The Game Is On - (Sequel To Triple Threat)

Chapter Eight

Sorry for the long wait - A-level exams etc etc :P  

Chapter Eight

Sherlock

It wasn't long before Irene woke up, and when she did I was quick to question her.

"What are you doing here?" I said quickly, staring hard at her.  She yawned and sat up, smiling slightly.

"Hello to you too." She grinned flirtatiously at me, but I ignored it.  My eyes narrowed slightly, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't read what she was thinking.  She was a closed book as far as I could tell, and I hadn't met very many people like this; it annoyed me.  

"What are you doing here?" I asked again, my tone remaining serious.  The smile fell from her face as she sighed and sat with her back against the wall.

"I came to warn you." She said quietly.  "I've been following Moriarty's children for a while and-" She was cut off by John.

"Wait, YOU knew he had children?!  How??" He exclaimed, anger entering his voice.  

"I have contacts."  She smiled suggestively, making John roll his eyes.

"Of course you do." He muttered under his breath.  

"Anyway, I've been following them and they have your friend's daughter, Sherlock.  And another girl.  They are based in the middle of the New Forest, near where Jo was taken fourteen years ago.  There's supposed to be some sort of irony there, or something." She shrugged and yawned again.  

"Is that all you came to tell me?" I asked impatiently - I knew there was more.  Irene shifted uncomfortably under my gaze.

"It's a trap, Sherlock.  They want to kill you and your police friend.  Please don't go." Her voice was barely above a whisper at the end, which confused me.  Why on earth would she care whether I went or stayed?  Sure, we'd kept in contact over the last few years, but it still didn't explain why she was so affected by my decision.  

"I'm going.  Gary and I will be fine." I told her sternly. 

"Greg!  His name is GREG!" John excaimed, burying his head in his hands.  I waved a hand dismissively, I couldn't care less what his name was to be honest.  Irene took a deep breath and sat up straight.

"I'm going with you." She said, her voice strong but her eyes were fearful.  I could tell she wanted to help, but the fear in her eyes gave her away.

"No, this is none of your business." I told her bluntly, hoping that by being rude, she would let it go.  I could see in her eyes that my comment hurt her slightly, but it really was none of her business.  Sure, she'd come to warn me, but I'd already known what she had to say.  Besides, this was between me and Moriarty's children.  Nobody else.  

"Fine." She climbed out of my bed and marched out of my room, without saying another word.  I dialled Lestrades number and held it to my ear as I heard the door downstairs slam shut.  I glanced out of the window just in time to see Irene storming across the street.  I rolled my eyes and went to the lounge to sit down.

"Hello?" Lestrade answered the phone and I quickly launched into the details over everything I knew.  There was silence at the other end of the line and I thought that Lestrade had hung up.  ".....Okay, count me in." He said quietly - I picked up on the fear in his voice, but I could hardly blame him - he was only human after all.  We agreed to meet in ten minutes, which gave me enough time to fill John in on our plan.  If everything went well, we should all be able to get out of this alive and finally be rid of Moriarty's followers.  

It took no more than an hour to get enough police officers to accompany me and Lestrade, apparently they'd received news of sightings of the Moriarty children around the New Forest.  

"So, where exactly are they?" Lestrade asked me for the third time.  I could tell he was nervous, because every time I answered him he seemed to be vacant and not hear me.

"Near the warehouse that Jo was taken to." I repeated my answer, and stepped up my pace.  I tried to walk away from the police officers, but Donnovan called me back.

"No, you can't just go off on your own.  This is a police investigation, and you're lucky I'm letting you be here." Her voice was stern, but I knew that they needed me - there was no way they would tell me to leave, not now.  

We continued searching for around an hour, we'd already passed the warehouse.  Only when it came into view again did Donnovan realise she was leading the team around in circles.  She turned to me, her face creased with fatigue and confusion and immediately I knew I had won.  

"Ok, you lead the way." She conceded and began to follow me as I marched off in a different direction.  The ground had been trampled, but there also seemed to be a clear effort to cover up the tracks that had been made - perhaps this was why the police missed this trail.  Hopefully it would lead us to Lana.

Lana

I gritted my teeth as another sharp wave of pain hit my leg, and then continued to spread around my body.  My eyes were heavy and my head was throbbing, the easy option was to sleep but I knew that would be a big mistake.  Mia's head rested on my lap, yet she was still unconcious.  I moved a strand of hair away from her battered face, and tried once more to gently shake her.  There was no response.  I sighed in despair as I knew the end was near, we couldn't hold on any longer.  I spent a moment thinking about what could happen if I just shut my eyes...would it all be over the second I close them, or would I drift somewhere between life and death for a while?  Fighting was no use anymore, and I gave into the temptation of release.  I let my eyelids drop.

"Lana?" I heard an unfamilliar voice call my name, but I couldn't open my eyes.  I felt hands grip my shoulders and shake me, but I couldn't move.  I felt my breathing shallow, and I knew it was too late.  More voices appeared, although muffled I recognised that they belonged to the Moriarty boys.  I felt the hands on my shoulders get wrenched away, silence again filled the room and I was again alone.

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I know that's pretty short but I just really wanted to get another chapter up after putting this on hold for so long.  Thanks for sticking with it! :)