Sherlock - The Game Is On!

The Reichenbach Fall- Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Third POV

Inside Scotland Yard, Sally is sat in a large office by a table overlaying police photographs and other evidence. Standing up she looks over everything thoughtfully. Mentally replaying tonight's encounters she notices something.

"What the hell is this? Chocolate?"

"I think we're looking for a disused sweet factory." Michelle stated.

Claudette screams in terror. "Get out!"

Walking into the office, Greg walks over to Sally. "Problem?" She looks around at him, then down at the evidence again.

In the taxi, Sherlock sat lost in thought. Partway into the journey, the TV screen on the back of the driver's seat switches on and an advertisement starts to play. London Taxi Shopping is advertising jewellery.

- -This is a stunning evening wear set from us here at London Taxi Shopping. - -

"Can you turn this off, please?" The driver doesn't respond and the advert continues...

- -As you can see, the set comprises of a beautiful... - -

"Can you turn this off!" The image on the screen begins to fritz as another channel begins breaking through. There are momentary glimpses of someone who can only be seen as Jim Moriarty grinning at the screen. Eventually the advert disappears and Jim is seen smiling cheerfully. Behind him is a pale blue wall with painted white fluffy clouds floating across it. Jim's voice takes on a sing-song quality as if he is talking to children.

- - Hello. Are you ready for the story? This is the story of Sir Boast-a-lot. - -

Sherlock stares at the screen, his face intense.

Sally begins showing Gregory one out of many photographs. "The footprint. It's all he has. A footprint." She deadpanned. "Yeah, well, you know what he's like... CSI Baker Street."

"Well, our boys couldn't have done it."

"Well, that's why we need him. He's better."

"That's one explanation."

"And what's the other?"

During the taxi ride, Jim's image continues to smile from the TV screen...

- - Sir Boast-a-lot was the bravest and cleverest knight at the Round Table, but soon the other knights began to grow tired of his stories about how brave he was and how many dragons he'd slain... - -

Behind him, the pale blue sky gets darker and the white clouds become grey and threatening.

- - And soon they began to wonder... - -

Behind him, rain begins to pour from the clouds.

- - 'Are Sir Boast-a-lot's stories even true?' - -

"Only he could have found that evidence." Sally mutters.

Jim sadly shakes his head.

- - Oh, no. - -

"And then the girl screams her head off when she sees him, a man she has never seen before... Unless she had seen him before."

"Wh-what's your point?" Lestrade stutters. "You know what my point is. You just don't wanna think about it."

- - So one of the knights went to King Arthur and said 'I don't believe Sir Boast-a-lot's stories. He's just a big old liar who makes things up to make himself look good.' - -

At Scotland Yard, Anderson has now come in and he and Sally stand opposite Greg's desk as he sits talking with them. "You're not seriously suggesting he's involved, are you?"

" I think we have to entertain the possibility." Anderson stated. Greg stares at him, at him and at her bewildered.

- - And then even the King began to wonder... - -

He frowns, raising a finger to his mouth and gazing off to the side with a thoughtful look on his face.

Greg sinks his face into his hand as he is forced to consider what his officers are telling him.

On the taxi TV screen, Jim frowns thoughtfully while cartoon lightning bolts shoot out of the clouds behind him.

- - But that wasn't the end of Sir Boast-a-lot's problem. No. - -

He looks down for a moment, then raises his eyes to the camera again.

- - That wasn't the final problem. - -

Sherlock bares his teeth at the screen as the camera pulls back to show Jim sitting with a storybook held in his hands. He looks up at the camera and finishes in an even more sing-song voice.

- - The End. - -

Behind him, a red velvet curtain drops down as if covering a theatre stage. The shot changes to an extreme close-up of Jim grinning hugely and showing his teeth, then the screen fritzes a few times and eventually returns to the jewellery advert. "Stop the cab! Stop the cab!" The taxi begins to pull up to the side of the road. "What was that?" He jumps out of the right-hand door and runs forward to the driver's door. "What was that?"

The cabbie, wearing a cloth cap very reminiscent of the one worn by the cabbie in 'A Study in Pink' turns his head towards Sherlock and reveals that he is Jim Moriarty, who adopts a London accent as he speaks. "No charge." He immediately accelerates away as Sherlock tries to grab hold of the door and pull the cab back. Forced to let go, he chases after the taxi but it soon speeds away. He stops in the middle of the road, glaring after it and unaware that another car is speeding along behind him. As it sounds its horn in warning, a man hurries off the pavement, grabs him and pulls him out of danger.

"Look out!" Not fully realising what the man is doing, Sherlock strikes out at him but then stops as the car roars past and he realises what has happened. He stands with the man at arm's length, breathing heavily while the man looks warily at him. "Thank you." Holding out his hand, Sulejmani reluctantly takes it and soon enough three bullets are fired into him in quick succession from somewhere behind Sherlock. Sulejmani slumps to the ground and Sherlock spins around, trying to find the source of the gunfire. Just then another black cab comes around the corner and pulls up a short distance away. John and Michelle jump out and hurry towards him.

"Sherlock!"