Deduction. Seduction?

The Circus

You followed Sherlock down to the street. He expertly hailed a cab and you both climbed in. You hummed as you stared out the window in relative silence.

"An american detective. What are you doing here in London? Disgraced by chance?" Sherlock finally spoke. You blinked in surprise.

"Yes." You finally answered. You turned back to meet Sherlock's gaze. You both studied each other for a second. 

"Have you read my website?" Sherlock asked suddenly. You stared at him blankly. He huffed and turned to look outside. 

"What's your website about?" You asked a couple of seconds later. Guilt had made it's way into your system as you realized how excited Sherlock seemed about his website. 

"The science of deduction." He answered coolly. You nodded.  The cab fell silent once again and you knew Sherlock was done talking. As we pulled up to the building the circus was being held in Sherlock threw some cash at the cabbie. You both slid out of the cab and Sherlock turned his coat collar up. You followed behind him as he walked with confidence towards the entrance.

"Four tickets. No I only ordered 2." John was telling the gentlemen behind the counter. 

"Then I called back and ordered two more." Sherlock said making our presence known, scaring John. 

"Bloody hell, Sherlock I am on a date." John said exasperated. You glanced around at the people around you. Most of them were also on dates of some kind.  When you turned back to the conversation a woman had joined the group. She must have been John's date which was confirmed when she said. 

"Ahh well, we will just make it a double then." She said with a smile towards you. You offered one back then looked at Sherlock confused. 

"Yes. A double." He said pulling you into a hug. You tightened considerably as he pulled you into his side. 

"Relax. They will never believe it." He whispered into your ear. You giggled like a school girl and faced Sherlock. 

"Oh, Sherl. Stop it." You said with a smile making John's eyebrows shoot up. Sherlock studied your eyes before also smiling. 

"Shall we." He said leading the way up the stairs and you released the breath you were holding.  How was this your first day in London? 

The circus was entertaining. You had not quite figured out why Sherlock was so intrigued by it. Other than it being a Chinese circus you did not know how there would be a connection to the case. Then again you were missing most of the pieces. Sherlock whispered in John and Sarah's ears making her cling to John tighter. You smiled at the small amount of affection. 

Your eyes watched the acrobat swing through the air. He was skilled at climbing. You turned to look at Sherlock when you saw he had disappeared. Your eyes searched the small crowd around you and didn't see anything. John shouted and you looked back at the circus to see Sherlock wrestling with someone. John had jumped in to help but the acrobat had wrapped the silk yards around his throat. 

Sarah jumped into action before you and slammed a chair over the back of the man holding John. He crumpled and you cocked your head to the side looking at her. Sherlock ripped the left shoe off the young man as the other ran off. A black lotus tattoo was on his foot. 

"The black lotus." You whispered suddenly wondering what Sherlock had gotten himself into. 

Sherlock bristled past you and  you turned on your heel and followed right behind him. Questions rattled around in your brain as you slid into the cab with him. He asked John to get his own and you two rode off down the street.  Sherlock ran his fingers through his curls. 

"I have questions." You stated studying Sherlock. He sighed and childishly threw himself against the seat to slump further. 

"People like you always have questions." He muttered. 

"What do you know of the black lotus?" You asked seriously. His eyes met yours and you also saw a million questions racing through them. 

"They are a gang in China that is selling artifacts on the black market. Smugglers." Sherlock said. You nodded. 

"I know that. Do you know of the spider?" You asked your head pitching to the side. Sherlock stared for some time. He nodded and you bit your lip in concentration. 

"You have a death wish." You stated plainly before looking back out the window. Sherlock did not say anything to you for the rest of the ride. We arrived at Baker street and you excused yourself down to your flat. You sat down in the empty living space, and closed your eyes to begin filing away the information you had gathered about Sherlock and John. You were so focused you didn't notice the footsteps coming up behind you. You did however feel the prick in your neck and the instant exhaustion of a heavy sedative. 

You heard John groan beside you. You tried to lift your eyelids and take stock of your surroundings, but they were to heavy. Even the voices around you were muffled and distant sounding. You just needed to wake up!

"Where is the treasure, Mr. Holmes?" A female voice asked. It was finally becoming clearer. 

"I am not Sherlock!." John yelled. Now it was your turn to groan. The sedative was wearing off and in it's place a terrible headache. You opened your eyes to a interesting situation. 

Sarah was tied and gagged to your right. To your left was John who was arguing his identity with the woman from the circus. Sherlock was no where to be found. Your eyes felt like they were being weighed down as you started to slip under the affects of the sedative once again. That is until you heard Sherlock's voice. 

"John how would you describe me?" Sherlock's voice filtered through the fog. 

"Late." You heard him mumble. A smile played at your lips. You twisted your hands and found the knots to be pretty loose. Must not have expected you to be awake. The woman once again demanded to know where the treasure was. Sherlock answered honestly. He hadn't an idea. That's when the lady poked a whole in the sand bag . The arrow was pointed right at Sarah. Sherlock rushed into to help while the women ran off. You struggled to get your hands free in time despite the loose knots. The sedative impairing your ability to function.  

The man from before appeared and wrapped a scarf around Sherlock's neck. Your eyes went wide as they knocked into your chair in their struggle. Your head practically bounced off the concrete. Stars and black spots appeared in your vision. Pain raced down your neck as you struggled to keep awake. John's chair fell and Sarah screamed and closed her eyes accepting her death. 

John managed to knock the arrow a different direction and saved Sherlock's life in the process. That's precisely when you fell unconscious for the second time that night.