"Since it's being hand delivered from Switzerland it will take at least a day and a half to arrive but I will be legally alive again by next week"
"Why so long to arrive?, I would think they would fly straight into London"
"They have their reasons Watson"
"I see, you have an understanding with them that I don't with you having been in their employment don't you?"
"Yes"
"It also helps that as he worked closer with me this time he knows how things go regarding the British government and documents of this nature coming to them from a foreign government"
"True, I remember one time...well that is neither her nor there and there are some things that you can't know about even now Watson"
"Even if since your supposed death I have gained the needed security clearance to know?"
"What?"
"John works for the British government Sherlock, though not many people know that since he's primarily considered a police consultant still"
"When did this happen?"
"A few months after I started working regularly with the police force again and pulled myself out of my grief. I went to your brother about expanding my ability to work with the government and after some paperwork and interviews, including one with the King I might add I became a government agent under Mycroft's control"
"I was actually surprised that the King would want to interview John actually, I later learned why he wanted to interview him but that is between John and the King and if they want to speak of it they can but do not press him on it Sherlock. In any case though once he became an agent under my authority I have mainly kept him doing what he's been doing since you two became consultants with the police after reuniting with everyone again, with the occasional jobs that required his higher security"
"Which is a good thing quite honestly because sometimes...well that's something I won't speak of ever to you Sherlock"
"Understood Lestrade"
"Still, that does mean I can know why it will take so long for the forms to come here, one would think the Swiss government would be glad to help get you declared alive as fast as was humanly possible"
"They do but...documents like this are too important to be lost in the mail or even trusted over dedicated government lines between world governments and so a human courier is used and while normally they would fly straight to London Switzerland has their reasons for taking the longer route"
"Reasons you don't wish to discuss with me"
"More like I can't...look John I signed paperwork that calls for silence regarding certain things including how the government works on certain situations, and I can't explain even to my home government without explicit permission from the Swiss government. I may have signed that paperwork when I was under a different name but on the way home I agreed to continue being a consultant for the Swiss government if they should have need of my skills and thus there might be times I can't talk about my work with you"
"Understood Sherlock I won't ask you to break confidence just like I can't regarding certain things unless you join me in working for the British government at the level that I do"
"I know, Mycroft can tell you just how many times I've backed off in the past whenever I've asked him about his job and he said he couldn't tell me"
"It's true, he does back off if he's told he's not allowed to know what's going on"
"In any case though it will still be a few days before I can be legally declared alive again so we might as well figure something out to keep me from being bored due to the fact that the Swiss government told me in no uncertain terms that I have to be legally alive again before I work with them once more"
"Hm...that's going to be difficult considering the legal issues we'd come across if you helped with a case while legally dead Sherlock"
"I'm not asking for police files Lestrade, surely you have coworkers who work on at least halfway decent mind puzzles on occasion for whatever reason"
"Good point actually, I'll see what I can do to get those puzzles to you until you can work again"
"Thanks"
Ultimately the paperwork got delayed due to a storm and thus it took two and a half weeks for the paperwork that would get Sherlock declared alive to arrive at Buckingham palace, and as luck would have it Sherlock was at the palace with his brother the day the paperwork arrived due to the fact that the King wanted to talk to Mycroft and Sherlock together regarding if Sherlock would also be a government agent like John once he was legally declared alive again.
"Your Majesty, someone at the gate with a message stating that even though you aren't to receive visitors today he is requesting an audience with you due to urgent government business that we guards are unaware of"
"I see, I think I have an idea of what is going on so escort them here immediately"
The person is brought in and as taught ignores the two people beside the King.
"Your majesty, I have documents that have come all the way from Switzerland regarding one of your subjects, I also apologize for the lateness of the documents though I had little choice but to wait for the weather to clear enough for safe passage to England"
"I know about the weather and as such do not accept nor require your apologizes for being late because of something we have no control over. I will however now accept those documents that you have carefully borne until now"
The person hands over the envelope that they were carrying and the King breaks the seal and quickly sees that everything was in order to get one Sherlock Holmes legally declared alive again. There were even a few documents that were ultimately unnecessary but had been added as a precautionary measure due to the extremely unconventional nature of what had happened to Sherlock and the fact that he'd been working as a Swiss consultant under a different name for a time. When the King saw the unnecessary documents he privately approved of the precautions that the Swiss government were taking and decided to take those documents for himself to read over since he wanted to know what one of his subjects had been up to since their apparent death two and a half years earlier.
"I shall have the paperwork filed immediately, thank you for your work courier, you can go home and tell the Swiss government that this shall be handled immediately"
Once the courier left Sherlock went in front of the King knowing that he had to do so instinctively.
"Sherlock Holmes, once this paperwork is filed I shall have it fast tracked so that by the weekend you are legally declared alive, however this does not mean I am imposing a time limit on your decision to become a government agent for Me, this is always a personal decision and could in fact clash with your work with the Swiss government if you decide to become a British agent"
"I know and I have yet to make a decision one way or the other your Majesty, this choice has too many consequences to make in just one day"
"Good, you are dismissed for what I have to say next is not for your ears due to the fact that you are not a government agent"
Sherlock gives his obedience and actually goes back to his apartment knowing that the meeting that John and his brother had with the King could last several hours depending on what exactly they were discussing. As it would turn out he would be correct and John wouldn't get back until late evening even though the meeting started late in the morning but before any lunch would be ready.
"I'm back Sherlock"
"Welcome back, was the meeting fruitful?"
"In that we got certain issues handled before they became more problematic then yes"
"Good to hear, I'm just waiting for confirmation that I am legally alive again and then I will fill out the paperwork that Lestrade gave me to become a police consultant again. I will of course also talk with the Swiss government and decide if I should become a British government agent as well"
"I think you need that quite honestly, oh not the British government work, but the police work, that you need"
"True I do need it, fortunately working for the Swiss government has helped since I came out of the coma"
"I'm glad for that Sherlock"
"Same here"
As promised by the King, Sherlock was declared legally alive by the weekend and as soon as it was confirmed he went straight to Scotland Yard and filled out the needed forms to become a police consultant once more. Lestrade and the others knew that until he figured out the rest that was all he was going to do since Sherlock needed time to decide whether or not he would become a British government agent or remain an agent for the Swiss government.
"So Sherlock, how does it feel to be able to work with us again?"
"It feels good, I just wish..."
"I know, so do I, but we both know what they would have wanted, it's why..."
"It's why you continued on after Reichenbach"
"Exactly, because all of us who remember knew that you would want us to continue our work on taking down Moriarty's group"
"Indeed, because while I killed Moriarty..."
"His group was still very much alive and active, we've been taking them down little by little ever since that day"
"Sometimes with my discreet help of course but...I do understand where you're coming from"
"Yes we were told about that little hint that should have alerted us to the possibility of you being alive but because you somehow disguised your handwriting we didn't"
"I had my reasons for that Lestrade, now then is there any case for me to work on at the moment?"
"Yes actually, it's one that has confounded several of us for the past year or so, and yes that includes the core group of us"
"I see"
"By the way, my superior's know about us"
"How exactly do they know about us? I mean what all do they know?"
"That we're reincarnated people with memories of the past, basically everything Sherlock"
"Very well then, at least...at least you've had support during this time"
"Yes, that has helped at least"
"So, what exactly is this case that has confounded the best the Yard has for a year?"
"We believe we have a serial killer on the loose, but every time we get an apparent lead, that lead goes cold and we're floundering to try and solve the murder before another one happens. We have no pattern to go by to help us Sherlock"
"And of course you believe, and potentially quite right as well, that a fresh set of eyes might give you the break you need"
"Exactly"
"Very well then, let me see every file you suspect to be from the serial killer and I'll get started, however don't expect fast results"
"Oh I know"
"Where's a room where I can work? I also wonder if you've had Watson working on this situation as well"
"They have Sherlock and I haven't gotten very far either"
"I see, then this case must be extremely difficult, I will let you know soon enough if I have any leads"
"Thanks Sherlock"
Sherlock would spend the next two months going over the files that were potentially connected through a serial killer in between other cases. During those two months he would also receive word from the Swiss government that through a special agreement with the King he could, if he so chose to, be a government agent for both Great Britain and Switzerland, which he decided would be for the best as a precaution. Finally though after two months Sherlock was ready to talk to everyone who had worked on the cases that were suspected to involve a serial killer.
"You do indeed have a serial killer and I have actually detected two potentially three different patterns"
Lestrade sighs at that
"And we were having issues finding one pattern"
"It's not your fault Lestrade, I only realized it because I have seen it before in files I was given from the Swiss government for other cases they had me consulting on"
"Oh okay, but wait how come the Swiss government never gave us similar police files when we asked for them?"
"Simple Lestrade, not only are the cases a more recent development they honestly thought that they weren't related to your requests"
"I guess that makes sense then"
"Sherlock what are the patterns that were missed?"
"The first pattern that was missed was the fact that the crimes happened on or around the full moon, the second pattern is the period where the victims were born, more specifically their zodiac signs"
"Wait, but their birthdays are all different, as are their zodiac signs aren't they?"
"Not quite Lestrade, for some reason he's killing people who's signs are Pisces, Cancer, Virgo, and Sagittarius and as you already know the ages vary and yet that in itself might be a pattern because of the age range"
"Genders vary too, but knowing about the zodiac sign thing might just break the case, unfortunately it also means we're going to have to give him the code name of zodiac killer, at least for now in the office"
"The public isn't to get word of this name are they?"
"No they aren't, we don't need to start causing a panic"
"Okay then, at least we'll know that there's a leak if it's suddenly in the papers that we have a serial killer going by that name"
"Agreed"
"For now though there are other cases we need to deal with and...something came for you by courier Sherlock and it appears it's from Switzerland"
"I'll take it in your office Lestrade"
"That's what I figured you would do"
"It's in your office already isn't it?"
"Yes, it is"
"Very well then, unless I can tell you later this has to stay private"
"We know Sherlock, John sometimes gets work sent to my office since he's a police consultant"
"I'll let you know when I'm done then"
"Thanks, in the meantime we'll work on a couple of other cases and see what we can do with the serial killer case now that we have patterns to look for, see if we can't predict when the next attack might be"
"Very well, Lestrade do you have another office besides our friends for your use if needed?"
"Yes that's covered Sherlock"
"Then I have no worries using your office"
Sherlock would ultimately be in the office for two hours while Lestrade and the others worked on easier cases that needed resolved due to orders from their superior's. Once he was out of his office Sherlock went straight to the group with obvious paperwork.
"Sign this and everyone here is, at least temporarily, allowed to be considered a consultant for the Swiss government."
"Sherlock?"
"Apparently the Swiss government has gotten wind of you guys and the fact that all of us are reincarnated. They want to work together with all of us to try and see if we can't solve the case that is the serial killer case"
"What for Sherlock?"
"It's possibly related to the child case you're on Lestrade"
"I see, what makes them think that anyways? I also want to know how they know about that case"
"They know about the case because of His Majesty, and the reason why His Majesty revealed the information to Switzerland in the first place is because they are starting to see signs of child trafficking in their borders"
"And they are asking other countries if they have any similar cases with similar profiles to try and see if the criminals are operating any where's else"
"Correct"
"That makes sense then"
"By the way while it isn't exactly public knowledge that you're a government agent for Great Britain it's officially known now that you are working regularly with Scotland Yard in an official capacity again"
"Oh?"
"Yes, read this and you'll see"
SCOTLAND YARD ANNOUNCES SECOND CONSULTANT
After rumors being heard over the past three days by news reporters regularly in contact with officers in Scotland Yard it has been confirmed that as of yesterday afternoon Scotland Yard has for the past two months or so officially had two consultants for their cases. As has already been reported when the news first broke fairly recently, Sherlock Holmes is a well known consultant for the Scotland Yard who, despite being reported dead two and a half years earlier, was actually very much alive and simply unable to return home for a time. Everyone believed that he was not going to go back to being a consultant due to the reasons behind his supposed death but apparently that was not to be. As far as our sources can tell us...
"Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later"
"True, and so far it appears that no one realizes that you work for the actual government, nor do they realize that you are working for the Swiss government as well"
"When that is revealed it isn't going to be pleasant"
"True, but it will also most likely be a controlled reveal"
"Good point"
"In any case though, like I said, if you sign the paperwork you'll be considered temporary consultants for the Swiss government. However you still won't have the clearance that I do with them, and there was something else that I need to work on for them in the envelope that you can't know about"
"Understood, if needed can John or the King know?"
"Not this time"
"They going to be angry about that?"
"No because they knew exactly what they were asking for, the King especially when the agreement was made to allow me to be a consultant for both countries at the same time"
"I see, well in the meantime I for one am willing to sign the paperwork so long as it's approved by both governments"
"Oh it is, I read the paperwork first as a precaution and it reads like the paperwork I had to sign to become a consultant for both countries, just with a more solidified timeline...well somewhat more solidified timeline"
"Because we can't know how long it will take to take care of the case"
"Precisely"
"In any case though once you sign it I can read you in further regarding Switzerland's case regarding child trafficking"
"Doesn't it take time to process the paperwork though Sherlock?"
"Yes, but I'm following specific instructions given to me in the same envelope that had the paperwork for you guys"
"I see, well in any case let's sign the paperwork and then start working on the trafficking case because it really might be related to the case I'm working on"
As it would turn out Lestrade was correct in that Switzerland's child trafficking case was related to his own child case and after three months the case was solved, but that case being solved would bring about a new case and emotional pain. This is because the group found out that while the ring that they had taken down was a major ring in both countries and needed to be dealt with there was another person behind the scenes acting with the group, and a picture had been taken of the suspected leader