As John reached the street, he spotted the all too familiar black saloon car waiting at the kerb. As expected the door opened as if by magic and the tall figure of Mycroft was visible in the interior of the expensive car.

"Ah John, just the person" Mycroft said smoothly, as if he could possibly have been expecting anyone else.

A little annoyed, John got into the car. "What is it Mycroft? I'm on my way to meet Sherlock"

Mycroft spoke calmly enough, but handed John a card with a raised eyebrow. "Ah yes, my darling younger brother. How fairs Sherlock?" The card had a completely different message in Mycroft's diplomatic scrawl 'Pass your new phone to the driver. He will keep the bug happy'.

John frowned at the message and passed the phone over, making his usual acerbic remark to Mycroft as he did. "I am sure you are very well aware of how he is."

As soon as the glass to the front of the car was sealed Mycroft dropped his pretence of normality. "I think we have quite an issue, don't we John?"

Mycroft's raised eyebrow spoke volumes. It said that he was aware of the situation and intended to intervene. John felt both sick and relieved at the prospect. His voice cracking slightly as he asked, "How much do you know?"

"Enough. The question now is, how do we resolve this issue without Mr. Moriarty deciding he needs to kill my brother? So far the men he has had you… shall we say terminate? Have been of no great loss to society. But I am sure that you are astute enough John to realise that these targets have served to further Moriarty's interests to some degree. He will begin to introduce targets that appeal less to your moral compass as time goes on and he is surer of your commitment and loyalty, wouldn't you agree?"

As much as Mycroft's manner annoyed John, he knew he was right. "Does Sherlock know?"

"Oh god no! He knowing that Moriarty is back on the scene would not be conducive to either his mental well-being or his continued living. You know my brother well enough to see that I am right"

"Hmm, very true. Well, if you have a plan Mycroft, I'm all ears. Because I'll be honest, I don't and right now Sherlock is waiting for me at the crime scene of my latest victim and I am clueless as to what he is going to find there, other than I have been assured by Moriarty that it will lead away from me."

"Yes, he is very thorough, isn't he? For now, carry on as you are. By the time you receive your next … assignment, I will have gathered enough information to be able to stop this whole palaver from getting any further out of hand. In the meantime, we are dropping you a street away from where you are meeting Sherlock in the direction you would be coming had you taken the underground."

At that moment, the glass to the front of the car opens and John is handed the iPhone that is his line of communication with Moriarty. "Maybe you should read that message that came through while we were talking John."

With that, John knows he is dismissed and climbs wearily out of the car. The message reads simply "Even Mycroft Holmes is clueless. Nothing to worry about John, see? JM". John shakes his head thinking 'If only you knew' and wonders what on earth Moriarty was listening to while he and Mycroft were talking about him.

Sherlock is waiting for him at the scene of the latest shooting, the rapist. Greg Lestrade is also there as Sherlock casts his observant eye over the crime scene, comparing what he observes live now with the crime scene photos.

"Definitely a trained sniper. The victim had his arms around the woman with him, they were walking, likely not in a straight line given that Miss Hinde was drugged and he would have been more or less supporting her weight. Yet, it was a clean head shot, instantly fatal, giving the shooter time to retreat before anyone close-by had really realised what was happening and think to look for him. The shot came from above, probably that building just on the corner." Sherlock pointed to the building, where almost 24 hours ago, John had indeed lain in wait for his target. "I doubt a sniper that accomplished will have left much, if any, evidence behind, but we should go up anyway."

Lestrade is nodding away taking notes and comparing with what he has already noted down himself. "Yes, we thought that too, but we could find no evidence beyond a slight disturbance of the gravel near the ledge. No casing, no fibres, nothing. Still, feel free to take a look. No doubt you will find something we missed."

"Oh you shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Lestrade. Something your team missed." Sherlock smirked as he walked away, his overcoat swishing behind him.

John rolled his eyes as much out of habit as genuine amusement before starting to follow. "Come on Greg, he'll only start talking to us not noticing we're not there if we don't keep up."

As they rode in the lift to the 4th floor to gain access to the roof, John found his thoughts captive to a morbid curiosity as to what they would find on the rooftop. He sure as hell hadn't left so much as a dent in the gravel behind, so what evidence had Moriarty planted? He knew it would be subtle – weighted towards Sherlock's observatory skills, something that would have been feasibly missed by someone less observant, such as Anderson.

We get to the roof and Sherlock starts his investigation. A look around to get his bearings, closely observing the path from the access door to the ledge where John had set the shot, looking for any minute clue that may have been missed. John takes a closer look himself too, trying to see any shred of evidence that wasn't there when he left the building.

He is still looking around when Sherlock calls him over, the triumph of a deduction forming in his voice.