Sherlock takes another look at Molly's location on the phone that James gave him. The location pointed at the middle of the continent, it means Molly and Rosie are in the outback of Australia. If the information James provided is true.
"So where are we going?" John asked.
Sherlock sighs and closed his eyes. "We need to do a lot of purchasing."
"How are we financially?" John asked again.
"Short." Sherlock said
"And what should we do then?"
"Leave it to me." Sherlock then takes a credit card and gives it to John. "Book us a flight to Alice Springs. After that we're going to rent a car."
John looks at Sherlock confused. "Are you saying we're going on a road trip? To the outback?"
"Yes, and you're going to drive."
***
John looks down from his seats to a magnificent terraine under his flight. It is a view he never saw before, a massive red land in which it's magnificent and terrifying at the same time. Makes one feel powerless and small, like the whole earth could swallow you and nobody else would care. John can't help but remember his tour in Afghanistan, in which after brought him to the meeting with Sherlock Holmes.
"When we land we need to buy supplies for the road trip." Sherlock said to John.
"Are we.. really going to follow that James guy info? I mean.. how exactly can we trust this guy. What if there's another ambush?" John asked.
Sherlock doesn't answers, he just quietly thinks.
"Man like us doesn't feel, we calculate things.."
Sherlock mumbles.
"What..?" John confused.
Sherlock smiles, remembering his last conversation with Hercule Poirot. But this time Sherlock has to admit, he weighs based on instinct.. feeling not analyzing the facts.
".. I have a feeling James on our side." Sherlock answers.
As they landed at the Alice Springs airport, they rented a car and filled it with supplies of food and outdoor equipments. John looks all the things he stuffs on the back of the rented car and sighes. "How on earth it become to this."
As they about to leave from Alice Springs, Sherlock take another look of the location and the map. "If my calculation is right, it probably around 1 hour drive." he said.
"If we ends up with another "Jack" situation, what are we going to do? It's not we're going to hail for help in the middle of the outback." John asked.
"That's why I bought this." Sherlock uncover a blanket, underneath it there's a rifle.
"How on earth did you get that?" John asked in amusement.
"From some guy who just done pigging. He said his wife complaint his spent to much time pigging and he wants to get rid of it."
John looks at Sherlock. "Pigging?"
"In context probably much like fox hunting." said Sherlock.
"Of we go then." John said.
They board on the car and drive further and further away from Alice Springs. Slowly they begin to witness the nature of the outback and the less human presence.
After 30 minutes of driving, Sherlock looks at the phone James gave. "Here. Turn here." he instructed John. John looks at the sun and realized it's almost sunset. "Maybe we should've stay the night at Alice Springs before we headed here.." he said.
"Too late for that." Sherlock replied.
Now they off the main road, and the road become more and more bumpy. At the left side of the road they saw what it seems to be a small farm. With some catles and poultry inside the fence. And there's a house next to it.
Right now the house seems quite. There's no person insight and there's no one who come outside to see who is coming.
"Maybe we should drive ahead first." Sherlock said. Put the car behind those bushes over there, and we wait until dark so we can approach the house unseen."
"Sherlock.." John said.
"Just a precaution." Sherlock looks at John.
As the sun begins to set, the view of it is breathtaking. Now the only source of light is gone, John felt the frightening feeling of isolation.
"Wait, here. I'll check the house." said Sherlock.
John wanted to protests, but he doesn't has any other plan to suggest. So he waits there, in the dark.
Sherlock walks toward the house. The darkness doesn't requires him to slink around the house. But the catles know someone is approaching. Sherlock quickly hides himself in the house wall so nobody can see him from the window.
There's no sound from inside, but faintly there's a TV sound. He crouchs around the house and try to open one of the door, which surprisingly is not locked. He then slips inside the house, and still can not found anybody. One thing he observes, there's a lot of toy laying around in the living room, a girl's toy for Rosie's age. He proceeds to the dining room, where there is a big table in the middle. Everything are mostly made out of woods, a very typical outback's house. He's about to enter the kitchen when he hears a sound of door being open.
He hides himself behind one of the door and take a peeks of who's makes the sound.
A woman comes from one of the room to the kitchen. She takes a glass of water and drinks it. Her back is now facing Sherlock, makes her more unaware of his presence. After she puts the glass in the sink, she closes her eyes and massages her own neck, apparently she has been through a long hard day.
"You look thinner." Sherlock said, slowly coming out of his hiding.
The woman becomes paralyzed for a moment. All her muscles stop moving. After a few seconds, she slowly turns around to face Sherlock.
"Is that all you can notice?" Molly said.
Right now, after they both facing each other, Sherlock can perfectly sees under the hanging lamp in the room, Molly, as he said is thinner from her former self in London. Her hair is cut short shoulder lenght and in a different colour. But Sherlock already saw all that in the photo James showed him, what surprised him the most is the black blue colour under her right eye.
And Sherlock quickly take another read of the whole room, the whole house, the reading he used to do everytime he try to solves a case. Seeing what others can't see with plain eyes. And as he know the truth he steps backward, almost like he looses his balance.
Suddenly the sound of a truck approaches the house. Both Molly and Sherlock is surprised.
"Is that him?" Sherlock asked in trembled voice.
Molly slowly answers "Yes."
The truck is now park outside the house. There's a sound of the vehicle door being open and a heavy footsteps approaching.
"Sherlock, you have to hide now." Molly said.
Sherlock didn't move. The guy is in the house now, and just enters the kitchen to witness what is in there.
"Who the hell are you?" the guy asked in strong voice. Clearly he is not the kind good manner type.
"I'm here to see her." Sherlock answered, surprising Molly.
"You bloody hell.." The guy getting aggresive.
"I'm here to take her away.." Sherlock continued in cold unshaken words.
"Sherlock!" Molly said warning him.
"I'm preety sure she will follows, as she already tired living with a stinking abusive guy like you." Sherlock continue to provoked the guy.
The guy doesn't say anything back, but he takes a knife from under his vest, and without warning charge at Sherlock.
And in an instance, Sherlock pull the rifle he hides behind. And with a single shot the man quickly drops to the floor, halfway through where Sherlock is standing.
The sound of a gun shot echoed in the whole dessert. John frightenly surprised, and without thinking left the car and run to the house.
When he arrives at the house he quickly comes inside and can't believe what he sees.
"Molly.." he said.
In the kitchen floor lay a big man face down with a whole in his chest.
Sherlock still holding the riffle unmoved by the sight, the same manner when he killed Magnusen.
"I'll at go get Rosie.." Molly said in a hurry. John follows her, as his eyes still glued to Sherlock's expression. It was an expression of someone controlling the rage inside. Then John sees what he has been longing all this time. It's Rosie in the crib, the shot must have woken her, as she is crying now.
"Dear God, Rosie.." John carefully hugs her.
Molly busy gathering all Rosie's belongings in a bag, she was about to go to the kitchen but something stops her.
"Molly, what happened? Where are you going?" Two young boy lurks from one of the room, they seems afraid to go outside. Both Sherlock and John surprise by their sudden appearance.
"Are you going to leave us, Molly?" one of the boy asked.
"I'm so sorry. I promise, I'll come back again, okay. I'm really sorry." Molly said in desperation. She then quickly grabs a few things from the kitchen. Before she makes her way with John and Sherlock, she looks back one last time to those boys in the house. And then she left the house with Rosie in John's arm.