The Girl In The Coffee Shop (BBC Sherlock)

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Edith's first thought was how was he alive in the first place? She had killed Barrington Eliot during her first year in the Agency! Barrington probably knew what she was thinking and he smirked, "How am I alive, you may ask? Just ask my employer. He would be very glad to see you again." Edith backed up again, "Moriarty is your employer?"

"Why wouldn't he be? He has everything and everyone against you I'm surprised you made it alive throughout all these years," Barrington raised a bushy eyebrow. Edith folded her arms across her chest, "I could say the same for you."

Those were the last words that Barrignton Eliot ever heard. As he opened his mouth, a bullet flew and pierced his skull, making him crumple to the ground in a heap.

Edith let out a slight gasp before realizing the situation. She kicked the man over on her good foot and analyzed his face. There were strong similarities between the man and Barrington Eliot, but she realized it wasn't him. It was a set up to get into her mind.

Women were screaming and the police ran over from 221b over to the man. Lestrade looked at a bloodstained Edith with a very confused look on his face, "How do you manage to bring anarchy wherever you go?" Edith looked away and shrugged, she was too lost in her thoughts to speak right now.

Arthur, Ava, and Sherlock also rushed over here and Ava looked down at the corpse and inhaled sharply. "Is that..." She trailed off looking up to see Edith's expression. Edith shook her head, "A lot of similarities, but no. The man was an actor."

Arthur and Sherlock faced each other in a bewildered expression and turned to face Edith. "Mind filling us in?" Arthur asked. Edith nodded and turned to Lestrade, "Mind if we have a moment?" Lestrade nodded and walked away along with his crew.

Edith walked on her crutches over to a nearby bench and sat down. She looked up and faced them. "Er... That man who was acting, was playing the character of the first person I killed for the Agency," Edith explained, "Then the guy got shot in the head and I realized it was a trick to get into my mind."

Ava looked around her surroundings with an anxious expression while Sherlock and Arthur nodded along to Edith's explanation. She then walked over to help her sister up and said to Arthur and Sherlock, "We're going to go back to The Hut. You can join if you guys want." Arthur shook his head, "I have to get back to work."

Ava and Edith turned to Sherlock, who wasn't facing them, but instead, looking at the rubble that was once his home. So many of his possessions were in there, his violin, John's armchair, the poster of the periodic table Mycroft got him as a kid. "Sherlock...do you have anywhere to stay?" Edith got out from Ava's grip and balanced herself on her crutches. Sherlock focused his attention to the twins and nodded, "Mycroft, my brother, will find somewhere for me."

Edith and Ava looked at each other before turning back to Sherlock and saying simultaneously goodbye. The two turned around and started walked where The Hut was.

~

The lights were off and the door appeared to be busted open. Edith didn't say anything until she told Ava to get some takeout for dinner. Ava argued a bit before she complied.

Edith turned on the light with one of her crutches to see Sebastian Moran holding a cigarette between his fingers and a devilish grin on his face. He sat legs crossed on her couch and put the cigarette in his mouth, blowing out smoke once again. "How did you get in here?" Edith asked quietly.

"You underestimate my skills, Miss Bordeaux," Sebastian chuckled. Edith rolled her eyes, but she stayed tense. She wanted to be alert toward everything he did, even the simplest things, like smoking the cigarette. "You smoke?" She asked, eyeing the cigarette smoke arising in the air. Sebastian looked at the tube full of nicotine in his fingers and shook his head, "It's a metaphor, you see?"

"This is not The Fault In Our Stars...besides, the killing thing already has the power to do its killing. You already lit it," Edith retorted. She walked over to a nearby barstool and sat down to rest her leg. Sebastian glanced at her leg and his eyes flicked back up to hers, "That's a nasty wound you have."

"You've had worse considering you were in the army."
"You were an assassin, you were poisoned, tortured, shot, on the brink of death many times, near drowned, blown out of buildings, and caught on fire at least eight times. Are we really comparing injuries?" Sebastian smirked.

"Back to the metaphor. You gave it the power to kill," Edith changed the subject. Sebastian nodded and took out a gun and shined it in the light, "That's the same concept with a gun, Miss Bordeaux. You put the killing thing in your mouth." Sebastian showed a demonstration by putting the gun in his mouth nonchalantly. He then wrapped his finger around the trigger and pulled it.

Click

Sebastian pulled the gun out and finally said, "And you don't give it the power to do its killing." Edith's heart was hammering against her ribcage, making it harder to breathe than it already was. Sebastian caught notice of this also and the ends of his lips twitched. "I see my little demonstration sparked some fear in you. Now tell me, my dear...does fear excite you? Does it give you the extra boost of adrenaline you crave ever so much? Or does it make you cower like ordinary people? Make you want to crawl in a hole and wait until the worst is over?" He stood up, still facing Edith.

She looked up at him with fire dancing in her eyes and said, "Don't call me your dear." Sebastian didn't say anything for a while until he shrugged and said, "Oh well. I really look forward to our next visit, Miss Bordeaux." He opened the door and left.

Ava returned with the takeout at least ten minutes later. She saw Edith looking shaken up and placed the food on the counter. "Hey, what's wrong?" Ava put a hand gently on her sister's shoulder. Edith didn't say anything and Ava didn't push to find out. Both of them turned to eat the food that was before them. They ate in silence.

Well, until there was a knock on the door.