Sherlock - The Game Is On!

His Last Vow- Finale

Chapter Seventeen

Third POV

Mycroft stands at the glass wall of a large meeting room. He has his back to the room and is looking outside. A suited man stands nearby to his right. "As my colleague is fond of remarking, this country sometimes needs a blunt instrument. Equally, it sometimes needs a dagger, a scalpel wielded with precision and without remorse. There will always come a time when we need Sherlock Holmes."

Several men sit at tables in the room, looking back at him silently but the man standing near, speaks: "If this is some expression of familial sentiment..." Mycroft rolls his eyes. "Don't be absurd. I am not given to outbursts of brotherly compassion. You know what happened to the other one." His voice turned into a whisper. Sir Edwin looks away, grimacing slightly. Mycroft turns to look out the window again. "In any event, there is no prison in which we could incarcerate Sherlock without causing a riot on a daily basis. The alternative, however..."

He looks left towards where Lady Smallwood is sitting at a table. "Would require your approval."

"Hardly merciful, Mr Holmes." She scolds. "Regrettably, Lady Smallwood, my brother is a murderer." He turns away and looks out of the window again. Lady Smallwood looks to him with hands clasped tightly on top of the table. "And what about Lady Phillips?"

"It's going to be unfortunate..." Mycroft sighs regrettably. "I heard she's already had a breakdown."

"Michelle has always been like that..." Mycroft confirms. "As children, Michelle always had attachment issues when it came to Sherlock and I." Lady Smallwood, sits back and begins to listen intently. "We were inseparable. Although Sherlock was close to Victor-Trevor, her twin brother, overtime Sherlock grew to adore Michelle." Mycroft reminisces. "Michelle, at the time, was the only person we trusted in completely. We all met in the IQ program."

Mycroft turned facing away from the window, taking to sit down. "Sherlock and I were sensational. Eurus was era-defining but Iris... She was Einstein or perhaps beyond even Newton." Mycroft let slip.

"Sorry, Iris?" Lady Smallwood butted in. Mycroft turned to her. "Yes, Iris-Maureen is her first name. However, just like us, she goes by her middle name. Over the six week span of the program, we grew close. Or at least we did. Eurus, she despised the girl. Mummy and father noticed a change between Sherlock and I's behaviours, then finding out why, they welcomed Michelle and Victor-Trevor in wholeheartedly. At first, it was I, who was inseparable from Michelle. Whilst we took a shining to Musgrave Hall's history and being able to prolong a decent conversation, Sherlock and Victor-Trevor preferred to play pirates."

The others listened with intent, it was unheard of Mycroft to outburst his childhood, it was something new. "Michelle was the youngest out of us all yet she outsmarted us for miles." He laughs. "All it took was one game of playing pirates and Sherlock... He was mesmerised by her..." His smile slowly sunk. "The day she got taken away, was the day her attachment issues begun. She may not know but I vowed to myself to always protect her, or at least try to..."

Flashbacks of her capture from Taliban and Sebastian Moran echoed his mind. Mycroft tried to simmer away the guiltiness he bares within him, like an ankle chained down...

Airfield - Daytime

A black car drives along the runway towards where an executive jet is stationary on the tarmac. Standing near the nose of the plane, Sherlock, Mycroft and a security man watch the car pull up. Mary gets out of the rear door nearest the plane and John from the other. Smiling, Mary walks towards Sherlock, John following behind. "You will look after him for me, won't you?"

"Oh don't worry. I'll keep him in trouble." He smiles as she releases him and pulls back. "That's my girl."

"Don't let Michelle hear that." She humours, they share a light laugh. Mary turns and walks back to where John has stopped a few paces away, and takes his hand. John nods to Sherlock in greeting, and Sherlock turns to his brother. Another car pulls up. Michelle and Bones step out. "Since this is likely to be the last conversation I'll have with John Watson and Michelle..." John sighs painfully. "Would you mind if we took a moment?"