WRITTEN BY
Frank Spotnitz
DIRECTED BY
Richard Compton
AIRED ON
February 11, 2001
RUNTIME
44 minutes
STARRING
VIEWS
436
LAST UPDATE
2024-08-13 08:30:06
PAGE VERSION
Version 3
LIKES
0
DISLIKES
1
SUMMARY
Agents Doggett and Scully investigate a series of mysterious deaths in the Boston subway system. The victims' bodies show severe burns and rapid decomposition, leading the agents to suspect a biological or chemical agent. As Doggett ventures into the subway tunnels with a team of hazardous materials experts, Scully coordinates the investigation from above, trying to piece together the cause of the deaths. They discover that the culprit is a bioluminescent organism released during the construction of a new subway line, which reacts violently with human sweat, causing the deadly reactions. The episode explores themes of urban decay, the unforeseen consequences of technological advancement, and the tension between scientific investigation and bureaucratic indifference.
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REVIEWS
Bad episode
Written by
Pike on 2016-01-01
★
The idea was good. A strange killing in a subway tunnel. It sounds creepy for a good X-Files loner episode. But the result is somehow completely different. The entire episode looks like a bad b-movie with Sylvester Stallone. But, in a Sylvester Stallone movie, you get to see some good action sequences. This is not the case in "Medusa". The episode is boring and the realisation not very good. Every few minutes, there's something new: "Agent Doggett, look out!" and then Scully, in the situation room, screaming "What happened, Agent Doggett?! Can you hear me?". In this room, there is also the manager of the subway, the bad guy saying all the time "We got to open the subway in a few hours!". It's so cliché that it's painful to watch. And the manager is the same actor playing Dr. Kelso in "Scrubs". I couldn't watch him without laughin the entire time. I couldn't take him seriously, since he acts exactly like in "Scrubs". In the end, I give it a 1 out of 5. Really bad episode.
TRANSCRIPT
SCENE 1
CLAY STREET STATION
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
(Almost deserted underground train station that probably looks more familiar to Los Angeles residents than to Bostonians. A PASSENGER, male, about 40, stands on the platform alone waiting for the train. He sees a GANGBANGER jump the turnstile. The GANGBANGER circles the PASSENGER threateningly, moves several yards away and also waits for the train just behind the PASSENGER. The PASSENGER, aka undercover TRANSIT COP PHILBRICK, speaks softly into a handheld radio.)
TRANSIT COP PHILBRICK: I'm on the Clay Street platform. Got a fare-jumper. White male, shaved head, 20s. Possible 10-13.
[If that guy is in his twenties, then CarriK is 12.]
(Brakes squealing, the train, a big "M" on the front and side, arrives. The GANGBANGER looks hostile. PHILBRICK boards the train and watches through the window into the car behind him. The GANGBANGER has not boarded. The bell dings. PHILBRICK foolishly turns and watches the doors of his own car slide shut. Relaxed, he speaks again into his radio and takes a seat near the front of the car.)
TRANSIT COP PHILBRICK: Officer Philbrick, all clear.
(In the door window of the car behind him, we see movement. PHILBRICK glances around as the GANGBANGER, who did indeed board at the last stop, crosses into his car. PHILBRICK looks a little nervous. Carefully, he unholsters his gun as the GANGBANGER confidently approaches him. Suddenly, as if someone pulled the emergency brake, the train screeches to a halt and the lights dim. PHILBRICK is thrown to the floor, his gun skidding a few feet away. He scrambles after it, then turns to see the GANGBANGER bearing down on him. PHILBRICK screams in horror. We see the rear of the train as it moves away. Repeated flashes of PHILBRICK's gun accompany his screams.)
(Later, perhaps next morning. A WOMAN, about 40, stands waiting for the train with others at another stop. It arrives and she boards. She is about to take a seat, when she glances at the floor and sees what remains of PHILBRICK. She covers her mouth. His head is half-eaten away by what looks like acid. She screams.)
[OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS]
SCENE 2
TRANSIT OPERATIONS CENTER
BOSTON, MASSACUSETTS
10:34 AM
(Sparks fly as work is done on tracks and train. SCULLY and DOGGETT, fashionably clad in long black coats, are met by DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS and LT. BIANCO. DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS is 50's, brash, impatient, all business. LT. BIANCO is 30's, big, tough, very much DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS's man. They glare at SCULLY and DOGGETT.)
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Deputy Chief Karras, Transit Police. This is Lieutenant Bianco. You're Scully and Doggett, right?
SCULLY: Yes. Is the assessment team here?
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Downstairs, waiting 45 minutes. Where the hell have you two been?
DOGGETT: Agent Scully needed to examine the body of the victim first.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Who's missing the picture here? I got lots of people who can examine the body. What I need from the FBI now is a time frame.
DOGGETT: A time frame?
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: One of the main arteries of the Boston Public Transport System has been closed for exactly 11 hours and four minutes. My phone is ringing off the hook right now with calls from the press. I got 100,000 pissed-off commuters who were late to work this morning who are going to be even more pissed off if they can't get home. And I got one extremely pissed-off mayor paying me to do one thing-- keep the damn trains running.
SCULLY: Sir, se appreciate the pressure that you're under, but...
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: No. It's you guys better kick it in the ass. The afternoon rush starts in five hours. Do what you've got to do but this line is going back in operation AT 4:00 P.M.
SCULLY: I'm afraid you can't do that.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Oh, yes, I can.
SCULLY: You've got a dead man who's got over 1/3 of his body tissue completely eaten away and until we figure out how and why that tunnel cannot be reopened.
LT. BIANCO: We understand the FBI's need to do a thorough investigation, but as I see it the facts of this case are actually pretty simple.
SCULLY: Simple?
LT. BIANCO: The train briefly lost power during which time an assailant killed a Boston Transit cop. That man is still at large.
DOGGETT: An assailant using what?
LT. BIANCO: Acid, lye... your examination of the victim must've told us something.
SCULLY: No, it didn't, that's the thing. Until we culture the tissue and run the proper tests we're not going to know what killed him or if it can infect others.
LT. BIANCO: The centers for disease control had robotic sniffers in the tunnel all night. They found no trace of biological or chemical agents. So let's clear this up. What we're looking for is a man-- a cop-killer. Single suspect.
DOGGETT: At least that's your cover story.
(LT. BIANCO stares at him. This is not the beginning of a close friendship.)
DOGGETT: That's what you're telling the press.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: The question is can you get me the killer or an explanation in less than five hours? Because hell or high water, the subway reopens at 4 PM sharp. Now let's go.
(DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS turns and walks down the platform, followed by LT. BIANCO. SCULLY and DOGGETT pause a moment, then also join him. Another man, STEVEN MELNICK, 40's, a little overweight, and an African-American woman, HELLURA LYLE, 30's, are waiting for them.)
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Steven Melnick, Transportation Authority Chief Structural Engineer. He built this tunnel.
MELNICK: I only oversaw construction of it four years ago. I know every square inch down there.
(Friendly, MELNICK shakes SCULLY's hand. So does LYLE.)
LYLE: Dr. Hellura Lyle. Special pathogens branch, CDC.
SCULLY: We were told you folks said that the tunnel was free of pathogens.
LYLE: (dryly) Well, I guess I'm just here for the moral support.
(Like MELNICK and LT. BIANCO, LYLE begins to put on protective and research gear.)
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: We're just covering our bases.
(LYLE glances over at DOGGETT and SCULLY.)
LYLE: What base are they covering?
(DOGGETT is also getting ready. He has stripped to his undershirt and is putting on a bulletproof vest like the others.)
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Agent Scully is a medical doctor. Who they tell me has a lot of experience with equivocal deaths.
(DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS does not look at SCULLY as he says this. He doesn't think much of what "they" have told him, or of SCULLY. CARRIK: Oh, he will pay.)
MELNICK: Equivocal? (chuckles) Hey, I mean you're dead or you're not, right?
SCULLY: (slightly uncomfortable) Deaths for which there may be many explanations or for which an explanation may be hard to find.
(LYLE looks at DOGGETT.)
LYLE: What about you?
DOGGETT: I'm just a good shot.
(LT. BIANCO has a really big gun.)
LT. BIANCO: (sarcastically) Well, good. Now that we're bosom buddies, let's get this show on the road.
(DOGGETT follows SCULLY over to another pile of gear obviously intended for her. She has made no move to put it on. They speak quietly. SCULLY seems to be avoiding DOGGETT's eyes.)
DOGGETT: Do you need some help with that?
SCULLY: No. You're going in without me.
DOGGETT: (surprised) What?
SCULLY: I don't know what kinds of game are being played, but I'm going to be much more effective analysing the situation from up here.
(Things are tense. DOGGETT is not happy.)
DOGGETT: Yeah, but I'm just tag along here. This is your thing. You've got all the experience.
SCULLY: You've got capable people with you, Agent Doggett. What I need down there are eyes and ears.
(Pause. CarriK has Pusher flashback as SCULLY hands DOGGETT a radio-controlled head-mounted camera/microphone. DOGGETT puts it on.)
DOGGETT: Okay. I'll be your eyes and ears. But I wish somebody would tell me what the hell I'm supposed to be looking for.
(SCULLY has no answer.)
SCENE 3
TRANSIT CONTROL CENTER
11:51 AM
(Lots of computer screens showing the subway grid. SCULLY is at one monitor that shows what DOGGETT's camera sees. She speaks into a handheld radio. DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS stands a few feet behind her. She glances back at him before speaking to DOGGETT.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Third rail's powering down. You're clear to enter the subway floor and as long as you stay on this line there should be no risk of accidental shock or electrocution. You copy that, Agent Doggett?
(DOGGETT, LT. BIANCO, LYLE, and MELNICK are entering the dark subway line.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) Yep, we're on the tunnel floor. Hope you got yourself a nice clear picture, Agent Scully.
SCULLY: (on radio) We got you every step of the way.
(SCULLY looks back again at DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS who stares at her without emotion.)
(IN THE TUNNEL: The members of the team look hot and uncomfortable. They all have a light sheen of sweat on their bodies.)
HELLURA LYLE: Ooh, it feels like Atlanta in August.
DOGGETT: Yeah, it's the middle of winter. How come it's so hot down here?
MELNICK: They shut down ventilation last night. Normally you have almost a million cubic feet of fresh air per minute pushing through here but now we're in a sweatbox.
LYLE: Aren't we lucky? Hot, sticky and crawling in the dark. All so every commuter in Boston can get home to watch Survivor II.
[There's our Late Winter 2001 date stamp.]
DOGGETT: I wonder why they shut down the ventilation if it's a man we're supposed to be looking for.
LT. BIANCO: You doubt that so much, Agent Doggett, why bring a gun?
(As they walk through the dark corridor with flashlights, LYLE steps in a puddle. She gives it a glance, then continues after DOGGETT and LT. BIANCO. MELNICK, bringing up the rear, steps over it. As he passes, we see that there is a green glowing substance in the puddle, much like what you would see in your footprints if you walk along a Carolina beach at night in early summer.)
(In the station, SCULLY is watching the monitor.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett, you still reading me down there?
DOGGETT: (on radio) Like a songbird, Agent Scully.
(Suddenly, MELNICK yells and falls to his knees. He is grasping at his bare neck.)
STEVEN MELNICK: My shirt, my neck... Get it off!
LT. BIANCO: What's going on?
STEVEN MELNICK: Something's burning! Something's burning!!
LT. BIANCO: Just, just hold still...
SCULLY: (on radio) What just happened?
(The other members of the team have gathered around MELNICK. DOGGETT shines a light on his neck. There is a small round wound there. LT. BIANCO appears to be putting some kind of ointment on it.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) I don't know. He's got a burn on his neck, silver-dollar sized.
DOGGETT: (to MELNICK) You get seepage down here?
MELNICK: (breathing heavily, in pain) Yeah, constantly. This line was tunneled through landfill adjacent to the harbour. It's a part of the Big Dig.
LYLE: There was a puddle 20 yards back.
DOGGETT: (on radio) You hear that, Agent Scully?
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah. Ask Dr. Lyle if she can get a sample.
DOGGETT: We need you to get a sample.
LYLE: Okay, I'm on it.
DOGGETT: Maybe it's not a man we're looking for but some sort of toxic leak.
LT. BIANCO: (a little nervous) We were told there are no contaminants down here.
(SCULLY watches in the monitor as DOGGETT approaches LYLE who has pulled up a sample of water from the puddle. She puts it into a shoulder mounted chemical analyser that apparently has a built in modem.)
LYLE: Tell her I'm sending this.
(High-pitched beeping as the information is sent to SCULLY. )
LYLE: We're transmitting.
DOGGETT: (on radio) You online, Agent Scully?
(SCULLY sees the results on her screen.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah, I got it. I'm getting a reading... Sample analysis is showing carbon, bromide, boron and calcium.
(SCULLY sighs in frustration.)
LYLE: It's just seawater.
SCULLY: (on radio) Let me get on the phone. Maybe I can get a molecular analysis.
(SCULLY dials the phone.)
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: (warning tone) Four hours, Agent Scully.
(SCULLY could live quite happily on this planet without the existence of DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS. He walks away.)
(In the tunnel, LT. BIANCO is kneeling beside the wounded MELNICK.)
LT. BIANCO: Take it easy.
(They see movement down the tunnel. LT. BIANCO pulls out his large gun and holds it ready as MELNICK stands quickly holding his flashlight aloft.)
MELNICK: Agent Doggett!
(DOGGETT and LYLE run to join them.)
DOGGETT: What? What is it?
LT. BIANCO: There's somebody in the tunnel.
DOGGETT: All right, let's go find him.
(Ominous music as the four members of the team proceed down the tunnel.)
LYLE: Open this line in four hours passengers will get more than just a ride-- they'll get a steam bath to boot.
(She notices MELNICK taking off his bulletproof vest.)
LYLE: W?what are you doing?
MELNICK: If this guy was going to shoot me he already had his chance. Besides, I'm sweating like a pig.
(DOGGETT notices a side tunnel covered with loose plastic.)
DOGGETT: Mr. Melnick, what's this?
MELNICK: It's a tunnel from the old system. Been shut down for years.
DOGGETT: (on radio) You see this, Agent Scully? You have this on your graphic?
(In the office, SCULLY and DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS are watching their progress live and on the map of the subway. They can both be heard by DOGGETT.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah. It's a fork in the line.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: (on radio) That line is obsolete. It's been gutted and decommissioned.
DOGGETT: (on radio) How far from here to where the train lost power, Agent Scully?
(DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS leans over SCULLY's shoulder and points to an area on the map.)
SCULLY: (on radio) It's about a mile up the main tunnel.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: He's going to waste valuable time going in there.
(DOGGETT starts toward the decommissioned tunnel.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett.
(DOGGETT pushes aside the plastic and enters the tunnel. The other members of the team follow him.)
SCULLY: (on radio, warning tone) Agent Doggett...
DOGGETT: (on radio) I'm just taking a look.
(Very creepy in this tunnel.)
LT. BIANCO: All right, let's get out of here.
DOGGETT: Mr. Melnick what's your call? You think there's any good reason to pursue this section?
MELNICK: Lots of places to hide in here.
DOGGETT: Dr. Lyle?
(LYLE sees movement down the tunnel.)
LYLE: Agent Doggett, look out!
(DOGGETT yells as something human with a burned face attacks him, knocking him to the ground.)
SCENE 4
12:37 PM
(SCULLY speaks into the radio, concerned.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett, what happened? Can you hear me?
(In the tunnel, DOGGETT is gasping to get his breath back after being knocked violently to the floor.)
DOGGETT: (weakly) Yeah.
(Camera-eye view of MELNICK extending his hand to help DOGGETT up. DOGGETT, still way out of breath, politely refuses.)
DOGGETT: Nah, give me a minute. What hit me?
LYLE: Well, he came at you like some kind of phantom.
SCULLY: (on radio) What did? Agent Doggett.
(DOGGETT raises himself up onto his elbow and stares in shock at a man's body lying beside him. The face is badly burned, just as the TRANSIT COP was in the teaser. He resembles the GANGBANGER, but with much less skin.)
MELNICK: Would you call that equivocal?
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully...
(SCULLY, seeing the image through DOGGETT's camera, is a bit shaken.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Uh, okay, I see it. Um, I'm going to need some data.
(DOGGETT looks at the others with exhausted resignation.)
DOGGETT: Agent Scully needs some data.
LYLE: I'm already on it.
LT. BIANCO: I think this is the guy that killed Officer Philbrick.
(LYLE begins taking pictures with the Super!Digital camera.)
LYLE: I'm transmitting some photos.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Here comes your data, Agent Scully.
(SCULLY is horrified by the images of the burned man that she is receiving.)
SCULLY: Oh, my god.
(In the tunnel, MELNICK has been standing to one side, but when he sees something further down the tunnel, he starts to investigate. LT. BIANCO stops him, gun in hand.)
LT. BIANCO: Where you going?
MELNICK: I think I just saw something.
(DOGGETT comes over.)
DOGGETT: What's the problem?
LT. BIANCO: There's no problem. This man fits the description called in by my transit cop. We found what we were looking for. Let's get him wrapped up and go home.
(DOGGETT instead looks in the direction that MELNICK indicated.)
MELNICK: See it? There's something on the floor.
(There are three bodies wrapped in clear plastic lying in a row on the floor.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully, we got bodies. Looks like three males. Agent Scully?
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah, I see them. Can you get any closer?
DOGGETT: (on radio) Smell's a little overpowering. They've been here for a while. Looks like someone wrapped them up and stashed them down here.
SCULLY: (on radio) Can you get them uncovered?
DOGGETT: (on radio) Look like squatters from the way they're dressed. I'm not sure I want to touch these.
(As DOGGETT shines his light on the bodies, we see that they all have burned flesh.)
SCULLY: (on radio) I see signs of the same tissue degradation we saw in the other victims. We may have a contagion here after all.
(Backlit by the image from DOGGETT's camera, SCULLY looks up at DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS who looks back at her defensively.)
(In the tunnel, everyone is nervous.)
LT. BIANCO: What did she say?
DOGGETT: Dr. Lyle, down here.
LYLE: (looking at her recorder) Oh...
DOGGETT: The CDC may be wrong.
(LYLE sees some movement down the tunnel.)
LYLE: Somebody's over here!
(DOGGETT and the others run down the tunnel, guns ready. They see nothing.)
SCULLY: (on radio, worried) Agent Doggett?
DOGGETT: Whatever she saw... What did you see?
LYLE: Somebody out here just took off.
(The tunnel is empty.)
DOGGETT: I don't see where.
LT. BIANCO: (sweating, wanting to leave) Look, we're done down here. Let's get this show on the road.
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett...
(Gun in hand, DOGGETT confronts LT. BIANCO.)
DOGGETT: Hold it, Lieutenant.
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett, if there's somebody else down there you're going to need to find him.
(DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS comes up behind SCULLY.)
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: What are you doing, Agent Scully? Get those people out.
SCULLY: "Those people" just found three dead bodies and I want to know what happened to them.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Look, they are in an obsolete, decommissioned tunnel. I'll get a crew down in there tonight after rush hour.
SCULLY: You don't understand. They could be infected and contagious.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: With what? Seawater? You are being irrational here. The CDC says there are no contaminants. I'm going to take their word on it.
SCULLY: (angrily) Then, who are those dead men and how did they die?
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Probably tunnel rats. Squatters attacked by the same man who killed my transit cop.
SCULLY: Then take a look at the man who fits the description of your killer, okay?
(She points to the monitor displaying the dead GANGBANGER, his face half burned away.)
SCULLY: Just look at his injuries, sir. He died the same way. There is something down there and I am not going to risk bringing it up here before I figure out what it is!
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully...
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah?
DOGGETT: (on radio) What do you want us to do?
SCULLY: (on radio) I want you to leave those bodies where you found them and go after whoever it is who's in that tunnel.
(SCULLY looks defiantly at DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS, who, exasperated, leaves the room.)
SCULLY: (on radio) We need to know whether he is causing this or if he's infected himself. Either way, he may kill more people. I'm sure Dr. Lyle will agree.
DOGGETT: All right, we just got our order. We're going to continue on.
LT. BIANCO: Says who?
DOGGETT: Says the boss.
(DOGGETT leads the team down the tunnel. The other team members looks at each other, then follow DOGGETT. LT. BIANCO steps up to walk beside DOGGETT.)
LT. BIANCO: Agent Doggett. This agent you work with deals with weird stuff, right?
DOGGETT: She works on something called the X-Files-- FBI cases dealing with unexplained phenomena.
LT. BIANCO: You know her at all?
DOGGETT: Yeah, I know her. We've worked together for a short time.
LT. BIANCO: I wonder why she sent you down here instead of coming herself.
DOGGETT: It's the right call. (pause) You got a problem, Lieutenant?
LT. BIANCO: Yeah. A problem when somebody I don't know keeps me down herein the dark looking for jack squat when we've already found our man.
DOGGETT: It's a question of contagion.
LT. BIANCO: It's a question of who's in charge.
(They look at each other. Alpha Male square off. Manhoods are questioned. Testosterone is measured. They are interrupted by SCULLY's voice.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett?
DOGGETT: (on radio) Yeah.
SCULLY: (on radio) You all right down there?
DOGGETT: (on radio) Fine. What do you got for us?
SCULLY: (on radio) You're about 50 yards from the spot where the train stopped.
DOGGETT: (on radio) What am I looking for?
SCULLY: (on radio) I don't know. Anything.
(The team looks around the tunnel. They are all sweating heavily. MELNICK is rubbing at his neck. The wound is glowing green and begins sparking. He falls to his knees in pain.)
MELNICK: Get it off me. Get it off me!
LYLE: What is it?
MELNICK: I don't know, but it burns!
DOGGETT: Just hold still. Let us see it.
MELNICK: It burns!
SCULLY: (on radio) What is it? What's happening? Agent Doggett?!
DOGGETT: (on radio) I can't tell what it is.
(SCULLY watches through DOGGETT's camera as MELNICK begin screaming in agony. His arm is covered in blisters that are sparking as if connected to an electrical current.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully, talk to me.
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah, um, get some fresh water on it!
DOGGETT: Give me water here!
(MELNICK continues screaming as the others fumble for the water bottles on their belts. DOGGETT empties his onto MELNICK's arm which stops the sparking.)
LYLE: (horrified) What the hell was that?
DOGGETT: I don't know, and I don't like it that you don't know!
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully, talk to me!
(SCULLY is at a loss.)
SCULLY: (on radio) I don't know what to say... I, mean, i-it's something attacking the dermis.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Attacking? It ate his arm off!
SCULLY: (on radio) I hate to say this, Agent Doggett but it looks like it could be some kind of biochemical weapon.
DOGGETT: (putting his hand to his head) Great.
LYLE: What?
LT. BIANCO: What did she say?
DOGGETT: She said a lot of people might be taking cabs home tonight.
(LYLE is injecting MELNICK with a painkiller, I hope. He is in agony.)
MELNICK: What the hell is this thing?!
DOGGETT: It might be a terrorist using some kind of biochemical agent.
LT. BIANCO: Might? What, is she guessing?
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett, I pulled up a map of the subway grid where you are now. I want you to listen to me.
(She continues speaking. DOGGETT tells the others what she is saying.)
DOGGETT: Agent Scully's telling me the tunnel we're in connects to another tunnel 100 yards up. It's the only place for another mile that this guy could be hiding.
LYLE: Well, this man ain't going nowhere.
DOGGETT: Then you take care of him. I'll have a hazmat team come down here and prep you for quarantine. Lieutenant, let's go.
(DOGGETT heads on down the tunnel.)
LYLE: All right, buddy. I'm gonna get you out of here. Come on. Come on. I got you, buddy. Hang in there.
(MELNICK moans in pain.)
(LT. BIANCO watches LYLE and MELNICK a moment. He looks at his own hand, which shows signs of a glowing green substance. Nervously, he follows DOGGETT down the tunnel.)
SCENE 5
2:23 PM
(MELNICK is being carried out of the tunnel on a gurney by a team of clean-suited men. He is alive, but looks bad. SCULLY runs up to DR. LYLE who has been outfitted in a high level biohazard suit of her own.)
SCULLY: Dr. Lyle... Dr. Lyle, how are you feeling?
LYLE: Me?
SCULLY: Yeah.
LYLE: Well, I seem to be okay, but Melnick... Melnick is getting worse.
SCULLY: Well, we got vehicles on the way. The CDC doctors have been informed of your conditions.
LYLE: So, what are they going to be treating us for? How are they going to treat Melnick?
SCULLY: I'm working on that.
(LYLE looks at her, then heads off to the ambulance. SCULLY sees another large team of CLEAN-SUITED MEN running with gurneys containing the dead victims from the abandoned tunnel. She chases after them.)
SCULLY: Hey! What are you doing?! Hey, where are you taking them? Those bodies go to the CDC... Look, as a federal agent I order you to stop and explain yourself.
(They stop. SCULLY looks up and sees DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS supervising.)
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: Agent Scully, we are on a deadline here, which is fast approaching.
SCULLY: These bodies need immediate examination and diagnosis.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: And that is being arranged.
SCULLY: By whom? I already arranged it.
(They stare at each other. SCULLY steps toward him.)
SCULLY: (accusing) You knew those bodies were down there, didn't you?
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: I'd watch yourself, Agent Scully.
SCULLY: Look at the way they're wrapped. Somebody sealed them in plastic, hoping they wouldn't be found. Look, if I find out you sent my partner and those others down there knowing about this...
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: You are way out of line here.
SCULLY: I want to see inspection reports. I want to know who was down there in that tunnel and what they saw.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: I'll get you anything you want.
SCULLY: Good. Now, let's get these bodies to the CDC where they're supposed to go.
(As DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS watches, SCULLY follows the bodies out of the station.)
(In the tunnel, DOGGETT and LT. BIANCO are still exploring.)
DOGGETT: What's this here, Lieutenant?
LT. BIANCO: Abandoned station-- old stop.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully... Agent Scully...
LT. BIANCO: Here we are, we're pissing away our time and she's asleep at the wheel.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully...
LT. BIANCO: Come on, Agent Doggett. Make a decision. Let's get out of here.
DOGGETT: We got to find whoever it is that's still down here, Lieutenant.
LT. BIANCO: And what if we don't find him? Maybe it'll be us they find lying facedown on the floor, dead.
DOGGETT: Agent Scully knows what she's doing. This is about saving people's lives.
LT. BIANCO: Well, it looks like it's about saving her life. If she knows what she's doing why hasn't she figured it out yet?
(DOGGETT stares at LT. BIANCO.)
DOGGETT: Lieutenant... Walk towards me.
LT. BIANCO: What? What, damn it?
(They both look at LT. BIANCO's arm, which, along with his face, is covered in the glowing green substance.)
LT. BIANCO: The stuff's on me. You see that it's spreading. I told you, Agent Doggett-- we should've gotten out.
DOGGETT: That's exactly why we got to stay.
LT. BIANCO: You saw! You saw what it does.
DOGGETT: Yeah, I saw what it did. But I don't see it having any other effect on you, so just calm down.
LT. BIANCO: I'm getting out of here. I'm leaving.
(LT. BIANCO starts to leaves, but stops at the sound of a pistol being cocked. He turns slowly to see DOGGETT holding a gun on him. DOGGETT is not messing around. This should rate high on AutumnT's Manly Man Meter.)
LT. BIANCO: You'd do it, wouldn't you?
DOGGETT: Not because I want to. But you're pushing pretty hard. So put your weapon down, Lieutenant, right now.
(LT. BIANCO lays his really big gun on the floor.)
DOGGETT: Now, we're going to get out of here but we're going to wait for the okay.
(As DOGGETT kneels to pick up the big gun, LT. BIANCO kicks him in the head. With a grunt, DOGGETT falls unconscious to the floor.)
SCENE 6
(Control room. SCULLY is looking at the monitor displaying DOGGETT's camera view. It shows an unmoving image of the tunnel ceiling.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett? Agent Doggett, can you... Agent Doggett? Come in, Agent Doggett. Agent Doggett! Come in, damn it!
[CARRIK: She is obviously worried about Doggett, but if this were Mulder down in that tunnel, baby or no baby, 400 rabid, acid-blooded, black oil infected aliens would not be able to keep her from running down into that tunnel to save him. No scene could make the point more clear that she considers herself Doggett's co-worker. She already has a partner and will not replace him.)
(Crash sound as SCULLY throws the headset to the floor in disgust.)
(SCULLY turns to see an attractive YOUNG WOMAN, about 30, ethnic mix, enter the room.)
YOUNG WOMAN: Is this a bad time?
SCULLY: Excuse me?
YOUNG WOMAN: I don't know, I'm looking for an FBI Agent Dana Scully. Do you know where I can find him?
SCULLY: No... Yes... I mean, I'm-I'm she. Can I help you?
YOUNG WOMAN: Yes. I'm Dr. Kai Bowe. I was sent a scribbled note and a saltwater sample for analysis. I'm a marine biologist from BU.
SCULLY: I'm sorry. Yes, Dr. Bowe, please. Um... Did you get an analysis?
DR. BOWE: Well, yes, I have something to show you, that's for sure. I'm going to assume you're in a hurry.
(She sets up her laptop and pulls up an image on the screen. It is a magnified image of a very small sea creature.)
DR. BOWE: This is an image taken from a stereo microscope of what's called a medusa. Your saltwater sample was rather deceiving. Its components are exactly as you'd expect except for higher levels of calcium. This creature is primarily that.
SCULLY: Calcium?
DR. BOWE: Yes, it's what powers its movement and gives it bioluminescence.
SCULLY: So you're saying that this is a sea creature? (realizing) Which is why the CDC missed it.
DR. BOWE: Well, it's hard to find. I daresay I'm not even sure if it's of the sea but... wherever it's from, it... it's quite incredible.
SCULLY: It's killing people.
DR. BOWE: How?
SCULLY: I don't know. There is seawater in that subway tunnel and it's eating people's flesh off. It's producing some kind of a ? a reaction that looks almost electrical.
DR. BOWE: On contact?
SCULLY: No. Something triggers it.
DR. BOWE: Have you been in the tunnel?
SCULLY: No, I have not. But my partner is down there, and I fear the worst.
(They look at the image of the ceiling on the monitor.)
SCENE 7
(In the tunnel, DOGGETT is unconscious. LT. BIANCO has climbed a wall and is knocking desperately at a sealed access point. He is sweating profusely.)
LT. BIANCO: Hey, hey... Anybody out there?
(He pounds at the hatch in desperation, sweating more.)
LT. BIANCO: Somebody! Anybody hear me?! Anybody?!
(LT. BIANCO gives up and moves away from the access point. As he passes the unconscious DOGGETT we see that half of DOGGETT's face is now covered with the glowing green substance.)
SCENE 8
(In the tunnel, green-splotched DOGGETT is regaining conscious.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett? Agent Doggett, can you hear me? Agent Doggett?
DOGGETT: (on radio) Yeah. I'm here. I hear you.
SCULLY: (relieved, on radio) Oh, you had me. I, uh... I started fearing the worst.
DOGGETT: (on radio) No, I... I got blindsided by... I don't see Lieutenant Bianco. He's infected with something. I saw it glowing on his skin.
SCULLY: (on radio) And what's your condition, Agent Doggett?
(DOGGETT looks at the green glowing substance that is now on his arms and hands.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) I'm going to assume it's not good.
SCULLY: (on radio) I'm going to send a quarantine unit down to get you, Agent Doggett, okay? I want you to stay right where you are.
DOGGETT: (on radio, cocking his gun) I appreciate it, Agent Scully, but I can't do that. If we're going to stop the spread of this thing I got to stop Lieutenant Bianco.
(He gets up and starts down the tunnel.)
SCULLY: Dr. Bowe, I need you to get on the phone with the CDC. Tell them everything we know. We have to learn as quickly as possible what sets this thing off.
(DR. BOWE goes to do what she says. SCULLY goes up to DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS who enters the room.)
SCULLY: Look... I need you to blockade any and every exit from the system. You've got a possible outbreak situation here.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: No, no. That's not going to happen.
SCULLY: No, you listen to me. Your lieutenant is infected and at large in the system and he is looking for a way out.
DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS: I hear you. It's just that there are already passengers waiting on the platform.
(SCULLY looks at him in disbelief, then at the security monitor nearby. Sure enough, there are many passengers standing on the platform. The computer clock reads 3:39. SCULLY goes back to the microphone.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett... We've got a new wrinkle.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Don't tell me.
SCULLY: (on radio) We're running out of time. It's 20 to 4:00.
DOGGETT: (on radio) I'm moving as fast as I can.
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett, you shouldn't be moving at all.
DOGGETT: (on radio) In 20 minutes I'll be taking a long bath at the hotel. Right now, I got to find this guy.
SCULLY: (on radio) This organism that's on your skin-- something triggers it, and I don't know what. It could be body temperature. It could be heart rate.
DOGGETT: (on radio) It could be from standing still, too, right? Maybe the only thing keeping me from sparking up right now is that I'm moving.
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah, I guess you're right.
DOGGETT: (on radio) I'm getting out of this thing, Agent Scully. Just make sure Karras holds those trains till I find Bianco.
SCULLY: (on radio) He's got passengers waiting at the next station.
DOGGETT: (on radio) You tell that son of a bitch he's got to clear the system. He's...
DOGGETT: (on radio) Wait. I see something.
(SCULLY watches on the monitor as DOGGETT kneels down beside an unconscious LT. BIANCO.)
DOGGETT: Lieutenant... (on radio) He's hurt.
(SCULLY sees that LT. BIANCO is covered in the green glowing substance.)
SCULLY: You see this, Dr. Bowe?
(DR. BOWE looks up from the phone and sees it.)
SCULLY: You see this, Mr. Karras?
(DEPUTY CHIEF KARRAS has left the room. SCULLY looks back to DR. BOWE.)
SCULLY: You're on with the CDC?
(DR. BOWE nods.)
SCULLY: I need anything they can give me about what sets this organism off-- an idea, a notion, a wild guess.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully, what do you want me to do?
SCULLY: (on radio) Get out of there, Agent Doggett.
DOGGETT: (on radio) What about this man?
SCULLY: (on radio) I'm going to send a hazmat team down for him but from what I've seen the reaction's progressive.
LT. BIANCO: (weakly) Please, Agent Doggett, don't leave me.
(Later, DOGGETT is half carrying LT. BIANCO down the tunnel.
DOGGETT: I hope you're enjoying the ride.
(DOGGETT suddenly stops. He sees a shadow of a man down the hall.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) You see this, Agent Scully?
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah.
DR. BOWE: Who else is down there?
DOGGETT: We don't know.
DOGGETT: You, there! Stop! Federal Agent! I'm armed!
(Gun out, DOGGETT chases after the caster of the shadow, then stops in surprise.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully, believe this?
(SCULLY looks at the monitor. It is a little boy, maybe seven years old.)
DOGGETT: Who are you? What's your name? What are you doing down here?
SCULLY: (on radio) What's he pointing at?
DOGGETT: (on radio) I don't know.
DR. BOWE: Is he infected?
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett, turn the light away.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Nothing. He's unaffected.
DR. BOWE: How's that?
SCULLY: I think I just figured it out. I might know what triggers this.
DOGGETT: (on radio) What is it?
SCULLY: (on radio) Sweat. Perspiration is a conductor for calcium ions promoting a chemical-electrical reaction.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Electricity?
SCULLY: (on radio) That's right. And since the boy's sweat glands aren't fully developed then he wouldn't be as conductive.
DOGGETT: (on radio) Just my luck.
(The BOY runs further down the tunnel.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett, where's he going?
DOGGETT: (on radio) I don't know, but he wants me to follow him.
(DOGGETT follows the boy into an area that is covered in the green substance. Infected water drips from the ceiling and walls.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) Agent Scully, I don't know if you can see this. I think I found the source of the contagion. It looks like a big leak in the ceiling is crumbling the walls flooding into the system. It must have seeped in from the bay. Hey, where you going?
(The BOY crosses the infected area and looks back toward DOGGETT.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) You see this? The kid's walking right through this stuff.
(SCULLY is looking at the map of the system.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Yeah. I'm... I'm checking my graphic here. It... It looks like he's trying to lead you through to a tunnel on the main system. And, if what I'm looking at is accurate, it would put you about 400 yards from an access point. I mean, if I could put a hazmat team together we might be able to have you out in about 15 minutes.
(DOGGETT goes back and lifts LT. BIANCO to his feet.)
DOGGETT: Come on, Lieutenant.
(Following the BOY, DOGGETT leads LT. BIANCO through the dripping area to a main tunnel. Unfortunately, pools of green liquid have seeped into the main tunnel also, right beside the tracks.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) We're in through to the main system, Agent Scully and we got big, big problems here.
SCULLY: (on radio) Yes, we do.
DOGGETT: (on radio) You see this flooding?
(SCULLY has her eyes on another monitor, showing people boarding the trains and the trains running down the tracks. It is 4:00 PM.)
SCULLY: (on radio) No. It's worse than that. I think this moron Karras has started the trains rolling.
(In the tunnel, DOGGETT hears the screech of a train and sees a red light turn to green. He sends LT. BIANCO and the BOY back down at the opening to the access tunnel. DOGGETT shines his light on a sign warning him away from the third rail, "extremely dangerous.")
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett what are you doing? Agent Doggett... Get off the tracks, Agent Doggett. Get out of there!
(The train is visible.)
DOGGETT: (on radio) We got people on the train. They could get infected.
SCULLY: (on radio) Get out of there, Agent Doggett!
(DOGGETT works to pull LT. BIANCO's Really Big Gun away from him. LT. BIANCO resists.)
DOGGETT: Give it to me! Give it to me!
(DOGGETT wrests the gun away as he hears the whistle of the train approaching.)
DOGGETT: I got an idea, Agent Scully.
(He dips the end of the gun in the green water, and at the last second drops the wet gun onto the third rail and jumps out of the way of the train. Sparks fly, and static fills SCULLY's monitor.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett? Talk to me, Agent Doggett.
(No response but electrical crackling.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Agent Doggett, are you there? Can you hear me?
DOGGETT: (on radio, weakly) Yeah. Yeah, I'm here.
SCULLY: (on radio) Thank god. Uh... I lost you on the visual.
(DOGGETT fumbles with his headset. The monitor image comes back on. SCULLY is relieved.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Okay... Okay, I've got you. You're back.
(DOGGETT stands and watches the train proceed safely down the track. The now murky green puddles are still sparking. DOGGETT and the BOY and LT. BIANCO look at each other.)
SCULLY: (on radio) Are you okay?
DOGGETT: (on radio) I can only hope, Agent Scully.
SCENE 9
BOSTON GENERAL HOSPITAL
(DOGGETT, wearing an open backed gown, is lying in a hospital bed. He looks manly, frustrated and bored. He presses the buzzer. No response.)
DOGGETT: Nurse! Nurse!
(He gets out of bed. SCULLY enters the room.)
SCULLY: Where do you think you're going?
DOGGETT: (defensively) Find the nurse. She said she was going to talk to the doctor about me going home. I could be dying in here for all she knows.
[CARRIK: Oh, so male. Manly Man Meter just went up again.]
SCULLY: Well, you're not... Agent Doggett. Your skin and body have been rid of the organism. Simple alcohol bath cleaned you right up. I was just down talking to the nurse and I told her I'd come and give you the news.
DOGGETT: Well, can I get out of here?
SCULLY: Yes.
(DOGGETT starts for the bathroom, then remembers his revealing attire and does a very cute backup move to the bathroom, taking his pants, while SCULLY tolerantly averts her eyes.)
DOGGETT: What about the others?
SCULLY: Well, the kid is with Social Services and plastic surgeons are working on Melnick and Bianco and Dr. Lyle has been discharged.
DOGGETT: You know, I'd like to think that this was over but there's going to be hell to pay for these guys.
SCULLY: No. It's over, Agent Doggett.
(DOGGETT comes back out of the bathroom, zipping up his pants.)
DOGGETT: Excuse me? This guy Karras put a train back on the tracks. He recklessly endangered people's lives.
SCULLY: (holding up a file) But there is no proof of that.
DOGGETT: What do you mean, there's no proof?
SCULLY: What I'm saying is that the organism is no longer extant. It's destroyed.
DOGGETT: By what?
SCULLY: I'm guessing by the electrical charge that you set off.
(Irritated, DOGGETT reaches for his shirt and puts it on.)
DOGGETT: We have victims. Dead bodies.
SCULLY: Infected by a pathogen of unknown aetiology.
(He stares at her, very upset.)
SCULLY: Look, Agent Doggett, not a criminal charge is going to stick. These guys were just doing their job-- keeping the trains running.
SCULLY: But they've got you to thank. And not just for saving their butts.
DOGGETT: No. You figured it out. I was just your eyes and ears.
(SCULLY smiles weakly, but does not want to take the credit.)
DOGGETT: Agent Scully...
(SCULLY's smile is gone.)
SCULLY: Let's go home.
(DOGGETT watches SCULLY leave the room, then follows.)
[THE END]
No history.
