The X-Files (1993–…): Season 9, Episode 3 - Dæmonicus - full transcript

A professor/inmate in a psychiatric ward may be influencing other men to kill ritualistically. Though Doggett sees it as pure manipulation, Reyes can't help but suspect none else but the devil himself possessing the professor's body.

Happy, stop that.
Hap.
What's with her all of a sudden?
- Don't you look at my letters. - For God's sakes.
Read 'em and weep, my dear.
Seven letters.
50 bonus points.
Darren.
- Get in the basement. - What are you gonna do?
Just do what I say.
I got a gun.
Stop.
Hey.
Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.
They told me I'd find you inside.
I was out back, talking to the detective in charge.
You're the expert. Everyone's waiting to hear what you have to say on this.
What do we know?
Darren and Evelyn Mountjoy. Married 32 years, three kids, five grandkids.
Not an enemy in the world. That's their dog out front. Neck's broken.
From the footprints in the mud, best guess is we're looking for two perps.
Nothing stolen from the house. Nothing to suggest motive.
It all fits a profile, right? This thing is staged to look like some kind of satanic ritual.
Placing victims in a murder-suicide posture is ritualistic.
And this word is undoubtedly satanic.
"Daemonicus"?
It means "Satan" in Latin.
Or daemonicus - demon possession.
And it's worth 50 extra points.
That's why they were posed like this,
so we'd think that these folks were possessed, right?
That would be the textbook explanation.
- I'll let 'em know. - This may be something else.
Which is what?
Say anything you want about satanic ritual, but don't tell me you think the devil did this.
Cos we got prints on the lawn out there. This case ain't even close to being an X-File.
Something strange happened in here just before you came in. I can't explain it.
Argh!
What?
Dr Dana...
Scully.
I have just been assigned to the Academy as a forensic investigator.
For the past eight years I was part of a unit known as the X-Files.
- Some of you may have heard of it. - Did you ever slay a vampire?
Sorry to disappoint you, but this is a course in forensic pathology.
Hard science.
An X-File is a case that has been deemed unsolvable by the Bureau.
Because such a case cannot be solved, it may beg other explanations.
A vampire, perhaps.
Science, however, tells us that evil comes not from monsters but from men.
It offers us the methodology to catch these men.
And only after we have exhausted these methods
should we leave science behind to consider more...
extreme possibilities.
What'd you find?
I asked Agent Scully for her expertise on this.
Looks like we can rule out The Exorcist.
And why is that?
There's adhesive residue on Mrs Mountjoy's wrists and face.
Can you see that?
She was taped and bound
and then shot at a range of 10-12ft with her husband's handgun.
The husband shot her.
He was tricked into it.
That's what we were thinking. Some kind of sick game.
Well, there's also evidence of...
fingerprint bruising along his collarbone.
They held him down.
- Shot him in his chair. - Again we're looking for two guys.
The snakes appear to be purely symbolic.
They're a nonvenomous species collected locally.
They were sewn postmortem into the body cavity with household thread
by someone who appears to have surgical skill.
You've made a lot of headway.
But there's something else.
There's something that you're not saying.
When I was alone in that house this morning,
I had the strong feeling I was in the presence of evil.
Monica, we were called in on this because
you've investigated hundreds of these cases.
And not once did I find any evidence of genuine satanic activity.
I'm sayin'...
I've never felt this before.
Excuse me.
John Doggett.
Agent Scully, have you ever sensed what I'm talking about?
I've felt things that I couldn't understand.
Things I was afraid to admit even to myself.
And what did you do?
I learned not to ignore it.
To trust my instincts.
Yeah. Thank you.
What is it?
A mental hospital, a hundred miles from here.
They think one of their patients did this.
We're pretty shaken up. We're trying to determine how he escaped.
Why do you think this patient, Kenneth Richman, was involved in these murders?
Dr Richman was committed cos he killed three patients.
He sewed strychnine into their stomachs in surgery. When I heard about the snakes...
The police believe two men committed this crime, Dr Sampson.
- Two men? - Any idea who the second man might be?
No. He didn't exactly keep pen pals.
Did Dr Richman display any knowledge of satanic lore
or speak of demonic possession?
No. He was perfectly cogent. He didn't suffer from those kinds of delusions.
I'm not really asking about delusions.
When you last spoke to him, did he seem himself?
"Seem himself'?
Did he display a personality other than his own?
Speak in tongues or in a language he didn't know?
You're asking me if he was possessed? This is the 21st century, Ms Reyes.
We stopped looking a long time ago for demons to explain mental illness.
I'm not really talking about mental illness.
Excuse me a moment.
You know, Monica, a room here just came open.
You heard what she said. Dr Richman didn't know anything about satanic ritual.
That proves he was possessed?
Explain how else he commits a crime that's a perfect example of it.
Let's try the obvious. It was his accomplice.
Agents, I think the man you're looking for might be Paul Gerlack.
- Is he a patient here? - No. He's a guard.
He's been with us 12 years and no one can find him.
Who would be the last person who saw them together?
Mr Kobold?
My name is John Doggett. This is Monica Reyes. We're with the FBI.
The patient in the cell next to yours escaped last night. Did you see or hear anything?
You shared the same guard, Mr Kobold. Do you know anything about their relationship?
Why he would have helped him to escape?
You mean, did the guard force the patient to escape?
Or did the patient force the guard?
Or are they both of one mind?
Like a snake, eating its own tail.
You know something about this, Mr Kobold?
If you do, we need your help to stop them before they hurt more people.
You're too late for that.
If you're afraid to help us, Mr Kobold, we can protect you. No harm will come to you.
Do you believe in the power of the devil, Mr Doggett?
I believe that the devil's a story made up to scare people.
Then how can you possibly protect me?
Consider the source, Monica.
He's been calling for Agent Doggett for an hour. He's extremely agitated.
Has he said why?
He keeps saying "prince of the apostles". I don't know what it means.
I had to restrain him. I thought it best not to sedate him till you speak to him.
- Mr Kobold, it's John Doggett. - He's speaking to me.
Whispering in my ear.
What's he saying to you, Mr Kobold?
He's... killed again.
- Who? - I don't know.
But I can show you.
You can't know what it feels like, being free of that cage, to see the sky above me.
All right, where is he, Mr Kobold?
There. I can take you.
That's far enough. Take him back to his cage now. Agent Reyes?
- Think he's makin' it up? - Yeah.
That was a convincing show back there.
He's play-acting. Just cos he's good at it doesn't make it true.
Then why do it?
He wants some fresh air. Maybe he gets off sending the FBI on snipe hunts.
I don't think that's it.
It's the security guard. Paul Gerlack.
It appears he was shot in the chest.
His body was staged postmortem, just like the others.
- Someone likes to play games. - Or not.
"Prince of the apostles". Kobold kept repeating it in his cell.
Saint Peter. He was said to have been crucified upside down.
A symbol adopted by Satanists to mark the power of the Antichrist.
You see that as proof the devil possessed the surgeon
and put him in touch with Kobold?
It's part of the literature.
He could be a medium, a willing host for Satan, communicating with Kobold.
- That's convenient. - He brought up the devil and the snakes.
- No one told him the details, but he knew. - That's cos he planned it.
I pulled his file. This guy's a master manipulator.
He was a professor at the University of Miami,
committed for grinding up six co-eds that he tricked into his basement.
He used their flesh as fertilizer in his garden.
If Kobold's part of this, why is he still behind bars? Why not escape when he had chance?
I don't know yet.
You believe this guy, Agent Scully?
I haven't formed an opinion about it yet, actually.
That's great. Just great.
Where are you going, Monica?
This man Kobold can help us, John. I'm gonna prove it to you.
- Professor... - You found the body.
Yes.
Professor Kobold, we need your help to find him before anyone else gets hurt.
- I can't. - You can't or you won't?
I can't... in here.
He whispers to me in a thousand voices, but they're so hard to hear.
What can we do to help you hear?
I need a larger room.
One with space.
And windows to see the sky.
You're not going along with this? Giving him what he wants?
- That was my general idea. - You're makin' a mistake.
Even if you're right, even if this man is faking it, he can help us.
I'm not willing to turn my back on that. Are you?
This is Officer Custer.
- He's gonna keep an eye on you. - I'm familiar with Officer Custer.
I'm right outside the door if you need anything, Professor.
Agent Reyes believes me. But you don't, Mr Doggett.
- It doesn't matter what I believe. - I'm wondering...
why a sceptic such as yourself would accept assignment to an obscure unit of the FBI
devoted exclusively to the investigating of paranormal phenomena.
Been checkin' up on me, Professor?
Men don't pursue occupations against their own inclination
unless there's some strong countervailing reason.
Agent Reyes may have affection for you, but you for her?
Of course, it could be someone else. Or something else.
- Some dark secret from your past. - That's enough.
An unsolved tragedy for which you feel responsible.
In some morbid way you haven't even admitted to yourself,
perhaps you feel that chasing ghosts will answer the questions which damn you.
I don't have time for this. Tell me if he says anything.
Agent Doggett?
Agent Reyes.
Get Agent Reyes.
- He's saying something. - Medicus.
Medicus.
Physician.
Dr Sampson!
John.
Dr Sampson?
The syringes contained droperidol, the same anti-psychotic drug she gave Dr Richman.
- He's not the one calling the shots. - You still think that it was Kobold?
This is not about demons. It's not about demonic possession. It's about men.
Have you considered that something else might be going on?
I heard you say it, Agent Scully. I heard you tell a classroom full of FBI cadets.
Most evil in the world comes from men.
But I also said that when science fails we have to consider extreme possibilities.
I know what you're feeling.
I know your frustration.
But you can't let it cloud your objectivity.
Agent Reyes is thinking just what this guy Kobold wants her to think. Now you are too.
Professor, are you done with this meal?
I brought you something, Professor. Something to read.
It's a monograph you wrote six years ago.
You know the one I'm talking about?
About the influence of Satan in Renaissance thinking.
So you've found your proof.
Circumstantial though it may be.
You planned this whole thing. I wanna know why.
- I've been thinking a lot about you. - You're not answering my question.
About why someone so ill-suited would draw this duty.
Clearly you have feelings for her.
You ordered Dr Richman to kill these people.
But you can't compete with the long-lost Agent Mulder.
His easy good looks, his Oxford education...
This is about you.
Mulder has what you can't have.
But you stumble toward, the flat-footed cop,
thinking he can put handcuffs on a demon.
- Answer the question! - You want her.
But she feels sorry for you.
They both do.
Guard!
Guard, we need a medic!
Guard!
We need a medic! Guard!
She's coming.
- As far as I can tell, physically he's fine. - Course he is.
What brought this on?
The guy's an expert in satanic history. I confronted him on it.
- Which proves what? - Come on, Monica.
You wanted to know who could stage a textbook example. He wrote the damn book.
I can't explain those voices we heard in his room. Or this.
- It's a trick. - What if it's ectoplasm?
Ectoplasm?
You've heard of it, Agent Scully?
Agent Mulder used to call it psychic plasma.
A residual by-product of telepathic communication.
It would have inorganic properties that couldn't be explained.
What are we talking? The Ghost Busters?
If I'm right, analysis of this could prove whether he's telling the truth.
You can throw that crap away, cos I can tell you this guy's a liar. He's playing a game.
Well, let's just see how well he plays that game.
Why? So you can get suckered in even more? Listen to you two.
Agent Doggett...
This guy threw this stuff up for our benefit. He knew what you'd say and what I'd say.
He knew you would be so blinded by this
you wouldn't see what's in front of your faces.
Agent Reyes is just trying to get to the truth, OK?
What are you doing?
Maybe this is a hoax. Maybe you're right.
But you want us to turn away from evidence?
It's not like you. I don't understand why.
I already told you why.
Scully.
- I tried to reach you at Quantico. - I'm on my way back to DC. What is it?
Kobold told the guard he knows where he can find Dr Richman to end this.
Where?
That's just it. It sounds like a joke, another game. It's a place called Happy Landing.
Scully?
- On the State Road 710, near Annandale. - What are you talkin' about?
There's an old marina there. I pass it on my way home. I'm almost there now.
State Road 710 near Annandale.
All right. We're gonna meet you there.
Where is she?
I don't know. But I know who does.
- Where is she, Professor? - Game's over, Mr Doggett.
Tell me where she is right now or I swear I'll kill you where you sit.
You've lost.
Where is she?
- Agent Scully? - Agent Doggett.
Over here.
I don't understand.
He held me at gunpoint until you arrived and then he shot himself.
It doesn't make sense.
Yes, it does.
The game's over.
Joseph Kobold! Stop there!
I am armed and I will shoot!
Uncertainty. No matter how thorough the investigation,
some doubts inevitably remain.
Just as juries seek to convict beyond a reasonable doubt,
the forensic investigator seeks conclusions supported by a preponderance of evidence.
Rarely will you encounter a case where all of the variables,
all of the open questions are fully answered.
I'll see you Monday.
Have you filed your report on this case yet?
- I was gonna do it on my way home. - We'd rather you didn't.
We haven't accounted for Kobold's actions. Not all of them.
Agent Reyes said Kobold found information about us on the Internet. About Mulder too.
That explains how he knew we'd respond to the killings,
why he staged them to look like satanic ritual.
He wanted us on the case. We know that.
He bent everyone to do whatever he wanted.
But we know all this already. It was a game. Every move was played out perfectly.
- Except the last one. - Unless that was part of the game too.
- What? To get shot in the back? - No.
Kobold's body still hasn't been found.
Kobold's dead. Agent Doggett shot him. We all saw that.
Did we? Think back to Agent Reyes's question.
Why didn't Kobold escape with the others when he had the chance?
Why? Because he wanted to escape
without anybody knowing that he'd escaped.
So that by the time it was discovered, he'd be too far away for anyone to find him.
Satan.
Daemonicus: the beginning and end of our case.
A snake eating its own tail.
We lost. Kobold told me so.
He wanted us to see how brilliantly he played the game, how thoroughly we lost.
The first victims, Darren and Evelyn Mountjoy.
Chosen from the phone book. For what reason?
No reason, other than their names.
- And the third victim. - The doctor.
Monique Sampson.
And the last. The man whose body is at the bottom of that river.
It's not Kobold?
The guard we assigned him.
The guard he knew he'd have once we transferred him.
Custer.
Checkmate.
Something's still bothering you, Agent Reyes.
You don't believe his explanation?
It all makes sense to me as far as it goes.
But there's something else. Something he's afraid to explain.
You mean that you felt the presence of evil?
No.
I mean that he felt it too.
I made this!