For John Watson

[howdull]

[Sherlock is still finding pieces of the melted laptop in the carpet.

It had actually been quite an ingenious booby trap to be devised by a fourteen year old boy with only household chemicals to work with but, as Sherlock surmised, rather overkill to keep his mother from finding his extensive porn collection. Not one of their more illustrious cases, but it had been quite entertaining to watch both the boy and mother's faces as he revealed that he did know the how and why. He lost interest after the mother started shouting and John started shouting and the whole thing turned tedious.

He rather thinks John won't actually be doing a full write-up of this one on his blog.

It's been two days since their last case and he's beginning to get more than a little antsy. Lestrade has sent him nothing, just a boring hit and run that he refused to even leave the flat for, and nobody interesting has appeared through the blog. Said blog he is currently scrolling through on John's laptop, having borrowed it again.

He did ask, it's not his fault John hadn't been in the room at the time.]

Bored, John.

[He doesn't even know if his flatmate is even in, but that's hardly a necessity for him to actually speak to John. Frustrated, he throws the laptop across the room to hit the wall, where it summarily breaks. Which is where he can be found whenever John appears, sulking amidst pieces of laptop, both from the melted one of their last case and John's poor broken one.]

Comments

[jumpthegun]

You're going to call Lestrade on the way over to the statue, right? He's... I think he's sort of a bit busy with the explosions blocking things off.

[A pause.]

What are you going to do with Caroline's son? Whatever's at that statue could be a trap.

[howdull]

Caroline's son?

[There's a moment of utter confusion. Sherlock is so focused on what's coming next, the thrill of the chase, that he's almost forgotten all about the child.]

Oh, right. There's some food in the cupboard, I'm sure he'll be fine here.

[jumpthegun]

Sherlock, he's a little boy. Don't you dare leave him alone in that bloody crack den of a flat. Call Mrs. Hudson to pick him up. Or the police.

[howdull]

[He makes a sound of frustration.]

Very well, I'll call Mrs. Hudson, but I don't think that we have time to waste in me sitting here waiting for her. I'm sure he'll manage not to do any major damage to himself alone for half an hour or so.

[jumpthegun]

[He hates that Sherlock is right.]

Can you just take him to the statue and have Mrs. Hudson meet you there? You know how some people can be about kidnapping.

[John looks pointedly at Moriarty as he says this.]

[howdull]

You'd rather I take him to a potential trap during a serial killer's treasure hunt?

[Really, John?]

That seems more irresponsible than half an hour alone.

[jumpthegun]

[There's no way to win in this situation. John pulls the phone away from his ear and speaks to Moriarty this time.]

Is that boy part of this game?

[gallowshumour]

[The boy has nothing to do with this, other than now being a piece on the game board that could change variables, but Moriarty smiles as if the boy could be the lynchpin. It's fun to mess with normal people.]

That would be cheating, and remember what I said about cheating? Tut tut, such a lack of moral fibre.

[jumpthegun]

[John takes the bait and his temper flares hot and bright.]

He's a child, you weaselly little bastard. Even you have to have some bloody limits!

[Sherlock is either going to need to draw John's attention back to the conversation or make a decision on his own and hang-up.]

[howdull]

I'm leaving him here.

[Sherlock's voice echoes tinny and far away from the mobile phone speaker, while Moriarty just smirks at John's reaction.]

I'll call back in fifteen minutes. And John, focus. I find that I'd rather you weren't actually blown up.

[jumpthegun]

[John brings the phone up to his ear again, but Sherlock's hung up. He doesn't want to entirely distract the other man, and he knows he should be looking for other clues, but it's difficult when he's so wound up. The doctor lowers the phone again and takes a few deep breaths in an attempt to center himself. Ignore Moriarty. Ignore him and just focus on what you can find here.

How did Caroline die?

He moves back over to the body and begins to examine her more closely to ensure that all of the blood splashed around probably came from her. This is harder to do when he's feverish, but at least it's not doctoring. He'd be miserable at taking temperatures and the like right now.]

[gallowshumour]

[Caroline has had her throat slashed. Up close, the injury looks professionally done, a clean swipe cutting through the major artery with a sharp blade, perhaps even a scalpel for how precise it looks.

The spray of blood nearest to her seems to be hers, but there are a few anomalous spots near the end of the carriage he came in from. As well as a light bobbing closer, that slowly coalesces into the shape of Molly using her phone as a torch.]

John? John? Are you down here?

[jumpthegun]

Molly...

[He goes to the end to shout to her.]

Molly, stop! Don't come any closer to this carriage. It has explosives in it. Jim is here. He's murdered Caroline, and he's got us trapped on a pressure thing. I've been in contact with Sherlock, but I need you to listen very carefully to me, okay? Get everyone out of the carriage and find a way out together. [Sherlock said to get them to the end of the carriage to try to mitigate the damage, but that's far too passive for John's tastes.] Maybe there's a way down this tunnel. Jim has to have got in some way, and he'll have ensured he has an escape route, too.

You need to get everyone out in case we can't sort a way to disarm the bomb before it goes off. That man who was injured... if the other passengers can carry him, carry him. If they can't... move him to the back of the train so he's as protected as he can be, and leave him there. [Triage. That man has the lowest chance of survival on this trek, and John doesn't want to jeopardize everyone else. It's maybe a bit cold and calculated, but it's necessary.]

[gallowshumour]

[The sound of Molly's footsteps stops short and the beam of the phone's torch sweeps across to try and locate him exactly, but she can't as she's still just a bit too far down the tunnel.

It's a measure of how insane their lives have become that she doesn't question if any of that is real. Her heart just picks up in how fast it's beating, and guilt floods her. If people die, will it be her fault for introducing Jim to this situation in the first place?

She's never dating again.]

I'm not just leaving you here!

[It sounds like he's telling her to let him die, which is unacceptable.]

There has to be a way to get you off there too.

[jumpthegun]

Molly, I need you to trust me. Sherlock and I are working on getting me out right now. But what's most important is all of those other people. I know this is hard, but I need you to be their hero right now. They need someone like you to get them out of here. You're one of the bravest people I've ever met. That's what they need.

Can you do this for me? Please? Get them out of here.

[gallowshumour]

[She hesitates a long moment, trying to find a way out of this that doesn't involve her turning her back and running away from one of her few friends when he's in danger.

In the end she makes a noise of frustration and turns, the light of her phone facing the other way.]

You better still be alive when this is over, John Watson!

[jumpthegun]

Promise you can kill me if I'm not! Be careful out there, Molls.

[He realizes too late how unwise it is to show that level of affection toward Molly directly in front of Moriarty. He's already done it before, but he should really stop for her safety. Just to be sure, he does turn back to the other man.]

You have men out there in the dark. [It's not a question. Moriarty would have needed help with the set up, and he's obviously not the one who murdered Caroline and propped her up like that when his clothes are spotless.] See they don't bother her, or I will start breaking bones, Mr. Moriarty. Yours, specifically, until your men kill me. And that would be a terrible end to the game, wouldn't it?

[It's just a bit of a trick. He's trying to be clever like Sherlock would be. John pulls out the phone he'd taken from the man and walks over to offer it back. If he can get Moriarty to unlock the mobile for a call, maybe he can snatch it away mid-discussion and get access to it that way.]

[gallowshumour]

[Moriarty hasn't moved the entire time that John has been talking to either Sherlock or Molly, just watching proceedings with a tiny smile at his lips as though everything is going to plan.

It's just so entertaining, like watching a hamster run around a wheel desperately.]

Well gosh, it looks like you've got me in the palm of your hand, I'm helpless to do anything but obey.

[He takes the phone and unlocks it slowly and deliberately, smirking up at John the whole time.]

[jumpthegun]

[John just keeps his eyes on the phone, expression stony-faced. He'll try to see the combination and memorize it quickly, or at least guess it based on the pattern of Moriarty's finger if he's being more covert about it. It's no different from reading Ella's notes while she's taking them.]

[gallowshumour]

[Moriarty doesn't bother to hide it, the code is 6341 to unlock it. However, if John gets back hold of it, he'll just find that it has Candy Crush installed and no contacts listed.]

[jumpthegun]

[6341, all right. That's easy enough. Four digits...

John's gaze flicks momentarily to the briefcase. It couldn't be that easy. Could it? Given that he knows the code, he'll wait to snatch the phone back until the other man has a chance to, John assumes, actually talk to his men. Hopefully, it won't be in code. In the meanwhile, John's going to head over to the briefcase and try the 6341 combo on it. If that doesn't work, he'll also give 1436 a go.]

[howdull]

[Neither of the combinations work. Moriarty doesn't appear to let anyone know about Molly, but the Candy Crush tunes blare out in the carriage as he sits back and starts to play.

It's only another minute or two before Sherlock rings the phone that John was given, he's at the statue of Boudicea.]

Posterity, John.

[jumpthegun]

[John answers, glaring daggers at Moriarty and stepping over to swipe his mobile away again. Okay, so... he kind of enjoys Candy Crush now and again for something mindless, but he's not going to mention that. John just shuts that down.]

That's four syllables, not four digits, Sherlock.

[howdull]

It’s Boudicca’s sixth. The sixth word of the inscription on her statue, and it’s been painted over with blood.

[Any concern for this turn of events is swallowed by excitement for the game.]

[jumpthegun]

Laying it on a bit thick. [That's directed at Moriarty in a deadpan tone more than Sherlock.] Posterity. Fine. So future generations or her descendants. We're looking for Boudicca's descendants, maybe?