What Kind of Man || Jim Moriarty

Thirty One

"What time do we leave tomorrow sir?" Sebastian asked from his place in the front passenger seat of the Range Rover. Moriarty sat alone in the back seat, taking turns between typing messages on his phone and staring out at the fields through the tinted window. They were almost home, he recognised the scenery.

"You won't be going." While in Italy, he had been approached by an individual with unique requests. It was too much of a wanted distraction to turn down so tomorrow he would return to the airport and leave for Russia. "You'll stay with Miss Reine. You're more use with her than with me." He had somewhat gotten over his little tiff of the Sniper and the girls 'friendship'. He needed the girl trained up and safe. Besides she had most likely learned not to touch anyone else after their little discussion.

"Of course." Sebastian nodded but after a second, turned in his seat to smirk at his boss. "But if I may say, she won't appreciate you leaving her again so soon."

"That's something she'll have to learn to deal with on her own." Jim knew the man was right, she would most likely throw one of her little huffs, go sit in her room and not speak to him for an hour or so. But then she would want his attention and sulk around the house. But she had to get over it. He wasn't hers. He had more exciting friends with bigger problems in other counties. One day he would take her with him, once he was sure she wouldn't bring him unnecessary bother. But not now. "She's not ready yet."

"Ready for what?"

"Don't be stupid Sebastian." Jim dropped his phone and for the first time made eye contact with Seb. "She's not ready to be brought into it all yet."

"Bought into it?" The older man repeated slower and then turned in his seats as Moriarty returned to his emails. "She wouldn't last two minutes."

"Not yet. Give it time." Moriarty's patience was wearing thin and his irritation was growing "Now Sebastian?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Shut up." The Sniper didn't need to be told twice, and silently settle back into his seat for the remainder of the drive.

When they finally pulled up to the gate of the house and Jim let out a sigh of release. He was excited, but unsure why. Maybe it was knowing as soon as he stepped foot out the car, she would give him that beaming smile. Katherine would practically skip to him and resume their game of power and dominance. She was a funny little thing, almost the perfect distraction and he'd spent his life looking for the perfect distraction. So far, she was the closest thing to perfect. So entertaining, so dumb, so easy to twist her emotions and get into her head. Something he would have to bring into play tonight.

But when the car stalled for longer than he thought necessary, his back tensed with impatience, and he failed to notice how Sebastian had tensed and sat forward.

"You're testing my patience Patrick." Moriarty muttered directly to the driver, but he silenced himself when he looked up and noticed the gate already half open. The intercom and key pad on the wall of the gate had been smashed and hotwired. Beyond them, on the steps of the house, he could already see bodies.

There was not a second's hesitation as Jim quickly got out the car and walked, calmly, towards the front door of the house. There lay the bodies of two of his guards, throats slit. He didn't need to enter the house to know she wasn't there. The bodies were cold. Katherine was long gone. But not dead. No, they men who took her were cocky. He'd know if she was dead.

Jim stepped over them and pushed over the door to his home which was still unlocked and ajar. Inside, the scene was no better. Another two guards lay lifeless in the reception hall, another on the stairs, and all of them had knife or gun wounds.

"Moriarty!" Sebastian finally caught up but stopped behind his boss. He didn't feel shock anymore, nor did he feel remorse. But he was nervous. The repercussions would be huge; Moriarty would not treat this with anything but urgency. "Shit."

Slowly, Jim started to walk around the house with deliberately soft steps. Everything was destroyed. Vases of Katherine's favourite flowers now made puddles of petals on the marble. The cushions had been thrown off the sofas and stabbed. Blade marks marked the walls where they had dragged their weapons, the main aim to cause damage. His office...unrecognisable. It was a good job he kept nothing confidential in any of his houses, the security was too weak, as proven. His desk was in two, windows smashed, glass everywhere from light fixtures, crystal glasses and computer screens.

With a growl, Jim turned and headed towards the stairs, taking them two at a time. When he reached the top, he saw the body of a woman at the entrance to Katherine's room and almost, very almost, picked up his pace towards it. Then he realised it was only that girl, the one you had fallen into his employment. Not Katherine. The unrecognisable ball of pain in his chest, loosened ever so slightly but he ignored it and scowled to himself. It had been there a couple of times. Jim put it down to anger. It was just his anger. The girl was stupid to have got herself into this mess, she was stupid.

He carried on into her bedroom and stopped. Her room was in no way messy. Nothing was over turned, there was barely any sign of a struggle apart from the bed which was unmade and the odd blood splatted which marked the cream carpets. They had visited during the night. They knew he wouldn't be there. Someone had been watching them.

The clothes were laid out, perfectly untouched, on the chair to her dressing table. She had picked them out to wear the next day, a loose knee length orange skirt made from a thin but stiff cotton and a white chiffon vest. Her make-up was still perfectly arranged and the door to the en-suit was shut. He couldn't stop his version of events playing over in his mind. What they might have done, how she might have reacted, how long it had all took.

When Sebastian appeared in the doorway a couple of minutes later, Jim was stood over the bed with one hand on her pillow. The other hand held a small silver necklace, a plain thin chain with a meaningless dainty charm hanging from it.

"Cancel the appointments for tomorrow." Moriarty stood with his back to Sebastian, knowing his second in command was listening. He let his hand fall to his side, fists clenched, but her still held the necklace. "Tell them the deal is off and I'm otherwise engaged." Eyes were like lasers in the back of his head, Sebastian was stunned.

"She's just a girl Jim. It was always going to happen." Seb didn't dare enter the room while his boss was in this state. It would be like signing his own life away. But he was not too scared to speak, after all, it was just a girl. Jim had never cared for girls. "Why waste time fucking chasing after her?"

"Because, I'm not going back to stage one." It didn't make sense, but it wouldn't to anyone but Moriarty, not yet anyway. "She's my ace in the hole." He spoke again, turning to give Sebastian a brief look. Darkness clouded his eyes and it was like watching a snake eye prey before its pounce.  "Clean this mess up. I want every single body lined up. Anyone who should be there and isn't, I want a name." Jim suddenly came to life, pushing past Sebastian and down the staircase.

"You think someone was in on it."

"They had to know she was here somehow. They had to know I wasn't here." There was silence behind him and once they reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned, but only saw the marksman stood there, motionless. "Names Sebastian!"

"Right away Sir." With that, he scuttled off and Moriarty was left to himself as the rest of his men set about gathering the bodies and attempted to organise the mess.

"Where are you poppet?" He mumbled, dropping Katherine's necklace into his trouser pocket. She could be across seas and continents by now.