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A Study in Duets	By : LadyLaran Category: S through Z > Sherlock (BBC) > Sherlock (BBC) Views: 2300 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock or make money from this story.

Chapter List
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Author’s Note – I only had one chapter ready for this so I’m sorry I can’t give as many updates as I have some of the others. I will do my best to work on this. I’ve had to face a lot of challenges physically and emotionally. Losing my grandfather right before Christmas was enough to destroy what was left of my inspiration. Thank you for your patience.
Disclaimer – I do not own “Sherlock” nor do I make any money from this story.
Chapter Five – Research
The music arrived two hours after their return, and Sherlock grabbed the sheet music and blank manuscript paper to set to work rearranging the pieces to help his flatmate. Johanna took the quiet time to look over the case file that Mycroft and Lestrade had brought them, learning what she could and writing the occasional question on a pad of paper to ask Sherlock once he was finished with his work.
The file contained information on the people who coordinated and headed the competition, and the doctor was quiet as she absorbed details that might be of use. A lot of the individuals had international connections, which could be an innocent thing but would also be of use to whoever the people were that were smuggling state secrets to other countries. There were quite a few who would need to be watched, much to her frustration, but she also knew they would eventually be able to weed out the ones who had the strongest likelihood of being tied to this spy and smuggling ring.
The physician made a list of people she wanted further information on and texted Mycroft with the names, asking for a fully detailed background check on them. Some were from the list of people who ran the competition while others were simple staff members or people competing.
“You texted Mycroft,” Sherlock observed, not looking up from his work.
“I did,” Johanna answered, eyes focused on the files. “Some of the names stood out a bit; I could swear I recognized two but can’t recall from where. I asked him for background checks on them and just hope he’s as thorough on things as we are.”
“He is,” the detective replied, pencil moving over the manuscript paper. “The three things that can be said about Mycroft is that he is nosy, thorough, and quite addicted to pastry of any kind.”
Johanna laughed softly, shaking her head at his comment. She’d come to laugh a bit at Sherlock’s barbs about his brother. Despite the constant bickering between the two, the doctor knew that if push came to shove, the brothers would find a way to ensure the other one was taken care of. Of course, both would deny it vehemently but she just knew that they would.
“Right, little more I can do with this data until those files get here,” the woman commented, stretching for a moment and then closing the file she’d been reading. “Tea?”
In silent answer, her flatmate simply held out his empty cup and she took it with a laugh. One of the few things Johanna could do in the kitchen was brew a good cup of tea. She could microwave leftovers, and that was about it for her culinary abilities. Sherlock had been baffled when she’d actually set a pot of water on fire; she could use the kettle on the stove but not bring a pot of water to boil without setting it aflame. He’d had her try it four different times, hoping to see what went wrong as he refused to accept that Johanna claimed bad luck and lack of skill.
Mrs. Hudson hadn’t been pleased with the smell coming from their flat, and the detective had been grumpy for several days when he hadn’t been able to determine just how Johanna had managed to do it. The former army surgeon counted herself lucky that Lestrade had brought in a case for her flatmate or the strop could have gone on for a lot longer than it had.
The doctor came back into the living room, setting the cup of tea down near Sherlock but nowhere near the manuscript paper. She watched her flatmate take a long sip and then nod his approval. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out how he took his tea, no milk and more sugar than was probably healthy for the man. The blond haired woman just figured it was how he managed to keep his energy going whenever on case due to his refusal to eat.
Johanna took a seat, picking up her book and started reading while taking sips of tea. Since she’d done all she could for the case at the moment, she was going to try to relax for a bit and work a little on her most recent choice in regards to her hobby. While she absorbed the vocabulary she was learning, the woman kept finding her thoughts being pulled back to the names that had seemed familiar to her.
The blue eyed physician knew she’d heard them from somewhere and didn’t doubt it was most likely from her time in the military. The problem was when and where she’d heard them since she’d had a rather colorful career in Her Majesty’s army. Because of that, she’d come across more than her fair share of enemies against the Crown and the free world.
She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the bell ring and hurried downstairs to answer it. Anthea handed her a sealed envelope and nodded at the words of gratitude from the doctor, going back to the car waiting for her.
After returning to the flat, Johanna grabbed her cup of tea and sat down at the kitchen table, opening the envelope and pulling out the files that Mycroft had sent to her. She opened the first one and began reading, eyes narrowing slightly as she focused on the information the eldest Holmes brother had assembled.
Outside of the two she thought she recognized, it was obvious that one of the people she’d had files pulled was possibly not involved in the crimes they were investigating. The doctor wrote out her observations on a pad of paper and then taped it to the outside of that folder before moving on to another.
Johanna reviewed one file at a time, leaving notes taped to the front of the folder, and finally, she opened the first of the two that held the names she could swear she knew. The more she read, the more she realized that she did indeed know these people and her stomach tightened after the doctor laid both files down.
The likelihood of neither of them being involved was slim to none and if they were a part of this ring, then things would become very challenging and incredibly dangerous. Keeping Sherlock safe would be difficult if the villains were tipped off in regards to why they were actually at the contest. The genius would have to be a great deal more careful on how he handled things.
“Sherlock?”
“Yes,” the answer was given in a tone that showed his concentration was focused mostly on the music he was arranging.
“The clothing you insisted I have made for me, do you think there’ll be room for my holster without giving away the fact I’m armed,” she asked, getting up to look into the living room.
The detective looked up from his work, eyes honing in on where his flatmate was leaning against the doorframe. The unexpected question had pulled his attention away from the music, and he was working out a reason as to why Johanna would ask such a thing. He could see the signs of concern on her face and tension in her frame, and the man concluded she had found something that had triggered her defenses.
“Are you anticipating that you will require it?”
“If my suspicions are right, then I’ll need it,” she answered quietly.
“Explain,” Sherlock demanded, rising to his feet when she gestured for him to join her in the kitchen.
Once both of them were seated at the table, Johanna began her explanation. She was glad her flatmate respected her intelligence enough to listen to what she had to say without being too derisive about how she’d reached these conclusions.
“I went through the reports Mycroft sent over. Some of them we’ll want to keep an eye on because there’s a chance of them being involved. However, there’s a very high probability that the two names I recognized being involved in this case if not the mastermind behind the smuggling ring,” she told him, handing him the files.
“Some of this is redacted,” the genius complained, glancing up at the woman.
“I know, and I can’t go into detail about how I know of this,” Johanna said quietly. “Just suffice it to say that I ran into these names during my time in the army and what I know of them is enough to raise a lot of flags. We are going to have to be incredibly careful during this investigation.”
If these files were redacted when being sent to them, it meant that his flatmate just might have a security clearance higher than his since she knew the details that he couldn’t read. This would need watching later as it meant another piece to the puzzle that was Johanna Watson.
“In answer to your question, I made sure Tessa was aware that there was a possibility of hand to hand fighting but also that you would be carrying your weapon at least once,” he reassured her. “Once she’s finished, no one will be able to tell that you’ll have the gun with you.”
“Thank goodness,” she replied, relaxing just a tad. “Even though Mycroft made sure I had the authorization to carry it with me, it’d be hard to explain why I’m armed during a musical contest. If these two people are there, they’d be able to notice it if the outfits don’t conceal it properly. The whole operation would be blown right then and there, but I can’t take the risk of not carrying the gun with me.”
“I assure you, the clothing will conceal it,” Sherlock said. “When you go in for the fitting, Tessa asked if you would bring it so she can make sure that the gun cannot be spotted. I’m to go with you because I observe more than most people. If I can’t detect it, no one else will be able to do so either.”
“Good,” Johanna responded. “I’ll need to contact someone this afternoon to inform them that these two particular people will be in England and ensure they can move in to arrest them after the case is over.”
“No surveillance,” the detective warned. “If they are the ones behind these crimes, they’ll spot it and run. They can’t make a move until we have all the evidence needed to successfully prosecute them.”
“The pair of them won’t be tipped off,” the doctor told him, reaching for her mobile as Sherlock stacked the files to read through later and returned to his task of arranging the music. “These people know how to remain unseen, and I expect we’ll be their eyes and ears inside of the competition.”
“I dislike being used by some unknown organization,” he replied, sitting down on the sofa once again. “Especially since I do not know have all of the data on them as well as the two that you recognized.”
“Do you trust me, Sherlock,” she asked, blue eyes meeting the unusually colored ones.
“With my life,” the man answered back in an honest tone, bringing a small smile to the woman’s face when she heard his words.
“Then trust me when I say that this is necessary and there will be no errors made that will alert the two to any sort of suspicion about them,” Johanna told him, seeing when he relaxed.
“I will but make no mistake, if they botch the case, I will demand retribution,” Sherlock warned, watching as his friend’s face took on a serious expression.
“So will I,” she answered back grimly, then headed up to her room to make the necessary calls.

Author’s End Note – We get a bit of a hint as to Johanna’s military history, and it seems to have intrigued Sherlock a bit. I have the music chosen that Sherlock and Johanna will play for the competition, and I’ll post the link to the playlist I made for this story soon. Thank you for reading, and I will see everyone next chapter. ~ Laran
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A Study in Duets