The X-Files (1993–…): Season 11, Episode 6 - Kitten - full transcript
Skinner goes AWOL when his past comes back to haunt him. As Mulder and Scully try to track him down, their growing mistrust of him reaches its apex.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
blessed is the fruit of thy womb...
We're taking heavy fire.
We're gonna drop 'em off,
get back in the air ASAP.
For the next few hours,
this crate is all that matters.
You're gonna protect it
like your mama's inside of it.
- Is that clear?
- Yes, sir!
You do not drop it,
you do not scratch it,
you do not peek inside of it.
And for God's sakes,
you do not lose sight of it.
- Is that clear?
- Yes, sir!
Quon will guide you
to a site east of Hill 862,
where you're gonna deliver
this crate to Bravo Company.
- Is that clear?
- Yes, sir!
Divert south of the river,
divert south of the river.
Got three o'clock, three o'clock.
Rendezvous back at the drop site
at approximately 1900 hours.
Is that cl...
We're on, let's go!
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
You all right, John?
No, I'm scared as hell, man.
Man, look at me, look at me.
Everybody's scared.
I got your back.
And you got mine, okay?
- Okay. Okay.
- Okay.
We go.
There's a village in there. Go.
Damn!
Go! Go!
- Quon!
- What the hell are you doing?
He's been hit,
- I got to go help him!
- No!
We got to stay with the crate!
Please.
Stay put.
Quon.
You're gonna be all right.
John?
John?
John, where are you?
John!
John?
Monsters.
John.
John... John, it's me.
John, it's me.
It's Skinner!
== Resynced by MaxPayne ==.
Deputy Director Kersh?
I'm gonna ask you once
and only once:
Where is he?
Sir, of whom are we speaking?
Cut the crap, agents.
Have you ever wondered why,
after 35 years in the Bureau,
Walter Skinner isn't sitting
on this side of the desk?
Or even perhaps
running this whole damn agency,
for that matter?
Are you looking for Skinner?
Let me be unambiguous in the event
that there are any questions about this
in your conspiracyaddled minds:
Walter Skinner's stalled career
has everything to do
with his blind loyalty to the both of you
and your misguided search
for some imaginary truth.
Sir, what is this about?
Skinner's gone AWOL, Agent Mulder.
Without warning or explanation.
And frankly, I don't buy your naiveté,
not even for a moment.
He hasn't been the same
since the two of you returned
to the Bureau.
Sir, has anyone checked his apartment?
Could he have had some kind
of medical emergency?
The director's asking questions
about Skinner's activities
that I can't answer.
There's some implication that he
recently started poking around
in places he shouldn't be poking.
What sort of places?
I couldn't say.
But if you truly care
about his future in the FBI,
I suggest you bring him
back here while he still has
a future to return to.
What happened
to the old, reliable Skinner
we knew and loved?
Well, based on his dubious
behavior the past couple months,
it's safe to say the old Skinner
has left the building.
Mulder, do you think his disappearance
actually has to do with us?
Or something to do with William,
or that business with the...
Purlieu Services?
There's no way to tell
what Skinner's been up to
recently.
But I'll keep my eyes peeled
for cigarette butts.
Maybe he's out meeting
with an interior decorator.
I noticed this the last time
that we were here.
No personal items,
no mementos, no knickknacks.
No family photographs.
You know, it occurs to me, Mulder,
that even after all these years,
we know precious little
about Walter Sergei Skinner
beyond the professional.
It appears he may suffer from
moderatetosevere constipation.
I'm sorry to be a wimp, Mulder,
but this just feels wrong.
This feels like a real invasion
of his privacy.
Well, it's not like Skinner
to just disappear
without telling anyone.
You know, and as much as
I don't trust the guy right now,
if he's gotten himself
into a dangerous situation,
he's gonna forgive us
this little trespass.
Look at this, Mulder.
"Lance Corporal Walter Skinner,
3rd Battalion,
3rd Marines, United States Marine Corps."
Peculiar way to address it.
There's no, return address.
- Is that a...?
- Desiccated human ear.
There's a note.
"The monsters are here."
Monsters, Mulder.
Does that get your juices flowing?
As much as I appreciate any
reference to my juices, Scully,
my only concern here is for Skinner.
Now I'm worried about him.
Me, too.
Mud Lick Messenger.
Mud Lick?
Well, this is strange.
Based on the way
that package was addressed,
I requested some basic information
about Skinner and his platoon in Vietnam,
like, names of his fellow
Marines, et cetera,
and I've just received word
that I've been denied access
by the Bureau.
That the information
is classified top secret.
Well, the sheriff here in Mud Lick says
he's got a body in the morgue
minus an ear.
I have a hunch that
that victim turns out to be
one of Skinner's platoonmates
from that classified list.
You ain't gonna find no kitten.
What?
Ain't no kitten out there.
No. All right.
Dr. Matthew Wegweiser.
The victim's a medical doctor?
That's correct, ma'am.
Doc Wegweiser is...
was... our one and only town doctor.
He's a... terrific guy.
Beloved.
Went out for a hike
Thursday last, never to return.
Mrs. Wegweiser told us
he hiked the same route
several times a week.
We found him right there on the trail.
Got himself snared
in some kind of hunting trap.
A hunting trap? How do you
account for the severed ear?
Well...
- I can't, honestly.
- And the missing teeth?
Missing teeth?
Well, the autopsy says
that he was missing
several upper and lower molars
and, a couple of bicuspids.
But there's no evidence
of advanced tooth decay or periodontitis.
No evidence of manual extraction.
That mean something to you?
Well, it's funny, because I just happened
to have lost two teeth
in the past month, myself.
And my wife lost one yesterday.
We were puzzling over it at breakfast.
The autopsy also says that there were
wood splinters inside the wound.
This hunting trap,
did it have some kind
of a spear or stake element?
Yes, ma'am.
It was a primitive whip trap.
It's a bent piece of bamboo
held by a trip wire.
It's a sharpened spear
attached at the end.
It's a punji stick.
- Pardon?
- It's aa simple spear
made of wood or bamboo.
It was used in Vietnam
in any one of a number
of insidious traps or weapons.
Was Dr. Wegweiser here
by any chance a Vietnam vet?
I don't believe he was, no.
Are there any other Vietnam vets
in town that you know of?
Sure. Yeah,
there's an institution outside
of town called Glazebrook.
Lot of guys were sent up there
in the '70s after the war.
Lot of them stuck around
Mud Lick when they got out.
- I think we passed one on our way in.
- Yeah.
That's old Trigger Davis. He's harmless.
Trigger.
Is Glazebrook a mental hospital?
That's right, ma'am.
It's a governmentrun facility.
I'd like to see a list
of past and current patients, if I could.
Do you have access to that, sir?
Probably not.
They run a tight ship up there,
but I'll see what I can drum up.
Thank you, Sheriff.
Anything to dispel the craziness
everyone in town is buzzing about.
What kind of craziness is that?
People are swearing they seen
some kind of monster
out in the woods.
Pippet? Pippet?
Pippet.
What is it, girl?
What is it?
Tell 'em what you told me, Ed.
Well, Banjo called me up
and said he saw a damn monster
out here in his woods.
Could I come out with him
and take a look around?
We was having that look around
when he just straight disappeared.
Did you say Banjo?
Ozzy Krager.
Friends call him Banjo.
This is his property.
Did he describe this monster?
First he thought it was a bear.
Shh, shh, shh.
But then he saw big ole horns.
And it was walking on two feet.
Same as people in town was talking about.
Mr. Krager, I mean, Banjo...
wwas he a Vietnam vet?
Yeah, he was.
And this may seem like an odd question,
but was he missing any teeth?
Yeah, he was.
He'd just keep losing them
like he's an old man or something.
Well, I can't make much fun of him
'cause I been losing some, too.
What's this?
That's, that's one
of them deer cams.
Hunters use them for game surveillance.
They can send an alert to your
phone when they detect movement.
Can we review what's on it?
Should be able to see it on
a computer back at the station.
Is there something about that camera
that's troubling you, sir?
Banjo don't have no deer cams.
I mean, least none that I seen,
and I hunt with him, like, every week.
The camera is motionactivated,
so it shouldn't take terribly long
to find what we're looking for.
Geez.
There.
I don't believe it.
There's our killer.
Why do I get the distinct feeling
you two know who that man is?
That how it's gonna be?
I've been nothing but courteous to y'all,
and I don't appreciate
being played a fool.
Excuse me, I got to go tell my people
we found their monster.
Sheriff.
That man is our boss.
Assistant Director
Walter Skinner of the FBI.
Well, what in the hell was he doing
at my crime scene last night?
- That's what we're here to find out.
- So, you're telling me
you knew that man
was here in Mud Lick all along?
Walter Skinner didn't do this.
He's a good man. He's a smart man.
He's been at the FBI for over 30
years, and this murder's sloppy.
I mean, notnot that
he's capable of murder,
but if he was, he certainly
wouldn't get himself
caught on camera at a crime scene.
So, tell me, Agent Scully,
what's your good man
doing standing over a dead body
in the woods
in the middle of the night?
A body which he neglected to call in
to any law enforcement agency,
including his own?
Well, I know it looks bad, Sheriff,
but I assure you, he's not your man.
You can assure me all you want,
Agent Mulder.
I'll decide who my man is when
I get a chance to bring him in
and have a conversation with him.
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I got to go put out an APB
for this Walter Skinner.
What are you doing?
There's more on that tape, Scully.
I'm putting out an allpoints bulletin
for a Walter Skinner...
white male, glasses, last seen...
Hurry up. You're gonna get us
run out of town.
Suspect is presumed armed and dangerous.
What did we just see, Mulder?
We find that monster, we find Skinner.
Tell me you don't think that was
some real, actual monster we just saw.
Well, for once, Scully, we agree.
Monsters don't dig pits and set traps.
That was most certainly a man in a mask.
But I'm more concerned
about Skinner's state of mind right now.
Maybe Skinner's experiencing
a delayed form of PTSD
from his time in Vietnam.
It's, not without precedent.
And even the shock of receiving
that ear in the mail...
that's a pretty plausible trigger.
What?
You said trigger.
Trigger. Banjo.
Kitten?
I already told you.
Yeah, you said I wouldn't find Kitten.
But is, is Kitten a person?
Is that somebody's nickname?
I told the Eagle where to find
Kitten's kitten.
The Eagle.
Is the Eagle bald?
Hello?
Anybody here?
So I unload into this ditch, right?
And they're deader
than a bag of tent stakes...
the whole lot of them.
And I kneel down next to this little one.
Now, he's got to be no more
than ten, 12 years old,
and I'm about to add another
little adorable charm
to my necklace?
I take out my KaBar, I slice
that little monster's ear
off like a hunk of Wisconsin cheddar.
Man, Kitten...
But all of a sudden, he opens his eyes.
Screams like a banshee!
Takes off into the trees,
hollering the whole way!
You're bleeding, man.
Dang. That's the third one this week.
Hey, they got a tooth fairy in 'Nam?
Get down!
Speak of the devil.
What are you doing in my house?
John, is that you?
John.
I'm not John. I'm Davey.
Davey.
Well, you're John's son.
You're Walter Skinner.
That's right.
Father sure talks a lot about you.
Your father and I...
we went through a lot together.
Calls you baby killer.
Where is your father, Davey?
Father says it's your fault
the way our life turned out.
Because of your testimony
against him after the war,
Father spent 38 years in Glazebrook.
Until I got a letter from him last week,
I thought he was dead.
I spent years searching for him
after his trial, but they vanished him.
His records were sealed.
- Even from me.
- Who vanished him?
Same people responsible for turning him
from the good man he was
when I met him into...
Into what?
I only want to help him.
I'm sorry, I don't believe he
wants your help, Walter Skinner.
Father told me all the stories
about his time in Vietnam.
There were monsters in that jungle.
Because of his exposure to
an experimental weaponized gas.
He wasn't crazy like
you said at his courtmartial.
But no one believed him.
Not even Mother.
No one except me.
Listen to me, Davey,
I know what he saw out there.
I got a glimpse of it myself.
But it wasn't real.
It was the gas
using his own fear against him.
Your dad was exposed
to a lot more of it than I was.
And it changed him.
I watched it happen.
And yet you said nothing about that gas
at his trial.
Did you?
They'd let me visit him
sometimes up at Glazebrook.
I had to sign all manner
of nondisclosure documents.
Do you realize how painful it was for me
to see my father wasting away
at that sanitarium?
They kept him behind glass
the whole time.
I couldn't even touch him.
I couldn't touch my own father.
How could you let that happen
to your friend?
I was forbidden to speak about
the gas at his courtmartial.
I was following orders.
Doing what my superiors
commanded me to do.
I'm not saying it's right.
It's not.
And I have lived with the guilt
of that decision
every moment since.
I think about him every day.
But you got to understand,
your dad murdered innocent people.
And I know it was because of the
gas, I knew who he was before.
But the man it changed him into...
he was dangerous, Davey.
People are getting hurt again,
and we can stop it.
But you've got to believe
that I am here to help him.
I only want to make things right.
Please.
Take me to him, Davey.
Okay.
I'll take you to him.
His name is John "Kitten" James.
He is, or was, in fact, a
patient at Glazebrook Hospital,
but his military files,
like the other files
I've tried to access, are classified.
You think it's true, Scully,
what Kersh said?
What's that?
We're the sole reason Skinner's career
hasn't advanced in 30some years?
No, I hope not.
I'd like to believe that
his choice to stay loyal to us
- a choice.
- Yeah.
If there's one thing I know
about Walter Skinner is,
he's a man ruled by his
moral compass above all else.
There was a time I would have
agreed with that, unequivocally.
I realize that his conduct
has been strange,
but don't you think
that we should give him
the benefit of the doubt
after everything
we've been through with him?
I mean, especially in light
of what we now understand
he may have sacrificed for us.
Let's just hope we find him
before somebody else does.
Where we going, Davey?
It's not far now.
This is what they drove him to.
God. No, John, what have you done?
John.
Now who sees monsters?
Help me!
Is somebody out there?
Help!
Why?
No!
Can I help you?
Special Agent Mulder.
Special Agent Dana Scully.
Are you related to John James?
- I'm his son, Davey.
- We're looking for a man
who we have reason to believe
may be in the area
and may have served
with your father in Vietnam,
Walter Skinner?
I don't believe I've ever
heard that name before, no.
Is your father home?
No, I'm sorry. I...
I haven't a clue where he is.
I haven't seen him in weeks.
Is it okay if we come inside
for a brief moment?
We'd like to get some insight
on a few things.
By all means.
Right this way.
He... Help!
I never met
real live FBI agents before.
Please.
Father said there's two refuges
in life from sorrow.
Music and...
cats.
But I think cats are creepy.
Could I offer you some tea
oror something?
- No. No, I'm good.
- No, thank you.
Um...
Mr. James,
we understand that your father
was a patient at Glazebrook?
Yes...
That's right, for many years.
And when was he released?
He was released one month ago.
On what grounds?
Sorry?
Why was he released after he had
been confined for so many years?
They, determined
that he was no longer
a danger to himself or anyone else.
Not that he ever was.
Well, I...
I guess he was a threat to someone.
Is this your mother?
Mother died many years ago.
Father's incarceration
was very hard on her.
Do you mind if I ask how she died?
Yes.
Mr. James, a minute ago,
you said that your father
was a threat to someone.
What did you mean?
Father had secrets.
Secrets?
About the government.
Father was poisoned
by an experimental
weaponized gas in Vietnam.
Because of his exposure,
they continued to do tests on him
and other soldiers like him
for many years at Glazebrook.
What kind of tests?
Chemical, biological.
They were trying to learn
how to control human behavior.
Harnessing our fears
to manipulate us into violence.
Using this weaponized gas?
The gas in, the war was
still in the experimental stage.
And they still haven't perfected
it, but after years
of testing it and honing it,
- they are getting close.
- To what end?
Imagine the power of a government
that could literally control the minds
of millions and millions of its citizens.
To influence every choice
and decision they made
simply by exposing them to this poison.
You'll have to forgive me, Mr. James,
but this sounds like...
like a dystopian novel.
It's happening right now
in the United States of America.
Do you honestly believe that,
after 30 years of research
and development
and decades of experimenting on
American heroes like my father,
it would just be thrown in the trash,
never to be utilized?
Unlikely. The DoD and the CIA
have been working
on various incarnations
of mind control projects
since the '50s.
Project BLUEBIRD, MKUltra, MKDELTA.
Well, those programs
were supposedly ended
in the early 1980s.
- Supposedly.
- My father believed
he was part of the program MKNAOMI.
It was a, was a successor to MKUltra.
We don't know how they're using
this chemical now,
but we know for certain that they are.
Maybe they're poisoning our water?
Or the food supply?
Maybe they're putting it
in those chemtrails
behind all those commercial jets
that fly over our country
every single day?
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Mr. James.
You drive.
What's going on, Mulder?
Let's just get in the car and drive away.
Mulder, you want to tell me
what's going on?
He claims not to know
who Skinner is, but in that
photo album I was looking at,
there were all these photos
of his dad and Skinner,
like they were BFFs.
And did you check out that shiny
new SUV parked beside the cabin?
Yeah, that definitely wasn't his.
Skinner could be back there somewhere.
Then, why the hell are we driving away?
Let's pull over here.
Get somewhere you can get cell reception.
Call the sheriff, have him get
every available officer
- down here as soon as he can.
- What are you gonna do?
I'll try to do for Skinner
what I would hope he would do
for either of us.
Mulder.
Help!
Help!
Come on.
Damn it.
Somebody out there?
Hello?
Mulder?
Skinner.
Get me the hell out of here.
I'll boost you, I'll boost you, okay?
Davey.
Davey, please.
Let us out.
- Let's do this quickly. Come on.
- Okay.
Davey.
You don't have to do this.
Scully.
Where's Davey?
Go. Go!
Thank you.
Ambulance is on its way.
I would call Kersh
as soon as you get cell reception.
Something you want to share?
Kersh indicated to us that
we were responsible
for your lack of upward mobility
in the Bureau.
If it wasn't for you two,
I wouldn't be here right now.
I'm not talking about the fact
that you showed up here today.
I enlisted in the Marine Corps
the day that I turned 18.
I was a kid.
Full of callow selfconfidence and faith
and this...
this kind of uncorrupted belief that...
I was doing the right thing.
John James...
He didn't enlist. He, he was drafted.
And his whole life was completely upended
by a war that he really, truly
didn't even understand.
He was so afraid all the time.
I felt like I had to protect him.
But I didn't.
I couldn't.
That experience
in Vietnam with John, it...
it put a dent in that blind faith
that I had in my government.
It planted seeds ofof mistrust.
I tried for years to...
to suppress that mistrust,
but it gnawed at me.
Then you two...
You two came along and you taught me
not to hide from it, but to...
have the guts to shine a light
directly into the darkest corners.
And if given the choice
between advancing my career
by being blindly loyal to some
faceless puppeteers pulling
strings from the shadows
or to throw in with you two,
make no mistake about it,
I'd make the same decision
every single damn time.
So I'm gonna go back.
I'm gonna kiss the ring.
But I intend to do
right by this man.
And that means finding the truth
of what the hell it was
they used him for.
No matter the cost.
I owe him that.
I owe myself that.
Skinner.
We're with you.
Imagine the power
of a government
that could literally
control the minds
of millions and millions
of its citizens.
Simply by exposing
them to this poison.
It's happening.
It's happening right now.
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
blessed is the fruit of thy womb...
We're taking heavy fire.
We're gonna drop 'em off,
get back in the air ASAP.
For the next few hours,
this crate is all that matters.
You're gonna protect it
like your mama's inside of it.
- Is that clear?
- Yes, sir!
You do not drop it,
you do not scratch it,
you do not peek inside of it.
And for God's sakes,
you do not lose sight of it.
- Is that clear?
- Yes, sir!
Quon will guide you
to a site east of Hill 862,
where you're gonna deliver
this crate to Bravo Company.
- Is that clear?
- Yes, sir!
Divert south of the river,
divert south of the river.
Got three o'clock, three o'clock.
Rendezvous back at the drop site
at approximately 1900 hours.
Is that cl...
We're on, let's go!
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!
You all right, John?
No, I'm scared as hell, man.
Man, look at me, look at me.
Everybody's scared.
I got your back.
And you got mine, okay?
- Okay. Okay.
- Okay.
We go.
There's a village in there. Go.
Damn!
Go! Go!
- Quon!
- What the hell are you doing?
He's been hit,
- I got to go help him!
- No!
We got to stay with the crate!
Please.
Stay put.
Quon.
You're gonna be all right.
John?
John?
John, where are you?
John!
John?
Monsters.
John.
John... John, it's me.
John, it's me.
It's Skinner!
== Resynced by MaxPayne ==.
Deputy Director Kersh?
I'm gonna ask you once
and only once:
Where is he?
Sir, of whom are we speaking?
Cut the crap, agents.
Have you ever wondered why,
after 35 years in the Bureau,
Walter Skinner isn't sitting
on this side of the desk?
Or even perhaps
running this whole damn agency,
for that matter?
Are you looking for Skinner?
Let me be unambiguous in the event
that there are any questions about this
in your conspiracyaddled minds:
Walter Skinner's stalled career
has everything to do
with his blind loyalty to the both of you
and your misguided search
for some imaginary truth.
Sir, what is this about?
Skinner's gone AWOL, Agent Mulder.
Without warning or explanation.
And frankly, I don't buy your naiveté,
not even for a moment.
He hasn't been the same
since the two of you returned
to the Bureau.
Sir, has anyone checked his apartment?
Could he have had some kind
of medical emergency?
The director's asking questions
about Skinner's activities
that I can't answer.
There's some implication that he
recently started poking around
in places he shouldn't be poking.
What sort of places?
I couldn't say.
But if you truly care
about his future in the FBI,
I suggest you bring him
back here while he still has
a future to return to.
What happened
to the old, reliable Skinner
we knew and loved?
Well, based on his dubious
behavior the past couple months,
it's safe to say the old Skinner
has left the building.
Mulder, do you think his disappearance
actually has to do with us?
Or something to do with William,
or that business with the...
Purlieu Services?
There's no way to tell
what Skinner's been up to
recently.
But I'll keep my eyes peeled
for cigarette butts.
Maybe he's out meeting
with an interior decorator.
I noticed this the last time
that we were here.
No personal items,
no mementos, no knickknacks.
No family photographs.
You know, it occurs to me, Mulder,
that even after all these years,
we know precious little
about Walter Sergei Skinner
beyond the professional.
It appears he may suffer from
moderatetosevere constipation.
I'm sorry to be a wimp, Mulder,
but this just feels wrong.
This feels like a real invasion
of his privacy.
Well, it's not like Skinner
to just disappear
without telling anyone.
You know, and as much as
I don't trust the guy right now,
if he's gotten himself
into a dangerous situation,
he's gonna forgive us
this little trespass.
Look at this, Mulder.
"Lance Corporal Walter Skinner,
3rd Battalion,
3rd Marines, United States Marine Corps."
Peculiar way to address it.
There's no, return address.
- Is that a...?
- Desiccated human ear.
There's a note.
"The monsters are here."
Monsters, Mulder.
Does that get your juices flowing?
As much as I appreciate any
reference to my juices, Scully,
my only concern here is for Skinner.
Now I'm worried about him.
Me, too.
Mud Lick Messenger.
Mud Lick?
Well, this is strange.
Based on the way
that package was addressed,
I requested some basic information
about Skinner and his platoon in Vietnam,
like, names of his fellow
Marines, et cetera,
and I've just received word
that I've been denied access
by the Bureau.
That the information
is classified top secret.
Well, the sheriff here in Mud Lick says
he's got a body in the morgue
minus an ear.
I have a hunch that
that victim turns out to be
one of Skinner's platoonmates
from that classified list.
You ain't gonna find no kitten.
What?
Ain't no kitten out there.
No. All right.
Dr. Matthew Wegweiser.
The victim's a medical doctor?
That's correct, ma'am.
Doc Wegweiser is...
was... our one and only town doctor.
He's a... terrific guy.
Beloved.
Went out for a hike
Thursday last, never to return.
Mrs. Wegweiser told us
he hiked the same route
several times a week.
We found him right there on the trail.
Got himself snared
in some kind of hunting trap.
A hunting trap? How do you
account for the severed ear?
Well...
- I can't, honestly.
- And the missing teeth?
Missing teeth?
Well, the autopsy says
that he was missing
several upper and lower molars
and, a couple of bicuspids.
But there's no evidence
of advanced tooth decay or periodontitis.
No evidence of manual extraction.
That mean something to you?
Well, it's funny, because I just happened
to have lost two teeth
in the past month, myself.
And my wife lost one yesterday.
We were puzzling over it at breakfast.
The autopsy also says that there were
wood splinters inside the wound.
This hunting trap,
did it have some kind
of a spear or stake element?
Yes, ma'am.
It was a primitive whip trap.
It's a bent piece of bamboo
held by a trip wire.
It's a sharpened spear
attached at the end.
It's a punji stick.
- Pardon?
- It's aa simple spear
made of wood or bamboo.
It was used in Vietnam
in any one of a number
of insidious traps or weapons.
Was Dr. Wegweiser here
by any chance a Vietnam vet?
I don't believe he was, no.
Are there any other Vietnam vets
in town that you know of?
Sure. Yeah,
there's an institution outside
of town called Glazebrook.
Lot of guys were sent up there
in the '70s after the war.
Lot of them stuck around
Mud Lick when they got out.
- I think we passed one on our way in.
- Yeah.
That's old Trigger Davis. He's harmless.
Trigger.
Is Glazebrook a mental hospital?
That's right, ma'am.
It's a governmentrun facility.
I'd like to see a list
of past and current patients, if I could.
Do you have access to that, sir?
Probably not.
They run a tight ship up there,
but I'll see what I can drum up.
Thank you, Sheriff.
Anything to dispel the craziness
everyone in town is buzzing about.
What kind of craziness is that?
People are swearing they seen
some kind of monster
out in the woods.
Pippet? Pippet?
Pippet.
What is it, girl?
What is it?
Tell 'em what you told me, Ed.
Well, Banjo called me up
and said he saw a damn monster
out here in his woods.
Could I come out with him
and take a look around?
We was having that look around
when he just straight disappeared.
Did you say Banjo?
Ozzy Krager.
Friends call him Banjo.
This is his property.
Did he describe this monster?
First he thought it was a bear.
Shh, shh, shh.
But then he saw big ole horns.
And it was walking on two feet.
Same as people in town was talking about.
Mr. Krager, I mean, Banjo...
wwas he a Vietnam vet?
Yeah, he was.
And this may seem like an odd question,
but was he missing any teeth?
Yeah, he was.
He'd just keep losing them
like he's an old man or something.
Well, I can't make much fun of him
'cause I been losing some, too.
What's this?
That's, that's one
of them deer cams.
Hunters use them for game surveillance.
They can send an alert to your
phone when they detect movement.
Can we review what's on it?
Should be able to see it on
a computer back at the station.
Is there something about that camera
that's troubling you, sir?
Banjo don't have no deer cams.
I mean, least none that I seen,
and I hunt with him, like, every week.
The camera is motionactivated,
so it shouldn't take terribly long
to find what we're looking for.
Geez.
There.
I don't believe it.
There's our killer.
Why do I get the distinct feeling
you two know who that man is?
That how it's gonna be?
I've been nothing but courteous to y'all,
and I don't appreciate
being played a fool.
Excuse me, I got to go tell my people
we found their monster.
Sheriff.
That man is our boss.
Assistant Director
Walter Skinner of the FBI.
Well, what in the hell was he doing
at my crime scene last night?
- That's what we're here to find out.
- So, you're telling me
you knew that man
was here in Mud Lick all along?
Walter Skinner didn't do this.
He's a good man. He's a smart man.
He's been at the FBI for over 30
years, and this murder's sloppy.
I mean, notnot that
he's capable of murder,
but if he was, he certainly
wouldn't get himself
caught on camera at a crime scene.
So, tell me, Agent Scully,
what's your good man
doing standing over a dead body
in the woods
in the middle of the night?
A body which he neglected to call in
to any law enforcement agency,
including his own?
Well, I know it looks bad, Sheriff,
but I assure you, he's not your man.
You can assure me all you want,
Agent Mulder.
I'll decide who my man is when
I get a chance to bring him in
and have a conversation with him.
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I got to go put out an APB
for this Walter Skinner.
What are you doing?
There's more on that tape, Scully.
I'm putting out an allpoints bulletin
for a Walter Skinner...
white male, glasses, last seen...
Hurry up. You're gonna get us
run out of town.
Suspect is presumed armed and dangerous.
What did we just see, Mulder?
We find that monster, we find Skinner.
Tell me you don't think that was
some real, actual monster we just saw.
Well, for once, Scully, we agree.
Monsters don't dig pits and set traps.
That was most certainly a man in a mask.
But I'm more concerned
about Skinner's state of mind right now.
Maybe Skinner's experiencing
a delayed form of PTSD
from his time in Vietnam.
It's, not without precedent.
And even the shock of receiving
that ear in the mail...
that's a pretty plausible trigger.
What?
You said trigger.
Trigger. Banjo.
Kitten?
I already told you.
Yeah, you said I wouldn't find Kitten.
But is, is Kitten a person?
Is that somebody's nickname?
I told the Eagle where to find
Kitten's kitten.
The Eagle.
Is the Eagle bald?
Hello?
Anybody here?
So I unload into this ditch, right?
And they're deader
than a bag of tent stakes...
the whole lot of them.
And I kneel down next to this little one.
Now, he's got to be no more
than ten, 12 years old,
and I'm about to add another
little adorable charm
to my necklace?
I take out my KaBar, I slice
that little monster's ear
off like a hunk of Wisconsin cheddar.
Man, Kitten...
But all of a sudden, he opens his eyes.
Screams like a banshee!
Takes off into the trees,
hollering the whole way!
You're bleeding, man.
Dang. That's the third one this week.
Hey, they got a tooth fairy in 'Nam?
Get down!
Speak of the devil.
What are you doing in my house?
John, is that you?
John.
I'm not John. I'm Davey.
Davey.
Well, you're John's son.
You're Walter Skinner.
That's right.
Father sure talks a lot about you.
Your father and I...
we went through a lot together.
Calls you baby killer.
Where is your father, Davey?
Father says it's your fault
the way our life turned out.
Because of your testimony
against him after the war,
Father spent 38 years in Glazebrook.
Until I got a letter from him last week,
I thought he was dead.
I spent years searching for him
after his trial, but they vanished him.
His records were sealed.
- Even from me.
- Who vanished him?
Same people responsible for turning him
from the good man he was
when I met him into...
Into what?
I only want to help him.
I'm sorry, I don't believe he
wants your help, Walter Skinner.
Father told me all the stories
about his time in Vietnam.
There were monsters in that jungle.
Because of his exposure to
an experimental weaponized gas.
He wasn't crazy like
you said at his courtmartial.
But no one believed him.
Not even Mother.
No one except me.
Listen to me, Davey,
I know what he saw out there.
I got a glimpse of it myself.
But it wasn't real.
It was the gas
using his own fear against him.
Your dad was exposed
to a lot more of it than I was.
And it changed him.
I watched it happen.
And yet you said nothing about that gas
at his trial.
Did you?
They'd let me visit him
sometimes up at Glazebrook.
I had to sign all manner
of nondisclosure documents.
Do you realize how painful it was for me
to see my father wasting away
at that sanitarium?
They kept him behind glass
the whole time.
I couldn't even touch him.
I couldn't touch my own father.
How could you let that happen
to your friend?
I was forbidden to speak about
the gas at his courtmartial.
I was following orders.
Doing what my superiors
commanded me to do.
I'm not saying it's right.
It's not.
And I have lived with the guilt
of that decision
every moment since.
I think about him every day.
But you got to understand,
your dad murdered innocent people.
And I know it was because of the
gas, I knew who he was before.
But the man it changed him into...
he was dangerous, Davey.
People are getting hurt again,
and we can stop it.
But you've got to believe
that I am here to help him.
I only want to make things right.
Please.
Take me to him, Davey.
Okay.
I'll take you to him.
His name is John "Kitten" James.
He is, or was, in fact, a
patient at Glazebrook Hospital,
but his military files,
like the other files
I've tried to access, are classified.
You think it's true, Scully,
what Kersh said?
What's that?
We're the sole reason Skinner's career
hasn't advanced in 30some years?
No, I hope not.
I'd like to believe that
his choice to stay loyal to us
- a choice.
- Yeah.
If there's one thing I know
about Walter Skinner is,
he's a man ruled by his
moral compass above all else.
There was a time I would have
agreed with that, unequivocally.
I realize that his conduct
has been strange,
but don't you think
that we should give him
the benefit of the doubt
after everything
we've been through with him?
I mean, especially in light
of what we now understand
he may have sacrificed for us.
Let's just hope we find him
before somebody else does.
Where we going, Davey?
It's not far now.
This is what they drove him to.
God. No, John, what have you done?
John.
Now who sees monsters?
Help me!
Is somebody out there?
Help!
Why?
No!
Can I help you?
Special Agent Mulder.
Special Agent Dana Scully.
Are you related to John James?
- I'm his son, Davey.
- We're looking for a man
who we have reason to believe
may be in the area
and may have served
with your father in Vietnam,
Walter Skinner?
I don't believe I've ever
heard that name before, no.
Is your father home?
No, I'm sorry. I...
I haven't a clue where he is.
I haven't seen him in weeks.
Is it okay if we come inside
for a brief moment?
We'd like to get some insight
on a few things.
By all means.
Right this way.
He... Help!
I never met
real live FBI agents before.
Please.
Father said there's two refuges
in life from sorrow.
Music and...
cats.
But I think cats are creepy.
Could I offer you some tea
oror something?
- No. No, I'm good.
- No, thank you.
Um...
Mr. James,
we understand that your father
was a patient at Glazebrook?
Yes...
That's right, for many years.
And when was he released?
He was released one month ago.
On what grounds?
Sorry?
Why was he released after he had
been confined for so many years?
They, determined
that he was no longer
a danger to himself or anyone else.
Not that he ever was.
Well, I...
I guess he was a threat to someone.
Is this your mother?
Mother died many years ago.
Father's incarceration
was very hard on her.
Do you mind if I ask how she died?
Yes.
Mr. James, a minute ago,
you said that your father
was a threat to someone.
What did you mean?
Father had secrets.
Secrets?
About the government.
Father was poisoned
by an experimental
weaponized gas in Vietnam.
Because of his exposure,
they continued to do tests on him
and other soldiers like him
for many years at Glazebrook.
What kind of tests?
Chemical, biological.
They were trying to learn
how to control human behavior.
Harnessing our fears
to manipulate us into violence.
Using this weaponized gas?
The gas in, the war was
still in the experimental stage.
And they still haven't perfected
it, but after years
of testing it and honing it,
- they are getting close.
- To what end?
Imagine the power of a government
that could literally control the minds
of millions and millions of its citizens.
To influence every choice
and decision they made
simply by exposing them to this poison.
You'll have to forgive me, Mr. James,
but this sounds like...
like a dystopian novel.
It's happening right now
in the United States of America.
Do you honestly believe that,
after 30 years of research
and development
and decades of experimenting on
American heroes like my father,
it would just be thrown in the trash,
never to be utilized?
Unlikely. The DoD and the CIA
have been working
on various incarnations
of mind control projects
since the '50s.
Project BLUEBIRD, MKUltra, MKDELTA.
Well, those programs
were supposedly ended
in the early 1980s.
- Supposedly.
- My father believed
he was part of the program MKNAOMI.
It was a, was a successor to MKUltra.
We don't know how they're using
this chemical now,
but we know for certain that they are.
Maybe they're poisoning our water?
Or the food supply?
Maybe they're putting it
in those chemtrails
behind all those commercial jets
that fly over our country
every single day?
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Mr. James.
You drive.
What's going on, Mulder?
Let's just get in the car and drive away.
Mulder, you want to tell me
what's going on?
He claims not to know
who Skinner is, but in that
photo album I was looking at,
there were all these photos
of his dad and Skinner,
like they were BFFs.
And did you check out that shiny
new SUV parked beside the cabin?
Yeah, that definitely wasn't his.
Skinner could be back there somewhere.
Then, why the hell are we driving away?
Let's pull over here.
Get somewhere you can get cell reception.
Call the sheriff, have him get
every available officer
- down here as soon as he can.
- What are you gonna do?
I'll try to do for Skinner
what I would hope he would do
for either of us.
Mulder.
Help!
Help!
Come on.
Damn it.
Somebody out there?
Hello?
Mulder?
Skinner.
Get me the hell out of here.
I'll boost you, I'll boost you, okay?
Davey.
Davey, please.
Let us out.
- Let's do this quickly. Come on.
- Okay.
Davey.
You don't have to do this.
Scully.
Where's Davey?
Go. Go!
Thank you.
Ambulance is on its way.
I would call Kersh
as soon as you get cell reception.
Something you want to share?
Kersh indicated to us that
we were responsible
for your lack of upward mobility
in the Bureau.
If it wasn't for you two,
I wouldn't be here right now.
I'm not talking about the fact
that you showed up here today.
I enlisted in the Marine Corps
the day that I turned 18.
I was a kid.
Full of callow selfconfidence and faith
and this...
this kind of uncorrupted belief that...
I was doing the right thing.
John James...
He didn't enlist. He, he was drafted.
And his whole life was completely upended
by a war that he really, truly
didn't even understand.
He was so afraid all the time.
I felt like I had to protect him.
But I didn't.
I couldn't.
That experience
in Vietnam with John, it...
it put a dent in that blind faith
that I had in my government.
It planted seeds ofof mistrust.
I tried for years to...
to suppress that mistrust,
but it gnawed at me.
Then you two...
You two came along and you taught me
not to hide from it, but to...
have the guts to shine a light
directly into the darkest corners.
And if given the choice
between advancing my career
by being blindly loyal to some
faceless puppeteers pulling
strings from the shadows
or to throw in with you two,
make no mistake about it,
I'd make the same decision
every single damn time.
So I'm gonna go back.
I'm gonna kiss the ring.
But I intend to do
right by this man.
And that means finding the truth
of what the hell it was
they used him for.
No matter the cost.
I owe him that.
I owe myself that.
Skinner.
We're with you.
Imagine the power
of a government
that could literally
control the minds
of millions and millions
of its citizens.
Simply by exposing
them to this poison.
It's happening.
It's happening right now.