SHERLOCK I, II, III & IV • #wattys2016

the shoelace

Sherlock hurried across the dark streets, keeping John and Aceyla close to him. John was surprised at how afraid the detective came across. He’d never seen Sherlock so rushed and discombobulated. John reached up and grabbed Sherlock by the coat collar. He tugged his friend close to him, letting his body weight draw them both onto the ground.

“What’s happening?” Aceyla asked, catching John and helping him descend to the ground. She smoothed his hair and looked at his eyes. “Are you all right?”

“Listen, John,” Sherlock began through a shaking voice, “you’re going to be fine. But you’ve got to get to the hospital. If you don’t, Andrew has threatened to take your life.”

“How? You destroyed the connection in the hospital, how—,”

“He’s hired people to make sure the surgery doesn’t happen. If I don’t touch the file, but hand it to him, then you’ll surgery will be successful and you’ll be safe. But if I get the folder and hide it, he’ll kill you.”

John blinked several times before squeezing his eyes shut. He ran a hand over his face and groaned. “You’re not supposed to care about anyone, Sherlock! Not for her, not for me! You said you did everything for the work, now you seem to be doing it to—I don’t know.” John opened his eyes, his breath escalated. As if trying to hammer sense into his friend’s mind, John shouted, “Stop thinking about us! You can finish the case. You can get Andrew, and you can get the file before he does. Just put your mind on the case, Sherlock. Don’t worry about us.”

Sherlock shook his head. “John, I’m just afraid I’ll be,” he swallowed and bowed his head. “I’m just afraid I’ll be too late. Andrew’s smart. He’ll kill Charlie and Simon. He’ll kill Elise and Mrs. Hudson. He’ll kill you and Aceyla. He won’t kill me, though. He’ll play games with me until he dies.”

“But, you can stop him, can’t you?” John whimpered. He hated watching hopelessness poison the detective’s mind. He’d always seen Sherlock a step ahead, always knowing where to go. “There’s technology, weapons, and plenty of things to aid your intelligence. You can’t just base it on what we have with us. You can stop all of this.”

“I can’t. He’s got every connection to every security plant in the world against me. He knows where I’ll be all the time, and he can guide me into situations I’ll never get out of. I can’t deduct him, John. Strangely, he’s too simple to deduct.”

“Turn the power off, Sherlock. There’s always a power source. You can’t let Andrew do this. And Elise, Mrs. Hudson, Charlie, Simon, and Aceyla will not die. I’ll go to the hospital, you’ll find Andrew. I know Simon and Charlie will be fine, you hired them.”

Sherlock looked up at Aceyla and forced a smile. “Take him to the hospital. Continue down this road, you’ll find a cab. I’m going back. I will get the file.”

“You remember the code?” Aceyla asked through tears.

Sherlock tapped the side of his temple and gave her an assuring smile.

The girl quickly helped John to his feet and the two of them made their way down the street. Sherlock watched them. He didn’t leave until they disappeared into the darkness.  Pulling his coat tighter around himself, he headed back to the tunnel. He knew Simon and Charlie were either taken hostage, or they were killed. He hoped he wouldn’t find their bodies in the emptiness of the tunnel, but then again, he knew Andrew had collected them. He looked at working clock from outside a café. He counted the hours, hoping to secure the files in three days or less. Anytime more time than that, he knew he would come home and John would be dead.

John and Aceyla climbed into a cab safely. The doctor continued to suffer from coughing and a growing headache, but he knew to complain about it would be pointless. As the two of them sat side by side, John found it a good opportunity to talk to Aceyla about her relationship with Sherlock. “How did you meet him?” he began. He glanced up at the rearview mirror at the taxi driver. He automatically suspected the driver could turn on him, so he hoped Aceyla would be smart enough to talk in code.