Fallen Angel Chapter Forty Six

Bad Banker (Epilogue)

"You're sure?" John was putting the finishing touches on his blog post- "Banker in the Belfry" was the title.

"Yes."

"They seem a little…provocative."

"Yes. Precisely. I want Mycroft to know that he can't get away with shutting me out of cases."

Sherlock generally ignored what John posted on his blog or commented sarcastically, but this time he had volunteered to help. John's writing might be overblown and silly at times, but it had its value in promoting his role in the case, especially when Sherlock knew for a fact that the blog was being monitored by both Mycroft and Moriarty. He wanted every bit of publicity he could wring out of the situation. While he enjoyed rubbing Mycroft's nose in the situation, he needed to get Moriarty both annoyed and intrigued at the same time. Of course, he couldn't tell John that fact; ignorance was bliss, in his case. To him, the Irishman was just a nutter who played deadly bombing games. He had no idea the scale of the world-wide operation that Sherlock had started to uncover in his disguise as Lars Sigurson. And Sherlock intended keeping it that way. So, he misdirected John's interest by saying it was to annoy Mycroft.

In the confines of his Mind Palace, he'd been thinking about how best to make sure it helped build the pressure on the consulting criminal to the point where he would break cover. So, he was happy to give John a couple of "quotable quotes" for the blog. The first was designed to provoke the press:

"The media are so easy to manipulate by criminals because they can no longer afford the cost of proper, ethical journalism. The criminal who masterminded this case should be investigated by journalists with the same rigor as his victims, the bank and its banker."

It wouldn't happen. Sherlock knew the limitations of the media; unless material was presented to them on a silver platter in a PR's press pack, the stories didn't happen. He wondered if he might start collecting such a file on Moriarty, in preparation. Of course, Mycroft wouldn't want it to be published. The prat would insist on keeping things quiet.

That had led Sherlock to his second quote for the blog. "There are only a few people in the world capable of planning a crime on this scale. Fortunately, there are also a few people who are capable of stopping them."

A thrown gauntlet, it sounded like boasting, but it would underscore to Elizabeth Ffoukes that Sherlock's plan was going according to plan. She had been willing to accept the loss of one of the seventeen culprits in the St Albans hedge fund. Kasper Nielson was still at liberty, thanks to the last minute intervention of Lars Sigurson- a fact that drove home the point to Moriarty of just how useful his Norwegian operative was.

He'd been very careful to keep this work from both John and Mycroft. While in the bathroom to clean off the last traces of the dead kidnapper's blood, with the shower running he had texted the Irishman using his burn phone with the Norwegian sim card, in the guise of Lars Sigurson. He'd routed it through a half dozen black IP service providers- enough to keep Mycroft's minions guessing, if they were checking on all unknown calls from the local mast. That reminded him to push the point to Elizabeth- she'd have to get Mycroft to back down on all surveillance of the flat over the next couple of months.

The almost instant text reply made him smile.

05.04 It's gone tits up. Run your client into cover- and get him to pay for the privilege.

After they watched the police press conference, John tried to get Sherlock interested in breakfast.

"Case over. Time to re-fuel."

"Not quite done." Sherlock was looking at a text he had just received. "It's from Mrs Warren; she wants us to join them at Chalcot Square for a press briefing." He reached for his coat.

"And you're going to accept?" John's eyebrows climbed in surprise. "Why?"

"At the moment, all publicity is good publicity, John. More cases will find their way to us, around the little obstacles that Mycroft keeps trying to raise."

"But you hate the press; You think they're idiots- your quote on the blog was positively insulting. Don't you think they might get a little…I don't know, hostile in their reaction to you?"

He was shrugging on his coat and grabbed the scarf. "Credit will be given where credit is due, John. This is a good news story for once, one that everyone will be vying to cover; might as well take advantage of it for a bit of free publicity."

oOo

A flurry of camera flashes went off, as Nathaniel Warren came out of the Georgian house. The tired but smiling man stood on the steps for a moment, then waved briefly, before setting his arms around his wife, Ariadne. His son, Nate was standing close beside them. Clapping broke out in the crowd that filled the street outside in Chalcot Square. The protesters had gone home, to be replaced by a smaller group of friends and colleagues of the banker, who added their applause.

"Back together with my family after my terrifying ordeal; and we have one person to thank for my deliverance – Sherlock Holmes."

The cameras swung to the pair standing off to the side. Sherlock did not conceal his slight discomfort at the attention, as the young boy handed over a small wrapped box to Sherlock. The consulting detective took it and rattled it.

"Tie pin. I don't wear ties."

"Shh." It was said quietly, but both of their comments were picked up on the television crews' microphones. The doctor gave what he hoped would be a grateful smile to the boy and the journalists.

Across town in Holland Park, now back in the serviced flat he had taken on a three month lease, Jim started laughing. "Remind me, Seb, to wear a tie pin for my court appearance."

Author's Note: and that's it for now. This story will resume before Christmas, with "The Italian Connection"- to cover the last of the three Reichenbach cases. There will be more stories this autumn in other formats- GMEOY is most likely to return shortly, with a couple of Ex Files and at least two Periodic Tales. Thank you for everyone who has read, reviewed and PM'd over the past four months.