It Started With Stealing | Sherlock Holmes

14 - Eye For An Eye

A/N: Thank you all for 700+ reads! I'm happy you're all sticking around and hopefully enjoying the story 😄

Minor warning: some swearing

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Before Elizabeth could respond, the man who held her by the shoulders threw her recklessly onto the ground, in front of Sherlock's chair. Trying to scramble away, out of this man's reach was a far-flung dream as his heavy boot connected with her side, winding her, causing her to see dark spots. Before she could even process the pain of that blow, another connected with her stomach and she cried out, wheezing as her lungs had barely been given the chance to get more air.

"Stop! Stop it! Leave her alo - "

She could hear Sherlock speak up, panic rising in his voice but Elizabeth also heard the sharp thwack that came from the other man who was guarding Sherlock. Curling up into a ball, with her knees brought up to her chest and her arms covering her head, she just prayed for this to be over. Blow after blow after blow, the hits and kicks rained down on her. How long did it go on for? It could have been ten seconds and this still would have felt like eternity. Pain blinded most of her thoughts.

"Stop." The command came.

The beating ended with one last kick that elicited a blinding crack of pain from her arm and she screamed. Never had she broken something before and she found herself in agony as she cradled her arm, breathing heavily, her sight blurring and body aching from the violence enacted upon it. The metallic taste of her own crimson liquid made her sick but she just kept looking at the ceiling, tears distorting her vision.

Scarlett looked down at her, unforgivingly, resentfully, as though she expected a better reaction, a better show. With a glint of silver in her hand, Scarlett got down on her knees beside Elizabeth, looking at her body as though she were a hunter about to skin her prey or even to simply put her prey out of her misery.

"Please - leave her." Sherlock pleaded for Elizabeth in a whisper.

He was sickened to have had to watch that happen and had he not been bound to the chair then he would have bloody well jumped in to try and stop the man even though statistically he stood no chance himself of successfully stopping the juggernaut like force that both the men seemed to be. And even after all that, Elizabeth made the effort to look up at Sherlock and strain out two words:

"I'm - fine."

That hardly convinced him because even her voice sounded like it had been broken as well. The cool metal blade being dragged along her cheek bone caused Elizabeth to look back to Scarlett, who promptly swung a leg over her hip to straddle her body and hold her down, which was excruciating for Elizabeth.

"Hush, my little lamb, you're lucky that I'm considering to speed this up at all."

The knife was trailing down her body from her cheek to her abdomen where Scarlett kept tracing the outline of one spot as though she would carve it out of her.

Breathlessly the word, "Bitch," left Elizabeth's lips.

If she had to say something, it had to be that. The worst part is that this was all for nothing. Jim had made his stance on Elizabeth very clear. She couldn't even say that Jim would have her head because Jim already wanted Elizabeth's head, or so she thought. If anything, Jim might be thankful.

"Joke's. On. You." She struggled to cope with the pain and clenched her jaw tight when another sharp shooting pain came from her broken arm.

"And why's that?" Scarlett almost purred.

It was an invitation to break down her perfect little plan.

"Jim - hates me."

Elizabeth got what she wanted. The moment she said that last word, vexation flashed across Scarlett's eyes. She also got what she didn't want, which was was a knife promptly wedged into her stomach, causing her to cry out once again. As if her scream were a cue though, two bullets whizzed through the air from hole where the window was supposed to be and embedded themselves in Scarlett's henchmen's heads. Two sullen thuds made Scarlett stop what she was doing and now fear crossed her face, confusion upon Elizabeth's.

Perhaps people had heard them after all?

Glaring at Elizabeth, Scarlett got up and slicked out of sight of the window.

"Guess I won't get to see you die," She chuckled, "But at least I know that you stand little chance of surviving." With that, Scarlett made her move to leave.

Elizabeth tried to move after she left, worried for Sherlock, but she hissed at sting of her cut skin.

"Don't - don't move, you'll make it worse." Sherlock spoke in a hushed voice.

"I have to - I still have to untie - AH." As she was speaking, she had tried to roll over to get up, which she soon learned was a big mistake as her broken arm was out of order.

She fell rolled back onto her back, tears of agony slipping from it of her eyelids as she attempted to forget the pain - which was virtually impossible. Yet Sherlock appeared by her side in moments and she frowned.

"I was already trying to work on the binds before they told you to come in." He answered.

Looking down and analysing her state, his own bruised brow creased as he came to his own conclusions. Sympathy echoed in his eyes for her.

"You could have left." He said as he placed his own hand on her stab wound.

Wincing, she replied, "I could have. But an eye for an eye, eh? You save my life, I save yours."

"But - you didn't - " He stopped himself, optimism, Sherlock, stay away from the facts for now, "I don't know who shot at them but we need to leave before the gunman gets here."

"You need to leave."

"No. I won't leave without you."

"Sherlock, just go. Find someone else to help take him down."

"Did you really think I only cared for the information?"

"Well - "

"I'm not going to let another human die when I know they actually have a good chance of living."

"You don't - even believe that - " Her speech began to slur and her vision gradually turned hazy.

"Elizabeth? Elizabeth, you need to stay awake."

"Just - go..."

And before she could process what he was saying, her eyes closed. Sherlock shouted at her and tried to wake her up again but she simply did nothing.