The Surrogate Sister (a Sherlock fanfiction)

Chapter 2

Sherlock and John come home to find Lestrade and Mrs. Hudson chatting in the room.

“Got another case for me, Inspector?” Sherlock asks as he removes his coat and scarf, placing them on the coat hooks. “I’ve been quite bored lately.”

“Actually,” Lestrade puts his hands behind his back. “You’ve got yourself a visitor.”

Sherlock glances over at the couch. A young woman dressed in all black stares at her hands placed on her lap. She looks up, meeting his gaze, and smiles.

“Hello.”

“And you are…?” John asks as he removes his coat.

“Victoria,” she replies, her eyes still locked on Sherlock’s.

“And what do you need?” Sherlock asks with a raised eyebrow, studying her curiously. “You traveled here from the States, so I assume this is something of importance.”

Victoria stares at Sherlock for a moment before she looks back down at her hands. “Do you remember what you were doing October of 2002, Mr. Holmes?”

“Of course.” Sherlock plops down onto his chair, his palms together with his fingers resting on his chin. “Lestrade had brought me a case.”

“Case?” John asks.

Sherlock closes his eyes in thought. “It was a hostage case. Twenty people were kidnapped from the States and taken to the UK. All were relatives of people who worked for the government. High-ranking people.” He turns his head slightly. “You remember, don’t you Inspector?”

“Of course.” Lestrade puts his hands in his pockets.

“And what did these criminals want?” John asks, crossing his arms.

“Weapons.” Sherlock responds. “Weapons only special forces had access to.”

“So, what happened?” John raises his eyebrow.

“Well, obviously, the United States government wasn’t going to hand over some of the most exclusive and dangerous weapons to a group of terrorists. So, in return, the criminals threatened to kill every single hostage if their needs weren’t met by a certain time. Lestrade came to me, giving me less than 24 hours to find where the hostages were being held.

John turns to Lestrade. “And did you find them?”

“Well-”

“Yes.” Sherlock interrupts. “With a couple hours to spare. But we were too late. Upon entering the abandoned factory in which they were being held, we found all the captives dead. They lied. They killed their hostages days before they released their threat.”

“All but one.” Lestrade interjects.

Sherlock’s eyes fly open.

“We found a little girl, eight or nine years old, tied-up and blindfolded in a closet-type area. She wasn’t in the best shape, but she was lucky to be alive.” Lestrade continues.

Sherlock turns his head and looks at the girl on the couch. Victoria raises her head. They’re eyes meet.

“And what happened to her?” John asks.

“She went home. But she died years later in a major car crash.” Lestrade breathes out a sigh.

“Wrong.”

Everyone turns to Sherlock, whose eyes are locked on Victoria’s.

“Wrong what?” John and Lestrade ask simultaneously.