It Started With Stealing | Sherlock Holmes

2 - A Meeting With Mycroft

"Yes."

"Why couldn't you tell me this at my flat? This didn't seem like a matter of national urgency." Sherlock almost whined.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because we are trying to keep these extra details to ourselves and not the general public."

"We are the general public."

"Sherlock - "

"Oh, wait, you mean from Mrs. Hudson? You asked us here because you didn't want Mrs. Hudson to hear? I could have told her to go downstairs," Sherlock argued and then looked to John, "And you said I was the childish one?"

"Perhaps I should leave you and Mycroft to talk about this more." John forced a smile as he stood up from the chair.

"Hold on - "

"I think you need to find out more about the case, don't you?" John insisted.

"Yes, brother mine, I still haven't finished explaining."

"Well, why not?"

"Because you interrupted me." Mycroft stated blatantly, garnering Sherlock's silence once again.

"Right, well, I'll be outside the room." John nodded as he walked out, leaving the two brothers to discuss the case alone.

Quite franky, John always felt somewhat annoyed when the two of them fought over silly little matters. Yes, it was Sherlock's fault a majority of the time but even so, family was family. John hated the fact that he had fought with his sister, Harry, and sometimes couldn't understand how Sherlock could continually do it without feeling bad. Perhaps he was a machine? He waited in the foyer of Mycroft's mansion, looking around in awe of how grand it was.

Then he heard a sullen thud from upstairs.

His brow hooded over his eyes which burned with curiosity. To John's knowledge, there was no one else in the mansion. Presumably, Mycroft had a housekeeper but he didn't think that they stayed. There was another thud and then a crack. John walked back over to the door to the living room and popped his head in to see Sherlock stood up, while Mycroft was still seated.

"No one else is here, right, Mycroft?" John asked.

"No, of course not."

"Why?" Sherlock looked intrigued with his question.

"Nothing, probably just the wind in that case." John shook his head, closing the door again.

He didn't wish to disrupt the two and so thought that a little check wouldn't go amiss. John quietly headed up the stairs, looking to his right first and then to his left to which he saw the open window at the end of the hall. Creeping along, he anxiously listened out for anymore odd noises. Having made it to the window, he looked out into the grounds and still saw nothing alarming. Shrugging, John shut the window. The noises must have been a figment of his imagination he thought as he made his way back down the dark corridor.

That's when he heard some shuffling from the room to his right on the way back.

He hovered by the door, pressing his ear to the shiny wood just to make sure he had heard correctly.

"There it is." He heard a voice from inside mumble.

Without even thinking, John placed his hand on the handle calmly and slowly opened the door. A woman was stood with her back to the door on the far side of what John understood to be Mycroft's drawing room. She wore an entirely black catsuit, holding what appeared to be a small backpack of the same colour. Her gloved hands held a file; she looked as if she was about to put it in her backpack. John stood still for a moment, shocked at what he was seeing.

"Who are you?" He felt compelled to say.

This earned her attention, given the rapid turn of her head to see him stood in the way of the doorway. Elizabeth's mind raced; what was he doing in here? He was in the other room with Mycroft and his brother. It must have been when she opened the window, she thought, mentally slapping herself. She cursed under her breath, keeping her gaze on John as she slipped the file into her backpack.

"Who are you?" John asked again, now shutting the door behind him, "And what are you doing here?"

"Look, you can turn around and pretend you didn't see this." She muttered to him as she put her backpack on.

An increasing negative feeling grew in John's stomach as this woman gradually moved towards the other window in the room. John, already anticipating what she was going to do, hurriedly moved forwards. Elizabeth, in turn, sprinted to the window that was on the west side of the room. However, John was quicker and managed to snatch her arm. This earned an attempted slap from Elizabeth, who struggled to get out of his grip. John kept his hold on her and ended up dragging her back towards the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" She hissed at him, aiming another punch to his face of which he dodged.

"I - could ask you - the same thing." John replied, struggling to keep a hold on her, "Sherlock! SHER - AH!"

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A/N:

We love a cliffhanger hehe :)))