Sherlock meets with Mycroft and a government review board, and Mycroft informs the board that what he's about to show them is top-secret. Sherlock is Tweeting and Mycroft, realizing it, yanks his brother's phone away. Grabbing some gingernuts, Sherlock insists that he's clean and on a natural high. He questions the transcriptionist, asking what she would do if she were free, and one of the board members, Lady Smallwood, finally tells him to focus. Mycroft continues reviewing the video of Sherlock killing Charles, and claims that officially an overenthusiastic squaddie shot the blackmailer and the video has been altered to reflect that. The board tells Sherlock that he's free and clear, but they have unfinished business with Moriarty. Sherlock insists that Moriarty is dead and filmed the video message before he died, but figures that his nemesis has planned something long-term. The board asks Sherlock how he's going to deal with it, and Sherlock says that he's going to wait because he's the target… and targets wait.
At the London Aquarium, Sherlock looks at the shark tanks.
At 221B, Sherlock tells John and Mary that he's going to monitor the underworld for any sign of Moriarty. He solves cases in the meantime, taking on more and more. Mary finally goes into labor and John drives her to the hospital while Sherlock texts. She finally tells John to pull over so she can give birth. Later, Mrs. Hudson and Molly take photos of the happy couple and their child, and the couple ask them to be godparents... and Sherlock as the godfather. Sherlock is busy tweeting about another case. He continues tweeting at the baptism, and they name her Rosalyn. Molly finally tells Sherlock to put away the phone, and he tweets behind his back.
Back at 221B, Sherlock lectures Rosalyn about her rattle while John and Mary nap. Later on the bus, Sherlock texts John to meet him at 221B for a case, and John texts back that Mary says that it's fine. He notices a woman watching him and smiles hesitantly, and she smiles back. John finally gets off and notices a flower stuck in his hair that he teased Rosalyn with earlier.
When John returns to 221B, Lestrade tells them about the case at a cabinet minister's 50th birthday party. The minister, David Welsborough, steps outside to take a photo of his son Charlie's car at Charlie's request while Charlie is in Tibet. A week later, a drunk driver turned into the house's drive and smashed into Charlie's car. It exploded and when they checked the car, found Charlie's corpse in it. Sherlock chuckles and asks about the seats, and discovers that two different types of vinyl were present. The coroner's report shows that Charlie was dead for a week. Sherlock says that he'll help if Lestrade takes all the credit. Lestrade points out that John blogs that Sherlock solved the case, making him look bad, and tells Sherlock to solve it. As he goes, Lestrade asks John how fatherhood is and John says that it's amazing.
The trio goes to the minister's house and Mary calls John to ask how the case is going. Sherlock takes the phone and Mary says that she's working on the case from home. Sherlock offers his condolences to the couple and notices the shrine table of Thatcher in the study. He goes over to examine it and points out to John that there's a gap among the memorabilia and deduces that it was a plaster bust. When David's wife Emma wonders what he's doing, John assures her that it's necessary. David says that someone broke in and smashed it, and left the pieces on the porch. Sherlock tells them that he knows what happened to Charlie, and then asks if the room was dark when the break-in occurred. The light on the porch was on, so Sherlock concludes the vandal destroyed the bust where he could see it.
Emma demands to know how Charlie died, and Sherlock tells him that Charlie was in the car during David's 50th birthday. The first part of the video was pre-recorded, and Charlie intended his appearance as a surprise. He wore a fake seat to make himself blend into the seat when David came out to take the photo, but then Charlie had a seizure before he could reveal himself. He remained hidden in the car until the drunk driver slammed into it a week later. The fake seat melted in the fire, making it appear Charlie had been sitting there for a week. Sherlock offers his condolences and goes to the porch to examine where the bust was broken. He then tells Lestrade and John to take a bus while he concentrates in the car, and has the driver take him away.
Later, Sherlock meets with Mycroft and shows him a photo of Rosalyn. He then asks if Moriarty had any connection to Thatcher, and Mycroft confirms that Moriarty was involved with numerous crimes but none connecting to Thatcher. Sherlock insists that the bust vandalism is important, and that everything is interconnected. Mycroft describes the story of the Merchant in Samarra who couldn't outrun Death, and remembers that Sherlock wrote his own versions of it. Disgusted, Sherlock tells him to keep him informed of anything and leaves.
The vandal destroys two more busts of Thatcher.
Lestrade goes to 221B and finds Hopkins waiting outside with a casefile. As they wait for Sherlock to finish with a client, Hopkins says that it's nothing serious between them. She says that Interpol thinks the Borgia Pearl trail leads back to London, and they make small talk until Sherlock pops out to tell them to keep it down. He then returns to his client, Kingsley, and realizes that John has left a balloon in his place with a face inked on it. John pops out of the kitchen and says that it's a substitute him, and he's been helping Mrs. Hudson with her Sudoku. Sherlock then tells Kingsley that his wife is a spy, and only married Kingsley to get close to the American embassy across the room from his flat. She plans to inject the visiting American President with a drug which will render him suggestible to Moriarty. Moriarty when then influence the President to tamper with a UN non-proliferation treaty, setting off World War III. Sherlock then says that he was joking and orders Kingsley out.
Hopkins comes in and Sherlock says her case is boring and sends her packing. Lestrade comes in and shows him an evidence bag with fragments of a Thatcher bust. He explains that it was broken in another part of town, and Sherlock says that the game is on. Sherlock examines the fragments under a microscope and Lestrade explains where they were broken. The detective finds blood on the fragments and concludes the suspect cut himself breaking the bust. He then says that he and John are going to see Toby while Lestrade has a lunch date with a brunette forensics officer.
Craig is a brilliant hacker and Sherlock got him off a charge years ago. He owns a dog, Toby, who Sherlock is there to collect. Mary is there with Rosalyn, and she hands the baby to John. Sherlock says that Mary is better at investigating than John so he texted her, and they go with Sherlock as he has Toby follow the blood trail. The dog finally picks up the blood trail and they head through the streets of London. They realize that the vandal went to a butcher shop to disguise his trail, and Sherlock figures that Moriarty is involved.
The vandal breaks another set of Thatcher busts.
John and Mary are trying to sleep when they hear Rosalyn crying. Mary goes to check on their daughter while John discovers that he has a text.
Sherlock goes to Craig, who says that the bust manufacturers are in Tbilisi, Georgia. They made six busts as a limited edition and the two that haven't been destroyed yet belong to Orrie Hacker and Jack Sandeford. Sherlock calls Lestrade who confirms that there's been a new case of vandalism... and murder, involving Hacker. Sherlock goes to the home and Lestrade says that Mrs. Hacker was killed with a sharp blade while defending herself. Two Thatcher busts inside the house were destroyed. Sherlock tells Lestrade that he's going to Sandeford's home next and tells Lestrade that he's going to solve a big case.
That night at the Sandeford home, Jack tells his daughter to go to bed because he has things to do. Sherlock slips into the house and stands guard. Eventually the masked vandal breaks in and grabs the bust. Sherlock confronts him and the vandal attacks him. The two men struggle and Sherlock yanks off the man's mask. As they fight, Sherlock says that the vandal was on the run with stolen goods and found himself in a workshop. The vandal lunges at Sherlock, knocking him through the glass into the pool. Sherlock triggers the spray, distracting the vandal long enough to grab him and shove him under the spray. He then gets back to the next room, grabs the bust, and stunning the vandal. Sherlock asks about Moriarty, and the vandal says that he understands nothing. Undeterred, Sherlock smashes the bust, figuring that the Black Pearl of the Borgias is inside. The only thing is an AGRA memory stick and Sherlock realizes that it's the same one that Mary gave to John with her background on it... the one that John destroyed.
As Sherlock says that Mary destroyed it, the vandal grabs his gun and aims it at Sherlock, surprised that he knows Mary. He says that Mary betrayed him and betrayed them all, as the police pull up outside. The police tell the vandal to put down his weapons, and he threatens to shoot Sherlock. He tells Sherlock to tell Mary that she's a dead woman, With that, he shots out the lights and runs out.
Tbilisi, Georgia: Six Years Ago
Revolutionaries hold an ambassador and her husband hostage in the British Embassy during a coup. As she says that she has plenty of "ammo," four masked soldiers break in and take out the revolutionaries. As they lead the ambassador and her staff out, more revolutionaries surround them. Mary removes her mask and says that they'll die, and then tosses down a flash-bang.
Now
At 221B, Lestrade tells Sherlock that they haven't found the vandal. Sherlock tells him that the man used to work with Mary.
In his apartment, the vandal brings up files on Sherlock and sees him with Mary at her wedding.
Six Years Ago
The vandal runs into a workshop, knocks out the worker, and hides the memory stick in one of the Thatcher busts. The revolutionaries then capture and torture him, and say that Mary is a traitor.
Now
The vandal lies on the floor of his cheap flat, drinking and staring up at the ceiling.
Sherlock meets with Mary and shows her the memory stick. He says that it's like the one she gave to John but it belongs to someone else. Mary says that the others had one as well, and Sherlock tells her that he wants to hear the truth from her. She says that there were four "agents": Alex, Gabriel, her, and Ajay. They all had a memory stick, each containing their backgrounds and everything they needed to destroy any of the others. When they rescued the ambassador at the embassy, there was an anonymous last-minute adjustment and a code word given: "Ammo." They went in but something went wrong and she was the only one who made it out. Sherlock plugs the memory stick into a computer and shows Mary the file on the vandal: her former teammate, Ajay. The detective tells Mary that AJ wants her dead, but she doesn't believe it. Sherlock warns that Ajay is trying to find the memory stick to track her down, and he's already killed once. He warns that Ajay believes that she betrayed her, and tells her that he vowed to look after her and her family. Sherlock promises to keep Mary safe from Ajay if she stays close to Sherlock.
Mary gives Sherlock a letter and tells him to read it. He sniffs at it and passes out from the drug, and Mary tells him that it's for the best. She then takes the memory stick, tells Sherlock to look after John and Rosalyn until she gets back, and leaves. When Sherlock wakes up, he staggers out, goes to Mycroft's office, and asks what he knows about Team AGRA. Mycroft says that AGRA was wiped out during the Tbilisi hostage situation, and Mycroft made sure the British government stopped using freelancers. Sherlock tells him the code word, Ammo, and asks Mycroft to do some digging. He insists that he will keep Mary safe, and Mycroft agrees. However, he warns that agents like Mary tend to get permanently retired.
John reads a letter from Mary explaining why she's leaving. In the letter, Mary says that she needs to do what she's doing in her own way without endangering them, but promises to come back once she's done.
On a plane, a disguised Mary complains to the stewardess about a squeaking noise from the wing. Mary claims says that she feels sick. When the plane lands and they take Mary off in a wheelchair, she takes the stewardess' place and leaves the unconscious stewardess in the wheelchair. She then rolls dice to determine a random location: Norway. She gets the fake ID that she hid there and continues across the world. In Morocco, Mary enters a hotel, gun drawn. Sherlock is there, playing cards with a local boy, Karim. Karim goes to get them some tea, and Sherlock finally admits that he put a tracer on the memory stick. John comes in and says that the tracer was his idea.
Later, Mary apologizes to John for lying to him about AGRA. He points out that R must stand her real name: Rosamond, and she's not the only one who lied. John says that she could have stayed and talked to her, and he's better than she gives him credit for. Mary says that she doesn't deserve him, and all she wanted to do was keep John and Rosalyn safe. Sherlock comes in and says that he will keep them safe, but it has to be in London where he knows the turf. Ajay fires through the door and then comes in, and Mary returns fire. He takes cover and she says that she thought he was dead. Ajay doesn't care and that he followed Sherlock. John says that they can talk it out, and Mary tries to get through to her former comrade. Ajay tells her that they tortured Alex to death, and he got out for a while so he could hide the memory stick. He insists that he was loyal to his friend, and they tortured him for good. They left him to rot for six years until he managed to escape, and they say that Mary had betrayed them all. Mary gets close enough to Ajay and says that she'll kill him as well, and Ajay says that he doesn't care as long as she dies. Sherlock asks what he heard, and Ajay says that he heard his captors kept saying "Ammo." He says that his captors said it was the English woman who betrayed them, just as a policeman arrive and shoots him dead.
Later, Sherlock calls Mycroft and tells him what Ajay said. He says that ammo is London, and Mycroft tells his brother that he'd better be right.
When Smallwood tries to enter her office, she discovers that her access is denied. Her fellow board member Sir Edwin and a security guard confront her, and the guard leads Smallwood away.
As they fly back to London, John looks at the sleeping Mary and remembers the woman who looked at him on the bus.
The woman approaches John after he gets off the bus, and flirts with him. She gives him her number and walks off. John starts to throw the paper away but then keeps it. Later, he puts the woman's number in his phone and starts to call her, but walks away before she answers. When Mary went to check on Rosalyn, John texts the woman from the bus and they chat. When Mary comes back, John quickly puts the phone away and takes Rosalyn from her. He finally gets together with her.
Mycroft questions Smallwood and points out that she held the brief for Foreign Operations, codenamed "Love." She gave AGRA their assignments, and they were betrayed. Smallwood denies everything, while Sherlock is in the next room watching through the one-way glass.
At home, John and Mary talk about Rosalyn.
Sherlock prowls the city, processing what Ajay said to him about not understanding anything. He comes to a conclusion and runs off.
Mary tells John that he doesn't make it being so perfect. As he starts to tell her about the woman, Mary gets a text. John tells Mary to go on ahead while he finds a sitter for Rosalyn.
That night at the London Aquarium, Sherlock arrives just before it closes. He finds Vivian Norbury where her office said he could find them, and she talks about the story of Samarra. Mary comes in and Sherlock says that Vivian was Ammo. She used AGRA as her personal assassination squad, to cover her selling secrets. When the Tbilisi ambassador found out what she was doing, the coup broke out. Her superiors sent AGRA in, and Vivian tipped off the revolutionaries. AGRA and the hostages were killed, and Vivian thought her secret was safe. She figures that Mary wanted a little peace, just like she did, and asks them to let her go. Furious, Mary charges forward and Vivian draws her gun.
John takes a taxi to the aquarium.
Sherlock points out that Vivian was nothing more than a secretary, jealous of her betters. He describes her little flat and deduces that she's widowed or divorced, and continues to pressure her. Mary warns him to stop, but he describes her drinking problem and her cats and says that she was jealous. Mycroft and Lestrade come in with their men, and Sherlock says that she was smarter than everyone except her. He tells Vivian that there's no way out, and Vivian says that she might be able to surprise him. She fires the gun... and Mary leaps in the way.
Sherlock goes to Mary as John runs in. He begs her to stay with him, and Mary tells him that he gave her everything she ever wanted. She begs him to look after Rosalyn, and then tells Sherlock that she likes him. She apologizes for shooting him the one time, and Sherlock assures her that it's okay. Mary whispers that John was her whole world and being Mary Watson was the only life worth living. She thanks John... and dies. John sobs, and then tells Sherlock not to come any closer because he broke his vow.
Later, Mary is cremated and buried.
Sherlock meets with a psychiatrist, who tells him that he can only help her if he opens himself out. Sherlock says that it's not his style, and he used to know what to do about John.
Mycroft goes home and finds a post-it on his refrigerator. He makes a call and asks for Sherringford.
Later, Sherlock meets with Mrs. Hudson, who talks about Rosalyn. Sherlock says that he'll see if he can find a case because it's the best solution for grief. He asks Mrs. Hudson to say the word "Norbury" to him if he's ever becoming too sure of himself, and then finds a letter containing a CD. It has "Miss Me?" written on it, and Sherlock plays it on the computer. It's from Mary, who says that she knew it would get her attention. Mary figures that if Sherlock is watching it, it means that she's dead. She says that her old life was full of consequences and she couldn’t outrun the danger forever, so gives Sherlock a case.
Sherlock visits Molly, who is taking care of Rosalyn. He asks if there's anything he can do, and Molly gives him a letter from John. She tells him that John isn't there, and that John told her to tell Sherlock that he'd rather have anyone than Sherlock.
Mary tells Sherlock that she wants him to save John.
Sherlock walks through London, wondering if death can be avoided.
Written by Gadfly on Jan 2, 2017