Ten Past the Hour (Mycroft Holmes Fanfiction)

Chapter 2

He sighed as tortured coughing came from the anteroom of his office. Anthea sniffed and muttered quietly. Standing, Mycroft went to stand in the doorway. She spun her chair around and looked up at him expectantly. Leaning against the doorjamb, he raised a brow. She was pale and her nose was a violent red. Her eyes were teary as she squinted up at him.

Sighing, he took the files from her hands and nodded towards the door. "Go home. Don't come back until you've seen a doctor and recovered from whatever ghastly ailment you have." She opened her mouth to protest but he held up a hand. "Doctor, home, bed. Now."

Looking at him in a defeated manner, she stood and gathered her things. He held his hand out for her Blackberry, knowing she would only work from home. She glared at him and tucked it into her shirt before turning on her heel and leaving. He rolled his eyes and watched her leave. Sighing, he looked at the post-it note on the folder in his hand.

She'd been about to gather the information on Gordon Cavill, a spy who had recently gone missing in Beijing. Locking his office, he went to the lift and pressed the button for the tenth floor. Arriving in a matter of moments, he recognized a curious face as it looked up at him.

"Hello again." He murmured.

"Good morning, Mr. Holmes. What can I do for you?" She looked confused, obviously used to seeing Anthea.

"I need a file on Gordon Cavill, recently deployed in-"

"Beijing. Just a moment." She slid the glass panel closed and hurried into the maze of files. The woman who was sharing the desk with her, smiled at his confused expression.

"She never checks the database. Weird, I know."

The woman returned in a moment, smiling and opening the panel. "Here you are." He skimmed the summary on the front page of the burgundy folder.

"Thank you, Miss..."

"Bryne."

"Miss Bryne." Snapping the file closed, he went back to his office.

***

"You're back. Is Anthea sick?"

Mycroft stepped off the lift to find Miss Bryne working the counter again. He nodded and asked for a new file, this one involving a long missing piece of information that could be a clue to whatever was going on in Beijing.

Her brown eyes rose to the ceiling and she mouthed to herself. "Um... yeah. Got it. Hold on." Sliding the partition closed again, she disappeared into the files. She returned five minutes later. "I found this as well, it might be of interest to you. I was doing some research on it. They may be connected."

He wasn't sure how effective her research was but he took the file anyway. "You have this library memorized." He observed.

She shook her head. "Only up to Section 215."

He raised a brow. "How many are there?"

Her eyes rose to the ceiling again. "Three hundred and... ninety-seven." She nodded, confirming this to herself. He smiled, finding her memory impressive for an ordinary Level Five librarian. Thanking her, he went to his darkened office. Settling back into the black leather chair, he noticed the grey file he'd been neglecting for two days. It was some information on an employee to be promoted. A rather impressive promotion at that. From Level Five... Oh.

Pulling the file out, he raised his brows. He wasn't the only one impressed with Amelia Mae Bryne. Crossing one leg over the other, he opened her file. At the top of the summary was a picture of her outside her townhouse. Monitors usually followed new recruits for their first few weeks on the job. Few ever knew they were being watched. In the picture, she was kneeling on the stairs, grinning at an auburn dog that had his paws up on her knees. Pinned to the corner of the summary was a more recent picture, taken for her yearly review. It was just a shot from one of the cameras in the Archives. She was leaning on a ladder, focused entirely on the file in her hands. Flicking past the summary, Mycroft read through the details about her recruitment.