Sherlock Holmes Page #18

WATSON:

Appears he was attempting to

follow occult formula with

scientific practice.

Watson moves to the stove, sees a sheaf of BURNT PAPERS.

He digs through them, finds one piece not as burnt as the

rest. A CREST stamped on it, impossible to read.

Watson digs through his forensic bag, pulls out vials.

WATSON:

Has he any hydrochloric acid?

(CONTINUED)

47.

56 CONTINUED:
56

Holmes shuffles a few bottles, tosses one to Watson.

Watson catches it, starts pouring the acid, another

chemical on a clean sheet of paper.

Holmes senses something, moves into the next room. He

stops at an open window, smells the CURTAINS:

HOLMES:

Irene was here.

Watson presses the chemical-soaked paper onto the burnt

paper.

WATSON:

Why would she hire you to find

him, if she planned to do the job

herself?

HOLMES:

Maybe it's not the man she's

after, but something else.

Something he was working on?

WATSON:

Ferrocyanide. Sucks the iron

right out of the ink. Long as

it's not too burnt...

Watson keeps rubbing the paper together, puts it by the

lantern. Slowly, faint words APPEAR on the blank page.

Ghostly chemistry. Watson sees the crest is Blackwood's.

WATSON:

He worked for Blackwood.

Holmes gets a whiff of something, raises an eyebrow. He

starts walking back to the other room.

HOLMES:

There's one odor I can't put my

finger on. Sweet, almost like

perfume... or sugar....

(stops, sniffs)

Barley sugar.

57 OMITTED 57

58 INT. REORDON'S ROOM 58

BOOM! The door WHIPS open. TWO THUGS spill into the

room.

(CONTINUED)

48.

58 CONTINUED:
58

They are followed by DREDGER, a huge man, just shy of

seven feet tall and pushing 400 pounds, slightly

deformed, who follows them into the room. He sucks on a

twisty stick of barley sugar (Victorian hard candy).

They stop, surprised to see Holmes and Watson. Holmes'

eyes widen at the giant.

HOLMES:

Hello, gentlemen.

Dredger is deadpan.

DREDGER:

Sherlock Holmes.

HOLMES:

Let me guess -- you're here to

extinguish any connection between

the man who lived here and the man

you work for? Curious you'd still

be running errands for a dead man.

DREDGER:

(smiles)

You do like to talk.

The two thugs step toward Holmes and Watson.

HOLMES:

You take them, I'll handle Mr.

Sweet tooth.

WATSON:

Seems about fair.

Watson meets the men in the middle of the room, swinging

at them. As they dodge and swing back --

Holmes grabs a standing lamp, sliding it into his hand as

a weapon. He looks at Dredger, knows it won't make a

dent. He keeps moving, swinging the lamp toward a

CURTAIN. In the blink of an eye:

He WRAPS UP the curtain, ripping it down, bringing the

heavy STEEL ROD with it. He catches the rod, flipping it

so the curtain-rings rain to the floor.

He spins the rod expertly, SMASHING it into Dredger's

face. It stuns the giant for a beat, but quickly --

Dredger LUNGES forward, trapping the steel rod under his

arm. He grabs the rod and HURLS Holmes through the air,

sending him flying into --

(CONTINUED)

49.

58 CONTINUED:
(2) 58

INT. REORDON'S LAB

Holmes crash-lands on the table, scattering all the

bottles and tools. He blinks, trying to gather his

senses. He sees Dredger incoming, as --

Watson tussles with the thugs, a bar-room brawler. Head

butting one, kicking the other in the groin.

The men whip out knives. Watson ducks and dodges, blades

flashing on either side of him. One of the blades slices

his shirt, ripping off his pocket, so --

The ENGAGEMENT RING falls to the floor. One of the thugs

accidentally KICKS it, sending it across the ground.

As Watson follows the ring with his eyes, the first man

HURLS his knife. Watson just barely ducks the blade,

which SMACKS into the second thug, who falls. Watson

fights the first thug, as he scrambles toward the ring.

58A 58A

INT. REORDON'S LAB

Dredger bears down on Holmes. Holmes reaches out for

some kind of weapon, anything he can grab. He snatches a

SHORT SHAFT. A truly pathetic weapon.

Dredger lurches toward Holmes, who swings the metal shaft

desperately, and... the shaft SPARKS.

ZAP! A flash of light and crackle, and Dredger gets an

ELECTRIC SHOCK that sends him flying back twenty feet --

58B INT. REORDON'S ROOMS 58B

Watson finishes off his thug and plucks the engagement

ring off the floor, just as --

Dredger flies through the air, SLAMMING into Watson,

knocking him off his feet, and knocking the ring away.

Holmes looks at the lightning rod in his hand, stunned by

the efficacy of the weapon.

Dredger tries to recover, climbing off of Watson. Holmes

cranks his weapon. The rod sparks and hums.

Dredger pulls himself up with the help of a water pipe on

the wall. Holmes thinks quickly, then touches the other

end of the pipe with the rod, and ZZZAPPPP!!

The electrical current RUNS ALONG THE PIPE, and KNOCKS

Dredger back twenty more feet.

(CONTINUED)

50.

58B CONTINUED: 58B

Watson spots the ring rolling towards the window, starts

running for it, frantic as --

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