The X-Files s03e18 Episode Script

- Dr.
Roosevelt.
- What is it? We found something I think you should see.
- It's an Amaru.
- I know.
It's fantastic.
It's nearly intact.
- We can't take it.
- What do you mean? They're saying the body of a female shaman is sacred to the tribe.
They won’t allow us to disturb her.
We are not disturbing her.
We're saving her.
You know the situation here.
I thought you could handle these people.
Dr.
Roosevelt, I think this is dangerous.
I don't think this is right! Have the piece cleared and packed.
It's going with us.
Mr.
Horning, are you still here? Mr.
Horning? What the hell? How did you learn about what happened here last night? Tim Decker, one of our security guards, called me when he first discovered the blood.
According to the police, you felt his murder may have been an act of political terrorism.
I think Craig Horning was killed because of the project he was working on.
Is that the, uh, "the survey and excavation of the highland burial grounds of the Secona Indians"? This is from a letter that was sent to the state department on behalf of the Secona, demanding the return of a certain artifact.
The Amaru Urn.
It was among the antiquities we rescued last month.
- Rescued? - When Petro Ecuador announced plans to build a gas pipeline through the burial grounds, Carl Roosevelt and I organized the dig.
As I understand it, Roosevelt disappeared under circumstances not dissimilar to ones here.
The Ecuadorian government claimed he was carried off in some wild animal attack.
But that's not what you believe.
- Not after last night.
- Have there ever been any death threats? - No.
- Well, what about the curse? Secona believed that great evil will befall anyone that disturbs the remains of an Amaru.
A woman shaman.
That they would be devoured by the jaguar spirit.
A myth that gained some currency among the Secona when Dr.
Roosevelt disappeared.
- I'm sure.
- The unfortunate thing is somebody exploiting it to promote fear.
To pressure us into returning the bones.
Which I have no intention of doing.
- Can we see it? - Yes, of course.
Mona.
Personally, if someone digs me up in a thousand years, I hope there's a curse on them too.
They should have left it buried.
None of this would have happened.
- Do you believe the bones are cursed? - Might as well be.
Did you know Craig Horning? Yeah.
I've been helping Craig sort and catalog the Ecuadorian artifacts.
I'm a Ph.
D.
candidate at B.
U.
- Did he have any warning that this could happen? - Craig? No.
He was so dedicated.
He was just doing the work that Dr.
Lewton asked him to.
He had no political feelings about the piece being brought here? - No, not Craig.
- Are you aware that a letter of protest was sent to the state department concerning this urn? I'm aware of several letters of protest.
- This one was written by a man named Alonso Bilac.
- Dr.
Bilac.
He was the liaison with the Secona Indians.
- Is he still with the project? - No, he either resigned or was forced out by Dr.
Lewton, depending on who you talk to.
Why is that? Dr.
Bilac feels the Secona have the right to determine the fate of their ancestral remains.
Do you know where we might find him? - Dr.
Bilac? - Yes.
We're with the F.
B.
I.
We're investigating the disappearance of an associate of yours- Craig Horning.
- Yes.
- May we ask you some questions? Come in then.
Dr.
Bilac, you were part of the expedition that brought back the Amaru Urn.
- Who told you that? - Mona Wustner.
I objected from the beginning.
But you were Dr.
Roosevelt's liaison in Ecuador.
At what point did you part company with him on the taking of artifacts? When I felt like he had gone too far against the wishes of the Secona.
Did you express that to him? Yes.
He wouldn't listen.
Were you speaking for yourself or for the Indians? I spent the last six months living with the Secona, learning from them.
Coming to understand the nature and the depth of their culture.
Well, apparently they've learned something from you too.
Yes, I’ve been teaching them the joys of American bureaucracy.
Dr.
Lewton believes that the protests over the Amaru Urn has something to do with Craig Horning's disappearance.
You say "disappearance" as if you expect to see him alive again.
What do you think happened to him? You don't want to know what I think.
Yes, we would like to know.
We'd be very interested in what you think.
I think whatever happened to Craig Horning will continue to happen, until the bones are returned to their rightful place.
Let me ask you, Dr.
Bilac.
How far would you go to defend the rights of the Seconas? Farther than writing a letter to the state department? If you think I did this, then you're a fool.
- Can you account for your whereabouts last night? - I was here.
- Alone? - Yes.
Your investigation is a waste of time.
That's something I can assure you of.
It's nice to meet people who really believe in something, isn't it? You mean the kind who would kill for their cause? - You think Bilac's a suspect? - No.
I think he's the suspect.
- Based on what? - Based on the arrogance of his politics, on his rift with Dr.
Lewton, on his sympathies towards the Indians and the lack of any other suspects.
- He did look a little squirrelly.
- Maybe because he was up late murdering Craig Horning.
Let me remind you we don't have a body and not much more forensic detail than blood.
Craig Horning's blood.
What do you think he did with him? - I'm not sure he did anything.
- So you think Bilac's innocent? That the victim wasn't murdered at all, that he was devoured by a mythological jaguar spirit? Go with it, Scully.
Why did you lie to them? You're only drawing suspicion to yourself by lying, Lonnie.
You should have told them the truth.
I'm worried about you.
Let me come over.
Why? Why not? Dr.
Lewton's here.
I gotta go.
I'll call you later.
I thought you had already left.
I've, uh- I really need to keep working right now.
I'd feel better if you weren't alone here.
Well, the guard knows I'm here.
Was that Dr.
Bilac on the phone? Yes.
We have a responsibility, Mona, to history and posterity.
Dr.
Roosevelt was only doing what any good conservationist would have done in bringing the Amaru Urn back.
Otherwise, it would certainly have been destroyed.
I know.
Now, when you get caught up in the politics, we lose sight of that.
Mona, let me give you a little free advice.
You have a bright future here.
Be careful where you plant your fag.
Oh, Sugar.
- Label that.
- As what? Partial rat body part.
- That's it for now.
- Excuse me.
Can I have a word with you? We're done.
You were working here last night when Dr.
Lewton was killed.
He stopped by my office on his way out.
Did you notice anything out of the ordinary? Was he behaving strange or did he seem nervous about anything? No, not at all.
Did he say anything to you about Dr.
Bilac? No, he didn't.
Do you have any idea when the two of them last spoke to each other? I really don't know.
I'm gonna give you my card.
Call me if anything comes to mind.
Mulder? - They turn up a body? - No.
They've been over the entire museum grounds.
Have you found anything at all out here? If Dr.
Lewton was brought through here, it's going to be hard to determine.
Looks like it rained pretty hard last night.
Well, they determined that the hood release had been pulled.
And they found a small flashlight near the car.
It looks to me like he was checking the engine when he was attacked.
- Maybe somebody didn't want that car started.
- I don't think so, Mulder.
- Why not? - We found evidence of two mutilated rat bodies in the engine compartment.
- Rats? - Apparently, the museum's always had a rat problem.
They must've crawled into the engine to keep warm.
You know, Mulder, there's hardly a thing about these deaths that adds up.
What's the estimate on the time of death? Somewhere between 9:30 and midnight when the guard discovered the blood.
It's about the same time as Craig Horning.
- What's the connection? - I don't know.
- I think Mona Wustner might know something.
- Why? Well, she seemed to get nervous when I asked her about Bilac.
Maybe she's trying to protect him.
I think it's starting to rain again.
I don't think so, Mulder.
What the hell is that? Lonnie? Lonnie? Don't! Lonnie? I came to tell you.
Dr.
Lewton is dead.
Did you hear what I said? Say something, Lonnie, please.
You're scaring me.
- I told you not to come here! - Why not? What's happened to you? Ever since you came back you're acting like some stranger.
Like someone else.
The blood has to stop.
You know something, don’t you? You wouldn't understand.
Then help me to understand! You- You can tell me.
You know that, don’t you? What is that? Vine of the soul.
Yaje? You're drinking yaje? You're sick, Lonnie.
You need help.
Don’t you see what's happening here? - Can’t you see what you're doing to yourself? - Go.
- Let me help you! - I said get out! Well, it's human.
Small intestine.
There's about four feet of jejunum and another foot of ileum.
- Do we know for sure it's Lewton? - Yeah, by what he had for lunch.
Corn Chowder.
And it looks like he'd been snacking on sunflower seeds all afternoon.
- A man of taste.
- What I can't determine is how the body was eviscerated.
There are no knife marks on the epithelium.
I imagine that they could have been torn or pulled from the body cavity.
- "Torn or pulled"? - But I can't determine that either because there was considerable postmortem predation.
- By what? - By the size of the bite marks, a small animal.
Most probably a rat.
- More rats.
- Yep.
Scully.
Slow down, Mona.
I was with Dr.
Bilac.
He frightened me.
I- I thought he was gonna hurt me.
- What happened, Mona? - He's sick.
He doesn't know what he's doing.
- Where is he now? - At his house.
I left him there and I came back to the museum, but I feel like someone's here, like someone's watching me.
I want you to stay exactly where you are.
I'm gonna send Agent Mulder over to get you right away, okay? He's on his way.
Okay.
What is it, Sugar? Dr.
Bilac? What are you doing here? Looking for Mona Wustner.
I got a panicked call from her.
- From Mona? - Yeah.
Where is she? I'll show you.
- Mulder.
- Mulder, it's me.
Did you find Mona? No.
But her car is parked outside.
- She's not here.
Did you find Bilac? - No, he's not here either.
But I found some of his journals.
Listen to this.
"I've seen the Amaru coming out of the jungle with the eyes of a scorpion, the claws of a jaguar.
She leaps down from the trees.
She tears at my flesh, then holds my head in her hands and eats out my eyes.
" - Is there a date of entry on that? - These are all recent.
Read me that part about the jaguar coming down from the trees again.
- Why? - Maybe that's how the intestines got up there.
Mulder, I think Bilac's been tripping.
I found something strange in a ceremonial bowl.
And from his writings, it says it's a hallucinogen called "yaje- the vine of the soul.
" What the hell's that supposed to mean? I think he's been praying to the Amaru through some kind of a ceremony.
- What does he want from her? - It looks like he's invoking the curse, Mulder.
Scully, I'm gonna have to call you back.
- Did you find Mona? - I hope not.
What are you doing here? I said, what are you doing here? She's dead.
Where is she? I don't know.
You told Agent Mulder that she was dead.
You must know where she is.
I didn't kill her.
- Then why do you have blood on your clothes? - I told you.
I came here because the Amaru would not be appeased.
I was afraid for Mona.
I tried to keep her away from all this.
She was an innocent.
She said she was scared.
She said that you became violent.
She wouldn't listen.
Maybe you were too high to know the difference.
There is no curse, is there, Dr.
Bilac? You are the curse.
No.
This is more powerful than any man.
This is a spirit you're dealing with.
Thespirit of the Amaru.
This is not something you can put in handcuffs.
I'm gonna ask you one more time, Dr.
Bilac.
Where is Mona's body? I don't know.
This man stays in that room until there's a full search of the museum, okay? Yes, ma'am.
Hey, Scully.
Come here for a second.
It just dawned on me.
Why do you think there's so much water in here? I just assumed that one of the toilets had overflowed.
There's water on every seat.
It's more like every toilet overflowed.
Now why would that happen? I guess there's only one way to find out.
I hate this.
Rats.
In every toilet.
- How did they get in there? - Agent Mulder.
- The police found something outside.
- Mona Wustner? No, Sugar, her dog.
He's dead.
Finally, a body.
What did you find? Have to run a full toxicological to be sure, but it looks like war far in poisoning.
- War far in? - Rat poison.
Someone fed this dog rat poison? No.
When I dissected the dog's stomach I found an undigested fragment of intestine which appears to be feline.
- The dog ate a cat.
- I also found what appears to be bits of rat fur.
But I think the rat ate the poison.
- The cat ate a rat.
- And the dog ate the cat.
- More rats, Scully.
- Yeah? - Don’t you think that's significant? - Significant of what? There were rats in Dr.
Lewton's car engine.
There were rats in the bathroom where Mona Wustner may have been killed, and now here.
It's an old building, Mulder.
They have a rat problem.
A lot of old buildings have rats.
No, I think it's more than that.
What is it that the Secona believe? The jaguar spirit will devour anybody that desecrates the burial place of a holy woman? Essentially, they're talking about transmigration of the soul into animal form.
- Achieved through a ceremony where they drink the- - Yaje.
- To summon the spirits.
- So, what are we talking here, Mulder? A possessed rat- the return of Ben? No, I think those rats were killed trying to escape from something.
- Something that sent them diving into the toilet? - No, the lids were down.
They were trying to get out.
They were coming from within the sewer lines.
- Trying to get away from something.
- Have you been drinking yaje? Go with it, Scully.
Agent Scully? Bilac's gone.
What? How's that possible? I don't know.
I went to check on him and he just wasn't there.
- Did you step away from this door at any time? - No.
- And no one entered this room? - Absolutely not.
- What about a rat? - Sir? - Did you ever see any rats in this room? - All the time.
Why? - How do you think they get in here? - Through the old heating system.
There are vents all over the place.
Are there any other doors or windows in this room? - I checked.
There's only one way out.
- You didn't hear anything? Nothing.
I want you to search the entire building beginning with every room on this floor.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Hey, Scully, take a look at this.
- Where does that lead to? - The old steam tunnel.
- How do you get down there? - They're pretty much sealed up.
Haven't been used for 50 years.
Do you think Bilac crawled down there? Unless he was dragged.
The system looks like it branches off into three directions.
There must be miles of tunneling down there.
And only one way in.
- And one way out.
Ladies first? Which way? To the left, it looks like.
Follow that rat.
We should be directly under the museum here.
Scully? - Scully! - What is it? Oh, my God.
It's Dr.
Lewton.
Looks like his eyes were eaten right out of his sockets.
We still don't know by what.
- What is it? - I think it's a cat.
Do you think that cat killed these people? No, these cats.
Which way is out? Come on, Scully! No, Mulder.
This way.
There's a room here with a vent.
There.
It's Bilac.
Can you jump in there? - Yeah.
- Come on.
He's been down there too long.
It's all right.
Come on up.
Okay, I will call you back later.
Well, the search team's on their way back up.
They've recovered all the bodies, including Mona's and Bilac's.
What about the cats? No.
Animal control is still looking.
So far they haven't found any sign of them.
Well, we both saw them down there, Scully.
We know they're down there.
No one's denying that.
It’s just that there are miles of tunnels down there and they're saying it's gonna take weeks to search them all.
- Well, by then it won't even matter.
- What are you talking about? I just got off the phone with the Assistant Secretary of State’s office.
- They've called in the Ecuadorian Ambassador.
- What for? Five people had to die, but they're finally taking it seriously.
- The curse? - No.
Bilac's letter of protest.
The state department has asked that the museum remain closed until they can act officially on it.
Are they going to send back the bones? The urn will be back in Ecuador by the end of the week.
The Suffolk County Coroner ruled the death sat the museum were the result of animal attacks.
What motivated these attacks and why no more have occurred since has not been explained.
To the museum, the Amaru Urn was an artifact from a dying culture.
Its curse merely a primitive superstition.
Dr.
Bilac learned there is a world beyond our own, unseen but powerful, and as real at the urn itself.
The icons from that world represent forces that cannot be tamed or collected in a museum.
The true curse that struck the museum was the failure to understand that there are powers that should not be disturbed-