Sherlock's Daughter

10 - When We Collide

When We Collide

Juliet

Both Juliet and Moriarty stand there for a moment just observing each other; he notices her trying to steady her breathing and the plans forming in her head. "Juliet..." He trails, "What are you doing out of bed?" Some of his men gather behind him to watch the unfolding commotion. She decides not to respond as she knows her quivering voice would betray her. She catches sight of the corpse once again. He is face down on the floor in a pool of his own blood with a hole in his temple it makes her feel queasy. "I will ask you again Juliet, why are you out of bed?" She senses the movement of someone behind her, obviously trying to approach without getting noticed. She keeps her eye contact fixed with Jim until she turns at the last minute to knee to man in the crotch before planting a perfect punch to his face. He stumbles backwards giving Juliet the perfect time to grab his holstered gun and flip over him so she is facing everyone in the very small basement, her gun poised at Moriarty's skull. He slowly, raises both of his hands in the air as a way to show he surrenders even though he is obviously just buying time.

"Remember this Mr James Moriarty." She starts, her voice wavering halting towards the end. "I may have entered your trap but I am Holmes. I am not another rabbit you're going to skin." She sprints up the stairs to the ground level of the building and shuts the door behind her. She continues to run while carefully looking behind her when she bumps into two men; Arthur and Matt. They look horrified.

"Oh Juliet..." Matt trails with sadness in his eyes.

"What have you done?" Arthur questions making Juliet realise. Jim is going to have these two killed for this.

"Run with me." She requests but the pair look uneasy. She doesn't wait for their response because the door to the basement opens so she sprints out of the entrance, dodging any guards as she goes. She hopes Matt and Arthur are following or making their own way out of the building.

Sherlock

"Faster!" Sherlock orders but his brother just tuts and Lestrade shakes his head. The four of them are in Greg's silver BMW speeding towards the apartment block where they think Juliet is. Many other government cars and police squad cars are hammering behind them as they all make their way to ambush Moriarty and his network.

"I cannot drive any faster Sherlock! Not in this bloody weather..." It is raining well it is absolutely pouring it down. Mycroft glowers at the torrent.

"I've forgotten my umbrella..." He mumbles but John hears and cannot help but burst into laughter even in their current predicament. The car continues to race and roar down the long road; it being so late at night means the roads are practically bare. Sherlock is squinting to try and get a view of the outside world through the blur of the windscreen when he notices a figure.

"Stop the car!" Greg notices the figure too and slams his foot on the break causing a pile up of government vehicles behind him all screeching to a halt.

Juliet

Keep running. She realises now that no one is running behind her but Moriarty has his men with snipers so she has to be the moving target. She fears for Matt and Arthur's lives, feeling guilty that it is her fault if they are found dead in the coming days. She doesn't think to stop and ask for help in any surrounding houses; if she stops, she could get shot. So she keeps running, further and further along the road hoping to find some peace and familiar civilisation. Its moments like this when she mentally thanks her Uncle for her training because her stamina is second to none. But she is now feeling weak and tired. The rain pouring on her feels heavy like a flood which could drown her any second, the gun feels cold and hefty in her right hand as she runs like a madman. Her breathing is ragged and her vision has become blurry with tiredness and tears. She sees flashing lights and many vehicles up ahead but she cannot focus. She sees an outline of a man exiting the front vehicle who calls, "Juliet!" She is too fatigues to recognise the voice so she just holds up the gun and points it at the man in panic.

"Stay away!" She orders and she stops running. It takes all her strength just to hold up the gun and not crumple into a heap.

"Juliet it is me." The voice responds while taking a gentle step forward, "It is Sherlock...your dad." She shakes her head. Mind games.

*Flashback*

"Mind games Juliet." Uncle Mycroft states and takes a seat opposite the eleven year old. She looks up at him with her shocking blue eyes with a confused expression. "The opposition always uses mind games."

"Mind games?" She innocently questions.

"Yes. Mind games." He repeats, "A good agent's instincts are always right. So you have to trust your instinct Juliet."

*End of Flashback*

She remembers all those lessons with her Uncles, at the time she thought he was just trying to protect her but as she got older she realised that he was training her to be an agent. She listened to him because she had to otherwise she would punished. Punishment generally entailed either not having dinner, having any form of entertainment taken away for a week or sometimes getting her bottom smacked with a ruler or cane. It was like living in the dark ages. "Juliet..." The voice repeats and gets closer to the quivering teenager. She can now kind of make out that it is her father but for some reason she does not trust her own mind. He places his hand on the barrel and gently pushes her hand down so the gun is gradually pointing to the floor.

"No..." She mutters and squeezes the trigger. The sound of the bullet firing resonating through the street making John noticeably uneasy. Sherlock looks down and smirks when he sees the bullet hole in only millimetres away from his big toe. The sudden noise snapped Juliet out of it and looks relieved to see her father standing in front of her. He removes the gun from her hand and slides it along the tarmac behind him for one of the officials to pick up.

Her hands are shaking.

Sherlock engulfs her into a hug – something that he is not accustomed to doing – but right now it feels right. She tremors and weeps in his arms so that he is the one keeping her upright. He can see that she is exhausted and notices that something must have happened to make her react like this. Mycroft starts to send some men on their way to the building to infiltrate Moriarty's network when Juliet speaks up. "T-t-there are two men...Matt and Arthur. Please make sure that they don't get hurt, they looked after me well." She pleads, "Please Uncle."

Mycroft nods and reiterates this information to his team on the radio, "Of course Juliet but don't call me Uncle."

\~.~.~.~.~/

"Juliet." Sherlock's voice alerts Juliet to her existence in the living room of 221B Baker Street. It has been a few days since the incident and there is no word on Matt and Arthur. "You need to eat." Sherlock is holding a plate of food. Just a simple ham sandwich with crisps and salad – just what the doctored ordered. Literally. John has made Sherlock promise him to keep Juliet well fed. He places the plate onto the table next to the sofa which he has previously decluttered. "Please Juliet."

"If they are dead. I will never forgive myself." She states while looking down at her hands which seem to be rubbing themselves together.

"Don't worry. We will find them." Sherlock assures her and she nods before carefully picking up a sandwich and taking a bite. She feels nauseous but she must stay strong.