Show: The X-Files - 1x16
(screaming) God...
what areyou doing to Barnett?
Excuse me?
What areyou doing toJohnny?
Go back toyourward.
There's nothing you can do foryour friend now.
What?
john Barnett's dead.
No, I heard him screaming.
I saidJohn Barnett is dead.
You understand?
Go on, Crandall.
Get outta here.
There's nothing more to see here.
You understand?
What does this have to do with us?
Robbing ajewelry store is a federal crime.
Thankyou.
I got a call from some guy I used to workwith in the Violent Crime section.
Said it was important.
(chanting:) Reggie, Reggie.
Mulder.
God, I hate it when you do that.
This is Special Agent Scully.
Reggie Purdue.
How areyou?
What happened here?
Lone gunman took out a salesgirl after she filled up a bag for him.
You guys turn up anything?
Not much...
except...
this.
It's going to blowyour mind.
Why?
I'm telling you, Mulder this is going to blowyour mind.
What is it?
Wait a second.
You see why I called you?
What about witness descriptions?
White male, 5'1 1 " to 6', ski mask.
Damn it, Reggie.
That's Barnett.
But it can't be.
Who's Barnett?
Mulder: It was my first case at the bureau.
Barnett was doing armedjobs all over D.C.
Very trigger happy.
Killed seven people.
There was this big task force.
Reggie was myASAC.
I was 28, right out ofthe academy.
I had this theory on the case.
Reggie thought I was full ofit.
What was the theory?
That Barnett had an inside connection.
An employee at the armored car company was tipping him off about large shipments ofcash.
I was sort ofright.
Sort of?
We planted bogus waybills manifests with the armored car company to set a trap but Barnett was way ahead ofus.
That's when the notes started. "
Fox can't guard the chicken coop."
Clever, huh?
So, you never caught him?
No, we did.
We did, but not, uh, not clean.
An agent died because I screwed up.
And what happened to Barnett?
He avoided the death penalty but he went down for everyjob he did.
Consecutive terms-- 340 years.
Thejudge promised me he would die in prison.
Soyou think he escaped?
No, that'sjust it.
He did die in prison, fouryears ago.
You're sure?
I was paying attention.
Woman: This guy a friend ofyours?
Mulder: Yeah.
I play golfwith him every Sunday.
What doyou think?
Youjust brought this in ten minutes ago.
You're slipping, Henderson.
Ten minutes may be enough time foryou, Mulder.
Ofcourse, I wouldn't know that from personal experience.
Seriously, what doyou think?
Okay, first impressions-- The ink is fresh, the note was written in the last 48 hours.
Ballpoint, butyou knew that.
A right-hander.
Let's see...
written by someone sitting down.
But now I'm just showing off.
Yeah, does it match Barnett?
I'd say it's him.
Butyou're not sure?
95%.
The writing's sloppy.
Some ofthe ascenders and descenders are heavier.
Could it have been traced over a note of Barnett's?
Could be, but it's a damn goodjob ifit is.
Thanks, Henderson.
I oweyou one.
Promises, promises.
Purdue: There's Barnett.
We'd staked out an airport warehouse but everything went to hell when Barnett took the driver ofthe armored truck hostage.
Where's Mulder?
There, coming around back.
Barnett doesn't see him.
He's got a clear shot.
Yeah, he should have taken it.
But he couldn't.
No, not with a hostage so close.
Because it's not by the book.
It would have saved one life, maybe two.
Bastard Barnett just started blasting away.
Mulder did shoot Barnett.
Twice, in the shoulder and hand but not before Barnett killed the driver and Agent Steve Wallenberg.
Mulder never forgave himself for that.
You should have heard his testimony at Barnett's trial.
Probably had a lot to do with Barnett's sentence.
I'll never forget Mulder coming down from the witness stand and Barnett turning and saying he'd get Mulder.
To tell you the truth I wish Mulder had killed Barnett right there in the warehouse.
What did Henderson come up with?
95% sure it's Barnett's handwriting.
What's that?
Federal Bureau of Prisons sent me a copy ofhis death certificate. "
Name ofdeceased: Barnett,John lrvin.
Cause ofdeath: cardiac arrest.
Date: September 1 6, 1 989."
It must be a clever copycat.
The note was written in the last 48 hours.
Pull any prints?
No prints.
Barnett had a lot oftime on his hands.
Maybe he planned it with someone on the outside.
Revenge from the grave?
That would be a neat trick.
He planned to getyou, didn't he?
I wasjust down talking to Agent Purdue.
And he showed you the videotape?
You did the right thing, Mulder.
Did l?
Steve Wallenberg had a wife and two kids.
One ofhis boys is an all-star on his football team now.
I pulled that trigger two seconds earlier and Wallenberg would be here to see his kid play.
Instead, I've got some dead man robbingjewelry stores and sending me haikus.
Down...
set...
hup!
Let's go!
Let's go now!
Fire it in there!
Yeah, that's better!
All right!
Bring it back here!
Let's go!
Hustle it up!
Line it up!
Let's go!
Down!
Set!
Hup!
Go!
Go!
Go!
Go hard!
(applause) I'll getyou, you son ofa bitch!
Purdue: I've been thinking about it, Mulder, and I think...
that somebody is messing with your head.
Barnett said he'd get me.
You were there.
He's dead, Mulder.
Apparently not.
Let me tell you something.
There are a lot ofguys who know Barnett made the threat.
It's Barnett, Reggie.
How can you say that?
I just feel it.
All this talk about spooky Mulder-- I never used to pay it much mind.
I figured it wasjust talk about how paranoid you were.
And now?
Remember the day you walked into my office wet from Quantico?
You pissed me off just looking atyou but then I saw howyour mind worked.
Howyou were always threejumps ahead.
It was scary, Mulder.
Everybody said so.
I've heard this story.
Well, maybeyou ought to hear it again.
You let a lot ofpeople down here in the bureau.
They had big plans foryou.
A lot ofpeople are saying that spooky Mulder has become an embarrassment a liability.
Areyou saying somebody from the bureau's behind this?
Maybe, maybe not.
It's always best to coveryour ass in any event.
Sorry.
This wasjust faxed.
It's a copy ofJohn Barnett's last will and testament.
No surviving relatives.
Left what little he had to another prisoner-- aJoe Crandall-- and instructions for his body to be cremated.
His will was executed six months after his death.
This document states that his ashes were spread along the bank ofthe Delaware River by an employee ofthe crematory used by the prison.
It's like I said.
Somebody's messing with your head.
Killing a salesclerk just to leave me a note?
I'd say that's going a little out ofyourway.
Mulder: He's older now.
He may have put on some weight.
Woman: How much older?
Fiveyears.
He could be wearing any kind ofdisguise.
Woman: Take us back to the day in question.
Was ityour impression, Agent Mulder, thatJohn Barnett took a kind ofa perverse pleasure in his crimes?
Didn't he send you notes to tauntyou?
Yes.
I felt that he was daring us to catch him.
That he killed his victims almost as ifit were part ofa game.
Describe for the court, ifyou would, Agent Mulder what happened when you finally caughtJohn Barnett.
We had a customs warehouse at the airport staked out.
We knew that Barnett had someone working for the armored car transport tipping him off about large cash shipments but we never figured that he would actually be inside the vehicle when it arrived.
That's how Barnett was able to take the driver ofthe vehicle hostage.
In otherwords,John Barnett used his own accomplice as a hostage?
Yes, ma'am.
And then what happened?
We surrounded Barnett.
We ordered him to surrender his hostage and his weapon.
And where wereyou at this time, Agent Mulder?
I was right behind Barnett.
With a clear shot at the suspect?
Yes, ma'am.
Butyou didn't fire.
Why?
It's against F.B.I.
regulations to unnecessarily endanger the life ofa hostage and I thought that with no means ofescape Barnett would give up.
But what happened instead?
The suspect,John Barnett fired his weapon point-blank at his hostage and then he turned his gun on Steve Wallenberg...
shot him in the face.
Thankyou, Agent Mulder.
No further questions at this time.
He gunned him down just for spite.
judge: The witness will step down.
Mulder: Here's a man with a wife and two small children and you shot him...
...without hesitation without conscience, without an ounce ofhumanity which is whyyou should die like an animal you son ofa bitch!
judge: I will find you in contempt!
(people murmuring) Order in the court.
Ifthere is not order in this court I will be forced to clear the courtroom.
Man: I ask that it be stricken from the record.
judge: Duly noted.
Thejurywill disregard the witness's last statement.
(whispers:) I'll...
get...
you.
I'll need printouts ofeveryvariation.
Right.
Right.
I just got offthe phone with the prison.
What did they come up with?
I called them on a hunch.
Barnett died ofa heart attack.
At least that's what it says on his death certificate.
I had them fax me all ofhis medical records.
Barnett was admitted to the prison infirmary for an infection in his right hand.
There isn't any indication ofcoronary complications.
In fact, on his physical six months earlier he was given a clean bill ofhealth.
Crandall someone to seeyou.
I don't get manyvisitors.
You knewJohn Barnett?
Yes, sir.
How well did you know him?
Prettywell.
He leftyou everything he had in his will.
You must have known him better than prettywell.
Used to change his bandages, and wejust got to...
know each other.
Areyou aware that Barnett died ofcardiac arrest in this facility in 1 989?
Cardiac arrest?
Where does it say that?
On his death certificate.
He ain't dead, is he?
Why doyou say that?
Last time I sawJohn Barnett, it was right in that room over there.
Doctor took his bad hand clean off.
What doctor?
Was it Dr.
Ridley?
Yeah, it was Dr.
Ridley.
That's the one.
He told meJohnnywas dead but, uh, I knew it was a lie.
Put a knife right up under my chinjust for asking.
How could you tell Barnett wasn't dead?
I saw him looking at me.
I saw him blink.
I'll never forget those eyes.
What areyou going to do?
I know what I'm not going to do.
I'm not going to hang around and wait for Barnett to send me anothervalentine.
You mean the ghost ofJohn Barnett.
I didn't knowyou believed in ghosts, Scully.
(phone ringing) Hello?
Yeah,just a minute.
It's foryou.
Mulder.
Fox Mulder.
Barnett?
I'll run a trace.
You sound surprised.
Well, you know, shouldn't I be?
You know, it's illegal to tape another's phone call without their express permission.
Isn't that what they call it?
In some states.
What makes you think I'm taping you?
Same thing makes me think you're putting a trace on this call.
What state areyou in?
The same stateyou are.
I stood next toyou in line for coffee this morning.
I don't think so.
Man, I'm everywhereyou are.
Everywhere.
I own you.
How do I know it's reallyyou?
What did I say toyou in the courtroom?
Did you ever doubt me?
What did you tell me in the courtroom?
Ifyou thinkyou're going to keep me on this phone with this clumsy act...
By all accounts, john Barnett is a dead man.
Oh, you're the dead man, Mulder.
Fine.
I just need confirmation thatyou are whoyou sayyou are.
You want confirmation?
You got it.
(kisses) Barnett?
You there?
You lost him.
Yeah, he was hip to the trace.
Was it Barnett?
john Barnett was from New Hampshire.
He had a slight accent.
Listen to this.
Fine.
I just need confirmation thatyou are whoyou sayyou are.
You want confirmation?
You got it.
(kisses) What did he mean by that?
I don't know, but that isJohn Barnett.
I'm sure ofit.
(phone ringing) Oh...
Yeah.
Reggie, it's Mulder.
Mulder, what doyou want?
It's the middle ofthe night.
It's only 1 0:45, Reggie.
Yeah, well, I was sleeping.
Listen, Reggie, it doesn't look like Barnett's dead after all.
Now what?
I got an inmate at the prison who swears he saw Barnett alive the night they say he died.
Mulder, go home.
Get some rest.
There'sjust one thing that doesn't make sense.
What's that?
Agent Henderson said that note left at thejewelry store was written by a right-hander.
Yeah, so?
Well, this inmate at the prison he swears he saw Barnett's right hand amputated.
(gurgling) Reggie, you there?
Hey, Reggie.
Reggie?
What's going on?
Areyou there?
What the hell's going on?
Reggie, what happened?
Hey, Reggie!
Reggie?
What's going on?
Areyou there?
What the hell's going on, Reggie?
Hopeyou guys brought your fine-tooth comb.
I want every piece oflint collected and analyzed.
Ifnothing turns up, run it through again.
Mulder...
His wife died ofcancer sixyears ago.
Never liked to talk about it.
He was working on a mystery novel.
He promised to show it to me once, but he never did.
I think he was afraid I wouldn't like it.
I'm probably the only guy on the bureau he trusted enough to even ask.
I'm sorry.
I'm just thinking how different things would have been ifl would have taken that shot when I had it.
We're still not 1 00% sure that this is him.
Fresh ink, slightly smeared.
I hate to tell you and I'm not known to be wrong about these things but this note was most certainlywritten by a right-handed person.
You see the pressure points inside the pen grooves?
It's a dead giveaway.
Would you be able to tell ifthis note was written by somebody using a prosthetic hand?
Well, this fellow...
and I'm assuming from the cursive figures here that it is a male suspect-- He has a fairly nice, fuid style.
judging from the pressure variations in the connectors this person would need good finger dexterity.
You're not going to get that with a prosthesis.
Soyou think it's the same person that wrote the first note.
Uh-huh.
This the guyyou think killed Agent Purdue?
Yeah.
You know what occurred to me?
You never got any prints offthose notes.
Ifthis guywas wearing a glove on his pen hand the note wouldn't be smeared like it is.
Forwhat it's worth.
I wasjust trying to find you.
Listen to this.
According to the A.M.A., Dr.
Ridley-- who signed Barnett's death certificate-- hasn't officially been a doctor since 1 979.
What doyou mean?
His membership expired and wasn't renewed after Maryland revoked his medical license for research malpractice and misuse ofa government grant.
Where does it say that?
In the federal journal for the National lnstitute of Health.
What kind ofresearch?
He was conducting experiments on young children afficted with a disease called progeria.
Man: The patientyou see is an eight-year-old girl suffering from the advanced stages ofprogeria.
She looks about 90.
Only about 1 00 cases have ever been reported so the disease is rare.
But fatal.
Some progeria patients make it to early adulthood but others become terminal at age seven or eight.
What's the cause ofdeath?
Clinically, it's cardiac or cerebral vascular disease but actually these poor kids die ofold age.
Is that Dr.
Ridley?
Yes, in 1 974.
joe Ridley thought that he could take their accelerated aging and slow it down.
Initially some ofhis lab work was promising but then things got out ofcontrol.
He wanted to begin human trials.
Whywasn't he allowed to?
Because he hadn't met the criteria.
It was all too hypothetical, too dangerous.
I mean...
I knewJoe Ridley.
He didn't care about those kids.
He talked about them as iftheywere laboratory animals.
This terrible disease, progeria he saw it as a wonderful opportunity.
He used those exact words with me once.
An opportunity to "unlock all the secrets."
When they refused to allow the human trials he became enraged.
Doyou know what they called joe Ridley behind his back?
What?
Doktor Mengele.
So, how did Dr.
Ridley eventually lose his medical license?
He went ahead with the human trials secretly on an outpatient basis.
When we learned about it, ofcourse we terminated his grant and filed charges with the state medical boards.
I'm afraid your colleague, Dr.
Ridley, has dropped off the face ofthe earth.
Yeah.
Although it's rumored he went to South America to continue his work.
Scully: You don'tjust reverse aging.
Ridley's found a way.
Listen to whatyou're saying.
He wanted human research subjects, right?
Prisoners likeJohn Barnett.
It's science fiction.
What would you have said 20 years ago about gene splicing, DNA fingerprinting cloning, artificial intelligence?
Maybe we're not looking for a man in his late 40s.
MaybeJohn Barnett has found the perfect disguise-- youth.
Mulder: I want to age him backwards now.
Let's start with ten years.
Now fiveyears more.
And add 20 pounds.
A healthy 20 pounds.
Scully: Ridley's notes from the human trials at N.I.H.
indicate he didn't see aging as inevitable but as an opportunistic disease.
A disease that could be prevented, reversed even by changing the chemical cues that trigger certain genes.
However, there is no evidence whatsoever that Ridley's work yielded any results or that his theories-- all hope to the contrary-- hold anyvalidity.
(creaking) According to the leading scientificjournals projections on this kind ofgenetic engineering are at best speculative and futuristic.
(knocking) (knocking) Who is it?
Dr.Joe Ridley.
Ifyou're Dr.Joseph Ridley where haveyou been for the past fiveyears?
I originally continued my research in Mexico but for the last threeyears I spent my time in Central America.
In Belize, to be exact.
What about Barnett?
john Barnett is the only patient left.
The only one who survived the experiments.
What aboutyou?
My appearance is deceiving.
I have no more than a month to live as I am dying from a rare cerebral vascular disease.
The same disease that kills the kids suffering from progeria?
That's right.
An unfortunate side effect ofthe treatment.
By using the genetic components ofprogeria I was able to reverse the aging process the same way the disease expedited it.
At the same time, I and my patients became genetically susceptible to the same ailments a child ofsix or eight would ifhe had the disease.
What about Barnett?
john Barnett.
Ifl didn't so personally detest the man I might call him my one triumph.
Barnett's not dying?
Only his eyes, which for some reason do not respond to the gene therapy.
Otherwise,John Barnett appears to be thriving.
But how?
I varied Barnett's treatment.
Once I isolated the progeria receptors I stumbled on something quite unexpected-- this same gene's related to the production ofmyelin.
The material that insulates neurons in the body.
Yes.
You see, myelin is not present in the veryyoung and by reversing the effects ofaging I found with Barnett I was able to regulate the production ofmyelin.
Myelin being the material that prohibits you or I from, say regenerating a new hand ifwe were to have ours cut off.
You were able to growJohn Barnett a new hand?
Not exactly.
Not a human hand, anyway.
I could never get the cells to divide or behave properly.
I'm afraid to ask.
What kind ofhand did you grow?
There had been some successful work done in London.
By taking samples ofwhat we call cell morphegins from an amputated salamander arm and applying them to the back ofthe creature theywere able to grow a new limb on a different part ofthe body but only on salamanders.
UntiIJohn Barnett.
Yeah.
Unbelievable.
Mywork has cost me dearly.
I'm an outcast in the medical community.
I was called Dr.
Mengele, Dr.
Frankenstein but I didn't care.
Becauseyou knew that ifyour theories panned out...
The man who owns the fountain ofyouth controls the world.
When the A.M.A.
censured me certain sponsors came out ofthe woodwork.
One ofthem was the U.S.
government.
They financed your research?
You might be more surprised to learn just how high up the ladder this dirty little secret goes.
I know whyyou've contacted me.
Listen and I'll explain.
I am not proud ofthe way in which this matterwas handled but like it or not, john Barnett is a fact oflife.
I wish Agent Purdue were around to appreciate the irony.
The government knew full well that Barnett was in the country.
You, ofcourse, know that Barnett stole all of Ridley's research.
Well, what Ridley doesn't know is that our government is bargaining with Barnett to buy it from him.
What does he want?
A lot ofmoney, immunity, safe haven.
Will he get it?
(laughing) He holds all the cards.
You're aware that this freak ofscience you're negotiating with is a murderer?
The information he has...
could change the course ofmankind.
Consider the options.
I will.
(phone ringing) (ringing) Hi.
This is Dana Scully.
Please leave a message after the tone.
(beeps) Electronic voice: Retrieving messages.
Hi, Dana.
It's Mom.
I just wanted to call and say hi.
Give me a call whenever.
Okay, hon.
Bye-bye.
Hi, Dana.
It's Cathy.
I hopeyou're going to meet me before my cello recital.
What's that?
It's my private answering machine.
At least it used to be.
This morning, I heard someone dialing in my private code and replaying my messages.
Last night before Dr.
Ridley arrived I could have sworn someone was in my apartment.
When Ridley knocked I thought I'd mistaken the noise for him.
This morning, I took this down to Prints.
john Barnett's left index oblique is on the underside ofthis unit.
(phone rings) Mulder.
(moaning) Barnett?
(groaning) Your new friend, Ridley...
Don't grow too fond ofhim, huh?
He's going to die soon like the rest ofyour friends.
The rest ofmy friends?
One by one.
You're not that smart.
(chuckles) Tell me, you're not going to make me prove it toyou again, areyou?
Oh, well, no matter.
It will beyour turn soon enough.
Well, you won't get that chance.
Oh, no?
(laughs) Who's going to stop me, huh?
Man, this is...
This is the land ofthe free!
Well, I'm just checking in.
Bye.
For now.
What does Barnett know aboutyour phone messages?
Uh, that my mother called for no reason and I'm meeting a friend before her cello recital.
Where's that?
Mulder: Before the performance and during we're working at a disadvantage because we don't know exactly what Barnett looks like.
Study each ofthese faces.
Know them, particularly the eyes.
I'm including a diagram ofthe theater.
You have six front entrances and four more backstage.
We know that ifhe shows, he'll be keying on Scully so wherever she is, she should not leaveyour sight.
We've got two hours before the performance.
Know this place inside and out.
We don't want any shots fired ifwe can help it.
We want to take Barnett alive, okay?
Howyou feeling?
It's the first time I've ever played the target.
Let's make sure it's not the last time.
(instruments being tuned) Gun!
Down!
Check her out.
Stay back, Mulder!
Shut up!
Back off, back off.
Don't even think about it.
just let her go.
Go ahead and shoot.
Go ahead, man.
Shoot, Mulder.
What areyou afraid of, huh?
What, it's against regulations, huh?
No, man.
You need me alive, don'tyou?
'Cause I'm the one with the research, huh?
So I could shoot her!
And youjust have to live with it, don'tyou, huh?
Shut up!
How about it, Mulder?
Woman: Please.
Barnett: just like old times, huh?
Huh?
(gunshot) (screaming) Call an ambulance!
Man: It's okay, Scully.
An ambulance is on the way.
Easy.
You all right?
Don't try to move.
Where are they?
Can you hear me?
Barnett.
Where did you hide them?
(all shouting) How areyou feeling?
Like somebody kicked me in the ribs.
That bullet went through eight layers of Kevlar.
You're lucky to be alive.
What about him?
They few in three specialists to try to save his life.
That guy in the ugly suit is probably C.I.A.
He's been trying to talk to him.
Is Barnett conscious?
Yeah, but he's not talking.
Mulder, I know whatyou did wasn't by the book.
Tells you a lot about the book, doesn't it?
Barnett!
Come on!
Where are the papers?
Come on!
Technician: Ten!
Vitals dropping.
Barnett!
(heart monitor: even tone) We're gonna hit him.
(all shouting) Shock him now!
Woman: It's readywhen you need it.
Man: Stand clear.
Woman: He's going fast.
Scully: They lost him.
Bastard will take that research with him to the grave.
Where doyou think it is?
Mulder: Who knows?
If Barnett didn't destroy it, he could've stashed it anywhere, which would have a certain cruel irony, wouldn't it?
Scientific knowledge that could change the course ofmankind buried out in a field somewhere or sitting in some safe deposit box getting old, just like the rest ofus.
Scully: lfhe didn't destroy it, chances are that somehow, someday somebodywill find it.
(ticking) Mulder: And when they do?
Maybe he didn't get his revenge from beyond the grave but somehow I feel like we haven't heard the last fromJohn Barnett.
(ticking)
what areyou doing to Barnett?
Excuse me?
What areyou doing toJohnny?
Go back toyourward.
There's nothing you can do foryour friend now.
What?
john Barnett's dead.
No, I heard him screaming.
I saidJohn Barnett is dead.
You understand?
Go on, Crandall.
Get outta here.
There's nothing more to see here.
You understand?
What does this have to do with us?
Robbing ajewelry store is a federal crime.
Thankyou.
I got a call from some guy I used to workwith in the Violent Crime section.
Said it was important.
(chanting:) Reggie, Reggie.
Mulder.
God, I hate it when you do that.
This is Special Agent Scully.
Reggie Purdue.
How areyou?
What happened here?
Lone gunman took out a salesgirl after she filled up a bag for him.
You guys turn up anything?
Not much...
except...
this.
It's going to blowyour mind.
Why?
I'm telling you, Mulder this is going to blowyour mind.
What is it?
Wait a second.
You see why I called you?
What about witness descriptions?
White male, 5'1 1 " to 6', ski mask.
Damn it, Reggie.
That's Barnett.
But it can't be.
Who's Barnett?
Mulder: It was my first case at the bureau.
Barnett was doing armedjobs all over D.C.
Very trigger happy.
Killed seven people.
There was this big task force.
Reggie was myASAC.
I was 28, right out ofthe academy.
I had this theory on the case.
Reggie thought I was full ofit.
What was the theory?
That Barnett had an inside connection.
An employee at the armored car company was tipping him off about large shipments ofcash.
I was sort ofright.
Sort of?
We planted bogus waybills manifests with the armored car company to set a trap but Barnett was way ahead ofus.
That's when the notes started. "
Fox can't guard the chicken coop."
Clever, huh?
So, you never caught him?
No, we did.
We did, but not, uh, not clean.
An agent died because I screwed up.
And what happened to Barnett?
He avoided the death penalty but he went down for everyjob he did.
Consecutive terms-- 340 years.
Thejudge promised me he would die in prison.
Soyou think he escaped?
No, that'sjust it.
He did die in prison, fouryears ago.
You're sure?
I was paying attention.
Woman: This guy a friend ofyours?
Mulder: Yeah.
I play golfwith him every Sunday.
What doyou think?
Youjust brought this in ten minutes ago.
You're slipping, Henderson.
Ten minutes may be enough time foryou, Mulder.
Ofcourse, I wouldn't know that from personal experience.
Seriously, what doyou think?
Okay, first impressions-- The ink is fresh, the note was written in the last 48 hours.
Ballpoint, butyou knew that.
A right-hander.
Let's see...
written by someone sitting down.
But now I'm just showing off.
Yeah, does it match Barnett?
I'd say it's him.
Butyou're not sure?
95%.
The writing's sloppy.
Some ofthe ascenders and descenders are heavier.
Could it have been traced over a note of Barnett's?
Could be, but it's a damn goodjob ifit is.
Thanks, Henderson.
I oweyou one.
Promises, promises.
Purdue: There's Barnett.
We'd staked out an airport warehouse but everything went to hell when Barnett took the driver ofthe armored truck hostage.
Where's Mulder?
There, coming around back.
Barnett doesn't see him.
He's got a clear shot.
Yeah, he should have taken it.
But he couldn't.
No, not with a hostage so close.
Because it's not by the book.
It would have saved one life, maybe two.
Bastard Barnett just started blasting away.
Mulder did shoot Barnett.
Twice, in the shoulder and hand but not before Barnett killed the driver and Agent Steve Wallenberg.
Mulder never forgave himself for that.
You should have heard his testimony at Barnett's trial.
Probably had a lot to do with Barnett's sentence.
I'll never forget Mulder coming down from the witness stand and Barnett turning and saying he'd get Mulder.
To tell you the truth I wish Mulder had killed Barnett right there in the warehouse.
What did Henderson come up with?
95% sure it's Barnett's handwriting.
What's that?
Federal Bureau of Prisons sent me a copy ofhis death certificate. "
Name ofdeceased: Barnett,John lrvin.
Cause ofdeath: cardiac arrest.
Date: September 1 6, 1 989."
It must be a clever copycat.
The note was written in the last 48 hours.
Pull any prints?
No prints.
Barnett had a lot oftime on his hands.
Maybe he planned it with someone on the outside.
Revenge from the grave?
That would be a neat trick.
He planned to getyou, didn't he?
I wasjust down talking to Agent Purdue.
And he showed you the videotape?
You did the right thing, Mulder.
Did l?
Steve Wallenberg had a wife and two kids.
One ofhis boys is an all-star on his football team now.
I pulled that trigger two seconds earlier and Wallenberg would be here to see his kid play.
Instead, I've got some dead man robbingjewelry stores and sending me haikus.
Down...
set...
hup!
Let's go!
Let's go now!
Fire it in there!
Yeah, that's better!
All right!
Bring it back here!
Let's go!
Hustle it up!
Line it up!
Let's go!
Down!
Set!
Hup!
Go!
Go!
Go!
Go hard!
(applause) I'll getyou, you son ofa bitch!
Purdue: I've been thinking about it, Mulder, and I think...
that somebody is messing with your head.
Barnett said he'd get me.
You were there.
He's dead, Mulder.
Apparently not.
Let me tell you something.
There are a lot ofguys who know Barnett made the threat.
It's Barnett, Reggie.
How can you say that?
I just feel it.
All this talk about spooky Mulder-- I never used to pay it much mind.
I figured it wasjust talk about how paranoid you were.
And now?
Remember the day you walked into my office wet from Quantico?
You pissed me off just looking atyou but then I saw howyour mind worked.
Howyou were always threejumps ahead.
It was scary, Mulder.
Everybody said so.
I've heard this story.
Well, maybeyou ought to hear it again.
You let a lot ofpeople down here in the bureau.
They had big plans foryou.
A lot ofpeople are saying that spooky Mulder has become an embarrassment a liability.
Areyou saying somebody from the bureau's behind this?
Maybe, maybe not.
It's always best to coveryour ass in any event.
Sorry.
This wasjust faxed.
It's a copy ofJohn Barnett's last will and testament.
No surviving relatives.
Left what little he had to another prisoner-- aJoe Crandall-- and instructions for his body to be cremated.
His will was executed six months after his death.
This document states that his ashes were spread along the bank ofthe Delaware River by an employee ofthe crematory used by the prison.
It's like I said.
Somebody's messing with your head.
Killing a salesclerk just to leave me a note?
I'd say that's going a little out ofyourway.
Mulder: He's older now.
He may have put on some weight.
Woman: How much older?
Fiveyears.
He could be wearing any kind ofdisguise.
Woman: Take us back to the day in question.
Was ityour impression, Agent Mulder, thatJohn Barnett took a kind ofa perverse pleasure in his crimes?
Didn't he send you notes to tauntyou?
Yes.
I felt that he was daring us to catch him.
That he killed his victims almost as ifit were part ofa game.
Describe for the court, ifyou would, Agent Mulder what happened when you finally caughtJohn Barnett.
We had a customs warehouse at the airport staked out.
We knew that Barnett had someone working for the armored car transport tipping him off about large cash shipments but we never figured that he would actually be inside the vehicle when it arrived.
That's how Barnett was able to take the driver ofthe vehicle hostage.
In otherwords,John Barnett used his own accomplice as a hostage?
Yes, ma'am.
And then what happened?
We surrounded Barnett.
We ordered him to surrender his hostage and his weapon.
And where wereyou at this time, Agent Mulder?
I was right behind Barnett.
With a clear shot at the suspect?
Yes, ma'am.
Butyou didn't fire.
Why?
It's against F.B.I.
regulations to unnecessarily endanger the life ofa hostage and I thought that with no means ofescape Barnett would give up.
But what happened instead?
The suspect,John Barnett fired his weapon point-blank at his hostage and then he turned his gun on Steve Wallenberg...
shot him in the face.
Thankyou, Agent Mulder.
No further questions at this time.
He gunned him down just for spite.
judge: The witness will step down.
Mulder: Here's a man with a wife and two small children and you shot him...
...without hesitation without conscience, without an ounce ofhumanity which is whyyou should die like an animal you son ofa bitch!
judge: I will find you in contempt!
(people murmuring) Order in the court.
Ifthere is not order in this court I will be forced to clear the courtroom.
Man: I ask that it be stricken from the record.
judge: Duly noted.
Thejurywill disregard the witness's last statement.
(whispers:) I'll...
get...
you.
I'll need printouts ofeveryvariation.
Right.
Right.
I just got offthe phone with the prison.
What did they come up with?
I called them on a hunch.
Barnett died ofa heart attack.
At least that's what it says on his death certificate.
I had them fax me all ofhis medical records.
Barnett was admitted to the prison infirmary for an infection in his right hand.
There isn't any indication ofcoronary complications.
In fact, on his physical six months earlier he was given a clean bill ofhealth.
Crandall someone to seeyou.
I don't get manyvisitors.
You knewJohn Barnett?
Yes, sir.
How well did you know him?
Prettywell.
He leftyou everything he had in his will.
You must have known him better than prettywell.
Used to change his bandages, and wejust got to...
know each other.
Areyou aware that Barnett died ofcardiac arrest in this facility in 1 989?
Cardiac arrest?
Where does it say that?
On his death certificate.
He ain't dead, is he?
Why doyou say that?
Last time I sawJohn Barnett, it was right in that room over there.
Doctor took his bad hand clean off.
What doctor?
Was it Dr.
Ridley?
Yeah, it was Dr.
Ridley.
That's the one.
He told meJohnnywas dead but, uh, I knew it was a lie.
Put a knife right up under my chinjust for asking.
How could you tell Barnett wasn't dead?
I saw him looking at me.
I saw him blink.
I'll never forget those eyes.
What areyou going to do?
I know what I'm not going to do.
I'm not going to hang around and wait for Barnett to send me anothervalentine.
You mean the ghost ofJohn Barnett.
I didn't knowyou believed in ghosts, Scully.
(phone ringing) Hello?
Yeah,just a minute.
It's foryou.
Mulder.
Fox Mulder.
Barnett?
I'll run a trace.
You sound surprised.
Well, you know, shouldn't I be?
You know, it's illegal to tape another's phone call without their express permission.
Isn't that what they call it?
In some states.
What makes you think I'm taping you?
Same thing makes me think you're putting a trace on this call.
What state areyou in?
The same stateyou are.
I stood next toyou in line for coffee this morning.
I don't think so.
Man, I'm everywhereyou are.
Everywhere.
I own you.
How do I know it's reallyyou?
What did I say toyou in the courtroom?
Did you ever doubt me?
What did you tell me in the courtroom?
Ifyou thinkyou're going to keep me on this phone with this clumsy act...
By all accounts, john Barnett is a dead man.
Oh, you're the dead man, Mulder.
Fine.
I just need confirmation thatyou are whoyou sayyou are.
You want confirmation?
You got it.
(kisses) Barnett?
You there?
You lost him.
Yeah, he was hip to the trace.
Was it Barnett?
john Barnett was from New Hampshire.
He had a slight accent.
Listen to this.
Fine.
I just need confirmation thatyou are whoyou sayyou are.
You want confirmation?
You got it.
(kisses) What did he mean by that?
I don't know, but that isJohn Barnett.
I'm sure ofit.
(phone ringing) Oh...
Yeah.
Reggie, it's Mulder.
Mulder, what doyou want?
It's the middle ofthe night.
It's only 1 0:45, Reggie.
Yeah, well, I was sleeping.
Listen, Reggie, it doesn't look like Barnett's dead after all.
Now what?
I got an inmate at the prison who swears he saw Barnett alive the night they say he died.
Mulder, go home.
Get some rest.
There'sjust one thing that doesn't make sense.
What's that?
Agent Henderson said that note left at thejewelry store was written by a right-hander.
Yeah, so?
Well, this inmate at the prison he swears he saw Barnett's right hand amputated.
(gurgling) Reggie, you there?
Hey, Reggie.
Reggie?
What's going on?
Areyou there?
What the hell's going on?
Reggie, what happened?
Hey, Reggie!
Reggie?
What's going on?
Areyou there?
What the hell's going on, Reggie?
Hopeyou guys brought your fine-tooth comb.
I want every piece oflint collected and analyzed.
Ifnothing turns up, run it through again.
Mulder...
His wife died ofcancer sixyears ago.
Never liked to talk about it.
He was working on a mystery novel.
He promised to show it to me once, but he never did.
I think he was afraid I wouldn't like it.
I'm probably the only guy on the bureau he trusted enough to even ask.
I'm sorry.
I'm just thinking how different things would have been ifl would have taken that shot when I had it.
We're still not 1 00% sure that this is him.
Fresh ink, slightly smeared.
I hate to tell you and I'm not known to be wrong about these things but this note was most certainlywritten by a right-handed person.
You see the pressure points inside the pen grooves?
It's a dead giveaway.
Would you be able to tell ifthis note was written by somebody using a prosthetic hand?
Well, this fellow...
and I'm assuming from the cursive figures here that it is a male suspect-- He has a fairly nice, fuid style.
judging from the pressure variations in the connectors this person would need good finger dexterity.
You're not going to get that with a prosthesis.
Soyou think it's the same person that wrote the first note.
Uh-huh.
This the guyyou think killed Agent Purdue?
Yeah.
You know what occurred to me?
You never got any prints offthose notes.
Ifthis guywas wearing a glove on his pen hand the note wouldn't be smeared like it is.
Forwhat it's worth.
I wasjust trying to find you.
Listen to this.
According to the A.M.A., Dr.
Ridley-- who signed Barnett's death certificate-- hasn't officially been a doctor since 1 979.
What doyou mean?
His membership expired and wasn't renewed after Maryland revoked his medical license for research malpractice and misuse ofa government grant.
Where does it say that?
In the federal journal for the National lnstitute of Health.
What kind ofresearch?
He was conducting experiments on young children afficted with a disease called progeria.
Man: The patientyou see is an eight-year-old girl suffering from the advanced stages ofprogeria.
She looks about 90.
Only about 1 00 cases have ever been reported so the disease is rare.
But fatal.
Some progeria patients make it to early adulthood but others become terminal at age seven or eight.
What's the cause ofdeath?
Clinically, it's cardiac or cerebral vascular disease but actually these poor kids die ofold age.
Is that Dr.
Ridley?
Yes, in 1 974.
joe Ridley thought that he could take their accelerated aging and slow it down.
Initially some ofhis lab work was promising but then things got out ofcontrol.
He wanted to begin human trials.
Whywasn't he allowed to?
Because he hadn't met the criteria.
It was all too hypothetical, too dangerous.
I mean...
I knewJoe Ridley.
He didn't care about those kids.
He talked about them as iftheywere laboratory animals.
This terrible disease, progeria he saw it as a wonderful opportunity.
He used those exact words with me once.
An opportunity to "unlock all the secrets."
When they refused to allow the human trials he became enraged.
Doyou know what they called joe Ridley behind his back?
What?
Doktor Mengele.
So, how did Dr.
Ridley eventually lose his medical license?
He went ahead with the human trials secretly on an outpatient basis.
When we learned about it, ofcourse we terminated his grant and filed charges with the state medical boards.
I'm afraid your colleague, Dr.
Ridley, has dropped off the face ofthe earth.
Yeah.
Although it's rumored he went to South America to continue his work.
Scully: You don'tjust reverse aging.
Ridley's found a way.
Listen to whatyou're saying.
He wanted human research subjects, right?
Prisoners likeJohn Barnett.
It's science fiction.
What would you have said 20 years ago about gene splicing, DNA fingerprinting cloning, artificial intelligence?
Maybe we're not looking for a man in his late 40s.
MaybeJohn Barnett has found the perfect disguise-- youth.
Mulder: I want to age him backwards now.
Let's start with ten years.
Now fiveyears more.
And add 20 pounds.
A healthy 20 pounds.
Scully: Ridley's notes from the human trials at N.I.H.
indicate he didn't see aging as inevitable but as an opportunistic disease.
A disease that could be prevented, reversed even by changing the chemical cues that trigger certain genes.
However, there is no evidence whatsoever that Ridley's work yielded any results or that his theories-- all hope to the contrary-- hold anyvalidity.
(creaking) According to the leading scientificjournals projections on this kind ofgenetic engineering are at best speculative and futuristic.
(knocking) (knocking) Who is it?
Dr.Joe Ridley.
Ifyou're Dr.Joseph Ridley where haveyou been for the past fiveyears?
I originally continued my research in Mexico but for the last threeyears I spent my time in Central America.
In Belize, to be exact.
What about Barnett?
john Barnett is the only patient left.
The only one who survived the experiments.
What aboutyou?
My appearance is deceiving.
I have no more than a month to live as I am dying from a rare cerebral vascular disease.
The same disease that kills the kids suffering from progeria?
That's right.
An unfortunate side effect ofthe treatment.
By using the genetic components ofprogeria I was able to reverse the aging process the same way the disease expedited it.
At the same time, I and my patients became genetically susceptible to the same ailments a child ofsix or eight would ifhe had the disease.
What about Barnett?
john Barnett.
Ifl didn't so personally detest the man I might call him my one triumph.
Barnett's not dying?
Only his eyes, which for some reason do not respond to the gene therapy.
Otherwise,John Barnett appears to be thriving.
But how?
I varied Barnett's treatment.
Once I isolated the progeria receptors I stumbled on something quite unexpected-- this same gene's related to the production ofmyelin.
The material that insulates neurons in the body.
Yes.
You see, myelin is not present in the veryyoung and by reversing the effects ofaging I found with Barnett I was able to regulate the production ofmyelin.
Myelin being the material that prohibits you or I from, say regenerating a new hand ifwe were to have ours cut off.
You were able to growJohn Barnett a new hand?
Not exactly.
Not a human hand, anyway.
I could never get the cells to divide or behave properly.
I'm afraid to ask.
What kind ofhand did you grow?
There had been some successful work done in London.
By taking samples ofwhat we call cell morphegins from an amputated salamander arm and applying them to the back ofthe creature theywere able to grow a new limb on a different part ofthe body but only on salamanders.
UntiIJohn Barnett.
Yeah.
Unbelievable.
Mywork has cost me dearly.
I'm an outcast in the medical community.
I was called Dr.
Mengele, Dr.
Frankenstein but I didn't care.
Becauseyou knew that ifyour theories panned out...
The man who owns the fountain ofyouth controls the world.
When the A.M.A.
censured me certain sponsors came out ofthe woodwork.
One ofthem was the U.S.
government.
They financed your research?
You might be more surprised to learn just how high up the ladder this dirty little secret goes.
I know whyyou've contacted me.
Listen and I'll explain.
I am not proud ofthe way in which this matterwas handled but like it or not, john Barnett is a fact oflife.
I wish Agent Purdue were around to appreciate the irony.
The government knew full well that Barnett was in the country.
You, ofcourse, know that Barnett stole all of Ridley's research.
Well, what Ridley doesn't know is that our government is bargaining with Barnett to buy it from him.
What does he want?
A lot ofmoney, immunity, safe haven.
Will he get it?
(laughing) He holds all the cards.
You're aware that this freak ofscience you're negotiating with is a murderer?
The information he has...
could change the course ofmankind.
Consider the options.
I will.
(phone ringing) (ringing) Hi.
This is Dana Scully.
Please leave a message after the tone.
(beeps) Electronic voice: Retrieving messages.
Hi, Dana.
It's Mom.
I just wanted to call and say hi.
Give me a call whenever.
Okay, hon.
Bye-bye.
Hi, Dana.
It's Cathy.
I hopeyou're going to meet me before my cello recital.
What's that?
It's my private answering machine.
At least it used to be.
This morning, I heard someone dialing in my private code and replaying my messages.
Last night before Dr.
Ridley arrived I could have sworn someone was in my apartment.
When Ridley knocked I thought I'd mistaken the noise for him.
This morning, I took this down to Prints.
john Barnett's left index oblique is on the underside ofthis unit.
(phone rings) Mulder.
(moaning) Barnett?
(groaning) Your new friend, Ridley...
Don't grow too fond ofhim, huh?
He's going to die soon like the rest ofyour friends.
The rest ofmy friends?
One by one.
You're not that smart.
(chuckles) Tell me, you're not going to make me prove it toyou again, areyou?
Oh, well, no matter.
It will beyour turn soon enough.
Well, you won't get that chance.
Oh, no?
(laughs) Who's going to stop me, huh?
Man, this is...
This is the land ofthe free!
Well, I'm just checking in.
Bye.
For now.
What does Barnett know aboutyour phone messages?
Uh, that my mother called for no reason and I'm meeting a friend before her cello recital.
Where's that?
Mulder: Before the performance and during we're working at a disadvantage because we don't know exactly what Barnett looks like.
Study each ofthese faces.
Know them, particularly the eyes.
I'm including a diagram ofthe theater.
You have six front entrances and four more backstage.
We know that ifhe shows, he'll be keying on Scully so wherever she is, she should not leaveyour sight.
We've got two hours before the performance.
Know this place inside and out.
We don't want any shots fired ifwe can help it.
We want to take Barnett alive, okay?
Howyou feeling?
It's the first time I've ever played the target.
Let's make sure it's not the last time.
(instruments being tuned) Gun!
Down!
Check her out.
Stay back, Mulder!
Shut up!
Back off, back off.
Don't even think about it.
just let her go.
Go ahead and shoot.
Go ahead, man.
Shoot, Mulder.
What areyou afraid of, huh?
What, it's against regulations, huh?
No, man.
You need me alive, don'tyou?
'Cause I'm the one with the research, huh?
So I could shoot her!
And youjust have to live with it, don'tyou, huh?
Shut up!
How about it, Mulder?
Woman: Please.
Barnett: just like old times, huh?
Huh?
(gunshot) (screaming) Call an ambulance!
Man: It's okay, Scully.
An ambulance is on the way.
Easy.
You all right?
Don't try to move.
Where are they?
Can you hear me?
Barnett.
Where did you hide them?
(all shouting) How areyou feeling?
Like somebody kicked me in the ribs.
That bullet went through eight layers of Kevlar.
You're lucky to be alive.
What about him?
They few in three specialists to try to save his life.
That guy in the ugly suit is probably C.I.A.
He's been trying to talk to him.
Is Barnett conscious?
Yeah, but he's not talking.
Mulder, I know whatyou did wasn't by the book.
Tells you a lot about the book, doesn't it?
Barnett!
Come on!
Where are the papers?
Come on!
Technician: Ten!
Vitals dropping.
Barnett!
(heart monitor: even tone) We're gonna hit him.
(all shouting) Shock him now!
Woman: It's readywhen you need it.
Man: Stand clear.
Woman: He's going fast.
Scully: They lost him.
Bastard will take that research with him to the grave.
Where doyou think it is?
Mulder: Who knows?
If Barnett didn't destroy it, he could've stashed it anywhere, which would have a certain cruel irony, wouldn't it?
Scientific knowledge that could change the course ofmankind buried out in a field somewhere or sitting in some safe deposit box getting old, just like the rest ofus.
Scully: lfhe didn't destroy it, chances are that somehow, someday somebodywill find it.
(ticking) Mulder: And when they do?
Maybe he didn't get his revenge from beyond the grave but somehow I feel like we haven't heard the last fromJohn Barnett.
(ticking)