cover of episode 50 - The Red Circle - Part Four

50 - The Red Circle - Part Four

2024/9/10
logo of podcast Sherlock & Co.

Sherlock & Co.

Chapters

Sherlock and Watson find themselves trapped in a lift shaft while pursuing a mafia boss. Instead of climbing down, Watson leads Sherlock to a rubble shaft, a faster but more chaotic escape route.
  • Watson discovers a rubble shaft as a quicker way down.
  • Sherlock and Watson slide down the rubble shaft.
  • Watson lands in a skip and gets covered in paint.

Shownotes Transcript

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Previously on Sherlock and Co. Well, we are off to the northwest of England, to Chester. Mariana and Sherlock are doing exhaustive research on Augusto Zamber. Fortunately, we're working with a unique name, but almost everything on him is tied back to Italy, not to a life in the UK. What the hell am I watching? That's him. Him there. The one whose wife bottled the other lass. We must find this woman, Abby Zamber. That'll be easy. Look.

Local police force. What, you think they'll know her? She bottled someone on telly. Yeah, good point. Yeah, Gregson, and we're taking Augusto into custody for his own good. I love you, babe. I'm so sorry. Oh my God, be careful! I'm looking at the footage from the night the Augusto Zamba QR code appeared. Yeah, and? Watch. What the hell? Code isn't there.

A bus passes by and, as if by magic, zoom in. Yeah, no, I see it. How? There wasn't even anybody walking along the street. But this is baffling. Yes. Excellent, isn't it? Where are we going? Call Imani Warren of Hudson's. Tell her to meet us at Howe Street House immediately. Printer. Printer.

The construction team have a printer. Yeah, for on-site passes. The security here is proper. There's previous jobs on this printer that are A4.

Security passes aren't A4. Three jobs saved with QR in the title. The code appeared on the site as if from nowhere. At least, that's what the CCTV tells us. But what if it wasn't from nowhere? What if it was from inside the site? You named something cooler than this. What were you doing on Saturday? Oh, you know, I caught a mafia boss. What about you? Watson. Watson.

Oh shit John

Help me! Help! Take my hand, John. Take my bloody hand. I can't hold on. Sherlock, I can't hold on. One final part, everybody. Welcome back to the adventure of the Red Circle. This episode contains lots of action. Everything that entails is in the text disclaimer. Get ready, folks. It's a rough ride.

Here we go. Whoa! Oh shit! John! Help me! Help! Take my hand, John! Take my bloody hand! I can't reach, Sherlock. I can't reach. I can't hold on. Sherlock, I can't hold on. You can! I can't! You have to!

I'm gonna die, aren't I? I'm gonna bloody die, aren't I? For God's sake! Stop looking down and look at me! Ah, what are you doing? I'm climbing down to you. Don't, you idiot! Like Rosso, and unlike you, I'm going to scale down this lift shaft with caution. I was excited, okay? Jesus. Here, now take my arm. Ah, ah, ah, ah!

Okay, got it. Let me hold your weight. Sherlock. I'm strong enough, for goodness sake. Okay, I'm going to do no carb November, so I might be a little heavier than usual right now. Shut up and get on with it. Okay, okay. I'm on. Excellent. All right. Not that bad. Not at all. It's just a little weight from the summer. Of course. Wait, don't climb down it. We must follow him. Just get us out.

I have an idea. I don't think we should let fear dictate our next move. I'm not scared to climb down the lift shaft, mate. I've genuinely got a faster route. Oh, have you now? Yeah, I do. Where is it? Where is it? Follow me. Watson. This way.

Come on, come on. I didn't nearly die to let Grosso get away. No, and neither did I. Where are you going? The Mafia boss went that way, you fool. Would a fool do this?

Wait, Watson. Rubble shaft mate. Our builders dispose of waste. Basically a giant tunnel slide. I'll see you on the flip ski- Oh fuck! Oh my god! Bloody hell. I think I'm winded. Oh that is honestly so unsanity.

Are you alright Watson? Yeah! Yeah, I landed in a skip. It's uh... Oh god, I'm bleeding. I'm bleeding! Oh no, wait. No, no, it's paint. It's paint. It's bloody everywhere. For God's sake. He's getting away. Look, north-west. North-west? I'm not a pirate. Who says north-west? There! At the end of Howell Street. By the British Museum. Right, gotcha. I'm on it. Ah! Ah! Ah!

Take the gun! I don't want the gun! Ow! Sorry! I said I didn't want it! Sorry! Excuse me! Sorry!

It's not blood, it's paint. Excuse me. Whoa, God! Rosso! I don't know Italian, but I know that wasn't very nice. Oh, God, he's ran past museum security. Rosso! Hey, you stop now. No, no, no, I'm chasing. Hey, you stop. A mafia boss. A protester. We've got a protester here. I'm not a protester. I fell in a skip. Hey, where are you going?

It's not blood. God, where did he go? Ah, okay. The Roman Empire... Rosso! ...spent North Africa, Western Asia and Europe. Rosso! Ah, Jesus! No, wait, it's... Great. All I can taste is paint. The Romans were able to fight in a total war across multiple... I know who you are, Rosso. Giuseppe Giorgiano. Silenzio! Where are you? Starting to regret leaving the gun in the skip. This is not your business!

I think you'll find it is. You are invading a personal situation. Stay out of it. This is my turf. Yeah, I'm British, mate. This entire museum is built on us sticking our noses in where we shouldn't be. You are playing with death, da. We found your communications, Rosso.

Your QR codes! We know you had those men killed! And you did it on British soil! So now who's on someone else's turf, eh? It's time for you to die! Yeah, I may be unarmed, but so are you!

Oh, God. Boo. Whoa, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. That is a precious artefact. That sword is not a weapon. Well, I mean, maybe it is in a technical sense. This was built to slash open the hearts of Englishmen and barbarians. And so it must once more... Rosso, put the sword down. Let's just take this down a notch. Yeah, I mean...

Hey, let's go for a coffee. Yeah, we go for a cappuccino. That is a breakfast drink! All right, Jesus, calm down. Julius Caesar cut this country open and bled it out like the pigs you are. But he was betrayed in a coup. Traitors. Backstabbers. They get what they deserve. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Come back! Oh, God. Coward! Oh, God. Prayer.

Ow! Oh, that hurts! Right, come on. Dagger, dagger, helmet. Yes, please. Why are there so many daggers? How did the Romans build an empire off fucking daggers? Ha, gladiator sword. Okay. God, I hope this is recording.

Time to be eliminated. Rosso, please. You came to me, not I to you. I was just protecting people. Leave the sword. Die by the sword. Rosso, no. Yes.

What is that? What is that? Who? Who's doing that? There's a red circle on me. Get it off. Rosso, stay still. Get it off. Rosso. Ah. Rosso. What is it? Put the sword down.

Put the sword down. Please! It's a dot, Rosso. A red dot. No! From a rifle sight. No! Put the sword down. Listen to what he says, Signor Georgiano. You're surrounded. Put the weapon down or you will be eliminated. It's over. He's right, Watson. It finally is over. I think you may be ready for your upload. Yeah, I am.

Yeah, me too. On your front. Oh, cuff him. Signor Giuseppe Rosso Georgiano, in conjunction with Interpol, the Polizio d'Estatto and London's Metropolitan Police, you will be held in custody here in the UK. You do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so, but anything you do say will be taken down. Well done, mate. Well done to you, Watson. Well done, Mariana. I would hug, but, um... Yeah, the paint.

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And the paint? It's not an oil thing. Okay, okay. Is it a war thing? No, it's not a war thing. It's... I... fell into a skip. He's lit down a rubble slide. Yeah, but it's not a slide. It looks like a slide, but it's a chute for rubble. Okay, and you did that why? Sorry, look, I did it to get the Italian bloke who's murdered God knows how many people behind bars. Chris? Chris?

I'll take it from here. Ah, here he is. Big guy. Tommy Gregson. The Gregster. Stop it. Okay. Not ready to bury the hatchet? Nope.

Right. Signor Georgiano has been in custody for a couple of hours. We've not got long left until we need to charge him. But the case looks strong, right? It's multifaceted, put it that way. The first thing we've got to jump through is British law. Then we can consolidate this thing with the other international bodies involved in the case. What's the problem? The problem is, we have evidence that Rosso was housed in a show apartment for weeks and weeks. Yeah, he was. And?

And that actually doesn't do a great deal in proving that he was involved in the killings. Because it was done by a hitman. Exactly. So what do we do? Listen, we can arrest this guy, we can charge this guy, but unless we do it on the right counts, with full confidence I might add, the chances of getting this guy where he belongs, which is an Italian court, it's complicated. What do you need from us? We need to find that hitman.

I want every single feed of every single camera that is remotely near Howe Street House. I want footage from the 3rd, the 18th and the 23rd and run it at 800%. We are in a room that is absolutely bustling with officers and analysts. Yeah, it's absolutely mental.

I can't even count how many screens are in here. There aren't any lights on, but the whole room is basically illuminated by this feed of Howe Street where we were earlier today. God, my eyes. Sherlock is watching this at a very high speed, but, man, it makes your eyes burn just looking at it. Obviously, he seems to be enjoying himself somewhat. What do you think he's looking for?

Oh, no, he has full clearance. I would imagine he's hoping to see somebody scan that code. That would make sense. Hey, do you know what else would make sense? What? Excuse me, can we use this laptop, please? Of course, yeah. Thank you. Oh, what's the password? MET123 with a capital M. The password is MET123. Yeah, but it's got a capital M. Yeah, got that.

Good Lord. Encouraging, isn't it? Quite. OK, right. The link that Emani sent for the QR code she scanned? Which has been taken down. No, no, no. I know, I know. But the generator? The QR code generating software. It will have analytics, right? Right. Of what exactly? Of the activity on the QR code. Clicks onto the landing page, like any site or... Here, look. Um...

QRMaker.com. Okay, so we go to QRMaker.com, based in Baltimore, US. And boom, we have a number. Hey, you. Yeah? Call this number. Tell them who you are. Give them your, I don't know, officer ID or something. Okay.

It's ringing. Bloody hell, then. Hello? QR Maker tech support? Hi, my name is Deborah. Debbie. More confidence. Officer Debbie Leverton here. Force identification number 33428. I'm calling from the Metropolitan Police here in London. London, yeah. I see that on the caller ID. Is everything okay?

We're filing an urgent data access request to QRMaker on QR code... Code? The ID number on it. Oh, here. Code 44B5762CX99M. Okay, looking that up for you now.

That call was only scanned twice. Imani and the hitman. Once by an iPhone at 9.33am on the 3rd. Yeah, that's Imani. What's the next one? The other device that's scanned. It would be an Android operating system. What time? At 11.42am local time, also on the 3rd. Thank you. 11.42am on the 3rd. Who said that? Deborah. Deborah.

Debbie! Get the feed to 11:42am on the 3rd. Where are you? Bingo. Pause. Pausing feed, why? What do you think, Sherlock? That's our man. I'd say 6ft2, late 30s, carrying a black backpack, retro Adidas trainers, a red watch, looks digital, red glasses,

And red gloves. Cycling gloves. Indeed. Officers of the Metropolitan Police Service, you have two hours to plot this gentleman's route back to his starting point using every possible camera feed to track him. All right, let's go, let's go, let's go! Don't do that. Sorry. Oh!

You're reaching on your jab too much. You want to come in closer. Oh, right. That energy that you're burning through, just in those extra couple of centimetres, mate, honestly, it soon adds up. Well, OK. Great tip. Top stuff. Thanks. Barry. On your shorts, there. Yeah, Barry. I'm Sherlock. Yeah, yeah. Hiya, mate. Just, you want to come and do that down on the mats?

Just cos the wing is for sparring. Ah, goodness. Bloody hell. OK. Sorry, Barry. Would love to spar, but I just... It's a confidence thing. Well, Margo, I don't show up for another 20 minutes, so we could get the jab working better for you, couldn't we? Oh, would that be OK? Oh, of course, mate. Come on, then. I won't do pads. I'll just put my gloves up here. And what I want to see from you is just that jab.

over and over like this again it's that extension bring it in closer here there we go now we're cooking and now gloves up and just shift your body away from us yes this is much better yes that's it and we go again jab jab jab jab jab jab yes you see

Bit of a combo there. Yeah, that's erm... That's erm... Quite a hook, yeah. I'd work on the jab for now. But I've been jabbing away for a while. I want to land that killer blow Barry. No, I'm in. That'll come, but alright, steady now. Barry, eh? You don't look like a Barry. Just...

Slow it down a sec. But of course. That's a nickname, isn't it, Barry? Derived from your surname. Stop. Barelli. Stop. Really finding my technique now. Right. You want to try taking a couple of pops then, mate? No.

Oh, certainly. But unlike your previous work, I won't be struck down so easily. You see, Barry, you're all good and well when the target is picked out for you. Gennaro Luca. Frank Calla. Carlo Castellotti. But when picking your own targets... You fuck! Fuck!

You really are rather clumsy. Pick your target chin. Point of jaw, of course. And temple. Can you feel that thudding? Your heart pounding blood into your head. Oxygen-rich blood. Very handy thing. But when there's too much of it up there, feels rather foggy, doesn't it?

Vomiting. Confusion. I think if we do another bout, we might find ourselves in the rather uncertain territory of brain bleeding. No. No. No, no. No. No, quite. I think we've reached our conclusion, don't you? You may want to slip off those boxing gloves. Makes it rather difficult to get the cuffs on. Barry, you're coming with us.

People are staring. What was he on about? Cappuccinos are great any time of the day. You've got paint in your coffee. Yeah, I should really wash this off. Yes, you should. Can we go home? I'm just relaxing with my friends, having a coffee. It was a pretty good case. Pretty good, yeah. Yeah. You know what, guys? After all that, I think it might be even better than the Lord Harmson surgery murder. Nah. Not in the slightest. God, that one was so good, wasn't it?

But hey, it didn't contain mafioso killings, a sword fight, a boxing match and of course, D.I. Tom Gregson. Yeah, he was nice. It is bugging me though, that name. You're going to tell me Tom was in a reality show as well. No, no, no. I just, um, I know it. You know, maybe it... Wait, maybe it was from an email?

Um, Gregson, Gregson, Greg... Ah, yep, here it is. Oh, um, dear Sherlock and co, good work on your cases. But what you don't know is that Sherlock is not London's first consulting detective. I was. Until he took the idea from me. I closed my company down and rejoined the Met last year. Ah, yes, that was it.

Sorry about that. That was The Adventure of the Red Circle in all its disgraceful glory. Follow me on Twitter at DocJWatsonMD and follow the show on TikTok and Instagram, Sherlock and Copod, all one word. But most importantly, look after yourselves. Enjoy life and drink a cappuccino any time of day you want. Ciao. Ciao.

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