Chapter Text
Music was blasting loudly through her headphones as she pushed open the heavy doors that led into the swimming-pool. She really shouldn't be here, she was well aware of the fact that it was shortly after midnight and naturally the pool would have been closed at this time.
So one could imagine her surprise, when she pulled out her lock-picking-kit only to discover that the doors were already open. She furrowed her brows, contemplating on leaving, but curiosity got the better of her and she slipped past the doors and into the dark hall, the familiar smell of chlorinated water comforting her nerves.
It never even crossed her mind, to take out her headphones and when her favourite song started playing, she couldn't help but sing along, dancing through the dark hallway and towards the light that shone through the rectangular windows from the double-doors ahead of her. Pushing them open with her hips, she continued dancing but suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, the lyrics she had been bellowing dying on her lips.
She cocked her head to the side, examining the scene before her, more curious than afraid. Three men stood near the blue shimmering water of the large pool and they seemed as surprised by her entrance as she was by their presence. A short, sandy-haired man stood near the entry to the changing cabins, wearing a large coat and underneath what seemed to be some kind of vest with packages fixed to them, red dots of lights dancing across his chest.
Snipers on the balustrades, how very interesting, she thought to herself, smiling inwardly.
A few steps closer to the pool stood a tall, curly haired man in an elegant coat who was pointing a hand-gun at a third man, smaller than the tall one but about the same size as the sandy-haired one if she had to guess. His dark hair was slicked back and he wore an expensive looking suit that fit him rather well she found.
His eyes looked like black orbs in his handsome face and they were fixed intently on her, a smirk playing on the corners of his full lips. She smiled brightly at him, oblivious to the potential danger she was in and finally took the headphones out of her ears.
Before she had the chance to say something however, the tall man in the coat spoke to her, a frown marring his almost angelic features. They all looked rather handsome, she mused, chuckling a bit at her herself for thinking about such mundane things in a situation like this.
She noticed the expectant and somewhat urgent look the coat-man levelled at her and she realized, that he must've been talking to her while she was pondering their attractiveness. Shaking her head to clear her mind from the inappropriate thoughts, she smiled at the person in front of her.
“Sorry, what?” The man in the bespoke suit chuckled at her nonchalant question and leaned a bit forward to have a better look. The curly-haired male shook his head in utter bewilderment though, probably wondering what was wrong with her, not that she could blame him, she got that a lot.
“I said, you shouldn't be here. You better leave immediately.” His voice sounded strained, as if he was trying not to shout at the obtuse creature he surely perceived her as. Swinging her head from side to side, she licked her lips, pretending as if she was contemplating his words, before giving him another beaming smile.
“You know what, I'm just going to sit down on the benches and you can continue with whatever it was you were doing before. This is all way to interesting for me to leave. Just... Continue and don't mind lil' ol' me.” Nodding decisively to herself, she took a step forward, intending to do just as she had said, when two voices rang out simultaneously.
“Are you crazy, woman? Get the bloody hell out of here!”, the one with the vest shouted at her, his expression baffled at her total lack of self-preservation.
“Oh, I like her! What's your name, kitten?” Suit-guy clapped his hands together in glee, grinning at her with a manic gleam in his dark eyes.
The tall man just looked at her confused, clearly not understanding why she acted this way. Stepping around him, she made her way towards suit-guy, not caring for the red dots that appeared on her chest, stopping in front of him and extending her hand.
“I'm Victoria, nice to meet you. Maybe you should tell tall, dark and handsome over there that he doesn't have to worry about his boyfriend being blown up. He seems a bit tense.” She whispered the last part conspiratorially, giving him a wink and another one of her bright smiles.
“Aren't you a clever one, Miss Victoria. Interesting that you noticed before he did. I'm Jim, by the way. Jim Moriarty.” His eyes lit up in amusement and he took her hand in his, lifting it up to his mouth to place a kiss on her knuckles. Giggling like a school-girl and blushing slightly, she extracted her hand and let her eyes wander over his slim frame appreciatively.
“Well, it's quite obvious really, Mr. Moriarty. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to sit down,” she gestured vaguely in the direction of the benches, “and enjoy the show. This is all very exciting!”
Clapping her hands together, she didn't wait for an answer and made her way over to the seats, tucking one of her legs beneath her, folding her hands in her lap and watching with rapt attention. Jim Moriarty's eyes were still on her, his face blank but his dark eyes shining with barely suppressed curiosity and amusement, before he turned back to the two men before him.
“Sooooo, where were we, Sherlock dear?” Her gaze flitted towards the man in the elegant coat, Sherlock, she corrected herself, to wait for his reply.
This was so much better than sitting on her dingy sofa at home, watching telly on her old, tiny TV or reading one of her well-worn books for the umpteenth time.
Sherlock's eyes briefly met hers and he frowned at her obvious enjoyment, but deciding that now was not the time, he turned towards the dark-haired man, letting his face fall into a neutral mask.
“Take it.” He pulled out a small, silver memory stick from his coat pocket, reaching it out towards his adversary.
“Huh? Oh! That! The missile plans!” Jim Moriarty grinned and took the stick from Sherlock's outstretched hand, bringing it to his mouth and planting a kiss on the plastic.
Shaking his head as he put it down to look at it, he singsonged the word boring and threw it into the pool. Victoria watched it sink down into the clear, blue water, momentarily distracted from their conversation. Her attention snapped back to the scene unfolding before her however, when she heard the sandy-haired man screaming at Sherlock to run, while he wrapped himself around Jim Moriarty.
What on earth was he doing? She let out a tinkling laugh, that floated around the high ceiling, as she realized his intentions. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she shot an apologetic glance to the three men staring at her, waving her other hand dismissively and sinking down in her seat.
She watched on, as they resumed their 'conversation', Jim Moriarty pointing out, that the blonde, Dr. Watson she learned, had shown his hand rather foolishly and a red dot appeared on Sherlock's forehead, making the Doctor release his grip and step away with his hands raised.
Straightening out his suit indignantly, Jim Moriarty turned around to Sherlock, “D’you know what happens if you don’t leave me alone, Sherlock, to you?”
“Oh, let me guess: I get killed.” The curly-haired man sounded bored and Victoria leaned forward in her seat again, curious as to what might happen next.
“Kill you?” he grimaced at that, “n-no, don’t be obvious. I mean, I’m gonna kill you anyway some day. I don’t wanna rush it, though. I’m saving it up for something special. No-no-no-no-no. If you don’t stop prying, I’ll burn you.” Running his dark eyes over the man in front of him, he added with a vicious snarl “I’ll burn the heart out of you!”
Sherlock didn't seem phased in the least, replying he didn't have one, only to be contradicted by Jim Moriarty with a soft ”but we both know that’s not quite true”, making Sherlock blink, seemingly involuntary.
Victoria's eyes wandered to Doctor Watson, who was listening to the exchange silently and her thoughts drifted off, not paying attention to the goings before here anymore. She took in his posture and expression, cataloguing every detail she could absorb and mulling over the information she had gathered.
The sound of a door slamming shut brought her out of it and she noticed, that there were only Sherlock and Doctor Watson left. Her eyes flitted through the room, looking for one Jim Moriarty, but apparently he had left and disappointment settled inside her.
He was the most interesting person she had ever met and she had hoped she would get the chance to talk to him some more. Alas he was gone and she was left sitting on the hard, plastic seat, contemplating on what to do next, while Sherlock put his gun down and rushed over to Doctor Watson to frantically remove the vest still strapped to the blondes body.
She rolled her eyes at this unnecessary action, wondering how he still hadn't noticed that the thing was a fake. Huffing to herself she pulled out her phone, ignoring the other two occupants of the room completely, their conversation fading to a distant mumbling as she immersed herself in a game of Candy Crush.
Oblivious to her surroundings, she didn't notice the return of the man she had wanted to get to know better, until the sound of her favourite song suddenly echoed loudly through the large room, making her head snap up in confusion.
It apparently was Jim Moriarty's ringtone, as he pulled out his phone and went about answering it, mouthing an apology at Sherlock. She wasn't listening to what was being said, instead wondering why he was back and about the strange coincidence that his ringtone was the same song she had sang when she got here.
An odd feeling of fondness swirled in her chest, making her frown and look down at her boot-clad feet, nibbling at her bottom lip. She faintly heard an irish-lilted voice yelling angrily into his phone, but she was too immersed in her own thoughts to pay any attention. She wasn't sure why she felt that unsettling connection towards a man she had just met and who was obviously some kind of criminal.
A voice called out her name and she lifted her head, disorientedly looking around, until her eyes fell on the tall frame of Sherlock standing at the edge of the pool, looking at her intently. Cocking her head, she stared at him questioningly, but her attention was drawn away to the retreating form of Jim Moriarty leaving through a side door, still talking on the phone.
Standing abruptly, she dashed after him, ignoring Sherlock shouting after her and reached the door just as it was closing. Pushing it open, her shoulders sagged in relief, when she saw a figure in a nicely-tailored suit walking slowly towards the exit, still immersed in conversation.
Grinning mischievously, she rummaged through the pockets in her bulky coat, taking out a scrap of paper and a pen. Scribbling her number on it, she sneaked up behind him, slipping the piece of paper unnoticed into the left pocket of his pants before retreating on silent feet back into the pool-area.
Adrenaline was flooding her system, making her heart beat frantically inside her chest and she let out a silent laugh, revelling in the rush her little trick had evoked. She didn't question why she did what she did, normally she avoided other people as much as possible, hence why she usually came here long after closing-time and barely left her small apartment.
But Jim Moriarty seemed different, in a dangerous and intoxicating way, giving her the urge to learn everything about him, something that had never happened before. Looking around, she noted that Sherlock and the Doctor had already left. Contemplating for a moment, she finally pulled her coat tighter around herself, put her headphones back in and made her way out of the building and into the misty streets of London.