Welcome to Baker Street

48. Unpleasant meeting

Inside the bank on King William Street

A bulky man, to whom belongs the dark voice Sherlock was speaking to, hangs up with an evil smirk and throws the phone across the darkened room. The device flies and crashes against a wall, shattering on the floor.

"What a shame. It was the new model," a female voice protests in the darkness.

The man casts a blank look at the electronic carcass.

"I don't need it anymore. Besides, I don't want either Sherlock Holmes or the police to find me by geo-localising the signal. It'd spoil all the fun." He turns around and walks towards the source of the voice that has just reprimanded him.

"And I don't like that my guests speak to me like that." His lips unveil a cruel smile as he approaches the other person.

"You. That's a good starting point. You could begin by introducing yourself, for example." The silhouette of a woman tied to a chair slowly emerges from the shadows as he steps closer.

He bares his teeth in a wolfish grin.

"My dear Giulia, I thought it was quite obvious; I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes."

"So am I. Is that why I am here? Is this an unofficial Fanclub?" She jokes, turning her gaze around as if looking for other people.

He gives her a stern look, irritated by her insolence.

"You are leverage, and I'm confident that you'll prove very useful."

"So, you haven't decided what to do with me yet," she teases him.

"Of course. I kidnapped you to get to Mr Holmes."

She looks genuinely taken aback. "I'm not following you."

The man walks up to her and raises a hand in a swift movement. Every muscle in her body tenses up, expecting either a slap or a punch in the face. Her eyes widen in horror as she sees his hand coming down slowly to caress her cheek. She desperately tries to pull back and avoid his touch, but the bonds on her wrists and ankles restrain her movements.

"He cares about you deeply." He cups her chin and forces her to lift her eyes and meet his. Giulia swallows hard, focusing on his dark gaze. In the dim light, his pupils are so dilated that she can't even distinguish the colour of the irises. She has the impression of gawking into two endless pits.

She tries to regain control and lowers her eyes, murmuring feebly, "I think he doesn't. Especially after what he has said lately."

"Don't be silly. He would do anything to save you." He loses his temper in front of her stubbornness.

"Would he?"

"Just shut up," he shouts, making her jump in her seat. "Sherlock Holmes will try to rescue you. In fact, I bet he is already finding a way to come here. The great detective in person will come to meet me," he proudly affirms.

"If you just wanted to be introduced to him, you could've dropped by the flat on Baker Street. It would have taken a lot less effort." She continues to make fun of him, even though she knows better than to mess with such a dangerous person.

"I prefer to play safe by having home-court advantage."

"Then I should warn you: he loves playing games and hates losing." Giulia mentally prays that Sherlock doesn't loathe her enough to let her die at the hands of that psychopath. She hopes with every fibre of her being that he will take up the challenge, if only for the sake of an adrenaline rush. It will be just another game for him, and that's probably her best bet that he will indeed show up.

The kidnapper trails his hand along her delicate collarbone and smirks.

"Oh, I know. And today you will be lucky enough to witness his crushing defeat."

* * *  Author's Note: I apologise for the extreme conciseness of this chapter, but I just wanted to give you a tiny morsel of this villain's character. It would be awesome if you could tell me what you think so far about this story and this particular case.