Matters of the Heart (A Mycroft Holmes Fanfiction)

Chapter 20

Chapter 20
Liar - The Arcadian Wild
I'm not in the right state of mind. I just wish I had strength to admit it. My stubbornness will put up a fight. But I don't deserve to win it. I'm left in the dark, pondering my mistakes. In the light, I swear I will deny it all.

Mycroft's POV

Mycroft wakes to the shrill ring of his mobile. Blinking slowly, he rolls over and searches blindly for it on the bedside table.

"Holmes." He croaks, his voice cracking. He stretches his jaw and sits up, blinking owlishly at the clock.

"Communication on the last cell of Moriarty's network has opened again." Sherlock's voice is wide awake but hedging on the kind of irritated key that comes when he's been up for more than two days. Mycroft sits up slowly so as not disturb Daniella and edges around the sleeping dog until he can get into his dressing room.

"And?"

"And the chatter is focused on your operation in Benghazi."

"How so?"

"So far, only speculation that there are agents within the cells. But your name's been mentioned a few times. If they've broken radio silence-"

"My agents will be burned."

"You're still unsecured?"

"Unfortunately. I'll have to handle this myself." He turns on the shower and leaves it to warm while turning Sherlock on loudspeaker so he can text Anthea.

"Legwork? Dani really has changed you. There's a flight leaving from Heathrow in an hour."

"Don't be ridiculous. We don't need to leave the country just yet. We can handle this in my office."

Anthea texts that the few people on his operation that have been vetted are en route to the office.

"Meet me there in an hour, will you?" He hangs up and gets ready. Daniella wakes sometime between his getting dressed and starting the coffee machine downstairs. She meets him at the top of the stairs when he's on his way up to tell her he's leaving.

"Work?" She rubs one shoulder and squints at him in the hallway lights.

"Sherlock's picked up something. It would be best if I handled it myself."

"Is it safe?" She frowns and moves closer, her hands sliding up his lapels to rest on his shoulders. "Are you sure?"

"I'll be perfectly fine. I'll only be in the office, there's no need to worry. I'll have a full detail with me." The security detail from the cottage is on duty tonight so at least he doesn't have to worry about her. His name being mentioned in such a manner, so close to a volatile operation, when he's so close to the center of this strange plot against him... he's anything but safe. She doesn't need to know that.

Frowning further, Daniella nods. One hand comes up to cup his cheek and she leans forward to kiss him quickly. "I know when you're lying to me. Just be careful, yeah? Promise?"

Blinking slowly, he feels a sinking feeling that she's always known when he lies to her about work. He holds back a sigh, wondering what made him start up a relationship with a woman that could be so quietly perceptive. He nods and turns away, grabbing his bag and coffee and meeting Anthea at the door.

She quickly briefs him on the situation as she's caught wind of it. Hamid Bosard, Mycroft's preferred sniper for the last four years, has broken radio silence on the claim that he has pertinent information regarding Control. He requires a secure line to deliver and will only deliver to Control himself, upon receiving his line and an Alpha code, indicating that he is speaking to the person he wants. Mycroft forces himself to unclench his jaw. If things are this bad then the operation truly is going to crash and his agents will be burned, likely in the next forty-eight hours.