Beauty and the High-Functioning Sociopath {#PFCC2k16}

Two Down, Three to Go

The next morning, Alex woke up to the smell of bacon. She was up as soon as she heard it.

"Hey! I know that smell!" She said. "BACON!"

She ran into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Hudson frying bacon and John and Sherlock eating at the table. Alex burst into the kitchen and bounced around Mrs. Hudson. 

"Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon!" She said. Mrs. Hudson had to hold a plate above her head so Alex didn't knock it down.

"Calm down, dear!" Mrs. Hudson said. She set a plate down. "There you go."

Alex gobbled it down, her hunger consuming her. She couldn't remember when she'd last had bacon. Sherlock paid no attention, eating his breakfast. John, however, clutched his stomach.

"I think I may be sick." He said, pushing away his plate. Alex, who had finished everything, not just her bacon, stole it. John gaped at her. "Hey, stop, that's mine!"

"Eh, you snooze you loose." Alex said. "Here, you can have it back."

"Thank you." John said.

"So, when are we going back to Scotland Yard?" Alex asked, leaning back.

"As soon as your brother is done eating." Sherlock said. "Obviously, you and I are done."

"I'm done." John said. "Let's go." 

They all got in a cab and went to Scotland Yard. They went into the building and up to Lestrade's office. Lestrade told them everything that had happened. 

"She lives in Cornwall. Two men broke in, wearing masks, and forced her to drive to the car park." He said. "Then they decked her out in enough explosives to take down a house. Told her to phone you. She had to read out from this pager." Lestrade pushed a pager across the desk. John took it.

"And if she deviated by one word, the sniper would set her off." Sherlock said.

"Or if you hadn't solved the case." John said.

"Ah...elegant." Sherlock smiled. Alex turned to face him.

"Elegant? That woman could have died." She said. "Well...she's scarred for life."

"What was the point, why would anyone do that?" Lestrade asked, looking disgusted.

"Well, like I told Alex, I can't possilby be the only person in the world who gets bored." Sherlock said, the memory of him shooting the wall crossing his mind. The pink phone chirped. 

"Here we go again." Alex sighed. "I should have just gone to our parents eh, John?"

"No. You've proved yourself useful." Sherlock said, ruffling her hair before opening the message. Alex blushed.

"You have one new message." The automated voice said. The phone beeped four times.

"Four pips." John observed.

"It's a countdown, idiot." Alex said.

"First test passed, it would seem." Sherlock said. He showed a picture of a black car to Lestrade. "Here's the second. It would seem abandoned, wouldn't it?"

"I'll see if it's been reported." Lestrade said, picking up the phone on his desk. Sally came into the room

"Freak? It's for you." She said, holding out the phone to Sherlock.

"Alex, come with me." Sherlock said. He pressed the phone to his ear once he was outside the office. "Hello?"

"It's ok that you've gone to the police." A male voice said, breaking off at parts, just like the woman had done.