the year was 1891. london was the capital of the world -- the height of modernity, with the hiss of steam and smell of coal in the air. it was also the great cesspool into which all the sinners and criminals of the empire drained.
i had come to london, ten years prior, to find a life after the afghan war. i had hoped to start a medical practice and settle into a nice, steady existence. the life i found was anything but nice and steady.
and that had everything to do with one man. my friend, my partner, my burden.
 sherlock holmes.
nice hat.
getting his troops in formation. is that your blood or theirs?
you left this behind.
you did.
yeah, s'me.
the girl.
lord blackwood?! blackwood applauds softly, strangely.
stay right there.
it is.
-- at the excellent work of scotland yard. as usual.
71 over 104.  very good, captain.
no -- ground floor. and there'll be a woman's touch, too.
i think we can start to wean you off the medicine --
let's give it a little longer, just to be safe. i'll be right back.
you're not going in at all.
he just needs a new case, that's all.
i smell burning.
why don't you take captain philips and give him a nice cup of tea.
and perhaps some tea and bread up here when you can.
may i join you in the armory?
it needs work. may i see?.
it's been three months since the last case. about time you found another one.
paper?
let's see, we have a letter here from mrs. ramsey in queen's park -- her husband has gone missing.
yes, holmes. lady radford reports a missing emerald bracelet.
yes, it's our last case together and i wanted to see it through to the end.
mr. lewis is seeking.
what have you done to gladstone this time?
holmes! as your doctor.
 and your friend, you've been in this room for two weeks. i insist you get out of here.
so, you have nothing to do?
then you're free this evening.
for dinner.
the royale.
mary's coming.
you're meeting her, holmes.
i'm still looking for the right ring.
it's happening, like it or not. half past eight. the royale.
and wear a jacket.
holmes! you're early.
may i present miss mary morstan.
it's true.
those days are behind me.
i don't think that's necessary --
yes, well done. so shall we --
there's nothing wrong with your face.
give us a few minutes, please.
holmes.
well done, old man.
you know this is for eye surgery?
it's a pathological amorbic process, it increases tissue change and weakness. and you know what a black reaction comes on you afterwards.
really? what about when you -- oops --
let's go. lestrade wants you at pentonville prison.
you're blackwood's last request. says he has information he'll give only to you.
and your grand gift is the uncanny ability to demoralize people. i was aware she'd been engaged. she told me. holmes rubs his jaw.
that's my waistcoat.
well, it's my property and i want it back.
you go ahead. i've no business with him while he's alive.
look at you, i can't believe you ran after her like a schoolboy again. leaping about, all aflutter. are you a masochist?
don't you remember what she did to you? she turned you inside out, she made a proper idiot of you. i'm sorry, you were going to explain something.
i know, instead of just being tricked into being a witness at her wedding like last time --
you dress up as clergyman and actually perform the ceremony. she'd love that.
what's she after, anyway?
go on. i won't interrupt.
what could she possibly need? an alibi, a beard, a human canoe. she can sit on your back and paddle you up the thames.
i've already read it. luke reordon, four foot ten, red hair, missing two front teeth.
case solved! you're just not her type, holmes. she likes ginger dwarfs.
so you agree?
i've upset you, i can tell. i've said too much.
alright. what were you just doing?
that's what i've been trying to do.
which is no mean feat.
and yet she works for him. that's bad money. it's nothing to do with me, but leave this case.
you know what, i've had just about enough --
us means you.
well that's clever seeing as how i pronounced him dead myself.
i'll leave this one in your capable hands. i have tea with mary and her parents this evening.
are you taking this seriously?
look at this mess. nothing but standard-issue police bootprints. any possible evidence there might have been has been trampled.
he's in shock. we should give him a few moments.
he had no pulse.
lividity is late stage. diptera deposits are approximately -- -- three quarters of an inch, putting the time of death at ten to twelve hours ago.
missing two incisors in the upper jaw.  adler's midget.
i fail to see how these fish and chips are different from the three other places we passed along the way.
just eat.
you know, i've seen things in war that i couldn't explain. i once heard a man predict his death, down to the number and placement of the bullet holes that killed him. you have to admit that a supernatural explanation is at least theoretically possible.
the owner was most likely a drunk. each time he wound the watch his hand would slip, hence the scratches.
pawnbroker's marks.
maddison and haig.
there's one thing you've missed. on the watch.
the time. which leads me to deduce that i'm already late for my appointment with mary. you remember, the one i was leaving for before you talked me into coming to dig up dead bodies with you.
no, thank you.
you think you are clever don't you?
enough.
this is a new low -- even for you.
do you still have my cut from the fight?
not bad, eh?
i can spare ten minutes.
something did.
bloody hell.
appears he was attempting to follow occult formula with scientific practice.
has he any hydrochloric acid?
why would she hire you to find him, if she planned to do the job herself?
ferrocyanide. sucks the iron right out of the ink. long as it's not too burnt.
he worked for blackwood.
seems about fair.
holmes!
i haven't slept all night. i deserve this.  i clearly deserve it. how could i ever be so deluded as to believe i could meet mary's parents for tea once i let myself be talked into going with you. now of course i'm in jail.
i've used the time to review my notes on our exploits of the last seven months.  and i've come to the conclusion that i must be suffering from to some profound psychological aberration.
why else would i continually allow myself to be led into situations where you're deliberately withholding your intentions from me?
i'm not complaining.  i never complain.  i never complain about your violin playing at three in the morning, your mess, your lack of hygiene, your stealing my clothes, your setting our home on fire!
who could forget that face? i told you, a little nitrate of silver and the warts will be gone in two weeks. now, if you'll excuse us!
nor am i complaining about the fact that you terrorize my patients and perform outlandish experiments on my dog.
what i do take issue with is your ruthless campaign to sabotage my relationship with mary.
if i were going to the country, i would be going with my future wife --
no, holmes. not you. me and her. you're not --
you're not human. you don't get it, do you? you are this.  .  without this.
there isn't any.
be my guest.
who was he?
really.
nine elms.
it's endless, he's had a hand in just about everything that's not good for you.
woolwich arsenal.  limehouse chemical.  queenshithe slaughterhouse, nine elms!
not us, you.
same to you.
not again.
yes, i know. don't give me that look, gladstone.
there must be fifty yards of mud out there.
i know precisely how much money is in there.
oh, please.
there was nothing honest about it.
come on, let's get this over with.
holmes. you need to see this.
one-eighteen. it's a date, a time?
holmes.
what are you administering?
are they subcutaneous, or deeper?
get a mirror, i'll extract them myself.
i haven't time for that. my friend is in dire --
the best and wisest man i've ever known.
it was worth a wound, worth many wounds.
interesting artwork. you look bloody awful.
took it out myself. mary said i had a lousy doctor.
yes, oddly, it seems she might understand the power of partnership.
it's half past nine.
i brought you this.
with your own venom no doubt.
there's a new field in the treatment of abnormal personalities -- it's called psychology. it appears you're what's considered a para-neurotic deviant with anti-social proclivities. quite severe. and untreatable.
at minimum.
man, ox, eagle.
and last on the list: the lion. holmes scribbles on a piece of paper. watson and irene step closer looking at the lion's fang and then the map.
parliament.
it's right in the middle of the river thames.
how was lestrade?
well, your instructions were fairly precise.  about everything except the window.
what are we doing in the sewers?
you can tell that from here?
will be dead at the strike of noon.
i'll keep these under wraps.
over there.
you owe me for the ring.
hey!
i'm pretty sure i heard the last chime.
which part? the stench of the sewers or the broken bones? my ankle's done.
where's irene?
holmes, i'm sorry.
one moment.
please make sure this one is put on the desk in the front room.
nothing really.  just a few scribbles.  cases we've worked on over the years.
i still can't believe he's given us that ring.
of course. no question about it --
don't panic, dear.
suicide is not in his repetoire, he's far too fond of himself.
get on with it, holmes.
i hate to stop when he's on a roll. do carry on, holmes.
how did you manage it, holmes?
worse things could happen.
but none of this explains the lack of a pulse.
his heart should be ticking in no time.
point blank range.
where is blackwood's device now?
so you're saying moriarty was after a part of the machine and not the poison.
adler was just a diversion.
well.
there's a brave boy.  there, there, everything's going to be all right.
i'd wager there's a piece missing.
moriarty was after the machine not the poison.
well.
take care of yourself, holmes.
	157:
11aa. 12 continued: 12 watson is pleased by that.
26aa. 23 continued: 23 holmes hands him the waistcoat which he promptly tosses out of the carriage window. holmes frowns, looks out the opposite window.
34aa. 33 continued: 33
94a. 94b. 106 continued: 106