WRITTEN BY
Chris Carter
&
Frank Spotnitz
DIRECTED BY
Chris Carter
AIRED ON
March 10, 2002
RUNTIME
43 minutes
STARRING
VIEWS
433
LAST UPDATE
2024-08-13 08:30:06
PAGE VERSION
Version 3
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0
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0
SUMMARY
After rescuing William from the UFO cult, Scully and her fellow agents face escalating threats from both the cult and shadowy government forces intent on harnessing William's powers. As they struggle to protect him, Scully grapples with the profound implications of William's existence and his potential role in the looming alien colonization. The episode culminates in a dramatic confrontation where Scully makes a heartbreaking decision to give William up for adoption, fearing for his safety and the dangers posed by those who seek to exploit him. "Providence (Part II)" explores themes of sacrifice, maternal love, and the ethical dilemmas of raising a child with extraordinary abilities within a world fraught with conspiracies and hidden agendas.
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BEHIND THE SCENES
- Ninth episode directed by Chris Carter himself after "Duane Barry" (season 2), "The List (season 3), "The Post-Modern Prometheus" (season 5), "The Red and the Black" (season 5), "Triangle" (season 6), "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" (season 6), "First Person Shooter" (season 7) and "Patience" (season 8).
- The number of the field report case is X280911.
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REVIEWS
Baby, religion, prophecy, miracle = bad episode
Written by
Pike on 2015-12-26
★
★
This is an episode about religion. The references are in BOLD during "Providence". I really loved the religion aspect of the trilogy "Biogenesis"/"The Sixth Extinction"/"The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati". But this (kind of) sequel is really bad. When I watched it the first time, I was more than fed up with the "Your baby is a miracle" aspect. Now this is even worse that than. Indeed, one of the worst quote ever is in this episode: "(...) And that your son must die too. Or everyone, all of mankind, will perish from Earth."
And it can become even worse, with this quote: "If you want to see the boy, you'll bring me the head of Fox Mulder."
I found this prophecy story very bad. Oh, and now, the supersoldiers are the sons of god. Of course, they existed since the gulf war, but we only heard about them from the eighth season...
There is no mythology at all, now the mythology are the characters.
But, near the end, the sequence with the spacecraft finally moving and Scully looking for William with Reyes was pretty good! While watching the episode, I remember that I thought that they finally got rid of William... but no! Scully finds him... So this all mytharc episode went for nothing.
Then, I didn't like the characters, all of them: Scully (crying all the time), Reyes (Gish's acting), Follmer (as usual), etc.
But, Chris Carter's directing was good, but not enough to fill the gaps of this low screenplay. Because, in the end, if you have a bad screenplay, you cannot do much to get it right.
And the worst thing of this episode is the last frame. "Oh my god, he's a supersoldier?!" It was already deja vu all over again in "Essence", it's the same here. We just don't care anymore.
So, I give it a 2 out of 5.
TRANSCRIPT
SCENE 1
MAKHAFAR AL BUSAYYAH, IRAQ
OPERATION DESERT STORM
JOSEPHO (V.O.): The bible says God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. He came to Jesus on a mountain-top. For Buddha, God came while he sat under a tree. God came to me in a vision in the desert February 26, 1991.
(Day. The camera pans across the wide desert. In the distance, gunfire rings in the air. In the middle of nowhere, the last remains of what was a building stands - several walls here and there with no roof for cover.)
(Behind the building walls, about a dozen American soldiers fight against an unknown enemy firing upon them. The men are cornered behind unstable walls. One man (INJURED SOLDIER) is shot and bleeding. LT. COL. JOSEPHO goes to help him.)
JOSEPHO (V.O.): My recon squad had engaged Saddam's army in a small Bedouin encampment. We'd been ambushed, taken all by surprise and there were casualties.
(JOSEPHO looks around him and notes that they are not winning this squirmish. He turns his attention to the INJURED SOLDIER in front of him when a voice from another soldier off to the side catches his attention.)
SOLDIER #1: My legs -- I can't feel my legs.
LT. COL. JOSEPHO (to the INJURED SOLDIER): You're going to be okay, don't worry.
SOLDIER #1: My legs ...
JOSEPHO (to SOLDIER #2): Damn it! Get on the radio! We need some help here!
(The INJURED SOLDIER in front of him yells out in pain.)
SOLDIER #2: Zulu six two, we are under attack. Repeat: We are under attack. We are taking heavy machine-gun fire ...
JOSEPHO (V.O.): We were holding our perimeter, and we might've held up but on this day, I had a terrible sense of foreboding and I saw the future of those brave men and they were about to die.
[CLOSED-CAPTION SAYS: ... and I saw the failure of those brave men ... ]
(From up above, a grenade/bomb blasts through the last remaining wall, killing about a dozen soldiers who sat behind it. As the smoke clears, JOSEPHO is injured and lying in the rubble.)
JOSEPHO (V.O.): Death came to take my men ... but not me. I was left as a witness to a vision.
(JOSEPHO is on his back amidst the rubble. He's covered with a thick layer of sand and dust from the blast. Blood drips from his eyes.)
JOSEPHO (V.O.): Angels from heaven.
(From across the desert out of nowhere, four soldiers perfectly healthy briskly jog to where they are. JOSEPHO lifts his head. He sees bullets hit the men. He sees the men rush forward, take the hits, and disappear behind enemy lines. The gunfire ceases. He sees a bomb blast as it kills the enemy. JOSEPHO is still on the ground on his back in the rubble. Blood is running from his eyes.)
(As the smoke clears, the four soldiers emerge unhurt and victorious.)
JOSPEHO: "Behold, a whirlwind came out of the north and a brightness was about it. And out of the midst came the likeness of four living creatures and they had the likeness of a man."
[Transcriber note: Ezekiel 1:4-5.]
(JOSEPHO remains behind as he sees the last of the four soldiers jog back into the desert where they first emerged from.)
JOSEPHO (V.O.): I knew why my life had been spared. That I was to deliver the message of these angels. These sons of god.
FADE TO THE PRESENT:
(JOSEPHO has a look of wonder and amazement on his face. It is the same look he had when he watched the soldiers disappear back into the desert.)
JOSEPHO (V.O.): To deliver the message of the god who came before all other gods.
(JOSEPHO is standing on the top of the fully uncovered newly excavated spaceship.)
[Fade to black]
[OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS]
SCENE 2
NARRATOR: Previously on the X-Files:
[from PROVENANCE (9X10): COMER on the motorcycle flying through the air, crashing into the hillside and the bike exploding.]
[COMER'S burnt body struggling up the hill. His hand being healed as he clutches the piece of metal spacecraft.]
[Off DOGGETT facing SCULLY. REYES is kneeling on the floor studying the ship's rubbings. DOGGETT'S speaking.]
DOGGETT: A man crossed over the U.S./Canadian border last night. He's one of ours -- he was infiltrating a religious group. Some kind of whacked-out UFO cult.
[KERSH in interview; JOSEPHO close-up; and excavation overhead.]
KERSH: ... Led by a former military officer -- a very dangerous man.
[COMER holding pillow ready to smother WILLIAM. SCULLY'S voice screaming behind the closed door. SCULLY bursts through the door and fires three times at COMER.]
SCULLY: I'll kill you if you touch my baby!
[The piece of metal flying from the drawer, through the crib to hover over WILLIAM. SCULLY and REYES rush over to see the metal slowly turning over WILLIAM'S head.]
REYES: The boy has some connection with this thing -- this piece of metal. So must this cult who are more than willing to kill for their belief.
[DOGGETT fires shots at the woman in the car. The woman doesn't stop and runs DOGGETT over.]
[SCULLY & REYES with TLG.]
SCULLY: I need to know that you're taking him to a safe place.
[The OVERCOAT WOMAN pointing the gun at BYERS. WILLIAM is crying.]
CUT TO:
SCENE 3
(An FBI building task force briefing to find William. A large Mulder-worthy slide show is being conducted by FOLLMER at the briefing. A large king-sized overhead of William is on the wall. Two pictures. FOLLMER is speaking.)
FOLLMER: ... At 7:00 this evening, in a Washington D.C. Alley a vehicle carrying the son of Agent Dana Scully was forced to a violent stop by a female shooter who proceeded to kidnap the child at gunpoint.
(Slide of THE LONE GUNMEN'S smashed van.)
CUT TO:
(In another office, The LONE GUNMEN are sitting at a workstation going through computer mugshots trying to ID the OVERCOAT WOMAN who took WILLIAM. TOOTHPICK MAN is running the photo ID session. Three pictures into it, they see the woman. Though they recognize her, The LONE GUNMEN do not admit that its her.)
FOLLMER: The van was being driven by three men asked by Agent Scully to protect the child. The three men are currently working to ID the assailant.
CUT TO:
(FOLLMER is standing in front of the slide show talking to the room of FBI agents. As leader of the Task Force assigned to find WILLIAM, he's briefing them.)
FOLLMER: John Doggett was seriously injured by the same female shooter as he tried to halt her vehicle. Agent Doggett remains in a coma under close watch at St. Mary's Hospital.
(SKINNER is standing off to the side watching the proceedings. SCULLY is standing in the back of the room. Her arms are crossed. She looks very angry at what she's witnessing.)
FOLLMER: This kidnapping follows on the heels of a failed attack on Scully's child by another FBI agent, Robert Comer. He remains in critical condition also at St. Mary's.
(The picture of COMER graces the wall behind FOLLMER.)
FOLLMER: Now, this man's motives and the motives of the female kidnapper are still unknown.
(At this point, SCULLY turns and walks out of the room.)
FOLLMER: Let me emphasize that the FBI has no reason to believe that it cannot affect the safe return of Agent Scully's child.
CUT TO:
(Outside the hallway. SKINNER follows her.)
SKINNER: Agent Scully!
(SCULLY is already a good distance down the hall. Turning now. SKINNER continues to walk toward her. His voice gentler. )
SKINNER: What are you doing? I thought I told you you didn't need to be here.
SCULLY: I just had to see this for myself.
(SKINNER is coming toward her now. SCULLY remaining where she is. SKINNER can see that she is upset. Misreading the cause of it.)
SKINNER: Go home.
SCULLY: To what?
(SCULLY seems not only in consolable, but somehow angry.)
SKINNER: I'm just saying, you don't need to put yourself through this, Dana. We've got every stop pulled; every available agent working to find your son.
SCULLY: ... And A.D. Brad Follmer leading the charge.
SKINNER: Deputy Director Kersh asked him to take the lead. He knows how to run a task force. I think you see that in there.
SCULLY: I see a man who withholds information for Kersh. A man who not once but twice failed to prevent an attack on my son. You see a task force in there. I see a whitewash.
(SCULLY'S anger flashes, directed at SKINNER as much as FOLLMER.)
SKINNER: I know you're upset but you can't possibly accuse Follmer or Kersh of having any part in this.
SCULLY: What is it going to take for you? How many people have to be taken out for you to open your eyes to it? My son ... Agent Doggett ... Mulder.
(SCULLY'S voice breaks now, and she fights emotion. This is just what SKINNER wanted to shield her from. He softens his tone now.)
SKINNER: Kersh protected you by not telling you reports of Mulder's death. As did Follmer. As did I.
SCULLY: You call it protection. I call it a systematic effort inside the FBI to eliminate us.
SKINNER: You accuse anyone of anything in the FBI you have to accuse me along with them.
(SCULLY stares at him, then turns and walks off. SKINNER'S more worried about SCULLY than anything, as she gets to the elevator.)
SKINNER: Scully, where are you going?
SCULLY: To find my son.
(SCULLY continues down the hall. She doesn't look back at SKINNER. There is no hesitation in her.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 4
(Doggett's hospital room. A heart monitor beeps in the background. DOGGETT is unconscious in the hospital bed, his face covered with lacerations from the car hit. REYES is standing next to his bed and holding his hand. She's looking down at DOGGETT.)
(SKINNER opens the closed door and enters the room.)
SINNER (whispers): Hi.
REYES: Hi.
(REYES turns back to look at DOGGETT.)
REYES: His hands are so cold.
SKINNER: Have you talked to the doctors yet?
REYES: They say the good news is that there's no swelling of the brain but they were very frank that he could just never wake up.
(REYES is feeling very emotional.)
REYES: I wonder if he can hear us.
SKINNER: There'd be soldiers in Vietnam ... bodies turned inside out ... I'd hold their hands just like you're doing. Tell them it was going to be okay.
REYES: Do you think it helped? Talking to them?
SKINNER: Well ... I always thought it was like ... like praying. Even if they can't hear maybe ... God can.
(REYES considers his words and the comfort he is giving her. The telephone rings.)
REYES (to the phone): Hello.
SCULLY (from home): How's he doing?
REYES: No change.
SCULLY: I need to see you right away, Monica. Are you alone right now?
REYES: Skinner's here with me.
SCULLY: I'd prefer if Skinner didn't know.
CUT TO:
SCENE 5
(Scully's apartment.)
(SCULLY opens the door.)
SCULLY: We found her.
REYES: Who?
SCULLY: The woman who took William.
(SCULLY shows REYES a photo printout of the OVERCOAT WOMAN. REYES takes the photo from SCULLY and walks into the apartment. SCULLY closes the door behind her.)
SCULLY: She's a wanted felon and a part of the UFO cult that the FBI was investigating. I need anything that you can find on her, Monica but I need you to get it quietly.
(LANGLY'S voice can be heard on the side. SCULLY turns. THE LONE GUNMEN are at SCULLY'S kitchen table. They have a computer set up there and they're around it. LANGLY'S at the keyboard, BYERS sitting to his right and FROHIKE standing to his left.)
REYES: If they ID'd the woman then why isn't the FBI investigating it?
SCULLY: I asked them not to tell the FBI.
(REYES is concerned.)
REYES: What are you doing, Dana?
SCULLY: I'm trying to get my son back.
(SCULLY understands REYES' concern, but assisting the FBI isn't going to get her son back.)
FROHIKE: We're locked on.
LANGLY: Like there was ever a doubt.
BYERS: Which beings us that much closer to finding William. Langly's inside the system.
(BYERS is hooking up a cell phone.)
LANGLY: I'm hacked inside the phone company. Going to use their mainframe to scan the map for a locator signal.
SCULLY: Before William was kidnapped, Byers was able to tuck a cell phone under the padding of the baby's car seat.
FROHIKE: Call the phone, and Langly can use the signal to find its location. Find the phone, find the baby.
REYES: You mean, assuming the kidnapper hasn't found the phone.
(FROHIKE, still sporting a forehead wound, stares at REYES. He looks over at BYERS who is trying the cell phone. A "NO SIGNAL" message and high-pitched beeps emit from BYERS' NOKIA phone.)
BYERS: We'll keep trying.
(SCULLY leaves the men to find her son's location. She moves into the living room and checks to see that her gun is loaded. REYES follows. She watches SCULLY and can't stay silent any longer.)
REYES: This is madness, and you know it. They failed you once with your child. They're going to fail you again.
SCULLY: Then I'll find him myself.
REYES: You can't do this alone.
(She turns to face REYES.)
SCULLY: Look, what alternative do I have ... when the FBI is all but telling me they think that my son is already dead?
BYERS (interrupting): We've got a signal ... in Warfordsburg, Pennsylvania off the interstate.
SCULLY: You coming with me? Or am I going alone?
(SCULLY walks away leaving REYES standing in the living room.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 6
WARFORDSBURG, PA
(The phone that BYERS tucked into WILLIAM'S carseat is buzzing. It's green cell light on and blinking. WILLAIM is awake, silent and looking as cute as ever. The OVERCOAT WOMAN stops outside a VERIZON telephone booth. Her windshield has bullet holes in it.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 7
(Excavation site. Two men sit on top of the spacecraft trying to get the top to open. One man is using the crowbar like a bottle top opener and the other man his holding a large light. Standing above is JOSEPHO. He's kneeling and watching the men work. Another cult member, a woman, and others are taking photographs.)
(JOSEPHO'S cell phone rings. He stands, moves away from the men opening the craft and answers the phone.)
JOSEPHO (to the phone): Have you got him?
OVERCOAT WOMAN (over the phone): Yes. He's safe. We're here.
JOSEPHO (over the phone): We need to go carefully now. I want you to stay where you are. I'm sending someone to get you, all right?
OVERCOAT WOMAN (in phone booth, PA): Yes.
(Back at the excavation site, a low rumbling emits from the spacecraft behind JOSEPHO. He turns to see what's going on. The top of the spacecraft begins to move in a clockwise direction as it rises above the two men within.)
CULT MAN #1: It's moving! It's moving!
(JOSEPHO turns toward the ship as does all the others there. The ship continues to turn and rise. Lights from holes on the inside where the men stand shoot beams into the sky above. The two men look perplexed as the ship around them continues to move. JOSEPHO kneels to watch what happens. He looks confused.)
(The dome stops and a metallic sheathe suddenly appears from nowhere and covers the dome, trapping the two men inside.)
(JOSEPHO and the other gasp. The two men are trapped inside. JOSEPHO climbs onto the dome of the ship. He pounds on the metal sheathe covering the top in futility. Screaming when he realizes that he has two of his men are trapped within.)
JOSEPHO (pounding on the metal cover): Can you hear me?! (to himself) We need some tools. (to the others) Go get some tools! Come on, move it!
CUT TO:
SCENE 8
WARFORDSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
(Night. A car pulls up. REYES & SCULLY burst out of the car. They approach the lone station wagon that was driven by the OVERCOAT WOMAN. SCULLY takes the driver's side and REYES, the passenger side. With her gun drawn, SCULLY opens the car door.)
SCULLY: Federal Agent!
(They're too late. The car is empty. The baby seat is still in the car and empty. SCULLY slams the door in frustration. She has a look of tired desperation on her face. She looks around. The abandoned car is parked in front of three well lit phone booths in a large parking lot.)
SCENE 9
ST. MARY MEDICAL CENTER]
10:47 AM
(REYES walks in. She stops by the nurse's station looking for DOGGETT. There's a wall full of what looks like Christmas cards on the wall behind her. NURSE is there.)
REYES: John Doggett ... where is he? He's not in his bed.
(The NURSE looks at the papers in front of her.)
NURSE: They've taken him down to radiology to run a cat scan. Would you like me to call down to his doctor?
REYES: No. No, I was just worried. I'm sorry.
(REYES turns away. She sees the overhead "CHAPEL" sign and heads in that direction.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 10
(Hospital Chapel. REYES enters the Chapel. Its a small room with a large floor to ceiling stained glass, a cross/crucifix, and a small makeshift table/altar. Before it, REYES kneels. She doesn't look all that comfortable. She looks up at the crucified Christ on the cross, she folds her hands, closes her eyes and prays.)
(Behind her, the door opens and a man walks in. REYES stands. It's FOLLMER.)
REYES: What?
FOLLMER: Nothing.
(FOLLMER smiles. REYES walks toward him.)
FOLLMER: I've known you a long time and this just seems, uh ... a little traditional for you.
REYES: Maybe when you're lost you knock at the door with the porch light on.
FOLLMER: Hey ... hey ...
(FOLLMER sees her distress and moves to hold her.)
FOLLMER: I want you to know, I'm doing all I can to find the woman who did this. Even though we got people inside the FBI working against us.
(REYES notices FOLLMER'S use of pronouns and that he's grouping himself with "us" and not with "them". She pulls away from him to look at his face. FOLLMER isn't happy with what he's learned. Once again, he's the AD.)
FOLLMER: It was foolish going after her by yourselves. We could have been there long before you, Monica. Could have even captured the suspect. Instead, she got away.
(REYES wonders what FOLLMER'S game is.)
REYES: This is complicated, Brad. If you came in here to bust me ...
FOLLMER: No. No. I came here to ask for your cooperation. Not sharing information creates an atmosphere of distrust and then I'm less apt to share my information with you.
REYES: What haven't you shared with me?
FOLLMER: This FBI agent who tried to kill Scully's baby has come around. He's got something he wants to tell us.
REYES: What?
FOLLMER: I need your cooperation.
CUT TO:
SCENE 11
(Inside COMER'S hospital room, he's still unconscious. The ventilator tube is still taped to his mouth. REYES and FOLLMER enter. She notices that he's still unconscious.)
REYES: You said he tried to tell you something. How is that possible?
(FOLLMER pulls out the pad from under COMER'S left hand.)
FOLLMER: He didn't tell me exactly. He wrote it down.
REYES: I don't know what this means.
FOLLMER: I don't know, either. But it means something. And I want to know what.
(REYES is holding a piece of paper with the word "JACKET" written on it. I think COMER must be right handed after all.)
SEGUE TO:
SCENE 12
(Scully's apartment. SCULLY'S holding the piece of paper with the word "JACKET" on it. She faces REYES.)
SCULLY: Just tell me where you got this.
REYES: You know what it means?
SCULLY: Robert Comer wrote this, didn't he? The FBI Agent who tried to kill my son, and how did you get it?
REYES: I got it under the condition that I share what I learn from you.
SCULLY: Take it.
REYES: What is it? What does it mean?
SCULLY: If I don't tell you you're good on your word, right? That means that you've learned absolutely nothing from me.
(REYES takes the paper. SCULLY walks away.)
REYES: Where are you going?
SCULLY: To the hospital.
REYES: Hey, it doesn't work that way.
(SCULLY turns around to face REYES.)
SCULLY: Look, this began when the Agent lying in that hospital crashed his motorcycle running the border from Canada. Somehow, he got to Washington without a scratch and he tried to kill my son. Now, tell me, how did he do that, Monica?
(REYES is a little slow on the uptake.)
SCULLY: With something I found in his jacket pocket in a jacket that he wore to my house that I put three shots in.
REYES: The artifact ... piece of the ship.
CUT TO:
SCENE 13
(St. Mary Medical Centre. Night. While the NURSE is busy talking with two FBI agents (probably the two who were assigned to watch COMER'S room), SCULLY and REYES walk past them. They enter COMER'S room.
(The heart monitor is beeping. The monitors show the following: top number is at 122; blood pressure at 160/94 ... and the bottom number is a little blurry-perhaps its 90 or so.)
(SCULLY looks down at COMER. He is unconscious. REYES stands by watching. SCULLY pulls out the piece of metal and holds it over COMER'S heart. As she moves nearer, the heart monitor's beeps begin to accelerate. COMER begins to quiver and shake. SCULLY glances up at the monitors: Pulse rises to 147; blood pressure moves at 192/101; and the final figure drops slowly down to 85.)
(REYES watches from the side. Her face grows alarmed as she sees the metal affecting the comatose COMER. COMER grabs SCULLY'S hand - the one with the piece of metal. He's awake and trying to grab hold of the metal piece from her.)
SCULLY: Let go.
REYES: My god.
(SCULLY is struggling with COMER who for a sick guy has a firm grip on her. This means that he's definitely getting stronger.)
SCULLY: Let go of my hand. (TO REYES:) Turn off the monitors, or they're going to alert somebody.
(REYES moves off to the side toward the monitor which reads a steady 120 and shuts it off.)
(SCULLY successfully frees herself from COMER. COMER is gagging with the ventilator tube down his throat. She has to remove the tube if she wants COMER to talk. SCULLY pockets the piece of metal and moves to remove the tube. REYES shuts off the monitors.)
(COMER coughs as he breathes on his own. SCULLY leans in closer toward him. She's going to get her answers from him.)
SCULLY: Now, tell me who sent you to kill my son or I will take that pillow from under your head and make them the last breaths that you take.
COMER: Your son has to die.
(SCULLY grabs COMER'S throat. REYES stops her
COMER: I'm not what you think. Please ... please ... the FBI sent me uncover on a man named Josepho to get inside his cult whose followers believe an alien race will rule the world.
(COMER gasps.)
COMER: One day god told Josepho to lead us a thousand miles north to find a ship buried in the ground. You have a piece of that ship in your hand. Josepho believes that that ship is a temple which houses the physical manifestation of god.
SCULLY: Are you saying that god asked you to kill my child?
COMER: No. Josepho said god spoke to him of a miracle child. A future saviour coveted by forces of good and evil. Josepho believes your son is this child.
SCULLY: Then why does he want to kill him?
COMER: He doesn't. He wants to protect him. Josepho believes your son will follow in his father's paths and try and stop the aliens' return. Unless his father was to be killed. That is the prophesy.
REYES: You came here to kill her son against this man and his cult? To stop them? Are you saying you believe this prophesy but acted alone?
SCULLY: What he's saying is that Mulder is dead. That that's true. That they killed him to fulfil this prophesy.
COMER: And that your son must die, too. Or everyone... all of mankind will perish from earth. Please... please... let me.
(COMER reaches out to grab the piece of metal from SCULLY. She struggles with him.)
COMER (begging): Please. Please...
(They struggle for the metal piece. REYES stands by watching. They are interrupted when the NURSE with the FBI AGENTS and TOOTHPICK MAN enter the room. COMER has successfully gotten hold of the metal piece. He holds it in his hands. SCULLY grabs the blanket and covers COMER'S hands and the metal piece.)
NURSE: What is going on here?
TOOTHPICK MAN: What are you doing in here?
NURSE: They turned off all the monitors. They removed his intubation.
TOOTHPICK MAN: What are you doing in here?
SCULLY: This patient does not need support. He's breathing on his own.
TOOTHPICK MAN: Step outside. Both of you.
(REYES leaves. SCULLY looks back down at COMER.)
TOOTHPICK MAN (to SCULLY): Let's go.
(SCULLY leaves without the piece of metal.)
TOOTHPICK MAN (to the two agents): Get me ADS Follmer and Skinner.
(TOOTHPICK MAN is with the NURSE inside COMER'S room. He closes the door behind him. His eyes on COMER. COMER is breathing. He turns to look at TOOTHPICK MAN.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 14
(Excavation site. JOSEPHO is sitting on top of the crux of the metal dome. He's using some kind of a tool to try to get the dome to open. He drops the tool in frustration.)
JOSEPHO: It's not working.
(Behind him, the OVERCOAT WOMAN who kidnapped William walks in. She's holding William wrapped in his blue baby blanket. JOSEPHO turns when he sees them. He gets off of the dome, his men forgotten.)
(He approaches them. As does everyone else.)
JOSEPHO: You weren't followed?
OVERCOAT WOMAN: No.
(She's confident. He pulls the blanket away from WILLIAM to see him just as MULDER had done in *EXISTENCE.)
JOSPEHO: He's safe now. He's safe with us.
(The OVERCOAT WOMAN looks satisfied. WILLIAM isn't crying.)
(Behind them, the ship's dome opens up on its own. This looks really cool. TXF'S effects department really kicks butt!)
(Everyone rushes over to the dome. Smoke and/or heat comes out from the newly opened dome. JOSEPHO glances inside. He's not smiling. We also have to note that the two men who were trapped inside haven't made an appearance yet. JOSEPHO turns to look at the OVERCOAT WOMAN who is holding William. She is not smiling either. Perhaps, JOSEPHO is really looking at William. OVERCOAT WOMAN looks down at William. William is smiling. She looks back over at JOSEPHO who turns to look at the remains of his two trapped men.)
(The men are on their backs in a ying-yang position. They are burnt to a crisp a la either the black oil radiation or the rebel's fire sticks. The ring around the dome continues to turn in a clock-wise direction. The cult members stand on the perimeter of the ring looking down at their dead comrades.)
[Fade to black]
SCENE 15
(FOLLMER and SKINNER burst through St. Mary's front door. There are a lot of FBI agents in dark suits standing in the hallway. FOLLMER followed by SKINNER turn the corner. When they reach COMER'S room, TOOTHPICK MAN is inside along with four medical personnel. One is working on COMER. TOOTHPICK MAN moves outside to talk with FOLLMER. SKINNER walks into the hospital room.)
FOLLMER: Where are Scully and Reyes?
TOOTHPICK MAN: They were told to wait out here.
(SKINNER walks up to the bed. He looks down at COMER; he watches the medical personnel work on him or rather, not work on him.)
FOLLMER (to SKINNER): Assistant Director ... we need Scully and Reyes. Now.
(SKINNER walks out of the room to look for SCULLY and REYES.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 16
(SCULLY and REYES enter the empty hospital chapel. SCULLY is panicking and she is upset.)
SCULLY: What are we going to tell them?
REYES: Who?
SCULLY: The FBI about Agent Comer. About what just happened. About how he was healed.
(REYES is calm and a little confused over SCULLY'S behaviour.)
REYES: Just tell them the truth.
SCULLY: They're not on our side. They will use the truth against us.
REYES: Dana, you don't believe what you heard in there. You don't believe what that man was telling you.
SCULLY: How can you doubt him? I mean, after everything that you've just witnessed. After what you saw with my son.
SCULLY (crying): I mean, it's-it's exactly what I feared. That there's something terribly wrong. From the very moment that he was conceived.
REYES: Your child was a miracle, Dana. I don't doubt that the things I've witnessed are any less miraculous. But your son is not an abomination -- a thing that should cease to exist. You tell me on that ship is written scripture from the world's great religions. Tell me a religion that decrees the death of a child. Not just your child but any child. This is a man saying these things to us. How many religions warn of false prophets? Men sent to deceive us?
REYES: The only thing that I believe is that your son may still be alive and we can find him and save him. And with that object in that room we can save Agent Doggett, too.
(SCULLY'S listening to REYES and hanging on to her words. She's calmer now than she was when she entered the Chapel. Both women are interrupted when SKINNER opens the door.)
SKINNER: You two better get out here. Agent Comer's dead.
REYES: What?!
(REYES looks shocked. She was pinning her hopes on the piece of metal to heal DOGGETT. She rushes out of the Chapel past SKINNER. REYES is on her way to witnessing (first-hand) an FBI cover-up. SCULLY follows.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 17
(REYES passes the FBI agents in the hallway and stops in front of COMER'S bed. COMER is dead.)
REYES: This man was alive. (to the NURSE) You saw him. (to FOLLMER) He was alive.
(REYES pushes away the blanket. She's looking for something. The piece of metal spaceship is gone.)
REYES: Somebody was in here. Where did it go?
(The NURSE shakes her head. Everyone's looking at REYES.)
FOLLMER: Where did what go?
REYES: This man had something in his hand. A small piece of metal. It's what revived him. I-it's why he could be taken off life support.
(SKINNER is standing by the doorway. He takes a deep breath and says nothing.)
NURSE: A piece of metal? I don't know what she's talking about.
(REYES walks to the NURSE and starts questioning her. )
REYES: Who else came into this room?
NURSE: Why are you questioning me?
REYES: Did you leave the room?
FOLLMER (interrupting): Agent Reyes ...
REYES: This woman came in here, and this man was alive. He was more than alive.
(REYES indicates COMER.)
REYES: He'd been healed. He'd been brought back to life. This man was murdered, but it wasn't by us.
FOLLMER: Agent ... Reyes.
REYES (ignoring FOLLMER): Who else was in here?
(REYES looks around the room ... at FOLLMER ... at the NURSE ... at ... TOOTHPICK MAN ... )
REYES: You were in here.
TOOTHPICK MAN: I came in and found you.
REYES: Were you alone in here? Was he alone in here?
TOOTHPICK MAN: She went to get the doctors.
(SKINNER, standing by the doorway, turns his head and looks at TOOTHPICK MAN. He has an unreadable look on his face.)
REYES: Search this man.
TOOTHPICK MAN: For what?
FOLLMER: Monica!
REYES (to FOLLMER): Scully saw it. Ask Agent Scully.
(REYES leaves the hospital room to get SCULLY who is not in the hallway. SKINNER watches REYES.)
REYES: Agent Scully ... Where's Scully? Agent Scully!
(REYES walks down the hallway.)
(SKINNER turns to look at TOOTHPICK MAN. He returns SKINNER'S look. It is unknown whether they are sharing communication or not.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 18
(Doggett's hospital room. DOGGETT is unconscious. It was mentioned earlier during the Task Force briefing that DOGGETT was in a coma. Currently, he as a nasal cannula and no ventilator hooked up. His breathing is regular.)
(SCULLY is sitting next to DOGGETT'S bed. Her hands are clasped and she's praying. She's speaking to DOGGETT. Tears fall down her cheeks.)
SCULLY: I never meant for this. All that's been lost. I never meant to put you at risk -- to risk losing you, too. She's fighting for you. Monica's out there trying to find a way. And she's not going to let you go.
DOGGETT: Agent Scully.
(DOGGETT'S eyes are opened. )
SCULLY: Agent Doggett. Oh ...
DOGGETT: I heard someone talking.
SCULLY: Yeah, that was me. That was me talking to you.
DOGGETT: No, it wasn't you.
(DOGGETT has a message for her.)
DOGGETT: They're going to come to you, but you can't trust them. Do you understand that?
(The door opens. It's REYES. She's looking for ... )
REYES: Agent Scully.
(REYES sees that DOGGETT is awake.)
REYES: Oh, my god.
(REYES' need to find SCULLY is forgotten. Her focus is on DOGGETT. She moves toward DOGGETT's bed. She looks down at DOGGETT. He smiles up at her.)
(SCULLY'S cell phone rings.)
SCULLY (to phone): Scully.
JOSEPHO: Listen carefully, Agent Scully.
(JOSEPHO is at the excavation site. The cult followers are standing around the hull of the ship looking down (probably at the two bodies still there).
(SCULLY listens silently on the cell phone as JOSEPHO speaks.)
JOSEPHO: You want to see your son? You come alone and you follow my instructions to the letter.
(REYES turns to look back over at SCULLY.)
[Fade to black]
SCENE 19
OUTSIDE CALGARY, CANADA
2:42 AM
(Inside a small off-the-road diner, SCULLY waits for contact to arrive. A car approaches, the engine cuts, a car door opens and closes. SCULLY is alone inside and quietly waiting. She sighs. She must have been waiting a long time. JOSEPHO walks in. He sits down across from SCULLY. He clasps his hands in front of him.)
JOSEPHO: Sorry to keep you waiting but I had to make sure you were alone. I only wish to protect the boy from those who'd harm him. He's a very special boy.
SCULLY: I came here to take him back.
JOSPEHO: "Behold, a whirlwind came out of the north and a brightness was about it. And out of the midst came the likeness of four living creatures. And they had the likeness of a man." That's the bible. Did you know it?
SCULLY: "Ephesians."
[Transcriber note: That passage is from Ezekiel 1:4-5. The actual quote is: "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man." -Ezekiel 1:4-5 (KJV)]
JOSEPHO: The bible ... describing giants who walk the earth. Who'd believe it? Only the faithful and we who have seen them. These ... Super Soldiers. The true Sons of God.
SCULLY: I want to see my son.
JOSEPHO: You struggle to believe. It's so incredible but your son will lead this alien race. He was put here to lead.
(JOSEPHO pauses. He makes a decision.)
JOSPEHO: I'll bring you to him, to see your son. After you do something for me. After you bring something I need. Confirmation that Mulder's dead.
(This doesn't make sense to SCULLY.)
SCULLY: You killed Mulder.
JOSEPHO: No. I believed he was dead ... but now I have reason to doubt that. And if he's alive he's the one thing preventing your son's true destiny.
(SCULLY makes a decision. There is a subtle air of confidence in her.)
SCULLY: You told me I could see my son. You lied.
JOSEPHO: If you want to see the boy ... you'll bring me the head of Fox Mulder.
(JOSEPHO looks at SCULLY to show that he means it. JOSPEHO leaves. He walks outside and to his car.)
(SCULLY waits. She pulls out her cell phone)
SCULLY (over phone): Get ready, Monica.
REYES: Hold on.
(They watch as JOSEPHO'S truck leaves the small diner's parking lot. The van door opens. It's FROHIKE.)
FROHIKE: His car is wired.
REYES (over phone): Here we go.
(REYES gets out of the van. FROHIKE climbs into the van. BYERS is in the back. They watch.)
(REYES and SCULLY move. They get into their rental and take off in pursuit of JOSEPHO. This time, SCULLY'S driving. After having faced an FBI cover- up, REYES is wonderfully cooperative and supportive.)
CUT TO:
(JOSEPHO'S truck continues its journey back to the excavation site.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 20
(SCULLY'S driving. REYES is on the phone with the TLG.)
REYES (to SCULLY): They say he's about a mile ahead, turning off the highway.
SCULLY: What about these hills? Are we going to lose him in these hills?
CUT TO:
SCENE 21
(Inside the Gunmen VW. FROHIKE'S on the cell phone talking to REYES. LANGLY'S working the computer, BYERS is sitting next to him. The screen is in night-vision green. It seems to be hooked up to a satellite view. There's a small moving triangle with corresponding L/L coordinates indicating JOSEPHO'S truck as it travels over the terrain.)
FROHIKE: Yeah, yeah.
(The neon green glows off of LANGLY. Both men turn to look at FROHIKE.)
FROHIKE: How are we in terrain?
LANGLY: That transponder will track this guy driving under water to Brazil.
(At LANGLY'S words and in true Murphy's Law fashion as it only works with TLG, the computer screen beeps a warning and a message box pops up on screen: "SIGNAL LOST - last known position 51.00 N 115.08?W".)
BYERS (alarmed): Langly. What just happened?
(LANGLY hits some keys and hits the laptop keyboard in frustration.)
CUT TO:
REYES (in the car): We're coming to a turn. Is this it?
(Back in the TLG Van, FROHIKE'S caught in the middle and stalls ... )
FROHIKE: Uh... yeah.
(FROHIKE makes a decision.)
FROHIKE: Turn.
CUT TO:
(Back in the car, SCULLY makes the turn ... )
CUT TO:
REYES (in the car to SCULLY): I think they lost the signal.
SCULLY: Well, they have to get it back.
CUT TO:
(LANGLY'S frustrated and hits his laptop keyboard.)
LANGLY: Piece of crap!
FROHIKE (still on the phone): Hey, louder, why don't you?
BYERS (calm as ever): Tell them we're working on it.
(FROHIKE'S just as frustrated as the other men. He told them to turn. He holds the cell phone out to BYERS.)
FROHIKE: Here, you be the messenger.
(BYERS has a "not in a million years" look on his face.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 22
(Excavation site. The lights on the spacecraft is beaming strong. The spacecraft is humming. The two bodies inside the craft dome is covered in some kind of plastic. They have not removed the bodies. Perhaps, no one wants to climb down there. The outer ring of the craft dome moves in a clockwise direction.)
(WILLIAM'S cries can be heard above the spacecraft rumbling. The Cult Woman is still carrying WILLIAM. He is screaming. She does nothing to try to comfort him. She simply carries him. She looks uncomfortable ... like she doesn't really care.)
(Behind her, JOSEPHO enters the tent. He approaches the OVERCOAT WOMAN.)
JOSEPHO: What is it? What's happening?
OVERCOAT WOMAN: The baby started crying ... and it just came to life
(From above, we see the light from deep within the ship shine brighter. All the cult members surround the outer dome ring which still moves slowly in a clockwise direction.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 23
(Outside the excavation site. SCULLY stops the car. She and REYES exit. REYES is still on the phone with TLG. They've come to the end of the road.)
REYES: Hey, guys, we lost him. And we just ran out of road out here.
( ... and just as SCULLY had called out to MULDER in *WITHOUT, she cries out to her son in the darkness. )
SCULLY: William?
(In the distance, she sees the top of the excavation tent.)
SCULLY: William!
(She knows her son is there. SCULLY starts to run toward the tent.)
CUT TO:
(Inside the tent.)
(William continues crying.)
(The ship clangs. The light beams from the center of the ship still shine upward. JOSEPHO stands watching. CULT WOMAN holding WILLIAM stands next to him.)
(The center of the ship where the light beams are emitting from begin to depress. JOSEPHO is compelled to get a closer look. He braves the inner dome where the other two dead bodies are. He crawls in. The inner part continues to depress. JOSEPHO stands directly above it. The other cult followers surround the outer ring of the metal dome. WILLIAM'S cries pierce through the ship's rumblings.)
(The ship begins to shake. Everyone standing on the ship shakes with it. The inner part of the ship has hit center. The lights darken. ALL the lights go out.)
(Suddenly, a powerful beam of light bursts from the very center that JOSEPHO is leaning over. It hits him full force. It continues to shine straight through him. The outer lights of the ship light up as well.)
(OVERCOAT WOMAN is still holding on to WILLIAM. All the lights on the ship power up. We do not know what 'kind' of light this is. We do not know whether this light emits heat. We do know that it is very, very bright.)
(The ship begins to shake and rumble. The light beam that started from the center of the ship where JOSEPHO was grows and expands to fill the entire inner dome of the ship. The followers still stand on top of the ship. OVERCOAT WOMAN is still holding WILLIAM.)
(The light that hits JOSEPHO continues to get stronger, thicker, brighter.)
(WILLIAM'S piercing cries can be heard above the ship.)
CUT TO: [OUTISDE THE TENT]
(SCULLY is running up the hill. She can hear the noise from the ship.)
SCULLY: William!
(The light from inside the tent burns brighter and bursts through the flimsy tent covering. SCULLY and REYES reach the top of the hill just in time to witness the space ship emerging from the tent. They both pause. They both see the ship disappear in the distance. REYES watches the ship. SCULLY sees the burning tent collapse in horror.)
SCULLY: No ...
(SCULLY'S spurred into motion. They both run to the ruins that once was the excavation site. The burnt remains of the tent flap in the wind. Little fires of the remaining tent burn throughout the site. SCULLY and REYES separate to search for any sign of WILLIAM ... for any sign of life.)
SCULLY: Oh, my god.
(In the center of the tent there is a gaping hole. Neither one spares the hole a look. They are walking amidst the burnt bodies of what was the cult followers. They are burnt to a crisp just like those bodies found at Ruskin Dam, El Rico, etc. This scene is all too familiar to SCULLY.)
(These are adult bodies. Burnt adult bodies.)
(The two meet. SCULLY looks at REYES and turns to head toward the hole in the center. REYES stops her.)
REYES: Dana ...
(SCULLY has a lost look on her face. She doesn't want to believe that her son is gone.)
(Off in the distance above the sounds of the winds, they hear a baby's healthy cry. For a moment, the two women pause trying to find the direction of its source.)
(SCULLY heads toward the center of the crater as the cries get louder. This time, REYES doesn't stop her.)
SCULLY: Oh, my ...
(SCULLY works her way through the smoke to the center of the crater where she finds ... )
SCULLY: William?
(SCULLY reaches him. He's still wrapped snugly in his blue baby blanket. Unburnt. Unhurt. He's kicking healthily and crying lustily. He's plainly unhappy at being on the cold dirt ground.)
(SCULLY picks him up. She's crying. He's crying. She kisses his brow and holds him close.)
FADE TO:
SCENE 24
(St. Mary Medical Centre. DOGGETT is sitting alone in the chapel. The room is silent. He faces the stained glass, the crucifix of the crucified Christ on the cross. REYES enters and takes a seat next to DOGGETT. He looks at her.)
REYES: I came to give you a ride home. They told me you were in here.
DOGGETT: Yeah.
(He turns back to look at the Cross.)
REYES: I came in here and prayed for you.
DOGGETT: Yeah, I know.
(REYES turns to look at DOGGETT.)
DOGGETT: This voice in my head, it was ... it was talking to me telling me to get up ... telling me to warn Scully about this man. I mean ... was it you talking to me?
REYES: I only prayed for your life.
(DOGGETT considers her words.)
CUT TO:
SCENE 25
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
(Kersh's Office. KERSH walks toward his office carrying a brown file folder. The file folder is unlabelled. Behind him, AD FOLLMER suddenly appears and hastily knocks on the door to get KERSH'S attention before he goes into his office. KERSH turns around.)
FOLLMER: Uh, Deputy Director?
KERSH: Mr. Follmer.
FOLLMER: Sir, it's, um ... it's about that report you have there. The investigation of Special Agent Robert Comer's death.
KERSH: Yes?
FOLLMER: As you know, A.D. Skinner refused to sign it believing that Agent Comer was murdered in his hospital bed.
KERSH: But you did sign it, isn't that right, Mr. Follmer? Finding nothing to support that allegation.
(FOLLMER walks into the outer office.)
FOLLMER: Well ... that's just it, sir. I did find something. The monitors in Agent Comer's room they recorded his condition moment by moment ... showing that his vital signs did improve just before his equipment was unplugged. They did, in fact ... return back to normal.
KERSH: And you have an explanation for that, yes?
FOLLMER: No, sir, I don't.
KERSH: And you want what?
FOLLMER: I just want to take my name off it.
KERSH: Maybe if you weren't so busy backpedalling, Mr. Follmer, you might get me an explanation. Excuse me.
(KERSH leaves the stunned FOLLMER and heads to his office.)
(KERSH shuts the door behind him.)
CUT TO: [INSIDE KERSH'S OFFICE]
(KERSH pauses by his doorway.)
KERSH: I'm sure you heard all of that.
(KERSH walks into the office. TOOTHPICK MAN is sitting there at ease.)
KERSH: Congratulations -- it would appear now that everything is dead but this case.
(KERSH hands the brown file folder to TOOTHPICK MAN who opens it to reveal the standard cream-coloured, red-worded X-File Folder. An X-File. Bureau File Number: X280911.)
(He looks at KERSH. He is confident.)
TOOTHPICK MAN: I'm sure I can take care of that, Deputy Director. Quite sure.
(KERSH doesn't look happy. The camera refocuses from KERSH to the back of TOOTHPICK MAN'S neck where we see the standard genetic mutation of a Super- Soldier ... the bumps on the back of his neck.)
[THE END]
No history.
