Good Old Fashioned Nightmare

Part 5

Warning: Some mild violence in this chapter.

     It was time to set a trap, John thought grimly as he pulled fresh clothes out of his closet and put them on. There was no more denying it to himself. His best friend and trusted partner had changed into a man he didn’t know any more. A keening sadness descended as the truth of it swept over him. Sally’s dire warning to stay away from Sherlock Holmes rolled hauntingly around in his memory. Other warnings surfaced as well. Only a few months ago, Lestrade had given him his personal number and urged him to call if Sherlock got too overbearing in his behavior. He’d seen the writing on the wall, it seemed, long before John even knew there was a problem. “Okay,” John had told him believing he’d never really need to use it. John just hadn’t want to see. The thrill of the chase meant too much to him and he just assumed that he’d have to put up with Sherlock’s odd ways if he wanted to work with the man.

     Sherlock’s growing obsession with him might have been triggered by his near brush with death at the hands of Moriarty. Somewhere in their mad battle, the two geniuses decided to use John as a pawn in their escalating bid for dominance. Moriarty’s genius lie in the fact that he knew exactly how to hurt Sherlock. He just had to threaten John. This whole situation, the collar, Mycroft’s interference came from the idea that Sherlock thought he might soon hold John’s lifeless body in his arms. He didn’t think he could protect him any other way than to keep him locked up in the flat.

     John sighed as he realized Sherlock didn’t know how to ask for what he needed or wanted in a normal way. If he felt John would soon be lost to him, he might just take the intimacy he desperately needed before that happened. The horrible thing was, if Sherlock had just expressed his romantic feelings months earlier, been open and asked him out, John probably would have said yes. He had no idea Sherlock felt this way about him. This whole situation could have gone in an entirely different direction.

     He still didn’t want to destroy Sherlock, even after being forced to submit. Sherlock did good things for people. He helped humanity in his own insane way. That used to make it all worthwhile, but, John couldn’t do this anymore. Collar be damned, Sherlock’s unhealthy reliance on him had to stop. He’d crossed over a dark line. There was no place else to go in John’s mind except for total submission on his part.

     Somehow he suspected the Devil would get his due in his work with Sherlock. He’d have to pay some kind of price for all the near misses, the danger and excitement he’d had in his life over the past few years. They’d danced too close to the edge too many times for it to all just work out fine. Now, he had to get out of the Holmes’ grip before he lost his will entirely. He knew what would have to happen next.

     He’d spent years in the army and had learned the art of survival. He needed a way to catch Sherlock in a strong hold, put a sharp object to his throat and force him to take off the collar.  But, he’d need a distraction first.

     He sat on his bed and thought about what was at his disposal in the flat. Sherlock had cleaned all the sharp objects out of his room, he’d checked all his hiding spots, and left him with nothing sharper than a pen. Surprisingly, Sherlock’s thin frame held a great deal of strength. Besting him in hand to hand combat would be tricky. He’d also have to overpower him away from Mycroft’s cameras. John was sure all the main rooms of the flat were bugged and under video surveillance. Bathroom then? It may be his only hope. Mrs. Hudson’s flat might also be another option, but luring him down there might prove problematic.

     John pondered fitfully. All his standard military options were out of reach at the moment but what if he found another way? Sherlock made it a point to never cook meals or anything else that wasn’t necessary to performing an experiment, so John knew the contents of the kitchen cupboards better than his flat mate. Sherlock, an exceptional chemist, and would have cleared out any dangerous chemicals from the flat, but John knew some basic chemistry himself and there might be one innocuous ingredient Sherlock had overlooked. Corn flour.
Lying innocently at the back of the cupboard next to the baking soda and sugar, John kept a small bag of corn flour for breading meats.