Eccedentasiast (A BBC Sherlock Fanfiction)

Sixteen ; Lucy

I dropped my bags onto the ground, sighing as I looked around the room. Ms Adler's last known location had been at the La Novia hotel in Catania and Mycroft had managed to get three separate suites with connecting doors. He was annoying at times but he did have his pros. From what little information we'd gotten it seemed like Adler did love to party, we'd  agreed to have the afternoon off before staking out the card party at 9. Most of Irene's high profile clients would be there and with any luck, she would be too.  A simple recon mission just to glean any information and we'd  act after we had proper intel, at least that was what Sherlock had said. He'd called us after the flight had landed, brief and succinct as normal but I didn't fail to notice the strained tone to his voice. I sighed before turning to my suitcase. Into Battle.

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I met up with Lizzie outside the room. She looked gorgeous, coppery curls swept into a side chignon. She straightened her dark red dress. "Where's Ross ?" I asked, noting the absence of the engineer. She looked down. "He decided his time would be better spent in the room, doing more research."  She was clearly upset, biting her lip and refusing to meet my eyes. I frowned as there was an awkward silence.

    Suddenly her eyes lit up as she remembered. She looked into her bag, rummaging around until she withdrew her arm, holding out a pair of glasses and a pair of earrings. "Recording devices. Sends a live feed to Ethan. Take your pick."  I frowned slightly before fastening the earrings to my ears, clicking the button to start recording. Hayes did the same, the simple black frames enlarging her eyes. We put in our wires as well. I tapped on mine. "You there Ross ?" For a few moments there was a silence.
"Yup, you can go on ahead." A Scottish burr crackled over the lines. I grinned before pushing open the door. We walked inside, I accepted a glass of champagne, tucking my purse under my arm. I hated the fact that working with Sherlock had forced me to start using a gun.

Before, I'd only come to crime scenes occasionally, preferring to solve cold cases and then send them off to active officers. Whenever Lestrade saw me passing off  them off to Officers like Johnson or Roberts, insisting they took all credit, he'd frowned but never said anything. Ever since Adrienne, I'd refused to pick up a gun. Even brushing against the metal could set off the visions again. I think that was why I'd turned to alcohol. The burning down my throat blocked out the visions. Even though I'd stopped drinking in front of Sherlock, I still drank at home. However the champagne was the first I'd had in days. I'd been too busy with MV and the Greenhouse to crack open a beer. I gulped down the fizzy liquid, savouring the taste and grabbing another one off a servers plate. I ignored Lizzie's obvious staring. Maybe being upset made her insensitive? Either way, I glared at her until she hastily looked away. "It's been a long week" was all I offered as an explanation. She rolled her eyes slightly, before she saw him. "There!" She pointed him out discreetly, obviously excited with her discovery. A man in his 30s sat by the window, holding a fan of cards to his chest. He had black, curly hair so much like Sherlock's that it was scary. His eyes glinted in the candlelight, the look of a man who knew what he wanted and was unafraid to take it, pupils dilated and a sensuous smile playing in her lips, the lady across from him  looked like she was just as eager. I glared as she trailed her eyes up and down the man, pushing out her chest suggestively. What a blatant show of vulgarity. But other than that, I didn't see anything worth noticing. "What ?" She turned to frown at me and Ross's voice crackled down the earpiece. "Didn't you do any of the reading ?"
"No ! I was too busy packing for the last minute mission ! And then on the plane I was too busy making up for the sleep I'd missed because I was too busy packing for the frickin' mission." He decided to stay silent. "Well, who is he ?" Ross started and so did Hayes. "He's-" They both started to speak over each other. Ross cleared his throat and Lizzie glared at the ceiling. The tension was palpable. Suddenly Ross spoke again, his voice quiet as if he could sense Lizzie's irritation. "He's Harvey Munro, one of Irene's biggest clients. If anyone knows where she is it'll be him...according to my data, this is his last night here." I bit the inside of my cheek thoughtfully. "So what do you want us to do ?"
"Nothing. At least for now, tonight is a recon mission. We may be able to talk to him but only talk, nothing more. Those were Mycroft's express orders. Stick to the plan." I nodded before reminding myself he could only see my surroundings, not me. "Got it."
"Lizzie ?" Hayes hadn't stopped glaring and now walked over to another server to grab a new glass of champagne. "What happened in the brief period of time I left you guys alone for ?" There was no response. I inhaled sharply. "Alright then."