The Debt (Jim MoriartyxReader)

Part Three

You took a deep breath before diving into your story.

"Do you remember how Henry Smith, that archbishop in the House of Lords, was attacked last month? Almost gunned down? It was a collaborated attack, & it turns out a friend of mine was a part of it.""Ah yes, I remember hearing about that attack." Moriarty mused. "Hugo Barclay was the man behind the plan. Stupid fellow really; it sounds like you're just in all kinds of bad relationships, aren't you (f/n)?" He commented with a sneer. Ignoring him, you continued on."The people who planned and executed the attack were caught & interrogated by the police, my friend being one of them. In order to get a shorter sentence, he outted his boss...or Barclay, to the police and he was arrested.""And now dear Mr. Friend is in trouble with his boss; so much trouble it may cost him his life...and you want me to do what I do best in order to save him?" A slasher smile crossed the man's face causing you to shrink away slightly."Waitwait tell me..." He did an aboutface & changed to wide eyed curiosity in the blink of an eye. "Is this friend of yours just a 'friend'? Or do you have feelings for him?" Moriarty was staring at you so intensely you were certain he could see into the very depths of your soul."That's none of your business!" You snapped, surprising yourself with how bold your response to the criminal was. The nature of your relationship with your friend wasn't something he needed to know about, and you weren't going to tell him.A scowl settled across Moriarty's face, indicating his displeasure with your answer. To your relief however, he seemed to accept it."Fine." He huffed irritably. "But I've been puzzling over it ever since you called me, and I must know..." Moriarty rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner as he fixed his eyes on you again. "Why are you coming to me with your problem? Was it too boring for your dear detective friend to try and figure out where that buffoon is hiding?""No, he's trying to find him now." You answered. Talking about Sherlock made that guilty feeling return to your stomach and you shifted uneasily in your seat."But it's been weeks. And neither he nor Scotland Yard have been able to find a trace of Barclay." At this Moriarty chuckled. "Oh Sherlock, isn't he so cute, thinking he's smart enough to solve any case in the world? I swear that ego of his will be the death of him..." You raised your eyebrows at the man's emphasis on the word 'death', to which he gave you an all-too-innocent smile."Ahem...you were saying...?" He prodded, changing the subject."Since no one seems to know where Barclay is, I figured it was worth a shot coming to you. At this point, I'm willing to try almost anything to keep that man from killing my friend ..."Coming to the murderous psychopath, especially behind Sherlock's back made you feel dirty inside. But Gabriel Colton, misguided as he may be now, was your closest friend; he'd been there for you at a time no one else had, and he was more important to you than Sherlock was. You were willing to do whatever it took to save him.The sadness you felt must have shown on your face because the next thing you knew, Moriarty had put his arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer into a one armed hug.It was odd; the logical part of your brain was telling you how wrong this action was, but the emotional part was taking comfort from it. Worrying about Gabriel had caused you so much stress lately, and seeing how he'd been attempting murder in his actions, you'd received little to no comfort worrying about his life. Whether it was sincere or not, the human contact you were now receiving had been long craved, and you made no effort to stop it, instead simply allowing it to happen."There there, of course I'll be able to find him." Moriarty said soothingly. "He's an idiot really, it'll be easy tracking him down."For the first time in weeks, you felt a genuine smile cross your face. Moriarty seemed confident in his ability to find this man, and this caused a feeling of hope to swell inside you. You almost wanted to throw your arms around him and hug him...almost."Buuuut.....we're forgetting something very important: Payment." Moriarty practically sang. Of course you'd seen this coming, and though it would put a strain on your budget, you were certain you had enough to pay him."How much do you want?" You asked reaching for your wallet."No no no no no, I don't want your money," he said and motioned for you to put your wallet back. "do I look like the kind of guy who needs it?" He asked as he gestured to the magnificent flat around him.Confused, you tried to figure out just what he was getting at."Well...then what do you want?" You asked the happy feeling you'd had moments before disappearing slightly.He leaned in close to you, so close you were nearly lying on your back just to avoid his face touching yours. Alarmed you tried to find the words to tell him to back up, but they seemed to be caught in your throat. All you could do was wait for him to answer."What I want is...your soul..." He whispered, a strong smell of alcohol & spearmint hitting you in the face as he spoke, and a maniacal look in his eyes.You stared at him, wondering if you had heard him correctly. Gaping like a fish, you tried to speak, but all that came out were mangled little attempts at words.He stared you down for a few more seconds before a grin spread across his face and he started cracking up. "I'm joking...I'm joking" He said between laughs as he allowed to sit upright again. "Oh I wish you could've seen the look on your face...did you really take that seriously?" With the kind of human being Jim Moriarty was, yes, you had absolutely taken that seriously."But in all seriousness," He said as he finished laughing & wiped a tear from his eye. "I want something a little different than money...I just don't know what yet..." He had a look of concentration on his face as he stared past you, as though he were thinking very hard. Finally a fox-like smile spread across his face."Let's just say you owe me. How does that sound, (f/n)?"You did not like the sound of that at all. Jim Moriarty was NOT a man you wanted to be in debt to.But apparently those were his terms. You knew he was likely the only one who could help Gabriel now. And besides if you cut the deal off now, you highly doubted Moriarty would just let you go on your merry way back home.You knew it had seemed too good to be true.Your deliberation lasted a few minutes, which Moriarty seemed to patiently wait through as he stared at you the whole time. When you realized there truly was no way out, you sighed in defeat.Promising yourself that you'd die before killing anyone for him, you agreed to the deal."Excellent." He said with a mysterious smile on his face. "You can expect Mr. Barclay to be dead within the next few days. And of course, you and I will be in touch dear. As soon as I'm in need of a favor of course." With that he stood and helped you up before motioning to his henchman who were standing by the door."I hope you won't mind returning home on the same fashion you came in; can't have you telling that pesky Lestrade where I am, now can we?"You didn't have a chance to answer whether you minded or not before the blindfold, gag, and ropes were back on you. However, this rough treatment wasn't your main concern at the moment; you had a gut feeling that Moriarty did have a favor in mind from you. And whatever it was, you knew you weren't going to like it.