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Scarlet – Episode 2 – On the Run

By Philip RobothamPosted on Posted in Blog, Scarlet, ScriptTagged , , No Comments on Scarlet – Episode 2 – On the Run
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Below we present the complete text of On the Run, episode 2 of Scarlet.

Gaslamp Mystery - GM004 - Scarlet
Gaslamp Mystery – GM004 – Scarlet

SCENE 5: EXT. — A LONDON BACKSTREET AT NIGHT — LATER (ELDER HOLMES, YOUNG HOLMES, THUG #1, TINY, BYSTANDER)

  1. MUSIC: OPENING THEME – LET IT FINISH.
  2. NARRATOR: Holmes is on the run.  His investigation into the dual disappearances of Mr Damien Nugent and his fiancee Scarlet Hope has led him to the region of Highgate where, it turns out, disappearances have become commonplace.  While investigating near the cemetery with the assistance of Martha Hudson, a young woman is attacked by a man who bears a striking resemblance to Holmes himself, forcing him to flee from the constabulary.
  3. ELDER HOLMES: [CUE] And so I ran, full of youthful excitement at the mystery before me, and with a shameful disregard for the wellbeing of my friends. At the time I treated my flight from the police as something of a lark. In an act of idiocy which I would later have significant time to regret, I gave little thought to the villain whose clothing so closely resembled my own. I thought it a mere coincidence, London being a dangerous place to be out in at night. This was perhaps one of the last times in my life that I entertained “coincidence” as a possibility that could provide any genuinely explanatory value in one of my investigations. Still, one useful thing did come about because of my recklessness… though at the time I didn’t recognize it for what it was.
  4. SOUND: [10] (WALLA) SMALL MOB WATCHING A FIGHT. OOH-ING AND AH-ING AFTER EACH HIT — UNDER.
  5. SOUND: [24] SMACK, SMACK OF FISTS ON FLESH — LET IT FINISH.
  6. YOUNG HOLMES: Ugh! (COUGHS) If you gentlemen would…
  7. SOUND: [25] SMACK — LET IT FINISH.
  8. YOUNG HOLMES: Ugh! …just for a moment…
  9. SOUND: [24] SMACK. SMACK — LET IT FINISH.
  10. YOUNG HOLMES: Ugh. (PANTS) …stop pounding my face with your remarkably beefy fists. (SPITS)
  11. THUG #1: ’ere lads, it looks like ’e ’as something to say.
  12. SOUND: [25] SMACK. FOLLOWED BY RAUCOUS LAUGHTER — LET IT FINISH.
  13. THUG #1: Well, mate? Out wiv it? What could you possibly ’ave to say that would interest us?
  14. YOUNG HOLMES: (COUGHING) I can help you find the kidnapper!
  15. THUG #1: You what? (TO THE CROWD) ’ear that, lads? The kidnapper reckons ’e can ’elp us find the kidnapper!! ’e’ll ’elp us all right. ’e’s gonna be beggin’ to ’elp us soon enough.
  16. SOUND: [25] SMACK — LET IT FINISH.
  17. YOUNG HOLMES: Ugh. (DESPERATE) Pick your best man!
  18. THUG #1: What?
  19. YOUNG HOLMES: Pick your best man. If I beat him, you hear me out!
  20. THUG #1: (AMUSED) And what makes you think you’ll do any better against one than you ’ave against five? Eh?
  21. YOUNG HOLMES: What’s the harm? If I don’t beat him you get to carry on pounding me senseless.
  22. THUG #1: (AMUSED) Fair enough. (TO THE CROWD) Looks like our kidnapper is a sportin’ gent. Tiny, you wanta step forward and ’ave a turn with ’im all to yourself?
  23. TINY: (GRUNTS) Sure.
  24. YOUNG HOLMES: (COUGHS) They do grow them big where you come from, don’t they?
  25. TINY: (DEEP THROATY LAUGH) Muh ha ha.
  26. YOUNG HOLMES: Alright, but I warn you…
  27. SOUND: [25] SMACK — LET IT FINISH.
  28. YOUNG HOLMES: Ugh! I see we’ve begun. Well let’s try this…
  29. SOUND: [26] DISTINCT CRACKING OF BONE AND “EW!” FROM THE CROWD — LET IT FINISH.
  30. YOUNG HOLMES: And this…
  31. SOUND: [26] MORE BONE CRACKING ACCOMPANIED BY GROANS OF DISMAY FROM THE CROWD — LET IT FINISH.
  32. TINY: (IN SEVERE PAIN) Aaah. Why you…
  33. YOUNG HOLMES: Still need more, do you? Well, how about this…
  34. SOUND: [27] CRUNCHING NOISE FOLLOWED BY HEAVY BODY DROP — LET IT FINISH.
  35. YOUNG HOLMES: (WINDED) Well, that should do it…
  36. THUG #1: (THREATENING) ’e ’ad a family to look after. We’re gonna ’ave to take it outta your ’ide.
  37. YOUNG HOLMES: (NERVOUS) He’ll recover… in about a month… but you promised me a hearing.
  38. SOUND: [28] UGLY MURMURS FROM CROWD — LET IT FINISH.
  39. THUG #1: We did. But you’ll not ’ave long. You’ve gone an’ made us right cranky (TO THE CROWD) — ’asn’t ’e?
  40. SOUND: [28] UGLY MURMURS OF ASSENT — LET IT FINISH.
  41. YOUNG HOLMES: Then I’ll talk fast. I am not the kidnapper! I am, however, trying to find the kidnapper and stop him.
  42. THUG #1: And ’ow do you propose to convince us o’ that? You were runnin’ through the dark in our back alleyways tryin’ to avoid the police. Why should we believe you?
  43. YOUNG HOLMES: You lost your daughter, a week ago today. She was what, five years old? And you, your wife’s been missing three nights? And what about you? Your son was taken last night, wasn’t he?
  44. BYSTANDER: ’e’s the kidnapper! ’ow else would ’e know?
  45. YOUNG HOLMES: I’m not the kidnapper! The portrait artist you’ve been using for your missing persons notices is very good. The family resemblances are clear.
  46. THUG #1: No, I don’t buy it. I’m inclined to think you knows what they look like ’cause you took ’em.
  47. SOUND: [25] SMACK. ROAR OF CROWD — FADE UNDER.
  48. YOUNG HOLMES: Ugh! No wait! You’re a tanner during the day. You’ve been workin’ at it five years, but you got that limp in the navy and would rather be at sea!
  49. THUG #1: ’ow’d you know that?
  50. YOUNG HOLMES: And Tiny, there. He’s a teacher when he’s not pounding strangers to a pulp in the streets late at night. The chalk on his cuffs is enough to give that away, but so is the ink on his fingers.
  51. SOUND: [29] GASP OF AWE FROM THE CROWD — LET IT FINISH.
  52. THUG #1: (MORE DEFINITE THIS TIME) ’ow’d you know that?
  53. YOUNG HOLMES: I’ve been trying to tell you. I see things about people and can tell where they’ve come from and what they’ve been doing. I can help you find the kidnapper.
  54. BYSTANDER: Is it magic?
  55. YOUNG HOLMES: No, it’s not magic. It is science. And right now it’s your best chance at recovering your missing loved ones.
  56. BYSTANDER: I don’t know…
  57. THUG #1: I think we need to take you to see Mr Jeffers.
  58. YOUNG HOLMES: Mr Jeffers?
  59. THUG #1: You’ll see. (TO THE CROWD). Get that bag over ’is ’ead.
  60. SOUND: [30] THUD OF SAP OR CLUB ON THE BACK OF SHERLOCK’S HEAD — LET IT FINISH.
  61. YOUNG HOLMES: Ugh!
  62. SOUND: [27] BODY SLUMPS TO GROUND — LET IT FINISH.
  63. THUG#1: (ECHOING AS IT FADES OUT) And pick up Tiny ’n all. We can’t leave him there fer the scavengers.
  64. MUSIC: [3] (BRIDGE) NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 6: INT. — SOMEWHERE BENEATH LONDON — AN UNKNOWN WHILE LATER (YOUNG HOLMES, MR JEFFERS)

  1. SOUND: [11] (WALLA) DRIPS. SLIGHT ECHO, LIKE IN A CAVE. KETTLE BUBBLING IN BACKGROUND — ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
  2. YOUNG HOLMES: (GROANS)
  3. MR JEFFERS: Ah, you are awake, I see. I apologize for the bump to your head. Are you recovered?
  4. YOUNG HOLMES: Passably. You must be Mr Jeffers, I presume?
  5. MR JEFFERS: That’s right… or the scurrilous Mr J, if you prefer the term used by the gossip mongers.
  6. YOUNG HOLMES: (GROANING SOME MORE) I can honestly say that, on this question at least, I am agnostic. May I ask why you have brought me here?
  7. MR JEFFERS: Well, to disabuse you a little, (EMPHASIZING) I did not have you brought here at all. You have been brought here by the superstitious dwellers of Highgate for me to pass judgment on. They wish to know whether you are the kidnapper who has been causing so much noise recently.
  8. YOUNG HOLMES: Oh? From these sewers? Dispensing rough justice, is it?
  9. MR JEFFERS: Not quite. Though at times I have been tempted. (BEAT) Actually, I don’t generally get involved in upworld matters. Unfortunately I have gained something of a reputation, amongst the superstitious, for being a seer.
  10. YOUNG HOLMES: A seer?
  11. MR JEFFERS: Yes, you see, I know things. Tea?
  12. YOUNG HOLMES: What? Uh, no, thank you.
  13. SOUND: [31] TEA, POURING INTO A CUP — LET IT FINISH.
  14. MR JEFFERS: As you wish. But I’m sure you’d feel better. No? Very well. (SLURPS SOME TEA) Aahh! Yes, I dropped out of London’s upper-world some time ago in order to look after the children.
  15. YOUNG HOLMES: Oh, you’re that Mr Jeffers. There have been rumors about you for years. How have you managed to stay hidden from me this long?
  16. MR JEFFERS: I know you well, Mr Holmes, and that bright girl you employ from time to time, Miss Hudson, yes? We understand your methods and my kids have done a good job of keeping us out of your view. It also helps that street urchins and underground dwellers don’t tend to rate much interest from up above.
  17. YOUNG HOLMES: (IMPRESSED) Au contraire. I have tried, unsuccessfully, twice to locate you since I entered London and first heard your name whispered. It’s no small feat to stay hidden from me when I am actively looking for you. The scurrilous Mr J, a man who stays out of sight and runs the largest gang of pickpockets and thieves in London.
  18. MR JEFFERS: Lies and calumny, Mr Holmes. I run the second largest… and only in terms of numbers. My kids steal to stay alive, Mr Holmes, usually off the fruit carts. I teach them to read and write and I even manage to get many of them apprenticed in real jobs when they get old enough. Some of them go bad of course, but most get a chance to keep on living and possibly even make something of themselves.
  19. YOUNG HOLMES: You needn’t try to convince me, Mr Jeffers. I am aware of the good you do down here. I am also aware of your carefully cultivated bad reputation and equally contrived reputation for mysticism.
  20. MR JEFFERS: The rumors help keep the nosey away.
  21. YOUNG HOLMES: Why do you call yourself the second largest group of thieves?
  22. MR JEFFERS: I’m surprised you need to ask, Mr Holmes. But then again maybe he’s as good at keeping in the shadows as I am. Better, if I’m honest. People don’t talk about him, Mr Holmes, and it’s been happening only a little at a time. But he’s been taking over here in London… at least in the upworld. My kids don’t miss much at all and we’ve been watching him.
  23. YOUNG HOLMES: Him? Him who?
  24. MR JEFFERS: They just call him “M” and I’ll say no more about it. He could wipe me and my kids out in the blink of an eye, and would do so on very little excuse, so I really don’t want to attract his attention.
  25. YOUNG HOLMES: I see. And me? What verdict do you have regarding me?
  26. MR JEFFERS: Don’t be silly, Mr Holmes. Like I said my kids don’t miss much. We know you aren’t behind the kidnappings. I sent those idiot upworlders off hours ago. I’ve just been waiting here for you to come round so we could have a bit of a chat, so to speak.
  27. YOUNG HOLMES: I see. (BEAT) Or at least I begin to. Why have you chosen to communicate with me now? My last two attempts to make contact were met with rebuff.
  28. MR JEFFERS: We didn’t really know you then. It’s often safest to withhold trust.
  29. YOUNG HOLMES: And now?
  30. MR JEFFERS: We think you’re probably the only one who can stop these kidnappings from becoming a plague.
  31. YOUNG HOLMES: An interesting choice of metaphor.
  32. MR JEFFERS: It may be more apt than you think. The majority of kidnappings have occurred in broad daylight… and that has been unfathomable enough because my kids have seen nothing.
  33. YOUNG HOLMES: (MUSING ALOUD) Who is trusted enough that they can hunt by the light of day? A policeman, perhaps, or a doctor? Maybe a priest? Clearly someone people are inclined to trust and who has the capacity to lure them into a trap.
  34. MR JEFFERS: Perhaps. But it is not all happening by daylight. At night the scavengers come out. When you were running from the police, it was them that the folk who cornered you were out hunting.
  35. YOUNG HOLMES: And who are these scavengers?
  36. MR JEFFERS: We can’t rightly say. My kids have seen them from time to time and have stayed clear. They shamble through the streets of Highgate after dark on quiet nights and they attempt to trap anyone who is alone or unwary. My kids say they smell of turned earth and their numbers are increasing.
  37. YOUNG HOLMES: Good grief, that’s it!
  38. MR JEFFERS: Mr Holmes?
  39. YOUNG HOLMES: Mr Jeffers, I have been a fool. It was no coincidence that a man matching my description was lying in wait outside Highgate Cemetery. I have, inadvertently, placed my friends in grave danger and need to depart from here as soon as is practical.
  40. MR JEFFERS: That should not prove a problem. But please, tell me what you have discovered before you go?
  41. YOUNG HOLMES: I’m sorry, but at the moment I have but a theory… and I’m not sure you would believe me even if I did lay it out for you.
  42. MR JEFFERS: Alright, Mr Holmes, keep your secrets and go to the aid of your friends. I’ll have one of my lads — Sam, his name is — lead you out.
  43. YOUNG HOLMES: Mr Jeffers, before I go, I was wondering… your network could be of great use to my work. The value of having eyes and ears all over London is inestimable. Could I count on you for aid in future?
  44. MR JEFFERS: What, like a bunch of Baker Street Irregulars? I’ll tell you what, Mr Holmes? Our business down here is survival. I try hard to help kids who have nowhere else to go. If we may call upon your aid in return and if you’re willing to pay for our help when you need it, then I think we can form an alliance, yes.
  45. YOUNG HOLMES: Good man. Now, as to how to get out of here?
  46. MUSIC: [3] (BRIDGE) NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 7: INT. — IN THE SEWERS BENEATH 221B BAKER STREET — MIDNIGHT, ONE DAY AFTER BEING KNOCKED OUT (YOUNG HOLMES, SAM)

  1. SOUND: [12] (WALLA) TRUDGING THROUGH MUD IN TUNNELS — ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
  2. YOUNG HOLMES: Slow down a minute, Sam. Do you happen to know what time it is up above?
  3. SAM: Sure. It’d be close t’ midnight in the upworld.
  4. YOUNG HOLMES: Midnight? That can’t be right. We’ve been walking through these tunnels for forty-five minutes at least. Given the time I spent talking with Mr Jeffers and my encounter with the street thugs I couldn’t have been knocked out for more than a few seconds if it were only midnight.
  5. SAM: You were asleep for an entire day, Mr ’olmes. Sound like a baby. It was a good thing Mr J was lookin’ out fer ye or ye might’ve woken up without yer boots and rats chewin’ on yer toes.
  6. YOUNG HOLMES: Charming. I thought Mr Jeffers said you lot don’t steal?
  7. SAM: Oh, none of us do, Mr H. But there’re others ’oo use the tunnels as’d cut yer throat as soon as look at yer.
  8. YOUNG HOLMES: Yes. I’m sure. By the looks of it you could gain access to almost any home in London from these tunnels.
  9. SAM: (SKEPTICALLY) You could… but it’s a lot more dangerous than it looks — there are things down ’ere you really don’t want to meet — and some of the access ways are only open to little folk like us. No full-grown bloke’d get through ’em.
  10. YOUNG HOLMES: I see. Perhaps I should advise Miss Hudson to block up some of these pathways. At least the ones that give access to 221B (TWO TWO ONE B).
  11. SAM: And then where’d you be in times like this? Besides, the ’oles wouldn’t stay blocked.
  12. YOUNG HOLMES: What do you mean?
  13. SAM: Well, the routes change down ’ere. More often than you’d think. An’ doors which get blocked ’ave a tendency to come unblocked. We don’t do the work an’ we don’t know ’oo does, but it ’appens all the same. (BEAT) ’ere we are then. These steps lead up to 221B (TWO TWO ONE B).
  14. YOUNG HOLMES: Good work, Sam. Could I ask you to be my guide for a while longer? I need to visit a curio shop in Soho and get back to Highgate undetected after we stop off here.
  15. SAM: A curio shop in Soho? Mr J wouldn’t like me ’elpin you do a B an’ E.
  16. YOUNG HOLMES: I’ll leave the money for anything I take, I promise you. And if I’m right about what’s behind these kidnappings, I think Mr Jeffers would approve.
  17. SAM: ’alf a crown.
  18. YOUNG HOLMES: What?
  19. SAM: I was ’elpin’ out Mr Jeffers ’afore. If’n I’m goin’ to be workin’ fer you, it’ll cost you ’alf a crown.
  20. YOUNG HOLMES: (AMUSED) Alright. Done. Let’s get up these stairs.
  21. SOUND: [32] FOOTSTEPS RISING UP STAIRS — FADE OUT.
  22. MUSIC: [3] (BRIDGE) NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 8: INT. — 221B BAKER STREET — MOMENTS LATER (SAM, YOUNG HOLMES)

  1. SAM: [CUE] Cor! An’ people say I’m untidy.
  2. YOUNG HOLMES: Don’t be an idiot, Sam. The property has been ransacked. Look, there’s blood over here and here’s Doctor Watson’s wheelchair.
  3. SAM: You think ’e was taken, Mr ’olmes?
  4. YOUNG HOLMES: Most likely. This ruin might have been wrought during a struggle… or maybe the attacker came back looking for something. (CALLING OUT) Miss Hudson? Miss Hudson? Anyone? Is anyone home? (SHORT SILENT WAIT) I’d say whoever it was collected everybody.
  5. SAM: The ’ole ’ouse? ’ow many were there?
  6. YOUNG HOLMES: Aside from Miss Hudson and the Doctor? Oh, three or four. I couldn’t actually be bothered keeping track.
  7. SAM: What’ll you do now?
  8. YOUNG HOLMES: I need to get back to Highgate as soon as possible… but this only makes my trip to the curio shop more urgent. (BEAT) Lay on, Macduff.
  9. SAM: What?
  10. YOUNG HOLMES: Lead the way.
  11. MUSIC: [4] (BRIDGE) TIME PASSING SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 9: EXT. — A BACK ALLEY IN HIGHGATE — MUCH LATER (SAM, YOUNG HOLMES, GHOUL #1, GHOUL #2, CABBIE)

  1. SOUND: [9] (WALLA) CRICKETS. OCCASIONAL OWL HOOT — ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
  2. SOUND: [33] BRIEF UNSCREW, LIFT AND CLANG OF MANHOLE COVER OPENING — LET IT FINISH.
  3. SAM: ’ere we are, Mr ’olmes. Up you come, back in ’ighgate like I promised.
  4. SOUND: [34] RUNGS OF METAL LADDER BEING CLIMBED — LET IT FINISH.
  5. YOUNG HOLMES: (GRUNTS) Thank you, Sam. That was a well-earned half crown. What will you do now?
  6. SAM: I’ll be goin’ back down the manhole, quick smart. An’ you won’t stay on this street longer ’n you ’ave to either — if you’re smart.
  7. YOUNG HOLMES: And why’s that?
  8. SAM: See ’ow quiet it is? No people about?
  9. YOUNG HOLMES: I assumed you had arranged somewhere quiet for our egress.
  10. SAM: Swipe me! No, sir! It’s in the quiet that the scavengers come out. It’s back underground for me ’n in no short order. (BEAT) Can you put the lid back on when I go down?
  11. YOUNG HOLMES: Yes, of course.
  12. SOUND: [35] RUNGS OF METAL LADDER BEING CLIMBED (DESCENDING). CLANG OF MANHOLE COVER BEING LOWERED AGAIN — LET IT FINISH.
  13. YOUNG HOLMES: Well, now for the cemetery.
  14. GHOUL #1: Yesss. The ssssemetery. We are hungry, we are.
  15. GHOUL #2: Yesss. Feeeed ussss.
  16. GHOUL PACK: Yesss. Yesss. Foood… (ETC.)
  17. YOUNG HOLMES: Come out where I can see you.
  18. SOUND: [36] SHUFFLING FEET — ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
  19. YOUNG HOLMES: So many? Ghouls? I doubt I can fight off such a pack. (TO THE GHOULS) Stay back!
  20. GHOUL #1: Doon’t try to ruuun. We aaaare faast. Weee willlll chaaase yooou.
  21. YOUNG HOLMES: On reflection I think I’ll take my chances.
  22. SOUND: [37] HOLMES RUNNING DOWN THE STREET. MOMENTS LATER THE SOUND OF GHOULS RUNNING AND HOWLING AFTER HIM IN A MAD DASH — ESTABLISH FOR A FEW SECONDS AND UNDER.
  23. SOUND: [18] ARRIVAL OF A CARRIAGE AND HORSES. THEY HALT — LET IT FINISH.
  24. CABBIE: Mr Holmes. You’ll be wantin t’ git in my cab as quick as maybe. Those varmints don’t look friendly.
  25. YOUNG HOLMES: Mr Hope, isn’t it? You are a sight for sore eyes.
  26. SOUND: [38] CAB DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES — LET IT FINISH.
  27. CABBIE: Geeyup! Hah!
  28. SOUND: [39] CAB TAKES OFF AT A GALLOP. GHOUL SHRIEKS FADE INTO DISTANCE — LET IT FINISH.
  29. CABBIE: You know, Mr Holmes, I’da thought you smarter’n this?
  30. YOUNG HOLMES: How so?
  31. SOUND: [40] HISS OF GAS — ESTABLISH AND UNDER UNTIL END OF SCENE.
  32. CABBIE: Well, you have a certain reputation for identifying trouble when it’s a comin’ your way.
  33. YOUNG HOLMES: (SUDDEN REALIZATION) Who can hunt in plain sight? Policemen, priests, doctors, and…
  34. CABBIE: And cabbies. It’s easy really. People just climb right in.
  35. YOUNG HOLMES: And then… you… (GROANS) you… gas them?
  36. CABBIE: That’s right, Mr Holmes. Now you jes lay yourself down and have yerself a nice little sleep. I’ll be deliverin’ you to the good folks in ’ighgate Cemetery shortly. You’ll see a few o’ your friends I dare say… an’ some of ’em’ll be mighty hungry.
  37. YOUNG HOLMES: (GROANS)
  38. SOUND: [27] BODY DROP — LET IT FINISH.
  39. MUSIC: [5] (BRIDGE) OMINOUS SCENE ENDER — LET IT FINISH.
  40. MUSIC: [2] CLOSING THEME — LET IT FINISH.

Scarlet

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Scarlet – Episode 2 – On the Run

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