A/N- Huge chapter, just didn't want to split it up. 4455 words, give or take, wow... not edited yet.
Just a GIF I've been waiting to use... >-<
This took so long to write... I've become a bit obsessed with iZombie and been a bit too distracted to write... Oops?!
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Darcy's POV
Mycroft was not the easiest of companions when travelling. Especially in the busy London traffic, which meant we were stood still for quite long periods of time. It was tedious but I remained patient, relishing in the knowledge that the longer we were in traffic the longer it took for us to reach our destination.
Which meant the more time I had before getting tested on.
I wasn't sure what being tested on actually meant. The view I got was far from good and it involved electrodes again. Not that I wasn't used to that by now.
Mycroft had his umbrella in between his legs and was tapping the wooden handle impatiently. He did not like the traffic. Instead of just talking to me to pass the time he decided to stare at the headrest in front of him.
"Have you looked through my phone yet?" I asked him, although keeping my gaze fixed out the car window.
I heard his fingers tap against the wood of the handle just once before he stopped. "No. Not yet, Miss Byrne."
"Why not? I'd have thought that'd be the first thing you'd do." I finally turned to face him but kept my face expressionless, so as to not give away my nervousness about him finding out the people who'd been in touch with me.
Since both Irene and Scott were criminals. More so in Irene's case.
"Is there something you don't wish for me to see, Miss Byrne?" He stated and glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
I clenched my jaw and looked straight ahead. "Possibly." My mind instantly went to Scott, not Irene as that I could blag easily. But Scott?
Mycroft said nothing else and neither did I. Just sat in traffic and waited for the inevitable. The tall skyscrapers of the business area of London trundled on past and soon the sight became rather tedious. I'd seen it all before.
We arrived outside one of the tall skyscrapers and I frowned, this wasn't the sort of place I expected. I had expected something more secluded or run down, somewhere I'd scream but not be heard.
Perhaps they had soundproof rooms. Or perhaps it wasn't that sort of testing.
That was just what I was expecting after so many days of torture.
Mycroft led me into the fancy building, walking me right past the receptionist in the centre of the huge foyer and towards a lift at the back. Everybody else was rushing right on past this poky little elevator and it made me wander if nobody else but Mycroft was allowed to use it.
In the lift, it was just myself and Mycroft and the appalling elevator music. "Where exactly are we, Mr Holmes?" I asked and tapped my fingers against my leg anxiously.
"MI6." He answered pointedly and tightly gripped the handle of his umbrella.
My eyes widened and I took a shaky breath. "Right..." I gulped. "What are you going to do to me?"
Mycroft didn't answer as the lift stopped and the doors opened swiftly. We'd arrived at what looked a bit like an average office floor, well one long corridor and a lot of wooden doors leading to unknown places.
I followed behind Mycroft down this long corridor for what felt like forever until he turned into an iron looking door. Inside was an office, wooden desk with organised trinkets and stationary supplies on it. A picture of the Queen on the back wall behind the desk and I had to hold back my sniggering.
"Have a seat Miss Byrne." Mycroft said and gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk. I watched as he hung his umbrella up on a stand and unfastened a button if his suit jacket before sitting at his chair. "Sit down." He said again more firmly.
I did as told and sat in the chair, crossing one leg over the other and pulling my trouser legs down. I smiled politely at Mycroft and tilted my head questioningly.
"Don't play dumb with me, Miss Byrne, we both know why you're here." Mycroft steepled his fingers and leant forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the desk.
I smirked confidently. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr Holmes." This, at the time, seemed the best course of action. Playing hard to get and not telling him anything may delay whatever he had planned and may even get me out of here. But the latter was debatable.
Mycroft pushed away from his desk and went over to his filing cabinet. "Here's the thing, I'd hate to have to add 'mole' to your file." He threw a very thin manila file on the desk in front of me and then sat back down. His face stern the entire time.
"Mr Holmes." I started and leant on his desk in the same way he was. "As far as I'm aware I haven't given any information to any criminal person or organisation regarding any ongoing or former police cases and/or government work."
Mycroft huffed and leant back slightly. I smirked and shrugged. "So, Mr Holmes, I can't be a mole. Not yet anyway."
"We want you on our side Miss Byrne." He told me and flipped open the manila file. "We know very little about you-"
"That wasn't the impression I got when we first met." I interrupted him, thinking of the time in that dingy old warehouse after I'd clambered out of a skip. Ah, memories.
He glared at me and then continued, "-before you officially joined the orphanage's records-"
"What do you mean? Before-I-officially-joined-their-records? I was told I was brought to them when I was one year old." I asked urgently. My eyes were wide with worry, I'd thought Moriarty had lied about the orphanage being the place he kept future criminal investments but what if I was wrong?
It'd make sense. I was found in Dublin, brought over here and then into the orphanage. He could have kept me for a year or two. They'd be none the wiser.
"Their records show that you joined them officially when you were..." He trailed off and flicked to the right page in my file. "...three years of age." I sat back, shocked, and Mycroft smirked at me.
"They said I was one when I was brought there... that's what they said." I repeated quietly.
Then, Mycroft frowned. "And why would they lie?"
"Because someone told them to." I said under my breath. So, either the orphanage was a front for his criminal work or Moriarty paid off Mrs Johnson to lie to me. Who knew what Moriarty had done in those two years?
Neither of us spoke in that moment. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, trying to hold back my emotions. "It's all fucked." I grumbled. "All of it." Everything I thought I knew about my childhood, well all that I'd established as being true, was a lie.
My head was scrambled and I struggled to grasp onto what was actually the truth. The only thing that I knew was that my parents were dead. That I was sure of.
"What was Moriarty planning?" Mycroft asked, changing the topic of conversation after sensing my discomfort.
I shrugged limply. "I don't know. He never really told me specifically. When he took me he just told me to go along with whatever he said and then dropped me off with Miss Adler."
"And what was she planning to do with you?" He interrogated.
I closed my eyes and thought back on my days practising etiquette and combat. Then, my nights in the basement and the constant abuse. "She was training me."
"Training you to do what?" Mycroft then sat forward more, intrigued and appearing to be somewhat excited by the fact I was finally talking.
"Be like her, eventually anyway." I answered. "Look, do you want to test me or not?"
Mycroft sighed and sat back. "She would use you against us."
"I guess." I mumbled and reached for my file. "Can I have a look?"
"No. No, you can't." He said in a rushed tone and snatched up the file hastily. He wandered back to the filing cabinet and put the file away before then heading to the door. "Now, come on."
I rolled my eyes and stood forcefully from my chair, marching behind him out the door. I must have followed him for a good five minutes before we arrived at a door. Inside, was a sight that I was most definitely used to.
It was like a dojo, the floor was fully covered in a cushioned mat and there were a variety of weapons on the back wall. With a slight smirk on my face I took a comfortable step into the room, before deciding to remove my shoes and left them outside.
I went straight over to the weapons at the back and ran a hand over a pair of batons. They were familiar but they weren't mine.
"Weapon of choice?" Mycroft asked and I turned to see him gesturing to the baton my hand was resting on.
"Yeah." I chuckled and relaxed, this didn't seem too bad. The testing he was supposed to be putting me under wasn't as bad as I had expected.
I inspected the other weapons to find there were no firearms up there. Which made sense, didn't want the people in here to shoot each other or use the guns to try to escape.
My ears pricked up suddenly as I felt someone enter the room and creep slowly towards my back. With my back to them it gave me an advantage, they didn't know I knew they were there. Inconspicuously, I wrapped my hand around one of the batons and lifted it slowly off the wall.
They got closer and I span around swiftly, smacking whoever it was right across the cheek. They stumbled back a bit but then stood up straight.
Male. 20 Years Old- Minimum. Right Handed. Weapon of Choice: Long Staff Made of Metal.
That worked in my favour, at least it wasn't anything sharp. I reached behind me and grabbed the other baton just in time to block his incoming attack from the right. Then blocked the next one from the left with my other baton, holding the staff even when he pushed it towards me.
I smirked and kicked forward, my foot going straight into his crotch. He staggered back again and I hit him across the head once more. This time, he fell to the floor clutching his head.
Taking the opportunity, I kicked him in the stomach. Hard. His staff dropped out of his hand and it clattered towards me. He reached out for it but I slammed my bare foot down on both the staff and his hand.
Raising my heel, I pushed the ball of my foot down on his fingers with a force that I hoped might break his fingers. But it was doubtful. I must have done some damage though as he cried out in pain, attempting to pull his hand away,
I kicked his staff across the floor, out of his reach, and waited to see if Boy Wonder would stop moaning and get up. He didn't and just gripped his hand tightly to ease the pain. I dropped my batons to my side and quirked my eyebrow at the pathetic boy.
Nothing happened. Nobody came in. Not to stop me anyway.
It was after beating him up that I started to wonder what I was supposed to have done. Kill him? Just fight him until one of us passed out? Pin him down? How did I win this thing?
"Sorry." I grimaced at the boy.
He looked straight up at me, shock and confusion written all over his face. "What?"
I raised one of my batons and he put his hands up to protect himself, I brought metal down to hit him across the side of his head as he turned away. The boy went limp as he fell unconscious and his arms dropped on top of his still body.
Keeping an eye on him, I threw my batons to the floor and they bounced slightly on the cushioned surface. I then took to looking at the room to deduce where they might be observing me from.
Walls- All Plastered and White. No Mirrors- No Hidden Window. Camera, Right Corner By The Door.
I span around as the door opened, just as I was about to inspect the camera, and in walked Mycroft. He was accompanied by a guy in a black t-shirt and combat trousers who looked as though he'd been in a war zone.
Former SAS. Combat and Weaponry Training- Highly Experienced. Authoritative.
"Miss Byrne, this is Corporal Marshall." Mycroft introduced.
I nodded and regarded the muscled man stood beside Mycroft. "Former SAS, highly trained in combat and weaponry."
The Corporal's jaw clenched. "You just took out my best recruit."
"Your best recruit was a twenty-something year old with a metal stick?" I scoffed and brushed off my usual formalities. This was a situation that required me to be quick witted in order to get through it all.
I didn't get much of a reply as a doctor in a lab coat rushed in between them and straight over to Boy Wonder. "He's just unconscious." I stated and crossed my arms.
"He was my best recruit of your age range." Corporal Marshall answered, my somewhat rhetorical question, through gritted teeth.
I blurted out a chuckle and then coughed to cover it. "Try putting me up against someone out of my age range, I'll still beat their ass." I commented with a confident smirk.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mycroft smile, only minutely but he smiled. Immediately though he put an expressionless face back up. "I'm sure you would, Miss Byrne, but it won't be necessary."
Both Mycroft and Marshall walked out the door with an air of authority about them. I rolled my eyes and followed behind them, picking my shoes up as I past. But I didn't put them on and just continued to be bare foot.
"What now, Mr Holmes?" I asked in the silence filled only by the sound of their posh shoes and military boots on the corridor floor.
Corporal Marshall opened a door to his right in reply and marched inside. Mycroft stood in the hallway, waiting for me to enter the room. I raised my eyebrows at him, as if asking about his behaviour earlier, and he shook his head in return.
I sighed and turned into the room to see another very familiar sight indeed. A firing range. I had to fight the urge to smile and pushed the delighted look from my face.
"You seem to be enjoying this too much, Byrne." Corporal Marshall said, his voice laced with an annoyed tone. I smirked at him as he held out a pistol to me.
I grabbed the gun from his hand and cockily pulled back the barrel to load the gun. "Very much, Corporal."
Both of the men shared a look of unease at my now obvious joy at holding a gun once again. This felt comfortable, holding such a weapon and being so close to firing it. I smiled as I thought of my afternoons with Moran at the range.
I headed straight for the prepared range and put on the ear defenders. I kept my elbows bent and pointed directly at the head of the paper target ahead of me.
Three shots to the head and I moved onto the chest area. Three shots to the heart.
Immediately, I picked up the full magazine beside me and pressed the release on the gun. The empty magazine fell to the floor and I put in the other one. Three more shots then to the head and three more to the heart.
I dropped the gun on the shelf and pulled off the ear defenders, putting them beside the pistol. "We done here?" I asked, turning to face the men who watched me with mouths parted slightly in shock.
They composed themselves and Corporal Marshall glared a little. "Yes, very... unexpected."
"Anything else you want me to do? I've got literally all day." I shrugged and crossed my arms.
Mycroft's expression seemed to soften as Corporal Marshall walked towards me threateningly, the Corporal glanced back at him and Mycroft nodded. I frowned between them and took a small step back away from the Corporal.
"Awfully, sorry about this." He said sarcastically. I gasped as his arm came from behind his back and he jabbed something into my neck.
I stumbled back a bit as the effects of whatever they'd drugged me with hit me. "For God's sake, Mycroft!" I exclaimed and put a hand on the wall of one of the ranges.
"Not so cocky now, are you?" The Corporal sneered and loomed in my face.
I fell down the wall and glowered at Mycroft. "You really think I wasn't prepared for things like this?" He kept a straight face and I scoffed a laugh at his silence. My hand hit the floor and so did the rest of my body, I rested my head against the wall.
The Corporal grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him. "We're going to break you."
I wrenched my face from his grasp and spat at his feet. "You're too late for that Corporal, I'm afraid Miss Adler beat you to it." I chuckled darkly as his jaw clenched and I smirked up at Mycroft who looked somewhat regretful.
Corporal Marshall clenched a fist and he stood back before that fist came rushing towards my face. It collided with a thud and a sharp pain flooded the left side of my face before the inevitable blackness came over me.
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Luckily I dreamt of nothing. No terrible dreams. No haunting visions of the awful people I'd encountered. No happy dreams then, either, of Sherlock and John or Scott.
I blinked rapidly and widened my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the room I was now in. Fastened to a chair. Again. I rolled my eyes and let out a sharp laugh in disbelief. "It's like she knew. Knew exactly what you'd do."
Soon enough, Mycroft walked into the light that projected from the swinging lighting fixture above where I was sat. In his hand was my phone and he was passing it back and forth between his fingers. "You impressed me today."
I quirked an eyebrow up and laughed again. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should, Miss Byrne." Mycroft pointed at me with my phone. "From seeing you behave this morning-"
"Oh it's still the same day?" I commented, interrupting his monologue.
Mycroft glared at me. "From seeing you behave this morning, Miss Byrne, I thought you had become a polite and reformed individual. Yet, your attitude when you arrived here seemed like the normal you."
"Normal me?" I asked innocently and pretended to not know what he meant. When I clearly knew he was talking about when he smiled at my comment about who I'd be able to fight against. The one time he dropped his stone persona.
Mycroft didn't render me with a response and just looked down at my phone. "Who's Scott?"
"A friend." I answered pointedly.
He just raised an eyebrow questioningly. "He seems to want to be more than friends." I rolled my eyes, to deter him from my actual feelings towards Scott whatever they were exactly. "You met him at... St James' Park?"
"So what if I did? Aren't I allowed to have friends?" I commented and shrugged with my hands.
Mycroft started to look through my phone even more. "If this Scott is anything like the other contacts in your phone. Kate Marlow. Sebastian Moran." My ears pricked up as he said that and he noticed. "Irene Adler. If Scott is anything like them, then there is cause for concern.
I raised my eyebrows, asking him to go on. Mycroft sighed and lowered his hand that held my phone. "Are you working for Irene Adler?"
"It's complicated." I smirked. I wasn't lying either. It really was complicated, in a way I did since I followed some of her orders but I couldn't say whether I worked for her or not.
"Complicated?" A new voice entered the mix, one I recognised as Corporal Marshall. "How can it be complicated? You're either working for her or you're not." His voice raised the angrier he got.
He stalked closer to me and I didn't shrink, away out of principal. Mycroft just remained where he was but widened his eyes and nodded, brandishing the phone in his hand. "Scott Livingstone. As in the Livingstone Corporation. No wonder you were so vague."
"Yeah, no wonder." I rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat.
Corporal Marshall was in my face in an instant. "The question is, can we trust you?"
I shrugged and smirked. Suddenly he grabbed hold of my face and squeezed tightly, "What has she asked you to do for her?"
When I didn't answer he tightened his grip and the pain was minimal but it was uncomfortable. "Not a lot." I mumbled.
"Not a lot." He mimicked and harshly let go of me.
My head was thrown back onto the chair I was sat on. "No, I'm serious. She just asked me to let her know how Sherlock was."
Both of them shared a look and Mycroft said, "So, you provide her with information."
"I guess." I replied quietly. Corporal Marshall took a step forward to, no doubt, offer me some kind of threat. "But." I said that stopped him in his tracks. "I don't have to. I'm safe now aren't I?"
Mycroft nodded in understanding but the Corporal just stood, looking confused. I rolled my eyes, "Look, I know this was all to see where my loyalty lies but so far the only thing I've told her, as you can see, was how Sherlock was."
"We're offering you a job." Mycroft stated.
I frowned, "A what? Why?"
Corporal Marshall huffed in disapproval. "As much as I hate to admit it, Byrne, you're skilled and we could use someone like you."
"Funny." I smirked and they both frowned, so I clarified, "Irene Adler said something similar."
"Will you work for us or not Miss Byrne?" Mycroft asked firmly and took a step towards me.
I sighed, "I don't know. Get me off this chair and turn the light on, and then I'll consider it."
Mycroft clicked a finger and the lights turned on, I blinked to adjust my eyes to the brightness. Someone entered through a door behind me and started to untie me. "Thanks."
I shook my hands out and cricked my neck, then circled my ankles. Both Mycroft and Corporal Marshall were staring at me expectantly. I pretended to think about an answer. "No. I don't require a job but thank you for the offer."
Confidently, I stood up and looked around for the door. Mycroft took my phone from his pocket. "Are you sure? The pay is considerable and you would be... safe."
"Seems that that's all you want, isn't it, Mycroft? To keep me safe but only when it benefits you." I commented and flattened out the crinkles in my blouse.
Neither of them spoke and I quirked a smiled. "If that's all you wanted, am I free to go? It's just I'd rather like to be back in time for dinner, I am quite hungry."
"We'll be keeping a close eye on you, Byrne." The Corporal warned, pointing a stern finger at me.
I stared back at him, blankly. "I never doubted that for a moment, Corporal." My attention then turned to Mycroft. "Shoes? I seem to remember leaving them behind when you drugged me."
"Jones." Mycroft said authoritatively and the door opened, the same man entering as before but with my heels in his hand. I took them from him and slipped them on delicately. "If you should ever change your mind, Miss Byrne-"
"I know where to find you." I cut him off and smiled, holding a hand out for my phone. "Worst comes to worst, I'll get Sherlock to give you text or a ring."
Mycroft huffed and took my phone from his jacket pocket. He held it out to me and I went to grab it but he moved it away. "You will inform me as soon as Irene Adler gets back to you." I reached my hand out again for my phone but he moved it even further away. "Otherwise, we'll come back for you and won't be so nice with our job request."
I snatched my phone from his grip and smirked. "Don't worry, Mycroft, you'll be the first to know if she gets in touch." I looked around the otherwise empty room. "Right, well, are you providing my ride home? I mean I can get a cab, if not."
"My driver will take you." Mycroft answered, straightening his suit. "Anthea will escort you out." As soon as he said it the door opened and I turned to see Miss Clicky stood there.
I glanced down at my locked phone and turned on my heel. "Thank you for the eventful day, Mycroft. I look forward to the next time." I called over my shoulder and smirked up at Anthea who rolled her eyes.
As I followed Anthea down the barren corridor my phone trilled in my hand, just the once. When I looked at my phone I was surprised to find it wasn't a text from Irene but then again I hadn't been expecting one, so was I really surprised?
I waited until I was sat in the back of Mycroft's black car and the driver had started to go to have a look at the text.
Scott- Still busy? Fancy a coffee? Or tea, whichever you prefer I'm not judgemental.
I sat back in my seat and rolled my eyes. Somehow I didn't feel like going back to the flat yet.
Me- Sure. Speedy's Café, Baker Street.Ten minutes.
I guess it wasn't exactly not spending time at Baker Street, since it was Speedy's, but I didn't know of anywhere else.
The driver pulled up outside 221 Baker Street but upon getting out of the car I didn't go to the front door. I went into Speedy's next door and found a table where I sat, waiting.
Scott- See you there.
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Like I said, huge chapter, sorry if it went on a bit... Thoughts? More Sherlock and John next chapter I reckon ;)
Please vote and comment, thank you!
-HBH xxxx
Disclaimer- I don't own any of the character, except Darcy and Scott, or any lines from the show. Those rights belong to the BBC and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.