Prologue

Violet furrowed her brow. There was something uncomfortably familiar with the cadence of his speech, not just the words he spoke.

Jake continued talking, pacing this way and that. "What it is, right, he's not on any file for those organisations, just a lowly twat in the Ministry of Defence. But you're under his protection." Jake stabbed an accusatory finger in Violet's direction. He stalked back toward her, saying, "Why? Why is Violet Hunter so fucking special?" He stopped directly in front of her, narrowing his eyes. "Are you a grass now? Is that what this is? Are you gonna grass us up?"

Violet gaped a little. She was almost about to either deny the accusation, or query Jake on how he knew so much about Mycroft Holmes, when it dawned on her why Jake was behaving like this—where his Northern accent always became just that little bit more… Mancunian, why his eyes ran wild, and a restlessness dominated his movements.

Violet lifted a hand to Jake's chest and prodded him, asking, "Are you fucking high?" Jake straightened up, standing even taller over Violet. "That's why you disappeared, isn't it? You raced off to the bathroom for a bit of blow."

"Fuck off," he replied, taking a step back. A low menace resounded in his tone. "You know how this works. Stop being a fucking tart about it."

"No," Violet said, a tightness spreading in her chest. This was a horrible déjà vu. She had already lived this life, for fuck's sake. Jake had no business bringing his crappy existence back into hers. She made to clench her fists, but her nails prevented her from curling them all the way, reminding her of some other life she lived now. Her jaw tightened, and she snapped, "We're not doing this."

Violet made a move for the door, but Jake reached out and gripped her arm as she tried to brush past him.

"We're fucking doing this now." He turned her to face him, but immediately released his grip on her. "Because I've got a message for you to give your interfering boyfriend, from my business associates."

-oOo-

Author's Note:

This story is slightly AU, in that it doesn't conform to canon events. I do use canon characters, with minor characters, antagonists (and villains) popping up in different scenarios.