Elephant's Memory (Sherlock BBC)

The Great Game part 1: Volatile

John groaned, stretching. He clapped a hand to his neck, wincing. He'd definitely slept on it incorrectly again.

"Morning." Sarah said, walking into the room with a cup of coffee.

"Oh, morn... Augh." he winced. "Morning."

"See? I told you you should've slept on the lilo."

"No, no, no, I'm fine. I slept fine. It's very kind of you to let me stay." He said handing her the TV remote.

"Yeah, well, maybe next time I'll let you kip at the end of my bed." She gave him an impish smile as she turned the television on.

"And what about the time after that?" John asked quietly. Sarah winked at him, and sat on the arm of the couch, before starting to watch the morning news.

"Experts are hailing it as the artistic find of the century. The last time a painting of this magnitude showed up, it fetched over twenty million pounds."

"So, d'you want some breakfast?"

"I'd love some."

"Yeah, well you can make it yourself, because I'm gonna have a shower." She said, standing up and kissing John on the cheek. He smiled at her, before starting on his shirt buttons.

"This one is anticipated to do even better. We go back now to our main story. There's been a massive explosion in central London." John's head shot up, and immeditaly, he regretted it, and he held his neck, trying not to curse as he listened to the report. "As of yet, there have been no reports of any casualties, and the police here are unable to say if there is any suspicion of terrorist involvement." John saw the words "Baker Street", and automatically stood.

"Sarah, Sorry, I have to run!"

~_~_~

"Excuse me, can I get through? Excuse me!" John said, fighting through the crowd. "Excuse me, I live here!" He said, as he fought to the front. He showed one of the police officers his driver's liscence, and they let him under the yellow tape.

The building next to Speedy's Cafe was decimated. The whole front was in smithereens, and the second floor rooms were completely exposed to the air. All of the windows on Baker Street had been boarded up, as the glass panes had been blown out by the explosion.

"Sherlock! Clara!" He called upstairs, before running up to the second floor. Clara, now dressed in a neat black tweed suit jacket and skirt, as well as a red blouse, with her hair neatly parted and straight, was sitting in a chair next to Sherlock, and was glaring distastefully at the person in John's seat. Sherlock, dressed in black and purple, was doing the same, except for the fact that he was adjusting his violin strings. Clara looked up and smiled at him when he came in.

"Oh, John." Clara said. "Here, take my seat."

"No, no." John said, but Clara was already out of the chair and sitting, cross legged, on the arm of Sherlock's. He glanced up.

"John."

"I saw it on the telly. Are you okay?" He asked, and then suddenly noticed Mycroft Holmes sitting in his chair.

"Hmm? What?"

"I believe he means the explosion, Sherlock." Clara said, gesturing to the boarded up windows and the fallen items on the floor.

"Oh, yeah, we're fine. Gas leak, apparently." He looked back at his brother.

"I can't."

"You can't?"

"He can't." Clara said, clearly wishing to be out of the situation as soon as possible. "He's helping me with my case-"

"Don't lie to me, Clara. It doesn't become you. The case was declared cold a week ago."