Fate Without Time

Chapter 12

After many, many hours of searching through books from Van Coon's apartment, I woke up on the couch. 'Must have fallen asleep,' I thought as I got up. "Oh, good. You're still alive. I thought you'd died of boredom," said Sherlock. "I doubt that's even possible," I said as Sherlock handed me some coffee and went back to looking through the books. "Do I need to continue searching?" I asked. "No. You've had enough of that for now. Take a break," said Sherlock, not looking up. Just then, John walked into the living room, wearing clean clothes. "I need to get some air," I said. "Agreed. We're going out tonight," said Sherlock. "Actually, I've, er, got a date," said John, smiling smugly. "What?" asked Sherlock. "It's where two people who like each other go out and have fun," said John. "That's what I was suggesting," said Sherlock. "No it wasn't ... at least I hope not," said John. "Where are you taking her?" asked Sherlock. "Er, cinema," said John. "Oh, dull, boring, predictable," Sherlock paused as he handed a piece of paper to John. "Why don't you try this? In London for one night only," he said. John offered the paper back to Sherlock. "Thanks, but I don't come to you for dating advice," said John as he left. Then, Sherlock turned to me. "You think he'll go?" he asked. "Definitely," I said. "Do you want to go, too?" he asked. "Of course. I love the circus. By the way, I've got something for you," I paused as I got into my pocket and pulled out three tickets to the showcase I would be in the next night. "This was why I was gone for so long. I'm helping out with the lighting and thanks to that, I was able to get you guys free tickets to the showcase," I lied. "An ice skating showcase, huh? Sounds fun. But, why did you get three tickets?" asked Sherlock. "In case Mycroft wants to come, too. He is my protector, after all," I said. "Ugh. That will not be fun," Sherlock scoffed. "At least ask him. I don't know what he'll do if he finds out that none of us are at the flat tomorrow night," I said. Sherlock sighed. "Very well. Now, let's get going," said Sherlock as we got our coats and called a taxi.

As Sherlock and I walked into the lobby, we saw John and his date getting tickets. "Hi. I have, er, two tickets reserved for tonight," said John. "And what's the name?" asked the manager. "Er, Holmes," said John. The manager paused. "Actually, I have four in that name," he said. "No, I don't think so. We only booked two," said John. "And then I phoned back and got two more for Alis and myself," said Sherlock as we walked over to them. He offered his hand to John's date. "I'm Sherlock, and this is my friend, Alis Harrison," he said. "Er, hi. I'm Sarah," said Sarah as she nervously shook our hands. "Hello," I said. Sherlock gave her a fake smile, and then we walked away. "You couldn't let me have just one night off?" asked John. "Yellow Dragon Circus, in London for one day. It fits. The Tong sent an assassin to England ..." "... dressed as a tightrope walker. Come on, Sherlock, behave!" John exclaimed. "We're looking for a killer who can climb, who can shin up a rope. Where else would you find that level of dexterity? Exit visas are scarce in China. They need a pretty good reason to get out of that country. Now, all I need to do is have a quick look round the place ..." "Fine. You do that; I'm gonna take Sarah for a pint," John interrupted. "We need your help," I said. "I do have a couple of other things on my mind this evening!" John yelled. "Like what?" asked Sherlock. "You are kidding," said John. "What's so important?" asked Sherlock. "Sherlock, I'm right in the middle of a date. D'you want me to chase some killer while I'm trying to ..." John broke off. "What?" asked Sherlock. "... while I'm trying to get off with Sarah!" John finished. Just then, Sarah came back. "Heyyy," John said awkwardly. Sherlock rolled his eyes and we headed upstairs.