THIEF
INT. MANOR HOUSE STUDY – NIGHT
A still long tableau shot stares down the length of a large, ornate STUDY with ceilings so high they are not visible. Through tall WINDOWS along the left-hand wall we see that RAIN pounds outside, but there is no thunder/lightning. A leak in the roof causes WATER to drip and pool on the floor.
HEADS OF EXOTIC CREATURES (BUGBEAST, BURRICK, etc.) are mounted on the walls. At the focal point of the room stands an enormous OAK DESK, enormous to an ungodly, wasteful degree. The DESK CHAIR behind it seems dwarfed by comparison. A TAPESTRY depicting the Master Builder standing mightily while holding his hammer hangs on the wall behind the DESK. Along the edge the TAPESTRY'S embroidery reads, "UPON THE CLAY STANDETH TALL THE WORKS OF THE MASTER BUILDER". Otherwise there is no religious insignia in the room.
Not until the TAPESTRY is pulled to the side do we realize that GARRETT is in the STUDY. Almost imperceptibly GARRETT drapes the TAPESTRY to the side, revealing the DOOR to a cast iron SAFE and below it, the interconnected teeth of three mechanical GEARS. The SAFE is roughly 2' x 1.5' and 2.5' deep. He slowly turns the LEFT GEAR clockwise (consequently spinning the other two GEARS), but there is no sound. He turns it counter-clockwise instead and is rewarded with the soft CLICKING of mechanical tumblers locking into place.
POV - GARRETT'S MECHANICAL EYE
GARRETT's green-tinted night-vision zooms in and out, focusing on the rotating LEFT GEAR. GARRETT bends to put his ear against the wall by the mechanism. We hear the CLICKS grow louder and more strident the nearer we get to the wall. GARRETT hears the click he is listening for. He pauses.
MANOR HOUSE STUDY
GARRETT's fingers deftly flit the MIDDLE GEAR clockwise. The RIGHT GEAR spins with it, but the LEFT GEAR strangely remains motionless. Somehow the LEFT GEAR teeth are no longer threaded. GARRETT slowly spins the LEFT GEAR counter-clockwise until the SAFE DOOR clicks loose. He opens the SAFE DOOR gingerly, retrieving DOCUMENTS and a sketchy MAP.
GARRETT flips through the DOCUMENTS, pausing at a SKETCH of a man wearing goggles and an airtight suit to protect from an insidious gas. The SKETCH isn't what GARRETT is looking for, so he continues flipping through until he finds a MAP. Shown on the MAP an army leaves the city and enters the wilds, where mythical monsters wait to greet it. Standing amidst the monsters is an illustration of VIKTORIA, depicted in tree-form sprouting vines from her fingers and antlers from her head. GARRETT pays particular attention to the moon above the encroaching army. Over the moon is the roman numeral: VIII, and inside it: XV.
GARRETT
(mumbling pensively)
Half past the eighth month...
We hear a brass KEY enter the KEYHOLE to the STUDY DOOR. The mechanism is finicky so the KEY jostles audibly.
GARRETT grabs a ROPE he left dangling from the ceiling (his point of entry). The ROPE comes loose as he pulls it, tumbling softly to the ground. GARRETT looks at the FRAYED END of the ROPE and realizes it has been severed intentionally.
POV – GARRETT'S MECHANICAL EYE
GARRETT looks wildly at the DOOR, then at the WINDOWS, seeing for the first time that someone has tied them shut from the outside with cheap TWINE. He scans the STUDY, seeing no viable hiding spots.
MANOR HOUSE STUDY
With staunch resolve GARRETT tosses the ROPE and DOCUMENTS into the SAFE, then crawls in so his feet are against the far back of the SAFE, his knees pressed to his chest and his head at the opening.
INSIDE THE SAFE
With the flexibility of a master contortionist GARRETT is able to squeeze fully inside the SAFE. GARRETT'S hands reach out to free the TAPESTRY and close the SAFE DOOR right as BENNY and CALUMN enter.
MANOR HOUSE STUDY
BENNY enters first, groggily. CALUMN, entering behind him, shoves him aside.
CALUMN
Filthy drunk. I'll have your skull for a pisspot for your fumbling.
BENNY
Oi, we got the rogue, sire. He ain't gone nowhere.
CALUMN
WHERE IS HE.
BENNY
On beyond the bureau, he be. I got him.
BENNY crosses to the far side of the DESK. As he passes CALUMN kicks his bottom, sending BENNY sprawling.
CALUMN
He isn't HERE. Check the box, taffer.
BENNY
Lord Bafford alone knows the method of opening.
CALUMN
Call the lord! If a single article has vanished from this
premise it's to the Hammers with you! CLOD!
CALUMN storms out. BENNY clumps down in the corner. Seconds later we hear him snore loudly.
INSIDE THE SAFE
GARRETT can see nothing. SLIVERS OF LIGHT illuminate sections of GARRETT'S face. He is cramped unbearably, but there is no escape. The SAFE may only be opened from the outside. GARRETT closes his eyes.
GARRETT
(whispering steadily, cautiously)
Three thousand... Two thousand, nine hundred
and ninety-nine... Two thousand, nine hundred
and ninety-