Fight for Me

Chapter 34

After the three of them had finished eating, or rather after John and Lydia had finished eating and Lydia had successfully convinced Sherlock to consume at least a small serving given that he wasn't actively on a case, Lydia had the idea of making some biscuits as a way of thanking the boys for letting her stay at their flat. John had been most excited by the idea and even Sherlock's eyes lit up for a half second, informing Lydia that baked goods could prove to be one of Sherlock's weaknesses.

However, those plans went awry as soon as Lydia took stock of the food hidden in the cupboard and the fridge. There was certainly not enough available to make a successful batch of biscuits. She could have used some stuff from Mrs. Hudson's kitchen, no doubt, but with the shrinking amount of food that she could create even a decent meal out of, it was probably about time that they restocked.

"It's no good trying to make biscuits with what you have in this flat," Lydia announced as she popped back into the living room, causing John's face to fall in disappointment. "But, if you want, I can go grab some stuff from the shops-"

"You don't have to go through all of that trouble, Lydia. You're our guest, after all," John spoke as he stood from his armchair, closing his laptop that he was no doubt using to type up his latest blog post. "If you just want to tell me what you need, I can go get it."

"Well, I was hoping to grab some food for meals as well, your flat is awfully bare. I take it neither of you really do much cooking. I don't mind doing the shopping, if either of you has any cash?"

Before John could either argue or offer any money, Sherlock reached into his pocket a produced a card, "here, you can use this. Buy as much as you'd like. Or better, more than you'd like. It's my brother's."

Lydia hesitated in accepting it, her fingers wrapping around the plastic nervously, "are you sure? I'm not going to get arrested, am I?"

"Don't worry about it, it'll be fine."

Still unconvinced, Lydia accepted the card and left the flat. She was tempted to grab her coat, but for late winter, it wasn't too cold out and she figured the turtle neck jumper she was currently wearing would provide enough protection from the bit of chill. There was a light breeze that caused her to shiver lightly, but she merely quickened her pace, hoping that that would keep her warm enough.

Although Sherlock had encouraged her to buy as much as she desired, Lydia tried to keep it simple in fear of what would happen if the shop realised that she was using a stolen credit card. With her luck, Mycroft had probably already deactivated the card and she would be stuck at the chip and pin machine with no way to pay for the food. Still she walked up to it with confidence, scanning all of her items, and inserting the card. If the machine could only see her, she was sure that it would not question the validity of the credit card she was using. Alas, machines were not so easily won over by great acting as people were.

Thankfully, however, Mycroft's card did go through and she walked out of the shop without the police slapping handcuffs onto her wrists. She began her trip back to the flat when her mobile began to ring. Cursing under her breath, she shifted the bags into one hand and answered the call, not thrown off by the fact that the number had been blocked.

"Hello?" She answered politely, assuming that she was going to get an assignment, which she knew she was not going to like.

A vaguely familiar voice came from the other end of the line, "get in the car."

Lydia looked around her and was about to ask what car the man was referring to, but as soon as she opened her mouth a black saloon rode up alongside her and came to a halt. Lydia heard the other person hang up so she put away her mobile and opened the door of the car, sliding inside. There was one other passenger besides herself, but she was completely engrossed in her phone and Lydia knew better than to disturb her. Besides, small talk was not much liked in the Foundation and its partners.