The Mind Reader - A Sherlock Fanfic

Stuck

John's hands were tightly griped to the steering wheel. I could tell by his constantly furrowed brow that he hated the bottomless pit this case is turning out to be. Amy's consistent mysterious attitude, Mycroft's strange involvement, and everything that's apparently been happening under our noses haven't pieced together yet. It's making my head ache. I typically would have the big picture put together by now, but I couldn't be farther away from that. "Have you noticed how much Amy has taken over your life?" John asked, breaking the silence. 

My eyes squinted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You know, from the moment you met her, you were hellbent on protecting her. Even though that got us into more trouble. Then when she, well... died, but not really... you beat yourself up about it and refused practically any social contact. Now she's back, and it's like a switch in your messed up brain flipped and now you're back to stopping at nothing to protect her,"

"And?" 

"I don't know, Sherlock. You don't just risk everything for someone. It's just not in your nature,"

"I go out of my way to protect you when I have to. What is the difference?". Out of the corner of my eye I saw John grin and shake his head slightly. "What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he grinned. "It's just, you and Amy are so perfect for each other,"

I'm confused. "What do you mean?"

John remained strangely silent as he turned a corner and slowed the van to a stop. In front of us, Lestraude was leaning on what I assume to be his car, his hands resting on his hips. John and I exited the van and walked over to him. "You know, when you tell me to meet you at a specific location with maximum backup, I expect you won't have me wait ten minutes for you to arrive at the location," he said with his usual frustrated tone. 

"There was traffic," I shrugged. "It's rush hour,"

I looked over my shoulder and saw the "maximum backup" Lestraude provided. There were about four large black vans, about ten soldiers in each one. They were all grouped together, some were lounging on each other or the vans. I walked over to them. They all straightened up and quieted down when I approached. The leader of the group, a tall man with large muscles and a strangely prominent looking chin stepped forward to receive orders. I leaned close to him, mainly for awkward dramatic effect. His gaze remained fixed to somewhere in the distance. "Thank you so much for coming here," I said with a tone of authority. "And in good time too. However, I only needed you to make sure Lestraude arrived quickly, so you can go home now,"

The leader's gaze shot straight to my eyes. The other soldiers looked at each other in confusion. "Sorry, sir," The soldier hesitantly said. "What?"

"You herd me right. I have no use of you. If you could quickly and quietly drive away, that would be much appreciated. I can't afford to draw much attention to me right now,"

"Can't afford to draw attention?" Lestraude repeated. "You drag me out here with all this backup after that whole incident earlier, and it's all just a joke? Honestly, Sherlock, I don't think you understand the idea of common decency!"

I stared at him blankly. "How long have you known me, Lestraude? Do you expect anything different?"

His eyes widened, his facial expression kind of said that he was ready to punch me in the face. I thought he was about to spontaneously combust, but he calmed and went over to the soldiers to send them away. As they all drove away, I received a harsh stare from all the soldiers. I walked over to Lestraude's car. A familiar looking silhouette was lounging in the backseat. I leaned down to look through the window. Casey stared back at me with a very bored expression. I stared at her, waiting for her to open the door. She seemed to get my message, and slowly climbed out of the car. "I still don't understand why you guys still need me," she sighed. "I brought you to Amy, what more do ya want?"

"You have been in contact with Amy all this time," John said, walking up to us. "You also know what she's like out of the public eye. If something happens, we need you to be able to keep up with her,"

"Okay, I may have worked with her before you even knew she existed, but I have never been able to keep up with her. She's like you," she gestured to me. "She's unpredictable,"

"You're all we've got," I said. 

Casey rolled her eyes. "I know. So what's the plan?"

I looked over my shoulder at our "target location". That great, white building stood at the corner of an otherwise unimportant block. It's quiet atmosphere could be felt even on the short bridge it faced. The under appreciated Diogenes Club loomed in close distance. We were parked on the other side of the bridge, under the shade of some buildings. "Amy's in there," I said. "The plan is, we get in and we get her."

"How d'you know she's there?" Casey asked.

"I know my brother. He doesn't have many places were he feels truly safe, this is his favorite spot,"

"That seems a little convenient to me," Lestraude mumbled.

"Did you see any cars arrive here earlier?" I asked Lestraude.

"Umm, yeah. A few vans and a- oh yeah she's there,"

I rolled my eyes and started waling towards the Club. "Next time you want to second guess me, please use all of the resources you have in that little brain of yours,"

I herd Casey snicker, followed by the footsteps of everyone else. We quickly reached the front door of the club. "Right, if you are new to the club. You can't talk, at all. Just follow me and sent make any sound," I said as I prepared to open the door. 

"What do you me-" Casey started.

"Not a word!" John said in a harsh whisper.

Everyone quieted down. I took a deep breath, and quietly opened the door. We silently filed into the Club and into the lobby. A pudgy old man sat behind a intricately carved wooden desk. He recognized me immediately. He began talking to me in sign language. "Mr. Holmes, need I remind you that this is a gentleman's club, we don't permit women here," 

"She is with me, and we won't be long," I signed back. "We are here to see my brother," 

The man was silent. Shocking. He didn't motion back for some time. "We are here on very impatient avocados," John signed.

The man shot John a confused stare. I closed my eyes in embarrassment for him. "He meant, we are here on important business," I signed. "Sorry about him, his signing is still very rough," 

The old man knew he had no other option, he silently nodded towards the corridor to the actual Club. I signed 'thank you' to the man and we all silently continued through the Club.

We passed through the main hall. The entire building was decorated in dark wood, everything was intricate and of high quality. Small round tables were placed around the great room, old men lounged in big armchairs, reading newspapers. Everyone minded their own business, except a few men shot Casey an annoyed look. We made our way through and to a set of large doors on the other side of the room. We all stopped facing the doors. Mycroft's office is through those doors. Amy is in there. She has to be. I'm just going to go in there and get her out. I'll ask questions later. I don't care about questions anymore, I just care about... I care about... I... I glanced over at John, he nodded at me. I then glanced over at Casey, who was on the other side on me, she nodded in response as well. I hesitated, but quickly opened the door. 

We quickly stepped in the room. I herd Casey quietly shut the door and I looked at the figure sitting in Mycroft's desk chair. I was suddenly glued in place. Everything blurred from shock. This is not happening. I didn't... I couldn't... I don't understand... Everything started to come back into focus. I could my feel my face stuck in it's shocked expression. I could see John's face resembled mine out of the corner of my eye. Lestraude stepped forward, and froze up as well. I thought of every solution to this plan. This... this just wasn't possible. "Y...You," I stuttered.

The figure smiled devilishly. "Did d'you miss me?"