actually it was Germany who suggested that we take their citizen to Switzerland in the first place for their own safety if nothing else"
"Ah, in a way that makes sense, but does this mean that the citizen will lose his German citizenship and thus become a Swiss citizen?"
"Not...exactly, it's a bit more complicated than that I'm afraid"
"How so?"
"He'll be deemed a German refugee with the right to become a Swiss citizen after five years if he so chooses, though even if he never becomes a Swiss citizen because of his circumstances he'll be granted almost all the same rights as a Swiss citizen if he should be forced to remain after five years"
"I see, is there another reason for this phone call besides the update?"
"Yes actually, tell your bosses it's this Saturday at the hospital"
"Understood"
Sherlock hangs up and explains to his bosses that the Swiss government wanted to meet them at the hospital that their agent had been treated at.
"What for?"
"Hm, they simply told me that's where you need to be, I don't know the exact reasons why"
"Understood, did they explain why it was happening on Saturday?"
"Nope they just said that you should be at the hospital on Saturday"
"Very well, by the way since you're interested in news regarding England we saw this in the news and decided to bring the paper here for you to read since for some reason you never get the newspaper at your place"
As soon as he sees the title of the article Sherlock instantly clamps down on his instinct to call either his brother or any of the officers that he knew since calling them would destroy everything he was currently working for in regards to their safety. Once he calms down slightly he fully reads the article and is relieved that no one else he'd personally known was lost in regards to lives taken though Lestrade had been injured and the Yard was in need of repairs but overall there were no deaths just injuries reported and the fact that the investigation into the explosion was currently ongoing since it had only been two days since it had happened.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine"
"Fine, but if you act off again we're taking you off shift for the day"
"It's okay, just a minor shock in the news but I'll be fine I promise"
"Our decision stands"
"Understood"
Sherlock gets his emotions under control and works his entire shift. Eventually Saturday came and that's when the bar received their half of the reward money from the Swiss government while the hospital received their half of the reward money.
"Wait, but...how is there reward money available when it was never stated in public that you were giving a reward money for information that lead to your agent or the capture of the one's who took your agent and their informant?"
"Plus, why give the hospital some of that reward money when we simply did what we always do which is treat the injured who come here?"
"Actually that money for the hospital is money we've been meaning to give you for a while now but haven't been able to until now, as for why there was no notice of reward money, well the German government knew about it but agreed that it was too dangerous to make public except in certain circles and thus helped us keep the reward money thing hidden"
"That actually makes sense"
"Then we accept this money with thanks"
"As does the hospital"
Life continues as normal when suddenly Sherlock was forced into hiding because of the fact that he was witness to a crime and the people behind the crime were part of the mafia.
"This isn't good mister"
"Hey I didn't know about them being mafia members"
"We know, but now we have to keep you hidden and alive somehow until the trial"
Sherlock thinks about it and then speaks up
"I could request temporary asylum at the Swiss embassy and stay there until the trial since I doubt you want me leaving the country"
"You sure you can do that?"
"Yes I'm sure I can do that"
"Very well then, but we're sending a note with you to explain the full situation so that they don't take you out of the country in an attempt to protect you from the German government through misunderstanding"
"Very well"
And so later that day Sherlock was in the Swiss embassy for asylum purposes so that he could be safe until the trial of the criminals connected to the mafia were taken care of. With the note explaining the circumstances the Swiss embassy immediately granted Sherlock temporary asylum and made sure that a room was available for him immediately where he could stay until the trial was over and it was confirmed he was no longer in any danger living at his apartment once more.