Adler-Holmes

Don't Threaten Me With A Good Time

"Lott, wake up." My eyes stammered open.

"Mmm?" I sat up slightly.

"We need to leave in an hour." I fell back into the bed.

"Eurghh." Jim smirked, before stepping closer to me and crouching beside me.

"Miss Adler-Holmes, we have a plane to catch." I looked at him, my face now inches from his.

"Why, Mr. Moriarty, did you think I'd forget?" I smiled, before pulling the covers back and stepping out of bed, Jim giving me room. I grabbed some clothes from the bag before slipping into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, almost gasping at how worn out I looked. Make-up had permanently stained the area around my eyes whilst lipstick was stuck at the corners of my mouth. My hair had knotted in the bun on top of my head. I turned the tap on, jumping into the shower and trying to look a bit better than my current state. There was a small bottle of shampoo, courtesy of the hotel, which washed perhaps half of my hair before running out. I stepped out of the shower, pulling a towel onto my head and another around me. I unlocked the door before grabbing my hairbrush from the room, the fact that I was walking around in only a towel not seeming to bother Jim, and heading back into the bathroom. I untangled my hair as much as possible, before getting dressed and going back into the room. Jim stood shirtless, his back to me with all of his scars on show. The corner of my mouth twitched into a smile as I realized a few of them were from my family. Jim turned to face me.

"There's a hairdryer in the top drawer." I nodded, picking it up and plugging it in.

"How long's the flight?" I almost shouted over the noise.

"3 and half hours."

"Okay."

"And when we get there we're being collected and have about a 20 minute drive."

"Who's collecting us? One of your henchmen?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No," I said, almost too quickly.

"Good."

"Good. What are we doing when we get there?"

"Unpacking. Online shopping, I suppose. You'll need clothes."

"And what am I supposed to do when I'm sat around waiting for you whilst you go and do whatever you do?"

"You can decorate, swim, do some art, watch films. Lots of things there." I turned off the hairdryer to look at him.

"Seriously? How long do you think it will be before I get bored?"

"And you could help me."

"Sounds intriguing. What do you want me to do?"

"Patience, Lott. Just know it will be fun, and you'll enjoy it." I rolled my eyes, flicking the hairdryer back on and finishing drying my hair.

I let my mind wander, thinking about all the possibilities. Jim was the world's only consulting criminal, so did he mean I'd be helping with that? Sounded fun...

"Lott, time to go." I nodded, slipping my shoes on and grabbing my bags. Jim held the door open for me before locking it behind us. He signed us out before leading me to the airport.

"Here's your passport." I looked at Jim who held out a passport.

"Thanks?" I opened it seeing a new alias and Jim's iconic smirk. The one where he thought he was being clever.

"Elizabeth Jackson. Let me guess. You're Richard Brooks?"

"You got it." I rolled my eyes.

"You need to stop using that name. They'll be looking for it."

"I'm sure they will." I walked towards the security gate, thinking about what he'd said. So... did that mean he wanted them to find us?

We got through the passport check quickly and easily. Jim took my hand and led me to the bag check, putting our bags on trays. He motioned for me to walk through the human scanner first. No problems. I picked my bag up from the tray, watching as Jim came through. For a moment, I silently begged for the scanner to go off. And then- nothing. Jim eyed me up and down, almost laughing, as though he knew what I wanted. He picked up his bag before throwing his arm around me.

"Keep praying," he whispered. I looked away, turning my attention to the shops we passed, before arriving at a café.

"Coffee?"

"Tea, please," I replied, "I'm going to go and look at that shop over there. I'll be back in 10 minutes. Do you want me to leave my bag or something so you know I'm coming back?"

"No. Go where you like, I know you're smart enough to know the consequences if you don't come back. 10 minutes." I nodded, before moving over to the shop.

I walked round to the other side, now out of view of Jim. I tried to focus on the different types of perfume, deducting the brand from the smell, in an attempt to hold back tears. Too late. The tears started. I exited the shop, standing slightly out of sight in a corner reserved for the payphone. I let the tears silently fall, realizing how trapped I was and begging that someone would save me.