Chapter 24

(Apologies to all of my wonderful readers, I had a very difficult semester at school but finally finished up all of my finals. I will be updating all four of my current stories, thank you so much for still reading and being patient.)

Moriarty shuffled through his definitely now wrinkled west-wood, his phone still waiting for him in his pocket. He hated that he needed Sebastian back, but there was no one else he could possibly trust. Everyone that had heard his name feared him, he had ears everywhere and usually a hired gun as well. But that wasn't nearly enough to protect him now. He had to keep appearances up to keep people in fear, money alone doesn't speak for it's self these days, if it had Mycroft would have been an actual threat to him after his arrest, but people don't respect money. People respect a good old fashioned villain.

Get back here. –JM

Now. –JM

Sebbie? –JM

Sebastian still lay on his back above the covers of the cheap motel room, a cigarette half hanging out of his mouth as his head rested on a pillow hard as a rock. He had begun drifting off when his phone chimed several times. He ignored each one. There were very few people that ever contacted him, so he knew it was Moriarty, likely sending him threats or pictures of someone he's had killed to boast or wants killed. He was adorable in that way, but not today. His fingers grazed over the screen before setting it aside on the end table. When it began ringing he merely turned it on silent and rolled over.

"You'll never feel the same for me," he whispered to the empty room before closing his eyes again and letting sleep take him.

Moriarty sat dumbstruck in the pool of clothing looking up at the giant phone screen. Sebastian always answered, it made no difference if he was having one of his ridiculous 'moments' or not.

"Moran you idiot!" he kicked at his phone, to stubborn even in private to show that it had actually hurt his foot. He was five and half inches tall, naked, and alone. Perhaps not his best of moments.

Sherlock was restless inside of Molly's mesh black purse, there she was, the woman they had been looking for hiding in plain site from the very beginning and he could hardly do a thing about it.

"I knew that woman was no good." Sherlock practically hissed at John.

"Well how was I suppose to know? She seemed normal enough at first. No different from anyone else anyway."

"She despised me the moment you introduced us, which is still beyond me why you ever introduced me to any of those ridiculous women you dated."

"Like I said, no different from anyone else."

Sherlock shot John a death glare, "Very amusing."

Molly waited at the table a few moments longer, pretending to fumble with her drink, then her phone. The check was already paid for- which John had previously insisted was on them, when she started running out of ideas to stay there any longer. Finally Maria stood, giving the woman she dinned with a warm smile- a rather convincing one at that. But Sherlock could see the amusement in her eyes, the cold calculating look of someone planning something far darker then walking an acquaintance back home.

"Work, what does she do for work?" Sherlock couldn't take her eyes off her. There was no telling if Maria would kill this woman here, a simple flick of the wrist with poisoned nails- no, not that, she had been eating a croissant with her bare hands and had no time to equip such a chemical weapon nor fake nails. No, she was planning a longer death for this one just like the last, more showy at that. The deaths had been escalating. A teaser before she was done with Harry.

"Receptionist at a restaurant, it's how we met actually." John didn't mention he had actually been on a date with another woman who had left him, earning him Maria's number out of sympathy.

"The Bella-Rouge?"

"Yes, how did you know? Probably the stain on her nail or something like that."

"You frequent there often, mentioned it on the blog a few times. She likely moved here just to meet you, got a job there and waited for an opportunity."

"God, you really think this was about me from the beginning?"

Sherlock gave a short sharp nod, "The woman from the Lake house, she had a distinct garlic scent to here, too much olive oil as well, she had gone there for lunch. Possibly on a date with another woman, Maria followed her home."

Once Maria and the woman that accompanied her were just outside the small gate of the outdoor café, headed south via leisurely stroll, Molly stood, following them quietly.

"What if Molly's noticed?" John whispered.

"She wont be. She's not Maria's type, besides, Molly's practically invisible, no one ever looks twice at her. Mouse of a women."

"She is helping us, you don't have to be so rude."

"Rude? That was practically a compliment. She could make an excellent sleuth."

John sighed, Sherlock would always have a logic all of his own.

Molly was glad she had opted for wearing flats, the soft padding on the bottom of the shoes allowed her foot steps to blend in with the rest of the city noises. It was a few blocks away that Maria stopped and opened the hatch of a garage door to a closed warehouse. Molly turned down an ally, waiting against the wall for them to go inside. She couldn't get closer without being detected.

"They're going in, what should I do?"

"Take my phone, call Mycroft and have him find any and all cameras in this area. I'm going in, we need to know what we're dealing with before calling The Yard."

"Like hell you are, what on earth are you thinking? That you'll slip through the crack under the door? I'm not letting you do something so risky." John was fully prepared to hold him down if he had to.

"I'm not about to do something rash, look up. We're next to the building, we just need a- ah, very good. There's a pipe leading to the roof, likely a ventilation system up there. I just need to look inside."

John desperately wanted to protest, but couldn't. "Harry could be in there."

"Precisely. That's why I have to, it's perfectly safe, I'll come right back."

"No, I'm not letting you go alone. I'm coming with you, and there's no use in telling me not to if it's 'perfectly safe', and don't claim I could possibly keep Molly safe at this size."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, "Very well, come on then."

Molly climbed up on top on the bins in the ally, it was just high enough that they only needed to climb a foot of pipe before reaching the roof, where sure enough there was a vent they could just squeeze into. Leaving Molly to contact Mycroft, she had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn't be too thrilled about this.

"This is ridiculous Mycroft, she'll wait out there until one of us come out. There's just nothing we can do." Lestrade had briefly considered escaping out the window, but it was far too high. He never thought he would be imprisoned in his own office.

They could hear her heels clicking about in the hall just outside.

Mycroft's phone buzzed in his pocket, there were very select people that even had access to that number.

"Sherlock. What have you done this time?"

"Oh, it's uh, Molly, Sherlock wanted me to ask you to watch some surveillance for him.

"Well you'll just have to inform my brother that I am not currently at my office to do so,"

Molly's eyes widened in a panic, "But you have to! He and John… they just went into a building… and Harriet… They think they caught the killer but they need someone to be watching in case of an emergency." Her voice grew frantic.

"You let them out of your sight!? Anything could happen to them!"

"I know… but Sherlock was so insistent." Molly bit her lower lip.

Mycroft put the phone on speaker and sat at Lestrade's desk, "Apologies Gregory, but I must commandeer your computer."

"Go right ahead." Greg pulled up a second chair and sat beside him, watching as he entered a series of passwords in his email and a list of locations came up.

After hearing the location from Molly, Mycroft found the surrounding security cams. Unfortunately there were none inside the building it's self. If it were up to him there would be government accessible cameras in every corner of every building.

The air vent was surprising easy to find a squeeze through, the empty space as wide as a large room and stretched on forever. There was just enough light from the few openings for Sherlock and John to find their way around. There was a small metallic tapping from their foot steps, but nothing nearly loud enough for even gifted ears to be able to hear them. They could hear the voices of the two women directly below them and hurried to the nearest vent opening. There was no sign of Harry, just Maria and the woman she had met with for lunch.

"You're right, this would make an excellent studio! My girlfriend will just love it!"

"Fantastic," Maria's voice was eerily cold and collected, "How about you take a seat and I grab the papers? Just to review of course."

"That would be lovely."

Maria smiled and walked out of John and Sherlock's view as the other woman sat back in a simple chair, admiring the room and paying little attention to the woman that had brought here there.

John had seen the shadow creep out from the open doorway just behind her first, "No!"

Sherlock wrapped his hand around John's mouth to silence him, "She could crush us in an instant," he whispered.

Maria approached from behind with a garrote held taught between her hands, quickly slipping it around the woman's neck and pulling tight. She struggled desperately for breath. John cringed at the sight, wanting to help her with every fiber in his being but knowing there was nothing he could do. Just at the last moment when they thought the last thread of life would leave her, Maria let go of the garrote, causing the woman to fall forward to her knees and gasp for breath. Maria chuckled at the sight, admiring her work.

"Don't you worry pet, I wont have you die so quickly, I have a special plan in mind for you." She stepped forward around the chair and wrapped the wire around her neck again, this time tying it into a noose. "Obey and I'll let you have air, disobey and I pull harder till you listen or pass out. Do you understand me?"

The woman didn't have enough breath in her to answer, she simply nodded 'yes' instead as she clutched hopelessly at the wire.