The Job's Done

One month later

'... now look at that security camera.'

James obliged. Immediately a tiny diagram and a few lines of text appeared in the corner of his left eye.

'Too small. Can't read it.' Q made some adjustments, and after a moment the contact lens James was wearing responded. 'Better.'

He turned to Q and his computer. The lens registered the computer and pulled up some data. Q noticed what he was doing and snorted. 'That's enough for today, 007. If you can come in tomorrow, we'll test it again.'

James took out the contact lens and returned it to it's case. If Q could get it to work properly, he'd happily wear one during every mission. Especially if he could persuade Q to include a feature pointing out the weak spot of any computer or gadget. A simple snip of a wire would be so much more efficient that shooting multiple holes in everything. Less satisfying, sure, but more efficient.

James looked around Q-Branch as Q packed up. Each desk had a high tech computer, but only half the agents were actually using them. There was quite a large group gathered around some blueprints, carrying out a very vocal discussion about weight distribution. He wondered what they were working on. Q would never tell him.

One of Q's techs entered the room armed with a newspaper and a confused expression. He stepped up beside Q, who said flatly, 'A newspaper? Really?'

'Moneypenny said you should read it. Compliments of... Of the Director, she said.'

Q raised an eyebrow while James chuckled at the tech's slightly awed expression. 'Oh really? Why didn't he just -' Q clammed up hurriedly, obviously realising how close he'd come to making his connection with the Director common knowledge. He took the newspaper and unrolled it. Whatever was on the front page made him gasp, then grin. He handed James a post-it note that had been attached. It read:

The internet will have more accurate details, I'm sure, but it does no harm to see what the general public sees.

Perhaps 007 will be interested in reading it.

MH

Surprised, James followed Q to his office. Once the door was closed and the frosting on the glass turned to opaque, Q flattened the newspaper out so James could see the main article.

THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

The "Moriarty Network" officially shut down

Well, well, well. He'd wondered how long it would take.

The most striking thing was the photograph. Sherlock Holmes sat behind the desk at what seemed to be a media conference. He was looking straight at the camera, and the impression James got was that Holmes was looking out of the photo and into his head. It was disconcerting.

Looking away, he saw Greg Lestrade (the caption said "Detective Inspector") on one side, and on the other, John Watson.

He looked healthy, cheerful, and, most importantly, relaxed, as he sat next to Holmes, and James felt a surprising jolt of relief. They'd made up then. Good.

He glanced at Q, who was reading the article proper, and smirking. He looked up and caught James's eye. 'Lestrade's made all that information you lot collected public, by the looks of it.' He straightened up. 'What do you think?'

'Good for them. Not good for that Riley woman who started it all.'

Q chuckled. 'Do you want to keep it?' he asked, folding up the paper and offering it to James. 'I've heard it all already.'

Well, he had nothing better to do with his afternoon.

SHERLOCK HOLMES IS ALIVE

The "Moriarty Network" officially shut down

Sherlock Holmes, famed "web detective" who made an apparently successful suicide attempt a year ago, is alive and well, it was revealed in a police press conference last night.

Holmes faked his death after documents came to light implicating him in an intricate fraud scheme. It was claimed that he had invented a criminal mastermind, James Moriarty, to improve his reputation.

The press conference was called without warning, and featured, alongside Holmes, Dr John Watson and Detective Inspector Gregory Lestrade, two men prominent in the fight to clear Holmes's name in the aftermath of his apparent suicide.

Sherlock Holmes's name was cleared when the sources proving the existence of Richard Brook, the actor Holmes was alleged to have employed, were proved to be false. Evidence was also found that verified the theories that Holmes had been forced to jump off the roof of St Bartholomew's Hospital.

Holmes refused to comment to The Daily Telegraph, however the press conference was filmed and can be viewed in full on our website.

The "Moriarty Network" has been Continued page 3.

For the complete saga of Sherlock Holmes, see page 6.

And that's it!

Thanks so much for all the support and reviews, they really brighten up my day. Keep them coming, I'm sure not every reader has reviewed and I want to know what you all think.

Fics in the works, if you're interested: 1 x Bondlock, 1 x Potterlock, 1 x Harry Potter.