It Started With Stealing | Sherlock Holmes

96 - The Ambassador's Children

John frowned, "Because...you're my friend."

"I don't remember hitting you in the head."

He laughed through his nose, "You didn't but..." John noticed she wasn't finding the humour in this.

"But?"

"But you are a crap shot." He smiled, "That was arguably lucky for me."

There was some light that sparked in her eyes at this statement. Yet she still didn't understand why he was here.

"You think I should hate you - why?"

"Because I'm a good-for-nothing liar and a fickle thief. And Sherlock certainly hates me for it so why wouldn't you?"

"No, you're not. Well, you are but you're not good for nothing and I don't think you really are fickle."

"John just go."

"No."

"Please."

"No." The army doctor shook his head, "I want to hear your side of the story because Elizabeth, you saved me."

The thief tilted her head, a little more hopeful now that he had admitted he had understood why she had to shoot him. She shuffled in her bed, groaning a bit from both being sat in the same position for too long and from the healing wound in her stomach.

"I know you did what you did to save me but now I want to understand the whole story from your perspective." John added, urging her to explain.

She looked at him, hopeful that she hadn't lost everyone and saw that genuine gleam in his expression, "Just - what happened to you? Because you went missing and Sherlock and I searched but we couldn't find anything and Crystal - we were beginning to think that you might have..."

"What? No, no." John shook his head, woe reaching his eyes at the thought of the late receptionist, "I went back to her house and just as we were going to leave, Moriarty and one of his goons - Sebastian, I think he called him - forced us to stay in the house."

"So Jim was involved?"

John nodded, "They kept us quiet in the house for hours until we had a chance to get out but when we tried to leave, Cleo and Amber were at the front door and then..." John looked at the floor, "Sebastian strangled Crystal. I couldn't help her..."

"I'm sorry...you know it isn't your fault though?" Elizabeth asked.

He nodded, "It...it is what it is...but go on, your turn."

"I was going to tell you and Sherlock. I could just never find the right time. There was always a case or another issue or a baby...I wanted to tell you." She paused, "I met Cleo at Greg's Halloween party. She offered me a job. I refused at first but I kept her number but I wasn't going to do anything with it. Thieve's code. She hadn't done anything wrong to me so it seemed unfair to just hand her in."

"So then why did you contact her?"

"I was angry. It was after Sherlock had condemned Irene and I just needed a distraction. But I had no intention of turning on you all - the distraction was that I would try to stupidly take down an entire gang from the inside."

"But why? Why alone? Why not tell me even?"

"Because I knew it would be dangerous and I would rather risk only my life until I knew enough to take them down. I still felt like I needed to prove - ironically - my loyalty to Mycroft. I thought delivering an entire gang network on my own would be enough to do that."

"You never needed to prove yourself any more to Sherlock and I though."

"I felt like I did. I felt like Mycroft's opinion mattered most seeing as he had the power to lock me away and wasn't ever phased about bringing it up as often as he could."