[Johnlock/Mystrade] Tears in rain

Chapter 11

February 2027   London   Seventh year of the end of the Great Purge

With Irene's covert support, the reconstruction of the summer palace has officially started. Now Moriarty was walking around with a certain sense of pride and was less respectful toward Mycroft.

Mycroft secretly made fun of Moriarty's actions, but he treated the Assistant Minister with the same decency as always.

Moriarty, after all, was a smarmy fool, no more intellectual than any other goldfish, as Sherlock once remarked. Mycroft, on the other hand, just laughed and declared Moriarty didn't even merit the term "intellectual".

As the old saying goes, those whom God means to destroy, he first drives them insane. Mycroft would have loved Moriarty to be more arrogant. An assistance minister was none of their concern, and Irene, despite her money and status, was not a native English aristocrat; rather, she was just a rootless tree. What Mycroft was interested in were the royal family who were secretly supporting Moriarty and Irene's antics.

Sure, life had been too peaceful, it was time for some bruising, Mycroft decided.

After all, what happened to the Holmes family seven years ago would not happen again.

Sherlock analyzed the entire story, including the date of Irene's appearance, her encounter with John, Irene's urge for him to pursue John, Irene's complicity with Moriarty, Irene's active role in coaching him, John's familiarity with him, a theory was gradually beginning to form.

The weather remained miserable, Sally and Andy caught the flu. As a result, John had to deal with work and look after both of them, he so was very busy.

Sally was feeling much better and took Andy to have his injection, allowing John to take a break and visit a cafe he hadn't visited in a long time.

There just wasn't a lot of people in the cafe, John took out a magazine to read.

What should have been a quiet afternoon turned into a drama.

After taking down the man with the gun around his waist, John realized the armed man had been following Sherlock Holmes, it was the first time since their reunion that Sherlock had sat on the ground in a mess, covered in dust, and staring at John.

"Well, I didn't know Mr Holmes was into soap operas," John sighed.

"Oh so you think I set that up on purpose?" Sherlock snapped back, coldly.

John, who had just finished phoning the police, shot a glance at Sherlock, who remained icy and expressionless, rather more genuine than his usual false warmth.

Sherlock got up from the floor, and kicked the unconscious man disdainfully,"Thanks, I was luring him into the alleyway to get him to surrender, now instead I'm giving him away to those foolish Scotland Yard police,"

"While you busy yourself by playing the hero every so often, those foolish Scotland Yard police were working hard day in day out, year in and year out, to safeguard us plain folks." John wasn't being polite, he didn't have to be. "There's no need to be appreciative or respectful because they don't care for your respection."

Turning his back and walking down the alleyway to wait for the police car, John no longer wanted to talk to the man behind him, who also remained silence, "Heroes don't exist," He finally said, "and if they did, I wouldn't be one of them."

"Of course you would not; everything you do is for your self interest." As the sirens neared, John replied calmly and greeted them, ignoring the knowing stares behind him.