Sherlock's Daughter

9 - The Soundproof Room and a Bullet

The Soundproof Room and a Bullet

Juliet

Last night, Juliet heard shouting outside her room which woke her up suddenly. The conversation was jumbled and some was muffled but she has understood the general gist of the discussion. Outside the door Moriarty was yelling at some of his man – not Matt and Arthur (she did not hear their voices). He sounded brutal. Some kind of deal fell through due to the fact someone has run off with some of Jim's money. "You'd better find him and bring him here to me." He instructed.

"We don't know where he is..." Another man stuttered.

"I gave you one job Barrowman!" Jim roared. "Kill him."

"What no?! Sir please!" The man who Juliet assumed to Barrowman begged. There was then the sound of a struggle and muffled gagging then silence. Was Barrowman dead?

"Jones. You are now on this case. I want him here tomorrow so I can put a bullet in his head." Moriarty ordered. Now Juliet is sat on her bed, cross legged, realising how trapped she is in this place and what this place actually is. When she arrived she was blind enough to think that this is a simple apartment block owned by Jim but now she knows; this is the centre of Moriarty's network and she is stuck in the middle. She has barely been out of her apartment and has not been outside once she has arrived but now she is curious. Her Holmes side is kicking in. She wants to explore this place and see how important it is to his network.

There is a knock on the door to which Juliet replies with "come in!" She smiles when Arthur and Matt enter ready for today's work. Like every day they are wearing some basic jeans but with a smart shirt and blazer – Juliet knows that their blazer pockets their phones, a gun each and the key to her apartment. At night she is locked in for her "safety" but she knows that this isn't quite true. The only way that Juliet will be able to explore is if she gets hold of one of the keys and leaves during the night.

"So what is the plan today Juliet?" Arthur asks. "Cooking? Swimming?"

"I was thinking we could play Grand Theft Auto on the Xbox." She explains and both men nod before planting themselves in front of the large forty eight inch television. To her knowledge Matt is the one who locks up every night so she needs to get hold of Arthur's key. She jumps over the back of the sofa so she sits in between her two guards. Matt passes her a remote just after he starts up the game console. Juliet wonders how boring it must be for them. They signed up to be one of Moriarty's men and they get landed with sixteen year old girl to watch. "Do you ever get bored of babysitting me?"

"We are not babysitting you Juliet." Matt states as he fingers work at the remote in his hands. Juliet deduces that he was a keen gamer as a teenager. "Anyway it is quite enjoyable. We get to spend all day playing video games."

\~.~.~.~.~/

A little while later, Juliet gets up to pour some refreshments when a plan hatches in her head. She balances three drinks quite precariously on a tray and carries them over to the sofa. "Here you go." She announces and picks one drink off the train and passes it directly into Matt's hands. Then – quite skilfully – she pours the other two drinks onto Arthur who jumps when the water makes contact with his skin. "Oh my! I am so sorry!" Juliet apologises and retrieves the two glasses to set them down onto the coffee table as Arthur stands up with a grim look on his face. Juliet is quickly at his side and helps him take off his blazer which has got the wettest – again skilful. "Let me dry that off for you." She retrieves the jacket off him.

"No Juliet it is fine." He tries to assure her. "It is only water."

"No I insist!" She rushes to bathroom to put the blazer on the towel rail. Quickly, she digs her hands into the various pockets and first she grasps onto a phone: I could call for help using this, she thinks but decides against. Then she grips onto a cold metal handle of a gun making her shiver before she eventually finds the key which she pockets before leaving the bathroom.

\~.~.~.~.~/

It is approaching half eleven at night and now is Juliet's chance. All is quiet surround her apartment so she almost silently unlocks the door with the stolen key and creeps out. She peers down both ends of the corridor and is content to see no one there. She smiles to herself. She is still in the clothes that she was wearing earlier on today; a pair of black skinny jeans, a checked boy-fit shirt and her white sneakers. Tip toeing down the corridor she starts to hear something from outside maybe. As she approaches the banister of the long staircase she realises there is quite the ruckus occurring downstairs. She crouches and peers through the wooden beams of the staircase at the commotion. There are lots of men in black holding another figure who has a potato sack over his head. That must be the unfortunate who stole Moriarty's money. Following behind the group is Jim Moriarty dressed in all his pride and glory. His Cheshire cat like grin sends shivers down Juliet's spine. "Jones!" He calls, "Take him to the basement. It is sound proof down there."

"Yes sir." The group and Moriarty make their way down a staircase which Juliet didn't existed as it is hidden behind the lift. When they are out of sight, Juliet scampers down the stairs to get a closer look. She winds around the corner so she is heading down the stairs to the basement. It is very dark down here; there is only cheap lighting and the place is cluttered with unused furniture which Juliet hides behind. The group rushes into a separate room where there is wooden chair sat in the middle. The victim has been sat and the sack has been removed off his head – he only looks like he is in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. She can see the fear in his eyes.

"Please!" He begs, "I will give you back your money Mr Moriarty. Just a few more days-"

"It isn't about the money." Jim's cold Irish lilt flows harshly, "It is about trust and loyalty. Neither of which you have." A barrel of a gun is pressed up to the man's temple by Jones and the man whimpers. "Wait." Moriarty halts the action of one of his employees. "Shut the door. We don't want little Juliet to hear." Another man shuts the door so Juliet's view is obstructed so she stumbles to her feet, tears threating to fall. How could I have been so stupid? She questions to herself just as the door opens again with Jim coming out; a bloodied corpse lays on the floor behind him. He sees Juliet and generally looks surprised but a little disappointed. Juliet panics.

Sherlock – Same Day

"Found them." A man wanders into Mycroft's office with a bundle of paper with a map sat on the top. He plonks the items onto the desk and sprawls them out so he can explain his findings. "There is an apartment block that was bought in the name of Richard Brooke." He points at a place just out of central London with his fingertip as Sherlock, Mycroft and John gather around.

"Is that all you've got to go on?" Sherlock scoffs making Mycroft and John - in sync – roll their eyes.

"No." The man defends, "We have CCTV footage nearby of a black Jeep approaching with one of Moriarty's men driving...Jones." Mycroft sighs when he hears the name.

"Why the sighing?" John questions.

"Jones used to work for us." He responds, "Anyway we need to go. Now."