The X-Files - 2.

3.1 The Blessing Way

German title: Das Ritual
translation: The Ritual

<- NAVAJO RESERVATION; TWO GREY HILLS, NEW MEXICO->

(Flames pour out of the hole of the boxcar. Albert Hosteen speaks over the scene.)

ALBERT HOSTEEN: There is an ancient Indian saying that something lives only as long as the last person who remembers it. My people have come to trust memory over history. Memory, like fire, is radiant and immutable while history serves only those who seek to control it, those who douse the flame of memory in order to put out the dangerous fire of truth. Beware these men for they are dangerous themselves and unwise. Their false history is written in the blood of those who might remember and of those who seek the truth.

<-ALBERT HOSTEEN'S HOUSE->

(Albert is on the phone standing next to his son when troops burst into his house carrying guns.)

SOLDIER #1: Go!

SOLDIER #2: Get down, get down!

SOLDIER #1: Come on!

(He smashes Albert's son in the face with the butt of his assault rifle. The son groans and falls.)

On your knees. Hands behind your head.

(Albert kneels down. The Cigarette-Smoking Man walks in, dragging Eric behind him.)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: I want to know where Mulder is!

ALBERT HOSTEEN: I don't know.

(He throws Eric back against the wall. Eric's face is bloodied and bruised.)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: His car's parked outside! He was here! I want Mulder and I want those files!

ALBERT HOSTEEN: You will find nothing here.

(The Cigarette-Smoking Man motions to an officer and starts out. Albert looks up to see the butt of the assault rifle crashing down on him. Later, Scully pulls up to the house. She runs inside to find the room in shambles. Albert's son is tending to a wound on Albert's face.)

SCULLY: What happened?

HOSTEEN: There were men.

ALBERT HOSTEEN: They were looking for your partner.

SCULLY: Where is he?

(Albert shakes his head. Eric walks out, his face looking horrible. Scully has a look of sadness on her face. She runs down to the boxcar to find smoke still pouring out of the opening. She looks around.)

Mulder!

(Seeing no one, she looks ready to cry.)

<-NAVAJO RESERVATION; NORTHWEST OF LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO->

(Scully is driving along when a bright light approaches from behind her. A helicopter circles in front of her and flies along beside her, shining the searchlight in her face. Scully stops the car, unable to see. The helicopter lands and three troopers get out. One points her gun at Scully while another opens the door and pulls her out.)

MALE TROOPER: Out of the car! Come on! Hands on top, spread your legs!

(He forces her to do so while a female trooper gets in the car. She looks back at him while he frisks her.)

SCULLY: Where's Agent Mulder?

MALE TROOPER: Turn and face away!

(He takes her gun.)

Where are the files?

SCULLY: In the trunk.

(He motions to the female trooper, who gets out of the car and goes to the trunk. She opens her bag and finds a file but no tape. She shakes her head and puts the file in her jacket.)

MALE TROOPER: We need the DAT copy.

SCULLY: I don't have it!

MALE TROOPER: Who has it?

SCULLY: Agent Mulder.

(He motions to the female and the troopers run back to the helicopter.)

MALE TROOPER: Let's go!

(The troops file back in and the helicopter takes off.)

<-FBI HEADQUARTERS; WASHINGTON, D.C.->

(Skinner sits at his desk. Scully is sitting in front of the desk, facing the other way. Two officials, a man and a woman, are seated on either side of her while another, the man who commonly asks questions to Mulder at such meetings, walks in front of her, reading from a file.)

MAN: It is the recommendation of the office of professional conduct that Special Agent Dana Scully be given a mandatory leave of absence until the full detail of her misconduct can be calculated. This summary action is justified under the O.P.C. articles of review and Agent Scully will complete her suspension of duty without pay or benefits, due to the nature of her insubordination and the direct disobedience of her superior agents. We will have to ask that you check your weapon and your badge before you leave the building, Agent Scully.

(She slowly gets up and puts her badge and gun down on the counter.)

SKINNER: We would also ask that you make yourself available to answer further questions in our investigation into Agent Mulder's whereabouts.

SCULLY: I've told you everything I know. To the best of my knowledge, Agent Mulder is dead.

SKINNER: Don't think this hasn't been difficult for everyone.

(She stares at him in anger then leaves. She passes the secretary and is about to open the door out when Skinner steps out of his office.)

Agent Scully?

(She walks back to him angrily.)

SCULLY: Who are these people?

(He looks at the slightly ajar door, then turns back to her.)

SKINNER: These people are doing their job.

SCULLY: What they're doing is putting an official stamp on the perpetuation of a lie.

SKINNER: These people have a protocol to follow, which is something you and Agent Mulder did not do.

SCULLY: What about the people who were poisoning Agent Mulder's water? Whose protocol was that?

SKINNER: The investigation will...

SCULLY: The investigation will be an exercise! The men who killed Agent Mulder, the people who killed his father, they aren't meant to be found.

SKINNER: We will find them.

SCULLY: With all due respect, sir, I think you overestimate your position in the chain of command.

(She walks out. She walks into the X-Files office, checking behind her, and opens up the drawer in Mulder's desk. She reaches up to the roof of it and pulls off a bag masking taped to the top with the DAT tape case in it. The case itself is empty.)

<-46th STREET; NEW YORK CITY->

(In a tall skyscraper, a dark meeting takes place.)

1ST ELDER: Where were the safeguards against this? These files were never meant to be seen.

2ND ELDER: Forty years of work... the damage could be incalculable.

3RD ELDER: The damage is done.

(The Cigarette-Smoking Man steps out from behind the leader of this small organization, the Well-Manicured Man. He is smoking as usual.)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Gentlemen... we have control. The files have been recovered and the men involved in their theft have been removed without incident. There is a small matter of concern with the F.B.I. but we'll handle that internally as usual. The media attention will amount to nothing more than a few, uh, scattered obituaries.

1ST ELDER: The Mulder problem...

(The Cigarette-Smoking Man pauses, thinking, then looks at him.)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Special Agent Mulder is dead. His body will not be recovered. He will officially be listed as missing until the matter can be resolved quietly.

1ST ELDER: And we've recovered the copy of the stolen computer files?

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Yes.

1ST ELDER: Then all the pertinent parties should be informed that we can continue with our work.

(The Well-Manicured Man sits in silence, thinking.)

<-MARGARET SCULLY'S HOUSE->

(Margaret opens the door to see her daughter standing there with no shoes.)

MARGARET SCULLY: Dana, wh...

SCULLY: Hi, Mom.

MARGARET SCULLY: What did you do with your shoes?

SCULLY: They, uh, they started to give me blisters s, so...

MARGARET SCULLY: You walked here at this time of night?

(Dana starts to cry.)

SCULLY: Oh, Mom...

(They hug.)

MARGARET SCULLY: What is it, Dana?

SCULLY: I've made a terrible mistake. Dad would be so ashamed of me.

<- NAVAJO RESERVATION; TWO GREY HILLS, NEW MEXICO->

(It is a bright and beautiful morning. Albert speaks over the various scenes.)

ALBERT HOSTEEN: The men who had come and threatened us did not return to our house again but the following day...

(Eric opens the door to see two young boys standing there. They start talking. Albert and his son stand in the back.)

Some of the boys from the reservation came to tell us they had seen buzzards flying out near the quarry where Eric had first encountered the men.

(Buzzards fly high above the boxcar. Native Americans from the reservation, including the Hosteens, watch them circle.)

The buzzard is a large but cowardly bird. It does not work for its prey, letting others provide the kill. When I see them circling in the desert, this can only mean that something has died and they are going to pick its bones... or that death is close and they are waiting for it to do its work for them. We did not see what they saw but I remembered something I had seen as a younger man. Just as my grandson had done, I, too, had found a body at the quarry in a hole, half-buried under rocks, but the buzzards, who will eat anything, would not touch it. This spot is where we found what the buzzards had come for. We could not tell at first who or what it was but I knew what the buzzards knew... that the smell of death was upon it.

(Albert and his family walk over to a part of the quarry. They see a hand jutting out from between some rocks. They start to unbury the man. It is Mulder.)

The desert does not forgive man his weakness. Weak or strong, it takes no mercy and can kill a man in less than a day.

(Eric looks up at his grandfather, who says something in Navajo. Eric nods and he and his father start to take Mulder out.)

To survive, one must develop skin like leather, know where to find water and when to take shelter.

(Albert looks down into the hole and sees another hybrid jutting out from between the rocks. The Indians march back to camp, carrying Mulder with them. They walk into a small hut.)

The F.B.I. man would have surely died had he not stayed underground, protected like the jackrabbit or the fox. Even so, death was near. In accordance with our ancient traditions, we put for twigs on the beams of the hogan to summon the holy people and tell them that a ceremony will be held.

(Albert puts a twig on the beam and waves the others in. They carry Mulder with them. They lay him down on a bed of leaves.)

It is called the Blessing Way chant. Only the holy people can save the F.B.I. man's life now. He is in their hands.

(He says something in Navajo. Later, Albert lights a small bundle of twigs on fire, then starts lighting larger bundles. He waves the smoke around with beautiful feathers.)

<-SCULLY'S APARTMENT->

(Scully twists and turns in bed, unable to sleep. The doorbell rings twice. She turns on the lights and looks through the peephole. Perplexed, she unlocks her door and looks at Frohike.)

SCULLY: Frohike?

FROHIKE: I know it's late but I heard the news.

(She looks down at the bottle of wine in his hand.)

Maybe I should go. Pardon my presumptuousness.

SCULLY: How much have you had to drink?

(He holds up the near-empty bottle.)

FROHIKE: Do you recycle?

(She smiles. Afterwards, he sits at her table. She pours him a cup of coffee.)

He was a good friend. A redwood among sprouts.

(He takes a sip of his coffee as she pours herself a cup.)

I guess this means he's passing you the torch.

(She sits down and looks at him.)

SCULLY: Uh, I'm afraid not. I'm soon to be out of a job.

FROHIKE: Those sons of bitches. They're rigging the game.

SCULLY: And like rats, they just scatter back into the woodpile.

(She takes a sip as he pulls a newspaper article out of his jacket. He hands it to her. The headline reads: "Homicide Victim's Body Discovered at City Dump.")

FROHIKE: The rats that killed the cat.

SCULLY: What's this?

FROHIKE: A news item about Kenneth Soona, a.k.a. "The Thinker." The man who hacked the MJ files. The ones he gave to Mulder.

SCULLY: "Kenneth J. Soona was killed execution style in what appears to be a professional murder. His body found in the Trenton City landfill." What's the date on this?

(She scans down the page and comes across "The body was discovered April 16.")

This was the day before yesterday. This is after Mulder disappeared. Could they be so stupid?

<- NAVAJO RESERVATION; TWO GREY HILLS, NEW MEXICO->

ALBERT HOSTEEN: This healing ritual called "The Blessing Way" has been passed down by our ancient Navajo ancestors. Its songs and prayers must be followed just as they have been for centuries or the holy people will not be summoned.

(Lights shine out of the hogan. Inside, Albert, half-naked, traces a design on a cloth with sand.)

I watched my father perform the chants as a young boy and saw their healing magic.

(Men cover Mulder with branches.)

But my fear for the F.B.I. man was that his spirit did not want to be healed. That it wished to join the spirit of his own father who had died and did not want to return to the world of the living.

(Albert kneels over him with a feather and waves it in the air in a ritualistic manner. He then dips the end in a small black liquid and paints a small vertical dash above each of Mulder's eyebrows.)

His body has become tired and weak and it searches for rest.

(A drum starts beating. Albert begins chanting. The chanting fades away as Mulder floats on his makeshift bed between worlds, floating on the stars.)

If the struggle to continue is too hard or the wish to join his ancestors too strong, the body will give up but if the desire to resume life burns brightly enough, the holy people will be merciful.

(A congregation of people in shadows stand around Mulder and murmur.)

The days and nights now will be long and difficult for the F.B.I. man as the holy people come and help him to choose.

(One steps out towards him and stands over him. Deep Throat.)

DEEP THROAT: I was first struck by the absence of time, having depended on it so completely as a measure of myself and my life. Moving backwards into the perpetual night that consumes purpose and deed, all passion and will. I come to you, old friend, with the dull clarity of the dead not to beckon you but to feel the fire and intensity that still live in you... and the heavy weight of your burdens which I had once borne. There is truth here, old friend, if that's all you seek but there's no justice or judgment without which truth is a vast, dead hollow. Go back. Do not look into the abyss or let the abyss look into you. Awaken the sleep of reason and fight the monsters within and without.

(Some time ago. Aliens run inside the boxcar screaming as canisters of hydrogen cyanide are thrown in. They pound against the walls, desperately trying to find a way out of their damnation as the lid is closed and they are being slowly killed by the gas. One can make out small words.)

HYBRID: Help me, please! Let me out! Please, let me out!

(Between worlds. Mulder's father steps out to him.)

WILLIAM SCULLY: Hello, son. I did not dare hope to see you so soon nor ever again hope to broker fate with a life to which I gave life.

(Mulder's eyes slowly open and his head turns as he looks at his newly departed father.)

The lies I told you were a pox and poison to my soul and now you are here because of them. Lies I thought might bury forever a truth I could not live with. I stand here, ashamed of the choices I made so long ago, when you were just a boy. You are the memory, Fox. It lives in you. If you were to die now, the truth will die. And only the lies survive us.

MULDER: My sister? Is she here?

WILLIAM SCULLY: No. The thing that would destroy me, the truth I felt you must never learn is the truth you will find if you are to go forward.

(He steps back from his son. Mulder looks back up at the stars.)

<-FBI HEADQUARTERS; WASHINGTON, D.C.->

(A tour guide is leading a tour as Scully walks in.)

TOUR GUIDE: Okay, I just need everyone to step through the metal detector and we'll begin the tour. The facility you're in is called the J. Edgar Hoover Building. It was finished in 1974 and built on the site of the original F.B.I. building. We'll also see a display on the ten most wanted, you might see a few of your relatives there.

(They crowd and her laugh. Scully steps in line for the metal detector.)

Uh, if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them.

(Scully reaches the metal detector and puts her keys in the holder. The security guard smiles.)

SECURITY GUARD: Making you come in the front door these days, are they, Agent Scully?

SCULLY: For now.

(She smiles and walks through. There is a buzzing.)

SECURITY GUARD: Are you carrying your weapon?

SCULLY: No.

SECURITY GUARD: Sorry to have to you run you through this.

SCULLY: It's okay.

(He moves the handhold metal detector around in front of her and it does not react to anything.)

That was weird.

SECURITY GUARD: Yeah, well, I've had a straight pin left in a shirt collar set this machine off but, uh, you can go on through.

(He hands her a piece of paper.)

SCULLY: Thank you.

(Scully waits outside Skinner's office, sitting on the couch. Skinner opens the door and his secretary looks at him.)

SKINNER: Scully, come in, please.

(She walks in and he closes the door behind them. He sits down at his desk.)

You said you needed to see me concerning the investigation?

SCULLY: Yes, sir. I came across a news article. A man's body was found in New Jersey and I have reason to believe that he was killed by the same man responsible for Agent Mulder.

SKINNER: Can I see it?

(She unfolds the article and hands it to him.)

SCULLY: The date of death postdates Agent Mulder's disappearance. Now, you already have the ballistics data from Agent Mulder's father on file. I would like you to run it against the ballistics from this man's case.

SKINNER: Trying to prove what?

SCULLY: Well, if both men were killed by the same weapon, we could prove that Agent Mulder didn't kill his father and it could also help us find the man who did.

SKINNER: You've been relieved of your investigative function.

SCULLY: Yes, I know that, sir. I just thought this might be helpful.

(Skinner tears up the article.)

SKINNER: I'm afraid not.

(She stares at him in disbelief and takes back the crumpled and torn article.)

This case would have been handled by the Trenton P.D. They're on our drugfire ballistics database. If there was a match in the two slugs, all the bells and whistles would have gone off by now.

SCULLY: You don't want to check?

SKINNER: Miss Scully, I think you underestimate the duties and responsibilities of my position as assistant director.

SCULLY: I was just trying to cooperate with your investigation, sir.

SKINNER: To mitigate your situation and then add to your chances of reinstatement, isn't that right?

SCULLY: No. I just want answers.

SKINNER: And so do I. I want to know why I was asked to execute a search warrant on your apartment to look for a digital cassette.

(He throws a paper down on the desk.)

SCULLY: I don't have it.

SKINNER: Is this tape what Agent Mulder died for?

SCULLY: I believe so.

SKINNER: You want to bring me a smoking gun, Scully? You bring me this tape. Otherwise, I would ask you to go home, sit tight and let us do our job.

(Scully looks to be wounded by Skinner's remarks.)

SCULLY: Is that all, sir?

SKINNER: Yes, that's all.

(She walks out, looking back at him first for a few seconds. The Cigarette-Smoking Man walks in through the other door. He takes out a cigarette and puts it in his mouth)

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Did you ask her about the tape?

SKINNER: She says she doesn't have it.

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Is that what she says?

(He lights the cigarette.)

SKINNER: Yes, that's what she says.

CIGARETTE-SMOKING MAN: Well, that's unfortunate for everyone.

(Scully walks out of the elevator and takes off her clip-on badge, throwing it down on the security desk. She tentatively walks through the metal detector and looks at the guard.)

SECURITY GUARD: Back again?

SCULLY: I'm just curious about something, would you mind if I went through here again?

SECURITY GUARD: Come on through.

(She puts her keys down in the holder and walks through again. It goes off.)

This thing is more sensitive than a toothache.

SCULLY: Would you mind running the wand over me one more time?

SECURITY GUARD: Sure.

(He waves it around in front and she turns around. As he passes the back of her neck, it goes off. She turns around, surprised.)

You wearing a necklace or something?

SCULLY: No, not today.

SECURITY GUARD: Then what the hell is that?

(Later, in the medical wing, Scully and a doctor are looking at an x-ray of Scully's neck. There is a small piece of metal in the back of one of the vertebrate.)

SCULLY: What do you think it could be?

DOCTOR: I don't know. It's embedded in your soft tissue here. Looks like maybe a piece of buckshot or something.

(He points it out with his pen, then moves around her to check her neck.)

SCULLY: I don't know how it could have gotten there.

(She holds her hair away and he runs his fingers over the spot.)

DOCTOR: I can feel it just under the skin.

(There is a small scar where the metal is.)

And now that I'm looking at it closely, there's a tiny little scar over it. If you want, I could, uh, do a local and pull it out of there.

SCULLY: Yeah.

(He pulls out a tray and she sits down.)

Thanks for coming down here and doing this for me so late.

(She pulls her hair away again and he swabs the area.)

DOCTOR: No problem. You were probably wounded in the line of duty and you didn't even know it.

<- NAVAJO RESERVATION; TWO GREY HILLS, NEW MEXICO->

(Albert walks back into the hogan and looks down at Mulder. He walks over to a bucket of water next to him and kneels down, taking out the ladle.)

ALBERT HOSTEEN: For three days, the Blessing Way chant was performed. The F.B.I. man suffered great fevers and his body burned like fire. There was doubt that he recover but the spirits were in attendance because on the night of the third day, he opened his eyes and asked for water.

(Mulder lifts his head up and drinks from the ladle. Later, Mulder sits outside and Hosteen starts to bathe him with a sponge.)

The ritual bath must be given outside the hogan before sunrise. The F.B.I. man was weak from his journey and did not wish to speak but like a rising sun, I sensed in him a rebirth.

(Hosteen offers Mulder some kind of spongy food, which Mulder takes and eats slowly. Mulder is draped in a blanket and his gunshot wound is highly evident.)

Still, it will take time to regain his strength.

<-FBI HEADQUARTERS; WASHINGTON, D.C.->

(the doctor places the small piece of metal under the microscope with tweezers and looks at it.)

DOCTOR: Well... it's definitely not buckshot. I, uh... I know what it looks like to me but, uh... I couldn't tell you how it got there. Take a look.

(He stands up and Scully looks through the microscope. The small piece of metal is a highly detailed and complex computer chip, much like the one that was implanted in Duane Barry.)

SCULLY: It looks like a computer chip.

DOCTOR: That's what it looks like.

<-MELISSA SCULLY'S HOUSE->

(Scully sits on the couch, holding up a small glass tubing with the microchip inside. Melissa looks at it.)

SCULLY: I don't even know how long its been in there. I have absolutely no recollection of it being put there.

(Melissa sits down.)

MELISSA SCULLY: That is frightening. Dana, this is very serious. You've got to find out what this is.

SCULLY: I don't have access to the F.B.I. labs.

MELISSA SCULLY: No, I'm, I'm talking about access to your own memory.

SCULLY: Hmmm...

(She looks away, not wanting to hear Melissa's philosophical talking.)

MELISSA SCULLY: I mean, obviously, you have buried this so deeply, you can't consciously recall it.

SCULLY: Melissa...

MELISSA SCULLY: I know someone, someone who can help you...

(Dana stands and slams her fist down on the table.)

SCULLY: No!

(She starts to walk away, pacing.)

MELISSA SCULLY: What are you so afraid of, Dana? You afraid you might actually learn something about yourself? I mean, you are so, you are so shut off to the possibility there could be any other explanation except for your rigid scientific view of the world. It's like you've lost all touch with your own intuition.

(She stands.)

You're carrying so much grief and fear that you can't see you, you've built up these walls around your true feelings and the memory of what really happened.

(She walks up to Dana.)

Just do this for me. As your sister. Please.

<-DOCTOR POMERANTZ'S OFFICE->

(The sign on the door reads:

"Dr. Mark Pomerantz Psychotherapy Regression Hypnosis Energy Fields"

Scully waits at the door, thinking, then walks in. Soon after, Doctor Pomerantz is sitting across from her.)

MARK POMERANTZ: What I'm going to do is induce an non-ordinary state, a modified form of hypnosis which involves what is called holotropic breath work. This will quiet your interpretive mind so that we can cut through the interference with your memories and perceptions. Now, what I want you to do is to maintain a focus on your breath... relax your breathing.

(She does so.)

Now, I want you to close your eyes and think of a place where you've always felt completely comfortable and safe.

(She closes her eyes. Time passes.)

You told me of your experience of being taken away and losing time. Do you remember how you felt just before this happened?

(Scully slurs her words, in a trance.)

SCULLY: I was afraid...

MARK POMERANTZ: Do you remember what you were afraid of?

SCULLY: Um... that I would die...

MARK POMERANTZ: But you didn't die. Someone must have cared for you. Do you remember who that someone was?

SCULLY: There were men... um, a man took me and, uh... there was a light and... loud sounds, my, um... my ears were pounding.

MARK POMERANTZ: They performed a procedure on you. Do you remember any pain during this?

SCULLY: I'm trying. The, the sound is all screwed up. There was an alarm. Th, I remember, um... they wanted to know if I was all right.

MARK POMERANTZ: Maybe you trusted them not to hurt you. Could this be possible?

SCULLY: I don't know.

MARK POMERANTZ: At the F.B.I., you work with people you must entrust with your life. Could it have been one of these people?

SCULLY: I had to trust someone... I was powerless. I couldn't... I could not resist them.

MARK POMERANTZ: If this is too painful, I want you to go back to that comfortable place where we began and try again.

(He puts his hand on hers and she gasps, startled.)

SCULLY: No!

(She gathers her thoughts and realizes where she is.)

I'm sorry... I'm trying, I'm trying. I don't think this is working. I don't think we're getting anywhere.

(She stands.)

Thank you, but you'll have to excuse me.

(She leaves.)

<-SCULLY'S APARTMENT; WASHINGTON, D.C.->

(Scully pulls up and looks back at Skinner leaving her house. Skinner gets in his car, which is a few cars back from Scully's. Skinner pulls out and drives by. Scully watches him.)

<- NAVAJO RESERVATION; TWO GREY HILLS, NEW MEXICO->

(Mulder sits in a congregation of the Navajo. He is still draped in the blanket. Albert walks over and sits down across from him.)

ALBERT HOSTEEN: You must be careful now to end the ceremony properly. If you leave, you must not do any work, change clothes or bathe for four days.

MULDER: That's really going to cut into my social life.

(Everyone laughs.)

ALBERT HOSTEEN: The boys have a gift for you.

(The youngest boy walks up to Mulder and hands him a small pouch. Mulder opens it and pours out sunflower seeds. He smiles.)

You asked for them during your worst fevers.

MULDER: During my fever, I... I left here and traveled to a place.

ALBERT HOSTEEN: This place. You carry it with you. It is inside of you. It is the origin place.

MULDER: It wasn't a dream?

ALBERT HOSTEEN: Yes.

(Mulder stares at him, perplexed. A man stands and wipes out the design on the board that had been drawn on before. Albert stands.)

We are done now.

(Everyone else stands and starts to leave, except Mulder, who remains seated as the morning sounds ring in.)

<-FBI HEADQUARTERS; WASHINGTON, D.C.->

(Skinner's phone rings and he presses a button and picks it up.)

SKINNER: Skinner.

SCULLY: You came to see me today.

SKINNER: Excuse me?

(Cut to Scully, who is standing by her window.)

SCULLY: You came to my apartment, I assumed you wanted to see me about something.

SKINNER: I don't know what you're talking about.

SCULLY: I saw you come out of my building.

(Cut back to Skinner.)

SKINNER: You've obviously made a mistake, I'm sorry.

(He hangs up. Cut to Scully, who keeps the phone to her air, deep in thought. Cut back to Skinner.)

I need some air. Excuse me.

(He stands and walks out, leaving the Cigarette-Smoking Man, who was sitting across from Skinner, to himself.)

<-SCULLY'S APARTMENT; WASHINGTON, D.C.->

(Mulder slowly fades in from the stars, talking to someone. Whether it is himself or to Scully is unclear.)

MULDER: I have been on the bridge that spans two worlds, the link between all souls by which we cross into our own true nature. You were here today, looking for truth that was taken from you, a truth that was never to be spoken but which now binds us together in dangerous purpose. I have returned from the dead to continue with you... but I fear that this danger is now close at hand... that I may be too late.

(Scully wakes up, startled. She sighs a few times.)

<-GARDEN OF REFLECTION; PARKWAY CEMETERY; BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS->

(A congregation of mourners stands around William Mulder's coffin, which is about to be put in the ground. The priest and Mrs. Mulder are standing next to the coffin, while everyone else is at a further distance.)

PRIEST: So we are here to mourn the passing of William Mulder, to join in our grief for our loss but to share also the memories of a man whose life was rich and full and who made his family's and his friends' lives richer and fuller as well. Sadly, I've been informed today by the mother of William's children that his son, Fox, could not be here to join us in this time of sorrow.

(Mrs. Mulder puts a flower on the coffin and walks away from it. Scully walks over to her.)

SCULLY: Mrs. Mulder?

MRS. MULDER: Yes?

SCULLY: I'm Dana Scully, I work with your son.

(They shake hands and start walking.)

Um... I know what you may have heard from the F.B.I. but I have a very strong feeling that your son is going to be found.

(They stop and Mrs. Mulder looks at her in shock.)

MRS. MULDER: Oh, my goodness gracious.

SCULLY: I think he's still alive.

MRS. MULDER: How do you know?

SCULLY: I just have a very strong feeling.

(The Well-Manicured Man steps out from behind a large tombstone.)

I promise I'll let you know as soon as I do.

MRS. MULDER: Thank you. Thank you very much.

(They shake hands and Mrs. Mulder gets in her limousine. Scully walks towards the cemetery and sees the Well-Manicured Man standing there, staring at her.)

WELL-MANICURED MAN: Hello. I see you're a friend of the family. So am I. Do you think we might find a moment to speak?

SCULLY: About?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: A very serious matter. Please... can we find someplace away from the others?

(They start to walk away.)

I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. You think the son is still alive?

SCULLY: Who are you?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: I'm a member of a kind of consortium. We represent certain global interests.

SCULLY: What kind of interests?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: Interests that would be extremely threatened by the digital tape that you are no longer in possession of.

(They stop.)

SCULLY: Threatened enough to murder?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: Oh, my, yes.

SCULLY: What do you know about Mulder?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: That he is dead. Quid pro quo.

SCULLY: You're lying.

WELL-MANICURED MAN: I'm not here to tell you lies.

SCULLY: What are you here for?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: To tell you your life is in danger too.

(She stares at him, then starts off.)

SCULLY: Leave me alone.

WELL-MANICURED MAN: They'll kill you one of two ways.

(She turns back and looks at him. He walks back up to her.)

They'll send someone, possibly two men. They'll kill you in your home or in the garage with an unregistered weapon which will be left at the scene. Using false documents supplied by associates of mine, they'll be out of the country in less than two hours.

SCULLY: You said there were two ways.

WELL-MANICURED MAN: Yes. He or she will be someone close to you. Someone you trust. They'll arrange a meeting or come to your house unexpectedly. Do you have someplace else you might stay?

SCULLY: Why, why kill me?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: You want something they don't. Justice. And because they are now quite certain you don't have the computer copy of the files they're looking for.

SCULLY: Why are you protecting me?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: I feel my colleagues are acting... impulsively and your death will draw unnecessary attention to our group.

SCULLY: You're not protecting me, you're protecting yourself.

WELL-MANICURED MAN: Why should that surprise you? Motives are rarely unselfish.

SCULLY: What kind of business are you in?

WELL-MANICURED MAN: We predict the future and the best way to predict the future is to invent it.

(Scully stares at him, a look of both disdain and respect on her face.)

Good day, young lady.

(He walks away.)

<-MARTHA'S VINEYARD; WEST TISBURY, MASSACHUSETTS->

(Mrs. Mulder comes home and puts her things down on the counter. She looks at two pictures in front of her. The first is of her family, the second of her missing son when he was younger. She hears footsteps behind her and turns to see Mulder walking into the room.)

MULDER: Mom?

MRS. MULDER: Oh... my God!

(They hug, her crying into his shoulder.)

Oh, Fox. I can't believe it. I expected the worst.

MULDER: I need your help, Mom, but I don't have much time.

(They pull out of the hug.)

MRS. MULDER: They said something terrible has happened to you.

MULDER: I'm okay but I need your help. I need you to remember.

(They walk into the attic and turn on a light.)

MULDER: I need to know more about Dad.

(He opens up a small box and pulls out a few copies of the same photograph.)

Who these people are.

(Mrs. Mulder shakes her head.)

MRS. MULDER: It was all so long ago.

MULDER: I need you to try and remember, Mom. These pictures were taken in 1972. Where?

(They look at the picture. On the immediate left is the Cigarette-Smoking Man. To his right is William Mulder. A few men to the right stands the 1st Elder, as well as the 2nd.)

MRS. MULDER: I don't know.

MULDER: Dad was working for the state department, he'd go on the road. Where would he go?

MRS. MULDER: I don't remember, Fox. Please...

MULDER: Will you look at the pictures, Mom?

MRS. MULDER: Don't do this...

MULDER: Just look at them!

MRS. MULDER: Don't do this to me.

(In the immediate right of the picture is a much younger-looking Well Manicured Man. To his left is the 3rd Elder, and to his left is Deep Throat.)

MULDER: Now, he must have talked about his work, about the men he worked with. Did he ever bring them home? Were they ever here?

MRS. MULDER: Yes... but I don't remember their names anymore. What does this have to do with, Fox?

(He tosses the pictures away and starts rifling through the box.)

MULDER: I think it has to do with Samantha.

(He takes a gun out of the box and Mrs. Mulder gasps.)

I think it has to do with what happened to my sister.

(He takes the gun and walks out.)

<-SCULLY'S APARTMENT; WASHINGTON, D.C.->

(Scully walks in. Her phone is ringing. She picks it up.)

SCULLY: Hello?

MELISSA SCULLY: Dana? It's your sister.

SCULLY: Hi.

MELISSA SCULLY: Hi, where've you been?

SCULLY: I, uh, I had to go to Boston... for a funeral.

MELISSA SCULLY: Oh, well, I was worried about you.

SCULLY: Why?

MELISSA SCULLY: Because I haven't heard from you since you saw Doctor Pomerantz.

SCULLY: Missy, something strange happened to me today. I'm... I'm a bit freaked out by it.

MELISSA SCULLY: Okay, well, I, I want to come over. I want to talk to you. Are you going to be there for a while?

SCULLY: Yeah, yeah, I will.

MELISSA SCULLY: Okay.

SCULLY: Bye.

MELISSA SCULLY: I'll see you in a bit.

(Scully hangs up and walks off. The phone rings and Scully walks back over and picks it up.)

SCULLY: Hi.

(The person on the other end hangs up. She hangs up and thinks. Scully realizes that her killers wanted to make sure she was in the apartment and frantically calls Melissa. The phone rings.)

Come on, come on, come on...

(Cut to Melissa's apartment, where her machine picks up.)

MELISSA SCULLY ON MACHINE: Hi, this is Melissa. I'm very sorry that I missed your call. Please leave a message and I'll call you back, okay? Have a really nice day.

(It beeps.)

SCULLY: Missy, it's me. Please pick up.

(Cut back to Scully.)

Missy? Missy, pick up...

(She sighs.)

I'm coming over to your place instead. I'll, I'll, uh, I'll look for you on the way. Bye.

(She hangs up and is about to rush out the door when she thinks of something. Going to her drawer, she pulls out her gun and checks the clip. She pockets it, turns off the lamp and leaves. Outside, a car pulls up, nearly hitting her. Skinner swings the passenger side door open as Scully looks at him warily.)

SKINNER: Scully, get in the car. I need to talk to you, it's very important.

SCULLY: I was just going over to my sister's.

SKINNER: I'll drop you by there, right now, I need for you to come with me.

SCULLY: Where are we going?

SKINNER: To a place we can talk in private.

(Scully stares at him, not trusting him. She zippers her purse and gets in the car.)

<-MULDER'S APARTMENT->

(Scully shuffles through her keys and comes to one labeled "Mulder." She opens the door, glancing at Skinner.)

SCULLY: After you.

(Skinner walks in and Scully cocks her gun. Skinner looks back slightly.)

Eyes forward. Put your hands where I can see them. Don't turn around or I'll blow your head off.

(She turns on the lights.)

Don't think I won't do it, you son of a bitch.

SKINNER: No, I believe you. Just stay cool, I'm with you.

SCULLY: Take two steps forward.

(They do, allowing Scully to step inside the apartment. She closes the door.)

Now move slowly towards the couch.

(Skinner, hands clearly visible extended at his sides, walks towards the couch. Scully follows him tightly and turns on the lights. She is breathing heavily. The masking taped "X" is on the window, as well as the bullethole under the center of it.)

Turn around and sit down on your hands.

(He does so very slowly. She throws down her purse and stands across from him.)

SKINNER: Are you going to let me tell you why I'm here?

SCULLY: I know why you're here. I want to know who sent you. Whose errand boy you are.

SKINNER: No one sent me.

(Scully glares at him and sits down slowly, gun still aimed.)

SCULLY: You got the rest of your life to give me answers.

<-SCULLY'S APARTMENT; WASHINGTON, D.C.->

(Melissa runs up the front porch. A man brushes by the table, knocking over the small vial with the implant in it. Melissa opens the door and a gunshot goes off. Light covers the area as the Hispanic Man shoots her. She screams shortly and falls. Krycek runs out with the Hispanic Man. Krycek turns her over and looks at her, aghast.)

KRYCEK: Oh, no.

(He sighs.)

Oh, damn it.

HISPANIC MAN: What's wrong?

KRYCEK: Let's... let's get out of here.

(He walks out. The Hispanic Man places the gun down next to Melissa and quickly follows.)

<-MULDER'S APARTMENT->

(Scully has Skinner in the same predicament as before.)

SCULLY: How high does it go, Skinner? Who's pulling the strings?

SKINNER: You can kill me, Scully, but you'll only be doing their work for them. Forget about your job and family. You'll spend the rest of your life behind bars, there isn't a federal judge that they couldn't persuade.

SCULLY: What's the alternative? Let you kill me now?

SKINNER: I didn't come here to kill you. I came here to give you something. I've got the digital tape.

SCULLY: You're lying.

SKINNER: I've got it in my pocket. I took it out of Mulder's desk.

(Scully hears footsteps approaching and turns to see a shadow covering the light shining under the door. Skinner looks back at her and pulls out his gun. She looks back at him quickly and they both have their guns fixed on one another. Neither member of the stand-off is willing to flinch.)

"TO BE CONTINUED"