Original subtitles

The Thread would have killed me long ago

were I not somehow vital to their success.

Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Welcome. Thank you, Prime Minister.

Someone at Chief Inspector Whitlock's office

immediately rang up Lord Withersea.

Warning him he was about to welcome Watson and Mrs. Hudson,

not to mention the ambassador's jewels.

Unless I find the jewels by tomorrow afternoon,

the ambassador collects 50,000 pounds.

The kidnappers must communicate with each other,

and then Watson and Mrs. Hudson will once more be on the move.

Our allies and friends are already strategically placed,

and I will light up the sky with two signals.

One color representing where Watson and Mrs. Hudson

have been kept, and the other color

representing where they are going.

Prepare to write a warrant for them.

What do you call it?

A wiretap, my lord.

I can hear and record every conversation

from the telephone of the chief inspector.

Now, go upstairs and provoke your superiors.

No call yet, sir.

No.

The person using the telephone I must wait to be alone

in Whitlock's office.

How long will that take, sir?

Not long.

The time frame I gave was designed

to eliminate the possibilities of a messenger.

Are you in danger, sir?

No, no, no, no, no.

It's not my safety at risk, but the lives of those

I hold most dear.

If I am wrong, if the culprit employing the telephone

in Whitlock's office does not use it again,

if we have nothing to record, then my trap springs

shut on the wind,

And my friends, my dearest friends, could die.

Operator, operator!

Whitlock?

Number, please.

This is Scotland Yard.

Ring Belgravia 483.

Quickly!

You have a stone in your boot.

I believe the cobbler can be found in Kensington.

Quickly.

The hostages are travelling from the Dowager

Duchess of Lincolnshire, Green, which is where

Shaw and the Irregulars are stationed, to Kensington, the

Duke of Leicester, Yellow, Where they'll have

to pass by Bertie.

Now, excuse me, Shaw, I haven't a second to lose.

But, sir, what should I do?

Just continue recording the calls

and pray that there is no change of plan.

Wish me luck, Swan.

Green boys, look ahead.

That's us.

Two carriages.

They may submit them up.

Half and half, lads.

You two take the second one, all right?

Come on.

That's the one.

Head to the Duke of Leicester.

That's it, Mr. Halligan, let's go!

Get!

Take the yellow route to the Duke of Leicester.

Time is of the essence, Dankworth.

Certainly, sir.

Redfloyd, carry.

Let's go.

Get off the road!

Is this it?

Come on, keep going!

Almost there!

Keep going!

Well done.

Don't take the drives.

Look for the hostages.

It's my sister!

Let me, Mrs. Okay, okay.

It's stuck.

It won't budge.

Let me in there.

Ah, Holmes.

How kind of you to join us.

Thank you for following my instructions so closely.

Two carriages, my god.

Clever, but not clever enough.

Come on.

Is it Mr. Holmes?

Oh, my lord.

I must be dreaming.

Everyone seems to be floating.

There, mate.

Steady, Mrs. Hudson, steady.

Oh, sister.

Dear sister.

Help Mrs. Hudson to my carriage.

Take great care.

She's been heavily dosed with opium.

Watson, come on, Shaw.

Get this open.

Come on.

Watson. Oh.

Oh. Oh, yes.

What? You found us.

Yes, of course.

I knew you would.

Of course.

You've been very heavily sedated.

Yes. We'll get you home.

Yes. You can have a proper rest.

No, no, no.

No, the gold.

The banking, the rob-- robbing the Bank of England.

What? They may have done it already.

Who? I'm going to fall.

What?

Take him.

Take him.

Take him to my carriage.

Come on.

All right.

Swan!

There we go.

That's a good boy.

Lady Violet, how may I help you?

I must speak with the ambassador.

Despite the lateness of the hour,

My husband is still at the embassy.

Would you care to leave a message?

Sorry for the inconvenience, but I must wait for his return.

Then may I use your telephone?

I need to make an important call to Scotland Yard.

Chief Inspector Whitlock here.

To whom am I speaking, please?

Your betters, that's who.

And I have a serious problem.

I have already solved quite a few of your

problems, Lady Violet.

Including those related to the less than accidental death

of one of your debutantes.

Your taste for violence has become...

I'm in no mood for a lecture on morality.

Especially from a man who has been so handsomely rewarded

for betraying the law.

If you wish to escape with your prize, you'll

continue to assist me.

Assist you?

How? With that awful

girl, Amelia Rojas.

The American ambassador insisted I place in his household.

She knows I have the designs to her mother's weapon.

I want her out of the way.

Your hatred of this girl is a distraction from Holmes,

whom you continue to underestimate.

I have been right about Sherlock so far.

But the girl is more unpredictable and so a threat.

I am presently involved in the most delicate part

of our entire enterprise and Holmes must not

suspect that he has been led to do our bidding.

His arrogance won't allow him to suspect.

And as for the girl, have one of your idiot

inspectors pick her up and take him care of in

prison, like he did with Charlie the coachman.

There is nothing I can do to remove the girl

while she is at the ambassador's residence.

Very well.

At my first opportunity, I will kill her myself.

Shh. Keep quiet.

You scared me half to death.

I'm sorry, I couldn't go through the front door.

Why?

Because it's so late?

No, it's not the hour.

Although I'd have some explaining to do

if the Pinkertons had seen me.

Does the lateness of your return

have anything to do with Mr. Wylie?

No, no, shh.

Not at all, actually.

It's...

Clara, listen to me, okay?

The person who planned my kidnapping, and yours,

who killed Emma and murdered my mother,

is downstairs right now, in your father's study.

Who on earth are you talking about?

Lady Violet Somerset arrived two hours ago

and insisted on waiting for you, and helped herself

to our telephone.

But what could she possibly want?

It's quite nearly morning.

The sooner I talk with her, the faster she will leave.

If there's a problem, my darling,

if she's causing you distress-- Nothing beyond this

inexcusable intrusion, which will soon be over.

At last.

Your behavior grows more reckless by the hour.

and your tone more presumptuous.

You may rank high in London society,

but you hold no position of legitimate power,

whereas I am the United States ambassador

to the court of St. James and the legal representative

of my nation in Great Britain.

I am well aware of your status.

Indeed, I consider you to be one of my most valuable employees.

Your... employee?

You may not wear my livery, but of no doubt

you are my servant, and on the verge of

receiving an extraordinary reward for your labors.

By this time tomorrow, I will have made you

a hero to the public and one of the richest

men in the world.

One of the richest?

May I remind you that the plan we are about to execute is mine?

If not for me, the success of your conspiracy

would have, at best, left the country you wish to

dominate in financial ruin.

I admit, you finessed bribing the authorities with genius,

and your change in what the robbery should accomplish

was uncommonly clever, but I chose you.

I came all the way to America under the pretense of

helping your daughter because I recognized that

despite conspicuous failures, you had the will, the

means, and immunity to accomplish what none

of the rest of us could.

So that you should attempt to interfere

with selling this weapon when you know how important

it is to my ultimate goal.

I find it disloyal to say the very least.

Especially as I created a date for your daughter's ball at

the cost of someone's life.

Which was done without my knowledge or consent.

You promised no murders and now there have been bodies

piling up beyond count.

So no, I will not allow Clara's Ball or my embassy

to be used as an auction house for weapons.

There's no more perfect place or occasion

for this sale to take place.

Every foreign diplomat in London may attend the ball

without attracting suspicion.

The actual exchange will be made discreetly in your stables.

Perhaps I misled you a little about killing people,

but I never denied our ultimate aim.

Think, please.

This is no ordinary weapon.

You could decide the outcome of this war

you seem so determined to start.

Do you really have so little feeling for your own country?

Oh, don't be naive.

This war will not be won on a field of battle.

Indeed, the victors have already been crowned.

They rule our boardrooms, banks, and foundries.

By the day of surrender without knowing it,

England will have been subsumed by industry,

and the financial system by which I must live a beggar

in my own family will come to an end.

You say I have no feeling for my country.

It is my country that has no feeling for me.

This is not the future Dan Moriarty espouses.

Well, he's ridiculous.

And, like Holmes, will have soon served his purpose.

The thread can dispense with the bow.

And the wretched girl, too.

How you start your war and what you hope it will accomplish

is up to you and your other bloody-minded accomplices.

But that wretched girl

is under my personal protection, which I will not withdraw.

Oh, really?

Have you forgotten all about Clara's romance

with your former coachman?

You encouraged his advances.

And taking my daughter hostage was both a

betrayal and an outrage.

Had you given me the keys, when I asked, your

daughter's seduction would have been unnecessary.

You forced my hand.

If you do so again, well, diplomatic immunity might

keep you from an arrest.

But nothing can protect you from a scandal like that.

Do you ever wonder, Lady Violet, if you might be

in over your head?

Hmm. I have outmaneuvered

even Sherlock Holmes.

You are no such challenge.

Hopefully wealth and universal adulation

will soften your outrage.

Hide this well.

Bring it with you to Clara's ball.

Or your daughter's introduction to society

will be the last night she appears in public.

That witch wants to destroy me.

She can't.

The keys she was talking about, they have to be

used at your debut.

What do they unlock?

Here I am, worried about my own future,

while Lady Violet plots your murder.

It's not just my life that's being threatened.

It's Mr. Holmes' too.

And a war?

I can't believe it.

Why would Lady Violet want to start a war?

Amelia, where are you going?

To get the answers to your questions.

And to make dead certain that nothing happens to you,

Michael Wylie, or to Mr. Holmes.

Take care.

I now fear Lady Violet more than anything.

You're not wrong.

Wish me luck.

Ms. Rojas.

Detective Swan.

Sorry to startle you.

What are you doing here?

I've come to tell you, you're in great danger.

And I must protect you until morning.

The effects of the opium will wear off soon,

but they should fully recover.

When they come round, I advise fresh water,

some warm soup and a long, hot bath.

Thank you, Dr. Wells.

Mr. and Mrs. Halligan, I will leave our patients in your care

whilst I follow the scent.

Not to worry, Holmes.

We'll run these kidnappers to ground.

I'm sure you will.

But I must now turn my attention to the robbery

of a significant amount of gold from the Bank of England.

I do not know how you came to be aware of it.

The transfer of the South African gold

from the Wharves to the Bank was accomplished

in complete secrecy.

Bullivant supervised its transfer yesterday.

And even if thieves could break into the bank,

I mean, how would they escape 8,000 ounces of solid gold?

An excellent question, Bullivant.

And I must ask the Bank of England to open their vault

in order to answer it.

If you'll excuse me, I fear I may already be too late.

Ah, Mr. Holmes.

I hope you'll allow us to accompany you.

If your charges are true, we must

immediately join in the pursuit.

For which I presume the reporter and the photographer

standing behind you are indispensable?

If circumstances allow, we must immediately alert the public.

The "Daily Chronicle" was convinced

to hold off on the mid-morning edition,

should our news require the front page.

I would have spared the yard such a salacious expose,

but as you will.

Dear me, Mr. Holmes, your alarms have us terrified and perplexed.

This shipment of South African gold

is essential to the bank's capital reserves.

Without it, markets would collapse across the empire.

I must hope you are wrong, Mr. Holmes.

I assure you, Governor Kavanagh, nothing

will give me more pleasure.

Oh, thank heavens.

Mr. Holmes, sir, would you mind posing in front of the gold?

What gold?

Why, this gold, from South Africa,

securely transferred from ship to vault

under my direct supervision.

May I, Inspector?

Careful, Holmes.

It's quite heavy.

Note the fine powder appearing on the bar's exterior,

indicating soluble salts moving to the surface,

the effects of moisture possibly related to the recent rains.

I trust the powder will have no effect on the value.

No, not at all.

The gold will be worth exactly what it was

when it was loaded into your vault.

You see, gentlemen, these bars...

...covering bits of lead...

...painted a persuasive color and bearing

the proper imprint...

are one hundred percent

Counterfeit.

But how?

I saw the gold being broken open out of the crate

and tested and unloaded off the ship

into a convoy of carriages.

That much is certainly true.

And I drove alongside these carriages

all the way from the wharf to the bank.

I believe you.

And I observed the gold being carried into the bank.

Now that is impossible.

The vault was neither opened nor breached, yet this is not gold.

Ergo, the gold was never here.

Now, it was brought from the ships and walked past you

by a group of coachmen, all of whom were part of a conspiracy

to rob the bank.

They arrived at the wharf in vehicles already filled

with counterfeit bars of painted plaster,

and the real gold was placed in the carriage's false bottoms.

Now, you escorted the gold and these thieving coachmen

across London and upon arrival at the bank,

the counterfeit bars were loaded into the vault.

And the real gold was driven away

and where it has gone will take some thought.

But that is hardly the most important question.

The whereabouts of the gold is not the most

important question.

No, it is not.

The most pertinent question

is how was I able to envision this crime so quickly?

And with such astonishing accuracy,

I am used to making inferences far beyond the

scope of untrained minds, but criminals seldom provide

me with such flagrant clues, such as this plaster dust,

flecked with gold paint, left behind in at least

two of the carriages used in the robbery.

How did you come across these carriages?

Well, they were engaged again hours later

in the relocation of Watson and Mrs. Hudson.

Their coats were caked in gold dust,

and we rescued them just in time to be told

their captors were robbing the Bank of England.

Well, what an amazing coincidence.

Here's another.

I was able to have a similar carriage dismantled

right after it had been used in the attempted abduction

of my former maid, so I knew about the false buttons.

And I assume Scotland Yard contracted these vehicles

from the Green and Crest Asylum for the criminally insane.

It was an attempt to transport the gold to the vault

using unremarkable conveyances.

No, no, no, no.

This cannot be true!

Whoa!

Shouldn't I be taking you to Baker Street?

No, I need to find where Michael Wylie works.

Miss Rojas!

Wait, wait.

Um, ladies cannot enter the exchange.

I will go in, find this Michael Wylie,

and bring him out to you.

Yeah, but you don't know what he looks like.

You there!

Move this carriage away from the--

Scotland Yard!

Your badge could get me inside.

Police business!

Scotland Yard, out of the way, please!

Police business, Scotland Yard, police business!

Scotland Yard!

Officer! Amelia, what are you doing here?

Excuse me, officer, but I respectfully ask you

release Miss Rojas immediately.

Well, I can assure you, Mr. Wylie,

that my holding of Miss Rojas' wrist

was necessary to keep her on the floor of this exchange,

where she insisted upon hunting for you.

It's OK.

I overheard Lady Violet tell the ambassador that she wants

to get rid of you and me.

What does Lady Violet have against us, did she say?

Maybe it has something to do with your support of home rule.

How would she know about that?

Don't ask me, but...

she also wants to start a war.

What? How?

That's not possible.

The stock market's crashing.

Stay away from Lady Violet.

Let Sherlock Holmes deal with her.

I've got to get back to work.

What is going on?

Well, an epic crime.

The Bank of England has been robbed.

And will probably fail.

We must go now.

I'll take you back to Baker Street on the way to the yard.

No. If this is really an epic crime,

there's only one place Sherlock Holmes would be.

This conversation you overheard between Lady Violet and the

Ambassador is most revealing.

Now I know for certain why the jewels are so important

and where they've gone.

Where? to Chief Inspector Whitlock,

for whom they were always intended as a bribe.

He took over the search for them himself.

And before Lord Withersea, he shot himself.

He must have told Whitlock where the gems were to be found.

But what part does the ambassador play

in the bank robbery?

And how does he become a public hero?

I don't know, but I can tell you who does.

Chief Inspector Whitlock.

He told you himself.

Every day, the Home Office sends me a list

of potential revolutionaries, misfits, and former felons.

He must have hired some of them as drivers to steal the gold.

Whitlock brought a reporter and a photographer with him today

inside the vault.

Well, maybe he didn't think you'd figure out what happened.

Maybe he wanted to prove he's smarter than Sherlock Holmes.

That's a mistake many have made to their regret.

But consider this.

The red thread gave me the means to lay bare the robbery, so...

So? -So should I not also know where the gold has gone?

Why would they want you to find the gold?

Why would they want me to know about the robbery at all?

Okay, this is...

it's... It's what you call a

theory of the crime.

So how do we prove it?

By locating the gold without looking for it.

Make Whitlock tell us.

He's not only involved with the robbery,

but he's also working for Lady Violet.

Swan has a recording of a telephone conversation.

Kill him.

Kill him.

So? Except I promised

the Prime Minister nothing from the wiretap

would be used in evidence.

Well, Whitlock doesn't know that.

Yes.

Yes, very good idea.

And I will follow up on Whitlock's ignorance

to the proper time, not just yet.

If I am right, we should be able to deduce

the gold's whereabouts based on the clues we already have.

Remember, I overheard Lord Withersea in the stables

say that the coffins were about to become more valuable.

They're worth less than they will be,

a week or two hence.

But Withersea's needs were more immediate.

And besides, who ever heard that conversation

without his knowledge?

If my theory is correct, all clues left by the red

thread must be deliberate.

The telephone calls between Whitlock and the coffin factory.

No, Whitlock called everyone.

No, it needs to be something more specific.

Oh. What about this?

A coffin screw from the ambassador's carriage.

Why do you carry this with you?

I guess as a keepsake.

From the first day we started working together.

Amelia, if I had known back then when we first met,

if I understood...

If I had made a better breakfast.

Oh, that wretched breakfast.

I shall never forget it.

Well, to be fair, you didn't taste it.

I chose life.

was the sensible solution.

But you're quite right.

This screw is so specific to Withersea's factory.

Yes. Yes, yes.

That's why Wheems and Maggot were executed.

To cover their escape, they set fire to the very place

the gold was to be hidden.

The thread must have been furious.

You certainly were.

Do you think they left the screw there

for you to find on purpose?

Yes, someone brilliantly anticipated my actions,

but they could never have foreseen yours.

So, let us prove the theory by finding the gold.

What if the coachmen are all still there at the factory?

I mean, there are a lot of them.

Do we need the police?

No, no, no, no, no, no.

We can't afford to have Whitlock warning them by telephone.

Wait. I have the perfect solution.

Yes.

Swan, I have an idea where we might find the stolen gold,

and there's not a second to lose.

Yeah, but, sir, I should really report this.

Well, I could be wrong.

It has happened.

And perhaps we should make sure the gold is where we think it is

before informing your superiors and having this case

snatched from your hands.

Yes, sir.

Where to?

Withersea coffin Factory, on the double.

What?

This place is more heavily guarded than I'd hoped.

An observation I was on the verge of making myself.

I bet they chase someone into the coffin factory.

I hope I'm chasing someone.

You don't mean you.

I'll get the guards to follow me inside.

I can cut off their exit from the roof.

Trust me, Mr. Holmes.

This will work.

Don't follow me until they're all inside.

Hey, it's Robert, the murderer's in here!

Easy. Good day, gentlemen.

We ask that you remain here quietly

until suitable arrangements can be made.

What do you think you're playing at?

You're a copper.

I'm not, but allow me to introduce.

Detective Swan of Scotland Yard.

And I'm arresting you all in the name of the Queen.

Not to worry, Mr. Holmes.

I've locked the doors from up here.

The only place these blokes are going is prison.

Thank you, Clarence.

You've done more than I could have ever asked.

Games up, gentlemen.

Now up against the wall.

Come on.

Well, this is all well and good, but do they have

my stolen jewels?

No, no.

Bertie, for now we shall have to satisfy ourselves

with all this gold, but the gems will be back

in your hands soon enough.

I know where they are.

Now, Shaw, if you and the rest of the irregulars

could please find Inspector Bullivant

and tell him the happy news, that we

need some reinforcements.

Did we just save England again, Mr. Holmes?

We did, indeed.

Never saved England before.

How does it feel?

Well, not bad, considering.

Much worse for dear Mrs. Hudson than I.

How is she faring?

She's coming along.

Helps being tended by her twin sister.

I have a small gift for you.

Your buttons, I believe.

I'm glad to see that I did not destroy my waistcoat in vain.

At least you knew we were alive.

Come, I'm anxious to hear the whole story.

Crime of the century.

Oh, hardly that.

Nonsense. You recovered the gold,

caught an entire factory filled with thieves,

rescued us.

about which I am most happy.

Never think otherwise.

But before Lord Withersea killed himself,

he implied a crime beyond my imagination,

and that has not happened.

There are so many orphaned pieces to this puzzle.

Why steal plans for a weapon in California?

Why demand keys of the American ambassador?

No, the robbery and the kidnappings

are not the whole story.

there's something worse.

What awful crime binds these disparate members

of the Red Thread together?

The Red Thread

will make a terrific title.

Damn it, I tire so easily.

The after effects of too much opium, dear boy,

will soon wear off.

Who on earth is that?

Oh, ah, yes, well, allow me to present Miss Amelia Rojas.

She is my--

my-- my-- never mind.

I don't have the time.

Enough of these questions.

The doctor is here to measure your progress.

A little peace and quiet will do you good.

Amelia?

He's better.

You'll have your old stalking partner back soon.

Not soon enough.

Clara's ball is two days hence, and by then all our

riddles must be answered.

I've solved a lot of them already.

Oh, which ones?

Why you weren't murdered, why we were meant

to find the gold, and how the American ambassador

will become a national hero.

Well, your deductive powers have shown sensational progress.

How did you manage all that?

The evening paper.

You were mentioned, too, as the greatest

detective in the world.

Amelia, that is not news.

That is not news.

Fortunately, I am immune to flattery,

though we should always be grateful

whenever the press elect to be precise.

Oh, for goodness sake.

After hearing of the robbery, the American ambassador

hurriedly put together a consortium of investors.

The purchase of the bank's plummeting shares

stopped the panic and brought stability

to the chaotic markets.

In his speech to reporters later, he explained.

When I heard the Bank of England's governor

had engaged the brilliant Sherlock Holmes,

I knew the gold would be found.

My broker, Sir Nigel Parks, helped me to find others

who would intervene, and together, we

were able to halt the Bank of England's

slide toward bankruptcy by the purchase of a

majority of its shares.

But nothing we did would have mattered

without the greatest detective on Earth

exercising his miraculous abilities.

The real victory belongs to Sherlock Holmes.

Yes, by bringing the press with him into the vault,

Whitlock made sure the world would know about the robbery

and launched a financial panic, allowing the thread to buy the

bank for pennies on the pound.

Just this afternoon,

Ambassador Anderson made 10 million

off an investment of 50,000 pounds.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

In the meantime, the Coachmen are carted off to jail

without knowing how or why they were betrayed.

Guess we didn't solve the crime of the century.

We helped make it possible.

Therefore, the greatest crime is yet to come.

This broker, Sir Nigel Parks, is he not Dan Moriarty's employer?

Did Dan also invest in this scheme?

Where would he get the money?

by muscling in on his father's organization,

about which he may have known more than he let on.

Yes.

Let me see.

I had both my profession as a mathematician

and my greater enterprise to maintain.

Greater enterprise?

By which you mean the exploitation of human weakness

through opium dens, gambling, and houses of ill repute,

run by men for whom loyalty is a vice best remedied by greed.

And at Lady Violet's party was the young Moriarty,

who lured me outside.

What do you mean Amelia was denied entry?

That's unacceptable.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, Mr. Holmes.

I just spoke to her.

Wait, Mr. Holmes.

And if I hadn't been lured outside,

I would never have seen the carriage, nor known how the

gold went missing on its journey from the ship to the bank were

it not for that wretched boy.

And of course, that's why the other coach was waiting,

for your sham abductors.

Kidnappers don't need getaway vehicles, they

take their crime with them.

All of this makes perfect sense if we change but one conclusion.

What's that?

I'm surprised to find someone of your intellect

mistaken current circumstances for future prospects.

Dan Moriarty did not kill the coachman to save you.

Perhaps time will reveal just how much

you underestimate of my abilities.

You did it to save me.

Michael Wylie, here to visit with Professor James Moriarty.

Father.

Dear boy.

Dear boy.

Go.

I will call you if I need you.

I apologize for my previous behavior.

It was necessary to deceive that pompous fool, Holmes.

I'm so relieved, dear boy.

But do not be dismissive of my most persistent

adversary, Pompous.

Oh, yes, but Holmes is no fool.

Not only did he rescue his friends, he foiled a perfect

robbery of the Bank of England.

I assure you, Father, in no way did Holmes foil anything.

Almost as every move in solving these crimes was designed by me.

What? But surely you did not...

I robbed the Bank of England, and it went

even better than hoped.

But Holmes recovered the gold and the perpetrators

have been arrested.

Only because these actions were vital to my success.

You see, by purchasing stock in the bank when it seemed

almost certain to fail, I gained a great fortune

when Holmes saved the day.

I wonder where a broker's clerk found enough pounds to invest

during an unexpected market panic.

From you, of course.

From me?

More specifically, those elements of the Moriarty

criminal syndicate I acquired through your

less loyal henchmen.

Accomplished by approving a more equal split

in profits and, uh...

Long denied promotions.

But you never took my businesses.

That was the red thread.

Do you still not understand?

I am the red thread.

Or the most important part of it.

And tonight we achieve a far greater ambition

than stupendous wealth.

There is no greater ambition than wealth.

It is a locus around which our entire empire revolves.

Before the sun rises tomorrow, I will bring that

empire to its knees.

And I'll be well on my way to setting its colonies free,

now and forever.

We have the financial means.

We have the weapon.

Now all we need is the inciting incident.

You said yourself you could leave whenever you wanted.

A ship awaits you even now, as does a villa in

Ravenna where you can...

Hold a moment!

There is much here to consider.

First, what do you mean, bring the Empire to its knees?

Surely you intend no harm to Her Majesty.

Well, kill the Queen with so many princes to take her place.

No.

I will settle for nothing less than freeing the Crown's

colonies from British rule.

In order to achieve that, I require war.

Against England?

Against all nations that would subjugate free people.

I'm pressed for time.

We can explain this-- -Stand up!

Yeah.

You're planning to sacrifice yourself

for some transient political cause.

It's hardly transient.

Do not worry, I am no martyr.

Oh, but you are.

To steal from me and boast of it to my face

and then in recompense for your impudence,

offer me a life as a fugitive.

Or were you planning to use my escape as a distraction

to mislead the authorities into thinking that I

was the author of your inciting incident?

Very good, Father.

Very good.

Yes, yes, that had been what I'd hoped.

To achieve the evening's work and have all eyes trained

on the disappearance of Professor Moriarty,

the world's most famous criminal maniac.

And as the search became more frantic,

would I ever arrive at this villa

Or would my body be a better answer for your treason?

Dankworth!

Here's your professorship, sir.

Show this young, unnatural man out and see that

he never returns.

Admit it, Father.

You're a little proud of me, aren't you?

Moriarty's do not overthrow empires.

We corrupt them to our advantage.

And I can feel little pride in a criminal

who, when given the chance, fails to kill Sherlock Holmes.

You mean like you.