Page 261 - SHERLOCK transcripts

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(The taxi begins to pull up to the kerb.)
SHERLOCK: What was that?
(He jumps out of the right-hand door and runs forward to the driver’s door.)
SHERLOCK: What was that?
(The cabbie, wearing a cloth cap very reminiscent of the one worn by the cabbie in “A Study in
Pink,” turns his head towards Sherlock and reveals that he is Jim Moriarty, who adopts a
London accent as he speaks.)
JIM: No charge.
(He immediately accelerates away as Sherlock tries to grab hold of the door and pull the cab
back. Forced to let go, he chases after the taxi but it soon speeds away. He stops in the middle
of the road, glaring after it and unaware that another car is speeding along behind him. As it
sounds its horn in warning, a man hurries off the pavement, grabs him and pulls him out of
danger.)
MAN: Look out!
(Not yet fully realising what the man is doing, Sherlock strikes out at him but then stops as the
car roars past and he realises what has happened. He stands with the man at arm’s length,
breathing heavily while the man looks warily at him. Those of us who have been paying
attention – or who just rewound the recording to check – realise that this is Sulejmani, the
Albanian assassin who lives on Baker Street.)
SHERLOCK (catching his breath): Thank you.
(He holds out his hand for the man to shake. Sulejmani somewhat reluctantly takes it and we
soon realise why he wasn’t keen when three bullets are fired into him in quick succession from
somewhere behind Sherlock. Sulejmani slumps to the ground and Sherlock spins around, trying
to find the source of the gunfire. Just then another black cab comes around the corner and pulls
up a short distance away. John jumps out and hurries towards him.)
JOHN: Sherlock!

Some time later Sherlock stands twitching his fingers fretfully while an ambulance crew wheels
Sulejmani’s body away.
JOHN: That ... it’s him. It’s him. Sulejmani or something. Mycroft showed me his file. He’s a big
Albanian gangster lives two doors down from us.
SHERLOCK: He died because I shook his hand.
JOHN: What d’you mean?
SHERLOCK: He saved my life but he couldn’t touch me. Why?
(He storms off. John follows.)

221B. Sherlock walks rapidly into the living room, pulling off his scarf and then his coat as he
goes across to the laptop on the dining table. Sadly, at this point he stops removing clothing.
SHERLOCK: Four assassins living right on our doorstep. They didn’t come here to kill me; they
have to keep me alive.
(He sits down at the table while John goes over to the window near him and looks out.)
SHERLOCK: I’ve got something that all of them want, but if one of them approaches me ...
JOHN: ... the others kill them before they can get it.
(Sherlock grunts in agreement and types rapidly on the laptop, navigating away from the
website for St Aldate’s School and calling up a list of local Wi-Fi networks. There are five of
them and he checks their signal strength and the names of the networks, each of which is in a
foreign language.)
SHERLOCK: All of the attention is focussed on me. There’s a surveillance web closing in on us
right now.
JOHN: So what have you got that’s so important?
(Sherlock gazes into the distance and thinks for a moment, then runs his finger along the table
beside the computer before lifting it and looking at his fingertip.)
SHERLOCK: We need to ask about the dusting.

Shortly afterwards, Mrs Hudson has been dragged upstairs in her nightdress and dressing gown.
Sherlock is hurrying around the room checking for dust on all the furniture.
SHERLOCK: Precise details: in the last week, what’s been cleaned?
MRS HUDSON: Well, Tuesday I did your lino ...
SHERLOCK: No, in here, this room. This is where we’ll find it – any break in the dust line. You
can put back anything but dust.

Transcripts by Ariane DeVere (arianedevere@livejournal.com)