A/N - Hey guys, I am so so so so so so so so sooooooooooooo sorry that I didn't update like at all the past two weeks. I just came back from spending some time with my best friend at her river house in the mountains and, in case you didn't know, the mountains DO NOT have service (and not really any good Wi-Fi either). I tried to update but it never went through. I did have a lot of time to write so I got through two and a half chapters. I am going to post both completed chapters for you guys right now and hopefully I will have the third one finished soon and I will publish it as soon as its done to make up for lost time. If I don't end up finishing it by the end of the week, however, I will be giving you guys two chapters when I post again next Sunday.
And now for my dedications to my very loyal readers who are still here despite me and my weirdness!! Thank you to... @nightfury_2005 @Alex_Lyra @Theoptimistic123 @MeguelineMaraschim @redandblackbarrys @mia-jane1024 @Saphire2102 @MBG202 @Mycookiemonster95 @AuroraDeLuca804 @grande55 @_ohheyisabella_ @EmmelineGRWeasley @athenawinchester_x @Khaleesi_katherine I love you all muchly!!!!!
Enjoy the double update,
Kisses -K
~~~
Long after John had left, after calling up for tickets to the circus that Sherlock recommended, Sherlock was pacing around the living room almost nervously.
"Come on, Sherlock." Kat interrupts his thoughts. "What's on your mind?"
Sherlock stops and turns to her and Kat can now see the look on his face: A look of pure terror. Sherlock had told her about his thoughts on the Chinese Circus that they were going to tonight but she didn't peg him to be terrified of confronting the Black Lotus gang.
"I've never really done this before so I'm not quite sure how it goes." Sherlock mumbles quickly. "I'd ask John because I'm sure he has loads of experience, but I really don't want him to ask too many questions and,"
"Hey," Kat interrupts him standing up and walking over to him. "I've learned that ripping a band-aid off quickly means that the pain is over quicker." She tells him with a smile. Sherlock takes a deep breath and looks Kat directly in the eyes.
"Will you go on a date with me?" Sherlock asks her suddenly. "A real date." He adds so she knows that he is being one hundred percent genuine.
Kat stands there surprised for a moment before she realized that she hadn't said anything yet.
"Yes." She smiles. "I will go on a date with you." After hearing that Sherlock releases a breath in relief.
"Good. Great." Sherlock says as if he was accepting a job offer and Kat smiles again. Sherlock looks at her smile and pauses again. "Sorry, I am very new to this. You're probably going to have to be very patient with me." He tells her honestly.
Kat gives him another genuine smile. "Of course. Anything to help you out."
"Thank you."
~~~
Sherlock and Kat were walking into the small circus area when they came upon John and a women at the ticket booth.
"Hi. I have, er, two tickets reserved for tonight." They hear Watson say to the young man behind the counter.
"And what's the name?"
"Er, Holmes." John replies.
"Actually, I have four in that name." The man behind the counter replies.
Watson looks at Sarah a little confused. "No, I don't think so. We only booked two."
Sherlock takes this time to jump in: "And then I phoned back and got one for myself and Katherine as well." Kat and Sherlock walk over to John and Sarah. "I'm Sherlock." Sherlock hold his hand out for Sarah to shake. She hesitates for a moment but then she accepts his gesture.
"And I'm Katherine, but you can call me Kat." Kat introduces herself.
"Er, hi." Sarah replies.
"Hello." Holmes replies simply and he walks away. Sarah excuses herself to the bathroom and Kat joins her so John walks over to Sherlock.
"You couldn't let me have just one night off?" John snaps at Sherlock.
The curly haired detective rolls his eyes. "Yellow Dragon Circus, in London for one day. It fits. The Tong sent an assassin to England..."
"...dressed as a tightrope walker." John finishes for him. "Come on, Sherlock, behave!"
"We're looking for a killer who can climb, who can shin up a rope. Where else would you find that level of dexterity?" Sherlock prompts him. "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..." He trails off.
"Fine. You do that; I'm gonna take Sarah for a pint."
"I need your help." Sherlock insists.
"You have Kat!" He all but yells. "I do have a couple of other things on my mind this evening!"
"Like what?" Sherlock asks confused.
John laughs incredulously. "You are kidding."
"What's so important?" The detective demands honestly ignorant to what John is trying to say.
"Sherlock, I'm right in the middle of a date."
"Well so am I." Sherlock replies and John laughs at him because he thinks Sherlock is joking... which he isn't.
"Very funny Sherlock, I thought you didn't make jokes?" John laughs. "But seriously, do you want me to chase some killer while I'm trying to..." He trails off hoping that Sherlock would understand what he was talking about.
"What?" Sherlock prompts.
"While I'm trying to get off with Sarah!" Watson yells but trails off at the end when Sarah and Kat walk up. "Heyyy." He drags out. "Ready?"
"Yeah!" She replies excitedly and the two of them walk away.
"What was that all about?" Kat says as she links her arm with Sherlock's.
Sherlock takes a deep breath and turns to Kat with a confused look on his face. "No idea." He says and Kat laughs.
After Kat and Sherlock walk over to Sarah and John, the show begins to start.
Sherlock and Kat are looking around with their backs to John.
Watson turns his head slightly in the direction of his two friends. "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." Kat comments with a smile and she can almost hear John's eyes roll.
"No, sorry, I forgot. They're not a circus; they're a gang of international smugglers." He corrects himself with a sarcastic little wink at the end.
Suddenly a small drum beat begins and a woman in a red Chinese outfit and headdress walks out onto the small circle that is their stage. The women walks over to this object that is covered by a drape and she yanks the drape off and the audience gasps as an odd looking contraption is revealed.
The women reaches her hand into a bucket and pulls out a sharp large arrow with large white feathers on the end and holds it out for the audience to see. She places it onto a flat part of the wooden machine. Behind the flat part on the end, there was a small metal bowl. The women made a show of taking a single feather out of her headdress and dropping it onto the bowl. As soon as the feather touches the bowl, the contraption goes off firing the arrow onto a decorated wooden board and the whole crowd gasps.
Sarah in particular gasped loudly while also grabbing onto John's arm. She then begins to laugh quietly at herself for getting so startled.
Then a man, wearing a decorated outfit and a mask completely covering his face, walked onto the stage and some other men began to wrap him in chains and trap him against the wooden board that was just hit with the flying arrow.
"Classic Chinese escapology act." Sherlock whispers loudly in Kat's ear.
"Hmm?" Kat hums while turning her head towards him slightly.
"The crossbow's on a delicate string." He explains. "The warrior has to escape his bonds before it fires." The man shouts as he's yanked back tightly in his chains and the head women places another arrow on the wooden machine. There was this metal clap which caused Sarah to jump again and she grabs onto John's arm. The two of them laugh but she doesn't let go.
Kat rolls her eyes at Sherlock because that was such a cliché move on Sarah's part, but John doesn't seem to care.
"She splits the sandbag, the sand pours out, gradually the weight lowers into the bowl." Sherlock narrates for them as the women cuts a hole in a sandbag that was on the floor. The sand starts pouring out relatively quickly causing the weight to lower closer to the bowl Meanwhile, the escapologist shouts and strains as he tries to get loose before he is impaled with an arrow. He gets one hand out and then the other but Sherlock and Kat aren't there to see it because the two of them slipped away and into the back while the rest of the people were distracted.
~~~~~~~~~
If you liked this chapter and my story and you want to help me write more, please donate to any or all of the links below or you can find them in my BIO! Thank you! Love you muchly, Kisses -K
BuyMeACoffee - buymeacoffee.com/Immortality4646
LiberaPay - https://en.liberapay.com/Immortality4646/
Ko-Fi - https://ko-fi.com/immortality4646