Magnussen patted the couch,
"Please make yourselves comfortable."
John, still in shock, and Sherlock made their way to the couch, sitting down beside Mary and Magnussen.
"I'm sure you have questions", Magnussen said with a sly smile.
"Yeah I'd like to know why Mary is here", John blurted out.
"I think she's here for the same reason you are. She said something about wanting the files I have on her. I'm assuming you came for the same reason, am I wrong?" Magnussen gave them a knowing look as he poured himself a drink.
"Of course. Although I have a gift to give you in return. A favor for a favor", Sherlock chose his words carefully, not sure what Mary had already told Magnussen.
Magnussen lifted his eyebrows, his curiosity rising,
"And what would that gift be?'
"My brother", Sherlock answered straight faced.
"Ah, should I be expecting his company soon?"
Sherlock responded by pulling out Mycroft's laptop. This caught Magnussen's attention even more and he stepped forward,
"Not so fast", Sherlock warned. "First you show us your vaults."
"My vaults?"
"Your vaults, don't try to pretend they don't exist."
Magnussen nodded and started walking towards the hallway. All three stood and followed him, curious to see his so called 'magnificent' vaults. They walked down several hallways before arriving to two grand double doors. Magnussen turned towards the group of three and smiled before turning around and getting a firm grip on both handles. He gave a pull and opened the two doors. What stood before all three was nothing they had ever expected. The vastness, the glowing white, and above all, the emptiness. All three frowned and stood in the door way confused beyond belief. In the center of the room was a single chair. Magnussen walked forward and sat down, closing his eyes and folding his hands.
"You're familiar with mind palaces, aren't you Sherlock?"
Both John and Mary turned to Sherlock, waiting to see how he would react. Sherlock kept a straight face and just nodded, curious to see where this was going. Magnussen carried on, 'opening' and 'closing' files in his mind. He found Mary's but before he could say anything John stopped him,
"Stop this. Just stop… Jesus Sherlock, what is this? Some crazy mind game? Do you think this is funny?"
Sherlock just shook his head, sorrow in his eyes, and frustration at his mistake. Magnussen frowned,
"Are you not wanting to play this game John? Maybe another one then?"
Magnussen stood and exited the room, the three once again following him. They arrived in the living room where Magnussen gestured for them to sit on the couch. He then grabbed a remote and turned on the television, pressing a few buttons before pulling up a video. They watched in silence as the video of Sherlock pulling John out of the fire played. Magnussen sat with a smug look, gesturing for John to take a closer look. John stood and walked closer to the television, his eyes filling with tears at seeing the extent of danger Sherlock had put himself in to save John. While John stood distracted by the video on the television Magnussen made a quick move, grabbing Sherlock and tying a cloth around his mouth to keep him from making any noise. The cloth contained more than just cloth though because within seconds Sherlock was unconscious, hanging clumsily in Magnussen's arms. Mary who had also been distracted by the television turned and noticed the commotion. She lunged forward just as Magnussen pulled out a gun, pointing it in her direction. She stopped and by then John had also noticed the commotion, turning around to find his bestfriend (or was it boyfriend?) hanging unconscious in Magnussen's arms and his wife (now ex-wife) frozen in her spot staring at a gun in Magnussen's hands. John panicked only two words coming from his mouth,
"Jesus Christ…"
Magnussen leaped into action quickly and dragged the detective outside. Mary and John followed, unsure of what was going to happen, and cautious of the gun being pointed in their direction. Magnussen froze as he was met with a helicopter and threatening red dots. John couldn't help himself,
"Jesus Christ, what now?"
A voice came over the loud speaker that John soon recognized to be Mycroft,
"Everyone put their hands up. Magnussen, drop the gun and drop my brother."
They all put their hands up, but Magnussen refused to drop the gun. Mycroft's voice thundered out again,
"Drop. The. Gun."
Magnussen smiled,
"Look at all of you. So caring. Sherlock really would have appreciated all of this, too bad he's not awake to see it." With that Magnussen lowered his harms and pressed the gun to the front Sherlock's head, "Say goodbye." With that there was a gun shot. Even with the hurricane force winds and the noise of the helicopter, John felt his world go silent. He could faintly feel himself screaming and it only took a few seconds for the tears to roll down his cheeks. John fell to his knees and watched the blood hit the ground.