Ten Past the Hour (Mycroft Holmes Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

"I'll be back tonight! Casper, down! Down, boy." Amelia laughed and shoved her dog off her. "I just took you for a run, I have to go now. Stay. Don't eat my shoes!" She closed the door quickly, locking it. Casper, an energetic and loving Vizsla, barked from the inside. Chuckling, Amelia shoved her keys in her pocket. "Bye!"

Unchaining her bike from her front steps, she bumped it down to street level and swung her leg over the seat. Checking her watch, she nodded. Just enough time to get coffee. Thank god. Sliding one white headphone in her ear, she turned up her music, shoved her phone into her pocket and put a foot on a pedal. She pulled into early morning traffic, weaving in and out of cars slowly.

Ten minutes later and she pulled up on the sidewalk and ran into a Caffè Nero. A perfectly made café au lait with a dash of cinnamon sat on the counter. Smiling, Amelia fished out her card and handed it over to the blond barista. “Morning, Kate.”

“Morning. Any news from Em?”

“Nah, she’s probably found something and forgot all about me.She was in Argentina, last I heard. Probably somewhere else by now."

“Figures.”

Taking the card back, she grabbed her drink and found a table outside. Traffic bustled by and people hurried to work all around her. Sitting back, she sipped her coffee and checked her messages. Still nothing from Emily or her dad… Her sister had left two weeks ago to follow their dad on some new expedition. He was an archeologist and Emily was more or less his anthropologist assistant. They’d disappear for weeks sometimes in search of anything interesting to explore and research, often staying for things that had nothing to do with either of their fields. But usually they'd at least send a quick text or email. Maybe they didn’t have a connection. Sighing and shrugging, she threw her phone in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. Chucking the now empty cup in the bin, she got back on her bike and pulled into the hectic traffic once more.

The lift was just closing when she ran into the building. “Morning, Jeff. Hold that, please!” The silver ferrule of a black umbrella rose and the doors slid back. Sliding into the lift, Amelia smiled. “Thanks.”

“Floor?”

“Ten.”

The man beside her tapped the button and leaned back against the burgundy wall. She checked her watch and bounced lightly on her toes, wondering if she could sneak into her office unnoticed. She was ten minutes late. Her shortcut hadn’t been much of a shortcut.

“We have a Caffè Nero just down the street. You might not be so late if you simply went to that one.”

Startled, she looked up to meet a pair of cold blue eyes. "Oh Mr. Holmes! Sorry, I didn't realize it was you." She frowned. “How’d you know I went to there?”

“Receipt.” He pointed to the slip of paper sticking out of her pocket. “No need to apologize." The lift dinged and the doors slid open silently. He stepped out, cool and collected as always. Once the doors closed, Amelia let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. The mysterious and chilling man who worked on the ninth floor… So that was him. She knew who he was and that they all directly or indirectly worked for him in this building and she'd seen him a few times but in all her seven years of working here she'd never spoken to him. Her curiosity was raging when it came to him but he had few files on him. Just signatures and reports mostly.

Mycroft Holmes. The Suit. The Iceman. He had all sorts of names around the building. He had a presence. There was no other way to explain it. He didn’t appear to be all that intimidating but then he had looked at her and suddenly she understood why no one ever shared the lift with him beyond his assistant. And speaking of his assistant…