Sherlock - The Game Is On!

The Reichenbach Fall- Seven

Chapter Seven

"Johann Sebastian would be appalled." Moriarty glances around the living room "May I?"

"Please." Sherlock gestures with the end of his bow towards John's chair. Jim immediately walks over to Sherlock's chair and sits in that one instead. Sherlock's jaw hardens. Jim takes out a small penknife and starts to cut into the apple whilst I begin to pour tea into the cups. "You know when he was on his death bed, Bach..." I glanced through my eyelashes towards Sherlock briefly. "He heard his son at the piano playing one of his pieces. The boy stopped before he got to the end..."

"And the dying man jumped out of his bed, ran straight to the piano and finished it." Sherlock finished. "Couldn't cope with an unfinished melody."

"Neither can you. That's why you've come." I responded. "But be honest: you're just a tiny bit pleased. You both are."

"What, with the verdict?" Sherlock stated, dismissively. Adding a splash of milk, I take two teacups and offer one to Moriarty, who sits up straighter to accept it. "With me back on the streets." Moriarty gazes up to me, smiling. "Every fairytale needs a good old-fashioned villain." Turning away I hand Sherlock a teacup before going back to the tray and adding milk to my own. "You need me, or you're nothing. Because we're just alike, you and I except you're boring. You're on the side of the angels."

Sitting on the sofa, I watch as Moriarty takes to drink his tea. He brings the cup and saucer closer to his chest before noticing the handle was pointed the wrong way. I smile, smugly drawing the cup to my lips. Rolling his eyes Moriarty and Sherlock drink their tea simultaneously. "Got to the jury, of course."

"I got into the Tower of London; You think I can't worm my way into twelve hotel rooms?"

"Cable network." I muttered. "Every hotel bedroom has a personalised TV screen and every person has their pressure point; Someone that they want to protect from harm. Easy-peasy." By now, whether he cared to notice, Sherlock mimicked an unconscious seating position from Moriarty. "So how're you going to do it... Burn me?"

"Oh, that's the problem – The Final Problem. Have you worked out what it is yet? I did tell you..." He starts singing. "But did you listen?" He takes another sip of tea and then puts the cup down into the saucer. Putting his hand onto his knee, he starts idly drumming his fingers. Sherlock's eyes lower to watch the movement. "How hard do you find it, having to say 'I don't know'?" Sherlock puts his cup into its saucer and shrugs. "I dunno." Sherlock snivels. I laugh, lowly. "Oh, that's clever; That's very clever; Awfully clever." Moriarty chuckles in an upper class tone. Sherlock smiles humourlessly while putting his cup back onto the tray.

"Speaking of clever, have you told your little friends yet?" Now directing to me. "Told them what?" I tilt my head with purpose. "Why I broke into all those places and never took anything. You understand."

"Obviously."

"Off you go, then." Finishing with his carvings in the apple, he stabs the object on an pen knife and takes a bite. "You want me to tell you what you already know?" I asked. "No; I want you to prove that you know it."

"You didn't take anything because you don't need to."

"Good." He purred lowly. "You'll never need to take anything ever again."

"Very good, Michelle. Because...?"

"Because nothing... Nothing in the Bank of England, the Tower of London or Pentonville Prison could possibly match the value of the key that could get you into all three." I finished. "I can open any door anywhere with a few tiny lines of computer code. No such thing as a private bank account now, they're all mine. No such thing as secrecy, I own secrecy. Nuclear codes, I could blow up NATO in alphabetical order." He sits back for a moment, before continuing: "In a world with locked rooms, the man with the key is king; and honey, you should see me in a crown." He smiles with delight.

"You were advertising all the way through the trial. You were showing the world what you can do." Sherlock states the obvious. "And you were helping. Big client list: rogue governments, intelligence communities... Terrorist cells. They all want me." He lifts another piece of apple to his mouth with the penknife. "Suddenly, I'm Mr Sex."

"If you could break any bank, what do you care about the highest bidder?"

"I don't. I just like to watch them all competing. 'Daddy loves me the best!' Aren't ordinary people adorable? Well, you know: you've got John. Michelle though..." He turns to me. "Yo-ho-ho." I blink inhumanly at him. "I should get myself a live-in one."

"Why are you doing all of this? You don't want money or power, not really. What is it all for?"

"I want to solve the problem, our problem." He directs to the pair of us. "The Final Problem. It's gonna start very soon, Sherlock: the fall." Raising his head, he whistles a slowly descending note while simultaneously lowering his gaze towards the floor. "But don't be scared. Falling's just like flying, except there's a more permanent destination." With his gaze reaching the floor he simultaneously makes a thudding, collapsing sound. Raising his head slowly, he glowers across at Sherlock, who bares his teeth slightly and then stands and buttons his jacket. "Never liked riddles." Sherlock dismisses. Jim stands as well and straightens his jacket, locking his gaze onto Sherlock's eyes. "Learn to. Because I owe you a fall, Sherlock. I... Owe... You." Moriarty's gaze stays steady, as if he's sealing his promise.

Walking away, Sherlock and I stay in place as he leaves the room. I then move my gaze towards the apple. Penknife still stuck in it. Sherlock picks up the apple by the knife handle and stares at it. I walk towards him. Placing my hand on his shoulder and my head on top of my hand, Sherlock twists the apple. Forming the letters 'I O U'.

Sherlock's mouth twitches into the beginning of a smile. I frown not amusingly.