The leader of the group of men stormed in with an air of authority, barking commands at the three in the room with a harsh tone. He also held a gun, aiming it with a steady hand at those in the room, so it was clear to see that he wasn't messing around.

"Hands behind your head, on the floor, keep it still!"

While The Woman tried to move away to the window, she didn't go unnoticed as one man quickly assigned himself to her and grabbed her by the shoulder. He directed her to the floor by the sofa. The main man headed straight for Sherlock and two more men walked in, marching John over to stand by The Woman.

"Sorry, Sherlock." The army doctor muttered as he was forced down by the mysterious bodyguard.

"Miss Adler, on the floor!" The leader instructed.

With one man for Miss Adler and one for John, the last man headed straight for Elizabeth and grabbed her roughly by the shoulder.

She ripped her shoulder away from him, "Grab me like that again and I swear to God you will lose a hand." The thief warned.

"Don't do as we say and you will find a bullet in your head, Miss Parrish. Now, over by the other two." The American demanded.

Looking to Sherlock, he nodded for her to calm and do as they said. Reluctantly, she headed over to kneel by John and Miss Adler.

"Don't you want me on the floor, too?" Sherlock asked.

"No, sir, I want you to open the safe." The leader hissed.

"American. Interesting. Why would you care?" The detective questioned aloud, throwing a look to The Woman.

"Sir, the safe, now, please."

"I don't know the code."

"We've been listening, she said she told you."

"Well, if you've been listening, you'll know she didn't."

"I'm assuming I missed something. From your reputation, I assume you didn't, Mr Holmes."

John spoke up now, the panic of having a gun pointed at the back of his head clearly getting to him, "She's the one who knows the code, ask her!" He looked at The Woman as he said this.

"Yes, sir, she also knows the code that calls the police and sets off the burglar alarm."

Elizabeth gingerly suggested, "Or - I can try and get into the safe. I'm a professional burglar after all."

"Ah, unfortunately, should you try and access the safe any other way, the alarm will be tripped. Convenient, isn't it, Miss Adler? I've learned not to trust her."

The Woman felt the need to speak now, "Mr Holmes doesn't - "

"Shut up!" The ringleader of this act barked, "One more word out of you, just one and I will decorate that wall with the insides of your head."

Elizabeth saw Sherlock and Miss Adler share a look. Did that mean that he really did have the code or not? She couldn't tell.

"That, for me, will not be a hardship."

Needless to say, the Americans clearly had it out for the Dominatrix. What the hell had Mycroft gotten them mixed up in? Why did she blame Mycroft? He was the one that asked them to take the case after all. Get the pictures, they said. It'll be easy, they said. Well, they didn't say it would be easy. This was the epitome of the opposite of easy after all.

"Mr Archer, Mr Davis, on the count of three, shoot Dr Watson and Miss Parrish."

John breathed and tensed at feeling the barrel of the gun on his neck, "What?"

"Wait."

Elizabeth was perplexed: why the both of them? Why not one at a time? No. That was horrible. At least they wouldn't go out alone? No. That was morbid. Feeling the tip of the gun on the back of her head was not a fun feeling at all.

"I don't know the code." Sherlock said in all seriousness.

"One."

The men behind the detective's companions pushed the barrel of the gun against them harder. Elizabeth closed her eyes. So, Scarlett didn't succeed in killing her but no one told her to watch out for Americans.

"I don't know the code."

"Two."

"She didn't tell me, I don't know it!" Sherlock yelled now, the pressure on him rising.

"I'm prepared to believe you, any second now."

Sherlock looked over at The Woman again, quietly praying in his mind that she would be able to give a hint of sorts. God help her if she didn't. But to his relief, a single look down at his coat was all he needed because it wasn't the coat she meant at all.

"Three."

Elizabeth inhaled, eyes squeezing shut harder as she heard the click of the gun, ready to silence her for good.

"No, stop!" Sherlock exclaimed now.

The gun remained on the backs of their heads but the two companions heard the shuffling of steps. Sherlock turned to the safe and took a breath. He hoped to God this was right as he input the code.

The sound of the safe unlocking was music to everyone's ears then.

Both John and Elizabeth sighed with relief. Two near-death experiences within a month of each other. What were the chances?

"Thank you, Mr Holmes. Open it, please."

The detective turned the handle with a satisfying click but it wasn't the click of the lock. No. That sounded much more similar to the cocking of a gun. But to be sure, he cast a glance over his shoulder to see Miss Adler's reaction which confirmed this thought.

"Vatican cameos."

And within seconds, organised chaos ensued. The detective ducked out of the way of the safe as it opened for the gun inside to shoot the guard behind John. And as he spun back around, he grabbed the leader's gun.

The Dominatrix swiftly delivered her elbow into the groin of the man behind her. Elizabeth grabbed her bodyguard's arm and promptly pulled him over her for him to land on the coffee table with a thud. Sherlock slammed the butt of the handgun into the face of the main American.

After wrestling the gun off the guard, Miss Adler elbowed him between his neck and shoulder, ensuring he would go down. Both John and Elizabeth reached for the guns that had been dropped. The two women pointed the barrels of their newly procured weapons at the heads of the stunned bodyguards in front of them.

"Do you mind?" Sherlock questioned the women.

Sharing a look, Miss Adler and Elizabeth unanimously said, "Not at all," Before knocking both of the conscious men out.

As this occurred, Sherlock took the precious item that had been locked away from out of the safe. John rised from his bodyguard with a look of dismay upon his face.

"He's dead."

But, while unfortunate, no one really paid attention to this.

"Thank you. You were very - observant." The Woman said this fondly of the detective.

Elizabeth frowned, puzzled.

"Observant?" John asked.

But she ignored him, all her attention on the detective instead, "I'm flattered."

"Don't be."

"Flattered?" John questioned again.

But again he was ignored.
Instead, Sherlock started racing out of the room, "There'll be more of them. They'll be keeping an eye on the building."

Elizabeth headed out after him, John behind her. But The Woman strayed, noticing her most prized possession had now been removed from the safe.

Outside the building, John asked, "We should call the police, yes?"

"Yes." Sherlock answered, straightening his arm in the air before firing five shots, "On their way."

"Guess there are two ways to skin a cat?" Elizabeth nodded at the detective's methods.

"Indeed."

John shook his head, "For God’s sake."

"Oh, shut up, it's quick. You two check the rest of the house, see how they got in." He motioned for them to go as he walked back into the living room where Irene was still stood.

"This, this is madness." John said.

Elizabeth followed after him, checking the rooms as they went, gun readied in case, "Yeah but - " She peeked into a room before looking to him, "You love it really."

"I don't love nearly dying." He exasperated.

"Well, no one does. But you love the adrenaline rush." She stated.

To that, he couldn't argue. When they headed upstairs and into The Woman's room, they found Kate passed out on the floor.

"Did wonder where she went." Elizabeth mumbled as she covered John, checking the window by the vanity desk to see if anyone was coming.

"Dear God." He muttered, "Sherlock!"

The doctor checked Kate for a pulse, which she thankfully had before checking the en suite. In there, he noticed that the window was open. Seeing as they did come from upstairs, that made sense.

Hearing Sherlock walk into the room, John said aloud as he walked past, "Must have come in this way."

"Clearly."

And at seeing Miss Adler arrive and her gaze falling upon the Kate, the doctor reassured her, "It's alright, she's just out cold."

"Oh, God knows she's used to that. There's a back door. Better check it, Dr Watson."

Seeing Sherlock's approving nod, John went, "Sure."

Then The Woman paused in front Elizabeth, dropping her tone, "And I really do believe that those stilettos would look fabulous on you. Perhaps you should fetch them?"

There was a look of insistence blazing in Adler's eyes now. Seeing as they appeared to have a little bit of time on their hands, Elizabeth nodded in understanding. She would go get them. She didn't want to but she would, assuming that the Dominatrix likely had a message for her hidden within the shoes.

And so she left the the detective and The Woman in the room alone. It's not like anything could go drastically wrong now, was it? The Americans had appeared to either be incapacitated or dead. They were safe, weren't they?

With a moment to breathe, Elizabeth went down the staircase slowly, marvelling at the house Miss Adler lived in. It was a grand place, hard not to like. Minimalist but delightful all the same. She wandered back into the living room, gun at the ready, just in case one of the Americans had come to.

But all was still fine and she strolled over to the heels. They were fantastic looking, she couldn't deny that. She took the left one and looked inside and under the shoe but found nothing. Then Elizabeth took the right shoe and when she looked inside, she saw there was a little piece of material that allowed you to lift up the sole. Under the sole, there was a small, folded piece of paper.

Taking a breath, she unfolded the slip to see what The Woman had written:

*Be careful. They're listening. Talk soon. - IA*

Safe to say, it wasn't the message she expected to get from her. But then, she could breathe, couldn't she? This meant that The Woman was on their side, or her side at the very least? This was a positive? What wasn't so positive was the line 'they're listening'. Did that mean they were listening here or at the flat? Or both? And if so, then how? She had so many questions.

"Jesus! What are you doing?" Elizabeth heard John exclaim from upstairs.

Noting the rising worry in the doctor's tone, she raced out of the room and up the stairs. When she made it to the room, walking in behind John, she immediately saw Miss Adler to her left, casually strolling over to the en suite, riding crop in one hand, phone in the other.

"He'll sleep for a few hours." She said nonchalantly.

Which brought Elizabeth's attention to Sherlock, lying on his back on the hard, wooden floor. Her eyes widened with concern as she hurried straight over to detective's side, kneeling beside him as he once did for her.

"Sherlock?" Elizabeth tried to get him to look at her, "Sherlock, hey, stay with me."

However, his vision was fuzzy and he was looking everywhere deliriously.

"Make sure he doesn't choke on his own vomit. It makes for a very unattractive corpse."

John had walked over too but his attention was on the empty syringe lying on the floor by Sherlock's feet.

"What's this?" He aimed the question at The Woman, "What have you given him? Sherlock?"

Looking to the blubbering Sherlock, John saw his friend was more than loopy. Sedative probably. Miss Adler sat on the windowsill, leaning her foot against the bath to balance herself as she grabbed the rope the Americans had used to get inside.

"He'll be fine. I've used it on loads of my friends." Came The Woman's nonchalant reply.

John joined Elizabeth now, doing his best to stay calm so that the doctor in him could check that the detective really was going to be alright. Now the thief was confused. If she was on her side, their side, whatever side this was, why would she have done this?

"Sherlock, can you hear me?" Urgently, John tried to get Sherlock to focus on him.

"You know, I was wrong about him." Miss Adler smiled, "He did know where to look."

"For what?" Elizabeth dared to look away from the detective for a second, straight at The Woman, "What are you taking about?"

"The key-code to my safe."

John stood, gingerly asking, "What was it?"

"Shall I tell them?" Miss Adler sang, amused at Sherlock's efforts to fight the effects of the drug which was nigh impossible.

Elizabeth tried to get Sherlock to stay still in the worry he would only hurt himself more, "Sherlock, just stay down. Listen to me, stay down."

The Dominatrix grinned as she answered smugly, "My measurements."

And then she fell back, out of the window, escaping to some kind of safety. John rushed over to make sure Miss Adler was alright, but she was too fast. By the time he got there, she had disappeared from line of sight. He then turned back to look at Elizabeth, an uncertain look on his face. Elizabeth didn't know what to make of The Woman's answer.

Neither of them did.