The X-Files (1993–…): Season 5, Episode 19 - Folie a Deux - full transcript

- Hello? - Hello. May I speak to Mr Zachary Losa?
It‘s Liosa, no! Losa. Speaking.
Hello Mr Liosa. I'm calling on behalf of the Vinleight Corporation,
which would like to put a crisp $100 bill into your hand by five o'clock tomorrow evening.
Listen, I'm really not interested at this time.
Yes, $100. All for allowing us the privilege of introducing you to Vinleight siding,
the siding that never needs painting or maintenance
I’m really not interested.
Manufactured in America from space-age polymers,
it beautifies while it protects while it adds to the value of your home.
Look, I said I'm not interested. I have to go now. I have to go. Sorry.
Yo, Gary!
Dial and smile, Gary.
See, if you're not smiling, they can hear it.
"If you're not smiling, they can hear it." Jerk.
Yes. I'm calling on behalf of the Vinleight Corporation.
We would like to put a crisp $100 bill into your hands...
Hello?
- M... Mrs Edith Loach? - Yep. That's me.
I'm calling on behalf of the Vinleight Corporation,
which would like to put a crisp $100 bill into your hand by five o'clock tomorrow evening.
You want to give me $100? Why?
Hello?
Did I win something?
Yes, $100. All for allowing us the privilege of introducing you to Vinleight siding,
the siding that never needs painting or maintenance.
Manufactured in America from...
Hello?
Manufactured in America from space-age polymers,
it beautifies while it protects while it... while it..,
Hello? Hello?
Mrs Loach...
Listen very carefully.
It's here.
Sir, Agents Mulder and Scully are here.
Send them in.
- Sir. - Agents, have a seat.
I need you to go to Chicago as soon as possible. To perform a threat assessment.
- For whom? - Vinleight. They make siding.
Their telemarketing hub in Oak Brook was the focus of an anonymous taped manifesto.
One which threatened violence.
Several years back, they had an incident in another office.
A disgruntled employee with a gun. They feel they can't be too careful.
Why can't the Chicago field office take care of it?
Because I'd prefer you did.
Because the manifesto contains bizarre overtones?
Claims of a... paranormal nature?
It speaks of a monster stalking employees.
Your insight into such claims should aid in assessing any threat posed by this person.
Monsters. I'm your boy.
- Must've done something to piss him off. - What do you mean?
To get stuck with this jerk-off assignment.
Or have I reached that magic point in my career
where every time somebody sees the Virgin Mary on a tortilla
I get called out of my basement warren to offer my special insight on the matter?
You're saying "I" a lot. I heard "we".
Nor do I assume that this case is a waste of our time.
Not yours, anyway. There's no reason both of us should go to Chicago.
- Mulder! - I'm monster boy, right?
This was forwarded to us by a local radio station.
Whoever sent it wanted them to play it over and over again, 24 hours a day.
They elected not to.
Attention, people of Illinois.
This is a warning of the utmost urgency.
At Vinleight, 12340 Wabash Terrace in Oak Brook, there is a monster.
An evil one that preys on the people there.
But they can‘t see it because it hides in the light. I see it.
I know where to look. I can‘t be the only one.
We all must hunt it down and kill it.
Because if we don't...
it will take us all.
- Do you recognize the voice? - We have 96 employees.
I'm hoping it's not one of our people. Though I don't know who else it would be.
Your company had a violent incident in its recent history.
We have a plant in Kansas City. Back in '94,
one of the warehouse guys came in with a gun, threatened everybody.
I think it was over a woman.
- May I borrow the tape? - Keep it.
I know our home office has to call you guys for insurance reasons, but, uh,
this is probably just a crank, some guy making a joke?
It's best to err on the side of caution. Can you hire security?
If you think we need to. I'm conducting an internal investigation,
interviewing employees, seeing if they're happy.
Use your best judgment. I'll be in touch.
- ScuIIy. - It's me. I need you to check on something.
- What? - It's a phrase. "Hiding in the light."
- It's on this tape I'm looking into. - On the case that's a waste of time?
Yes, and I didn't say that it wasn't.
"To hide in the light" or "Hiding in the light."
I think it's in an old case file somewhere that I got hidden away.
Which one? There's hundreds.
I'm not sure, but I appreciate it.
"Hiding in the light."
Nancy Aaronson, come to my office, please.
Uh-oh. Now I did it.
- Nancy! - Yeah?
Nancy Aaronson, come to my office, please.
What, Gary?
Don't!
Don't what?
Gary, I love you, buddy. But you're really, really weird.
Dial and smile, Gary.
Mark Backus, come to my office, please.
Mark Backus, come to my office, please.
See?
Nothin' to it.
He just wants to say hi to everybody.
He's going alphabetically.
Hey, Gary! Gary Lambert!
..Wabash Terrace in Oak Brook, there is a monster.
An evil one that preys on the people there.
But they can‘t see it because it hides in the light.
I see it. I know where to look.
I can‘t be the only one.
..urgency.
At Vinleight, 12340 Wabash Terrace in Oak Brook, there is a monster.
An evil one that preys on the people there.
But they can‘t see it because it hides in the light. I see it.
I know where to look. I can‘t be the only one.
We all must hunt it down and kill it.
Because if we don't... it will take us all.
Mulder.
"Hiding in the light." That was a phrase spoken by one Jerrold Resnick
to a Lakeland, Florida police investigator on August 9th, 1992.
- What was he describing? - Mr Resnick was a deacon of his church.
Apparently he was concerned that there was an evil presence
amongst his fellow parishioners, and that he alone was aware of that.
- He was trying to warn them? - Not as such.
He showed up for Mass one Sunday with four handguns.
He began wounding people saying the afflicted ones wouldn't bleed.
He committed suicide a week later in his cell.
At the risk of you telling me "I told you so", I think it's time for you to get down here.
I told you so.
Hello? Hello?
Who are you?
- Who's the agent in charge? - Agent Rice. Tall guy in the suit.
I'm Mulder's partner. What can you tell me?
That man's voice told them to broadcast a "stunning revelation".
Since then we keep ringing, but nobody answers.
- Who's inside? - We can't be sure of the total.
It happened over lunch hour, so it could've been worse. The lot's got 18 cars.
One of them's registered to Agent Mulder.
We're about to try him on his cellphone.
Not until we get a clear idea of the situation.
There's a cafeteria. We think he's got everyone there.
He couldn't have picked a better spot: one door, no windows.
We won't get a clear idea of the situation unless someone talks.
If you make a phone call right now, it could compromise Agent Mulder.
Sir, we need to find another way.
Move!
Now, get down. Down.
Everybody stop crying!
Just shut up!
Everybody needs to be afraid of him!
He's the one that's out to get you. I'm protecting you!
- Gary, what are you talking about? - Shut up!
I'm not addressing you.
I'm addressing the actual people over here, OK?!
I'm not talking to you, or you, or you!
Why should we be afraid of Mr Pincus, Gary?
I'd really like to hear what you have to say.
- Who are you, anyway? - My name is Mulder.
You said that already. What are you doing here?
- Applying for a job. - Oh, man!
- Did you come to the wrong place! - I get that.
- Why should we be afraid of Mr Pincus? - Because he's a monster,
Only you can't see that... because he's clouded all your minds.
But he means to take us all. One by one.
Harvest our souls.
Make us into his zombies.
Robots made out of meat.
Good God almighty!
Gary, I wanna believe that you're protecting us, but, uh, I'm kind of afraid of that rifle.
It makes it hard for us actual people to concentrate on what you're saying.
Why are you talking to me like I'm a three-year-old?
Don't act like you understand what I'm talking about, because you don't.
But you will.
Shh!
Everybody hold their breath.
You sons of bitches.
Gary, what are you doing?
Gary!
Shots fired. I say again, shots fired.
- Hold your fire! What's goin' on? - He made us. He's shooting the ceiling.
We gotta find out what the hell's goin' on. I'm calling your partner.
No! If it was safe, he would have called us.
Agent Scully, we don't have a lot of options here.
- It's just my cellphone. Let me get it. - Put your hands behind your head.
FBI?
You happy now?
Huh? You wanna mess with me some more?
Hello? Hello? Is anybody on the line?
- We heard gunfire. Is everyone all right? - I just shot a zombie.
- Everybody thinks I killed him but I didn't! - Who am I speaking to?
The guy that's gonna start killing actual people if you don't put me on the damn TV!
- I think he just shot a hostage. - Who?
He's still asking for his 15 minutes of fame.
Give it to him.
Get it outta sight.
You wanna know why it jumped at me?
It's not an "it", Gary. It's a "he". It's a man you just killed.
- What was his name? - Mark Backus.
Wrong! It stopped being Mark Backus when he turned it into a zombie.
And then he instructed it by means of mental telepathy to attack me.
And so I shot it!
I had no choice.
But it doesn't matter because it was already dead.
He wants us all like that.
Insects, not people.
Mindless drones!
He wants to take away who we are.
To control us... so we'll be his eyes and ears,
and spy on each other and help him do his dirty work!
Gary.
If I'm the monster... what do you need these people for?
Why don't you just let 'em all go?
You just wait till I put you on TV.
Then they'll see what you are.
Answer the phone, Gary.
- Dial and smile. - OK. We’re sending you the cameraman.
- Just stay calm. - Finally.
Let's do it.
That is exactly what we're hearing.
All you people put your butts against the door.
Hurry up. Go!
You, get over by the counter. Move it!
You see who's getting hurt if you bust down this door?
So far there's been very little communication
between the police and the people inside...
- Is he getting this? - Closed-Circuit's bouncing it right back.
- He thinks he's gonna be a star. - All right, show us the room.
- What are you doing? - My battery cable’s twisted.
Well, untwist it! And hurry the hell up!
There. Right there. The exterior wall's clear.
Entry team into position.
All right, men. Move in! Move in!
Lie down on the floor. Do it!
All right, put me on.
- OK, we're gonna cut inside. - ..building. Yes, here it is. Here we go.
People of America, a monster walks among you.
Go. Pan over.
Get up.
- Now I'll show it to you. - No, Gary!
- Get out of the way. - Don't do this.
- Get out of the way!
- Don't do this, Gary.
- Get outta the way! - Put down the rifle.
Get outta the way now!
There!
Look at it!
Look at it!
See it?
Let's see your hands! Clear!
Now you know.
Bag and tag him.
- You look exhausted. - No, I'm fine.
Agent Rice has the situation in hand. Let's get you outta here.
Mulder?
I can't begin to thank you. I owe you my life. We all do.
Do you have any idea why he fixated on you the way he did?
No. None at all. I feel like I barely even knew the man.
I mean, I try to be a good guy to work for.
You mentioned another incident with another employee
at a plant in Kansas City in 1994.
- Yes. - Were you at that plant at that time?
Well, I wasn't there when it happened, but yeah. Didn't I mention that?
What about Lakeland, Florida? Have you ever lived there?
I've been there. I have relatives there.
Is there anything else?
No, Mr Pincus. Thank you very much for your patience.
What's going on?
I don't know.
- Mulder, why didn't you take the day off? - Close the door.
There was a reason "hiding in the light" seemed so familiar.
I found it, or variations of it, in five other X-Files.
"Hiding in plain view", "hiding in the open", "lurking in the open",
all to describe some sort of manifestation of evil
which goes unnoticed by everyone except the claimant in each case.
- Have you slept? - Seven cities in all, dating back ten years.
Vinleight has offices within fifty miles of four of those.
Greg Pincus has worked for Vinleight for guess for how long? Ten years.
And what exactly is it you think you have here?
- What if Gary Lambert was right? - Mulder, you're not serious?
Bear with me. What if such a creature existed
that camouflaged itself by clouding the minds of its victims?
There are antecedents in the insect world. Mantids are said to hypnotize their prey.
No.
What if it could induce a visual hallucination,
a sort of temporary conversion disorder?
Well, what you're describing would be more like some kind of a visual agnosia.
An inability to recognize what's before one's eyes.
Only Gary could see through it. As could the others.
Maybe because of a heightened adrenaline level or just because he knew where to look.
He was disturbed.
But did he see it because he was disturbed, or was he disturbed because he saw it?
He was mentally ill. This monster was a sick fantasy, a product of his dementia.
I saw it too.
Does that make me disturbed? Demented? Does... that make me sick too?
No. No, I mean, this kind of thing is not uncommon.
You... You went through a terrible ordeal,
and sometimes people in close associations, under tense conditions...
the delusions of one can be passed on to the other.
Folie a deux? It's not that, Scully. It's not Helsinki syndrome either.
What I saw was real and there may be a way to prove it.
How?
Lambert pointed out certain individuals he said had been turned into zombies.
The man he shot was one of 'em. If you could autopsy the body...
No. Absolutely not.
If this is all in my mind, as you say it is, I would be very grateful if you'd prove that.
Mulder, I am not gonna serve the delusions of Gary Lambert, a madman,
by giving credence to them.
Then I'll prove it without you.
Mulder.
- So, what are we looking for? - I'll know it when I see it.
- What's this about? - He was tracking his boss's movements.
- Stalking him. - Gathering evidence.
What is it?
- Did you see where she went? - Who? You mind tellin' me what's goin' on?
Sir?
You wanted to see me?
I was hoping you could give me some insight
into Agent Mulder's recent behaviour.
Sir?
Why's he back in Illinois? I thought that case was closed.
He believes there's a connection
between the Oak Brook incident and several other cases.
But you elected not to join him.
The Chicago field office spoke to him. They describe his behaviour as erratic.
To the best of my knowledge, Agent Mulder is working on a legitimate investigation.
- I will join him in Illinois immediately. - Don't you have an autopsy to do first?
This body Mulder sent to Quantico.
Mark Backus, the shooting victim. You're scheduled to do an examination.
- Or didn't you know that? - I'll get right on it, sir.
Is there somethin' you want to tell me, Scully?
No, sir.
Let's start with the photos. In fact, let's just do photos.
External exam only.
He came an awful long way just to have his picture taken.
Knock yourself out.
Case number 986522.
Mark Backus. 45-year-old Caucasian male.
There are three one-centimeter gunshot entry wounds on the left anterior chest wall,
with some burn stippling present.
Come on, Mulder.
From the resolved rigor, fixed lividity and the decompositional bloating,
I'd place the time of death between 48 and 72 hours.
No. This man died late yesterday afternoon.
- Are you sure? - Absolutely.
Well, it sure looks to me like he's been dead longer than that.
I want to do that too!
All right. Are you ready? Come on, then.
Suddenly I became aware of this... presence.
And I could feel it creeping toward me.
It was terrifying.
And the next thing I knew, this madman's inside my house.
He breaks my window, kicks in the door, and he's screaming about monsters.
I mean, even worse than Gary.
Miss Starns, I apologize for this incident.
I assure you it will receive my utmost attention.
- Why don't you take the rest of the week? - Thank you, Mr Pincus.
That man has no business carrying a gun if you ask me.
- You got to her too, didn't you? - Agent Mulder.
I was too late. You changed her somehow. You infected her!
Agent Mulder, think very carefully about
the next words that come out of your mouth.
Once again, I apologize.
There's no need. I'm well aware of the stress
Agent Mulder's been under and I'm, uh...
well, I still consider him a hero.
Which is why I wanna handle this privately.
We appreciate that.
For my part, I'm happy to let this entire matter drop.
I'm sure I can persuade Miss Starns
to do the same. Provided Agent Mulder is amenable.
You don't see what's going on here.
- I'm afraid I do. - Lambert knew your secret.
He knew you were sucking the humanity out of people, feeding on them!
Agent Mulder, that's enough! I don't wanna hear another word.
If you care about your career, you'll knock this off!
I will not stand for another second of this abuse! Do you understand me...?
- Get outta the way! - Stop!
- Look at it! Look at it! - Listen to me. Throw it away!
Stop it.
Five years together, Scully.
You must have seen this coming.
Did you examine Backus's body?
What did you find?
More or less what we thought we'd find.
More or less? What is that supposed to mean?
The body showed signs of decomposition beyond what we expected to find.
Which, in and of itself, means nothing, really.
Time of death is notoriously hard to quantify.
Or Lambert was telling the truth and that man was dead before he was gunned down.
- No. Mulder... - Scully, when that monster...
Pincus, whatever you wanna call it, when he attacked that woman last night,
he did something to the back of her neck - he bit her or he injected something.
There's gotta be evidence of that.
Mulder, the case is over. There's no more evidence to be gathered.
There's only my hope that you'll be able to see past this delusion.
You... have to be willing to see.
I wish it were that simple.
Scully, you have to believe me.
Nobody else on this whole damn planet does or ever will.
You're my one in... five billion.
Well, you just made it. I was about to ship him.
- Full autopsy this time? - No. Let's flip him.
- Flip him over? - Yep. Give me a hand.
We can do without these. What do you say?
Sorry.
There we go.
Sleep tight.
Don't let the bedbugs bite.
Nurse! Nurse!
Nurse!
It's here!
Nurse! It's here!
- It's here! It's at the window! - What's here?
There is something... there is something at the window, and it's tryin' to get in here.
- Please unstrap me so that I can stop it. - Sir, we're three floors up.
- There's nothing at the window. - Just undo my straps so that I can check.
- I can show you... - No, don't! No! Just please... please...
See? Nothing's gonna get you.
OK. Just, uh... just untie me anyway, please.
- What are you doing? - You just need some fresh air.
I can't be running in here all night, OK?
Help! Somebody help!
I'm very sorry, but it is after hours and Mr Mulder is resting.
You'll have to come back in the morning.
I've come a long way and I know he wants to see me, so what do you say?
I'm sorry. Really. It's hospital policy.
Help! Help!
Help!
Agent Scully, I have to say I'm at a bit of a loss here.
Do I infer correctly from this that you believe
there's some merit to Agent Mulder's claims?
I believe that Agent Mulder is mentally sound and fit for duty.
Aside from that belief, I can only present the few hard facts I've been able to gather.
That, as per Agent Mulder's assertions, a toxin has been found to have been injected
into the spine of the shooting victim, Mark Backus.
As of yet, we've been unable to identify it.
Furthermore, Gregory Pincus has apparently disappeared without a trace,
along with half a dozen other key witnesses integral to this investigation.
Among them, Agent Mulder's nurse at the hospital and several Vinleight employees.
Men and women described by Mulder as zombies.
I personally can vouch for the fact
that there was an intruder in Agent Mulder's hospital room.
Describe this intruder.
- It was dark. - You got a glimpse. What did you see?
What did you tell him?
The truth. As well as I understand it.
Which is?
Folie a deux. A madness shared by two.
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