Author's Note: Thanks for the awesome reviews guys, it makes me so happy :). A few notes about this chapter before you read it. It was supposed to be double the length but my mum broke her arm last weekend so while studying for exams next week and meetings at work I've had to do double if not triple the amount of housework. So… What I decided to do is split my idea into two chapters. Don't worry, it won't feel like a cliff hanger and you won't be left wondering what will happen since they feel like two separate ideas anyway. So it's short and not everything I wanted it to be, I hope you like it nonetheless. Please read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own Sherlock. The show is the baby of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, while Sherlock Holmes itself is the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle.
The First Time She Met Mr. Vernet
Anthea and Mycroft were not pleased to be invited to this meeting, because invited meant they were dragged and forced to go. There were always meetings they hated to go to but being forced to go to one on a topic you used to be in charge of and only recently had it torn out of your hands. Well, Mycroft and Anthea were not the types to forgive or forget and this time they were planning to hold a grudge.
Yes, the meeting was apparently on Sherrinford. James had recently began training the new governor and most likely this meeting was about new protocols and further training. They didn't know Anthea knew hardly anything about Sherrinford and no doubt she and Mycroft had been invited due to their expertise. Mycroft had practice as both a professional and a family member of a prisoner/patient.
The only saving grace for Anthea was that James was going to be there and had requested to bring Carol as his second in command and a better listener than him. It felt like they had a team going in. While the rest of PALL might be talking down to them, MI6 had their back, and the acting governor would know better than to show Mycroft how anything other than respect. If he didn't James would have worked it into him with a good lecture and intimidation.
Anthea and Mycroft were sitting next to each other in the boardroom. The meeting hadn't even begun and Anthea was feeling light headed and bored. Mycroft informed her that it was the fast walk they took to the office and something about her changing blood volume. Anthea said her body was preparing to be bored and rude in the meeting. He smirked at that.
Next to Mycroft were two empty seats. Across the table, in front of Anthea was Carol, and face to face with Mycroft was James. The governor sat at the head of the table. In the two seats next to the agents were Porlock and Langdale. The other head of the table was empty. Anthea assumed they were waiting on Lady Smallwood. She had nothing to do with Sherrinford unless she was asked so it seemed a little strange to Anthea. Porlock and Langdale were both given Mycroft's duties over Sherrinford. Mycroft had already made a remark about two men needing to do his job when they received the phone call about the meeting in the first place. At the very least it would be interesting to see how they were handling it. Maybe Lady Smallwood was only invited to play mediator between the two men and Team Mycroft.
"Would you gentlemen care to tell me why I am here?" Mycroft smiled sarcastically at his two peers. "Surely I have not been summoned to babysit two fully capable men do my job." The chuckle that followed was like poison to those on the opposition. The two mean gave each other a look.
"You're not the only one here, Mr. Holmes." Porlock answered with equal levels of false niceties. It was always intriguing when there was a conflict going on between the members of PALL. It was always under the surface and hardly ever explicitly said. Anthea loved it and she often wondered if it played out similarly in other groups with powerful people filling it. "We are acquiring advice from experts on the prison before make decisions on new protocol for staff." Anthea quirked an eyebrow and looked at Mycroft. He looked at her at the exact same time, sharing the same thought with each other.
"So yes, sir." Anthea hummed. "You are babysitting them doing your job."
"Quite so." Mycroft mirrored Anthea's expression as he looked at his colleague. James, looking bored, flicked something across the desk. Carol glared at him. Mycroft sat up in his chair. "So what are we waiting on, then gentlemen? Shall we begin?"
"Mr. Holmes." Porlock spoke again, "We are still waiting for our other requested guest to arrive." James perked up. He looked at Carol, the governor, then to Porlock.
"What other expert is there?" He asked with a naivety native to James. "I mean, the only other one I could think of shot his own brains out." He turned to Mycroft and added "Sorry" for bringing up the memory. Mycroft's nose twitched but he waved James off. Langdale looked at Mycroft with curiosity.
"You mean he didn't tell you?" He seemed less interested in the subtextual snipes than their colleague. Mycroft's aura grew cold.
"If you're talking about who I think you're talking about then I stopped taking his calls a few years ago." Mycroft answered in a low growl. Anthea briefly had questions but an image of an unopened letter from Uncle Rudy came to mind. That was before all this. Anthea turned her head sharply to silently question James and Carol. James didn't react but Carol gave a small nod with raised eyebrows. She was thinking the same thing but she didn't know for sure. "Needless to say," The genius continued. "There was no point. He's been retired, living with his far younger boyfriend near the coast, for eons now. His views on Sherrinford are extremely outdated. You ask him and he'll have no clue what half the new security measures are."
The meeting door was pushed open. In walked Lady Smallwood, looking downright annoyed, and an elderly gentlemen. He had a pretty face – not handsome – but better described as beautiful. Soft, sweet and gentle for a man from the shadows. If he were who Anthea thought he was he absolutely looked like his sister. He had those same sharp hawk eyes. If Anthea remembered correctly that man was not a genius. Extremely gifted but just a few IQ points off being a genius. He was apparently talented in a few areas and could rival his sister in them but not in everything.
"Lady Smallwood." Porlock spluttered. He and Langdale appeared surprised to see her. Everyone at the table stood up.
"Surprised to see me?" She asked, sly and as dark as Mycroft could get. "Had I not run into Mr. Vernet than I wouldn't have known about this little meeting in the slightest." She looked around the table. Mycroft gave the two men a tired look. Anthea didn't care about that. She had just heard Violet's maiden name and gotten her confirmation. The secretive, cross dressing uncle. Two kids of his own, apparently a young partner, and the reason Mycroft had such secrets. This pretty faced gentleman was the one who decided to tell Eurus' family she was dead. He was also the man that Carol had described as brutal during her agent training. How interesting.
"You mustn't keep secrets from the Lady, gentlemen." Rudy's voice was smooth as silk. "Cracks will form in your organisation. Sides will be taken and people other than you will suffer for it." Mycroft sniffed in contention and pulled on his cufflinks. If it weren't for the company they were keeping right now Anthea would take his hand. Porlock, clearly still nervous and uncomfortable by the turn of events, cleared his throat. He gestured to Mycroft with an open hand.
"Mr. Vernet, I believe you know-"
"Mr. Holmes, of course. He's the only one in my family to answer my letters less than my daughter." He gave a charming smile to Lady Smallwood as he said it. She forced a little one back but she still looked fuming. Anthea doubted she looked any better. Rudy held out a clean, pristine, but obviously calloused hand to shake Mycroft's hand. Mycroft looked at it and ignored it. Icy and uninterested. Porlock continued.
"And we call the woman by his side 'Miss James'." He said. Rudy's eagle eyes shone with recognition. For a moment it looked like he might be familial and friend. Instead he offered his hand to her.
"Miss James." He said.
"Mr. Vernet." Anthea replied, acting in solidarity with Mycroft and not shaking his hand. It was about power and respect, and maybe a tiny bit about family but that didn't matter. Porlock gestured over to the agents.
"That would be the new director of the agency, James, and his second, Carol." He explained. James and Carol had to walk up and shake Rudy's hand. This was a respect for ex-agents thing. One of those things Carol always said Mycroft and Anthea couldn't understand – the agency family and inner workings.
"I remember Carol but I never got to meet James." Rudy looked James all over. "You must be good to beat out a lot of old blood for that position."
"Yes, sir." James answered.
"Firm handshake, I like it." Rudy smiled… flirtatiously? At James as he let the agents return to their seats. Porlock then introduced the acting governor but Rudy didn't move to shake his hand, just muttered a freezing cold greeting.
Lady Smallwood walked around to sit at the head of the table. As she sat down everyone else sat down, apart from Rudy.
"Before we begin, ladies and gentlemen, we are about to discuss some top secret material. Material that cannot be shared." He placed his hands on the top of Lady Smallwood's chair. He pointed to the acting governor, "You, you," He pointed at Carol. "And you," Finally he pointed at Anthea. "Need to go." Finally PALL all looked at each other in surprised, seeming to get on the same page. Lady Smallwood blinked a few times and titled her head to catch sight of Rudy over her shoulder. "Why would that be, Mr. Vernet?" She asked.
"We don't want our secrets getting out do we, my lady?" He asked. Mycroft squared off his shoulders. Under the table he folded one leg over the other.
"Anthea is my right hand." He said coolly. "She attend any meeting I wish her to attend without any arguments. Should she not hear it here first hand I would only inform her in the office later so this removes a rather unnecessary step."
"She's more trustworthy than half the people in this room." Lady Smallwood added. Anthea's pores practically exuded smugness.
"And Carol is my partner." James spoke up.
"Was your partner, agent." Rudy rolled his eyes. "Now she's your employee."
"An employee who has my permission to be here." Mycroft pointed out to his uncle.
"And sorry, sir," James lowered his head in respect. "But you don't get a say in how the agency is run. She's my partner."
"And me?" The governor asked.
"Get out." Rudy hissed, dark shadows over his face. The governor looked at James. James looked at Mycroft. Mycroft nodded to James, James shrugged to the governor. Carol walked him to the door muttering apologies. Mycroft waited for Carol to be sitting again before he talked again.
"Gentlemen, if you thought bringing a relative in here would make me play nice you are sadly mistaken." He hissed. Anthea moved her foot so it was touching him, hoping to be a sign of support or a calming aura. "In terms of position he left before he even held James' position. His reputation was built on respect and fear alone. I couldn't even count the many ways I outranked him." He widened his eyes.
"I outrank him." Anthea added. Mycroft met her eyes and they shared a silent moment. "I've seen the files." Anthea said with a shake of her head before anyone could question her.
"Miss James, I know more about Sherrinford prison than you could ever dream of." Rudy spoke down to her. Not in a demeaning way, the way higher ranking people often did. "I know secrets that were long buried before Mycroft's voice ever changed. That's why I'm here."
"Oh Mr. Vernet." Mycroft sighed. "Nothing is ever so simple. Cracks in the organisation and side taking, remember?"
"I for one would like to continue with this meeting." Lady Smallwood sighed, looking carefully at the state of her manicure. "So then I may ask my colleagues when they were planning to tell me about this." Then men who had slighted the lady immediately agreed while Anthea, Mycroft, and the agents got to look smug in their obviousness to this. Uncle Rudy however took his time. He took his hands off Lady Smallwood's chair and wiped them on one another. He the slowly sauntered over to where the governor had previously been sitting. He stretched out his back, sighed, and slowly sat down. It was very much a power play Anthea had seen a million times – though it was usually she and/or Mycroft that were doing it.
"James, is it?" Rudy looked at James with scrutiny. The tall blonde agent nodded. "You understand how many secrets will be spilt here? Give a little of our knowledge and the government types expect it all." Was he stalling? Was this still about power? Who was he trying to one up now? James.
"This is about security, Mr. Vernet." James put on his serious boss face. "Again, I don't know why you joined the agency, but when I did I wanted to help people. This is about keeping people safe from others and from their selves."
"Including the safety of your niece." Lady Smallwood said.
"Who you put in there." Carol added.
"When she was a child." Anthea smirked.
"Who somehow managed to brainwash the staff who held these precious secrets of yours and most likely knows how to manipulate every last one of them." Mycroft sighed like it was an afterthought. Rudy smirked. He turned to Porlock and Langdale.
"Cracks forming." He said. Whose side was the man on anyway? This was not what Anthea thought of when she heard the eccentric stories from Mycroft, Sherlock, and Violet.
Author's Note: Sheesh, I hope it was okay. I always hate just office talk because it feels like nothing to me. Thanks to Tumblr and my friend Camila for finding a good name with a canon connect to be Violet's maiden name. Thanks to our guest reviewers; Bunnyrabbit100, Hazel, B, Guest, Madalina, Kristie, and Katieeee. Thanks to all my reviews – you mean the world to me.
Also: Next chapter will take a week. I have exams on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as a lot of research to do for work on Friday to get stuff for my student so I need some time. So expect it to be this time next week. I'm so, so sorry but hey! After exams means no uni work to get in the way for at least a month.