Broken (Prequel to Beauty and the High-Functioning Sociopath)

John in Danger

It had been almost a year since John had come back. He had left Alex's flat and got his own place, but that hadn't worked out very well. The reason he had moved was because he thought he was keeping Alex up at night. Alex had denied, but it was true that she wasn't sleeping very well. She was getting enough sleep, but she wasn't comfortable so she didn't feel like she got enough sleep. John couldn't deal with his nightmares without Alex, so she often found herself driving over to his flat in the middle of the night. David was going to move in with her soon. Alex was excited about that. John had also moved in with someone. The man's name was Sherlock Holmes. Alex wanted to meet him and see if he was safe enough for her to let her brother move in with him. She didn't have that much time, though. Work was taking up most of her time. She had told John she worked as a secratary at an office since this was what most women at her office did. She walked into Sebastian's office.

"What are we doing today?" She asked.

"The Black Lotus thinks they know where our next target is." Sebastian said. "I'm going to be putting cameras where they will be kidnapping him and taking him to."

"What's his name?" Alex asked.

"Sherlock Holmes." Sebastian said. Alex's breath caught in her throat.

"What has he done?" She asked, trying not to show her panic.

"Moriarty sees him as a threat. He's very intelligent. He's a sociopath, like Moriarty." Sebastian said. Alex tilted her head. She didn't know what a sociopath was. "We sent that cab driver after him and he got killed. Someone shot him."

Alex's blood ran cold. That had been John who had shot the cab driver and killed him. He had told her about it when they had last met. Alex was trying not to let her panic show, but she had a feeling she wasn't doing a very good job. Luckily for her, Sebastian hadn't looked at her at all since she had come in.

"I don't see what the big deal is." Alex said. "Do we have to go after this guy?"

"Are you feeling sympathy for your enemies again, Alex?" Sebastian sneered. Alex's eyes narrowed.

"No." Alex said. "But I really don't see what the big deal is. Couldn't we try to recruit him?"

"He's made it clear he's on the side of the angels." Sebastian said. "I'm starting to think that you are too."

"I am not!" Alex said. "I'm loyal to Moriarty through and through! You know that as well as anyone!"

"Fine. I'll forgive you." Sebastian said. Irritation and anger coursed through Alex.

"You'll forgive me? How thoughtful, Sebastian. How generous." She said coolly. "It seems as if it's Christmas and my birthday all wrapped into one!"

"I didn't mean to insult you." Sebastian replied in his smooth voice.

"Well, ya did." Alex said.

She went into the break room and played video games with her friends for the whole day. When early evening fell, Sebastian called her into his office. There was a camera pulled up on his giant computer screen.

"I apologize for earlier." He said.

"It's fine." Alex said. "The camera is moving. Is it on the person who's getting him?"

"They're going to interrogate him for a little while because he's onto their drug and artifact smuggling group." Sebastian said. "Despite being allies with us, we both mostly do our own things and don't work together."

"Wait a minute." Alex whispered. She took a look at the door to the building the person was going into. It said 221B. That was the number of the flat John lived in. Alex's stomach was in knots. "What street does he live on?"