Page 277 - SHERLOCK transcripts
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JOHN: Do what?
SHERLOCK: This phone call – it’s, er ... it’s my note. It’s what people do, don’t they – leave a
note?
(John shakes his head, momentarily taking his phone from his ear as the stress of what he’s
beginning to understand hits him, then he raises it again, his voice shaky.)
JOHN: Leave a note when?
SHERLOCK: Goodbye, John.
JOHN (shaking his head): No. Don’t.
(Sherlock gazes down at his friend for several seconds, then he lowers his arm and drops the
phone onto the roof, gazing ahead of himself. John lowers his own phone and screams
upwards.)
JOHN: No. SHERLOCK!
(Sherlock spreads his arms to either side and falls forward, plummeting towards the ground.
John stares in utter horror.)
JOHN: Sher...
(A couple of seconds later the body impacts the ground. John’s hearing whites out as his entire
body focuses on getting to Sherlock as soon as he can. Sherlock had disappeared from view
towards the end of his fall because a building was in the way of John’s view of him, and John
now runs to the corner of the building, then slows down and stops in the middle of the road
when he gets his first glimpse of the still figure lying on the wet pavement, the lower part of his
body obscured by a lorry parked at the roadside. Behind John, a young man on a fast pedal
cycle slams into him and sends him crashing to the ground, his head hitting the asphalt hard.
Groaning, he struggles to stay conscious while, nearby, people begin to run towards the body
on the pavement. The lorry pulls away and a couple of medics from the hospital hurry out and
start trying to prevent the onlookers from getting too close. Grimacing with pain, John rolls onto
his side and looks across to the pavement where Sherlock is lying on his side with a lot of blood
under his head. Slowly John hauls himself to his feet and stumbles towards him as more
onlookers gather, talking excitedly about what they saw. John forces himself onwards.)
JOHN (in a whisper): Sherlock, Sherlock ...
(He reaches the crowd.)
JOHN: I’m a doctor, let me come through. Let me come through, please.
(Some of the crowd try to hold him back but he pushes through them.)
JOHN: No, he’s my friend. He’s my friend. Please.
(He reaches down to take hold of Sherlock’s wrist, searching for a pulse. A woman peels his
fingers off and she and another person pull him away. As he reaches towards his friend again,
more medics arrive with a wheeled stretcher.)
JOHN (frantically): Please, let me just ...
(The impact of the shock and the bang on his head begin to take effect and his knees give out.
As he slumps to the floor supported by a couple of onlookers, two people gently roll Sherlock
onto his back revealing his blood stained face and wide staring eyes. John groans in utter
despair.)
JOHN: Nggh, Jesus, no.
(He tries to stand but sinks back again.)
JOHN: God, no.
(As the onlookers support him, four people lift Sherlock’s body onto the stretcher and then
rapidly wheel it away into the hospital. John stares after it, his face blank and
uncomprehending. He finally manages to get to his feet and shakes off his helpers, staring
blindly in the direction that his friend’s body was taken.
In a nearby building, a rifle sight is aimed directly at John’s head. As John continues to stand in
profile to the sniper, a perfect target, the assassin lifts his gun back inside the window and
begins to disassemble the weapon. Packing it into his bag, he stands up and walks away.)
DIOGENES CLUB. Sitting in one of the chairs in the common room, Mycroft is holding a copy of
“The Sun.” Its headline screams “SUICIDE OF FAKE GENIUS” and the straplines state “SUPER-
SLEUTH IS DEAD” and “Fraudulent detective takes his own life”. Folding the paper and putting it
down on the table beside him, he stares blankly into the distance and then folds his hands in
front of his face in the prayer position.
221B. John sits in his armchair, dressed but with his feet bare and tucked together in front of
him. One hand is propping up his head and he gazes into the distance, lost and alone.
Transcripts by Ariane DeVere (arianedevere@livejournal.com)

