I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 62 : Hunting down

Sally rang at the front door. It was the first time she was invited to the Holmes Mansion and she had to admit that she was more intimidated that she cared to admit by the dwelling place. She was itemizing the decoration of the facade when the house-owner opened the door and greeted her inside. Mycroft leaded her to the conference room nearby his private office, a room he only rarely use, preferring to organise his meetings at the Cabinet Office or at the Diogene Club better than at his own home. Around the table were already sat all the other participants and the young woman quickly took the seat the auburn was indicating her, nodding to the others as a greeting.
"Now that we are all here, shall we carry on ?" the man asked in a rhetorical question. "Well, I think you all can guess why you are here, can't you ?". He interrupted himself to show them a picture taken with a telephoto lens. "Giorgio Alvarez, cartel of La Mano. Any of you already have heard of it ?"
"One of the most dangerous cartel in the world, responsible only for last year of more than a thousand of abductions and, or, executions, including our ambassador in Lima. Very active in south America and willing to extend their power." Rudolf Holmes summed up.
"Does that mean that they are willing to extend to Britain ?" wondered John Watson who was filling up for Sherlock.
"That was, as we could say, part of the plan, yes. Giorgio Alvarez would have been what we could call a pathfinder, but there is a great chance that the police intervention directly on the vanguard sent by the gang will repress them from coming back." replied the official, nodding appreciatively at Donovan who was the only represent of the forces invited to the meeting.
"Alright, then if they are not to come back, why are we meeting ?" intervened Molly who was looking rather unsure on the reason why she had been invited.
"Two things. Firstly, making sure that no other pathfinders remain hidden somewhere in the dead cesspool of London or any other British cities. Secondly, finding and intercepting Alvarez." retorted Mycroft, trying to keep a formal tone while his eyes were looking at the picture laying down on the table as if a single sight could kill the man depictured on it.
"Isn't that the duty of the forces, if I may ask ?" questioned John looking at Sally.
"To look out for other pathfinders, yes. But Alvarez is nothing of their duty, they don't even have his name." the auburn replied before anyone else got the opportunity of saying anything.
"How have you got the name then ? MI5 ?" wondered Molly.
"My brother. The information we got leads us to a small village in the Alps where Alvarez is hiding himself, willing to join Morocco. It's important that he don't join Africa." the official informed her.
"Who else than us know the information you are giving us ?" Rudolf interrupted him.
"Anthea and a couple of my men who have an eye on him." retorted the elder Holmes, defensively.
"This isn't any kind of official then ?" clarified Dr Watson.
"Broadly speaking, no." answered the auburn.
"Mycroft, this isn'tjustice, this is retaliation." intervened Rudy now looking at his nephew right in the eyes. "I can understand you want justice for Gregory but this is not how things work ! You want to find him and then what ? You are hunting down a man like you would hunt a deer."
"This is justice, dear uncle. I need to find him myself as the force can't." snapped the other one.
"They can't because you are retaining informations Mycroft !" erupted the old man. "You don't want them to intervene because you want to deal with this matter yourself. That's not how things work ! Self-justice is not justice Mycroft !"
"Have I got to remind you of the numerous times you like me and like my father before me have used those methods to take care of men threatening this country ?"retorted the auburn, bitterly.
"Don't play this game, you are insulting your own intelligence." chuckled the retired lawyer, humourlessly. "Not relying on the police is a choice you can do, but this is not the case here. You, like me, we've never acted alone. This is personal Mycroft. You want to avenge yourself, this is sentiments."
"It's not." denied the official, twitches animating his face. "Its national security."
"You are irresponsible Mycroft." retorted Rudolf, his voice harsh. "And it will be without me."
"Right. Anyone else is to leave ?" the official asked while his uncle was collecting his belongings and leaving the house.
"I'm sorry Mycroft, but I don't really seehow we can help you exactly ..." Molly risked herself shyly after a few seconds of silence.
"A sensible question at last." the auburn tried to smile. "Actually, I might need your experience as a chemist at a point."
"If I may, Sherlock is a graduated chemist no ?" remarked the young woman.
"Yes, but he is a bit, let's say unpredicatable ... And I'll be glad if you could look after Gregory, you and Sally, if I have to go away at some point."
The two women exchanged a look over the table before Molly nodded. "Of course, we will look after him."
"And Sally, if you could keep Anderson occupied during the time I investigate on this case to make sure he doesn't start his own ... enquiry and screw everything up, it would be highly appreciated." added the elder Holmes provoking a general laugh.
"I'll find a way of keeping him entertained don't worry." nodded the policewoman.
"I leave that to your discretion." smiled the official. "John, I suppose you will follow my brother, won't you ?"
"I suppose, yes." nodded the doctor.
"Alright, then I'll keep you informed through him. If no one have questions, I guess we all have better place to be." stated the elder Holmes, standing up.
Everyone followed him to the corridor, collecting their belongings before exiting the house. Passing by the landlord, John leaned to him and whispered in his ear. "You are engaging yourself in a dangerous game Mycroft ...". The auburn nodded, aware of the jeopardy of the situation before following the man outside and climbing in his own car which was waiting in the alley to lead him to the hospital.

The auburn placed a box of candied fruits on his boyfriends bedside table before leaning to gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead.
"I don't like candied fruits." the detective complained.
"Then maybe you won't go through it that quickly ..." laughed the official, sitting down on the bed beside his husband. "How are you feeling today?"
"Better, they have reduced the morphine dose this morning." smiled Gregory running his fingers on his partner's forearm.
"Have they told you more about tomorrow's surgery yet ?" wonderedMycroft.
"No, nothing more than what you know already. Actually I haven't seen the surgeon. But it's only in the afternoon so maybe I'll see him in the morning." replied the policeman. "But look, they've taken off my bandage for the night.".
The inspector opened his hospital shirt to reveal six lines of stitches spread across his torso. The auburn ran softly his fingers alongside the lines. "My war hero ..." the elder Holmes whispered in his lover's ear. "My own little soldier ...".
"This gonna be hideous ..." complained the policeman. "The nurse said it will leave marks ..."
Mycroft placed tender kisses over the stitches. "No, it's not hideous, it's even little bit sexy ..."
"You are weird ..." chuckled Greg, toying with his boyfriend's hair.
"Admit that yo would be disappointed otherwise ?" replied the latter.
They remained silent during a few minutes, Mycroft's head nestled in the yarder's neck. If it wasn't for the hideous decoration around them and the perfusion of morphine in the older man's arm, they could have believed that nothing had happened and that they were in their own bedroom.
"Your uncle visited me this morning. He said he was in London for business. Have you seen him ?" the detective wondered.
"Yes, we've discussed earlier but he had to leave early." the auburn evaded.
The detective looked curiously at his husband but said nothing. He knew that the official wasn't saying the entire truth but he decided that it wasn't important and changed subject. "Have you seen Alden today ?"
"No, I had to leave early to work this morning. But I've said to Sherlock that I'll pick him up at the nursery tomorrow and bring him here so you can see him. Would you like that ?" denied the elder Holmes.
"I just hope the surgery will be over and that I won't be to stoned ..." remarked Gregory worriedly.
"Well if it's at one, you should be back in your room before four no ? We won't be there before at least six." explained the official.
"Well, will see. If not you'll be my private nurse ..." chuckled the detective before placing a soft kiss on his partner's lips.
"I'll be your private nurse whenever you want ..." replied Mycroftrunning his fingers on the red lines on his boyfriend's torso again.

The auburn awoken suddenly in his large, empty and cold bed. He took a look at the clock on his bedside table. 3:34 AM. The surreal silence of the house was making him anxious and before he even had really thought about it he was up on his feet and wrapped in a black silk nightgown. He wandered to the kitchen and switched the kettle on, the discreet sound of the water boiling filling up the silence. Trying to remember what had awoken him so suddenly, he grabbed a bag of tea in one of the cupboard and placed it in a blue and white china cup.
Since a week that Greg was in hospital and Alden at Baker Street, Mycroft often awoken in the middle of the night for no reason, unable to go back to sleep, the silence surrounding him being unbearable for him. He poured the water in the cup before heading up to the living room and, curling up in the couch, he seized the remote and switched on the television, browsing through the channels before finding a French documentary about World War II. He didn't really cared what he was watching as long as it was loud and vaguely educative.
His eyes fixed on the tea bag floating oddly at the surface of the water in his cup he remembered this time when the silent home was a habit, when it was now an enemy. When embracing the room in a gaze, he could see the discreet signs of the presence of other inhabitants in his fortress. Gregory's silver lighter on the coffee table, a couple of his son's miniature cars loitering before the fireplace, a framed portrait of the happy couple the day they get married, one of Alden's half-finished drawing on another coffee table. It was difficult for him to realize that it had been only three years since he had exchanged his first kiss and spent his first night with Gregory.