Jon Michael Hill credited as playing...
Detective Marcus Bell
- Detective Marcus Bell: I got a visit yesterday from a U.S. Marshal. Deputy by the name of Strider Lincoln.
- Sherlock Holmes: Strider?
- Detective Marcus Bell: It's only the second-dumbest name I've ever heard. He basically offered me a job. Said I came highly recommended, but didn't mention who did the recommending. I did a little digging. Guess whose name came back. Yours.
- [wry snicker]
- Detective Marcus Bell: I don't get it, man. You trying to get rid of me?
- Sherlock Holmes: Yeah, I am. After a fashion. You remember I fully supported your interest in becoming a sergeant two years ago? Hmm? Right up until the moment that you told me is was more about a pay increase than about the work. Hmm? Still, I thought a fire had been lit. I thought it was only a matter of time before you identified a new challenge. And then, two years later... when I was at Scotland Yard, I was only too happy to watch the moss gather under the policemen I worked with. Only to me, they were just a means of gaining access to people and places that I otherwise couldn't. And they were just happy to stay and take credit for my work. But it's never been like that with us, has it? No. You're too good a detective. So I want something better for you. Something... something more.
- Detective Marcus Bell: Why the Marshals?
- Sherlock Holmes: Well, I considered and dismissed the DEA and ICE because their missions often don't align with your values. The ATF, the Secret Service, they're too narrow in focus. And like many in the department, you dislike the FBI because of their rigidity and high-handedness, so that left the U.S. Marshals Service, an elite agency, renowned for their professionalism.
- Detective Marcus Bell: I appreciate you looking out for me, but... I'm happy here. And if it ain't broke...
- Sherlock Holmes: Yes, but it will break. The captain, he will retire. And then Watson and I, we'll be forced to seek greener pastures without our sponsor. And you'll be left working with policemen who may view you, quite unfairly, as a lesser satellite no longer tethered to the luminaries you once orbited. You'll also have to deal with a new superior who might come with their own protégés. Your access to the best, most challenging cases will be curtailed, perhaps eliminated. You will be diminished. Look, there are worse fates, yes, but there are better ones. The trick is knowing the right one when you see it.
- Strider Lincoln: Detective Marcus Bell? Deputy Strider Lincoln, U.S. Marshals Service.
- Detective Marcus Bell: Strider? Like "Lord of the Rings"?
- Strider Lincoln: My parents are nerds. I guess you are, too.