The X-Files - 4.

4.9 Tunguska

German title: Tunguska I

Dramatis Personae:

David Duchovny -- Fox Mulder Gillian Anderson -- Dana Scully Mitch Pileggi -- A.D. Skinner William B. Davis -- The Smoking Man Nicholas Lea -- Alex Krycek Laurie Holden -- Marita Covarrubias John Neville -- Well-Manicured Man Brendan Breiser -- Agent Pendrell Fritz Weaver -- Senator Sorenson Malcolm Stewart -- Dr. Sacks David Bloom -- First Courier Jan Rubes -- Vassily Peskow Jessica Schreier -- Dr. Charne-Sayre Stefan Arngrim -- Prisoner Campbell Lane -- Committee Chairman John Hainsworth -- Gaunt Man Olesky Shostak -- Bundled Man Robin Mossley -- Dr. Kingsley Looker Brent Stait -- Terry Edward Mayhew Eileen Pedde -- Angie Lee Serpa -- Swarthy Man

(American flag -- backwards!)

Senate Select Subcommittee On Intelligence and Terrorism Washington, D.C.

SCULLY: I, Dana Katherine Scully, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. (Gavel bangs, Scully sits down.) I would like to read from a prepared statement.

SENATOR SORENSON: You may do so.

SCULLY: I left behind a career in medicine to become an FBI agent four years ago because I believed in this country. Because I wanted to uphold its laws, to punish the guilty and to protect the innocent. I still believe in this country. But I believe that there are powerful men in the government who do not.

(shot of CANCERMAN)

SCULLY:. . . men who have no respect for the law and who flout it with impunity.

CHAIRMAN ROMINE: Ms. Scully. . .

SCULLY: I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer possible. . .

CHAIRMAN ROMINE: Agent Scully- - this is not a soapbox, Miss Scully. Your statement will be entered into the record.

SCULLY: With all due respect, Mr. Chairman, I would like to finish.

CHAIRMAN ROMINE: This is not why we are here today.

SCULLY: Then why are we here, sir?

SENATOR SORENSON: Agent Scully, do you or do you not know the whereabouts of Agent Mulder? Are you or are you not aware of Agent Mulder's present location?

SCULLY: I respectfully decline to answer that question, sir.

CHAIRMAN ROMINE: Ms. Scully, you cannot refuse to answer that question.

SCULLY: Because I believe answering that question could endanger Agent Mulder's life.

CHAIRMAN ROMINE: You don't seem to understand. Your response is not optional; you are an agent of the FBI.

SCULLY: Then if I could please finish my statement. . . that it is no longer possible to carry out my duties as an FBI agent.

SENATOR SORENSON: Are you tendering your resignation, Ms. Scully? Is that what you're trying to say?

SCULLY: No, sir. What I am saying is that there is a culture of lawlessness that has prevented me from doing my job. That the real target of this committee's investigation should be the men who are beyond prosecution and punishment. The men whose policies are behind the crimes that you are investigating.

SENATOR SORENSON: Either you tell us what you know about Agent Mulder's whereabouts, or you will be held in Contempt of Congress.

(Scully and Sorenson stare at each other.)

SENATOR SORENSON: Agent Scully?

(go to main titles)

=========================

Honolulu Airport US Customs Ten Days Earlier

(First Courier is in line, checking his watch. Camera shows his briefcase)

FIRST CUSTOMS AGENT: Where are you coming from?

FIRST COURIER: Japan

FIRST CUSTOMS AGENT: Did you travel anywhere else?

FIRST COURIER: The Republic of Georgia.

FIRST CUSTOMS AGENT: The purpose of your trip?

FIRST COURIER: Government business.

FIRST CUSTOMS AGENT: Okay, I'm going to ask you to see the customs official right through those doors.

FIRST COURIER: What for? I'm traveling on a United States diplomatic visa.

FIRST CUSTOMS AGENT: Random check, sir. Please proceed through those doors.

FIRST COURIER: I've got a connecting flight.

FIRST CUSTOMS AGENT: Right through those doors, sir.

(First Courier glares.)

SECOND CUSTOMS AGENT: Right over here, sir.

FIRST COURIER: I don't know what this is about. I have diplomatic papers. I can't be treated like this.

SECOND CUSTOMS AGENT: Is that your only piece of luggage sir?>

FIRST COURIER: Yes.

SECOND CUSTOMS AGENT: Can you open it for me?

FIRST COURIER: No.

SECOND CUSTOMS AGENT: Sir, I'm not offering it as a choice. Open the briefcase, or we'll open it for you.

FIRST COURIER: I don't have the combination.

SECOND CUSTOMS AGENT: Vince, I need a strip and full body cavity search of this man.

===============

(First Courier comes out of the bathroom, disheveled -- obviously freshly strip-searched)

FIRST COURIER: There's going to be hell to pay for this treatment.

SECOND CUSTOMS AGENT: Sir, would you mind telling me what kind of diplomatic work you do, sir, and what material you're transporting in these?> (starts to open containers)

FIRST COURIER: Those are filled with biohazardous materials.

SECOND CUSTOMS AGENT: Then where's the paperwork? And why aren't the containers marked?

FIRST COURIER: Don't open those, whatever you do -- that material cannot be exposed to --

(Second Customs Agent continues opening canister.)

FIRST COURIER: Listen to me!

(Second Customs Agent drops the canister. It breaks open on the floor.)

FIRST COURIER: Open this door! Somebody open this door!

(Black oilien worms crawl around on the floor. A few crawl up on Second Customs Agent's boot. First Courier continues yelling and pounding on door)

SECOND CUSTOMS AGENT: What the hell is this?

(Second Customs Agent convulses as the wormy things crawl on him.)

FIRST COURIER: Oh my God! Somebody open this door! Let me out of here! Let me out of here!

(We see the worms crawling below Second Customs Agent's skin. His eyes turn black.)

===============

Flushing, Queens, New York City 3:07 AM

(Shot of street, pans to inside huge shipping container. Scully with a big gun. Mulder's looking at some machine. Both dressed in black SWAT gear.)

MULDER: We can't go in too soon. We have to be patient, it'll happen.

SCULLY: What makes you so sure?

MULDER: I've received receipts over the past few weeks for detonation cord, for racing and diesel fuel, and for 80 bags of ammonium nitrate purchased in cash in three different states under three different signatures.

SCULLY: What makes you so sure that it's here -- that it's tonight?

MULDER: I've received two new receipts, one for first and last on this storage space, and one to rent a two-ton truck yesterday. Both with the same signatures. We could be looking at the next Oklahoma City.

SCULLY: Well, so, who do you think's leaking them, and why are they leaking them to you?

(Mulder shakes his head.)

SWAT GUY: (interrupts): We got traffic.

(Stray dog eats something in the road. Truck drives up, chasing dog away. Truck pulls up to building. It has a New York license plate, ZCC-696. Mulder and Scully prepare -- grabbing their guns, etc.)

SWAT GUY: They're leaving.

MULDER: Hold it.

(The truck stops, backs up. Militia guys with guns come out on the loading dock of the warehouse. FBI throw open the doors of the shipping container they are hiding in. They order the militia guys down on the ground. They throw teargas bombs; gunfire is exchanged. Two men jump in the truck and drive off. Mulder and Scully give chase. There's a gunshot, and the truck swerves to a stop.)

Mulder (To Scully): Cover the driver's side. (To the truck) Federal agent, I'm armed! Exit the vehicle, now!

(shot of blood smeared on truck window)

SCULLY: Driver's dead.

MULDER: I counted two men. Get out of the truck.

(They continue advancing on the truck)

MULDER: Get out of the truck!

(A gun is tossed out the window.)

MULDER: Let me see your hands! Hands in the air!

(Man gets out of the truck. It's Krycek.)

MULDER: You son of a bitch!.

(Mulder rushes up and hits Krycek in the stomach with the butt of his rifle. Krycek falls to the ground. Mulder points his gun at Krycek, raises it as if to fire.)

SCULLY: Mulder!

KRYCEK: I handed you this bust, Mulder!

MULDER: Oh, come on, Krycek!

KRYCEK: Who do you think sent you those receipts?

(Dog sniffs for explosives, militia guys taken away, etc. Krycek leads Mulder and Scully into the warehouse. He's wearing black leather jacket, olive drab sweatshirt, blue jeans, and an olive baseball cap. His hands are handcuffed in front of him.)

KRYCEK: Most of the detonation cord was stolen from a construction site, and some of the explosives were just taken from a military base. I mean, security's just so lax, it's a joke --

(Mulder shoves Krycek, forcing him to site on a crate)

KRYCEK: Most everything else was over the counter. Two thousand kilos of boom-boom.

SCULLY: How'd you get involved with these men?

KRYCEK: They found me in North Dakota. They liberated me on a salvage hunt.

(Shot of militia guy in police car, looking at Krycek)

KRYCEK: Hey, you go underground, you gotta learn to live with the rats.

(Mulder slaps off Krycek's baseball cap. Krycek's hair is cut really, really short -- a skinhead 'do.)

MULDER: I'm sure you had no trouble adapting.

KRYCEK: These men are pathetic revolutionaries who'll kill innocent Americans in the name of bonehead ideologies.

MULDER: You're full of crap, Krycek. You're an invertebrate scum-sucker whose moral dipstick is about two drops short of bone dry.

KRYCEK: Hey! I love this country. (stands, going nose to nose with Mulder)

(Mulder shoves him back down, turns away)

SCULLY: What do you want, Krycek?

KRYCEK: Same thing you do. To find the man who tried to kill me. (To Mulder) The same man that was responsible for your father's death... (turns to Scully) your sister's.

SCULLY: You want this man brought to justice?

KRYCEK: You can't bring these men to justice. They're protected. The laws of this country protect them in the name of national security. They know no law.

MULDER: Then why don't you put a bullet in his head like you did that man out there?

KRYCEK: These men, they fear one thing; exposure. You expose *him,* you expose his crimes, you destroy the destroyer's ability to destroy.

MULDER: The only thing that will destroy this man is the truth.

KRYCEK: The truth, the truth! There's no truth. These men, they make it up as they go along. They're the engineers of the future. They're the real revolutionaries. I can get them for you too.

MULDER: (smiles) We can't help you, Krycek.

KRYCEK: Mulder. This is just one bomb I'm sitting on here. You didn't ask me how many more I know about.

=============================

Dulles International Airport, Herndon, Virginia

(Mulder, Scully, and Krycek walk through airport. Mulder and Scully have changed out of their SWAT gear. He's in a dark suit, coat, weird, block-patterned blue and grey tie. Scully is in a blue pants suit with black t-shirt and black coat. Krycek has taken off his sweatshirt to drape over the handcuffs. He's now wearing only his white undershirt under his leather jacket. No baseball cap.)

SCULLY: What flight is he on?

(The three of them look up at the arrivals board)

KRYCEK: It's an international charter that originated in Russia. Turkish airline.

MULDER: There it is, Air Lacayo, 6:45. Fifteen minutes ago. Come on, let's go. (Places a hand on Krycek's back, urges him forward.)

SCULLY: He still has to go through customs.

KRYCEK: No. He'll be carrying a diplomatic pouch.

(The three walk briskly through airport, spot Second Courier coming through sliding doors. He's carrying fluorescent orange pouch -- presumably the diplomatic pouch.)

KRYCEK: That's him.

(Scully approaches Second Courier, pulls out her badge. )

SCULLY: Sir, federal agent. Don't be alarmed; I just need to speak with you.

(Second Courier runs back through the doors)

SCULLY: Stop! Stop right there! Sir! (Doors close with Scully on the wrong side of them. She looks to Mulder.) Mulder!

(Mulder is handcuffing Krycek to a convenient handrail. Krycek cooperates, draping his sweatshirt over the cuffs again so no one will see them. Mulder glances back at him one last time, then takes off after the courier, who knocks over passers-by and takes off down a jetway, escaping across the tarmac. Mulder and Scully stand at the end of the jetway, looking after him.)

SCULLY: Mulder, look. (Points at pouch, which is lying on a pile of luggage, apparently dropped)

============

(Mulder & Scully come back through the sliding doors, heading toward Krycek, who's still handcuffed, leaning on the railing and trying to look casual.)

SCULLY: Is this some kind of joke?

KRYCEK: What?

MULDER: Show him.

KRYCEK: What is it?

MULDER: Expose it for him, Scully.

(Scully unzips the pouch, exposing a black rock.)

MULDER: What did you get for Halloween, Charlie Brown?

(Mulder walks off angrily, Krycek and Scully look at each other.)

==========================

Crystal City, Virginia 11:02 PM

(Ext. Skinner's apartment building. Cut to int. Skinner's apartment. Sound of someone knocking on door. Skinner comes down the stairs, shirtless, buckling his belt.)

SKINNER: Who is it?

MULDER: I need to speak with you, sir.

(Skinner sighs with exasperation, opens door. Mulder is standing in the doorway.)

SKINNER: What do you want, Agent Mulder?

MULDER: I need your authorization to provide a safe house.

SKINNER: A safe house for whom?

MULDER: (Reaches to his left and yanks Krycek into view by the collar of his jacket. He has his baseball cap again.) This man has information about extreme-right militia that could save the lives of innocent Americans.

(Krycek meets Skinner's gaze, smiles nervously)

SKINNER: He'll be safe here.

(Mulder pushes Krycek in and closes door the door. Krycek is looking around the darkened apartment when Skinner slips up behind him and punches him in the stomach with all his strength. Krycek grunts and collapses. Skinner pulls him back up by his jacket collar.)

SKINNER: Relatively safe. We're not even yet, boy. (Shakes Krycek, who is groaning in pain.) That's a start. (To Mulder) Give me the keys.

(Skinner drags Krycek across the room by the collar and throws him out onto the balcony. Krycek falls onto the balcony floor. Skinner drags him up by the collar again and cuffs his right hand to the railing. Krycek leans against the railing, unable to stand.)

KRYCEK: You can't -- you can't leave me out here, I'm going to freeze to death! (jerks at handcuffs)

(Skinner shoves Krycek down to sit on the floor. Skinner crouches down to face him.)

SKINNER: Just think warm thoughts. (stands and leaves)

(Krycek jerks at the cuffs again, then rips his cap off, glowering.)

=============================

NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD

(Day, ext. of building. Cut to int. Sign painted on glass door saying "Department of Exobiology." Shot of the rock in a clear box. Dr. Sacks is carrying it. Mulder and Scully are waiting for him. He's got weirdly patterned brown tie, she's in a beige suit, looks like the same black t-shirt.)

SACKS: I know I asked you earlier, but you have no idea where this came from?

SCULLY: Not its origin, no.

MULDER: But you have an idea, don't you?

SACKS: This rock contains what are known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons fitting the approximate description of those in fragments of meteorite found in the ice fields of Antarctica.

(Mulder, Scully look amazed)

SCULLY: Are you saying. . .

SACKS: What you're looking at is quite possibly from Mars. Over four billion years old.

MULDER: Is it valuable?

SACKS: Beyond adding evidence to the debate over the fossilized remains of alien bacteria, it's relatively worthless.

SCULLY: Does this rock contain fossilized remains, Dr. Sacks?>

SACKS: Well, I won't know that until I'm able to take a core sample, which I very much hope you'll allow me to do.

MULDER: I think we'd all like to know what's in that rock.

==============

(Ext. Skinner's apartment building. Skinner comes out, wearing suit, trenchcoat, drab striped/patterned tie. He starts walking. Cancerman walks up behind him, cigarettes in hand.)

CM: I didn't realize you lived in this neighborhood, Mr. Skinner.

SKINNER: I just moved in.

CM: I'd guess you live on an upper floor? For the view?

SKINNER: What do you want from me?

CM: Agents Mulder and Scully intercepted a diplomatic pouch here in Washington last night. I'm afraid it's created a problem in foreign policy circles. Quite a problem, actually.

SKINNER: I don't know anything about a diplomatic pouch.

CM: No? Nothing about the matter?

SKINNER: No.

CM: Well, I find that hard to believe. As their supervisory agent. As a friend, I should advise you, Mr. Skinner, that withholding information on matters of national security is punishable under the laws of this country for treason and sedition.

SKINNER: Thank you. I'll consider myself advised. As a friend.

CM: I need that pouch, Mr. Skinner. And I need to know who gave them the order to intercept it.

SKINNER: I'll get back to you. (Walks away.)

CM: Wars have broken out over far less, Mr. Skinner. Far far less.

========================

(Skinner's balcony. Krycek is still out there, dozing and shivering. He wakes up when someone enters the apartment. It's the Second Courier. He starts going through drawers, obviously searching for something. Krycek looks scared. Second Courier goes out on balcony. Krycek seems to be gone. Second Courier looks over the edge, and Krycek, who is hanging outside the balcony railing, out of sight, grabs him by the shirtfront and pulls him over. He screams and falls 17 stories.)

========================

FBI Headquarters 11:17 AM

(Int. Mulder's office)

MULDER (on phone): Thank you.

(There's a knock on the door and Scully comes in.)

SCULLY: Got something?

MULDER: Big dead end at the State Department, but U.S. Customs officials detained another courier on a similar visa in Honolulu two nights ago. He was coming from Russian Georgia carrying some kind of toxic soil sample.

SCULLY: Toxic?

MULDER: Yes, which leads me to believe what's in this rock we intercepted are answers beyond the existence of extraterrestrial life. Even beyond the conspiracy to cover up that existence.

SCULLY: Mulder, that rock contains fossils of what is believed to be alien bacteria, and even that is under intense debate.

MULDER: Why all this effort to get it onto U.S. soil? I think what Alex Krycek has given us is the pivotal piece to an even larger plot.

SCULLY: What he's given us, Mulder, is a rock. Alex Krycek is a liar, and a murderer.

MULDER: Who wants to expose the same men that we do and will go to any lengths to succeed.

SCULLY: What I'm worried about is you, Mulder and how far you'll go. And how far I can follow you.

(They look at each other. Mulder turns and leaves.)

======================

(NASA-Goddard. Dr. Sacks is wearing a biohazard suit, using a circular saw to slice the rock. Oil spurts out of rock, worms start crawling onto Sacks. He screams.)

======================

(Int. Scully's car. Mulder is in the passenger seat, on the phone.)

SKINNER (calling from phone booth): Agent Mulder, where are you?

MULDER: I'm with Scully. We're on our way out to NASA-Goddard.

SKINNER: Well, I suggest that you turn around and head home. I don't know how I'm going to explain myself to the police.

MULDER: Explain yourself about what?

SKINNER: The police are at my place with a dead body. They want to talk to everyone in the building. (Hangs up)

MULDER: Pull over here.

SCULLY: What are you doing?

MULDER: I'm gonna take a cab. I want you to find out about that rock. Call me as soon as you do. (Gets out of car. )

=====================

(Ext. Skinner's apartment building. Covered body on stretcher, swarms of cops, curious onlookers, etc. Skinner is talking to a detective.)

SKINNER: No, I wasn't home.

DETECTIVE: And you live on what floor?

SKINNER: Seventeenth. Walter Skinner. I'm an Assistant Director with the FBI.

DETECTIVE: Oh. Oh, my apologies, I got some bad information from my lieutenant that there's a man hanging from your balcony.

(Mulder slips into the apartment building behind Detective's back. Skinner gives him a meaningful look. Cut to Krycek being shoved into Skinner's apartment from the balcony, by Mulder. Krycek is holding his right wrist, which is reddened and a little bloody. Mulder jerks Krycek's arm up painfully and removes the handcuff.)

MULDER: We're going to walk out of here like nothing happened. If anybody speaks to us, you say nothing.

KRYCEK: I got no problem. You put me up here, man, I'm looking forward to seeing you get me out.

MULDER (whacking Krycek's forehead): Stupid-ass haircut! (Grabs Krycek by the front of his jacket, as if he's going to punch him)

KRYCEK: I got news for you, Mulder. When they find out who's dead on the ground down there, there's going to be no question whose apartment he was pulled out of.

MULDER: Who is he?

KRYCEK: Same guy with the pouch.

MULDER (pulling Krycek along): Let's go.

KRYCEK: I say follow the pouch.

(Mulder's cell phone rings)

MULDER: Yeah?

SCULLY: Mulder, it's me. Listen to me: whatever's in that rock, it appears to be lethal.

MULDER: What is it?

SCULLY: It's Dr. Sacks. He's. . . I don't know, Mulder. I've never seen this before. I don't know if he's dead or alive.

MULDER: I think you better find out. I want you to get me an address in New York. You're going to have to go through the Bureau to get that.

=========================

Upper West Side New York City 12:36 PM

(Int. -- hallway of Marita's apartment building. Mulder knocks on a door -- Apt. 22.)

MARITA: Who is it?

MULDER: Fox Mulder.

(Marita opens door a crack. It's chained.)

MARITA: What are you doing here?

MULDER: I need your help.

MARITA: How do you know where I live?

MULDER: FBI database. I'm sorry, it's a matter of extreme urgency. A diplomatic pouch left Russia and arrived here in the U.S. Two men are dead. I need to know why.

(Marita unchains door. Door shuts, Mulder goes in. )

===============

(Mulder is asleep on a chair in Marita's living room.)

MARITA (on phone): Do you have its destination? And its routing directories? Thank you.

(Marita comes in, kneels by sleeping Mulder.)

MARITA: Agent Mulder?

(Mulder awakes)

MARITA: The diplomatic pouch traveled an apex route to the Russian province of Krasnoyarsk.

MULDER: Krasnoyarsk?

MARITA: The point of entry was the city of Norilsk.

MULDER: That's just north of Tunguska.

MARITA: Tunguska?

MULDER: Yeah.

MARITA: What are you looking for?

MULDER: My cell phone. I gotta book myself on a flight to Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

MARITA: I can help you, Agent Mulder.

MULDER: Find my cell phone?

MARITA: No. With cover credentials. A diplomatic passport. A visa.

MULDER: Why? Why are you helping me?

MARITA: Because I can. Because there are those of us who believe in you...believe in the search for the truth.

MULDER: How long will it take?

MARITA: How long do you have?

(Mulder checks his watch. It's 3:12. Marita slinks off. Mulder waits.)

================================

(Outside Marita's apartment building. Krycek is in the passenger seat of Mulder's car, sleeping with his left wrist chained to the steering wheel. Mulder walks up to the car. Krycek wakes up when Mulder opens the car door.)

KRYCEK: Where have you been?

MULDER: Making travel arrangements. (He puts key in ignition. The car clock comes on as the engine starts; it's 3:15.)

KRYCEK: To go where?

MULDER: To follow the pouch.

KRYCEK: You're going to keep me in the dark?

(Mulder punches him in the face.)

MULDER: Yeah.

(They drive away. Krycek is lolling against the car window, seemingly unconscious.)

=============================

(Int. NASA-Goddard. Scully and Pendrell are in biohazard suits. Pendrell looks very unhappy.)

PENDRELL: These are Level 4 suits. Exactly what he's wearing.

SCULLY: Contamination is impossible unless there's a tear or a loss of pressurization. So whatever happened to him, it's unlikely it penetrated the suit.

PENDRELL: What do you think happened?

SCULLY (puts on helmet): We won't know until we get in there and take a closer look.

(They enter the lab where Dr. Sacks is. They pass through an airlock, and attach air hoses to their suits.)

SCULLY: Look, there's a film over everything.

PENDRELL: Looks like spray kicked off the saw blade when he was cutting into the rock.

(They stare at Sacks. He moves.)

SCULLY: Oh my God! This man's alive!

PENDRELL: He can't be. I mean he's not breathing.

SCULLY: No, I think he is. I think he's in some kind of coma state or some kind of somatic rigor.

PENDRELL: Due to what?

SCULLY: I don't know, I don't know, but we have to get him out of here.

======================

JFK International Airport New York City

(Mulder pulls into Long-Term Parking Lot C, parks the car. He turns to look at Krycek, then gets out of the car, leaving Krycek handcuffed to the steering wheel.)

KRYCEK: Mulder, you're not --

MULDER: I'm leaving the window rolled down. If I'm not back in a week, I'll call Agent Scully to come bring you a bowl of water.

KRYCEK: Mulder! You're not gonna leave me here! I got information, Mulder, about a second bomb! Time, date and place!

(Mulder pauses. Krycek continues yelling. Mulder turns and looks back.)

KRYCEK: ...Son of a bitch, get back here!

(Mulder walks back to the car, bends to look in window.)

MULDER: What did you say to me?

KRYCEK: What?

MULDER: You called me a bad name.

KRYCEK: (Starts cursing in Russian. Calls Mulder "paskuda" and "mudak," among other things. Spits on Mulder's face.)

MULDER (smiling): You speak Russian, Krycek?

KRYCEK: My parents were Cold War immigrants, what's it to you?

(Mulder nods and smiles)

=================

Charlottesville, Virginia

(Well-Manicured Man's horse farm. He stands at rail, watching young women jump horses over gates. A large grey sedan pulls up and CM emerges.)

WMM: You've been putting on the miles.

CM: It would help if you had a phone.

WMM: I come out here because there are no phones. What is it?>

CM: Our courier's dead.

WMM: Yes, I heard. Pushed out a window. Can this expose us?

CM: No, of course not. Our necessary and plausible denial is intact.

WMM: Then what is your concern?

CM: Last night, CIA airport intel had a man using UN credentials appear on their computers booked on a flight for Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

WMM: Who was it?

CM: We haven't been able to determine that with any certainty yet, but it appears to be a man fitting the description of Fox Mulder.

WMM: You fool, you stupid fool! This must be corrected; this must be handled!

CM: Well, of course it can be! You know my capabilities in a crisis.

WMM: I don't think you realize what's at stake here, what level this must be carried to. This will take more than just a good aim!

(WMM stalks off, CM looks after him, smoking.)

=============================

(Int. Skinner's office. He's sitting at his desk, Scully sits across from him examining a letter.)

SCULLY: Senator Sorenson wants to see us?

SKINNER: That's usually what a letter of summons means, Agent Scully.

SCULLY: Yes, but a summons for what??

SKINNER: I can only guess, but the fact I'm named in the invitation with you and Agent Mulder leads me to believe I've been implicated in something far more serious than I already know.

(Scully looks down)

SKINNER: How much more serious, Scully?

SCULLY: It's hard to say.

SKINNER: More serious than harboring a known felon? What about Agent Mulder? What does he know?

SCULLY: Agent Mulder is endeavoring to get his own answers, sir.

SKINNER: Where?

==================

Tunguska, Siberian Forest Russia

(A truck -- license plate 2105M -- drives along a soggy, muddy road. It stops. Mulder and Krycek, who were sitting in back, hop out. Krycek goes around to talk to the truck driver in Russian.)

KRYCEK: (to Mulder) He says it's about five kilometers through those woods.

MULDER: Let's go. (beckons)

(Krycek says something to the truck driver in Russian and slaps his shoulder. Mulder and Krycek head off through the rain and woods.)

========================

(Mulder and Krycek kneel on the ground, digging under coils of razor wire.)

KRYCEK: You're really gonna keep me in the dark, aren't you?> (punches ground) What are we doing here, Mulder?

(Mulder looks at him, continues digging)

MULDER: June 30, 1908. Tungus tribesmen and Russian fur traders look up into the southeastern Siberian sky and see a fireball streaking to Earth. When it hit the atmosphere, it created a series of cataclysmic explosions that are considered to be the largest single cosmic event in the history of civilization. Two thousand times the force of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima.

KRYCEK: What was it?

MULDER: It's been speculated that it was a piece of a comet, an asteroid, or even a piece of anti-matter. The power of the blast leveled trees in a radial pattern for 2000 kilometers. No real definitive evidence has ever been found to provide a satisfying explanation of what it was.

(Crawls under razor wire. Turns back to Krycek, looks at him through fence.)

MULDER: I think somebody found that evidence. And the explanation is something that nobody ever dreamed of.

(Mulder turns and heads up the hill, not bothering to see if Krycek follows. Krycek looks around, hesitates a moment, then crawls under the fence and runs after Mulder.)

===============================

(Mulder and Krycek run down a hill, lie flat on the ground next to each other. Mulder pulls out a pair of binoculars.)

KRYCEK: What are they doing?

(Mulder peers through binoculars, sees men digging in the ground with pickaxes, supervisors with whips on horseback.)

MULDER: Looks like some kind of mining camp.

(Man at wheelbarrow falls down, is whipped.)

MULDER: Oh!

KRYCEK (whispers) : What?

MULDER: I don't think they're miners.

(The sound of hoofbeats. Mulder and Krycek look around.)

MULDER: Run!

(They run in different directions, Russians on horseback chasing after them. Krycek falls down a hill and is hauled up. Mulder is tripped by a whip and flogged.)

===============================

(Mulder lying in cell. There's blood on his temple and his jacket has been removed. There's something under his head; not sure if it's his jacket or a blanket. There's a hole in the floor of the cell -- plumbing facilities? A voice is whispering in Russian. Mulder sits up, leans against wall, wipes blood from his face.)

MULDER: I don't speak Russian.

PRISONER: Then no one has told you.

(Mulder stands. There's a slot in the wall that lets him see the prisoner in the cell next door. Or his eyes, anyway.)

MULDER: Told me what?

PRISONER: You were brought here to die. To wish you were dead.

MULDER: I wasn't brought here. I came here looking for something.

PRISONER: The only thing you will find here is death and suffering.

MULDER: What is this place?

PRISONER: This place? A gulag. A place where the guilty rule the innocent.

(The cell door opens. Two guards are there, holding Krycek with his right arm twisted behind his back and a billy club against his throat. They throw him onto the floor of the cell. He stands and yells something in Russian. The guards reply, twirling their keys and clubs, then lock the door. Krycek throws himself against the door, clawing at it.)

KRYCEK: We gotta get out of here. (Looks at Mulder.) They're going to torture us. (Crosses cell to claw at bars on window.)

MULDER: How do you know?

KRYCEK: They were questioning me. (Gives up on window, comes to stand chest to chest with Mulder.) Trying to get me to confess.

MULDER: To what?

KRYCEK: To being a spy.

(Mulder slams Krycek up against the wall, arm against his throat.)

MULDER: What did you tell them?

KRYCEK: That we were stupid Americans lost in the woods. (They stare at each other.) Mulder, you're going to need me in here. (Shoves Mulder's arm away from his throat.) Don't touch me again.

(They stare at each other, nose to nose. Mulder finally turns away. Krycek goes back to prying at the bars on the window.)

===========================

Senate Executive Office Building

(Ext. shot of building, cut to int. Sen. Sorenson's office. Scully and Skinner are ushered in.)

SENATOR SORENSON: Ah, Agent Scully, Mr. Skinner, thank you for coming.

SKINNER (shakes hand): Well, it was difficult to decline an invitation from a member of Congress, Senator.

SENATOR SORENSON: Please, have a seat. Are you familiar with the penalties for obstruction of justice?

SCULLY: Is that a rhetorical question, sir?

SENATOR SORENSON: You know why you've been called here today?>

SKINNER: We have an idea, Senator.

SENATOR SORENSON: We've been looking into the death of this man outside your apartment, Mr. Skinner, and it's raised some troubling questions.

SKINNER: Such as?

SENATOR SORENSON: What this man was doing on your balcony before he fell to his death.

(Skinner and Sorenson look at each other)

SENATOR SORENSON: It was your balcony, wasn't it, Mr. Skinner? (more looks) Perjury is a very serious offense, particularly for an FBI agent.

SCULLY: We intend to file a complete report on this matter, sir, once we fully understand what it is that we're investigating.

SENATOR SORENSON: And Agent Mulder. . . can you explain to me why he declined my invitation to be here today?

SCULLY: Agent Mulder is in the field, sir, seeking answers to the questions you are asking.

SENATOR SORENSON: And where is he seeking these answers?

(Scully looks at Skinner.)

SENATOR SORENSON: Agent Scully?

==============================

(The cell in Tunguska. A voice calls "Dinner!" in Russian. Bowls of yellow soup are slid through a slot at the bottom of the cell door. Krycek drinks from one and hands the other to Mulder. When he does this, you can see that Krycek's right wrist is still red and swollen. Mulder takes a sip, then spits it out. He pulls a large, wiggling roach out to of the soup. He shows it to Krycek, and they both throw their bowls on the floor. The door opens, and a guard comes in yelling. He pulls Krycek up and seems about to beat him until Krycek starts talking to him in Russian.)

APPROXIMATE TRANSLATION:

GUARD: =Get up! Get up!= (Grabs Krycek)

KRYCEK: =I want to see your supervisor.=

GUARD: (grabbing Krycek by his shirt front) =Why would my supervisor want to see you?=

KRYCEK: =He'll want to see me.=

GUARD: (lets go of Krycek, backs away) =I don't know...I don't know...=

MULDER: What are you saying?

KRYCEK: That I want to see his supervisor.

GUARD: =Okay, but if he doesn't want to see you, you'll be accountable.=

KRYCEK: (nods) =I'll be accountable, I'll be accountable.=

(Guard lets Krycek out of cell. Krycek stops, turns to Mulder.)

KRYCEK: Da svidanya. [Good-by]

(Krycek leaves, door shuts, Mulder turns away in disgust.)

PRISONER: That man is not your friend. He speaks indifferently to the guards. Formal language, as if to an equal. You are deceived.

MULDER: Who are you?

PRISONER: A prisoner, like you, but I have committed no crime.

MULDER: Why are you here?

PRISONER: To do the work. Like the others. Like them, I will die in an experiment when there is no longer any use for me.

MULDER: What kind of experiment?

(Door opens again. Russian doctor comes in with guards. They hold Mulder down and the doctor injects something into the back of his neck.)

MULDER: NO!

==============================

(Cut to Mulder naked on table, under chicken wire, along with many others. A guard walks up and down, the doctor observes. The sounds of screaming. A pipe over Mulder's face splashes black gunk on him. He struggles, futilely. Black oilien worms crawl up his nose and under his skin. His eyes turn black and swirly.)

On screen: TO BE CONTINUED

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