The X-Files - 4.

French title: Tempus Fugit II

US Airdate: March 23, 1997

writers: CHRIS CARTER and FRANK SPOTNITZ

director: Kim Manners

STARRING:

David Duchovny as Special Agent Fox Mulder

Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully

Guest Cast:

MITCH PILEGGI as A.D. Skinner

JOE SPANO as Mike Millar

TOM O'BRIEN as Corporal Frish

SCOTT BELLIS as Max Fenig

CHILTON CRANE as Sharon Graffia

BRENDAN BEISER as Agent Pendrell

GREG MICHAELS as Scott Garrett

ROBERT MOLONEY as Bruce Bearfeld

FELICIA SHULMAN as Motel Manager

RICK DOBRAN as Sargeant Armondo Gonzales

JERRY SCHRAM as Larold Rebhun

DAVID PALFFY as Dark Man

MARK WILSON as The Pilot

Back in D.C., Scully and Frish had been followed to a local bar by the Dark Man, who had tried to kill Frish, but shot Agent Pendrell instead. Scully had managed to shoot the Dark Man in the leg. When we join the action in this ep, Scully rushes to Pendrell, loosens his shirt and tie, telling him "You're gonna keep breathing, do you hear me?". When she sees the bullet wound, she's taken aback, the man's in trouble here. Telling him she'll be right back, Scully parts the crowd to get to the Dark Man, but he's gone, only a trail of blood leading outside to show he'd even been there. She flags down a police car and requests an EMT unit for Pendrell. Turning her attention to the downed Pendrell, she tries to reassure him that he'll be fine, making him smile by saying they haven't celebrated her birthday yet. The EMT crew arrives, she tells them he's been shot in the lung and must be intubated immediately. The crew finds his gun and she tells them, "He's an F.B.I. agent and he is NOT going to die." She then wipes her nose with her hand as she feels a nosebleed begin.

Scully talks to Frish about how anyone knew where they were, did he tell his girlfriend he was in D.C.? No, so she says, "Then there's someone inside." A telling quote as we watch Pendrell being wheeled out on a gurney and then see Skinner appear in the doorway. Is Skinner the inside man? Hmmm.

Skinner asks who shot Pendrell, Scully doesn't know, he says he had a call about a federal witness, she explains how Frish was the intended target and how they were supposed to be met by a Federal Marshal so Frish could be placed under protective custody. That Marshal's not coming, Skinner explains, the order was countermanded and Frish is to be placed under military arrest for suspicion of murder and for giving false testimony. Skinner also tells her Mulder has already been placed under military arrest for interferring with the investigation of the plane crash. Scully's furious, saying the military caused the crash. Skinner replies that they've as much as admitted that already, but Frish's story is not the one they're giving. Scully asks what their story is, but is met with silence.

Skinner notices the bloody tissue in Scully's hand, tells her he's not going to risk her life just to keep her working, she's to go to the hospital with Pendrell.

Scully is next seen after helping get Mulder out of "jail". As she explains that the military is taking all the blame for the crash, saying that the air traffic controller, Frish, had put the fighter plane on a collision course with the commercial airplane, seeing only saw two planes on radar, Mulder finds it all too convenient that the blame is being placed on a dead man, Frish's fellow officer, Gonzales, that "killed himself". Mulder unveils for Scully radiation blisters on his forehead and tells her about his dive in Lake Sacandaga. He believes that the UFO he found collided with the airplane after it had been shot down by the military.

Scully's not convinced, of course, as they've found no physical evidence that the plane was involved in a crash. She says that Millar seems to be the one person concerned with finding truth about the crash as he's shared information with her that he didn't need to. She explains that Millar found Sharon Graffia wandering and dazed at the crash site, and it turns out she's not Max's sister after all, but an unemployed aeronautical engineer who's been in and out of mental institutions. When Mulder asks why she'd lie, Scully tells him she doesn't know, but that the plane "seems to be killing people as it sits there on the ground. Mulder, Agent Pendrell is dead." He died of his gunshot wounds. Scully is shaken and visably upset by this, concerned that people are dying around them in a desperate search for what? Lies or the truth? Mulder assures her that it must be for the truth and they owe it to them to find it.

The agents then travel to Max's trailer, hoping to find some clue as to what he wanted to show Mulder and how he knew the plane was in danger. Scully turns on the tape player, blasting the trailer with "Unmarked Helicopters" by Soul Coughing, she smiles at his choice of music. Mulder plays a video tape Max had made of himself talking about his theories and concerns. To anyone else, the tape would seem to be the ravings of a madman, as he goes on about his alien abductions, how they can appear and take him any time they want, and how the government knows all about it but continues to cover it all up. As we listen to Max's voice, we see the activity taking place at the lakeside as the military cleans up the second crash site, removing the U.F.O. and it's crew. One of their divers is brought up, suffering from extensive radiation burns, gasping for breath as he lays on a stretcher. The Dark Man appears, declaring with a smile, "We found it."

Millar officially closes the crash investigation, saying the explanation has been decided to be a collision or a catestrophic near-miss. Looks are exchanged with his fellow investigators, none of them believe that to be true. He dismisses them and Mulder and Scully appear. Mulder proceeds to tell Millar his version of the events that took place on flight 549, a story Scully doesn't believe, but that Millar may find interesting. Reluctantly, Millar agrees to hear it. Mulder tells him about the one man that knows what happened on that flight, Max Fenig, and how he had been followed onto the plane by someone wanting whatever it was Max was carrying with him. What he had with him was the key to why the plane went down. When Millar asks what it was, Mulder tells him it was proof of extraterrestrial life and intelligence. Millar looks at Scully, she gives him a what-can-I-tell-you-that's-Mulder look. Mulder continues, saying that the person who followed Max may have been prepared to kill him for what he had, risking the lives of everyone on the plane, the object was that valuable. But because of what happened, we'll never know. A second aircraft, not appearing on any radar screen, entered flight 549's airspace and Max would have recognized the signs of a classic abduction scenario. With the plane's controls taken over by the UFO, MAx would have been prepared to be taken. But, then something unimaginable happened, a third aircraft, possibly an F15 Eagle fighter, shot down the UFO as Max was being returned, thus causing both aircrafts to crash. If everything had gone as planned, the witnesses on the airplane would have never remembered what they'd seen, it would have been erased from their minds. But as it happens, those 9 minutes were their last minutes alive.

Millar tells Mulder that even if his story were true, he could never sell it to Washington. To which Mulder agrees, at least not without whatever Max was carrying. Scully explains that there is one thing that has yet to been confirmed, why they found radiation of the seats and on the door, was nothing found that could have caused it? Millar shows them one thing they did find that had radiation on it, Max's knapsack and NICAP hat. Not enough to blame it for the crash. Mulder thinks the only one that can help them is Sharon, who is in a mental institution. It's decided that Scully should go see her, after all, Mulder would probably be locked up.

He heads back to Max's trailer. Someone's beaten him to it, the place has been searched, papers everywhere, the stereo playing the same song Scully had heard before and the video they were watching is playing on the VCR. The trailer park manager arrives, curious who's in Max's trailer. Mulder tells him about Max's death, the manager asks him where he should forward the small pile of mail he has for him, Mulder asks him to go get it, the man leaves. While he's gone, Mulder looks at the video again and sees Sharon's face reflected in a window, she's the camera operator. The manager returns with the mail, Mulder immediately opens an envelope with the name Paul Gidney as the return address (Max's alius) and finds a baggage claim ticket.

Scully goes to see Sharon, telling her how important it is that she tell her anything she knows about what Max was carrying on that plane. Sharon says she would be in "big, big trouble" if she told. Scully turns on a light, revealing Sharon's face covered with radiation burns. She confesses that she stole what Max called a piece of alien technology from her employer. It had three interlocking parts that they separated, she had one and Max had another one, but they stole Sharon's piece. Scully asks what happened to the third part?

We cut to Mulder at the airport baggage claim. He hands over the ticket, looks around as he waits, and spots some suspicious looking characters, men in black. The attendant returns with a knapsack, Mulder flashes his badge and asks for a security entrance to the terminal. He manages to elude the bad guys. Scully calls with her information and he tells her he has the missing piece. She tells him not to open it, it's radio active, he runs it through the x-ray machine, but can't see much. Scully says it's all starting to look like a case of industrial espionage. Mulder gets on the plane.

Mulder soon has a new seatmate, the Dark Man, easy to spot in a crowd with that nasty bullet hole in his pant leg. Mulder's on to him and with his gun pointed at him, takes the Dark Man into the bathroom, locks the door and rolls the beverage cart in front of the door. Mulder then makes a call to Scully on the airplane phone, telling her he has Pendrell's killer and to have Skinner standing by on her end. He looks at his watch, it's just stopped, it's all about to happen again. Dropping the

phone, he rushes to warn the flight attendant, saying she must warn the captain, but, of course, she doesn't grasp the seriousness of it all. Next thing we know Dark Man's out of his mock prison, aiming his cool plastic gun at Mulder, ordering him to put the bag on the floor. Just as Mulder puts the bag on the floor, the UFO seizes the plane and its controls. Mulder's yelling at Dark Man to drop the bag, that's all the aliens want, but he won't give up. The door is straining with the force of the UFO trying to rip it open, Dark Man's still clutching the bag, Mulder fires his gun but nothing happens, the door slowly comes off...

The plane is now landing at the airport, everyone on board calmly collects their carryon luggage and exists, their memories of what took place forever erased. Scully, Skinner, and other agents rush on board to arrest Pendrell's killer, but Mulder tells them he's gone. When Skinner asks what's going on, Scully says, "You don't want to know." He asks Mulder if the man is on the plane or not, Mulder opens an overhead compartment, sees the Dark Man's emergency parachute, says, "I think he got the connecting flight."

We now see Sharon watching one of Max's home videos in his trailer, smiling. She asks if she can keep the tape and Mulder tells her she can have the whole "Max Fenig multi-media rolling archive", it may be worth money someday. She thanks them for all their help, Scully says she's sure Max would have wanted it that way, that Sharon had lost someone close to her. Sharon tells Scully that she lost someone close to her as well. Scully smiles a wistful smile and leaves the trailer.

Mulder follows her outside, where she stands looking at the stars. He asks if she was thinking about Pendrell, to which she replies that she never even knew his first name, but no, she was pondering the Apollo 11 keychain Mulder had given her. She gives her explanation of its importance, see quotes below, Mulder says he thought it was just a cool keychain, the ep ends with them walking away and the camera panning to the stars above.

Scully: "Look, we still haven't celebrated my birthday, Pendrell. I'm not going to let you off the hook like this."

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Scully: "He's an FBI agent, and he's not going to die."

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Skinner: "I have a responsibilty for the safety of the agents under my supervision Agent Scully. I'm not going to put another agent's life in jeopardy just to keep her in the field."

Scully: "I'm fine."

Skinner: "I suggest you make sure of that when you go to the hospital with Agent Pendrell."

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Scully: "He found Sharon Graffia wandering in a daze at the crash site the night we left. After seeing lights over the area."

Mulder: "Max Fenig's sister."

Scully: "That's another thing Mulder, she's not Max Fenig's sister."

Mulder: "Who is she?"

Scully: "She's an unemployed aeronautical engineer who's spent time in and out of mental institutions. That's where she met Max."

Mulder: "Why would she lie?"

Scully: "I don't know. All I know is that, this plane seems to be killing people as it sits there on the ground. Mulder, Agent Pendrell is dead."

Mulder: (places a hand on her shoulder) "How?"

Scully: "Shot, in an attempt on Sargeant Frish in Washington. He saved his life Mulder, and maybe mine." (she walks away, on the verge of tears)

Mulder: "Scully, Scully..."

Scully: "Mulder, what are these people dying for? Is it for the truth or for the lies?"

Mulder: "It's gotta be for the truth. If we owe them anything it's to make sure of that."

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Scully: "I think you were actually kindred spirits in some deep, strange way."

Mulder: "What do you mean?"

Scully: "Men with spartan lives, simple in their creature comforts, if only to allow for the complexity of their passions."

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Max: (on his videotape)

"Hi, Max here, but of course. This is, well quite obviously my story since I'm telling it. (laughs) Anyway, for those of you who know me already this is gonna be ancient history, but for the rest of you, this is, well, what can I say? The story of my life. Actually, all I ever wanted in life was to be left alone, don't we all? So, just my luck that I'd eventually become an alien abductee. Now I'm never alone, any minute, when I'm least expecting it. And the worst part is, no one believes you, ummm, well, almost no one. So, I've devoted my life to providing all you disbelievers out there with proof. Proof that there are extraterrestrial biological entitities, right now, as we speak, visiting our planet in alien ships, for purposes of a rather troubling agenda known only to certain members of the government, the FBI, and certain high-ranking members of the military industrial community who have recovered some of these very craft. Not that they'd ever admit to it publicly, of course, nor would they admit that they have salvaged some of this alien technology and are using it military applications, no, that would be un-American. And they won't admit to it until someone confronts them with irrefutable, undeniable proof. Someone like me. And I should probably mention that I do this at great risk to my own health and safety, but hey, when every day's just another day you're going to get kidnapped by a bunch of little grey dudes from outer space, what's a few CIA spooks to worry about?"

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Mulder: "Feel free to tell me it's bull as Agent Scully has."

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Millar: (to Mulder, after hearing his version of events aboard flight 549)

"Well, where I come from, that's what we call a "whopper".

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Mulder: "Do you know where she is?"

Scully: "In a mental institution." (he gives her a look that says she'll have to go, she laughs and looks down)

Mulder: "I'd go with you but I'm afraid they'd lock me up."

Scully: "Me too."

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Mulder: "More people are trying to get their hands on this than a Tickle Me Elmo."

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Scully: "I realize I didn't even know his first name."

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Scully: "I actually... I was thinking about this gift that you gave me for my birthday. You never got to tell me why you gave it to me or what it means, but I think I know. I think that you appreciate that there are extraordinary men and women and extraordinary moments when history leaps forward on the backs of these individuals. That what can be imagined can be achieved. That you must dare to dream. That there is no substitute for perseverance and hard work, and team work, because no one gets there alone. And that, while we commemorate the greatness of these events and the individuals who achieve them, we cannot forget the sacrifice of those who make these achievments and leaps possible."