The Consulting Hacker

Questioning

"Really? What were you doing that caused your laptop to run out of battery so quickly?"

"Just my usual stuff."

"So, hacking?"

"Yes, Sherlock. Took you long enough." Cate didn't look up, she was too focused on her screen, "So what gave it away?"

"Your eyes, they were far too red, and they kept darting about, but in a similar area. Suggests you've been using it quite a lot recently. And you had slight indents just below your wrists when you waved goodbye to Mrs Hudson this morning, indents that wouldn't occur if you were 'just watching' stuff."

"Hmmm... That can't be all?"

"Your laptop is a fairly recent model, yet it looks like you've had it for a while, the key's letters are quite worn out. And the rate at which you're typing isn't the speed at which someone is writing and thinking, but more of someone who was doing something without really thinking. More robotic."

"Congrats. I'm assuming that you think that I'm the one causing the hacking scandal too?"

"No, you're preventing it. You wouldn't have done it in front of me if you were."

"Well done. I underestimated you. But it did take you an awfully long time." She looked up at that moment and smiled at him, "So you researched my laptop model and checked the status of the hacking scandal in less than three minutes to check if your theory was true?"

"Yes. You haven't gone out as much recently, apart from at certain times on certain days. Tell me, where do you go at those times?"

"You're Sherlock Holmes, figure it out yourself." Cate went back to her laptop and Sherlock to his phone. He wasn't going to tell Lestrade about her hobby just yet, he needed more information.

--

Cate shut the door and began hopping to get warmer,

"John?" Sherlock called from his living room.

"Nope, it's me."

"Oh, why are you back so late?"

"I'm asking the questions this evening, you had your chance this morning. It's fair."

"Fine, first come up."

"What have you set your radiator to?"

"One."

"Turn it up to three, it's far too cold. I'm not coming up until you've turned it up to three." Sherlock could be heard shuffling upstairs, "Is it done?"

"Yes." Cate walked up the narrow staircase and as she reached Sherlock's door, she half sprinted to the radiator.

"So warm." She curled herself up and wrapped her arms around her legs, she looked at Sherlock, "So why was your radiator only on the first setting?"

"Colder room temperatures help me to think."

"Think about what? The fire case?"

"Yes. There's no correlation between any of the victims, apart from the fact that they all smoke."

"You still haven't figured out that case, haven't you been working on that for a few days now?"

"Yes, but there's nothing new about the case. It just doesn't make sense, it seems as though as they were randomly chosen." Sherlock flung himself back on onto the sofa and looked at the ceiling.

"So shouldn't you be concentrating more on the case than setting your homeless network on me?"

"That's precisely why I got my homeless network to look out for you. I'm too busy working on my case, so they were my eyes. But how did you find out that they were watching you?"

"It's my question time. I'm not going to answer that. Are you going to get them off my back now that I know that they've been following me?"

"I don't see why I should. I still don't know where you go to during the day."

"Fine, whatever, it doesn't really affect me anyway." Cate got up and turned the knob by the radiator back down to one, "You shouldn't worry so much about me. After being on the run for this long, I know how to cover most of my tracks, and even if you did find out what I do, it doesn't help you that much, it's just useless information."

--

YUP, IT HAS BEEN A WHILE, I'VE BEEN BUSY PREPARING FOR MY PIANO EXAM WHICH IS IN THREE WEEKS, AND ON TOP OF THAT, I HAD MY SCHOOL EXAMS TO DO AS WELL, AND I'VE BASICALLY BOMBED THE MAJORITY OF IT. AND I HAVE BEEN READING BACK AT THE BEGINNING CHAPTERS OF THIS FANFIC, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY AWFUL, I'M SURPRISED YOU GUYS READ IT STILL, IT'S WRITTEN SO POORLY AND THERE ARE JUST SO MANY STUPID MISTAKES. ME FROM TWO YEARS AGO WAS SERIOUSLY STUPID AND THERE ARE SO MANY ILLOGICAL THINGS AT THE BEGINNING TOO. SO TO THE PEOPLE THAT POINTED OUT MY STUPIDITY, THANK YOU. AND IF I COULD TRAVEL BACK IN TIME, I WOULD PUNCH MYSELF. AND OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE STILL MANY PLOT HOLES IN MY FANFIC STILL, SO PLEASE TELL ME IF THERE ARE, AND I WILL TRY TO FIX IT, IF NOT I WILL MOST PROBABLY AVOID IT AND PRETEND THAT THE MISTAKE DOES ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE.

LATERZ!

anonymouse8