I didn't think I'd have this being 3 parts BUT it looks like that's what it will be. Oh well, it happens.
So, last chapter, we saw Anna was having a bit of a rough time. Sherlock, of course, picked up on it.
We saw she's in therapy.
We saw that a relative is behind it. ((Obvious as to who, isnt it? Guess away. Cookies to correct answer))
This kind of deviates from the actual episode, near the end. You'll see (if you're familiar with the episode and all).
Either way, enjoy!
* Also, I have a facebook page for my writing. I give update posts, chapter alerts, share photos for the fics, etc. Find me! LokisWinchester - Author/Artist
Disclaimer: I don't own Sherlock, just Anna
The next afternoon, Anna stood at her lab desk, trying to keep her mind level and calm—but she was starting to lose.
"Of all the issues to arise, of all the times—this had to happen now?!" Anna frowned, ruffling through the mess of papers on her desk, while listening to the several machines beeping around the room. With an irritated sigh, she walked over to the Mass-Spec and began to push the right sequence of numbers, quieting the machine—just as her phone began to ring.
"Sher—I love you and all- but I really don't have the time right now," Anna sighed, holding her mobile between her ear and shoulder, as she walked over to the other beeping machines and quieted their endless beeping.
"There's a circus in town. One night only."
"Oh? Sounds fun—take John. I'm sure he'd get a kick out of it."
"I'm taking you."
"Sher—I don't have time to go somewhere," Anna frowned, walking back over to her desk and flipping through the papers," Our new forensic tech completely screwed the machines—in record time for normal-minded people, might I add. No one else bothered to stick around and help me fix all of this, so now I'm re-running test results and trying to salvage about twenty or so different cases. So, if this is something that doesn't mean life or death-"
"Don't make me deduce you." His statement caused Anna to pause, her hand stretched out towards one of the stacks of papers.
"Y-you wouldn't."
"I would."
"Bloody hell, you would," Anna sighed, dejectedly; hands rested on the desk in front of her as she hung her head in defeat.
"One night, Anna. You can afford yourself that." With a sigh, Anna straightened up and rubbed a hand over her closed eyes, taking a deep breath.
"One night?"
"You have my word."
"A-alright. One night," Anna said, caving," What's the address?"
0o0o
Anna followed Sherlock up the steps as she looked around at the outside decoration.
"You failed to mention that this was a Chinese circus," Anna muttered in his direction," Some coincidence, Sher."
"Never said it wouldn't be case related," Sherlock shot back, a small grin on his face," Besides, you're still going to enjoy the show. You are taking time off work. We are spending time together. Win win."
"Whatever you say, Sher," Anna chuckled, as they walked up the steps to a landing. As they did- she heard a familiar voice.
"—think so. We only booked two."
"And then I phoned back and got two additional tickets," Sherlock said, as they approached the counter where John stood. Anna noticed he wasn't alone, and inwardly groaned. "I'm Sherlock."
"Sherlock- you didn't."
"Er, hi," the lady said, shaking his outstretched hand.
"Hello," Sherlock replied, giving her his patented fake smile, before turning and walking away.
"I am so sorry John. I didn't realize you would be here," Anna apologized," Sherlock invited me earlier… kinda had no choice."
"Sure you had a choice. You could've come out tonight—or I deduced you. You chose to come out."
"Like I said—not a choice," Anna frowned at her brother, who waited at the steps.
"I'm going to use the loo real quick, I'll be right back."
"Same," Anna said, following along behind John's date- leaving the two at the steps to talk.
Sometime later, a group was forming the middle of a lobby-like room, around a formed circle near the stage. The curtains were closed on stage, a circle of candles laid on the floor. The dim lighting gave the room a bit of an atmosphere. No chairs were in sight, so everyone was standing, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for the show to begin.
John spoke quietly over his shoulder to Sherlock, turning his head so Sarah couldn't hear him," You said circus, this is not a circus. Look at the size of this crowd. Sherlock, this is….art."
"This is not their day job," Sherlock quietly responded.
"No, sorry, I forgot. They're not a circus, they're a gang of international smugglers," John quietly shot at him.
"You convinced John to come here for his date? Sherlock, you are unbelievable sometimes," Anna grimaced. Suddenly, someone began tapping on a drum, the rhythm holding steady and catching everyone's attention. Sherlock quirked an eyebrow at John, who looked at him over his shoulder. With a glance to Anna, John turned his attention back to the front, where the circle waited. An ornately dressed Chinese woman walked into the center of the circle, her face heavily painted. She rose a hand in the air and the drummer finished playing. The woman walked across the circle to a huge covered object and pulled the cloth cover back, revealing an antique-looking crossbow held up on a stand. She picked up a long thick wooden arrow- showing it to the audience before placing it into the crossbow. Pulling a small white feather from her headdress and showing that to the audience, she dropped it into the metal cup. Instantly the arrow released and shot across the clearing—catching many of the audience by surprise.
Sherlock and Anna watched the arrows path as it flew— everyone else only seeing point A and point B. More instrumental music began, as the audience applauded- and a new character entered the circle. He was wearing chainmail and an ornate mask. AS he held out his hands, two men went over and began wrapping him in heavy chains and straps, then moved him to a board and chained him to it.
"Classic Chinese escapology act," Sherlock whispered, just loud enough for the four of them.
"Hmm?" John asked, as he and Sarah turned to Sherlock.
"The crossbow is on a delicate string; the warrior has to escape his bonds before it fires," Anna explained, her voice hushed. The woman loaded another arrow into the crossbow, as the men attached more padlocks and chains, pulling the chains tight- causing the warriors head to yank backwards against the board. The warrior cried out as the men looped the chains through solid rings attached to the board and secured him, as he cried out again. Once they finished and stepped away, the music playing built in intensity and a cymbal crashed unexpectedly. Sarah and Anna both jumped in surprise, Sarah clutching at John's arm.
"Oh, God! I'm sorry," Sarah laughed in embarrassment, taking his arm with her other hand as well. Anna saw John laugh along with Sarah, then smile in delight as Sarah let go with one hand- but continued to hold onto his arm with her other hand. In the circle, the show-runner picked up a small knife- displaying it to the audience.
"She splits the sandbag, the sand pours out. Gradually, the weight lowers into the bowl," Sherlock whispered once more. The woman done just as Sherlock predicted, reaching up with the knife and stabbing it at the bottom. Sand began to pour out and the warrior cried out repeatedly as he tugged at his chains. The bag began to lower, lowering the metal ball towards the silver bowl. The crowd watched in anticipation as the warrior got one hand free, then the other before he started tugging at the chain around his neck. The weight was getting closer and closer to the bowl and everyone (most everyone) began to fill with anticipation. The warrior cried out again as he continuously pulled at the chains and struggled to free himself.
The weight touched the bowl and the arrow streaked across the room. With barely a split second to spare, the warrior pulled himself free and ducked down just as the arrow thudded into the board behind him. Standing up, he cried out triumphantly as the audience began to applaud.
Sherlock began to sneak away, as inconspicuous as he could, catching Anna's attention.
"Where you think you're going?" she whispered as he passed by her.
"Taking a look around," Sherlock answered softly; she watched out of the corner of her eyes as he disappeared backstage.
"Please, just be careful," Anna thought, keeping her attention on the show.
"Thank God," Sarah breathed, as she clapped.
"My God!" John exclaimed, clapping as well.
"Not too bad, cutting it close though," Anna murmured as she clapped. John looked over his shoulder to the siblings but realized that Sherlock had vanished. He looked around the hall but didn't see him anywhere- and gave Anna a questioning look. She shrugged her shoulder at him, a soft grin on her face.
"Ladies and gentleman, from the distant moonlight shores of the Yangtze River, we present for your pleasures the deadly Chinese bird-spider." As she walked away, a masked acrobat descended from the ceiling, rolling through the air as the broad red band wrapped around his waist unraveled. The audience applauded as he stopped a couple feet above the ground, holding his body parallel to the floor.
"That takes a lot of core strength," Anna whispered," Tried it back in Uni, couple times."
Descending to the floor, the acrobat removed the band from his waist, split it and wrapped the two bands around his arms. Then he ran around the circle before lifting into the air and flying around the circle a few times. The curtain on stage began to billow in one particular spot, catching Anna's attention—as it did John, but he went back to watching the acrobat. Anna narrowed her eyes, as she watched the curtain.
"Sherlock…"
The acrobat continued his routine, rolling down the bands dramatically as the audience applauded. The curtains billowed once more, this time more forcefully. After a few moments, Sherlock came flying through the curtains, falling over the edge of the stage and onto the floor below. He crash-landed onto his back, struggling to get up-right in his winded state. Instantly, John ran towards the warrior as he raised a knife and prepared to plunge it towards Sherlock. John charged him, pushing him back against the edge of the stage but the warrior lashed out with one foot and sent John stumbling across the room. The rest of the audience began to flee the room- including the acrobat and the show-runner; Sarah stayed in her spot as Anna rushed towards the board and pulled the huge arrow from it, then raced towards where he brother was laying. The warrior stood above him, the wide-blade sword in one hand- focused on Sherlock- giving Anna the opportunity to slam one end of the arrow over the top of the warrior's head. He cried out in pain and before he can retaliate, Anna swung the arrow sideways and smashed it against his ribs.
Once.
Twice. The second blow caused the masked man to fall to the ground, grunting and near unconscious. Sherlock sat up, leaning forward to the warrior's right food and pulled his shoe off. The flower tattoo on his heel gave Sherlock what he needed- as he scrambled to his feet. John managed to get back up- only barely, as he too was doubled over in pain and attempting to catch his breath. John grabs Sarah's hand and Sherlock reaches for Anna, as they all hurry to the exit.
"Come on! Let's go!" Sherlock exclaimed.
Sometime later, the four of them were walking through New Scotland Yard, following Detective Inspector Dimmock to where his desk sat. Anna saw the rather bewildered look on Sarah, and the fact Dimmock wasn't in a very good mood was apparent to everyone.
"I sent a couple of cars. The old hall is totally deserted."
"Look, I saw the mark at the circus—that tattoo we saw on the two bodies: the mark of the Tong." Upon reaching his desk, Dimmock turned to face the others as John continued for Sherlock.
"Lukis and Van Coon were part of a—a smuggling operation. Now, one of them stole something when they were in China; something valuable."
"These circus performers were gang members sent to get it back," Sherlock explained.
"Get what back?" Dimmock questioned. Anna looked to her brother, noticing as he bit his lip, looking away from everyone.
"We… don't know," John admitted hesitantly.
"You don't know," Dimmock repeated.
"Ouch. Hit to Sher's ego, he'd never admit to not knowing," Anna grimaced, knowing how much this had to be eating her brother up inside. He still seemed to refuse to look at Dimmock, who sat down at his desk.
"Mr Holmes… I've done everything you asked. Lestrade, he seems to think your advice is worth something."
"He does? Aww," Anna smiled softly, noticing Sherlock slightly lifting his head.
"I gave the order for a raid. Please tell me I'll have something to show for it – other than a massive bill for overtime," Dimmock pleaded.
"Just… give us a bit of time, please?" Anna asked of Dimmock- before Sherlock had a chance to say something that would come off rude," I know my brother—he's capable of solving this. Just… a bit more time, is all he needs."
Dimmock looked between the Holmes siblings, then to John and Sarah, before sighing in resignation.
"Alright. End of day tomorrow, all I can give you. After that I gotta call it."
"Thank you," Anna gave a soft smile, as Sherlock wordlessly turned around and walked out of the room to the lift. Anna, John and Sarah followed, but a bit more slowly.
"You really think he can solve this?" John asked her as they walked.
Anna looked over towards him, giving him a gentle smile," Absolutely. One thing to know about my brothers- especially Sherlock. He won't give up on a mystery; if he hits a part that stalls him, like this? It'll just make him work harder. Though… that's when you really got to keep an eye on him… for his own safety…" John nodded in understanding as they reached the lift and an impatiently waiting Sherlock.
After they all reached 221 Baker street and rushed up the steps, Sherlock immediately began staring at the pictures over the fireplace as he took off his coat.
"They'll be back in China by tomorrow," John frowned, as he and Sarah followed Anna into the room.
"No, they wont leave without what they came for. We need to find their hide-out; the rendezvous," Sherlock argued, walking closer to the photos, staring at them intensely. John joined him by the fireplace as they tried to piece the missing part together.
"Somewhere in this message it must tell us," Sherlock muttered, annoyed that he was missing something. Anna stood near the entrance to the kitchen, as Sarah stood off to the side- seemingly forgotten by the crime solving duo. Anna noticed that she seemed to be figuring out something to say, and after a while gave in.
"Well, I think perhaps I should leave you to it."
"No, no you don't have to go," John shook his head, at the same time that Sherlock said," Yes, it would be better to study if you left now." John looked at Sherlock in disappointment.
"Does she?" John turned back to Sarah," You can stay."
"I can't concentrate with her here- she needs to leave," Sherlock shook his head, his eyes back on the photographs taped to the mirror.
"He's kidding. Please, stay if you'd like," John seemed to plead. Anna noticed Sherlock seemingly tense a bit, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"Actually, John," Anna said, pushing herself off the wall slowly," It's been a long- very… busy… day. It's getting late, too. I'm sure the doctor has a busy day tomorrow? She should get her rest."
John looked to Anna exasperated as Anna gave him an apologetic grimace; Sarah looked past them to Sherlock, nervously deciding what she would do. With an awkward smile, she gave a nod- making up her mind.
"Anna's right, I have a lot of patients to see tomorrow. I'll be off then."
"I mean—oh… alright," John frowned," Let me see you off then." They left the flat and disappeared down the steps, as Anna went over to her brother.
"You owe me."
"But of course," Sherlock gave a brotherly smirk, as the two looked at the pictures together in silence for several minutes, before John came back up.
"Really? Come on," John questioned, holding his hands out in defeat.
"Sorry, John," Anna looked over her shoulder at him," I'm sure you know how Sherlock is by now. He needs to concentrate in order to solve this—having us around is more than enough, any more bodies around would only be a nuisance to him. I'm sure the two of you will have much more fun on your second date though—somewhere fun. Just the two of you—I assure you." She said the last part glancing at Sherlock with a frown.
The minutes ticked by as the three of them worked to try to piece things together. Pages flipped; images rotated. Anna saw the evidence bag that she and Dimmock had brought by previously after Soo Lin's murder. The squiggles on the brick wall were obviously a dialect and meant something.
"But what?" Anna wondered, before she narrowed her eyes and brought the bag closer to her brown eyes.
"Sherlock. John." Anna tore open the plastic bag and carefully brought out the paper so it didn't tear. "You didn't notice this before?"
"What?" John asked, as Sherlock wordlessly stood up and walked over to her. He took the paper out of her hand and examined it himself- realization dawning on him as he saw two words had been deciphered.
"Soo Lin, at the museum – she started to translate the code for us. We didn't see it!" Sherlock exclaimed, eyes brightening up in excitement. "Nine… Mill."
"Does that mean 'millions'?" John questioned, squinting at the photo.
"Nine million quid. For what?" Sherlock wondered thoughtfully, before he raced over to where he had previously dumped his coat and scarf. "We need to know the end of this sentence."
"Where are you going?" John asked him.
"Oh, we must have been staring right at it!"
"At-at what?"
"Sherlock, explain with words," Anna reminded.
"The book! The key to cracking the cipher!" Sherlock exclaimed, brandishing the photo at John and Anna," Soo Lin used it to do this! Whilst we were running around the gallery, she started to translate the code. It must be on her desk." With that, he was gone and out the door. John and Anna turned to one another, a silent debate.
"Don't look at me, I'm not chasing him around town."
"Good thinking," John chuckled.
The silence stretched a bit, before Anna spoke again," I'm starved- what about you?"
"Yeah, a bit. See what we can find?" John suggested, walking towards the kitchen.
"Oh, good luck there. All you'll find are experiments and expired food."
"What about the food you used to cook breakfast that morning?"
"Brought it with me from my flat. Sher never has groceries just around," Anna explained," Order in?"
"Sure," John nodded.