I walked up the steps to the flat, grocery bags in my hands. I set the bags down in the kitchen. I froze. Something's off, I thought. I sniffed the air. Women's perfume. I went over to the window, brushing my fingers along the sill. Opened from the outside. I looked around the flat, looking for something else unusual. I cautiously walked up the steps to my bedroom, peeking inside. I entered the room, my eyes fixed on the bed. I heard Sherlock's and John's footsteps walking up the stairs to the living room.
"Sherlock. John." I called. They came up to my room.
"We have a client." I said.
"In your bedroom?" John asked. They laid eyes on what was in my bed.
"Oh..." John said. Sherlock narrowed his eyes, thinking. Irene Alder was sound asleep in my bed, her hands pillowing her head. Her long black hair was down, her face free of makeup. I crossed my arms.
➳➴➵➶➷➸➹
We were all sitting in the living room. Irene Alder was in Sherlock's blue dressing gown, sitting in his chair.
"So, who's after you this time?" I asked.
"People who want to kill me." She replied.
"Who's that?" Sherlock asked.
"Killers." Irene said with a smirk.
"It would help if you were a tiny bit more specific." John said.
"So you faked your own death to get ahead of them." Sherlock said.
"It worked for a while." Irene said.
"Until you let John know, and therefore Jax and I." Sherlock said.
"I knew you two would keep my secret." She said.
"You couldn't." I remarked.
"But you did, didn't you." She said, with a look my way.
"Where's my camera phone?" She asked. "If they've guessed you've got it they'll be watching you."
"If they've been watching me then they'll know that I took a safety deposite box at a bank on the Strand a few months ago." Sherlock said.
"I need it." Irene said.
"Well, we can't just go and get it." John said. He then proceeded to ramble about an elaborate and cautious plan for retrieving the phone.
"Excellent, John. Very intelligent precautions." Sherlock said, getting the camera phone out of his pocket. Irene stood up.
"So, what do you keep on here? In general, I mean." Sherlock said.
"Pictures, information, anything I might find useful." She said.
"For blackmail?" John accused.
"For protection. I make my way in the world, I misbehave. I like to know people will be on my side exactly when I need them to be." She said.
"And how do you acquire this information?" Sherlock asked.
"I told you. I misbehave." She replied.
"But now you've acquired something that's more danger than protection. Do you know what it is?" Sherlock asked.
"Yes. But I don't understand it." She said.
"That should be assumed." I muttered, obviously annoyed. Irene just smiled at me.
"Show me." Sherlock said. Irene held out her hand.
"The passcode." Sherlock said. She didn't say anything, just extended her hand further. Sherlock handed over the phone. She typed in a number, and the phone beeped negatively.
"It's not working." She said. Sherlock stood up and grabbed the phone from her hands.
"No, because it's a duplicate that I had made that you just entered the numbers 1058. I assumed you would choose something more specific than that, but thanks anyway. Jax, the phone please." Sherlock said. I took the phone out of my pocket and tossed it to him.
"You trust her that much?" Irene said. I narrowed my eyes at her. Sherlock entered the numbers 1058 into the real phone, and it beeped negatively. He looked up at her, and she smirked knowingly.
"I told you that phone was my life. I know when it's in my hand." She said.
"You're rather good." Sherlock said, handing over the phone.
"You're not so bad." She said, smirking at him. They stared at each other for a while. I looked back and forth at them with annoyance.
"Irene, if you're going to flirt with yet another man, kindly do it on your own time." I snapped. She looked at me.
"Jealous?" She teased.
"Me? Jealous of you? Oh, bless your delusional heart." I said sarcastically. She unlocked the phone, opening up an email.
"There was a man, an MOD official and I knew what he liked. One of the things he liked was showing off. He told me this email was going to save the world, he didn't know it but I photographed it." Irene said, showing Sherlock the email on the phone.
"It's a bit small on that screen, can you read it?" She asked.
"Yes." Sherlock answered, his eyes locked onto the screen.
"I had one of the best cryptographers in the country look at it. Couldn't figure it out. What can you do, Mr. Holmes? Go on, impress a girl." She said, leaning in to kiss him on the check. I clenched my jaw and glared at her.
"There's a margin for error, but I'm pretty sure there's a 747 leaving Heathrow tomorrow at 6:30 in the evening for Baltimore. Apparently, it's going to save the world. Not sure how that could be true, but give me a moment, I've only been on the case for eight seconds." Sherlock said in his fast voice. I looked up at him, wondering what he meant. Everyone stared at him.
"Oh, come on, it's not code. Theses are seat allocations on a passenger jet. Look. There's no letter I because it can be mistaken for a one. No letters past K, the width of the plane is the limit. The numbers always appear randomly and not in sequence, but the letters have little runs of sequence all over the place. Families and couples siting together. Only a jumbo is wide enough to need a letter K, or rows past 55. Which is why there's always an upstairs. There's a row 13 which eliminates the more superstitious airlines. Then there's the style of the flight number, 007 which eliminates a few more. And assuming the British point of origin, which would be logical, considering the original source of the information and assuming the increased pressure on you lately that the crisis is imminent, the only flight that matches all the criteria and departs within the week is the 6:30 to Baltimore tomorrow evening from Heathrow airport." Sherlock finished, looking to Irene who had a dazed look on her face. I stared at him. He got all that in less than eight seconds?
"Please don't feel obliged to tell me that was remarkable or amazing. John's expressed that thought in every possible variant available to the English language." Sherlock added.
"I would have you, right here on this desk until you begged for mercy twice." Irene said, her eyes locked on Sherlock. There was a pause.
"John, please check those flight schedules, see if I'm right." Sherlock said, his eyes fixed on Irene's. It irritated me for some reason.
"I've never begged for mercy in my life." He said.
"Twice." She reminded him.
"You're right. Flight double o' seven." John said. Sherlock looked at him.
"What did you say?" He said.
"You're right. Flight double o' seven." John repeated. Sherlock brushed past Irene and paced around the room, muttering under his breath. Irene sneaked a glance at me, wondering if I was watching. I watched Sherlock as he paced around the room.
➳➴➵➶➷➸➹
A couple of hours later, Sherlock, Irene and I were all sitting in the living room. The fire was roaring, and Sherlock was plucking away at his violin.
"Coventry." He began.
"I've never been." Irene said. "Is it nice?" Sherlock's eyes scanned the room.
"Where's John?" He asked.
"He went out, a couple of hours ago." She explained.
"I was just talking to him." Sherlock muttered.
"He said you do that." Irene said. I raised my hand.
"Yeah, still here!" I said. "If you two need a moment alone, the bedroom is right over there." Irene raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"She's snappy when she's jealous." She said.
"Oh, please. Jealous of what? Anything you can do, I can do better. Unless it's being a whore. You win hands down." I said. She smirked.
"See, now that's why she's special." Irene said, leaning forward. "I've never met anyone who had the ability to insult me so prettily before." I rolled my eyes.
"You know something about her, Mr. Holmes?" She said. He looked up. "She says she doesn't care, but her eyes tell a different story. Remember that." I narrowed my eyes.
"You still wear the ring I got you all those years ago." I said, inspecting the ring dotted with diamonds on her left hand.
"Why did you keep it?" I asked.
"The same reason you kept that." Irene said, gesturing to the ring I always wore. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes running up my form.
"You and I are the same in many ways." She said.
"You and I are nothing alike." I snapped.
"Would you like me to go down the list?" Irene said.
"Actually, I have a question for you. I was wondering how you comb your hair so the horns don't show." I remarked. Before she could reply, Mrs. Hudson entered the room followed by the same man who took us to Buckingham Palace. Sherlock sighed.
"Have you come to take me away again?" Sherlock said in a annoyed tone.
"Yes, Mr. Holmes." The man replied.
"Well, I decline." Sherlock said.
"I don't think you do." The man said, handing him an envelope. Sherlock snatched it and opened it, revealing a plane ticket for the flight 007. Sherlock hopped up from his seat.
"Come on, Jax. We've got a plane to catch." Sherlock said.
"Mr. Holmes, she isn't admitted to come. Only your presence was requested." The man said. I looked to Irene.
"You're going to leave me here with her?" I said. Irene winked at me.
"Please, Mr. Holmes. We have a time table." The man said. Sherlock looked to me with a conflicted expression. He slipped on his coat.
"You can handle her, Jax. I'll only be gone a little while." He said. Irene slinked over to me, putting her hand over mine.
"Don't worry, Sherlock. I'll take good care of her." She said, with a smile. Sherlock gave me a look and disappeared down the hall. I heard the car speed away a few minutes later. Irene sat in the armchair across from me.
"Try anything and I won't hesitate to hurt you in an imaginative number of ways." I snapped. She just smiled.
"Oh, come on, Jax. You don't want to hurt me." She said.
"I'll be happy to prove you wrong." I snapped.
"I've been watching you, you know. After you thought I was dead you sulked for a while. Why is that?" She asked. I turned my head, grinding my teeth.
"We were good friends back in the day. Told each other everything." Irene said. She stood up, coming to stand over me. She took the camera phone from her pocket.
"That's why you want this. I know your secrets, Jax. And they're all on this phone." She said, waving the phone around. I narrowed my eyes.
"Get to the point." I snapped.
"Gladly. I waited until Sherlock was gone to bring this up, waited until we were alone. I have information on this phone that could topple your whole world. You know that. You've managed to keep that little detail from Sherlock and John all this time while you quietly looked for me on your own. You've been tracking me, but nobody else knew it. You want this camera phone for personal reasons." She said. I glared at her.
"What do you want." I said coldly. She smiled.
"You will do everything that I say without hesitation, or I will release the contents of this camera phone. You wouldn't want that would you?"
➳➴➵➶➷➸➹
Sherlock, Mycroft, Irene, and I were sitting in Mycroft's parlor. It was dark outside, and the glowing fire cast shadows across the walls. Sherlock and I were sitting in the armchairs by the fire while Irene and Mycroft sat at the table. Irene was wearing a tight black dress, her hair twisted up in its familiar style. My hands were knitted together, my eyes downcast. Sherlock kept trying to catch my gaze, but I avoided his eyes.
"We have people who can get into this." Mycroft said, referring to the camera phone that was resting on the table.
"I tested that theory for you. I let Sherlock and Jax try it for six months. Trust me, no one wants to get into that camera phone more than Jax does. Jax, dear, tell him what you found when you x-rayed my camera phone." Irene said.
"There are four additional units wired inside the casing. I suspect containing acid or a small amount of explosive. Any attempt to open the casing will burn the hard drive." I said, my eyes still avoiding Sherlock's.
"Explosive. It's more me." Irene said.
"Some data is always recoverable." Mycroft said.
"Jax is living proof that that's not entirely true." Irene said. "If the information she had stored in her head was recoverable then she wouldn't be so valuable." Mycroft rubbed his forehead, the panic and defeat evident in his face.
"You have a passcode to open this. I deeply regret to inform you that we have people that can extract it from you." Mycroft said.
"Jax." Irene said with a bored tone.
"There are two passcodes. One to unlock the phone, one to burn the drive. You'll never know which one she's giving you and there would be no point in a second attempt." I said.
"Oh, she's good isn't she? I should have her on a leash. Maybe I will." Irene said.
"We destroy this, then. No one has the information." Mycroft said.
"Fine. Good idea. Unless there are lives of British citizens depending on the information you're about to burn." Irene said.
"Are there?" Mycroft asked.
"Telling you would be playing fair. I'm not playing anymore." She replied. Sherlock scoffed. Irene got an envelope out of her purse, sliding it over to Mycroft.
"A list of my requests." Irene said. "And some ideas about my protection once they're granted." Mycroft looked over the list. His brows furrowed.
"You want Jax to come with you?" Mycroft said in disbelief. Sherlock looked up.
"You will allow her to come with me. No one will interfere with that. You will leave her alone." Irene ordered. I clenched my jaw.
"Why do you want her to go with you?" Mycroft asked.
"I have this camera phone. Therefore, I have hundreds of pictures and scandals and secrets. Out of those secrets, some of them are Jax's. I have Jax's secrets, therefore I have Jax. Jax has thousands of top secret files in her memory. And now so do I. Two valuable sources of information." Irene explained. Sherlock narrowed his eyes, his mind racing. Mycroft sighed leaning back in his chair.
"You've been very...thorough." He said. "I wish our lot were half as good as you."
"I can't take all the credit. I had a bit of help." Irene said. "Jim Moriarty sends his regards." Sherlock whipped his head to look at me. I knew what he was thinking. If Irene is in contact with Jim, then they are working together. Which means that I might be delivered right back into the hands of Moriarty. Sherlock leaned closer to me.
"Jax, whatever she has on you, I can help. You don't have to go through with this." He whispered.
"What else am I supposed to do, Sherlock?" I whispered back. "You don't get how long I've known her. The things I've told her." I said, running a hand through my hair nervously.
"The dominatrix that brought a nation to its knees." Mycroft said, standing up to stand by Irene. "Nicely played." Irene smirked.
"Come along, Jax. Pack your bags, we'll be gone by morning." Irene said, walking over to the door with me following behind her reluctantly. Sherlock's face changed, realizing something.
"No." Sherlock interjected.
"Sorry?" Irene asked, confused.
"I said no. Very, very close, but no." Sherlock said, jumping to his feet. "You got carried away. The game was too elaborate, you were enjoying yourself too much."
"No such thing as too much." Irene said.
"Oh, enjoying the thrill of the chase is fine. Craving the distraction of the game, I sympathize entirely, but sentiment? Sentiment is a chemical defect found in the losing side."
"Sentiment? What are you talking about?" Irene asked, the superior smirk never leaving her face.
"You." Sherlock said.
"Oh, dear God. Look at the poor man." Irene said. "You don't actually think I was interested in you?"
"Not me. Her." Sherlock said, gesturing to me. He reached behind her and grabbed the phone from the table.
"I imagine John Watson thinks love is a mystery to me, but the chemistry is incredibly simple and very destructive." Sherlock said. Irene's face changed, turning panicked.
"When we first met, you told me that disguise is always a self portrait. How true of you. The combination to your safe, your measurements, but this is far more intimate. This is your heart, and you should never let it rule your head." Sherlock said typing into the phone.
"You could've walked out of here with everything you've ever wanted, but you just couldn't resist it, could you?" Sherlock said.
"The evidence is all there. When the fire alarm sounded at your house, you looked at Jax first, then the photographs. You didn't think I would notice, but I did. When we found you in our flat, you were sleeping in Jax's bed. Maybe it's because you felt safe there, you trusted her. Flirting with me to make her jealous. Wearing the ring she got you all those years ago. Requesting that she go with you when you disappeared without any interference. And finally, me." Sherlock said.
"You?" Irene asked.
"Me. I'm the obstacle. The lock. I always thought love was a dangerous disadvantage, thank you for the final proof." Sherlock said. Irene had tears pooling in her eyes now.
"Everything I did, it's not real. I was just playing the game." She said quietly.
"I know, and this is just losing." Sherlock said, showing her the passcode he had entered into the phone. I AM SHERLOCKED. A single tear escaped Irene's eye. I was frozen in my spot, watching. Sherlock handed the phone to Mycroft.
"There you go, brother. I hope this makes up for any trouble I might have caused." Sherlock said. He grabbed his coat.
"Come on, Jax. Let's go home." He said. I walked over to him. Irene grabbed my hand, the tears leaking out of her eyes.
"Jax, please." She said. I looked back at her, then down at our touching hands. I looked at the ring on her finger. I raised her hand to my lips and kissed the ring.
"Goodbye, Irene." I said blankly, turning away from her and tearing my hand from hers. I left her staring after me with heartbroken eyes.
➳➴➵➶➷➸➹
Sherlock and I sat in the cab, staring silently out the window. My mind was racing, and I felt his eyes on me.
"You alright?" He asked, his voice as emotionless as ever.
"I knew she had a crush on me back when we met, but I had no idea she would take it this far." I muttered. There was a pause.
"She won't last six months." I said.
"I know." He said. We sat there in a moment of silence. A moment of silence for The Woman.
➳➴➵➶➷➸➹
A few months later, Sherlock and I were sitting in the kitchen while he gazed into the microscope I got him for Christmas. My feet were propped on the table, a book in my hands. The rain was pouring outside, the sky an ominous gray. John ascended the stairs and entered the kitchen. His coat and hair were rain soaked. He held a plastic bag in his hands, which I instantly recognized as the file on Irene Adler. I looked up at him.
"That's her file, The Woman's?" I asked. John looked down at it and back up at me.
"Mm hmm." He said. Sherlock looked up.
"Has something happened? Has she come back?" He asked. Sherlock and I stood up.
"Uh, no." John said, scrunching up his face. He paused, as if he was trying to decide what to say.
"She's in America." John said finally.
"America?" I said, raising my eyebrows.
"Got herself on a witness protection scheme, apparently." John said. "Well, you know."
"Know what?" I asked.
"Well, you won't be able to see her again." John said.
"Why would we want to see her again?" Sherlock asked.
"Didn't say that you did." John said, looking down.
"That's her file, then?" Sherlock asked sitting back down. I sat down in my chair again.
"Yeah, I was just going to take it back down to Mycroft. Do you want to...?" Josh asked.
"No." We both answered at the same time. I looked back down at my book. John turned to leave.
"But I will have the camera phone, though." I said, extending my hand.
"I have to get this back to Mycroft, you can't keep it." John said. I reached my hand towards him.
"I can't give it to you, it's the government's now." John said.
"Please." I pressed, my eyes still on the page. After a pause, John handed over the phone.
"Thank you." I said.
"Well, I better take this back." John said, walking back down the stairs. After he was gone, Sherlock and I looked at each other. The memory flashed before my eyes.
The large room was dark and loud with mumblings in a foreign language. Only five people were in the room. A woman was kneeling on the ground, a black cloth wrapped around her head. The man standing next to her held a AK-47 assault rifle. Two other people walked up to them, also wrapped in black cloth. One of them held a long and shining sword. The woman kneeling on the ground held a phone, and was typing into it. The message read, Goodbye Mr. Holmes. Tell Jax goodbye and that I am sorry. She sent the text message, and handed the phone to the man with the gun. The woman stared at the ring on her left hand, raising it to her lips as a tear slipped down her cheek. The man with the sword walked up to the woman, as the other black clad figure stood next to her. The man placed the end of the sword over the woman's neck, as she bowed her head and closed her eyes. Waiting for death. A woman moaning broke through the silence. The woman on the ground opened her eyes and looked up at the man holding the sword.
"When I say run, run." He whispered. He swung the sword at the man holding the gun. The other black clad figure grabbed the woman's hand and dragged her to the door. They raced through the dark halls, running as fast as they could. The figure pulled out a handgun and shot anyone who got in their way. The woman recognized the frighteningly accurate aim.
"Jax?" The woman said unbelievingly. The figure ripped off the cloth over her face.
"Who else would bother saving your ass?" She said. Irene smiled as the tears rolled down her cheeks. They sprinted down the halls and burst through the doors, into the scorching sunlight. They ran until they reached a desolate field.
"What about Sherlock?" Irene asked.
"We're meeting him on that hill." Jax answered, pointing to a hill in the distance. They ran full speed until they reached the top of the hill. Sherlock was waiting there, his black curls ruffled by the wind.
"Finally. I was beginning to worry." He said. Jax went to stand next to him, reloading her gun.
"Sherlock Holmes, how dare you doubt me." She said. Irene stood there watching them.
"You saved my life." She said after a while. They looked at her.
"It was Jax's idea." Sherlock admitted. Jax wiped the sweat from her face. Irene stared at her with a soft expression.
"What now?" Irene asked.
"Now, we wait for the helicopter." Sherlock said.
"What happens after that?" Irene asked.
"Then you disappear." Jax began. "Get out of the country. I suggest getting a new identity."
"Will I ever seen you again?" Irene asked her. Jax looked at her.
"I should hope not." She replied. Irene looked down at her hands.
"I convinced Sherlock to come with me to save your life, don't push it." Jax said.
"I tried to contain you." Irene said. "There's only one person who can say they've done that successfully." The sound of the helicopter approaching rang throughout the field. Irene looked over to Jax, tilting her head.
"I'll give you a piece of advice, Mr. Holmes." She said. "She craves so much more than just a physical connection. She craves words and depth. Who you are, who you want to be. Your fears and desires. She yearns to know you beyond the surface, and for you to love her as much as she loves you. Can you give that to her, Mr. Holmes?" Jax narrowed her eyes.
"Jesus, we're not a couple, Irene." She said.
"Yes you are." The helicopter flew closer and closer.
"You are a hurricane of a girl, Jax. Remember to breath every once and a while, do not drown within your own storm." Irene said. It sounded like she was quoting something. Jax just stood there, her face blank. Irene walked over to her, and kissed the back of her hand. She turned to Sherlock, leaning in to whisper in his ear.
"Love her like you're going to lose her, Mr. Holmes. God knows I did." She whispered so Jax didn't hear. Sherlock looked at her with the same blank expression Jax wore. After one last glance at Jax, Irene turned and walked towards the landing helicopter.
The memory ended and I snapped back to reality. Sherlock and I looked at each other, and I slipped the camera phone into my pocket. We set our eyes back on our tasks, putting all thoughts of The Woman behind us.