WRITTEN BY
Chris Carter
&
Frank Spotnitz
DIRECTED BY
Kim Manners
AIRED ON
March 3, 2002
RUNTIME
44 minutes
STARRING
VIEWS
422
LAST UPDATE
2024-08-13 08:30:06
PAGE VERSION
Version 3
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0
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0
SUMMARY
The episode begins with the unearthing of a pre-Columbian relic that appears to have supernatural powers, triggering a chain of events linked to the alien colonization conspiracy. As Scully and Doggett delve into the artifact's origins, they encounter a secretive cult that believes in its apocalyptic significance and its connection to Scully's son, William. Their pursuit leads them to a cryptic art collector, who possesses another artifact linked to the relic. The episode is marked by escalating tension as the agents race against time to decipher the artifact's cryptic messages and unravel its role in the grand conspiracy, setting the stage for an intense exploration of ancient prophecies and extraterrestrial influences.
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REVIEWS
Scully kicks some ass! The rest is bad
Written by
Pike on 2015-12-26
★
★
In the previous seasons, I used to religiously wait for the mythology episodes like the Holly Grail. By season 9, it was the opposite, or, to be precise, I waited for them hoping for something huge and was disappointed all the time. The mythology episodes of this last season are very weak. So weak that I wished there were none.
In "Provenance", an FBI man tries to kill Scully's baby. This scene is actually quite good! Scully-fu will always work! But something will never work again: it's the "Mulder is dead" thing. It worked in "Anasazi" (season 2), it worked a bit in "Gethsemane", it worked a little in "DeadAlive", but now it's just pathetic. When Brad Follmer tells this, it's like an insult to the fans of the show. Are we supposed to hear about his death every ten episodes?
Then, I'm still disturbed to see Scully talking openly about the paranormal. The show worked great with a skeptic and a believer. But now, everyone except Doggett is talking about aliens and spacecrafts. The show starts to feel like Start Trek, which is not positive.
I also find the leading FBI men so clichés it's painful to watch. I never liked Assistant Director Kersh, and it's now even worse when watching Brad Follmer. Skinner was a great superior in the first seasons because he was a friend to The X-Files and also their strict superior. He could help Mulder and Scully and scream at them in the same episode. That was good to see his difficult position. But, of course, Skinner saw too much and since season 8 he is talking UFOs and aliens as well.
That's the problem of this season, it is a natural sequel to season 8, but they have so many bad elements that they have to continue: the baby, Mulder's absence, Scully believing in aliens along with Skinner, and so on.
Anyway, I found this episode plain boring and sometimes ridiculous. Indeed, when the FBI motorbiker takes the piece of the spacecraft in his hand, his body heals itself, but then Scully touches it and we can clearly see that her injured face doesn't change a bit (in close-up!).
So, I give it a 2 out of 5, just because of the Scully-fu sequence, which is really good.
TRANSCRIPT
SCENE 1
NARRATOR: Previously on THE X-FILES:
[from BIOGENESIS (6X22): DR. MERKMALLEN sitting at his desk holding two pieces of metal artifacts. He puts the two pieces together like edges of a puzzle, the singular piece of artifact flies out of his hands and across the room where it beelines toward and imbeds itself into The Holy Bible.]
[from BIOGENESIS (6X22): SCULLY kneeling in the sand on the beach brushing away sand from the metal hull of a buried spacecraft. Overhead shot of the spacecraft and SCULLY on the beach.]
[from BIOGENESIS (6X22): SCULLY in the tent on the floor piecing the rubbings like a giant jigsaw puzzle.]
SCULLY: It appears to be a craft covered in symbols, which I now understand are part of a complex communication.
AMINA NGEBE: It is the Word of God.
[from EXISTENCE (8X21): WILLIAM wrapped in blankets (SCULLY'S holding him) and MULDER moving the blanket away from his face to get a better look at him.]
SCULLY (V.O.): They want my baby. Why?
[from NIHT1 (9X01): DOGGETT talking to SCULLY.]
DOGGETT: Your pregnancy was a result of a government cloning experiment to try and create a super soldier.
[from TRUSTNO1 (9X08): The NSA Man speaking.]
[from NIHT1 (9X01): SCULLY watches the mobile over WILLIAM'S bassinet move, WILLIAM crying, SCULLY not happy.]
THE NSA MAN (V.O.): You saw your son affect the mobile over his crib. He spun it as if with his mind.
[from TRUSTNO1 (9X08): SCULLY typing the e-mail to MULDER. She turns to look at WILLIAM. Camera on WILLIAM.]
SCULLY (V.O.): I'm scared for you, Mulder, and for William ...
[Fade to black]
SCENE 2
U.S. - CANADIAN BORDER
BURKE COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA
(Night time. In the darkness, two officers of the U.S. Border Patrol sit in their car. The continuous garbled radio transmission breaks the silence of the night.)
RADIO DISPATCHER: This is sector station to unit one. Unit one, please report.
DRIVER AGENT: Unit one reporting. No traffic or unusual activity, sector station.
PASSENGER AGENT (AGENT DALEY): Tell her my ass is freezing off and I need someone out here to get the blood circulating.
DRIVER AGENT: Sector station, Agent Daley here has a very special request.
(AGENT DALEY turns to glare at his partner. His partner grins and shows him the mike.)
DRIVER AGENT: The mike's off, man.
PASSENGER AGENT (AGENT DALEY): Don't scare me like that, man.
DRIVER AGENT: Aww, come on. Keeps you awake, don't it?
PASSENGER AGENT (AGENT DALEY): Yeah. (He's not really listening anymore.)
(AGENT DALEY looks through his night binoculars to the distance where he sees movement.)
PASSENGER AGENT (AGENT DALEY): Something moving.
DRIVER AGENT: Where?
(PASSENGER AGENT hands the binoculars over to the DRIVER AGNET.)
PASSENGER AGENT (AGENT DALEY): Coming right through the trees. Straight ahead. See it?
DRIVER AGENT: Got it!
(The two officers take off in their SUV after the lone rider on the motorcycle in pursuit. The cyclist sees the officers and takes off.)
PASSENGER AGENT (AGENT DALEY): Unit one to sector station we are in pursuit ... in pursuit of an illegal border crossing.
(THE AGENTS quickly catch up with the MOTORBIKE RIDER and continue to tail him. With frequent backward glances, THE MOTORBIKE RIDER manages to stay ahead of THE AGENTS. Suddenly, the MOTORBIKE turns off of the road and into the open field. The SUV manages to keep up with the MOTORBIKE.)
PASSENGER AGENT (AGENT DALEY): Rabbit's running for the hole.
(THE MOTORBIKE RIDER doesn?t let up and keeps going through the field and into the trees. The two go some distance until finally THE SUV stops.)
PASSENGER AGENT (AGENT DALEY): End of the road, buddy.
(The MOTORBIKE RIDER glances back and notices that the SUV stopped. He continues on over the hill and into the ravine where he hits the ground.)
(The motorbike explodes. The two agents exit the SUV and visually sees the damage below. The TWO AGENTS run back to their vehicle to get help. Amidst the rubble, The motorbike rider is sprawled on the ground unmoving. Next to him, this backpack is open its contents spilling out: Sheathes of paper with rubbings of symbols.)
[OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS]
SCENE 3
(Kersh?s Office.)
(Just outside KERSH?S office, SCULLY enters and approaches his assistant?s desk.)
SCULLY: Agent Scully. He's expecting me.
KERSH'S ASSISTANT: Go right in, Agent Scully. They're all waiting for you.
SCULLY: "They"?
KERSH'S ASSISTANT (nodding): Mm-hmm.
CUT TO:
(Inside KERSH?S office, KERSH is there with a lot of upper FBI senior officials including FOLLMER and SKINNER. Also there is the infamous TOOTHPICK MAN who will take a very personal interest in the situation in Providence (9X11). SCULLY takes note of the audience gathered for the meeting. Everyone is standing. FOLLMER is sitting.)
SCULLY: Sorry to keep you waiting.
KERSH: Have a seat, please, Agent Scully ...
SCULLY: May I ask what this is about?
KERSH: You can take a seat, please.
(SCULLY turns to close the door and to take a seat as instructed. KERSH remains standing ... as does everyone except FOLLMER who remains sitting casually in the seat next to SCULLY also in front of KERSH?S desk.)
FOLLMER: Deputy Director Kersh has called you here today to ask you a few questions, Agent Scully. All right, just a few ... routine questions.
(SCULLY regards FOLLMER suspiciously, as her eyes glance to? A.D. SKINNER. His expression is unsettling because it offers nothing. Absolutely nothing about what his part is in this gathering.)
(Her look settles back on KERSH, standing across from her with an imperious air. His hands reaching to his desk, where he picks up: A plastic evidence bag containing one of the folded squares of paper we saw spilled from the motorcyclist?s bag. Its edges are burned and charred, but the rubbings of the numerous symbols are still visible. KERSH holds the bag up before him.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR KERSH: Do you know what this is?
(SCULLY looks at the bag. She does recognize it, but reveals nothing on her face. Everyone is watching her, waiting for a reaction from her. She gives them nothing.)
SCULLY: Should I?
(FOLLMER stands. He takes the bag from KERSH and hands it to SCULLY.)
FOLLMER: It's a simple question, Agent Scully. Do you know what this is?
(She stares at FOLLMER a moment, feeling the flush of disrespect. Then she fingers the paper through the plastic, its burnt edges. The symbols on the paper all too familiar to her. She looks at it. She studies it. All for the benefit of the audience in the room. TOOTHPICK MAN and his associate behind him take particular interest in any reaction of recognition from SCULLY.)
SCULLY: I'm not sure.
KERSH: But you've seen it before.
SCULLY: Am I under suspicion here?
[[From the OS scriptbyte (but not on screen): KERSH looks to SKINNER now. Something passing between them.]]
(FOLLMER hasn?t sat back down in his seat. He is now standing along with everyone else in the room. He?s looking down at SCULLY.)
FOLLMER: Assistant Director Skinner led us to believe that you'd be able to identify this piece of evidence.
(SCULLY looks to SKINNER. Again, he is blank-faced.)
SCULLY: And why is that?
FOLLMER: Well, you once worked on the X-Files.
SCULLY: Well, if this is an X-File then why don't you ask somebody who?s working on the X-Files?
FOLLMER: Because we're asking you.
SCULLY (to KERSH): Where did you get these?
(KERSH hasn?t moved. He?s still standing. His manner, however, is less offensive. He along with everyone else in the room is watching SCULLY. He answers her automatically and (from what we do know) ... truthfully.)
KERSH: They were found during an illegal border crossing in North Dakota. Canada to the U.S.
(SCULLY nods at KERSH?S response.)
SCULLY (still to KERSH): An illegal border crossing by whom?
FOLLMER (interrupting): As I said, we're asking the questions here today, Agent Scully.
[[From the OS scriptbyte: FOLLMER?S staring hard at her, but it?s a comment that?s meant to play the room. To impress the assembled senior staff. ]]
(SCULLY doesn?t look at FOLLMER, in fact, it appears that she?s ignoring him as is KERSH. Her gaze is still fixed solely on the DEPUTY DIRECTOR standing in front of her. At FOLLMER?S words, SCULLY doesn?t say anything. Right now, she knows that she has what they want from her. She has the information they need. She simply remains silent.)
KERSH: What A.D. Follmer is saying is your cooperation is important to this investigation, Agent Scully.
(SCULLY realizes that they do not know what they are holding in their hands. Her trip to this meeting has given her the opportunity to learn more information than any they had gotten from her. She now knows that the FBI has a set of the exact same rubbings from an alien spaceship, that they don?t know what it means, but are trying to learn its secrets.)
SCULLY: I'd like to cooperate. I-I'd be happy to cooperate. I just wish that you would tell me who or what you are investigating.
(Off this tense stalemate, we PRELAP the DING of an elevator.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 4
(The basement office.)
(Elevator bell dings its arrival at the basement floor. SCULLY exits and makes her way determinedly to her old office. She doesn?t look happy. She appears in the doorway and finds DOGGETT and REYES conferring over something. They look relaxed as if they are in-between cases. SCULLY?S sudden presence startles them.)
SCULLY: Were you called about this? Has A.D. Follmer been down here?
REYES: Brad Follmer?
SCULLY: Yeah. Going through the X-Files.
DOGGETT: I doubt Agent Follmer even knows where we are down here Agent Scully.
(SCULLY heads toward the filing cabinet. She opens it and begins rummaging through the files in the back. She is looking for something specific.)
REYES: Why? What are you looking for?
(SCULLY pulls out a file. Inside the file, she pulls out a stack of papers with the rubbings she made from the space craft back in THE SIXTH EXTINCTION (7X01) & T6E:AMOR FATI (7X02). She hands them to DOGGETT.)
SCULLY: These.
(DOGGETT examines the rubbings.)
REYES: What are they?
SCULLY: Rubbings. Taken from the surface structure of a craft.
DOGGETT: A craft?
SCULLY: A spacecraft. Agent Doggett, if you can wrap your brain around that.
(DOGGETT sighs. He remains silent. She continues.)
SCULLY: They were found by fishermen off the western coast of Africa. Two years ago, I traveled there to study it and I took these.
DOGGETT: What does this have to do with Follmer?
SCULLY: This morning I was called into the Deputy Director's office and I was shown an exact copy of that rubbing. I was asked by senior staff to identify it for them.
REYES: And where did they get them?
SCULLY: A guy running the North Dakota border from Canada. Or so they say.
REYES: What did you tell them about these?
SCULLY: Nothing.
REYES: And what aren't you telling us?
SCULLY: That they're powerful.
DOGGETT: We're talking about pieces of paper with marks on it.
SCULLY: They're not just marks, Agent Doggett. It's writing. Words. Powerful words. And if the FBI has them and they're keeping their investigation of them a secret, then they have a sense of their power as well.
(REYES looks worried. She glances down at the rubbings in her hands, then glances over at DOGGETT.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 5
U.S. ? CANADIAN BORDER
BURKE COUNTY, NORTH DAKOTA
(Daytime. DOGGETT pulls up in his rental. He exits, pulls out his badge and shows it to the agents standing around. He looks for the ASAC. The place is swarming with FBI agents in their FBI issue jackets.)
DOGGETT (to no one specific): Special Agent John Doggett out of Washington. I'm looking for the agent in charge out here.
(DOGGETT continues to walk around with his badge out.)
DOGGETT: Anybody point me to the ASAC?
(One of the agents points to a man speaking with two other men off to the side. DOGETT heads for the figure. On the way, he notices the motorbike tire tracks on the ground at his feet indicating speed and distance the bike was traveling at the time it went over the drop.)
(He walks to the edge of the drop to look down at the distance the motorbike fell. Down below he notices more FBI agents in their FBI issue jackets. He looks at them then heads to speak with the ASAC, AD BRAD FOLLMER.)
FOLLMER: Agent Doggett ...
DOGGETT: Assistant Director.
(Let the games begin.)
FOLLMER: I don't recall asking for your help or assistance on this case.
DOGGETT: Well, the way it looks I'm the only agent outside of D.C. You didn't ask.
(DOGGETT and FOLLMER?S eyes meet.)
DOGGETT: What's the big attraction?
(FOLLMER considers letting him in on the information. There?s no harm there.)
FOLLMER: Last night, a man made an illegal border crossing from Canada. A chase ensued; ended here.
DOGGETT: You know anything about him? About what he might have been doing?
(FOLLMER has a huge smirk on his face.)
FOLLMER: We're endeavouring to learn as much as we can, Agent Doggett.
DOGGETT: Was he carrying anything interesting?
FOLLMER: Like what, for example?
(DOGGETT takes a couple of steps closer to FOLLMER so that they?re not yelling to each other anymore.)
DOGGETT: I don't know. Like, uh ... maybe something you'd find in an X-File.
(FOLLMER?S amused. He smiles and shakes his head. He thinks that DOGGETT has got it so wrong.)
FOLLMER: If that's what you came looking for, you came a long way for nothing.
(DOGGETT looks around indicating all the agents standing. He speaks softly now. FOLLMER?S not looking at him.)
DOGGETT: Then what's with the cavalry?
(FOLLMER turns to look at DOGGETT. He doesn?t understand where this is going.)
FOLLMER: Excuse me?
DOGGETT: Lot of good shoes out here looking for what's got to be a dead man.
(FOLLMER doesn?t say anything.)
DOGGETT: Guy was killed, right?
(FOLLMER has a look on his face that indicates that he thinks that this is a silly question.)
FOLLMER: Man survives a fall like this, on fire? Not very likely ...
DOGGETT (louder): You got a body?
(FOLLMER thinks that DOGGETT is making fun of his inability to find the body of the dead motorbike rider.)
FOLLMER: We will, Agent Doggett. Like you say, I got the cavalry out here.
(DOGGETT realizes that FOLLMER doesn?t have a clue. He smiles.)
FOLLMER: Find that funny?
DOGGETT: Dead man up and disappearing? Happens every day, right?
(FOLLMER is silent.)
DOGGETT: At least it does on the X-Files.
(DOGGETT moves to pass FOLLMER. He?s stopped by a hand on his chest. The kid gloves are coming off. FOLLMER realizes that he's been played and he doesn't like it.)
FOLLMER: Trust me, Mr. Doggett. This has nothing to do with you. Nothing to do with you or the X-Files.
(DOGGETT recognizes a threat when he hears one. He?s not smiling anymore.)
FOLLMER: Stick your nose in this case I promise you, you'll live to regret it.
(FOLLMER turns away from DOGGETT. He?s dismissing DOGGETT. DOGGETT stays and watches FOLLMER for a while. He then leaves. As DOGGETT moves away, FOLLMER finally turns to watch him.)
CUT TO:
(Somewhere on the leafy-covered ground below ... the leaves begin to move and a hand emerges. It is covered with burns. Under a covering of leaves, twigs and branches, the MOTORBIKE RIDER or COMER is on the ground. He coughs and struggles to get up. From what we can see, He?s covered with multiple degree burns on his face and hands. He manages to flip himself over. He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a piece of metal with writing from the space craft. His hand holding the piece of metal heals all his burns right before our eyes.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 6
(Monica?s Residence.)
(REYES opens her door. SCULLY walks in.)
SCULLY: Hi.
REYES: Thanks for coming. I needed to talk to you about this in person.
(REYES looks concerned. SCULLY?S puzzled.)
SCULLY: Well, what is it?
CUT TO:
(They?re both kneeling on the floor of REYES? living room. File papers are spread out in front of them. Can?t tell whether they?re the rubbings put together like how SCULLY had them laid out in The Sixth Extinction, or whether they?re just the file papers. REYES has been studying the papers.)
(SCULLY allows REYES to take the lead in this discussion to discern what she knows ... what she understands/ comprehends.)
REYES: What I'm reading in your field report on these rubbings, Dana-- there's something I didn't understand. You say these were taken off a spacecraft. You determined they were words -- writings. You didn't tell us you knew what they said.
(The women are speaking softly.)
SCULLY: What little I read was through the help of an interpreter.
REYES: But you interpreted them as text from the Bible, from the Koran (Qur?an) ... scripture from religions around the world. And science, too. The periodic table of elements.
SCULLY: Yes.
REYES: And you wrote in your report they were millions of years old.
SCULLY: Based on radiometric readings from fossils that were encrusted on the surface of the ship.
REYES: Agent Scully, I know you've become more open-minded about these things ... but do you know what it is you're saying here?
(SCULLY nods.)
REYES: If it were true these symbols wouldn't just be words ... they'd be the very Word of God on the surface of an alien spacecraft.
SCULLY: It'd mean that everything mankind believes in ... is in question.
REYES: And you believe this?
SCULLY: I didn't. I mean, I-I refused to believe it. But now I think ... I think there may be answers there.
REYES: Answers to what?
(Tears fill SCULLY?S eyes.)
SCULLY: Answers about my son. I know how that sounds. I have no one else to say it to. That I was meant to find these ... somehow. These were meant for me.
REYES: But why would the FBI keep that from you? From us? And what exactly do they want with them?
SCULLY: Those are questions I can't answer.
CUT TO:
SCENE 7
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
(Skinner's office. Night. SKINNER?S on his way out. He exits his office and finds DOGGETT sitting on the couch in his assistant?s office.)
DOGGETT: You forget our extension? Or you just can't be bothered?
(DOGGETT stands.)
SKINNER: Excuse me?
DOGGETT: Returning calls. Agent Reyes', mine. What the hell's that about?
SKINNER: Well, I've been tied up, Agent Doggett. I just haven't had a chance.
DOGGETT: That's not what your phone log says. Your log says you've returned everyone's calls but ours.
SKINNER: Agent Doggett, let me remind you who answers to whom here.
DOGGETT: Oh, I think you owe me an answer, sir -- and if you don't owe it to me, you owe it to Agent Scully -- on this X-File case the FBI's got. The one they're working so hard to keep us from investigating.
SKINNER: You ready for my answer, Agent Doggett? It's not an X-File case.
DOGGETT: That's why you have 40 agents combing the Canadian border for a dead man that ain't dead.
SKINNER: You don't know what you're talking about.
DOGGETT: I was out there.
SKINNER: Without any authorization!
DOGGETT: I don't understand -- none of us do -- why you're keeping their secrets ... why you're keeping quiet.
SKINNER: Because I know things you don't, John. And it's for your own good.
(SKINNER walks down the hall leaving DOGGETT behind. DOGGETT considers SKINNER?S words and wonders what it is that SKINNER could possibly know. DOGGETT turns to look at the closed door to SKINNER?S office.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 8
ALBERTA PROVINCE
CANADA
(Night. A huge tent in the middle of the field. A light coming from inside. Over a dozen men & women with wheelbarrows working an excavation. They have shovels and are busy trying to dig something huge up.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 9
(Skinner's Office. DOGGETT opens SKINNER?S door. He makes his way purposefully to SKINNER?S desk. He turns on the light and goes through the desk drawers. He opens drawer after drawer. In the back of the final drawer, he finds the plastic covered rubbings. He pulls those out and puts them on the desk intending to take them with him. He then turns back to the drawer to leaf through the files.]
CUT TO:
SCENE 10
(Excavation site. Buckets are being filled with dirt. Continuous work going on. Purposeful work. Men with small hand shovels sifting sand.)
(At the very bottom, one man with a paint brush is clearing sand from writings on a large piece of metal. It?s the spacecraft. This is JOSEPHO. The excavation is for the spacecraft. He stands up and looks at the hull of the craft. They have definitely found a spacecraft and are digging it up.]
[Fade to black]
SCENE 11
(Monica's residence. Night. Someone is knocking of the door. REYES grabs her red bathrobe to cover her nightgown and answers the persistent knocking on the door.)
REYES: Yeah. Who's there?
DOGGETT: It's me. Open up, Monica.
(She turns on the light, opens the door and DOGGETT walks in carrying a brown file folder.)
DOGGETT: I got it.
REYES: Got what?
DOGGETT: What they've been keeping a secret. What they won't tell Scully. What they wouldn't tell us.
(He gives REYES the folder and she looks through it.)
REYES: What am I looking at?
DOGGETT: A file on a guy crossing the Canadian border last night.
(Reyes looks at the file. The left side of the file folder has a big colour photo of Robert Comer. The right side has the following information on the form.
(Federal Bureau of Investigation: Preliminary Application for Special Agent Position (Please Type or Print in Black Ink)
(Under ?Personal History?:
[Name in Full (Last, First, Middle)]: Comer, Robert David;
[Last College Degree(s) ??? Month/Year]: Police Science, BA & Forensic Science, BA ...;
[Marital Status]: Single;
[Birth Date (Month, Day, Year):] 03/06/65;
[Birth Place:] blank;
[Social Security Number: (Optional)] blank;
[Current Address]: 3462 Arman Rd. #302, Baltimore, MD, 21220
[Are you a CPA?] No
[Licensed Driver?] Yes
[Have you served on active duty in the U.S. Military?] Yes )
REYES: Special Agent Robert Comer?
DOGGETT: He's FBI.
REYES: I-I know this guy. I worked a case with him once in New Orleans. Company man -- straight as a ruler.
DOGGETT: Well, according to his file last six months he's been deep undercover.
REYES: Undercover doing what?
DOGGETT: We got a pile of reading to do. What's not blacked out.
(DOGGETT opens his jacket and pulls out the evidence bag containing the rubbings. The same rubbings KERSH showed SCULLY earlier. He gives them to REYES who picks them up and looks at them.)
DOGGETT: Oh, and, uh ... picked these up in the bargain.
REYES: Agent Skinner gave you these?
DOGGETT: I sort of got it on loan.
REYES: We?d better call Agent Scully.
DOGGETT: I already did.
CUT TO:
SCENE 12
JESSUP, MARYLAND
10:20 PM
(Night. A U-Mov It Truck parks. The driver gets out. In the truck?s side- view mirror, we see COMER approach the truck from the back. He?s looking healthy and unburnt. He opens the truck door, he pulls the wires intending to hot-wire the truck. The driver re-appears behind him through the open truck door.)
DRIVER: Hey, need a hand there, bro?
(The DRIVER interrupts COMER.)
DRIVER: How about I just help you out, huh? Ohh!
(The DRIVER reaches over to pull COMER out. COMER kicks the DRIVER in the chest and climbs out of the truck. They fight. The driver is knocked out. COMER takes the keys from the DRIVER. He searches the glove compartment for a map. He?s looking for ?Georgetown.?)
[CLOSED-CAPTION: COMER: Georgetown. Georgetown. Georgetown.]
(COMER drives off in the stolen truck.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 13
(Scully's apartment. It looks like its daytime outside SCULLY?S apartment window. I could be wrong especially since MRS. SCULLY says that it?s the middle of the night. SCULLY is on the phone.)
SCULLY (on phone): I'm on my way.
(SCULLY hangs up. MRS. SCULLY is there holding WILLIAM who is not sleeping. For a kid his age, he really should be in bed sleeping especially if it is in the middle of the night. WILLIAM seems to be having the time of this life. MRS. SCULLY isn?t happy with SCULLY at the moment.)
SCULLY: That was Agent Doggett again. They're waiting. Mom, I've got to go.
MRS. SCULLY: It's the middle of the night, Dana. I just don't understand what can't wait till tomorrow.
(SCULLY?S putting her jacket on.)
SCULLY: Mom, it's important. I wouldn't go if it weren't.
MRS. SCULLY: Yes, I know, Dana. You say it's about getting answers.
SCULLY: Answers about William, mom.
MRS. SCULLY: I know you're worried about him ... that there are things about him that you just can't explain -- but even if you were to get those answers what would it change?
SCULLY: Mom, he's my child.
MRS. SCULLY: And you have to love him and raise him in spite of everything. Dana, God has given you a miracle. A child that wasn't supposed to be. Maybe it?s not to question ... just to be taken as a matter of faith.
SCULLY: Mom, I can't take this on faith. I need to know. I need to know if it's really God I have to thank.
(SCULLY leaves.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 14
(Monica's residence. From an overhead view, REYES is on her knees with the papers spread around her. She?s studying both the old set of rubbings and the new, burnt rubbings. She's comparing the two sets, her gloved hands lifting the various pieces of paper. DOGGETT is standing on the side watching her.)
(There is no knock on the door. SCULLY enters. She walks into the room and sees the new rubbings. The same papers that was shown to her in KERSH?S office.)
SCULLY: Where did you get those?
DOGGETT: I got 'em ... and the FBI's file on the man who was carrying them. He's one of ours -- working deep undercover. Infiltrating a religious group, some kind of whacked-out UFO cult. A case they never told us about.
SCULLY: Where's this cult supposed to be?
DOGGETT: North Dakota. And at some point, they up and disappear into Canada. Agent goes right along with them. FBI loses all contact with him.
SCULLY: What did they think this guy was doing running across the U.S. Border carrying these rubbings on him?
DOGGETT: The FBI thinks he went over to the dark side. Became whacked-out himself. And that's the secret they've been trying to keep from everybody.
SCULLY: That's it? That's the big secret?
DOGGETT: That and ... they can't seem to find him the best I can figure.
(SCULLY considers this for a moment then dismisses it. That can?t be it.)
SCULLY: I was questioned this morning by the senior staff of the FBI. Not about an FBI agent but about these rubbings. There's got to be something more. There has to be.
(REYES looks up.)
REYES: There may be, Agent Scully. But I'm not sure even the FBI is aware of it. How could they be without access to your files?
SCULLY: What are you talking about?
REYES: The set of rubbings the man smuggled over the border doesn't match the rubbings you took.
SCULLY: Wait a second. How can that be?
REYES: It could only be that this whacked UFO cult found a second spacecraft.
(This is not good news for the agents.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 15
(Scully's apartment. Daytime. From the window of an apartment, probably SCULLY'S apartment, someone is watching MRS. SCULLY take WILLIAM out for a walk. She?s making her way home. WILLIAM is in the stroller. That someone watches as MRS. SCULLY crosses the street in front of SCULLY?S apartment.)
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(MRS. SCULLY unlocks the door and pulls the stroller into the apartment. She backs up into COMER. She gasps.)
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(Just outside, SCULLY comes home. She exits her car, turns on the car alarm. She?s in no rush; unaware of the danger her family is in.)
CUT TO:
(SCULLY exits the stairwell onto her floor, pulls the apartment keys out of her pocket and finally notices that the door to her apartment is ajar.)
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(Inside the apartment, SCULLY pushes the door open a little further.)
SCULLY: Mom?
(MAGGIE SCULLY comes flying out of WILLIAM?S room. She hits the floor with a loud thud. SCULLY rushes over to her mother who has some lacerations on her lip and forehead.)
MRS. SCULLY: He wants to kill the baby!
(SCULLY looks up, pulls her gun and approaches WILLIAM?S room. From the slightly opened doorway, we see WILLIAM in his crib, flailing his arms, apparently still alive and not crying.)
(SCULLY enters the room cautiously. COMER pushes the door into SCULLY knocking the gun out of her hands. He then picks up her gun, but before he can actually do anything, SCULLY attacks. She gets in a couple of blows before he simply overpowers her and pushes her up against WILLIAM?S crib. WILLIAM starts to cry.)
(SCULLY turns around and attacks COMER again. This time, he pushes her up against the wall just as police do to subdue felons. He has her arm twisted behind her back.)
(WILLIAM is still crying.)
SCULLY: No! No! Don't! Please! Don't!
(COMER manages to get both SCULLY?S arms behind her back. He then uses that leverage to kick open the door and to toss SCULLY out into the hallway. He shuts and locks the door behind her.)
(From the hallway, SCULLY gets up and starts to knock down the door with her shoulder. WILLIAM'S cries can be heard.)
SCULLY (frantically): I'll kill you! I'll kill you if you touch my baby!
MRS. SCULLY (from behind): Dana!
(MRS. SCULLY is standing in the doorway. She is holding a second gun out for SCULLY.)
CUT TO:
(Inside WILLIAM?S room, COMER picks up a fluffy white pillow. His intentions are clear. He plans on smothering WILLIAM. He approaches the crib. SCULLY bursts through the door. He turns, surprised. The pillow is still clutched in his hands. SCULLY fires three shots into his abdomen. WILLIAM?S cries still pierce the air.)
(SCULLY doesn?t take her eyes off of COMER till he falls to the floor in pain. WILLIAM is crying in his crib.)
[Fade to black]
SCENE 16
(Scully's apartment. DOGGETT and REYES burst through the stairway door onto SCULLY?S floor. They?re running. SCULLY?S front door is ajar. DOGGETT reaches through first and REYES enters after him. They both see MRS. SCULLY sitting down and holding an ice pack to the bruise on her forehead. DOGGETT and REYES are kneeling before her.)
REYES: Oh, my god!
DOGGETT (concerned): Mrs. Scully, are you okay ?
(MRS. SCULLY nods.)
(SCULLY appears out of WILLIAM?S room holding WILLIAM. He?s not crying and dressed warmly. DOGGETT and REYES turns to look at her. SCULLY?S face is bruised, she nervously rubs WILLIAM?S back. She looks downright frightened. DOGGETT senses this, his concern evident. He stands and moves toward her. REYES remains kneeling in front of MRS. SCULLY.)
DOGGETT: What the hell happened here?
SCULLY: I need your help, okay?
(SCULLY avoids answering DOGGETT?S question. With a glance she tells him that she?ll answer his questions later. She looks over at REYES instead. He remains silent.)
SCULLY: Agent Reyes, I need you to take my mom and the baby. Can you do that, Monica?
(REYES answers unhesitatingly.)
REYES: Of course.
(REYES stands and SCULLY hands WILLIAM over to her. They both pass DOGGETT and move toward the door.
[CLOSED-CAPTION SCULLY: Thank you.]
(REYES, MRS. SCULLY and WILLIAM leave. Only DOGGETT remains. DOGGETT turns back toward SCULLY to find out what?s going on, when from the other room, he hears a man moaning.)
DOGGETT: Who is that? Is somebody here?
(SCULLY doesn?t say a word. She opens the door to WILLIAM?S room. DOGGETT enters and he sees COMER on the floor bleeding. SCULLY has packed his wound with some cloth and tied it around his waist. Both cloths are soaked through with blood. His shirt is open and the jacket he wore when he came in is beside him on the floor.)
DOGGETT: You gonna tell me what this is who the hell this is, Dana?
SCULLY: That man -- that FBI agent -- came here to kill my baby.
DOGGETT: You gotta help this man.
SCULLY: No, not until he tells me why.
DOGGETT: He's not gonna tell anybody anything unless you get him to a hospital. This man is losing blood fast.
SCULLY (angry): I am not going to turn him over to the FBI! I am not gonna let them cover their tracks on this one!
(SCULLY kneels beside COMER and grabs his shirt. She is angry and she wants answer from him. She pulls him up and shakes him, yelling her questions in his ear.)
SCULLY: Why?
(COMER groans softly )
SCULLY: Why do you want to hurt my son?!
(DOGGETT can?t stand it anymore. He moves to the nearby phone and picks it up. SCULLY turns around as she hears DOGGETT reach for the phone and turns her anger at DOGGETT halting him in the process.)
SCULLY: Agent Doggett, put down the phone! He has to answer me!
(DOGGETT looks at SCULLY. His message clear: She has until help comes to get her answers out of COMER. He begins dialing.)
AGENT COMER: He ha-has to ...
SCULLY: What? Say it!
(COMER gulps, his lips bloodied.)
AGENT COMER: Your son ...
SCULLY: Say it!!
AGENT COMER: ... has to die.
SCULLY: Why?! Who told you that?!
(COMER can say no more. SCULLY angrily begins to shake him. COMER begins to lose consciousness.)
SCULLY: He's my son! He's my son!!
(COMER?S eyes close. Behind SCULLY, we hear DOGGETT speaking rapidly on the phone.)
DOGGETT: I've got a medical emergency, a man in critical condition at ...
CUT TO:
(The EMT?S with COMER on a gurney leaves WILLIAM?S room. They have an oxygen mask on him. In the hallway, they pass DOGGETT and SCULLY who is strangely silent, struggling to hold on to her emotions in her tenuous grasp. DOGGETT approaches SCULLY and stops some distance from her.)
DOGGETT: This man have any kind of a weapon?
(SCULLY answers, then nods slightly as she remembers.)
SCULLY (whispers): A pillow.
DOGGETT: Whatever brought him here I hope to God we figure it out.
(DOGGETT leaves SCULLY standing in the hallway. Tears run down SCULLY?S face at the nameless threat that wants her son dead. She glances over into the room and notices COMER?S jacket. There?s blood everywhere. She picks it up and searches his pockets where she finds the piece of metal with foreign markings on it. SCULLY recognizes it.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 17
CALGARY
ALBERTA PROVINCE
CANADA
(Night. The streets are dark. It?s early morning. The early morning edition of the SUN has the following headline: ?Missing FBI Agent Shot In Washington? with a large photo of COMER (same as the photo in his file).
(The OVERCOAT WOMAN from the cult picks up the paper, she looks at the headline, gasps, pays for it and leaves.)
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(The White truck belonging to the cult travels on a deserted path where there is no road toward the large white tent. The excavation inside the white tent continues. The OVERCOAT WOMAN heads for the site. She?s holding the paper.)
SCENE 18
(JOSEPHO looks up at the OVERCOAT WOMAN approaching.)
JOSEPHO: What is it?
(She doesn?t say a word and tosses the paper to him. He catches it and reads the headlines. He sighs.)
JOSEPHO: This changes everything.
OVERCOAT WOMAN: He can expose all this. He's got proof he can show them. What do you want to do?
(He looks back down at the paper and sighs.)
JOSEPHO: There's only one thing to do.
(He looks at her. She gets the message and leaves.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 19
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
(It?s daytime at the FBI building. Inside KERSH?S office, FOLLMER opens the office door.)
FOLLMER: Agent Scully, Agent Doggett.
(Both SCULLY and DOGGETT enter. SCULLY?S been here before. DOGGETT trails in after her. SKINNER is standing by the window. KERSH is sitting behind his desk. TOOTHPICK MAN (yes, with a toothpick in his mouth) is also there.)
FOLLMER: You can both have a seat.
(They walk in to the office and stop in front of KERSH?S desk.)
SCULLY: This is just going to be another interrogation I prefer to stand.
(DOGGETT sighs. He remains silent.)
KERSH: Agent Scully, a man was shot in your apartment. An FBI agent.
SCULLY: Trying to kill my son.
KERSH: That is not in question here. There'll be an investigation.
SCULLY (angry): Another secret investigation or one where I'm given advance warning that my family's life is in danger?
(DOGGETT?S surprised at SCULLY?S outburst. He looks over accusingly at SKINNER, possibly recalling his late night conversation with him. SKINNER remains silent and returns the look.)
FOLLMER: It would help us to help you if you could tell us anything this man might have communicated to you.
(DOGGETT?S still looking at SKINNER.)
DOGGETT: I wouldn't tell him anything, not until they explain why all the hush-hush over this case, why the doublespeak -- the mincing words from Mr. Follmer -- 'cause I want answers myself.
(DOGGETT turns to look at AD FOLLMER, possibly recalling his crime scene conversation with him. Then turns to look at KERSH.)
KERSH: The man you shot had been undercover which you've already found out through whatever ?unethical? means. His assignment was to infiltrate a religious cult. A cult led by a former military officer. A very dangerous man by all accounts and who also believed in very dangerous ideas ... about aliens.
SCULLY: And why wasn't I told? Why not Agent Doggett? Why not Agent Reyes? Why wasn't this an X-File?
SKINNER (quietly): I asked them to put somebody else on the case because I was afraid after all that you'd been through it just might break you.
(DOGGETT turns to look at SKINNER wondering what they know and still aren?t saying.)
SCULLY: What are you talking about?
(KERSH looks at SKINNER. A look passes between them. A silent agreement to share this information with them.)
KERSH: Agent Comer -- our undercover man -- was sent to infiltrate the cult ... based on a series of ... threats.
SCULLY: What threats? Threats to who? To me, to my child...
FOLLMER: Threats ... on Agent Mulder's life.
(DOGGETT pieces all the information together and remains silent.)
SCULLY: That's what this is about? Then why pull me in here and show me those rubbings? I don't understand.
(SCULLY?S looking at FOLLMER. FOLLMER swallows. No one else is speaking.)
FOLLMER: Before losing all contact with our undercover agent he sent us a communication. A communication we've been trying to confirm that, uh...
(FOLLMER swallows. SCULLY is watching him, waiting for him to finish.)
FOLLMER (gently): ... that Mulder was already dead.
(SCULLY looks at FOLLMER trying to discern whether he is telling what he perceives to be the truth. She doesn?t like what she sees. FOLLMER holds her gaze. SCULLY looks over at KERSH whose entire demeanour is one of sorrow. He, too, can?t hold her gaze. SKINNER can?t even look at SCULLY. DOGGETT has nothing but sympathy in what he thinks is the truth.)
(SCULLY has had enough. She turns to leave the office. It is unknown whether she, too, believes this. DOGGETT watches her as she leaves the room. The door closing behind her.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 20
(Scully's apartment. A white door is being unlocked and opened to reveal REYES smiling with WILLIAM. SCULLY is inside her apartment and REYES is holding WILLIAM. She gives him to her.)
REYES (smiling): Here's your mommy.
SCULLY (to WILLIAM): Hi, honey.
(SCULLY holds WILLIAM close. She kisses him. She hasn?t moved. She?s very sad.)
REYES: Dana, what's wrong?
(WILLIAM makes a small noise as if he?s going to cry. SCULLY turns away from REYES and moves further into her apartment. REYES follows. She removes her coat and closes the door.)
CUT TO:
(William?s nursery. SCULLY is walking back into WILLIAM?S nursery. She?s moving fast and is stoically silent. REYES follows behind her. Something is terribly wrong.)
REYES: What's happened?
(SCULLY?S barely holding it together. She holds WILLIAM close and kisses him over and over again hoping to find some comfort in comforting him. REYES stands in front of SCULLY.)
SCULLY (whispering to WILLIAM): It's okay.
REYES (gently): Just tell me what it is.
SCULLY (whispering): It's Mulder ...
(A rattling noise coming from the next room catches the attention of both women. SCULLY looks worried. The rattling noise is getting louder and more violent. SCULLY puts WILLIAM in his crib while she and REYES check it out.)
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(In the next room the top dresser drawer is rattling and shaking. Something inside the drawer is trying to get out. The noise gets louder and louder.)
REYES: What is it?
SCULLY: An artifact. I got it from the man who was trying to kill William.
REYES: Okay, but what the hell is it?
SCULLY: It's a piece of the spacecraft.
(REYES looks suddenly at SCULLY.)
(The drawer rattles louder and louder. The metal piece wants out. Both women move cautiously toward the dresser. SCULLY opens the drawer. The metal piece bursts out and heads straight for WILLIAM. It crashes through the crib and stops directly above WILLIAM. It hovers there. Spinning leisurely in a clockwise direction. SCULLY and REYES rush to WILLIAM?S room and witness the events. SCULLY glances over at REYES who is with her ... watching it all happen.)
(SCULLY looks terrified at what she?s seeing.)
[Fade to black]
SCENE 21
(Outside Scully?s apartment building.)
(It?s night. DOGGETT pulls up in front of SCULLY?S apartment building. REYES meets him at the door.)
DOGGETT: Where's Agent Scully?
REYES: She's still upstairs. I want to talk to you before you see her to explain what's happened.
DOGGETT: You said it had something to do with the kid. A piece of metal these rubbings were taken from.
REYES: A piece of that ship in Canada.
DOGGETT: Oh, come on, Monica. You're making an outrageous leap. You're just guessing there's any such thing.
REYES: It flew through the air at the baby. I saw it.
(A worried look crosses DOGGETT?S face.)
DOGGETT: Just tell me the boy's okay.
REYES: I don't think you understand. The boy has some connection with this thing--this piece of metal.
DOGGETT: You saying this kid's an alien or something?
REYES: You can believe or not, but the man who tried to kill Scully's baby believed it ... so must this cult he got involved with who are obviously more than willing to kill for their belief.
(DOGGETT may not understand the intricacies of how this involves WILLIAM, but he does know a dangerous situation when he sees one. He remains silent. SCULLY appears at the doorway carrying WILLIAM. She hands WILLIAM to REYES.)
DOGGETT: Where are we going?
SCULLY: I'll tell you on the way.
(REYES puts WILLIAM in the car seat. SCULLY gets inside the car. DOGGETT closes the car door behind her. He looks up and notices a station wagon parked nearby with a driver inside. Both look suspicious to him. He doesn?t like the look of it.
(DOGGETT hands the keys to REYES. He?s going to check it out.)
DOGGETT (to REYES): You drive.
REYES: What is it?
(DOGGETT leans over SCULLY?S open window.)
DOGGETT: I'm right behind you guys.
SCULLY: What is it?
DOGGETT: Probably nothing.
(REYES drives off. Inside the parked station wagon, the OVERCOAT WOMAN watches them drive off. DOGGETT is left behind, standing below the lamppost. He makes his way purposefully toward the station wagon. The OVERCOAT WOMAN starts the engine and heads straight for DOGGETT.)
DOGGETT: Federal Agent! Stop the car!
(DOGGETT pulls out his gun and fires several shots at her, breaking her windshield. She doesn?t stop and runs him down. DOGGETT tumbles over the hood of the car and falls to the pavement, unconscious. The station wagon takes off in pursuit of WILLIAM.)
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SCENE 22
(An unknown alley. REYES turns the car into an alleyway where THE LONE GUNMEN?S van waits.)
REYES: Who are we meeting?
SCULLY: The only ones left we can trust.
(BYERS, LANGLY & FROHIKE exit the van. FROHIKE gets WILLIAM out of the seat. WILLIAM is crying.)
FROHIKE: Hey, little man.
[CLOSED CAPTION FROHIKE: It's okay.]
(He hands WILLIAM to LANGLY. FROHIKE turns back to get the baby bag. He closes the car door.)
LANGLY: Your baby's in good hands.
(BYERS takes the car seat. The LONE GUNMEN turn to face SCULLY. She reaches over and plays with WILLIAM. WILLIAM isn?t crying.)
SCULLY: I need to know that you're taking him to a safe place. I need to know that you're ... that you're taking every precaution.
BYERS: We understand. (to LANGLY) Langly.
(LANGLY runs back to the van to get something.)
SCULLY: Now, there's a good chance that my phone lines have been tapped and if they're tapped, they can trace you.
FROHIKE: We thought about that.
(LANGLY rushes back with a plastic bag that he hands to REYES.)
LANGLY: Six cell phones their signals scrambled. Use each one once and then throw it away.
(SCULLY still has her hand on WILLIAM?S. She?s reluctant to let him go. She gives the GUNMEN a look filled with gratitude.)
(SCULLY looks down at WILLIAM and tenderly kisses his brow.)
SCULLY (softly to WILLIAM): Hey ... it's going to be okay.
(SCULLY lingers over WILLIAM. Suddenly she turns and heads back to the car. FROHIKE stops her with some final words.)
FROHIKE: Whatever you do, don't worry.
(SCULLY & REYES drive off. THE LONE GUNMEN remain behind holding WILLIAM.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 23
(Outside Scully's apartment. Driving back to the apartment, REYES turns back on to SCULLY?S street. Police car lights flash indicating some kind of incident took place there. SCULLY looks worried.)
SCULLY: What's going on here?
REYES: I don't know.
(REYES stops the car. SKINNER is speaking with a group of police officers. He sees them and approaches the car. REYES exits the car and rushes over to SKINNER.)
REYES: What happened?
(SKINNER doesn?t look happy. He doesn?t say anything.)
REYES: Is it John?
(Somehow, REYES knows. SKINNER turns to the scene behind him. EMT?S are putting a man on a gurney inside an awaiting ambulance. REYES runs over check on DOGGETT. SKINNER turns back to SCULLY who is standing there. She suddenly realizes what must have happened and that WILLIAM and The LONE GUNMEN are in danger. She quickly gets behind the wheel.)
SKINNER: Agent Scully! Scully!
SCULLY: My baby! They're after my baby! I have to get back!
(SCULLY slams the car door and drives off leaving SKINNER standing there in the street.)
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SCENE 24
(Back in the alley with the Gunmen. BYERS is in the back of the van tickling WILLIAM?S cheek. He?s thoroughly enjoying making WILLIAM smile. The van makes its way down the alleyway. In front of them, blocking the entrance to the alleyway, the OVERCOAT WOMAN?S station wagon blocks the alleyway entrance.)
FROHIKE: What the hell is this?
BYERS (alarmed): What the hell is what?
(The OVERCOAT WOMAN is holding a gun. She fires several times. The first bullet breaks her passenger-side window. Several bullets later finds the front left tire of the LONE GUNMEN?S van. The moving van crashes into a nearby pole. The OVERCOAT WOMAN walks purposefully toward the back of the van. WILLIAM is crying. LANGLY and FROHIKE are stunned by the impact of the crash. She opens the back door and points the gun at BYERS who is protectively holding WILLIAM.)
(WILLIAM is crying )
[TO BE CONTINUED ...]
No history.
