An Affair with the Enemy (A Sherlock Fanfic)

Chapter 15

Sherlock

It irritated me how long Tanya took to process the information. But a bit of me felt something for her so I showed no evident irritation. "My dad. Kill...me?" She put on a brave face but I could see how she was crumbling underneath.

"Oh no. What Sherlock is trying to say is..."

"No point sugar coating it John. Might as well be blunt about." John stepped close to me and spoke incredibly quietly.

"She is human and there's only a certain amount of information she can handle physically and emotionally." Brushing past John, I stepped in front of Tanya.

"Moriarty has some kind of game going on here where you and I are merely pieces that can be discarded in this game. The drug he gave you induced fear in you and he probably have you some form of booster through injection. What do you remember from your time when kidnapped?" John stepped in between us before she could speak.

"No. No Sherlock. This is stupid. She doesn't have to bring back memories which are psychologically damaging." He turned to Tanya. "You don't need t-"

"Well I was following Hannah and then..." Tanya recited her story from her vivid memories. She told us about how a man yelled at her constantly, telling her that I was the enemy. If she disagreed or defended me in any way, she would be punched or a cut would be carved into her arm. In the end, she was taken to a warehouse and asked about the person who had done this to her. Apparently she said Moriarty and so she was soaked in petrol before set alight. I was touched by how she defended me. She finished her story and without a moment of hesitation, I began.

"It's called fear tactics. After telling you a lie so many times, you begin to believe it as the truth. If you denied the idea, they would use some form of torture to input fear and by accepting the lie, you would feel relief. That's what Moriarty wanted you to do. He wanted you to fear me so I'd look like the enemy." I suppose I had spoken too fast as she looked at me blankly. But from whatever she did hear, she seemed to understand the situation. There weren't any tears in her eyes which I suppose was a good sign although there was a bleak coldness in her expression.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked. I looked at her surprised. I didn't expect her to offer to help with this. Just as I was about to reply, the sound of a car stopping outside was heard. Rushing to the window, I peered outside to see Lestrade and Donovan making their way in. Whatever I had to do had to be done now. Making my way back to Tanya, I put my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"I need you to hide. Hide in the flat and don't leave until you see the police leave. Once they've left, I need you to come to this address. I'll meet you there, alright?" I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before giving a small slip of paper with the address. She nodded at me and John before moving towards the kitchen. Just as she left, the door opened and Lestrade walked in. Perfect timing. Lestrade's men followed him in. He held out handcuffs and I turned around accordingly.

"Sherlock Holmes, I'm arresting you on suspicion of abduction and kidnapping." He pulled my other wrist back to cuff my hands. John seemed evidently bothered by how I didn't protest.

"He's not resisting."

"It's all right, John."

"He's not resisting. No, it's not all right. This is ridiculous." Lestrade commanded the officer to take me down and so I was escorted out. Behind me, I could hear John continue to protest. I wouldn't get arrested. Not a chance in hell. Smirking to myself, I walked out onto the cold street.

~~~

Panting slightly from out escape, we stopped at a lamppost. From the other side of the empty street, I saw Tanya get out of her car and run over to us. Her car? "Where did you get that car from? You haven't even got a licence."

"Sherlock Holmes. Your standing around cuffed to your best friend and you're concerned about where I got a blooming car from?" I stared at her waiting for an answer. Letting out a sigh, she continued. "Well I thought if we were leaving here together, we'd need a car. Told a bloke on the street that I needed it for police work and drove off." She gave a smug grin.

"Well we're not leaving. We need to meet an old friend. Kitty Riley."

~~~

Kitty had come a few minutes earlier and Tanya began unlocking the handcuffs with a hairpin. Kitty and I had been arguing for a while now as I threw sarcastic comments at her and she returned snide remarks. "Oh, come on, Kitty. No-one trusts the voice at the end of a telephone." Outside, I could hear some rustling and the sound of a door closing. The door to the flat opened and Jim Moriarty walked in.