The characters, plotlines, quotes, etc. included here are owned by Chris Carter and 1013 Productions, all rights reserved. The following transcript is in no way a substitute for the show "The X Files" and is merely meant as a homage. This transcript is not authorized or endorsed by Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, or Fox Entertainment. It was painstakingly typed out by Vic Vega and made available for your personal enjoyment by me, DrWeesh from my website, The X Files Transcripts Archive




SCENE 1
PULASKI, VIRGINIA; JUNE 3, 1985

(A dog runs into the kitchen and starts to eat his food. The TV blares in the background.)

MAN #1 ON TV: Hold, punster! Find the prisoner!

MAN #2 ON TV: Find the prisoner!

MAN #1 ON TV: There, there, whoa! Who's this?

(The dog starts off to another room.)

MAN #3 ON TV: There, there's been a mistake. Get me a lawyer.

MAN #1 ON TV: Forward, punster. Where is the king?

MAN #4 ON TV: In the great hall, sire.

(The house is not completely done. Sheets cover the walls as if it is under construction. The dog runs into the room with his owner, Duane Barry. Barry is lying on the bed.)

MAN #5 ON TV: Enough! My horses.

MAN #4 ON TV: Aye, sire.

MAN #5 ON TV: "Ode to the Great Hawk."

(Sounds of swords clashing. Then fanfare, but soon the TV goes out. Static fills the screen and the dog grows worried. Outside, strange beings wander about. The dog growls softly. He whimpers and runs out. Duane wakes up with a startle, knowing that they are there.)

DUANE BARRY: It can't be.

(He shakes, unable to move, as light grows on either side of the room, shining through the plastic sheets. Silhouettes of the creatures press up against the sheets.)

No, no! Not again!

(He screams as loud as he can. The light grows bigger as the aliens surround his bed. Outside, his dog barks at the UFO hovering over his house, shining it's light down into the house.)




[OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS] [OPENING CREDITS]




SCENE 2
DAVIS CORRECTIONAL TREATMENT CENTER; MARION, VIRGINIA; PRESENT DAY

(A guard leads Barry, who has wrist restraints on, past many of the other residents of the center. The guard knocks on the door and opens it, then brings Barry in. Doctor Hakkie turns around and stands up.)

HAKKIE: Hello, Duane. Nice to see you.

DUANE BARRY: Nice to see you too, Doc.

(Hakkie motions to the guard, who leaves and closes the door.)

HAKKIE: How are you feeling today?

DUANE BARRY: Pretty good.

HAKKIE: Why don't we sit down, Duane? I want to go over a few things with you.

DUANE BARRY: Okay.

(They sit down across from each other.)

HAKKIE: Now, uh, it says here that you've been refusing to take your medicine.

DUANE BARRY: I don't like the way it makes me feel.

HAKKIE: Okay, all right, let's talk about that. Because we give you that medicine for a reason, Duane, because of your behavior.

DUANE BARRY: I know, I know.

HAKKIE: Because we don't want you to hurt anybody again.

(Barry nods.)

You're still hearing voices?

DUANE BARRY: I'm not crazy, Doc. Duane Barry's not like these other guys.

HAKKIE: No, everybody here is different.

DUANE BARRY: They're coming again. They're coming again, I can feel it. They're going to take Duane Barry to this place.

HAKKIE: Nobody's coming, Duane.

(Barry rocks back and forth in his chair.)

DUANE BARRY: Nobody can stop them.

HAKKIE: I'm going to give you a shot.

(He stands and goes to his desk.)

I think you just need some rest.

(He prepares a shot. Barry looks at the pen on the desk.)

Now, this will make you sleep... and you'll wake up and you will see that we didn't let anybody hurt you. Okay, Duane?

(He turns around to see Barry walking out the door.)

Duane?

(He starts after him. Duane hurries down the hall and jabs the pen into the guard's back, then into his neck. He picks up the gun and points it at the other residents.)

Duane!

(Duane turns around and aims it at the doctor.)

DUANE BARRY: Get away, get away.

(The doctor walks slowly towards him, hands raised.)

HAKKIE: Put the gun down, Duane.

DUANE BARRY: Give me the keys.

HAKKIE: Duane...

DUANE BARRY: Give me the damn keys!

MAN: Yeah, do it!

(The alarm goes off. Duane, panicking, runs up to the doc.)

HAKKIE: No, no!

(Barry hits him on the head with the butt of the gun.)

DUANE BARRY: Either way, Doc, we're getting out of here together. You guys... let's do it now. Go! Go! Go!




SCENE 3
WASHINGTON, D.C.; AUGUST 7, 1994

(Krycek looks down at the large indoor swimming pool and makes his way down to it. Mulder, wearing only red speedos, is doing laps. He reaches the end of the pool as Krycek walks up.)

KRYCEK: Agent Mulder!

MULDER: Krycek, what's up?

(He gets out of the pool.)

KRYCEK: There's a situation going down. They want you out there right away.

(They start walking.)

MULDER: What kind of situation?

KRYCEK: Hostage negotiation.

MULDER: And they want me?

KRYCEK: Yeah.

MULDER: What for?

(Mulder picks up his towel and dries his face and hair.)

KRYCEK: The guy escaped a mental institution. He's got four people at gunpoint in an office building. Claims he's being controlled by aliens.




SCENE 4
DOWNTOWN RICHMOND, VA.; AUGUST 7, 1994

(Snipers sit on the roof of the building across the street from Travel Time Travel Agency, pointing their guns. Sirens stop blaring. Mulder and Krycek drive up as policemen hold back the crowd.)

POLICEMAN: Stay back!

(As a SWAT truck drives by, they get out of their car. They show the policeman their badges.)

KRYCEK: Krycek, Mulder, F.B.I. What's your handle?

POLICEMAN: Right that way, sir.

(They run into the building. Inside, people are working hard.)

MAN #1: Yes, sir.

MAN #2: Okay, I've got it right here. Lucy?

(He hands the paper to Lucy Kazdin. She looks at the paper and turns to see Krycek and Mulder at the doorway. She walks over to them and shakes Mulder's hand.)

LUCY KAZDIN: Agent Mulder?

MULDER: Yeah.

LUCY KAZDIN: Lucy Kazdin, negotiations commander. Thanks for coming.

MULDER: This is Agent Krycek.

LUCY KAZDIN: Let me show you what we've got.

(They walk over to a blackboard, which she turns around. Agent Rich is also there. Written on the board is four words: honesty, containment, conciliation and resolution. Other things are also written down.)

His name's Duane Barry. He's armed with a nine millimeter Smith & Wesson handgun, one nine-round magazine. It is our belief he's prepared to use the gun and not afraid to die.

MULDER: What does he want?

LUCY KAZDIN: Safe passage for himself and his original hostage, a shrink named Hakkie.

MULDER: Passage to where?

LUCY KAZDIN: He's bent on taking the Doctor with him to an alien abduction site, only he can't quite remember where the site is so he stopped at a travel agency.

MULDER: Is he lucid?

LUCY KAZDIN: Yes, but he's off his medication so he's manic, ranting about scoop mark scars on his body, homing devices, and a lot of other nonsense.

MULDER: Like what?

LUCY KAZDIN: This whole alien abduction business, which I guess you know something about.

MULDER: Yeah, yeah, but I've never been in a hostage negotiation before.

LUCY KAZDIN: Oh, we'll take you through it. Agent Rich is our advisory commander. He and I will be coaching you.

(Rich stands next to her.)

RICH: What Mister Barry needs right now is a friend, someone who appears to understand him and can appeal to his sense of reason.

(Mulder nods. Rich looks at Kazdin.)

MULDER: Do we know anything about his abduction experiences?

LUCY KAZDIN: You really believe in this stuff, Agent Mulder?

MULDER: Is that a problem?

LUCY KAZDIN: We're here to save lives. You'll begin negotiations immediately. Every three hours, we'll reevaluate your progress and let our tactical commander advise and update on the use of force.

(He nods and walks past them. The other agents disperse. Mulder walks up to her.)

MULDER: If this man is an abductee, I need to know more about him, his personal history. Each abduction case is different.

LUCY KAZDIN: That material's not been made available to us.

MULDER: And nobody's thought to call the hospital for records?

LUCY KAZDIN: Look, Agent Mulder. The guy's a psycho. Your object is to keep him on the phone. The longer you do, the more chance he's not going to kill anybody. We stop to do a Freudian analysis, next thing we know, we've got four dead hostages. So whatever crap you got to make up about space men or UFOs, just keep him on the phone.

(She walks away.)




SCENE 5
TRAVEL TIME TRAVEL AGENCY

(Bob is sitting on the floor, looking up at Duane. His fellow hostages, Kimberly and Gwen, are seated next to him. Hakkie is tied to a chair.)

BOB: Are we going to have to sit like this all night?

(Duane backhands him and the woman gasp. Duane leans in and whispers loudly.)

DUANE BARRY: I told you to shut up.

GWEN: We all have families, for God's sake.

(Barry stands up.)

HAKKIE: Duane? Don't hurt anyone. Please?

(Barry walks over to him and grabs him by the collar.)

DUANE BARRY: I'm not going to hurt you, Doc. Because this time, you're going with Duane Barry so you can see what it's like... that it's real!

(The phone rings. Cut to the makeshift FBI office. Mulder is sitting down with headphones on. Rich and Kazdin have headphones on as well, and Kazdin is pacing. Duane picks up.)

MULDER: Duane?

DUANE BARRY: Yeah?

MULDER: This is Special Agent Fox Mulder.

(Mulder looks down at his notepad, which has instructions.)

Look, I want to try to help you.

(Cut back to the travel agency, where Barry paces, holding the phone to his ear.)

DUANE BARRY: Yeah? Well... we're just sitting here, waiting for, uh... travel plans.

(Cut to Mulder, who glances down at his notepad briefly as he talks every few seconds.)

MULDER: I think I know what you're going through, Duane. I just want to make sure you get what you want and that...

(He looks at the blackboard. Kazdin points off each of the names and Mulder reads them off.)

Bob, Kimberly and Gwen and Doctor Hakkie don't get hurt.

(Cut to Duane, who is growing livid.)

DUANE BARRY: You know what I'm going through? You think you know what Duane Barry's going through? You don't know jack!

(Duane is screaming at the top of his lungs. Cut to the FBI office, where Kazdin looks at Mulder to see how he will handle this. Mulder stands.)

MULDER: I know you're scared, Duane, and that you'd like to see this all come out right.

(Cut to Duane, who is pacing now.)

DUANE BARRY: Yeah, right. So they can... put me back in the nuthouse... where I belong!

(Cut back to Mulder.)

MULDER: We're only concerned about your safety, Duane. You and the others.

(Cut to Duane. Duane looks through the blinds and sees Mulder through the window across the street.)

DUANE BARRY: Hey... what's your name? Mulder? I know the routine.

(He walks away from the window.)

Honesty... containment... conciliation.

(Cut to Mulder, who looks at Kazdin, shocked.)

Am I missing something?

MULDER: You need someone to trust, Duane.

(Cut back to Duane, who is growing angry again.)

I know a lot of people who have been through similar experiences.

DUANE BARRY: You want to do something for me, Agent Mulder? You keep your dogs on a leash.

(Cut to Mulder, who is walking towards Kazdin, angry.)

You try to gas me out or do anything stupid...

(Cut to Duane. The hostages cower in the corner.)

These people die. They're not taking me again. You got it? They can take somebody else!

(Cut to Mulder.)

MULDER: Nobody's going to try anything, Duane.

(Duane hangs up and the dialtone starts. Mulder takes the headset off his ears and looks at Kazdin.)

Who is this guy? He's F.B.I., isn't he?

LUCY KAZDIN: Former F.B.I.

MULDER: And you didn't think to mention that?

LUCY KAZDIN: He's been out of the bureau since 1982. Institutionalized on and off for over a decade. It's beside the point.

(He takes the headset off and puts it down on a desk.)

MULDER: The point being that the bureau wants to minimize it's embarrassment, isn't that it? That we can police our own.

LUCY KAZDIN: They would like it done as neatly and cleanly as possible.

MULDER: Well, you're off to a hell of a start.

RICH: Negotiation is a process, Agent Mulder.

MULDER: Well, if you just wanted somebody to come down and read the script, you didn't have to bring me out.

RICH: This method has proven extremely successful in winning the hostage-taker's trust.

MULDER: No, no, that man is afraid. And the only way you're going to win his trust is by trying to understand what he's afraid of.

(Rich tilts his head, a little annoyed.)

Have you ever spoken to an abductee, Agent Kazdin? Heard them talk about having their brains sucked out through their nostril while being wide awake through the experience? Would you like to know what they do to a woman's ovaries?

(She looks up at him quickly.)

LUCY KAZDIN: Not particularly.

MULDER: Well, then understand that you might have to alter your approach a little bit here.

(He walks out, brushing past Krycek. She takes off her headset as the rest of the agents stir and start to move again.)

KRYCEK: Is there anything I can do?

LUCY KAZDIN: Yeah, what's your name again?

KRYCEK: Krycek.

LUCY KAZDIN: Krycek, have you got your notepad?

(He goes to take it out of his inside coat pocket.)

Grande, two percent cappuccino with vanilla. Agent Rich?

(Rich waves it off. She walks away and Krycek shoves the notepad back into his pocket, smiling a little.)




SCENE 6
FBI HEADQUARTERS; WASHINGTON, D.C.

(Scully is watching the news report.)

REPORTER ON TV: ...of the hostages. As you can see, Carl, the SWAT team has taken positions on all the surrounding buildings...

(The phone rings and she picks up.)

SCULLY: Scully.

MULDER: It's me. I'm in Virginia.

SCULLY: Yeah, I know. I've been watching it on TV. What's going on out there?

MULDER: What's the media saying?

SCULLY: That an escaped mental patient is holding four people hostage in a travel agency.

(Cut to Mulder, who is talking on his cellular phone away from the other agents.)

MULDER: Well, what they're not telling you is that he's former F.B.I. who also claims to be an alien abductee.

SCULLY: Seriously?

MULDER: Yeah, his name's Duane Barry. Look, Scully, I need your help.

(Cut to Scully as she boots up her computer.)

I need you to find out what happened to him. Anything, transcripts from therapy sessions, hypnotic regressions...

(Cut back to Mulder.)

Anything about his abduction experience.

(The lights suddenly go out and the agents murmur. Cut to Scully.)

SCULLY: Mulder?

(Cut back to Mulder. Men are screaming in back of him.)

MULDER: The lights just went out here.

(All the lights in the building go out. The snipers are watching.)

MAN #1: Stay back.

MAN #2: Come on, we're losing power!

SNIPER: What the hell is going on?

(The fountain turns off. Duane, agitated, starts waving his gun around. Gwen screams. The only lights are from the police cars outside. The agents start looking through the windows.)

MAN #1: Tactical unit, what are you guys up to?

TACTICAL COMMANDER: Nothing, absolutely nothing sir.

(A bright light builds outside, blinding the agents.)

MAN #1: Ah, what the?

(The light fades and a gunshot goes off. The agents duck and cover.)

Get down, everybody get down! Backup from command. Shots have been fired. Locate and report. I repeat, locate and report.

(More gunshots go off. Duane is shooting wildly. Gwen screams with each gunshot. Ambulances gather outside.)

RICH: We've lost our captured line.

MAN #1: We have either four or five shots fired!

(Mulder walks over to Rich.)

MULDER: What's the number there?

RICH: 555-2804.

(Mulder picks up the phone and dials.)

MAN #1: Repeat, we have either four or five shots fired!

LUCY KAZDIN: Our electrical substation blew. We've got no power up and down the block.

(Duane picks up.)

MULDER: Duane?

(Cut to Duane. The women are chatting nervously in the background.)

DUANE BARRY: I told you.

MULDER: Is everybody all right, Duane?

DUANE BARRY: You didn't believe me, did you?

(Cut back to Mulder.)

MULDER: No, I, I believe you. I just need to know if...

(Cut to Duane, who's pacing.)

...anybody's been shot.

(Duane looks down at Bob, who is bleeding heavily. Gwen is tending to him.)

GWEN: I need towels. Kimberly? Kimberly? He's going to bleed to death.

(She looks at Kimberly, who won't move.)

DUANE BARRY: I guess we're going to need a doctor.

(Mulder moves the phone away from his ear, frowning. A man turns on a small receiver and puts it in Mulder's ear while a man instructs him.)

TACTICAL COMMANDER: Now, you'll have almost full ambient hearing loss in this ear. Your sense of balance might be affected slightly, particularly if you have to move quickly or get into a physical situation. If you get trapped or held in the building for some reason, we'll be able to warn you if there's a tactical assault. Now remember, he's either got four or five rounds left.

(He adjusts Mulder's blue vest.)

Now, there's a wireless mic hidden in the top of this flak jacket. Speaking in a normal tone of voice, we should be able to hear anything you say up to a hundred yards.

(Mulder buttons his EMT shirt over it.)

Make every attempt to keep these devices concealed. You put a normal telephone handset to that ear, it'll cause feedback and reveal that you're wired.

(Kazdin walks up to him.)

LUCY KAZDIN: You really want to do this?

MULDER: Yeah.

(They start walking, followed by the tactical commander and another man.)

LUCY KAZDIN: Your job will be to deliver medical help to the hostage. Anything else is just a bonus. You're to get in and get out. You are not to risk your own life. Whatever you believe...

MULDER: Don't jump into his delusion. I can't negotiate with him if he thinks I believe him.

LUCY KAZDIN: Right.

(She points at the man standing next to her.)

This is Agent Janus, he's a trained medic. He'll work on the hostage. You're to keep Duane Barry talking. Like I said, if he's talking, he's not going to shoot anybody including you.

(The tactical commander leads Mulder off to the side.)

TACTICAL COMMANDER: Now, I've got three snipers out there. Anything you can do to get him to the front door, all we need is one shot to the medulla oblongata.

(He touches the back of Mulder's neck where the medulla oblongata is located. Mulder nods. Mulder and Janus walk out, Janus carrying his orange case.)

SNIPER: Tac command, this is rooftop zero-two. I have them in sight. They're passing the fountain and approaching the front entrance now.

(Mulder knocks on the door. Kimberly pulls open the shades.)

DUANE BARRY: Just unlock the door and move back.

(Kimberly unlocks the door and sits down. Mulder and Janus walk in.)

MULDER: Duane?

DUANE BARRY: Hands in the air!

(Mulder puts his hands up. Duane, concealed in shadows in the back, has his gun trained on Mulder.)

Put the kit on the floor slowly.

(Janus does so.)

MULDER: We're unarmed.

(Duane steps into the light.)

We just want to help the injured.

GWEN: Over here.

(Mulder looks over at Gwen, who is tending to Bob. Bob is laying on the ground.)

DUANE BARRY: Face the door! That's right.

(They do so. Duane pats them down.)

Not armed, huh? You're F.B.I., aren't you? Got a gun in the kit?

MULDER: No.

DUANE BARRY: Are you wearing a wire?

MULDER: No. We're just here to help.

DUANE BARRY: Okay...

(Duane finishes patting them down and backs away. Mulder and Janus start to turn around. Cut to the makeshift office, where Kazdin, Rich and others are listening in intently.)

MULDER: Nobody's going to try anything, Duane.

LUCY KAZDIN: That's right, good. You want to work with him.

MULDER: We just want to make sure no one else gets hurt.

(In the office, Janus goes over to the wounded.)

DUANE BARRY: Just do your business and get out.

(Duane walks around Hakkie, keeping his gun trained.)

JANUS: How's he doing?

GWEN: He's bad.

(Mulder and Janus look down at Bob.)

JANUS: Hi, my name is Janus. I'm a paramedic. Hold on, we're going to take care of you, okay?

(Mulder turns back to Duane.)

MULDER: They want to work with you, Duane, but you got to work with them. Why not let the others go?

DUANE BARRY: Doc's going with me.

MULDER: Then let the women go.

(Barry squeezes the gun tighter.)

Were they here, Duane? The light... was that them?

DUANE BARRY: Don't try and B.S. Duane Barry.

MULDER: Well, we lost time. I checked my watch. Isn't that what happens? Time stops. Isn't it?

(Duane flashes back to him on the bed screaming very briefly.)

Duane?

(Barry closes his eyes as he flashes back repeatedly to him screaming loudly, a whirring around him. The light flickering. He looks to the right and sees aliens outside, trying to get in. In the present, Duane snaps out of it and breathes heavily. He starts to back away slowly.)

DUANE BARRY: You're making it up.

MULDER: Isn't that what they've been saying to you, Duane? That you're making it up?

DUANE BARRY: They say it's all inside my head. All they want to do is just give me more drugs.

MULDER: I hear you, Duane.

DUANE BARRY: You hear me 'cause I got a gun.

MULDER: No. I believe your story.

(Cut to the makeshift office, where Kazdin is getting agitated.)

LUCY KAZDIN: No, you're feeding into his psychosis.

MULDER: I know you're afraid. I know the pain and the fear you must feel.

LUCY KAZDIN: Just listen to me.

(Cut back to Mulder.)

Don't try to identify with him.

MULDER: I've talked to people, Duane. People just like you, and nobody wanted to believe.

(Duane's starts to relax. Janus pats Mulder on the shoulder and whispers into his ear.)

JANUS: This man's going to die unless we get him to a hospital.

(He goes back to Bob.)

MULDER: Why don't you let him go, Duane? There's no reason this man has to die. Come on, Duane. You've got the power. Let him go.

(Duane stares into his eyes.)

DUANE BARRY: Okay.

MULDER: Good. You made the right choice. Now, we're just going to move him carefully to the door.

DUANE BARRY: No! Baldy can go. But you stay. I'm trading the bald man for you.

(Cut to the office, where Kazdin is whispering to Rich.)

LUCY KAZDIN: Damn it!

(Janus walks out with Bob and other agents come over to help him.)

MAN: You're going to be all right, sir... just keep moving.

(Duane ties Mulder to a chair.)

DUANE BARRY: Now, let's see how good a liar you are.

MULDER: I'm telling the truth, Duane.

DUANE BARRY: How could you ever know what Duane Barry's been through? How could anyone know?

MULDER: It happened to my sister.

DUANE BARRY: Don't you think you can lie to save their lives. I want some honesty! I want some respect!

(Hakkie coughs around his new gag. Mulder nods. Duane walks over to Hakkie.)

I'm tired of all the B.S.!

MULDER: How does it happen, Duane? Driving in your car? Alone in bed at night? When do they come to you? You're paralyzed, aren't you? Unable to move. Sometimes, you can't even breathe. You feel an electric shock go through your body...

(Cut to Kazdin, who is pissed.)

...and then they're there.

LUCY KAZDIN: He's going to push him right over the edge. I need a clear picture of what's going on in there.

MAN: Right away.

(He runs off.)

LUCY KAZDIN: You're choosing a dangerous course, Agent Mulder.

(Cut to Mulder. Duane stands over him.)

MULDER: There are beings, aren't there, Duane? Are they tall or small?

DUANE BARRY: No! No!

MULDER: Diminutive...

(Duane closes his eyes and tenses up as he starts to remember. Aliens pound against his walls. Whirring is loud. Duane looks widely at Mulder.)

They take you, Duane, against your will.

GWEN: He's going to kill us...

(Mulder looks at her briefly and keeps talking.)

MULDER: You're powerless. Sometimes, you can't even speak. It's always the same, nobody can help you. Where do they take you, Duane? Is there a ship? Do they take you to a ship, Duane? How do you get there? Are you conscious or being transported?

(In the past, Duane starts to float up off the bed as aliens surround his bed. His breathing is heavily, his eyes barely open. The light engulfs them. Cut to the office, where they are still listening. Duane has calmed down.)

DUANE BARRY: They're, uh... they're talking to Duane Barry. But they don't speak.

(Cut to Duane, who is sitting down on the floor, leaning against a desk cabinet.)

He can hear what they're saying. They can... read his mind.

MULDER: That's right. Abductees call it "mindscan." It's a kind of telepathy.

DUANE BARRY: I'm telling 'em I don't want to go... but they never listen.

(Gwen has her head in her hands, thinking she's going to die. Kimberly, on the other hand, is listening intently, calmly.)

They know what I'm saying. But they just... go right on about their business.

(He stands up slowly and points to Hakkie.)

Tell him what their business is. Tell him.

MULDER: They take you aboard the ship to perform the tests.

(Duane nods slightly, breathing deeply.)

DUANE BARRY: They... drilled my teeth.

(He turns to Hakkie.)

They drilled holes in my damn teeth!

(In the past, aboard the ship, Duane is pinned down to a glass table with many white lines on it. He's wearing a baggy white suit. Aliens are around the table. His mouth is being held open by machines, and there is a red light on his mouth. A machine lowers down towards his mouth as Duane's muffled screaming grows. The aliens watch intently as a small tube comes down from the machine and stops a few inches above Duane's mouth. Suddenly, a red laser blasts into his mouth. Smoke pouring out, Duane tries to scream with all his mouth, but it comes out muffled and dampened. In the present, a man drills a hole in the wall to try to look into the room as other agents, including Rich, look at a map. In the main room, the tactical commander picks up the phone when it rings.)

TACTICAL COMMANDER: Yeah. Who here can talk to an Agent Scully?

(Krycek walks over and takes the phone.)

KRYCEK: Agent Scully, it's Alex Krycek.

(Cut to Scully, who is sitting at her computer with information on the screen.)

SCULLY: Where's Mulder?

(Cut to Krycek.)

KRYCEK: He traded himself for one of the hostages.

(Cut back to Scully.)

SCULLY: What?

KRYCEK: He's in with Duane Barry.

SCULLY: You've got to get him out of there.

KRYCEK: Well, they're working on it.

SCULLY: No, you've got to get him out of there now or he's going to be killed!

KRYCEK: How can you be sure?

SCULLY: Because Duane Barry is not what Mulder thinks he is.

(She looks at the computer screen. Next to a picture of Duane Barry is a 3-D image of his brain. In the travel agency, Duane is sitting behind Mulder and to the right.)

DUANE BARRY: How old was your sister when they took her?

MULDER: She was eight.

DUANE BARRY: I've seen kids sometimes, young girls.

MULDER: What are they doing to them?

DUANE BARRY: Doing tests. You know... testing them.

(Mulder notices that the agents are drilling the hole above Barry's head. He keeps his attention on Barry, though.)

I tell them not to cry.

MULDER: Are they hurting them?

DUANE BARRY: Oh, yeah. Sometimes... sometimes it hurts real bad, and uh... you just want to die, you know? You know what it's like, sir? It's like living with a gun to your head and never knowing when it's going to go off.

MULDER: You can let the others go, Duane. Let the others go and take me.

(Barry laughs.)

DUANE BARRY: Oh... they heard you talking like that, they're going to have your ass.

(He keeps laughing. Even Mulder smiles a little.)

MULDER: I don't care about that, Duane.

DUANE BARRY: No. I wouldn't do that to you. Besides, Doc and I got an appointment. Ain't that right, Doc?

(Mulder looks back at Hakkie, who is scared stiff. The agent feeds a small camera feed through the hole and a person next to a monitor gives the okay sign. In the monitor, we see the back of Mulder, Hakkie and the women in the corner, but Duane is out of view. The tactical commander gives Kazdin a still picture.)

TACTICAL COMMANDER: We got a picture. Mulder is here, opposite the doctor. The women are on the north wall. We can't see the east wall, Duane Barry must be there.

MAN: Hold on a second.

(Kazdin and the commander look up to see Scully arguing with an agent.)

SCULLY: No, I don't think you understand what I'm telling you. I just flew down here from Washington...

MAN: We, we got a situation in progress...

SCULLY: All right, well then let me speak to someone who's in charge.

(Krycek walks over and puts his hand on her shoulder.)

KRYCEK: You are. Calm down, Scully.

(She pushes his hand off.)

SCULLY: Don't tell me to calm down, I'm not going to calm down until I can talk to someone who will listen to what I'm saying!

(Kazdin walks over.)

LUCY KAZDIN: What's the problem here?

SCULLY: I'm Special Agent Dana Scully and I have information that is vital to your negotiations.

LUCY KAZDIN: What information?

SCULLY: I think there has been a critical misjudgment here. This man who claims to be under the control of aliens, his, his mental health history describes a rare state of psychosis.

(The phone rings. After, Scully puts a paper down in front of Kazdin, who is sitting at the desk again.)

As you can see from his medical records, in 1982, Duane Barry was shot in the line of duty, the bullet piercing his bilateral frontal lobes.

LUCY KAZDIN: Right.

SCULLY: The injury left him nearly incapable of functioning in society. It effectively destroyed the moral center of his brain. Now, almost a hundred years ago, there was a famous case. A man named Gage had a blasting rod pierce the same region.

LUCY KAZDIN: And what effect did it have?

SCULLY: He became a pathological liar, suffering from severe delusions. His behavior was characterized as bizarre and violent with a tendency to act out his fantasies.

LUCY KAZDIN: How did you get involved in this case?

SCULLY: Agent Mulder called me. We used to work together.

LUCY KAZDIN: Well, if this is true, he's got your former partner completely fooled.

SCULLY: Is there a way I can reach him with this information?

(In the travel agency, Duane slides up to Mulder in a rolling chair.)

DUANE BARRY: The government knows about it, you know. They're even in on it sometimes. Right there in the room when they come. They work together with a, uh, secret, uh, corporation.

(In the past, two men-in-black stand in the doorway as Barry is being abducted.)

MULDER: Who in the government?

DUANE BARRY: A man, the military. They're all in it together.

(Cut to the listening table in the makeshift FBI office. Scully is now wearing a headset.)

The government knows why they're here, but they wouldn't dare let the truth out. So they cooperate.

(Cut back to Mulder.)

MULDER: You're going to have to deal with resolving this situation, Duane... sooner or later.

DUANE BARRY: I'm tired.

MULDER: There's no other way out. You've got to tell them what you want to do.

DUANE BARRY: I just want to go back to the place.

MULDER: What place?

DUANE BARRY: Where it first started. Where they first came and got me.

MULDER: Where is that?

(Barry sighs.)

DUANE BARRY: A mountain.

(Cut to Scully, who is listening intently.)

We went, uh, up... and up.

(Cut back to Barry.)

Ascending... ascending to the stars. I'm not going again.

(Barry groans and looks down. Cut to Scully.)

SCULLY: Mulder? It's me. Listen to me. You cannot trust Duane Barry.

(Cut to Mulder. The sound is audible in his ear.)

He is a brain-damaged psychopath who took a bullet in the head. He is not what you think he is.

(Barry is startled, possibly from hearing Scully, and looks up at Mulder.)

DUANE BARRY: What?

MULDER: How do they find you each time?

DUANE BARRY: Implants... my gums, sinus cavities...

(He points to both. Then he lifts his shirt, revealing a scar over his belly button.)

... and my belly button. Tracking devices.

SCULLY: Mulder, he could snap at any time. He has a history of irrational and violent behavior.

(Cut to Scully.)

Now, you have to work towards resolving this. Now, you have his trust. You have to try and negotiate with him.

(Cut to Mulder as he lets the words sink in. He looks over at Kimberly and Gwen. Gwen is frightened while Kimberly is passive.)

MULDER: Why not let the women go, Duane? They'll deal with you if you let the women go.

SCULLY: That's good, that's good, Mulder.

(Cut to Scully.)

Now keep him talking. H.R.T. is moving into position and unless you can get him to free the hostages, they're going to execute a tactical plan.

(Cut back to Mulder.)

MULDER: The women are of no consequence to you. Let them go. It's the right thing to do, Duane.

DUANE BARRY: Okay, but he stays.

(He nods towards Hakkie. Mulder nods slightly. Duane looks at the women and stands up.)

Go on, get out of here.

(The women are afraid to move.)

Get up, go on. Get out of here, go on.

(Gwen takes Kimberly's hand and they start out. Kimberly stops and looks at Duane after a second.)

KIMBERLY: I'm...

(She clears her throat.)

I just want to say that I believe you.

(Gwen walks back over and leads her out. As they walk out, agents run over to help them.)

SNIPER: The women are clear.

(Men are watching the room on the monitor.)

MAN: I got him, standing, center room... moving...

(SWAT team members begin to surround the building.)

SCULLY: This is the countdown, Mulder, they're coming at you.

(A marksman gets into position and aims at the door.)

MARKSMAN #1: Position number one, ready.

TACTICAL COMMANDER: Coming at you, number one.

(Duane looks at Mulder, more serious.)

DUANE BARRY: We're going to need transportation.

MULDER: What do you want, Duane? A car?

DUANE BARRY: I don't know.

MULDER: Do you know where you want to go?

DUANE BARRY: They're going to tell me.

MULDER: Duane, you can't leave here if you don't know where you want to go.

(The marksman readies his shot. Mulder notices the red tracking beam on the back of Duane's neck.)

Duane!

DUANE BARRY: What?

MULDER: Come here.

(Duane goes to him. The people watching the monitor take note.)

MAN: Hold your fire, you lost your line.

(Kazdin and Scully are especially tense.)

MULDER: There... there's something I want to ask you.

DUANE BARRY: What?

MULDER: You didn't believe me. I had to earn your trust. Now, there's something I got to know. Are you making any of this up?

(Duane grows quite angry at this.)

DUANE BARRY: You are... calling Duane Barry a liar now?

MULDER: No...

DUANE BARRY: You think I make it all up.

MULDER: No, I don't. I'm sorry.

DUANE BARRY: You're sorry?

(Duane looks about ready to explode.)

MULDER: Duane, will you listen to me for a second?

(Duane grabs his collar.)

DUANE BARRY: You're just like all the others, aren't you?

MULDER: Duane...

DUANE BARRY: You say you believe me...

MULDER: Duane, I do believe you.

DUANE BARRY: ...but you don't!

MULDER: I believe you!

DUANE BARRY: You lie just like everybody else!

MULDER: No! I believe you, Duane!

(Because of the screaming, the line starts to break up. Scully and Kazdin sigh as they pick up only static.)

DUANE BARRY: I trusted you! I trusted you like a fool!

MULDER: Can I say... can I say something? Duane, can I say something? I know you're tired, but there's something you've forgotten to do. When you let the women leave, you left the door unlocked. Go lock the door, Duane. Go lock the door. Go lock the door, Duane. Go lock it. They could get in here. Go lock the door.

(Duane, calmer, continues to breathe heavily but slowly makes his way to the door. A small red beam shines upon his chest. Mulder has a look of remorse on his face as Duane looks down at it, then tenses up. A gunshot is fired, shattering the glass. Duane's world turns black.)

MAN #1: Let's go, let's move!

MAN #2: Okay, come on.

MAN #1: He's down, he's down, he's down!

(People start to shout commands to each other. Duane starts to slowly regain consciousness, his vision blurred as the EMTs raise him into the ambulance. The men on the APB talk to each other as Mulder and Scully watch Duane being loaded up. Mulder regrets his decision deeply.)

SCULLY: You okay, Mulder?

MULDER: Yeah.

SCULLY: Whatever you're feeling... you did the right thing.

(Mulder nods.)

MULDER: It's just that, uh... I believed him.

SCULLY: Sometimes when you want to believe so badly, you end up... looking too hard.

(The ambulance engine starts and slowly pulls off, sirens blaring.)




SCENE 7
JEFFERSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL; RICHMOND, VA

(Mulder slowly walks down the hallway to Agent Kazdin, who is talking to a police officer. They shake hands.)

LUCY KAZDIN: Agent Mulder, thanks for coming.

(They start down the hallway.)

MULDER: No, I was surprised to get your call.

LUCY KAZDIN: Yeah, well... as it turned out, whatever your impression of the way it was handled, I didn't get to thank you for going out there and putting it on the line.

(Mulder smiles, laughing a little.)

What?

MULDER: I don't know, I guess I thought maybe you called me down here to chew me out.

(She laughs a little.)

How's he doing?

LUCY KAZDIN: Duane? They almost lost him, but he stabilized. They got him listed on critical.

(They come to his door and walk in. Duane is on the hospital bed, hooked up to machines.)

I checked on his records with the bureau. It was exemplary. His accident was something of a mystery. Shot by his own weapon in a drug stakeout, left for dead in the woods. He was never the same. Lost everything... wife, kids, house...

MULDER: The fine thread of sanity.

LUCY KAZDIN: I actually called you down here for another reason, Agent Mulder.

(She paces a little, trying to find away to say what she has to say.)

Uh... in the x-rays, the surgeon found several pieces of metal. In his gums, in his sinus cavity, and one in the abdomen. I had them checked, I felt you'd want to know... and there were tiny drill holes in his left and right rear molars. A dentist who examined them said they could not have been done with any of the current equipment in use... not without chipping or damaging the tooth. Anyway... I thought you ought to know.

(She walks out. Mulder looks down at Duane as the door closes.)




SCENE 8
FBI HEADQUARTERS; WASHINGTON, D.C.

(Mulder is seated across from Scully, who is seated at her desk. She is looking at one of the implants from Duane Barry put in a tiny glass vial.)

SCULLY: This could just be a piece of shrapnel. Duane Barry did a tour of duty in Vietnam.

MULDER: It was right where he said it would be, Scully. Along with the ones in his gums and sinus.

(He points to his gums and sinus as he says them.)

SCULLY: And you think that this was implanted?

MULDER: Well, if it was, that would mean Duane Barry is telling the truth.

SCULLY: Or some version of the truth.

(Mulder rubs his eye for a second. They look at each other.)

Look, I'll, I'll take this down to ballistics. We can have this cleared up in a second.

(He gets up and leaves.)




SCENE 9
FBI HEADQUARTERS; WASHINGTON, D.C.

(The ballistics expert looks at the implant under a microscope.)

BALLISTICS EXPERT: Let me just make a slight adjustment.

(He sits down next to Scully as they look at the implant on a computer screen.)

SCULLY: What do you think?

BALLISTICS EXPERT: Could be a shell casing or a small artillery fragment. The edges are dull, but it could have been white-hot when it entered the body.

SCULLY: That would make sense.

(He presses a button and it zooms in on a portion of it. He points out some markings with his pen.)

BALLISTICS EXPERT: But look at this.

SCULLY: What?

BALLISTICS EXPERT: These small markings. See them here?

SCULLY: Mm-hmm. Looks like some kind of a stamp.

BALLISTICS EXPERT: Like it's been tooled or etched. Pretty fine work, too. This square we're looking at is only ten microns across. Strange.

(Scully looks at the computer screen, a little unsure of her ideas.)




SCENE 10
SUPERMARKET

(Scully is on the express check out line. The clerk runs the pickles and ice cream over the bar code scanner and then totals Scully's purchase up.)

CLERK: Eleven fourteen.

(Scully starts to write a check as the clerk bags the groceries. She hands it to the clerk.)

Thank you.

(She takes the drawer to ring out and starts back to the service desk. A woman is standing at the cigarette machine.)

WOMAN: Excuse me, can I get some help here with these?

CLERK: I'll, uh, be right with you. I just have to cash out my drawer.

(Scully makes sure that the clerk is far enough and takes out the implant. She runs it across the bar code scanner and the machine goes haywire, ringing up thousands of digits. It beeps wildly as it shuffles through the numbers. Scully pockets the implant as the clerk walks back over.)

What happened? Did you touch something?

SCULLY: Uh, I don't know what happened.

(Nervously, she takes her groceries and leaves.)




SCENE 11
JEFFERSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL; RICHMOND, VA

(Duane continues to be comatose. His heart rate and blood pressure are now steadier but far from healthy. A crackling rumbles through the air and his eyes pop open. He gasps and looks to his left, seeing silhouettes of aliens on the other side of the curtain. Light builds from there as well. Duane, gasping, gets up and takes off his various plugs. He looks out his door's window and sees the police officer talking on the phone.)

POLICE OFFICER: All right...

(He hears a noise and turns around to see Duane Barry about to strike him with a fire extinguisher. He falls as Barry runs off, dropping the fire extinguisher.)




SCENE 12
MULDER'S APARTMENT; WASHINGTON, D.C.

(Thunder rumbles outside. The phone rings and the machine picks it up.)

MULDER ON MACHINE: Hello, this is Fox Mulder. Leave a message please.

(It beeps. Cut to Scully, who is walking around with the phone to her ear, staring at the implant.)

SCULLY: Mulder, it's me. I just had something incredibly strange happen. This piece of metal that they took out of Duane Barry, it has some kind of a code on it.

(Cut back to Mulder's apartment, where the machine is recording.)

I ran it through a scanner and some kind of a serial number came up.

(Cut back to Scully's apartment.)

What the hell is this thing, Mulder? It's almost as if... it's almost as if somebody was using it to catalogue him.

(There is a bump outside and some rustling. Lightning shines through the window. She walks over, carrying the phone and raises the blinds. Duane Barry peers through at her. She gasps. Cut to Mulder's apartment, where the machine picks up sounds of Scully screaming and glass breaking.)

DUANE BARRY: Come on, lady...

SCULLY: Mulder!

DUANE BARRY: Come on!

SCULLY: I need your help! Mulder!

(More sounds of glass breaking and shuffling.)

Mulder!

[TO BE CONTINUED ...]



Return to the Scripts Page