The Invisible Amateur by Amelia Price

Sherlock and no easy route out that didn't risk her getting
hurt. And he still didn't know where the information that the
terrorists were blackmailing the royal family with was. This was
exactly the sort of scenario he'd intended to avoid.
    Over the last few
hours he'd run every possible plan for escape through his mind, and
he knew Sherlock would have done as well. The fact that both were
still sat there patiently waiting was confirmation that both knew
it was best to wait to act. Protecting Amelia would need to be
Sherlock's main goal, while his needed to be finding the
information and acquiring it before it could be taken somewhere
safer. He hoped Sherlock would see that and know what to do when
the time came.
    Meanwhile, Daniels
would be waiting for them. His chauffeur knew better than to do
anything else on this mission. It wasn't approved, and therefore no
help could be called for. At best, the pair of retired agents who
were following Amelia around might decide to help, but that was so
unlikely it was better off being discounted. Watching a girl move
about London was one matter, performing a rescue mission when
outnumbered was far more. This wasn't their fight, and hadn't been
for several years. Both had already sacrificed a lot for the
survival of their country. Neither would want to risk more.
    Knowing their
chance would need to come shortly before dawn, as the hours and
minutes ticked by, Mycroft grew more tense. By morning, they would
lose the information for good.
    When the first
light of the morning was still over an hour away, Amelia grew
restless beside him. For several minutes she fidgeted back and
forth, until every eye was on her.
    “Sorry,” she said
when she noticed the attention. After glancing at them all, she
looked at the two Korean men sitting opposite. “Do you think I
could go to the bathroom?”
    Mycroft groaned
and the men ignored her. Yet another reason why he didn't like
having a woman to work with. They never seemed to be able to hold
their bladder. Women and needing the toilet was an art form he
would never understand, and it seemed the Koreans didn't, either.
They told her to be silent in their language and ignored her.
    “Myron, I don't
think they understand. Will you ask...”
    “Silence,” the
left one yelled again. Amelia bit down on the last few words of the
sentence, but she fidgeted some more and gave him a pleading look.
Before he could get annoyed enough with her to consider
translating, his younger brother did the honour.
    As soon as
Sherlock had finished speaking in Korean Amelia pulled a pleading
desperate look at both men. At first it didn't look like it would
work, but after talking amongst themselves in low whispers, they
agreed to take her and motioned for her to get to her feet.
    It took her a few
awkward shuffles to get the momentum to lift her body up, as most
of her limbs appeared to have gone to sleep, but she eventually
managed it and smiled gratefully as the smaller of the two men took
hold of her arm, just above the elbow, and led her out to the
landing.
    The door closed
before Mycroft could see which way the bathroom lay, but he'd
caught enough of a glimpse to know another of the doors off the
landing was open and someone was in there doing something while sat
on an old dining chair.
    Over the next few
minutes he heard the usual sounds one might expect when someone was
using a bathroom, ending with a flush and the patter of feet
towards the sink. Mycroft doubted they'd let her wash her hands,
but found himself wrong when the tap turned on and water gurgling
through pipes sounded from above.
    A few seconds
later, a loud thud let him know that someone's head had connected
with solid wood and come off the worse. A few more yells came from
just outside the door, and their own guard got to his feet, caught
between the dilemma of being needed outside and in there. It only
took him a couple of seconds to decide to watch them.
    Mycroft closed his
eyes, internalising his