Sherlock walked up the stairs to Ella's flat, and the two walked arm in arm to grab a taxi to the Chinese circus. They arrived and Ella spotted John with his date, a girl with beautiful silver-blonde hair that reminded her of a specific House enemy to the Lannisters. "John!" Ella called out. John and Briar Rose turned around, and Briar Rose stood there in shock seeing Ella Lannister. Ella was shocked to see Aurora Targaryen there with John, and John was surprised seeing Sherlock and Ella there too. The two women were introduced, and Briar Rose quickly introduced herself first disregarding her true identity. Ella eyed Briar Rose but decided to be amicable in public.
The 4 entered the circus and the first demonstration shown was a classic Chinese escapology. They used a giant crossbow that would fire at the escape artist when the weight of an emptying sandbag activates it. Ella examined every move the escape artist made, intrigued by the concept. When the escape artist successfully dodged the crossbow's aim, Sherlock whispered to Ella that he was going to use the restroom. She nodded and Sherlock snuck off backstage to investigate.
Ella was getting suspicious that Sherlock was gone for so long when she noticed something tumbling backstage to make the curtains blow by themselves. She eyed the curtains, and everyone attending the circus screamed when Sherlock and a circus man burst onto stage fighting. The man was beating Sherlock with his hand-to-hand combat, and Ella was the first to make any move. She grabbed the arrow that missed the escape artist and she motioned for Sherlock to duck. Sherlock quickly did, and before the circus man could've made another move Ella whacked the man over the head with the arrow, knocking him unconscious. Sherlock looked at Ella out of breath and with deep admiration. He then bent down and took a look at the man's feet, seeing the Tong tattoo.
The 4 headed back to Baker Street and John and Briar Rose entered first with Sherlock and Ella entering later. Ella and Briar Rose were fascinated by their flat, seeing skulls and beakers and all sorts of random things around the room. "So this is what you do," Briar Rose spoke. "You solve puzzles for a living."
"Consulting detective," Sherlock answered coldly without looking at Briar Rose. She looked at Sherlock then to Ella who was examining her like an alien specimen. Briar Rose felt like she was being scrutinized by the Lannister, and she felt like Ella's glare was going to be the death of her.
"I think I should go, John. Tonight was...intriguing."
"Yes, you should," both Sherlock and Ella agreed. They looked at one another, and Ella looked back at Briar Rose with an unfaltering glare.
"You should stay," John hastily spoke. "I'll try to find some food. I know we had to rush dinner tonight." John looked in his fridge but there was absolutely nothing edible to eat. Sherlock was examining the photos he took of the Chinese numbers on his bank case, and Briar Rose took a glance.
"What are these squiggles?"
"They're numbers," Ella answered glancing at the photos. Sherlock looked at Ella, surprised she knew. "An ancient Chinese dialect only traders use."
"Oh right. Yes, well, of course I should have known that," Briar Rose spoke uncomfortable at Ella's cold tone.
"These numbers represent ciphers," Ella continued in a berating tone against Briar Rose.
"Exactly," Sherlock answered rather proud that Ella knew so much.
"And each pair of numbers is a word."
"Ex...how did you know that?" Sherlock was surprised that Ella figured it out because he didn't even think of it.
"Well, two words have already been translated here," Ella said pointing to the pictures. "It says Nine Mill. That's the number 15, 27, 19, 43-"
"You can read Chinese?"
"Yes, I can," Ella nodded. "But what do you suppose Nine Mill means?"
"The value of the stolen object," Sherlock responded after a light bulb went off in his head. Sherlock quickly grabbed his coat and shouted out to John that he was going to the Chinese museum to decipher the rest of the code without even waiting for Ella to speak up that she'd join him. He ran out of the flat excitedly, leaving Ella with Briar Rose and John.
"I'm sorry," John spoke up after failing to find anything edible in his home, "but I think we should just get takeout."
"That's fine with me," Briar Rose smiled. Ella decided to leave to her flat, not wanting to be in the presence of a Targaryen, when the doorbell rang.
"Wonder who that could be," John said to himself walking to the door. When he opened it, there was a man with sunglasses on.
"Where is the treasure?" the man asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about-" The man knocked John out unconscious with a blunt object, and before Briar Rose and Ella had time to react the man knocked the two ladies unconscious with the same object.
"Is she still not answering?" Tywin Lannister asked seeing Belle still calling Ella on her phone.
"I'm afraid not, sir," Belle answered with a sigh. "She must have forgotten tonight was family dinner night."
"The little dove seems to be preoccupied nowadays," Cirsei said with a snake smile. "Maybe a new man came into her life."
"Call her again," Tywin commanded Belle. Belle did so, but there was no answer again.
"There's no need to worry, father," Tyrion spoke up sipping on his wine. "The little dove flew out of her nest for a reason."
"Quiet!" Tywin demanded, unable to stop fidgeting his fingers with one hand behind his back and the other supporting his weight using the cane. "Call Sherlock Holmes now."
Ella stirred awake, feeling herself bound on a chair and a cloth stuffed in her mouth. Her head was bumping madly from the blunt impact on her head earlier. She groaned and opened her eyes, seeing herself in an abandoned tramway tunnel along with John and Briar Rose who were in the same condition as her. There was the matron from the circus, and she introduced herself as General Shan of the Black Lotus. "A book is like a magic garden carried in your pocket. Chinese proverb, Mr. Holmes," General Shan said holding a sharp dagger.
"I'm not Sherlock Holmes," John answered weakly, still half-unconscious.
"Forgive me if I do not take your word for it."
"Really, you've got the wrong man-"
"Then why does your credit card say Sherlock Holmes? A check from the bank to the name of Sherlock Holmes. Circus tickets to the name of, oh let's see...Sherlock Holmes!"
"I can explain it all."
"Three times we tried to kill you and your companion, Mr. Holmes. What does it tell you when an assassin cannot shoot straight? It tells you that they're not really trying." Ella watched General Shan walking closer to John. "If we wanted to kill you, Mr. Holmes, we would have done it by now. We just wanted to make you inquisitive. Do you have it?"
"Do I have what?"
"The treasure."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I would prefer to make certain. Everything in the west has its price, and the price for her life," General Shan pointed her dagger at Briar Rose. "Information. Where is the hairpin?"
"What hairpin?"
"The Empress pin. Valued at nine million sterling. We already had a buyer in the west, and then one of our people was greedy. He took it, brought it back to London and you, Mr. Holmes, have been searching."
"Please, please. Listen to me. I'm not Sherlock Holmes," John pleaded weakly. "You have to believe me. I haven't found whatever it is you're looking for." General Shan was frustrated at John's denial of being Sherlock, and she cut open the two sandbags to activate the trigger to the two crossbows aimed at Briar Rose and Ella Lannister.
Both women were gagged, and Briar Rose was crying as if it was the end of her already while Ella Lannister looked to be sitting still. But what Ella was doing was wiggling her wrists, feeling the bones dislocating in her wrists in order to get herself free from the ropes. "Stop! Stop it, don't hurt them!" John shouted at General Shan. He saw Briar Rose sobbing, and he started to panic.
"Ladies and gentleman, from the distant moonlit shores of NW1, we present for your pleasure Sherlock Holmes' pretty companion in a death-defying act," General Shan spoke happily seeing how upset John and Briar Rose were. She didn't even care about Ella Lannister, completely forgetting about the girl who nearly got her wrists free of the loosened rope.
"Please!" John shouted seeing the sandbag getting lighter and lighter.
"You've seen the act before. How dull for you. You know how it ends."
"I'm not Sherlock Holmes!"
"I don't believe you."
"You should, you know," Sherlock's voice echoed through the abandoned tunnel. "Sherlock Holmes is nothing at all like him. How would you describe me, John? Resourceful, dynamic, enigmatic?"
"Late," Ella spoke. General Shan and Zhi Zhu looked at Ella Lannister standing up, gag on the floor. At that moment, Sherlock kicked over empty barrels to provide some light in the dark tunnel, and it caused mass havoc. General Shan went after Ella Lannister while Zhi Zhu went after Sherlock Holmes. General Shan went hand-to-hand combat with Ella and was surprised that Ella knew martial arts. She was taught self-defense when she was young by her father's wishes, and she was always the top of her class because she enjoyed being able to stand up for herself.
Ella was almost caught up in her fight when she remembered about Briar Rose. She saw the sandbag still emptying, and she knew there wasn't much more time. Ella had the advantage over General Shan because of her agility and versatility, and General Shan knew she'd lose the fight. She threw her dagger at the sandbag, causing another hole to empty the sandbag quicker. Ella couldn't risk anymore time, and she ran over and jarred the crossbow. It fired and impaled Zhi Zhu who was strangling Sherlock with a silk rope.
Ella saw General Shan running off, and she needed to make sure Sherlock was alright first. She ran to Sherlock's side and he was coughing, trying to breathe properly after the strangle. "Are you alright, Sherlock?" Ella asked holding him in her arms.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," he assured Ella and stood on his feet. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine." Ella helped Sherlock onto his feet and they both untied John and Briar Rose.
"Thank you," Briar Rose said to Ella in tears. "You saved my life. I am in debt to you, Ella Lannister." Ella nodded, acknowledging Aurora's debt. From afar, the police sirens rang through the dead night. Ella looked at Zhi Zhu bleeding out on the floor from the arrow that pierced him, but she wasn't fazed. This wasn't the first time blood was on her hands, but it was the first time it had nothing to do with family matters.
"You seem rather calm," John quietly noted to her as the police arrived. "This isn't the first."
"Isn't the first time for what?" Ella asked playing innocent.
"The first time you've taken a life." John eyed Sherlock who was informing the police.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do, and you know I'm right." Ella knew John must have known from all his experience back in Afghanistan. "Tell me, when have you done it before?" Ella didn't answer John. "We found out who tried to assassinate your grandfather." She looked at John but could see he wasn't going to tell her just yet. "If you tell me when you've done it before, I'll tell you the who the sniper was."
"I'm sure Sherlock would tell me without expecting an exchange," Ella said confidently.
"Oh, I'm sure he'd want to know who your first kill was just as much as I do. And when I tell him-"
"You won't."
"I will if you tell me the truth."
Ella thought about it for a second, but all John could see on her face was the same expression Tywin Lannister had anytime he was in public. "Tomorrow night, come up to my room."