I am not lonely [Mystrade]

CHAPTER 199 : Driving talents

The car was bright red, maybe not the best way to go unnoticed but Sherlock had no time to ask for an exchange. He sat himself behind the wheel and looked, bewildered, to the different buttons and pedals around him.

Unlike his brother, he had some driving experience, but he would drive so little in his everyday life that he would just erase all informations about cars as soon as he felt he needed some space in his mind palace. Thankfully however, the sleuth was some kind of quick learner so it didn't take him long to remember the basics of driving. He released the hand break and drove into London's traffic.

The first stop was at City of London School for Girls. Completely ignoring the surrounding signs, the younger Holmes parked his car right before the door and climbed the few steps to the reception. A young woman looking perfectly bored was gazing absent-mindedly at the clock on the wall opposite her and nearly fell of her chair when the detective coughed to attract her attention.

"Hello miss, I'm coming to pick up one of your pupil, Sarah Lestrade. Her father have called about half an hour ago I think." he explained, using his falsely pleasant voice.

"Oh yes I see. You must be Mr Holmes." the receptionist nodded, taking a look at a sticky note. "Just sit down for a minute, I'll go fetch her."

The woman disappeared by a door behind her desk as Sherlock started nervously tapping his fingers on the counter, looking at the clock every so often, wondering why it was taking so long to find the teenager. Finally the young girl and the employee reappeared by the same door and after signing a discharge for, the detective was free to go with his brother-in-law's daughter.

"What is happening exactly ? Did something bad happened to dad or Mycroft ?" the young girl wondered as she followed the man to his car and embarked on the passenger seat.

"No don't worry, we have some places to attend out of London." the sleuth smiled as he turned on the car and dangerously entered the circulation. "It has all been seen with your dad."

Sarah found him quite agitated for someone who was supposed not to be doing anything reprehensible but after all the man was Sherlock Holmes, and he shouldn't really be expected to behave as a usual human being.

They stopped again at the Wetherby Preparatory School where they collected Lucas and Jack, both of them way too happy to miss school to even ask where they were going. At Knightsbridge School they were quite challenged by the receptionist who was less than willing to let Alden and Aelane out of their class but the simple evocation of the name of Mycroft Holmes and of what could happen to her if she didn't agreed to let the toddlers out was all what they needed for the five kids to finally be reunited.

Having been short on time to perfectly organize the children's pick up, the consulting detective had completely forgot about boosters or even about choosing a car that could contain all the kids and the driver so Sarah had to switch position with Lucas, so she could hold Aelane on her lap a little more safely.

To say that Sherlock's driving was dangerous was an understatement and it was already quite a miracle that everyone made it to the M1 alive and uninjured. The sleuth had nearly crashed his car in at least six walls and lampposts and scratched a good dozen of other car, but he didn't seem to care too much about it.

At this time of the day the M1 was nearly empty of traffic and the detective just took that as an excuse to accelerate, reaching one hundred and ten miles an hour before having to break even so slightly when seeing the four kids in the back-seat turning green because of car sickness.

"Where are we going ?" Lucas, the only one who wasn't too sick to speak, asked as they passed near Luton.

"I can't tell you, it's a surprise." Sherlock answered, mysterious. "But we are going to have fun."