Look out for the <>!

I blink tears from my eyes as I ran down different alleyways through the pouring rain. I needed Sherlock. I couldn't do this without him. We were a team. I wanted to know why he would he let himself be taken. I wanted to know why Walter could do this to me. 

I stopped to take a breath as I stood under an awning to provent me from getting any wetter from the rain. I needed a new game plan but I couldn't think straight. I was alone this time with no one for help. I took out my phone, just as I was about to chuck it out into the street out of anger, I realized I had a message.

I put the phone up to me ear and heard Sherlock's voice over on the other end. "Rori, I guess you have already realized that I have gone with Zane. Don't blame Walter for this. In the end it was my choice. I did tell you I would handle Zane and I am still planning on doing this, however things have changed slightly. Things are going at a faster pace than I thought. You have to listen carefully, Zane does have only half of the compass. He's missing a pin that goes into it that makes it point towards the boat. I believe that the frame can help you find both things that we're looking for. One last thing, Rori..." I then heard sounds in the background then someone screaming was the last thing I heard before the message cut out.

 "Ma'am can I help you?" a man asked as he stood over me.

I looked up at him with a frown. "No, I'm fine thanks." I didn't realize that I slumped down to the ground and was now sitting in a puddle, soaking my pants in the ice-cold water.  I got up and smiled at him as if I was totally fine. "Have a nice day," I said coolly then walked away at a brisk pace.

 I somehow made it to my flat late that night. After taking a shower and changing my clothes, I sat down in the small living space of my flat as I looked at the frame on the ground. It was just an old vintage Gold frame. I frowned, I knew nothing about frames at all. How was I supposed to get a key from this and find the compass when my mind was somewhere else? Who was that person screaming on the other side of the message? I didn't want to think it was Sherlock but how could I be sure?

I sighed loudly grabbed the frame and hung it on the wall hoping that would magically solve my dilemma. Sadly it didn't.  Maybe the key wasn't even in the frame but was just another clue that I needed to solve. 

I got up from the ground and threw my pencil at the wall. My mind hurt. I couldn't think anymore.

 <><>

 3rd Person

<>

 Sherlock was in a basement of sorts. It was dark and cramped and cold. The detective himself couldn't even stand up properly without hitting his head on the ceiling. He held his arm gently against his body, knowing that it was dislocated but didn't have room to fix it at this moment.

"Well look at this, the great detective Sherlock Holmes," Zane said as he stepped down the stairs. He looked at Sherlock and smiled, feeling accomplished that he was able to capture him. Rori was making this too easy on him. He thought she would put up more of a fight, but everything seemed to be falling into place. "Please to meet you, I'm Zane."

 Sherlock looked at him this distain. After all the hate that Rori spat about him, he now understood how despicable he really was. "Pleasure." He spat out blood from his mouth from the beating he just took.

"Sorry about that. My men, they can get a little carried away. So let's talk shop shall we?" He pulled out a seat to talk to Sherlock. "We both know I really wanted Rori in that alleyway but I guess you'll work for now. She seems more attached to you the anyone else, even more then my dear brother." he let out a sigh and continued, "As you can guess I'm kind of in a pickle. I ran with the wrong crowed and now I need that treasure to get out of it. But I'm not doing so hot lately, it seems like I have lost my touch. You two however, you have just been blowing me away. You seem to be one step a head of me lately, so I just figure if I remove you from the equation, I'll slow Rori down enough to get a head of her."

 Sherlock chuckled he knew that Rori would still be able to stop Zane even without him in the picture. Sherlock knew how smart and capable Rori was. He had not a doubt in his mind that she would figure this all out before Zane had a chance. "That won't work. Rori is brighter than that."

Zane smiled at Sherlock, entertained by this conversation. "You really put a lot of faith in this girl don't you?"

<><>

Rori.

I screamed out of frustration as I looked at the frame that same night. I pushed the coffee table to the ground, causing the papers on it to scatter. Then I threw my pencil that I had in my hand across the room. I had been looking at this frame for the past hour ever and the only thing I had managed to write down was what it looked like. My mind was still struggling to process at a quick speed. 

I needed a computer so I could look up more about this frame and maybe how to dismember it because I was failing miserably on my own. Sadly the library was closed at this hour of night. I got the frame off the wall and put it back on the ground when I sat.

The frame was gold, there was a key in it, maybe. Maybe a skeleton key could fit? Could the frame be broken apart easily? Or what if it was a puzzle and I had to glue it all back together to make something else. Could that be possible? I shook the frame gently hoping to hear something wiggle inside of it but no sound was made. I gently tried to pull it apart but nothing happened.

My mind was running a million miles an hour, but my body was sore and tired. I rested my head on a pillow I had right beside me and closed my eyes for a minute.

When I woke up sun was pouring into my room. I shot up and looked around. I didn't mean to sleep this long. I slept through the night but that meant that the library was open. I quickly changed my outfit, pulled my pink hair into a bun and ran out the door without thinking much of anything else. I knew the library would have the answers to my questions, I just needed to look in the right spots.

I walked down the road to the library and noticed that there were more people out around the building then normal. This was odd because it was a Wednesday, a workday, at least I think it was Wednesday. I walked into the building and past the main lobby. What caught my eye was a man reading a book, but his eyes were trained on me as I passed by him. I looked right back at him, but something stuck out to me, he had an earpiece in. He smiled nicely but I knew he was here for me. Without another word, I shot off running. I had been found, by who I didn't care but I knew I had to leave.

"Stop!" he said as he chased after me.

I didn't reply but instead I took a left and then a right as I quickened my pace. Over the past weeks I have learned the ins and outs of this library like the back of my hand. I looked behind me and saw that no one was following me anymore. I was safe for now. I stopped to take a breather onto to have the other Holmes brother come from down the hall towards me.

"Rori, interesting to see you here," he said in a snobbish tone.

This was the first time I had met him face to face, and something about it rubbed me the wrong way. "Shut it. You knew I was here." 

In the best clothes money could buy, he walked up to me. I bet he stole a good amount of money from normal people in England to pay for his oh so lovely lifestyle.

He smiled at me, I was right. "You're going to come with me. Lestrade will be happy to see you alive."

"And why do you care? I never had contact with you so why are you suddenly wanting to be in my business now?" 

"Somehow I believe you're the reason for my brother's disappearance."

I frowned. Yes, I was the reason why Sherlock was gone but I was the only one that could save him. And that was why I was going to walk out of here without his men. "That's why you're going to let me go."

"Oh is that right?" he chuckled, amused by my confidence.

I nodded, no humor to my face. "Yes, Sherlock life depends on it."

He looked me in the eye, seeing if I was telling the truth then made a sour face. "I don't believe you."

He was lying. He did. "Fine. But his death will be on you." I shrugged and I walked past him, without him moving an inch.

After I was to the end of the hall, I heard him talking into his phone but I didn't understand what he was saying nor stop to hear. I took another couple different hallways until I found myself out in to open air, that didn't stop me though. I kept running until I got to the closest tube station and got on it, thinking about where to go next.

<><>

3rd person

Zane sat in a red velvet chair in his study as he waited for a call that was already 10 minutes late. He tapped his fingers to a rhythm of a song that was stuck in his head when his phone rang.

"Hello?" he asked as he stood up from his chair. He looked out the only window in the room to see a dismal gray view of London.

"Zane, how close are you to getting my money," a voice said on the other line.

He frowned. He was no where close to getting it. "I'm getting there."

"Getting there isn't cutting it. Need I remind you that if you don't get me my 10 million soon, I will destroy your life until you will be begging me to kill you." the man said on the other end calmly.

Zane frowned, knowing that this man was telling the truth. He had seen him do it to many others before him. Zane was running out of time. "I'll get it. Just give me more time," Zane said as he ran his hand through his already messy hair.

"I've been giving you time. You have one week."

Zane stood there as he tried to calm himself down. He paced around the room to sort out his thoughts and thought of his next move. He then stopped and chucked the phone at the wall. He watched it break on contact. He smoothed out his hair and put on his best smile as he walked out of the room.

He knew that he had to remove Rori from the picture completely. Without her, he would be able to solve this mystery. But he knew that she was probably gone in the wind, however he could rattle her mind. He could break her mentally, so she was out of the picture still. 

"I dropped my phone. I'll be needing another one," he said to one of his men and smiled at him.

"I'll be right on it sir," he said and walked down the hall to fetch another phone for his boss.  

Zane continued walking until he walked down into the basement where he was keeping Sherlock. "So I may have dropped a hint that Rori hangs out at the library to your brother."

Sherlock looked up at him from the ground he was laying on but didn't say anything. He knew his brother was only out to save his own skin and he wondered if Rori was fast enough to outrun him.

"Rori is my problem, no you, I hope you understand this. Rori has always been the problem. She is always getting in my way and stopping my plans. She thinks she's so smart and brave, lets see what happens when I give her some more pressure. Soon she won't be able to carry on without failing miserably."

"She will break you," Sherlock said confidently, knowing Rori could accomplish anything. She was always going to be smarter and more resourceful than Zane, she just needed to see that in herself.

"Not if I break her first," he said and called his henchmen down the stairs. "Now do you know where the key is?"

"Not a clue." He forced a smile at him, knowing he would be getting another beating with that answer.

Zane took a deep breath and let it out of frustration. "I refuse to get my hands bloodied but I can't say the same about my men. Good evening Mr. Holmes."