Moriarty's hostages are the set of five people who were taken hostage by Jim Moriarty. The hostages, taken from all over the country, were kidnapped by Moriarty's associates and forced into semtex vests surrounded by explosives. Once prepared, the hostages were instructed to contact Sherlock and read him the messages that Moriarty relayed to them. The hostages could do nothing but sit and wait for Sherlock to solve a puzzle in a set time limit or they would not survive the game.