Across the city from 221B Baker St, John and Sarah were heading towards the address that had been provided for the Yellow Dragon Circus. "It's years since anyone took me to the circus!" Sarah exclaimed happily as they walked.

John cleared his throat awkwardly, trying not to remember who he had gotten this idea from. "Right, yes!" he agreed. "Well it's... err... A friend recommended it to me. He phoned up."

Sarah nodded. "Ah," she said. "What are they, a touring company?"

John shrugged. "I don't know much about it," he admitted.

They turned the corner, and suddenly they were in front of the address from the poster. It was a large white building, and red Chinese lanterns were strung up on the outside. "I think they're probably from China!" Sarah commented, rather unnecessarily.

John looked on at the decorations blankly. "Yes, I think... I think so, yes," he said. He grimaced as his hopes for a normal night began to fade away. "Now there's a coincidence!"

Of course, it was still possible that Sherlock hadn't sent him to a Chinese circus on purpose. Granted, that possibility was rather slim, but there was still a chance, right?

They entered the building and walked into the entryway, with a ticket office off to the side. John led the way to the office just as the customer in front of them finished up his business. "Hi," John said. "I have, er, two tickets reserved for the night."

The manager nodded. "And what's the name?" he asked.

John reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet. "Er, Holmes," he answered.

A few seconds passed as the manager looked through the reservations, and then he turned back to them with an envelope in his hand. "Actually, I have four in that name," he told him.

John blinked. "No, I don't think so," he said. "We only booked two."

"And then I phoned back and got one for myself and Max, as well."

Of course, it was obvious whose voice that was. John had been suspecting it for a while now. Still, he was angry as he turned around to see none other than Sherlock Holmes standing there, with Max at his side.

Sorry, she mouthed.

John just glared at her.

Max held out a hand to Sarah, and she shook it. "Hi, I'm Max," she greeted. "You're Sarah? I've heard a lot about you."

Sarah laughed awkwardly. "You did?" she asked.

Max rolled her eyes. "John was practically talking my ear off about you the other day," she told her.

Sherlock nodded to Sarah. "I'm Sherlock," he said.

Sarah smiled tentatively. "Hi," she greeted.

Sherlock gave her his fake smile. "Hello," he said.

The tension suddenly became so thick that it seemed like one could reach out and physically touch it. Max's eyes went from John- who was glaring at Sherlock- to Sherlock- who was looking back at John innocently. Max cleared her throat awkwardly. "Err, Sarah, would you mind coming with me to the loo?" she asked.

Sarah blinked in surprise, but she nodded. "Sure?" she agreed. Without waiting for more than that, Max grabbed her wrist and dragged her off, leaving Sherlock and John to settle their differences on their own.

000

"You couldn't let me have just one night off?" John demanded.

The two men had moved away from the entryway and were now standing in a dimly-lit stairway as people walked up the stairs past them. They were both speaking quietly so that nobody else overheard, but the annoyance in John's voice was plain to hear.

Sherlock huffed in irritation. "Yellow Dragon Circus, in London for one day," Sherlock stated. "It fits. The Tong sent an assassin to England-"

"- dressed as a tightrope walker," John finished sarcastically. "C'mon, Sherlock, behave!" He groaned."This is exactly why I left Max with you, d'you know that? Exactly why. But no, apparently she's just as irresponsible as you!"

Sherlock glared at him. "Don't blame her, this was my idea," he said. "Listen. We're looking for a killer who can climb, who can shin up a rope. Where else could you find that level of dexterity? Exit visas are scare in China. They need a pretty good reason to get out of that country."

John just groaned.

000

Meanwhile, Max was washing her hands after using the loo, and Sarah stood next to her. "So how long have you two been dating?" Sarah asked.

Max gave her a look. "Sorry, who?" she replied.

Sarah nodded towards the door. "You and Sherlock," she elaborated.

Max shook her head quickly. "Oh, no, we're not dating," she answered.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked.

Max smiled. "Really," she agreed.

Sarah blinked, seeming surprised. "Oh," she said. "Sorry. It seemed like you were."

Max shook her head as she reached for the soap. "No, he doesn't date," she explained. "And I'm not really looking for a relationship right now, either." She rolled her eyes. "There's too much going on in my life right now."

Sarah nodded wisely. "I hear you," she agreed. "Life's busy." She grinned at Max. "That doesn't mean you can't date someone, though! Why don't you try asking him out?"

The thought almost made Max choke on air. "No, not happening," she said flatly. "Sherlock's... err... He's a character. It's a bit more complicated than just asking him out." She paused when she realized what she was saying. "Not that I fancy him. I don't."

But Sarah just smiled. "Sure you don't," she agreed sarcastically. She turned and headed towards the door. "C'mon, let's go meet up with the boys."

"Seriously!" Max exclaimed as she hurried out after her. "I don't fancy him!"

Something told her that Sarah wasn't going to listen.

000

Sherlock frowned as he looked around the stairwell. "Now, all I need to do is have a quick look around the place," he said.

John nodded. "Fine," he agreed. "You do that; I'm gonna take Sarah for a pint."

Sherlock looked at him sharply. "I need your help," he told him.

But John just scoffed. "You have Max," he pointed out.

Sherlock scowled. "I need both of you," he clarified.

John groaned. "I have a couple of other things to do this evening!" he protested.

Even though it should have been fairly obvious, Sherlock just looked at him blankly. "Like what?" he asked. His tone made it clear that he wasn't joking.

John stared at him in disbelief. "You are kidding," he stated.

Sherlock gave him a look. "What's so important?" he demanded.

"... Sherlock, I'm right in the middle of a date," John reminded him. "D'you want me to chase some killer while I'm trying to..." He trailed off, hoping that would be enough for Sherlock to get the point.

But Sherlock just continued staring at him. "What?" he asked again.

John groaned. "While I'm trying to get off with Sarah!" he exclaimed loudly.

Of course, Max and Sarah chose that moment to join them in the stairs. "Heyyy!" John greeted, over- enthusiastically. Sherlock just rolled his eyes and started walking up the stairs towards the circus.

Max hurried after him, not wanting to be left alone with John and Sarah. "What was that about?" she asked quietly.

Sherlock didn't even look at her. "John is being like the grand majority of males," he answered shortly.

"... Ah. I see."

000

A few minutes later, the four of them were standing in the large performance hall with a high ceiling. There was a stage on one side of the hall, but the curtains were closed and it seemed like it wasn't going to be used; rather, there was a large circle of candles laid out in the middle of the otherwise bare room. The hall was dimly lit, only slightly brighter than the stairway, creating a mysterious feeling.

There was a small handful of other people in the room too, gathered around the circle. There weren't any seats in the room, so they were all standing awkwardly as if they weren't sure what to do with themselves.

Wordlessly, the four of them joined the others. John and Sarah grabbed spots right in front of the circle, and Sherlock hovered behind them, casting a suspicious look around the room. Max stood next to Sherlock.

John turned his head to look at the two of them. "You said circus," he accused, speaking quietly so that Sarah didn't hear him. "This is not a circus. Look at the size of this crowd. Sherlock, this is..." He grimaced. "... art."

Sherlock scoffed. "This is not their day job," he reassured him, as if that made it better.

John shot Sherlock a withering glare. "No, sorry, I forgot," he replied sarcastically. "They're not a circus, they're a gang of international smugglers." He jabbed a finger at Max. "You were supposed to watch him."

Max shrugged. "I am," she pointed out.

He glared at her. "This isn't what I meant, and you know that," he told her.

She rolled her eyes. "Relax, John," she said.

"You're interrupting my date!" he hissed.

Max held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, okay," she replied. "We'll keep quiet. You won't even know we're here."

John scoffed. "A bit too late for that," he retorted.

She zipped her lips and tossed aside the imaginary key. "See?" she said. "I'm zipping."

He gave her a look. "It doesn't work like that," he told her.

Max pointedly didn't reply, and John groaned.

Before the argument could continue any further, the sound of a drumbeat filled the room, and they fell silent as the performance began. John shot Sherlock and Max one last glare before he turned around, and Sherlock just rolled his eyes.

As they watched, a Chinese woman walked into the center of the circle, wearing a traditional robe and a heavily painted face. She pointed out at the audience, her face stern and proud, and suddenly she raised her hand into the air. Promptly, the drumbeats stopped, but Max could have sworn she still heard them echoing throughout the hall.

Wordlessly, the woman walked across to the circle to a large object covered with a cloth. She pulled off the cloth, revealing an old, wooden crossbow on a stand. Max watched carefully as the woman picked up a long wooden arrow with white feathers on one end and a sharp metal tip on the other, then placed it onto the crossbow. She then pulled a small white feather from her headdress and held it out, presenting it to the audience. Without warning, she gently dropped the feather onto a small, metal cup on the rear of the crossbow.

Max flinched as the arrow pierced a large board on the far side of the circle.

Chinese instruments suddenly started playing from somewhere in the room as a man entered the circle, clad in chain mail and a threatening face mask. The audience applauded politely as he held his arms out to the sides, and suddenly two other men were there, chaining his hands together.

Max frowned. "What are they doing?" she asked quietly.

Sherlock nodded to the circle, where the masked man was currently being chained to the board. "Classic Chinese escapology act," he answered. "The crossbow's on a delicate string. The warrior has to escape his bonds before it fires."

As he spoke, the woman placed another arrow into the crossbow. The warrior let out an involuntary cry as his head was yanked back against the board by a chain. Within a few seconds he was bound tightly to the board with padlocks and chains, and the other two men stepped away.

The music built in intensity, setting everyone's nerves on edge, and suddenly there was a loud crash as two cymbals were banged together. Sarah jumped and grabbed John's arm in fear. "Oh, God!" she exclaimed, laughing in embarrassment. "I'm sorry!" John laughed with her, and Sarah let go of his arm but took his hand in hers. Max resisted the urge to groan.

Meanwhile, the Chinese woman picked up a small knife and held it out so that everyone could see it clearly. Next to Max, Sherlock leaned closer to her so that he could whisper in her ear. "She splits the sandbag," he told her quietly. "The sand pours out. Gradually the weight lowers the bowl."

She glanced up at Sherlock and saw that even though he was talking to her, he was watching the woman with a sharp eye, analyzing her movements. Max turned her attention back to the circus just as the woman sliced open the bag hanging on a long cable. Sand began falling from the slit, and as the bag emptied, the metal ball on the other end of the pulley started sinking towards the bowl behind the crossbow. It didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen; once the weight hit the bowl, the crossbow would fire.

The man struggled with his chains, crying out with effort as he tugged at the restraints. The entire hall was silent, watching with baited breath as he managed to get one hand free of the chains, then another.

A glance at the weight told them that half of his time was up.

Now with both of his hands free, the man tugged at the chains around his neck, but it didn't seem like he was going to get out in time. Max watched with wide eyes, unwilling to blink, and in front of her Sarah grabbed onto John's arm again. The man cried out again as he pulled at his chains, but now the weight was almost at the bowl.

Suddenly, the man was able to get the chains off, and he fell to the ground just as the crossbow fired. The arrow thudded into the board a split second later.

Everyone in the room burst out cheering, and Max grinned. "Thank God," Sarah commented, smiling in relief.

"My God!" John agreed.

Max turned to say something to Sherlock, but suddenly she realized that he was gone. Frowning, she looked around the room, but there was no sign of him. "John, where's Sherlock?" she asked quietly.

John glanced around, then shrugged and turned back to the circus.

"Thanks," Max huffed.

In the circle, the woman raised a hand, and the audience silenced. "Ladies and gentlemen," she announced in heavily-accented English. "From the distant moonlight shores of the Yangtze River, we present for your pleasure: the deadly Chinese bird-spider." She bowed and walked off to the side.

Max clapped along with the others as a masked acrobat suddenly fell from the ceiling, rolling through the air as the broad red band around his waist unraveled. He suddenly stopped only a couple of feet from the ground, holding his body parallel to the floor.

"Did you see that?!" John exclaimed to Sarah excitedly.

The acrobat dropped to the floor and split the band around his waist in two, revealing that it was actually two strips of cloth. As they watched, he wrapped the ribbons around his arms and ran around the circle before jumping into the air; the ribbons carried his weight as he flew around the circle several feet above the ground. The red ribbons flared out behind him impressively.

Everyone stared on in amazement, including Max, but as she watched, she became more and more troubled. Words from the past few days echoed through her head, and slowly she began to connect the things that Sherlock had predicted hours- no, days- ago.

We present for your pleasure, the deadly Chinese bird-spider, the Chinese woman had said.

Soo Lin's face flashed before her eyes. Only he would do this. Zhi Zhu.

Zhi Zhu? John had asked.

The spider, Sherlock told them.

And then she remembered walking into the flat at Baker St in response to Sherlock's text, and how he had told her about the deaths of Van Coon and Lukis. Our killer must have climbed into Lukis's flat through the window, he had explained.

Max looked up at the acrobat in horror.

000

Meanwhile, Sherlock was on the stage behind the closed curtains. The space was being used as the dressing room for the performers, and there were various items strewn around the room. The one that he was currently interested in was a bag filled with several spray paint cans.

Sherlock reached into the bag and picked one up. A quick glance at the label told him that it was labeled Michigan, just as Raz had told them it would be, and a yellow band across the bottom of the can said that it was the same color as the spray paint that had been used on the cipher.

"Found you," Sherlock muttered.

He stood up and walked towards the mirrors on the dressing table, shaking the can as he did. He leaned down so that he was level with the mirror and sprayed a single, horizontal line across it. One.

Sherlock barely had time to admire his handiwork before he saw movement behind him through the mirror. He turned around and saw that a figure was looming over him, dressed in one of the costumes with a gruesome mask. He didn't look pleased.

Uh oh.

000

"John," Max hissed, tugging at John's sleeve.

He just waved his hand dismissively at her, not even tearing his gaze from the acrobat- Zhi Zhu. "It can wait until later, Max," he replied.

She glared at him. "John, that's Zhi Zhu!" she exclaimed.

"That's nice," John commented absentmindedly.

Max groaned, and she was just about to protest more when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She glanced in that direction and saw that the curtains on the stage were moving a bit in one place, as if someone on the far side were pushing against it. "John," Max said.

John frowned. "I see it," he agreed. He stared at it for half a second, but then he turned back to watch Zhi Zhu, just as the acrobat landed on the ground dramatically.

"Oh, for goodness's sakes, John, Sherlock was right!" she shouted.

Before anybody could reply, the consulting detective himself came flying through the curtains.

He landed with a thud on the floor a few feet below, crashing onto his back, and he was followed shortly after by a man in a costume similar to the escape artist from before. Sherlock tried to struggle to his feet, but he was too winded to do much but watch as the man raised a knife over his head.

"Sherlock!" Max shouted in a panic.

Suddenly John was there, ramming into the costumed man and knocking him to the ground. Soon the two of them were struggling viciously.

The rest of the crowd burst into screams, and the hall was thrown into panic as everyone started running away- everyone besides Max and Sarah, who hurried to Sherlock and John's aid. Zhi Zhu glanced at the fight, then the fleeing people; he hesitated for half a second, then ran away.

Max still remembered how he had attacked them in the museum last night and killed Soo Lin- his own sister- and for a second she was sorely tempted to run after him. But then John let out a grunt as the other man threw him to the ground. When it was clear that John wasn't getting up, the man stumbled over to Sherlock. Sarah instantly grabbed the arrow from the board and ran towards him.

For a second, Max glanced after Zhi Zhu. But then she turned and followed Sarah.

The man let out a surprised grunt as Sarah hit him over the head with the stick of the arrow, and he stumbled backwards in shock. Max dragged Sherlock to his feet just as Sarah hit their attacker again with the arrow, then a third time. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Max asked Sherlock.

He just waved her off and bent down to the unconscious man, pulling off his shoe and inspecting his ankle. Max leaned over and saw that he had the same tattoo that Soo Lin had- a lotus flower inside of a circle. "He's with the Tong," she stated, rather unnecessarily.

Sherlock stood up and stumbled for a second, still dazed. Max reached out to steady him, but he pushed her off and started hurrying towards the exit. "Let's go," he told them.

John staggered over to Max and Sarah, still trying to catch his breath, and he took Sarah's hand. "Come on," he muttered. The two of them hurried off after Sherlock.

"Come on!" Sherlock exclaimed. "Let's go!"

Max started after them, but she stopped and glanced back at the circle of candles, where the arrow was still laying on the ground. She grimaced, thinking back on the fight.

Suddenly someone put their hand on her shoulder, and Max turned around to see Sherlock standing there. "John and Sarah are waiting," he said. "Are you alright?"

Max nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Let's go."