Sally sat at her desk, a newspaper in one hand and a coffee in the other. This was the only break she got all day and she reveled in the hot steam wafting from her cup. Most of her coworkers went out for lunch or retreated to their offices if they were higher rank. Not Sally. She liked the momentary calm that suddenly overtook the usually busy office at the exact same time every day. She liked the fact that the sudden hush that came over the usually bustling floor was due to her coworkers being so predictable; just as Sally's coffee and newspaper made their appearance every day at exactly 12:45 p.m., everyone followed their own routines. Like watching the same film over and over, Monday through Friday. Predictable. Reliable. Boring. After a lifetime of unreliable people and unpredictable cases, Sally was grateful for the daily reprieve.

Sally sighed with content and was about to reach for her cup when she heard a bump to her left. Glancing up, she absent-mindedly noted that the freak had come in and a few stragglers (the usual) were predictably late for lunch. Sally wondered if someone is late by the same amount of time every day, are they actually on time? She wondered why they didn't just change their lunch time to five minutes later, and if they did, would they be late for the new time as well? She caught herself sneering at their perpetual tardiness, equating it to unreliable character, but abruptly pushed the thought aside, intent on enjoying her only down time of the day.

Again, she reached for her cup, watching the last of the stragglers filing out the door, some in a hurry (Predictable), some taking their time, already late, what's the point of rushing? (Predictable). Some with their noses in a file while others chatted about mundane topics they had read in the tabloids that morning (Predictable, predictable). She glanced at the freak again, wondering what new trouble he was going to start up this time, but refused to let this inevitable fact mar her favorite part of the day. She almost laughed at how her own judgments of her coworkers so closely resembled that of the freak's. 'Predictable, predictable, boring…' The thought of him rubbing off on her made her queasy. Unlike Sherlock, Sally appreciated these moments of boring predictability amidst a fast life of cops and robbers and Sherlocks. She sipped her steaming coffee and reveled in the new stillness of the now almost-empty office. She lifted her paper off the desk and began to read the latest political column when another bump distracted her. Had it been from across the room? This was not predictable, she thought, annoyed, even though she knew it was petty to feel this way in an office she shared with so many other people.

She scanned the room for the culprit. her eyes fell back to Sherlock just in time to see him take a small step then fall back onto the desk he had apparently been sitting on, again making a bumping noise. Ve looked bizarrely tipsy. Sally decided that maybe they should do another drugs bust on the freak's flat. Still, the freak didn't look well, she noted curiously, dreading the possibility of having to perform CPR on the psychopath if he did suddenly OD and go into a convulsive fit from god knows what, what with her duty as a cop and all, she reassured herself. Still, however much this little episode of his was interrupting her predictable afternoon, it was strangely fascinating. She considered approaching him in his weakened state; strike when the enemy is vulnerable and all that. 'What the hell, then?' she thought. This was too good to pass up.

Sally stood resolutely from her chair and marched toward Sherlock, who was now perched on the edge of Dimmock's desk. "Oi, freak!" she began, just as she reached the aforementioned desk, the exact moment the freak decided to try for another stand -

The freak was in front of Sally, and then, suddenly, he wasn't. This, being the first thing that went through Sally's mind, she cursed herself moments later for having such an obvious, stupid thought. For a moment she was puzzled and continued to stare at the now empty space in front of her. After the initial confusion, she looked down at the limp body that was suddenly splayed out before her feet.