Clique of 221B

Chapter 24: At Baker Street

As the car pulls up near 221B, you and John get out and walk towards the front door. You climb the stairs and as you approach the first floor landing you can see a lot of people inside the flat. You can hear Mycroft talking to someone,
"Where is she?" Mycroft is sat in Sherlock's chair, his umbrella leant against the arm of the chair. "Where's Mrs Hudson?" One agent answers him,
"She'll be up in a moment."
"Uh, uh, what are you doing?" John asks Mycroft.
"Have you noticed the kitchen?" Mycroft tells us. He stands up as you and John look around before turning towards the kitchen. "It's practically a meth lab. I'm trying to establish exactly what drove Sherlock off the rails." In the kitchen, one person is sweeping a black powder over a knife lying on top of articles about Culverton. "Any ideas?"
"Drugs, obviously." You mutter.
"Are these spooks?" John asks. Another person pulls a book from the small table in the corner of the room behind John's chair. As he does so, some paper falls to the floor. "Are you using spooks now to look after your family?" He turns to the kitchen again and sees one of the spooks putting items into a large plastic evidence bag.
"Hang on – are they tidying?"
"Sherlock'll kill them." You say.
"Sherlock is a security concern. The fact that I'm his brother changes nothing." Someone in the living room takes a photograph with the flash on, while other agents mill around picking up stuff. John turns around and walks further into the living room,
"Yeah, you said that before." Mycroft is stood in front of the fireplace. You stand next to him.
"Why fixate on Culverton Smith? He's had his obsessions before, of course, but this goes a bit further than setting a mantrap for Father Christmas." You hum quietly, as if I haven't got an entire wall dedicated to the criminal underworld of London and an entire conspiracy theory on how and if Moriarty faked his death. "Spending all night talking to a woman who wasn't even there." John crosses his arms before saying,
"Mycroft, last time when we were on the phone-"
"No-no-no-no, stop." He interrupts, he raises his hand, turns and walks a few steps towards Sherlock's chair. "I detest conversation in the past tense." John continues,
"You said the fact that you were his brother made no difference."
"It doesn't."
"You said it didn't the last time and it wouldn't with Sherlock, so who was it the last time? Who were you talking about?" I've been wondering about that too. Seems like I'm not the only one who remembers it.
"Nobody. I... misspoke." He's lying.
"You're lying." John says.
"I assure you I'm not." He really is lying! John smiles slightly looking at Mycroft,
"Sherlock's not your only brother. There's another one, isn't there?" Mycroft answers firmly,
"No." John chuckles,
"Jesus! A secret brother! What, is he locked up in a tower or something?" Probably. Mycroft turns to look towards the door and I hear a,
"Mycroft Holmes!" You smile. Mrs Hudson. "What are all these dreadful people doing in my house?" Mycroft lowers his head and sighs quietly before telling her,
"Mrs Hudson, I apologise for the interruption. As you know, my brother has embarked on a programme of self-destruction remarkable even by his standards, and I am endeavouring to find out what triggered it."
"And that's what you're all looking for?"
"Quite so."
"What's on his mind?"
"So to speak."
"And you've had all this time?"
"Time being something of which we don't have an infinite supply, so if we could be about our business?" He looks at both John and Mrs Hudson and smiles falsely. Mrs Hudson starts to laugh. You frown and glance at Mycroft who seems just as confused.
"You are... you're so funny, you are!"
"Mrs Hudson?" Mycroft asks, completely confused now.
"He thinks you're clever. Poor old Sherlock, always going on about you." She turns to John and puts both hands on his arm. "I mean, he knows you're an idiot, but that's okay 'cause you're a lovely doctor..." John seems to frown in confusion at that. "-but he has no idea what an idiot you are!" Are we talking about the same Mycroft?
"Is this merely stream-of-consciousness abuse, or are you attempting to make a point?" You struggle to keep a straight face at Mycroft's expression.
"You want to know what's bothering Sherlock? Easiest thing in the world, anyone can do it." She tells you all brightly.
"I know his thought processes better than any other human being, so please try to understand-" Mycroft begins but Mrs Hudson interrupts,
"He's not about thinking, not Sherlock." Yes he is?
"Of course he is."
"No, no. He's more... emotional, isn't he?" No? I think Mrs Hudson's been having some of Sherlock's 'tea'. You laugh.
"We're talking about the same Sherlock aren't we? World's only consulting detective?" You ask her. She turns to face the wall behind the sofa.
"Unsolved case: shoot the wall." She points the fingers of her hand and mimics firing a gun at it. "Pew! Pew!" She turns towards the kitchen. "Unmade breakfast: karate the fridge!" She then does a karate chop with her hand, and turns to the mantelpiece. "Unanswered question..." She turns and asks John, "-well, what does he do with anything he can't answer, John, every time?" John looks towards the fireplace as she spoke, and now looks back at her.
"He stabs it." Like Culverton.
He walks towards the fireplace while she makes a triumphant gesture and turns to Mycroft.
"Anything he can't find the answer for-" she points towards the mantelpiece. "Bang!"
You and John look at the mantelpiece and you see the padded envelope with Mary's DVD. John pulls the knife from the padded envelope and reaches in for the contents while Mrs Hudson continues.
"It's up there. I keep telling him, if he was any good as a detective, I wouldn't need a new mantel." John pulls out the white DVD with its handwritten 'MISS ME?' message on it. His eyes widen and he looks up, startled, at you and Mycroft, then looks across to Mrs Hudson.

The DVD is in the television. All the spooks have stopped their work and are stood watching the screen. You and Mycroft are stood in the middle of the room, Mrs Hudson is sitting on the edge of John's chair and John is between Mrs Hudson and me. A look of pure grief on his face as Mary's face comes on the screen.
"If you're watching this, I'm... probably dead." She says from the screen. John straightens and backs away from the TV, holding out a hand.
"Okay, no. Stop that now, please." He turns away and slowly walks across the room. Mrs Hudson pauses the DVD and gets to her feet, her voice stern as she turns to the rest of the room,
"Everybody out, now. All of you." Nobody moves. John stops and you see him gulp, tears forming in his eyes as he keeps his gaze towards the window. "This is my house-" She gestures towards John. "-this is my friend-" She points at the TV. "-and that's his departed wife. Anyone who stays here a minute longer is admitting to me personally they do not have a single spark of human decency." John turns around. After a brief hesitation, and with nobody looking towards Mycroft for permission, everybody turns and quietly starts to leave the room. You start to follow then but John stops you,
"Stay, please." He whispers in a small broken voice. You nod and go back to where you were stood before. Mycroft remains where he is, his arms crosses as he faces the TV. Mrs H looks at him, then walks across to stand close to him. She leans even closer.
"Get out of my house, you reptile." She says savagely. He stares at her, startled. Not breaking eye contact, she gestures towards the door. After a moment, he unfolds his arms and turns towards Sherlock's chair to collect his umbrella. You get to it first, pick it up and pass it. You slip a note inside the edge of the umbrella. He takes it from you and walks out.

"I'm giving you a case, Sherlock." John sits down in front of the TV. He stares at it with tears in his eyes, and your hand on his shoulder. Mrs Hudson stands behind him. "Might be the hardest case of your career. When I'm gone – if I'm gone – I need you to do something for me. Save John Watson." John grimaces and shakes his head slightly. "Save him, Sherlock." Mrs H bends down to John,
"John, if you want to watch this later..." John breathes out a silent,
"No," his tear-filled eyes fixed on the screen. Mrs Hudson straightens up again.
"Don't think anyone else is going to save him, because there isn't anyone. It's up to you. Save him. But I do think you're gonna need a little bit of help with that, because you're not exactly good with people, so here's a few things you need to know about the man we both love – and more importantly what you're going to need to do to save him." John stares at the screen wide-eyed.
A few minutes later, you and John run out the door of 221B.