The Puppeteers (Mycroft Holmes)

Chapter 9

Chapter 8 - Present Day; Did You Miss Me?

"Did you miss me? Did you miss me? Did you miss me?"

Mycroft rubbed his temples. The sound was grating on his nerves. "Shut it down, now." He smashed the disconnect button on his phone and looked at his brother. Sherlock stared at the screen in the back of the driver's seat with wide eyes. He had gone even paler than usual and was unnaturally still. "Sherlock."

"Fine." The detective shook himself. "Where do we-" His phone rang. He put it up to his ear. "Molly. Yes I've seen it." He looked out the window, biting the inside of his lip. "I watched him, Molly. It can't be real. I know. You'll be fine, Molly, calm down. I'll take care of it, you know that." He sighed and hung up a moment later. Before he could even move to dial someone else, it rang again. "Lestrade." He put it on speaker.

"Do you wanna tell me what the hell is going on? All of London is staring at a screen right now, the press is already here. I thought he was dead!"

"He is, Detective Inspector. Now I need you to calm down and see what you can do to remain available should I need you."

"No, you're not leaving me out of this one. I need answers, Sherlock. He had a bloody sniper aimin' at me!"

Mycroft plucked the phone from his brother's hand. "Detective Inspector, this is Mycroft Holmes."

"Mycroft, tell me Sherlock didn't fake his death and go away for two years just to have this bastard come back."

"I highly doubt he is alive but let us assume the worst for now. I understand your concern, however, this has become a rather delicate situation. I have a personal team working to shut down and track the transmission. All I ask is that you keep the press happy."

"How the hell-"

Mycroft hung up and handed the phone back to Sherlock. The television in the back of the driver's seat went silent and the screen showed only bars of color. He sighed in relief and called the team.

"Havi, what do you have?"

"Nothing yet, sir. We're tracking now but it looks like it broadcasted from a few different places and hacked into multiple networks. Jason's splitting everyone up now."

"Thank you." He hung up and sat back. "We should be there in a few minutes."

"How competent is your team?"

"They pinpointed your location and the people holding you, didn't they? They have been working for me since 2010 and I have yet to even think about letting one of them go."

"Hm." Sherlock sounded unconvinced. They arrived in a small, nondescript building that appeared to be no more than an office space. Mycroft led Sherlock through the empty offices and downstairs into the real workspace. Ten desks were spread around with people working frantically. A woman with brown hair and a mild distrust for strangers looked up. Her hand fidgeted at her side with something small, rectangular, and purple. A lighter... Odd. She narrowed her eyes at Sherlock before they cleared into a small smirk. She stood and went to Mycroft's side, slipping the lighter away.

"Mr. Holmes."

Mycroft sigh was playfully exasperated. Sherlock looked at him curiously. "Cameron."

She nodded to Sherlock. "Sherlock Holmes? You look better since I profiled you." She gestured to Havi and the three others sitting with him and spoke to Mycroft. "They're still working to pinpoint the main station. I've looked over the possibilities going from what your brother told us. James Moriarty is unlikely to have survived but there are enough possibilities to keep an open mind. My guess is, his right hand man took over."