S3E4 - Four Elizabeths - Part Nine: Home
Episode number: s03e04 of Series 3: Unfinished Business
Title: Four Elizabeths
Subtitle: Home
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word count: 2,665
Rating: R
Warnings: violence, deception, stalking, on the run, threats
John woke up at Saint Bart's with Honeycutt staring daggers at him. He tried to do a quick self-assessment, but as soon as he moved, Honeycutt paged the nurse.
"Where am I?" John asked.
"You are back at Saint Bart's," she replied. "You know, this is the second time in less than a week that you chased after a killer while in protective custody. Are you mad?"
"Why am I here?"
"You were found unconscious at the scene of a crime," Honeycutt said. "You remember any of this?"
"Not really."
The nurses came into the room and began asking him questions about how he felt.
"I'm fine," he kept saying.
"Are you sure?" Lestrade asked from the doorway.
"Greg?"
"Damn right."
Honeycutt and Lestrade exchanged a significant glance before Honeycutt bowed out.
"So, I've set up a whole thing to get Sebastian Moran out of Edinburgh on your information, but I was pulled off of that because you were found unconscious in a dodgy building with six injured guns-for-hire and three kidnapped women," Lestrade said casually. "Pretty odd, since Honeycutt and Davidson were outside 221 B and insisted you and Molly were both at home."
"Molly is at home, as far as I know," John replied.
"Don't get smart with me John Watson. You've any idea what I've done to try and keep you safe? I know you miss Sherlock, but there's no reason for you to be running around like a madman catching decapitators and assassins for us. You're gonna get yourself killed doing this. You get that?"
"Assassin?" John repeated.
"Don't play dumb. We found three revolvers and luggage not five feet from you. We're double checking ballistics, but Anderson is pretty certain two of those guns killed the Wendells. If you had a lead on The Baker, why didn't you tell me?"
"Honestly, I had no idea," John replied. "I was meeting with the woman who impersonated Indigo Kendall Berwyn. She said she had information for me, but she wouldn't give it to me over the phone and wouldn't meet if I had officers following me around."
"Information about what?" Lestrade asked.
"I texted it to you, about Moran's Edinburgh hiding place."
"Right, you did. Then what? You just happened to bump into The Baker?"
"Apparently."
"John, this isn't funny! You were lucky that whoever did this to you just hit you with a sedative."
"Ahh, that's what happened. I guess that makes sense. Did you get her?"
"The person who impersonated Berwyn?"
"No, Doctor Schlessinger, The Baker," John replied. "You said you had her guns."
Lestrade couldn't speak for several minutes.
"Greg?" John prompted.
"Henri Schlessinger?" he finally said. "Wife of Sebastian Moran? She's the bloody Baker?!"
"Yeah, I reckon. I thought you knew. You said - "
"We found the revolvers," Lestrade interrupted. "They're the same make and model as some of The Baker's weapons. And I asked myself, who would John Watson wind up unconscious for, given that Moran is out in Scotland? It wasn't a huge leap to The Baker. How do you know it's Schlessinger?"
"She was there and basically admitted it," John replied. "Please tell me you have DNA or fingerprints or something."
"It's been less than six hours," Lestrade said. "We haven't even confirmed the ballistics yet, but Anderson said we had DNA and fingerprints on the gun and the bullets. I'll tell him to check it against Schlessinger."
John felt very guilty. "Listen, Lestrade, can I tell you something off the record?"
"I suppose."
"I found out why Sherlock jumped off that roof."
"You did?"
"Moriarty said if he didn't jump, he'd kill me, Mrs. Hudson, and you."
"Wait, what?"
"He did it to save us, and I figured you should know."
"How did you come to this?" Lestrade asked. "I mean, did he leave a note or something?"
"After a fashion," John mumbled.
Lestrade took a minute. "So, you spoke with our Berwyn impersonator. Did she tell you how she found Sebastian Moran? Anything like that?"
"I don't wanna say she found him until we know she has," John replied. "But no, she didn't mention how. I just passed the information on."
"Right, well the doctor's ready to kick me out," he said. "Do us a favor and stop being stupid, John."
"I will."
Lestade hesitated before he asked, "What do you mean, after a fashion?"
John's heart rate increased. He was about to do something that Sherlock wouldn't like.
Two days ago in London. The Burnsider twins waited in the flat of Joseph Riley-Bailey, who had gone on vacation just two days ago. They preferred squatting to hiding out, so as long as they could find an out-of-town mark, they'd borrow a home for a few days at a time.
Someone knocked on the door: two, three, two, three.
"It's her," Aaron whispered.
Erin opened the door and let The Engineer slide past her.
"Are you okay?" Erin asked. "You got shot."
"Yeah, I should've drugged Spaulding," The Engineer replied. "I'll live. You and Aaron okay?"
"I'm fine," Aaron replied. "I'm not crying over Clay or Spaulding, but getting both of them arrested has bullocks up out plan. You need to give us that bust back."
"That would be the worst idea," The Engineer replied. "Mark my words, you turn up with that bust, Moran will figure us out, find the tracker, and kill both of you."
"Then what do we do?" Aaron demanded. "If we walk in there with anything GPS enabled, his men will toss it or shoot us. Or both."
"What if the person with the tracker has no agency? You know, is no threat whatsoever?" The Engineer asked.
"Like who?" Erin asked.
"A hostage. Someone tied up, blindfolded."
"Right, one problem," Aaron replied. "Moran isn't asking us for hostages. He wants the busts."
"Then give him bust hostages," The Engineer replied. "Helen Raylott. Kidnap her."
"Except we already stole her bust," Erin said. "What sense is there in that?"
"This isn't about sense. This is about not showing up to the man that got you both out of jail empty-handed," The Engineer replied.
"Then let's get the old lady," Aaron replied. "She's a better target."
"And how will you explain that out of the four people that have busts, you managed to hone in on the one whose bust is unaccounted for?" she asked. "You guys need to make it look like you don't know as much as you know. You stole Helen Raylott's bust, but maybe she has another. How are you to know? And Victoria, the old lady, she might have a bust as well."
"Pamela Leavitt," Aaron added. "We should take her, too. If we're pretending we don't know who started off with busts and whose busts wound up where."
"That's exactly what we're doing," Erin said.
"Good. Three hostages, one tracking device," The Engineer replied. "I've got your new identities. Canada is your destination. There's just one outstanding point."
"You mean besides the abduction of three women and putting a GPS device on one of them to dupe Sebastian Moran?" Erin asked.
"Yeah, I need Schlessinger."
"The wife? How do we get her?"
"The man was shot, I'm sure he could use a doctor. Just figure out a way to get her there."
"You're telling us, after all this, you're willing to risk Moran for Schlessinger?"
"I'd rather have her than Moran," The Engineer replied. "My reasons are my own."
Aaron and Erin took a moment deliberating.
"We'll do it," Aaron said. "But we're gonna need more money for our new lives in Canada."
"I'll make arrangements. Message me when you have a location, even if Schlessinger isn't there yet. Message me again when the good doctor has joined the fray."
Today in London. The Engineer watched Hacksaw sleep for about fifteen minutes. She had slipped him a mild sedative, but plenty of people could tolerate that dosage. She technically couldn't confirm he was out, but she had enough information to suspend her disbelief.
So she administered a second dose to Schlessinger, who was heavily restrained and still in the van, which was parked inside the safe house's garage. Before she could return to her couch for a kip, her phone bleeped.
"You got Rachel," she said.
"Rachel? Is that your name now? I thought you went by Liz."
"Kendall?" The Engineer asked. "I thought we agreed to suspend contact."
"We did, but something came up. DI Lestrade and I just had a special chat arranged by my protective custody. He asked me all kinds of questions about Pamela Leavitt and her brother and their connection to James Moriarty, aka Richard Brook."
"When did this happen?"
"I called as soon as I could," Kendall replied. "And it gets worse. I'm not technically working at the Yard yet, but I was cleared for duty. A guy named Stanley contacted me about some IT forensics they're running on the freaking Wilder Shoppe. They found all the alterations that Hacksaw did, and they know it's him because he reused some old code."
"What alterations?" The Engineer asked.
"You know, he covered the Leavitts tracks."
"Oh, right. Well, he's off the grid. It should be fine, but thank you for letting me know."
"No problem."
"But I have to ask another favor."
"I can't."
"It's completely legal," The Engineer said. "Just handing off a new burner mobile and a quick message. Not a threat, a message. I promise."
"I can do that, but the Yard is still following me, so they'll know."
"As far as they're concerned, you're just visiting the folks who helped bring you home."
After they finished up their conversation, The Engineer took out her electronics and frequency scanner and swept over Hacksaw, and everything he brought with him. He was clean.
She then swept Schlessinger. At first glance, she was clean, but after a more thorough exam, The Engineer discovered a tiny tracker behind her ear.
She had to assume it was active, which meant Moran probably was tracking her now. Breaking it would be too suspicious, so she needed to tack it somewhere. But it was half pass two in the morning, who could she tag?
Thinking quickly, she went outside. No one was out in the semi-suburban area, but a handful of animals were about, including one white house cat that perched nearby. The cat was friendly enough, so she slipped the tracker on the inside of its collar.
But that was only half the problem. This safe house was compromised. She scribbled a hasty note to Hacksaw and took the van.
Then she called the only person on Earth that she trusted.
"Lanser," she answered.
"Aunt Lily," The Engineer said. "I'm coming to you right now."
"It's three in the morning."
"My safe house was compromised," she replied. "Please tell me you can take her a few hours early."
"Uh, sure, if I have to. How far out are you?"
"Six hours."
"You sure?" Lanser asked. "Listen, you haven't slept in at least a day. You were shot and stabbed. Take your time. Don't rush, don't get pulled over."
"I'm on the last of my sedatives," The Engineer replied. "And as you laid out, the end of my rope, but don't worry. I'll get there in one piece. And I'll take a nap as soon as I do."
"Love you Shannon."
"You too Aunt Lily."
The next morning at 221 B Baker Street. Molly enjoyed her morning tea with a bit of entertainment, as Sherlock played his violin. He had been anxious about everything that had happened with The Engineer and John, and after Lestrade called to check up on Molly, the consulting detective began to play. He played the whole night.
Someone rang the doorbell. Molly checked out the window.
"Hide," she said to him. "We've a guest."
"Hide? Where? I can't get to the basement without going past the door."
"I dunno, John's room! My room! Just hide!"
Sherlock disappeared into her room, and Molly immediately regretted the suggestion.
"You've a visitor, dear," Mrs. Hudson said. "A Miss Berwyn."
Indeed, the young woman was right behind Mrs. Hudson. As soon as the introductions were made, Mrs. Hudson took the tea tray downstairs.
"Hello, I'm Molly. You're Miss Berwyn?"
"Yeah, I'm here to see you, John, and Sherlock."
"Uhm, well, John is at the hospital and Sherlock is dead."
"I know he's not."
"He is."
"It's all right Molly," Sherlock said as he reappeared from her bedroom. "I take it you are the read Indigo Kendall Berwyn?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Why are you here?" Sherlock asked.
"The Engineer asked me to pass this along," she replied. She handed him a new burner mobile. "And to tell you that if Mycroft comes after her again, she'll make sure everyone knows you're not dead."
"Does she honestly believe I have control over my brother?" Sherlock asked.
"I think she honestly believes you have control over your mouth," Kendall replied. "Don't tell your brother about your next meet, then he won't be able to follow you like he did last time."
"He didn't follow us the last time," Sherlock protested.
"Didn't he?" she asked. "If he didn't, how did he manage to get you and the bust out of that crime scene before the cops showed up? The response time was less than two minutes."
"Fair enough. Did she mention anything about the USBs she promised me? She left the bust but not the data."
"All she told me was that she planned on making good on her promise as soon as she recovered from her injuries. Just make sure your brother and his black helicopters stay at home."
One day later... The Engineer picked Hacksaw up in a compact car, offering him the keys.
"This your way of saying sorry for leaving me asleep at a compromised safe house with nothing but note?" he asked.
"Yeah, is it working?" The Engineer asked. "You can drive."
Hacksaw took the wheel begrudgingly. He asked, "Why didn't you wake me?"
"Because I didn't have another a safe house. I had to take the prisoner straight to my contact, and that contact shoots new people dead on sight."
"You're yanking my chain," he said.
"I wish. Look, I couldn't take you with me," she replied. "I am sorry. I did leave you the phone and the note."
"Tell you what. You wanna make it up to me? Tell me something personal. We've known each other a decade, surely that's enough time to earn one personal fact."
"Personal like what?" she asked.
"I dunno," he said. "I've heard you put on countless accents. Where are you really from? I mean, where's home?"
"Home?" she repeated. "To me, home was never a place. I've lived plenty of places, but you already knew that. But home? Home was someone who loved me with everything he had. He saved me, even though it destroyed him, and he kept saving me. He sacrificed everything to keep me safe, to teach me, to love me. In a lot of ways, he was my father."
"So your Dad was home?" he asked. "I mean, 'was.'"
"Yes," she replied. "The best man I've ever known. He was there for me until one day, bureaucracy and idiocy killed him and left me with his body to bury."
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "I did mean to dig something up."
"You didn't. It happened about four years ago."
"Begs the question," he said. "After a decade of nothing but mystery, why tell me this now?"
"I know you think I don't trust you," she said. "But that's not true. It hasn't been true for a long time. I just never had a chance to say anything before."
"Thanks, I guess."
"And for the record, this car isn't stolen," The Engineer said. "It's yours. Call it an apology/thank you gift. For all your help."
"Now you're really joshing me."
"I'm not."
They drove on, back to London.
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Part Ten: Last Bandit Standing
Primary Post: Four Elizabeths - Series 3, Episode 4
Primary Post: Unfinished Business, or Series 3 (s03ff)
Title: Four Elizabeths
Subtitle: Home
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word count: 2,665
Rating: R
Warnings: violence, deception, stalking, on the run, threats
John woke up at Saint Bart's with Honeycutt staring daggers at him. He tried to do a quick self-assessment, but as soon as he moved, Honeycutt paged the nurse.
"Where am I?" John asked.
"You are back at Saint Bart's," she replied. "You know, this is the second time in less than a week that you chased after a killer while in protective custody. Are you mad?"
"Why am I here?"
"You were found unconscious at the scene of a crime," Honeycutt said. "You remember any of this?"
"Not really."
The nurses came into the room and began asking him questions about how he felt.
"I'm fine," he kept saying.
"Are you sure?" Lestrade asked from the doorway.
"Greg?"
"Damn right."
Honeycutt and Lestrade exchanged a significant glance before Honeycutt bowed out.
"So, I've set up a whole thing to get Sebastian Moran out of Edinburgh on your information, but I was pulled off of that because you were found unconscious in a dodgy building with six injured guns-for-hire and three kidnapped women," Lestrade said casually. "Pretty odd, since Honeycutt and Davidson were outside 221 B and insisted you and Molly were both at home."
"Molly is at home, as far as I know," John replied.
"Don't get smart with me John Watson. You've any idea what I've done to try and keep you safe? I know you miss Sherlock, but there's no reason for you to be running around like a madman catching decapitators and assassins for us. You're gonna get yourself killed doing this. You get that?"
"Assassin?" John repeated.
"Don't play dumb. We found three revolvers and luggage not five feet from you. We're double checking ballistics, but Anderson is pretty certain two of those guns killed the Wendells. If you had a lead on The Baker, why didn't you tell me?"
"Honestly, I had no idea," John replied. "I was meeting with the woman who impersonated Indigo Kendall Berwyn. She said she had information for me, but she wouldn't give it to me over the phone and wouldn't meet if I had officers following me around."
"Information about what?" Lestrade asked.
"I texted it to you, about Moran's Edinburgh hiding place."
"Right, you did. Then what? You just happened to bump into The Baker?"
"Apparently."
"John, this isn't funny! You were lucky that whoever did this to you just hit you with a sedative."
"Ahh, that's what happened. I guess that makes sense. Did you get her?"
"The person who impersonated Berwyn?"
"No, Doctor Schlessinger, The Baker," John replied. "You said you had her guns."
Lestrade couldn't speak for several minutes.
"Greg?" John prompted.
"Henri Schlessinger?" he finally said. "Wife of Sebastian Moran? She's the bloody Baker?!"
"Yeah, I reckon. I thought you knew. You said - "
"We found the revolvers," Lestrade interrupted. "They're the same make and model as some of The Baker's weapons. And I asked myself, who would John Watson wind up unconscious for, given that Moran is out in Scotland? It wasn't a huge leap to The Baker. How do you know it's Schlessinger?"
"She was there and basically admitted it," John replied. "Please tell me you have DNA or fingerprints or something."
"It's been less than six hours," Lestrade said. "We haven't even confirmed the ballistics yet, but Anderson said we had DNA and fingerprints on the gun and the bullets. I'll tell him to check it against Schlessinger."
John felt very guilty. "Listen, Lestrade, can I tell you something off the record?"
"I suppose."
"I found out why Sherlock jumped off that roof."
"You did?"
"Moriarty said if he didn't jump, he'd kill me, Mrs. Hudson, and you."
"Wait, what?"
"He did it to save us, and I figured you should know."
"How did you come to this?" Lestrade asked. "I mean, did he leave a note or something?"
"After a fashion," John mumbled.
Lestrade took a minute. "So, you spoke with our Berwyn impersonator. Did she tell you how she found Sebastian Moran? Anything like that?"
"I don't wanna say she found him until we know she has," John replied. "But no, she didn't mention how. I just passed the information on."
"Right, well the doctor's ready to kick me out," he said. "Do us a favor and stop being stupid, John."
"I will."
Lestade hesitated before he asked, "What do you mean, after a fashion?"
John's heart rate increased. He was about to do something that Sherlock wouldn't like.
Two days ago in London. The Burnsider twins waited in the flat of Joseph Riley-Bailey, who had gone on vacation just two days ago. They preferred squatting to hiding out, so as long as they could find an out-of-town mark, they'd borrow a home for a few days at a time.
Someone knocked on the door: two, three, two, three.
"It's her," Aaron whispered.
Erin opened the door and let The Engineer slide past her.
"Are you okay?" Erin asked. "You got shot."
"Yeah, I should've drugged Spaulding," The Engineer replied. "I'll live. You and Aaron okay?"
"I'm fine," Aaron replied. "I'm not crying over Clay or Spaulding, but getting both of them arrested has bullocks up out plan. You need to give us that bust back."
"That would be the worst idea," The Engineer replied. "Mark my words, you turn up with that bust, Moran will figure us out, find the tracker, and kill both of you."
"Then what do we do?" Aaron demanded. "If we walk in there with anything GPS enabled, his men will toss it or shoot us. Or both."
"What if the person with the tracker has no agency? You know, is no threat whatsoever?" The Engineer asked.
"Like who?" Erin asked.
"A hostage. Someone tied up, blindfolded."
"Right, one problem," Aaron replied. "Moran isn't asking us for hostages. He wants the busts."
"Then give him bust hostages," The Engineer replied. "Helen Raylott. Kidnap her."
"Except we already stole her bust," Erin said. "What sense is there in that?"
"This isn't about sense. This is about not showing up to the man that got you both out of jail empty-handed," The Engineer replied.
"Then let's get the old lady," Aaron replied. "She's a better target."
"And how will you explain that out of the four people that have busts, you managed to hone in on the one whose bust is unaccounted for?" she asked. "You guys need to make it look like you don't know as much as you know. You stole Helen Raylott's bust, but maybe she has another. How are you to know? And Victoria, the old lady, she might have a bust as well."
"Pamela Leavitt," Aaron added. "We should take her, too. If we're pretending we don't know who started off with busts and whose busts wound up where."
"That's exactly what we're doing," Erin said.
"Good. Three hostages, one tracking device," The Engineer replied. "I've got your new identities. Canada is your destination. There's just one outstanding point."
"You mean besides the abduction of three women and putting a GPS device on one of them to dupe Sebastian Moran?" Erin asked.
"Yeah, I need Schlessinger."
"The wife? How do we get her?"
"The man was shot, I'm sure he could use a doctor. Just figure out a way to get her there."
"You're telling us, after all this, you're willing to risk Moran for Schlessinger?"
"I'd rather have her than Moran," The Engineer replied. "My reasons are my own."
Aaron and Erin took a moment deliberating.
"We'll do it," Aaron said. "But we're gonna need more money for our new lives in Canada."
"I'll make arrangements. Message me when you have a location, even if Schlessinger isn't there yet. Message me again when the good doctor has joined the fray."
Today in London. The Engineer watched Hacksaw sleep for about fifteen minutes. She had slipped him a mild sedative, but plenty of people could tolerate that dosage. She technically couldn't confirm he was out, but she had enough information to suspend her disbelief.
So she administered a second dose to Schlessinger, who was heavily restrained and still in the van, which was parked inside the safe house's garage. Before she could return to her couch for a kip, her phone bleeped.
"You got Rachel," she said.
"Rachel? Is that your name now? I thought you went by Liz."
"Kendall?" The Engineer asked. "I thought we agreed to suspend contact."
"We did, but something came up. DI Lestrade and I just had a special chat arranged by my protective custody. He asked me all kinds of questions about Pamela Leavitt and her brother and their connection to James Moriarty, aka Richard Brook."
"When did this happen?"
"I called as soon as I could," Kendall replied. "And it gets worse. I'm not technically working at the Yard yet, but I was cleared for duty. A guy named Stanley contacted me about some IT forensics they're running on the freaking Wilder Shoppe. They found all the alterations that Hacksaw did, and they know it's him because he reused some old code."
"What alterations?" The Engineer asked.
"You know, he covered the Leavitts tracks."
"Oh, right. Well, he's off the grid. It should be fine, but thank you for letting me know."
"No problem."
"But I have to ask another favor."
"I can't."
"It's completely legal," The Engineer said. "Just handing off a new burner mobile and a quick message. Not a threat, a message. I promise."
"I can do that, but the Yard is still following me, so they'll know."
"As far as they're concerned, you're just visiting the folks who helped bring you home."
After they finished up their conversation, The Engineer took out her electronics and frequency scanner and swept over Hacksaw, and everything he brought with him. He was clean.
She then swept Schlessinger. At first glance, she was clean, but after a more thorough exam, The Engineer discovered a tiny tracker behind her ear.
She had to assume it was active, which meant Moran probably was tracking her now. Breaking it would be too suspicious, so she needed to tack it somewhere. But it was half pass two in the morning, who could she tag?
Thinking quickly, she went outside. No one was out in the semi-suburban area, but a handful of animals were about, including one white house cat that perched nearby. The cat was friendly enough, so she slipped the tracker on the inside of its collar.
But that was only half the problem. This safe house was compromised. She scribbled a hasty note to Hacksaw and took the van.
Then she called the only person on Earth that she trusted.
"Lanser," she answered.
"Aunt Lily," The Engineer said. "I'm coming to you right now."
"It's three in the morning."
"My safe house was compromised," she replied. "Please tell me you can take her a few hours early."
"Uh, sure, if I have to. How far out are you?"
"Six hours."
"You sure?" Lanser asked. "Listen, you haven't slept in at least a day. You were shot and stabbed. Take your time. Don't rush, don't get pulled over."
"I'm on the last of my sedatives," The Engineer replied. "And as you laid out, the end of my rope, but don't worry. I'll get there in one piece. And I'll take a nap as soon as I do."
"Love you Shannon."
"You too Aunt Lily."
The next morning at 221 B Baker Street. Molly enjoyed her morning tea with a bit of entertainment, as Sherlock played his violin. He had been anxious about everything that had happened with The Engineer and John, and after Lestrade called to check up on Molly, the consulting detective began to play. He played the whole night.
Someone rang the doorbell. Molly checked out the window.
"Hide," she said to him. "We've a guest."
"Hide? Where? I can't get to the basement without going past the door."
"I dunno, John's room! My room! Just hide!"
Sherlock disappeared into her room, and Molly immediately regretted the suggestion.
"You've a visitor, dear," Mrs. Hudson said. "A Miss Berwyn."
Indeed, the young woman was right behind Mrs. Hudson. As soon as the introductions were made, Mrs. Hudson took the tea tray downstairs.
"Hello, I'm Molly. You're Miss Berwyn?"
"Yeah, I'm here to see you, John, and Sherlock."
"Uhm, well, John is at the hospital and Sherlock is dead."
"I know he's not."
"He is."
"It's all right Molly," Sherlock said as he reappeared from her bedroom. "I take it you are the read Indigo Kendall Berwyn?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"Why are you here?" Sherlock asked.
"The Engineer asked me to pass this along," she replied. She handed him a new burner mobile. "And to tell you that if Mycroft comes after her again, she'll make sure everyone knows you're not dead."
"Does she honestly believe I have control over my brother?" Sherlock asked.
"I think she honestly believes you have control over your mouth," Kendall replied. "Don't tell your brother about your next meet, then he won't be able to follow you like he did last time."
"He didn't follow us the last time," Sherlock protested.
"Didn't he?" she asked. "If he didn't, how did he manage to get you and the bust out of that crime scene before the cops showed up? The response time was less than two minutes."
"Fair enough. Did she mention anything about the USBs she promised me? She left the bust but not the data."
"All she told me was that she planned on making good on her promise as soon as she recovered from her injuries. Just make sure your brother and his black helicopters stay at home."
One day later... The Engineer picked Hacksaw up in a compact car, offering him the keys.
"This your way of saying sorry for leaving me asleep at a compromised safe house with nothing but note?" he asked.
"Yeah, is it working?" The Engineer asked. "You can drive."
Hacksaw took the wheel begrudgingly. He asked, "Why didn't you wake me?"
"Because I didn't have another a safe house. I had to take the prisoner straight to my contact, and that contact shoots new people dead on sight."
"You're yanking my chain," he said.
"I wish. Look, I couldn't take you with me," she replied. "I am sorry. I did leave you the phone and the note."
"Tell you what. You wanna make it up to me? Tell me something personal. We've known each other a decade, surely that's enough time to earn one personal fact."
"Personal like what?" she asked.
"I dunno," he said. "I've heard you put on countless accents. Where are you really from? I mean, where's home?"
"Home?" she repeated. "To me, home was never a place. I've lived plenty of places, but you already knew that. But home? Home was someone who loved me with everything he had. He saved me, even though it destroyed him, and he kept saving me. He sacrificed everything to keep me safe, to teach me, to love me. In a lot of ways, he was my father."
"So your Dad was home?" he asked. "I mean, 'was.'"
"Yes," she replied. "The best man I've ever known. He was there for me until one day, bureaucracy and idiocy killed him and left me with his body to bury."
"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "I did mean to dig something up."
"You didn't. It happened about four years ago."
"Begs the question," he said. "After a decade of nothing but mystery, why tell me this now?"
"I know you think I don't trust you," she said. "But that's not true. It hasn't been true for a long time. I just never had a chance to say anything before."
"Thanks, I guess."
"And for the record, this car isn't stolen," The Engineer said. "It's yours. Call it an apology/thank you gift. For all your help."
"Now you're really joshing me."
"I'm not."
They drove on, back to London.
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Primary Post: Four Elizabeths - Series 3, Episode 4
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