The X-Files (1993–…): Season 3, Episode 21 - Avatar - full transcript

This is it? I just...
sign this and it's done?

As soon as I file it
with the city clerk.

This pen...

she gave it to me.

It was an anniversary present.

I don't remember which one.

Walter...

they are expecting
the signed documents

by the end of business today,
which was ten minutes ago.

I know what time it is.

Then you should sign.



What are you
doing, Walter?

After 17 years,
they can wait another day.

Listen, no one
knows better than I

what an emotional
experience this is...

Don't lawyer me, Jane.

I'll do it tomorrow.

Why put yourself
through another day of this?

I said tomorrow.

Excuse me.

Are you holding
this for someone?

It's the only open seat.

Go ahead.

Good evening.

What can I get you?



Tonic water
with lime, please.

Sir, would you like another one?

Sure.

Thanks.

For what?

Ordering another drink?

There's a man behind me
wearing a red tie.

For some reason,

he felt compelled
to tell me

half his life story.

I was afraid
if you got up,

he might try to get
in the other half.

I guess some people think
that you owe them something

just 'cause you're out alone.

Does it ever bother you?

What?

Being alone.

Hey.

Okay.

Excuse me, sir.

Excuse me.
Thank you.

I'm looking for
Detective Waltos.

Who's asking?

My name is Mulder. I work with
Assistant Director Skinner.

I'd like to speak
with him.

You can see him
after he gives his statement.

We're going to finish up
at the station house.

Why don't you just
get a statement here?

It seems the assistant director

is suffering
from an minor memory lapse.

Yeah?

Mulder, it's me.
I just got your message.

You said Skinner called in
a homicide?

Yeah, it appears to be a little
more complicated than that.

It seems like he had
a front row seat.

I don't understand.

I don't understand it either.

They're not letting me
talk to him.

Hold on a second.

Excuse me, sir.

I appreciate your concern,
Agent Mulder,

but there's no need for you
to get involved in this.

Detective.
Detective.

Detective.

Can you at least tell me
what happened?

What does he say happened?

Well, he claims
he met the victim

in the bar downstairs.

After a couple of drinks, they
decide to get a room together,

which is all fine,
except when he wakes up,

he finds her lying next
to him with a broken neck.

That's all he says he remembers.

You don't believe him?

He refused to take
a polygraph test.

It's not helping
his credibility.

What about the victim?
Has she been identified?

Not yet. She had no purse,
nothing with her name on it.

Well, there must be evidence
of an intruder of some kind.

Uh, Agent Mulder, I've been
on the job for 18 years.

- I know the drill.
- Well, then if you know the drill,

then you should be canvassing
hotel employees, housekeeping...

I appreciate that he's
a colleague of yours,

but I want you to
understand something--

he's also a suspect.

Detective...

when you're done
questioning him,

I'd appreciate a call.

All right.

Did you get any of that?

Most of it.
Mulder, I'm on my way.

No, no. I want you
to take a look at that body.

Get down to the coroner's.
I'll meet you there.

The conspicuous absence
of any contusions or lacerations

would strongly suggest
that the victim's injuries

were sustained
without a struggle.

From my observations,

I would have to concur
with the county coroner's report

that her murder
was most probably

a sudden and violent act
in a vulnerable moment.

Beyond this, I found nothing
in my postmortem examination

to recommend further
investigation.

Beyond what?

Her spinal cord
was crushed, Mulder.

The cervical vertebrae
was fractured

in what appears
to be manual trauma.

Were Skinner's the only prints
lifted from the body?

So far.

They found no semen samples.

There was some irritation--

probably an allergic reaction
to latex.

At least they were having
safe sex.

Have they learned anything more?

Yeah. Her name
was Carina Sayles.

She was a legal secretary

for one of the criminal
defense firms here in town.

Have you talked to
anybody she worked with?

Yeah. I just got off the phone
with one of the partners.

She was fired a few weeks ago
over an indiscretion.

An indiscretion?

Yeah, she was
doing some moonlighting.

She was taking a little work
on the side

from one of the firm's clients.

What kind of work?

This client operated
an escort service.

She was a prostitute.

Okay, give me five minutes here.

I'll get the car.

Addendum.

Observed what appears to be
a residual

phosphorescence around
the victim's mouth and nose.

Note to have this analyzed.

Yes?

Lorraine Kelleher?

She's busy right now.

Is there something
I can help you with?

Busy or not, we need
to speak with her.

I'll tell her you're here.

Lorraine?

There's some people
from the FBI here to see you.

Business must be booming.

I think you mean "banging."

Whatever this is about,
can we do it later?

I'm running late
for an appointment.

We'd like to ask you
some questions

about an employee of
yours-- Carina Sayles.

She does work for
you, doesn't she?

I'm ten minutes late
for a meeting with her.

Oh, that's all right.

I don't think she's going to be
making that meeting.

Oh. Why not?

She's dead.

She was murdered
last night.

How?

That's what we're
still trying to determine.

I, um...

I don't know what to say.

Well, you can start
by telling us

if she was working
last night,

and if she was, who paid
for her company.

I'm afraid I can't do that.

I guess that would hurt
future book sales, huh?

You'd be surprised
who some of my clients are.

No, I don't think I would be.

I also doubt that
they'd want to get entangled

in a homicide investigation.

Look, we just need
one name from you.

Who hired Carina Sayles?

Let's just say you both work
for the government,

and so do I.

Cut the crap.

Who hired her?

She called me last night.

She said that she'd met someone
in a bar who was interested

in a transaction.

I took his credit card.

Then you have his name.

Walter Skinner.

Thank you.

What the hell
was he thinking?

It just
doesn't seem like him.

You think he'd be
a little more discreet.

I think the lack
of discretion

is the least of his sins.

Still not enough to prove
anything conclusively.

No, but that doesn't mean that
we can discount the evidence.

You really believe
Skinner did this?

Look, Mulder, I feel the same
way about Skinner as you do,

but we were just shown
a dated record

with Skinner's
credit card number on it.

Credit card fraud
happens every day.

Skinner was in bed
with a prostitute

at the time
of her death,

and he's offered
us no explanation

or alibi.

Truth is, we don't know
very much about him.

We don't know

what he does off duty,
who he really is.

We know that he's put
his ass on the line for us

a number of times.

We owe it to him to find out
what really happened.

Even if it means
proving his guilt?

Yeah. Mulder.

Thank you.

- Who was that?
- Detective Waltos.

Skinner's been released
on his own recognizance.

Sir, sir.

This doesn't concern
either of you.

Of course it concerns us.

Why won't you tell us

what happened
last night, sir?

Read the police report
if you're really that curious.

Does it explain why you refuse
to take a polygraph test?

Or why there's a
prostitute in the morgue

with your fingerprints
all over her?

You didn't know
she was a prostitute, did you?

What are you doing, you jerk?!

Walter.

I just heard what happened.
I was coming to see you.

Walter!

Do you know him?

I used to think so.

I'm Sharon Skinner.

I'm his wife.

We were just a little
caught off guard.

Neither of us even knew
that he was married.

He never told us.

Well, one of the
things Walter has

always been good at
is keeping secrets.

But the truth is, we
haven't been together

for almost eight months.

Has he always been
such a private person?

It's more than that.

He lives under this
misguided notion

that silence is strength.

He's built a wall
to keep everyone out.

Including you?

Yeah, especially me.

Is that why you were separated?

Yeah, I just realized
one day that...

we were no longer married.

We had become roommates instead.

We were paying the bills,
taking out the garbage,

and I couldn't live
like that anymore.

Excuse me.

Scully.

You were one of
the few people

that Walter ever
mentioned from work.

Not that he said much,

but from the way he talked,
I could tell he respected you.

That's probably why
I feel that I can ask you.

Ask me what?

If Walter really
killed that woman.

Sorry. Mulder, we've got to go.

You've got our numbers
if you need to reach us.

You still haven't
answered my question.

No.

I don't think he did it.

What's going on here?

Agents Mulder
and Scully?

- Yeah.
- That's right.

I'm Special Agent
Bonnecaze.

I've been called up from
the Norfolk field office

to coordinate this inquiry.

Well, I don't know
what you do down in Norfolk,

but last time I checked,
rifling through a man's office

was considered
an invasion of privacy.

Well, we're operating
under guidelines

specified by the Office
of Professional Conduct.

A protocol, I understand,
you've opted to disregard.

What do you mean?

I want both of you
to make yourselves available

tomorrow afternoon.

Available for what?

A formal hearing

regarding A.D. Skinner's case.

What case?

He hasn't even been charged yet.

The hearing is to assess
and determine his ability

to continue in his position
as assistant director.

In the meantime, we'll be
appointing our own investigators

to pursue any
criminal case.

And I must ask you to stop
looking into this any further.

Oh, what, in case
we turn up any evidence

that might support
his innocence?

Any evidence you may have
obtained, Agent Mulder,

you'll be presenting tomorrow
afternoon at the hearing.

Skinner's not answering
his phone.

He's doing everything
he shouldn't be doing.

Yeah, why?
He knows better than that.

The evidence is still
circumstantial at best.

He's behaving like
a guilty man, Mulder.

The man's marriage
is breaking up.

He's stressed out,
you know, he's...

It's his irrational behavior
that concerns me.

It speaks to his state of mind.

If-if an otherwise stable man

is compelled to go out
and hire a prostitute,

what else is
he capable of?

Please, give him
the benefit of the doubt.

I am, Mulder, believe me.

I'm not trying
to convince myself.

When I mentioned
that hooker to him,

he didn't even seem to know.

Well, maybe he doesn't remember.

What do you mean? Either
he remembers or he's a liar.

Not necessarily.

This man's
running away from a train.

No! No!

He sees it coming
straight at him.

He hears its whistle.

Several times a month
he ran away from that train,

until one night
he broke his wife's arm

when he threw her
to the floor.

Night terrors?

No. Night terrors
and sleepwalking occur

during slow-wave,
non-dream sleep.

The clinical term for this is
REM sleep behavior disorder.

Although rare,
dozens of cases

of sleep-related violence
have been attributed to it.

That's fascinating, but what
does it have to do with Skinner?

This videotape came from the
Bethesda Sleep Disorder Center,

where Skinner has been
receiving treatment

for the past three months.

For running
away from trains?

The same disorder,
different dreams.

According to
Skinner's psychiatrist,

he's been experiencing
a recurring dream

in which he's confronted
by an old woman.

She speaks to him, but he
doesn't understand a word.

Sometimes she-she straddles
his chest, suffocating him.

So you think that Skinner

may have killed the
victim in his sleep.

Defending himself against
this imaginary old woman.

A lot of these patients

have no recollection of
their nocturnal activities,

which might explain
Skinner's amnesia.

And it's not such
a strange story.

It isn't?

It's ancient, actually.

You may have heard it,

although not
in such clinical terms.

In the Middle Ages,
a visitation

like the one
Skinner described

would have been
attributed to a succubus.

It's a spirit
that visits men in the night,

usually in the form
of an old woman.

Visits them for sex?

Usually, though sometimes
the succubus

becomes so attached
to the man that she would kill

any woman competing
for his affection. Here.

What's that?

Reports of residual
and luminous phenomena

have been associated with
some succubus encounters,

at least according
to the mythology. Why?

I feel kind of
strange saying this,

but I found something
during my postmortem exam

that I think you should see.

There was a circular patch

around the victim's
mouth and nose

approximately 11 centimeters
in diameter.

It retained light energy
and glowed in the dark.

I know what I saw, Mulder.

It was here.

This phosphorescence
required no U.V.

or infrared light?

No. It was definitely
visible to the naked eye.

Did you get a sample?

Yeah. I sent one
over to chem-tox.

And?

Well, my first hunch
was that it was

some kind of
a fungal growth,

but the only substance
that they detected

was amylase, which
is found in saliva.

So I had them send over a sample
to the elemental analysis unit.

The results should be back...

Yes, this is
Agent Dana Scully.

I'm calling to find
out the lab results on

a tissue sample that I sent in
earlier this morning.

Thank you.

What'd they say?

That there was
no analyzable substance

in the sample container.

Are you sure you saw something?

Mulder, I'm afraid this
isn't exactly something

that I'd make up.

Maybe that's it.

Maybe that's why
Skinner's running.

'Cause he's afraid.

That he did it?

That he doesn't know
he didn't do it.

Hi.

You didn't answer your phone.
It just kept ringing.

Yeah. I unplugged it.

I haven't been sleeping
too well lately.

So are you going
to invite me in,

or should I start
building an ark?

Come in.

You still haven't gotten
around to unpacking.

Yeah, well, you know... work.

So what are you
doing here, Sharon?

I'm not sure.

After I saw you today,
I didn't know what else to do.

If you're trying to satisfy
some morbid curiosity

about what happened...

That's not why I came.

I just... I just want
to make sure you're okay.

I'm okay.

Except right now,

company's about the last thing
that I need.

I'm not company.
I'm your wife.

Ex-wife. Remember, you're the
one who asked for the divorce.

Only because you didn't have the
guts to ask for one yourself,

so don't put it on me.

Fair enough.

So what else do
you want me to say?

Nothing.

I don't want you
to say anything.

I just want you to let me in.

Just this one time.

Why?

Because I know you.

I know that you're scared

and that you could
use some comfort.

I also know that you'll never
let me give it to you.

Just take care
of yourself, okay?

What's this about?

You want to grab your
coat and come with us?

We'd like to ask you
a few questions.

Why? What the hell's
going on here?

It's your wife-- she's
been in an accident.

Is she all right?

Someone ran her
off the road.

You're going to have
to come with us.

Oh, God.

We'll also need to see
the keys to your car, sir.

How is she?

The CT scan showed
a subdural hematoma.

She's in surgery right now

to relieve pressure
on her brain.

Scully's trying to get
more information.

I have to see her.

You can't do that, sir.

Why not? They said I
wasn't being charged.

Not yet, but they're building
a pretty convincing case.

You think I did
this to Sharon?

No, I don't,
but I'm in the minority.

What about Agent Scully?

Scully...

Scully doesn't understand

why you're not trying
to defend yourself.

Defend myself against what?!

Don't you think
if I knew

what was happening to me
that I would try to...

I don't know what
to believe anymore.

What about the old woman
in your dream?

Who is she?

It's going to come out.

Look, if you don't start
trusting someone,

you don't stand a chance.

A few months ago, I started...

seeing her again.

"Again"?

I told you once what...

what happened to me in Vietnam.

I was caught in an ambush.

Yeah. You were
the sole survivor.

You also described
what sounded like

a near-death experience.

There was nothing "near"
about it, Agent Mulder.

I was a dead man.

That's when you first saw her?

I saw lots of things over there.

I didn't give much credence
to any of them.

And why not?

I got through that experience
like most 18-year-olds--

by numbing myself
with whatever was around.

I was no choirboy.

I... I inhaled.

So you just dismissed her
as another hallucination?

I tried.

But you couldn't?

She was there with me...

watching me...

as I was watching
myself dying,

my blood spilling
from a hundred different places.

Until she lifted me up
and carried me back...

away from the light.

Well, maybe she was
trying to protect you.

Maybe she's trying
to protect you now.

Protect me from what?

That's a question
only you can answer.

I don't know.

I don't have a clue.

Number five.

This is Skinner's car?

According to Waltos's report,
the hood was still warm

when they got to Skinner's
apartment, even with the rain.

Look at the left
front panel.

They matched the
paint in the dent

to Sharon Skinner's car.

Waltos's people finish
going over the interior?

Only prints they found on the
steering wheel were Skinner's.

Can I borrow your flashlight?

Sure. Why?

I don't know what you're
expecting to find, Mulder,

but, uh, Skinner's hearing
is in half an hour.

I'll meet you there.

What are you doing?

Collecting evidence.

You know
how an air bag works?

Your car hits something,

a bag fills with air,
you don't die.

Not air. Nitrogen.

Now, the latent image,
the one we're interested in,

is found in the byproduct
of that explosion,

in the finely-dispersed
sodium metal

that coats the interior
of the air bag.

See this pattern here?

It's created by whoever

was behind the wheel
when the air bag deployed.

Doesn't look like a face.

Not yet. First I'm
scanning the pattern.

Then I'm running it through
software which translates

its varying densities into
a dimensionalized likeness.

After that,

it's a matter
of fine-tuning.

Well, how long
does that fine-tuning take?

You need this in a hurry
it sounds like.

I'm not the only one
who needs it.

We're still
waiting for Agent Mulder?

Yes, sir.

We're finished waiting.

I'm going to begin without him.

Have a seat.

Let's go over
the physical evidence again.

You say you found
nothing damning?

No, sir. None of the physical
evidence we recovered

directly connects the assistant
director to her death.

You reexamined
the victim's body.

Did you find
anything of note?

I took a sample of
an extraneous substance

that turned out to be
unidentifiable.

How's that?

A naturally occurring enzyme

around her mouth and nose.

And do you have any idea
why it was there?

No.

If you are withholding something
from this committee...

Sir, I feel reluctant to say,
or to speak for Agent Mulder.

To say what?

Agent Mulder had a theory
that the substance

could have come
from a visitation.

But you have
another explanation.

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

Do you believe in paranormal
phenomena, Agent Scully?

Whatever extreme cases
I have encountered,

I have always viewed
through the lens of science.

I believe that is why
I was assigned to the X Files

and to Agent Mulder.

And has A.D. Skinner

always been as
discriminating as you?

Excuse me, sir? I don't
understand the question.

Would you say that, like
yourself, your direct superior

has been affected by

or enchanted by
Agent Mulder's notions?

No, sir. Not at all.

And yet he continues to sign off
on whatever extreme cases

you and Agent Mulder
elect to investigate.

I believe the assistant director
has protected us

out of a respect for the work.

Just as you might protect him?

By trumping up
unidentifiable evidence?

No, that is not true.

Thank you, Agent Scully.
That will be all.

Sir, if I may...

That will be all.

I'm not finished.

Yes, you are, Agent Scully.

Hello?

Mulder...

Hello.

You missed it.

Not that anything you said
would have made a difference.

What happened?
Where's Skinner?

Out of a job.

They dismissed him?

He would've had a better chance
against a firing squad.

They used us to do
it, didn't they?

- They used the X Files.
- How'd you know?

'Cause I think Skinner's
been outmaneuvered, Scully.

They found a weakness,
and they're exploiting it.

- But why?
- To put us in check.

You remove Skinner,
and you weaken us.

What am I looking at?

This is man that stole
Skinner's car last night

and tried
to kill his wife.

But I don't understand.

Why would they orchestrate such

an elaborate scheme
just to set him up?

Why not just kill him?

They already tried that once,

and a second attempt
would be too obvious,

even for these thugs.

Anyway, I think
Skinner's probably worth

more to them alive in disgrace
than dead and buried.

- Who is this guy?
- I don't know.

Danny couldn't find
anything on him.

He's still running it.

So how are
we supposed to find him?

Well, this guy
is a pawn.

Pawns always make
the first move.

So he must've hired
the prostitute.

What happened here?

Jumper. Happens whenever
it rains two days straight.

He got to her first.

Mulder, look.

Usually there'd be
something set up in the room,

to get pictures,
tape, whatever.

Judy, we need you
to identify somebody.

Is this the man
who hired Carina?

He said that nobody
would get hurt.

He lied.

Skinner's not the only
person he set up.

Are you saying he killed Carina?

And Lorraine.
He's cleaning house.

We need you
to arrange a meeting.

Well, I can't.

I mean, Lorraine's the only one
who ever really talked to him.

Unfortunately, Lorraine can't
get to the phone right now.

Please don't make me do this.

Look what he did
to your friends.

We're your only chance
of coming out of this okay.

Agent Mulder's right.

I'll stay with you if you want
until we take him into custody.

I want you
to call him.

Tell him you're scared
because we questioned you.

Tell him you want money
to get out of town.

You'll meet him at
the Ambassador Hotel bar.

Okay?

Hello?

Hi.

This is Judy Fairly.

You might not
remember me,

but I work for Lorraine.

One moment, please.

Yes?

Some FBI agents came to see me

about what happened to Lorraine.

What did you tell them?

Nothing.

I didn't say anything.

But they scared
the hell out of me.

Look...

I need some money.

That can be arranged.

Can you meet me?

Where would you like to meet?

The Ambassador Hotel at...

In an hour?

I'm close.

I'll see you in an hour.

I had to tell you, Sharon,
before anything else happens,

I'm not signing
those papers.

For a lot of reasons.

Most of them, I'm just...

realizing myself
for the first time.

Some of the things
I've seen...

...the violence and the lies

that I've witnessed men
inflict on one another,

I can never tell you that.

Not that I ever stopped
believing in the work,

but there were
contradictions that I...

that I couldn't reconcile,

which meant shutting down part
of myself just to do my job.

I never told you
what I should have told you.

That what really
got me through each day

was knowing that I'd be sleeping
next to you that night.

Knowing that I had a reason
to wake up in the morning.

I'm not sure if you can
even hear me now...

...or if it even makes
a difference to you anymore.

But I at least
wanted you to know that.

Sharon?

Somebody...

Listen to me.

Did you get him?

No, he hasn't shown up yet.

He should have been here
15 minutes ago.

What's going on?

Nothing.

Great.

Maybe it's the rain.

This guy isn't about to let
a little rain stop him.

Mulder, hang on a second.

Judy?

Scully, what's going on?

Mulder, get up here right now.

He's upstairs.

Judy?

What the hell are you doing?

I'm sorry.

I called,
but you didn't answer.

What's the matter?

Are you okay?

Mm-hmm.

Sir?

Come in.

This is our report.

You'll see, though,

that several questions
remain unanswered.

The identity
of the man I shot?

We ran his face
and fingerprints

through every
available database.

There are still no matches.

And we're doing
a dental record search,

but that will probably
be a dead end, too.

And regarding
the other man,

the telephone number that we had
for him has been disconnected,

and there's
no record of an account.

Don't waste your time,
Agent Scully.

You won't find him.

Just get whatever
forensic evidence you need

off the body you have
and bury it.

Is there a problem,
Agent Mulder?

Yeah, there's something else
you'll find missing in there.

An explanation
for how you knew

to be at the hotel
last night.

I was hoping you could fill in
that line item yourself.

I'm afraid I can't do that,

at least
not at this point in time.

Why not?

Because whatever I believe
may have happened...

it has no place
on an official report.

Then why don't you
just tell me.

Off the record.

If you'll excuse me,
I have some catching up to do.

The OPC did a number

on my office.

But I want to thank you for
the quick turnaround on this.

I made this!