7ABX12 X-Cops

Deputy Wetzel: [to camera crew] I don't know what it is about a full moon. It's just something about it. People just go off the wall. I mean, these are some pretty scary neighbourhoods to begin with. I haven't been on the job that long myself, but I've seen more than my fair share of crazy stuff. When the moon is full, it's just like times ten. I don't know, uh... I don't know. Maybe it's the tides or something. But irregardless, we're on the job and if that makes people breathe a little easier knowing we're out there... or be a little less nervous walking the streets at night, well, that's, that's a good feeling. Okay, we got a report of somebody lurking around the neighbourhood making noise. Actually, I take that back. We got a report of a... monster lurking around the neighbourhood? What the...? Hey, it's a full moon. A lot of drug activity in this district. We're probably looking at somebody rattling doorknobs, trying to steal some money for a quick fix. Usually they're not the stealthiest of criminals so maybe we'll get lucky and sneak up on them.

Deputy Wetzel: [to camera crew] A lot of scratches. [On the door] Maybe a big dog. That's probably what she saw. [He knocks on the door with his flashlight] Sheriff's Department. [A terrified Hispanic woman cracks open the door]

Mrs Guerrero: Is a claw monster! Mira... Matenlo! Matenlo! [Look... Kill it! Kill it!]

Deputy Wetzel: Calmate! No monstruo... [Calm down. It's not a monster...]

Mrs Guerrero: It's a monster! [She slams the door]

Deputy Wetzel: Senora!

Mrs Guerrero: Buscalo! [Look at it!]

Deputy Wetzel: [to camera crew] Man, scared of something.

Sergeant Duthie: Everybody all right? [to camera crew] Hey, you all right? You all right? *Bleep*, Keith. What was this?

Deputy Wetzel: I was responding to a 921 at this house right here and... there was a prowler call and, uh...

Sergeant Duthie: You flipped it?

Deputy Wetzel: No, no. Hell, no, I didn't flip it. It was... We were parked. The... we were attacked.

Sergeant Duthie: By who? By gangbangers?

Deputy Wetzel: Uh...

Sergeant Duthie: Keith?

Deputy Wetzel: Yeah, I mean yeah, it was gangbangers.

Sheriff: Get your hands up!

Scully: FBI!

Sheriff: I don't care! Get your hands up!

Mulder: FBI!

Sheriff: Turn around! Turn around!

Mulder: I got ID. In my back pocket.

Scully: We're investigating a case!

Mulder: Check the ID!

Sheriffs: Behind your head!

Mulder: Check my ID in the back pocket. [Sergeant Duthie frisks Mulder and checks his ID]

Sergeant Duthie: Hold it, they're FBI! Give them back their guns!

Mulder: Thank you.

Scully: We're investigating a case.

Sergeant Duthie: What case?

Mulder: Same case you're working on.

Sergeant Duthie: So who we looking for?

Mulder: Not who, what.

Scully: Mulder, what the hell is going on here? [Noticing the camera crew]

Mulder: I don't know.

Mulder: [to Scully] See the claw marks here? Someone tried to get in. [Mulder walks back to the ambulance where Deputy Wetzel is getting his wounds treated] Deputy? Deputy, can you describe for me what you saw?

Deputy Wetzel: Um, I mean, it was pretty dark. Umm. I didn't really see. I don't know. I don't know.

Mulder: Well, you must have seen something in order to run away from it, huh? You were responding to the same call we were — of a monster prowling the neighbourhood.

Sergeant Duthie: We've been to this house before. The lady has a history of medication. Know what I mean?

Mulder: Yeah, maybe, but she's not the only one seeing monsters. There's been half a dozen such sightings in this area in the past 60 days. Were you aware of that?

Deputy Wetzel: No. I mean...

Mulder: Yeah. Also, these sightings only occur on nights when there's a full moon which tells me something.

Sergeant Duthie: What?

Mulder: What you saw was large, right? Maybe seven, eight feet tall when it stood up on its two legs? And it was covered in fur and had glowing red eyes and claws... Claws sharp enough to gouge the wood off that front door.

Sergeant Duthie: You're not serious.

Mulder: And dare I forget teeth. It bit you, didn't it? [He grabs Deputy Wetzel's wrist] Look at that. Deputy, how long were you going to hide that from the EMTs?

Sergeant Duthie: Where did you get that, Keith?

Deputy Wetzel: I don't even know where that came from. I mean, I didn't see anything that he's talking about.

Sergeant Duthie: Big teeth, eight feet tall? What the hell are you describing?

Mulder: A werewolf.

Sergeant Duthie: Excuse me?

Mulder: It's what did that. [Pointing to the wrecked Police car] It also attacked one Hyman Escalara 29 days ago during the last full moon. Hyman died of his wounds in Compton General Hospital but not before giving a detailed description of what attacked him. My partner and I are here to catch it. Unfortunately though, Deputy, you've been bitten. The skin is broken. Werewolf lore pretty much universally holds that someone who's been bitten by such a creature is going to become such a creature himself, so...

Deputy Wetzel: Wait a minute. I mean, that's not what really happened, though.

Mulder: I'm sorry, but you're going to have to be isolated and kept under guard.

Sergeant Duthie: With all due respect what the *bleep* are you talking about?

Mulder: I'm talking about preventing this man from becoming a danger to himself and to others.

Sergeant Duthie: Can I see your badge again?

Scully: Agent Mulder, can we have a word a second.

Mulder: [to Sergeant Duthie] Excuse me. [Scully leads him away and the camera follows] What is it?

Scully: What is it? Mulder, have you noticed that we're on television?

Mulder: I don't think it's live television, Scully. She just said *bleep*.

Scully: But it's a camera and it's recording. It's recording everything that you are saying. Do you understand that? I just want to make sure that you're clear on that.

Mulder: I'm clear on that, Scully.

Scully: My point being, Mulder, that we're on a case.

Mulder: This presents an opportunity. I feel we're very close here. The possibility of capturing concrete proof of the paranormal? Of a werewolf in front of a national audience, even an international audience? What's not to love?

Scully: Wh... [She realises Mulder is looking at the camera which is right beside them again and pulls him back the way they came] Look, Mulder, you want to talk about werewolves to me you can knock yourself out. I may not agree with you but at least I'm not going to hold it against you, but this... Mulder, this could ruin your career.

Mulder: What career? Scully, I appreciate it. You don't want me looking foolish. I do. I appreciate that.

Scully: I don't want me looking foolish, Mulder.

Mulder: Okay, fine. Well, do me a favour. Will you escort Deputy Wetzel to the hospital? Just keep an eye on him in case I'm right? Thank you.

Scully: I'm going to call Skinner, Mulder.

Mulder: Okay.

Scully: I'm sure he's going to want to say a couple of words about this. [Scully dials her mobile and speaks to the camera crew] Guys, give it a rest, huh?

Mulder: Look at that. Excuse me. Look at this. It's like five claw marks. Just like the human hand has five fingers. Pretty much the same spread, too. [He places his hand over the scratches on the door]

Sergeant Duthie: Agent, you seriously believe we're looking for some kind of a...?

Mulder: I'll show you. This... this is what Hyman Escalara described just before succumbing to his injuries. [He unfolds a sketch of a werewolf from his jacket pocket] Ten to one that's what Mrs Guerrero's going to describe, too.

Deputy Molina: Sir? Sir? We got your suspect."

[Ricky Koehler rips the drawing out his notebook. It is a representation of Nightmare on Elm Street's Freddy Kreuger]

Mrs Guerrero: Claw monster. Claw monster.

Deputy Molina: Claw monster. Boy, you know, they kill him in every movie and he just keeps coming back. I'm sorry.

Mulder: This is strange.

Sergeant Duthie: Gracias, Mrs Guerrero. [to Mulder] We're looking for gangbangers.

Mulder: How's Deputy Wetzel? [Scully nods back to where Deputy Wetzel is getting out of the patrol car] You let him get released?

Scully: Well... those weren't teeth marks, Mulder. They turned out to be insect bites... Individual welts or stings of some sort. Together, they just looked like a larger pattern especially when we want them to... [She glances at the camera] ...although it was an understandable conclusion that I'm sure anybody would have made.

Mulder: So, what did Skinner say?

Scully: He said that the FBI has nothing to hide... and neither do we.

Mulder: Well, if it makes you feel any better, Scully, I'm not entirely convinced that we're looking for a werewolf any more.

Scully: Oh. All right, good.

Mulder: No, something else. I'm not sure what. Some other kind of creature, though. That I'm sure of. [He stops an Sheriff running past them] Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?

Sheriff: Six blocks from here — could be what we're looking for.

[Mulder and Scully run to their car, The camera crew opens the rear door to get in the back seat, but Scully stops them]

Scully: No. You go with someone else.

Scully: Last call from this phone was made to the Road Club — Ricky Koehler requesting roadside assistance for his flat tyre. He asked them to hurry. He said he didn't feel safe.

Mulder: What's that? [The sketch of Freddy Kreuger]

Scully: Our suspect, apparently.

Mulder: Slash marks match up pretty well, wouldn't you say?

Scully: Somebody lost a nail.

Mulder: Nice colour.

Scully: Check out this colour, Mulder — blood red. [There's blood on the end of the nail]

Sergeant Duthie: Hey, Steve and Edy — Sergeant Paula.

Mulder: The Steve and Edy?

Sergeant Duthie: They're good folks. They usually call us if there's trouble in the neighbourhood.

[A pair of very gay, black men answer the door]

Steve: Ooh...

Edy: Oh, my God, look at this. Look at all these people, Lord.

Mulder: So, apparently, we're on the lookout for someone whose hair matches her fingernails — bubblegum pink. That'd be a good colour for you, Scully. [to camera crew] I'd have to say that at, uh, this point in the investigation I'm usually a little more secure in what it is we're actually investigating but we've had so many conflicting eyewitness reports that it's hard to ascertain exactly what it is we're looking for... But the crimes we are investigating are paranormal. Uh, I can say that... with absolute conviction um, and the nature of these crimes they're notoriously hard to quantify on any kind of regular scientific level as Agent Scully will tell you.

Scully: Oh, yeah.

Mulder: Yeah, which in it... in it... in its own way is a... is a kind of a validation if you think about it, in and of itself, uh, but, you know, that's our job. That's why they pay us the big bucks.

Scully: Chuco Munoz, the man himself. Only distinguishing feature is a tattoo on his skull. [Showing Mulder the wanted flyer]

Mulder: He's not our guy.

Scully: What do you mean?

Mulder: I don't care how bad his rep is, he can't turn over a squad car.

Scully: Yeah, well, maybe not by himself but he's probably got friends, right?

Mulder: No, there's something else going on.

Sergeant Duthie: I wish someone would explain to me what the hell is going on here. It just doesn't make sense. Keith Wetzel may be a little green but he is a solid deputy — a squared-away individual. Nothing could have gotten past him and killed that woman.

Sheriff: There's no sign of what he was shooting at. [Holding up a spent bullet] This was all we found. Nine millimetre. It's our issue.

Scully: Where'd you find that?

Sheriff: It was lying in the middle of the street. Doesn't look like it ricocheted.

Mulder: Maybe Wetzel hit what he was aiming at. Excuse me. [He walks over to join Deputy Wetzel, followed by the camera crew] Hey, Deputy. You ready to talk to me now? You and I both know you saw something. We're way past claiming you didn't.

Deputy Wetzel: I only know what I thought I saw.

Mulder: Well, describe it for me.

Deputy Wetzel: The wasp man.

Mulder: The wasp man?

Deputy Wetzel: It's ridicu... It's ridiculous. The scary stories my older brother used to tell me when I was a kid about a monster with a head like a wasp and a mouthful of stingers instead of teeth. He said that it would come get me in my sleep and that... and that it would sting me to death.

Mulder: So you're saying that the, uh, the wasp man attacked you both times here, and earlier in the patrol car?

Deputy Wetzel: I'm not saying that that's what it was, okay? I mean... they didn't see it. [He indicates the camera crew] It's not on the videotape. This... this can't be real.

Mulder: I think maybe it can. Just... just relax a minute. Excuse me. Scully? [He walks Scully a few paces away] We came on this case looking for a werewolf, right?

Scully: Well, you did, that's correct.

Mulder: Hyman Escalara claimed he was attacked by a werewolf and the wounds that he sustained would seem to bear that out, right? And then, Wetzel over here sees a wasp man with stingers for teeth and he gets a bite mark that you say is irrefutably insect-like, right?

Scully: Mulder, that's not exactly...

Mulder: And then another eyewitness claims she sees Freddy Kreuger. Scully, what if we're dealing with one creature, one entity that, when it attacks, appears to you as your worst nightmare? Fear. Maybe that's what this thing feeds on.

Scully: Okay, well, for the sake of this argument...

Mulder: Yeah.

Scully: ...how would one catch something like that?

Mulder: Probably by... by figuring out how it chooses its prey. I mean, there... It seems to spread like a contagion, doesn't it? One person's fear becomes the next. There's a definite chain of victims. Tonight it went from Mrs Guerrero to Wetzel and the sketch artist and then from the sketch artist to Chantara Gomez and then...

Scully: Chantara Gomez back to Wetzel.

Mulder: Right.

Scully: But you're missing someone, Mulder.

Mulder: Who?

Scully: Edy. Steve and Edy. They're a part of this chain, too and, and according to your theory they would have been attacked, right?

[Another camera team arrives with Deputy Wetzel]

Scully: Oh, God. More of you?

Deputy Wetzel: We any closer to an arrest?

Scully: I'm afraid not. Mulder, what next?

Mulder: Well, I'd say we should station a couple of deputies out here but I don't think it's coming back here. We're just playing catch-up with this thing. It doesn't do what you'd expect. And, uh, well, we've got four or five hours till the moon sets. The attacks only occur on the full moon, then we're out of luck.

Scully: Well, I want to examine Chantara Gomez.

Mulder: For a possible contagion?

Scully: Your contagion of fear?

Mulder: Yeah.

Scully: No.

Mulder: No?

Scully: But if I can't figure out what this thing was at least I can figure out what it wasn't.

Mulder: All right. Make it fast. Fill that tank up with gas. [to Deputy Wetzel] Uh, Deputy, you're the only person who's seen this twice so I'd like to ride with you, if you don't mind.

Deputy Wetzel: Let's go.

Mulder: Thanks.

Deputy Wetzel: You really believe me, huh? You really believe I saw what I thought I saw?

Mulder: Yeah, I believe you.

Deputy Wetzel: Why?

Mulder: Why do I believe you?

Deputy Wetzel: Yeah. I mean, what proof do you have what I'm saying is real? I mean, it's not... it's not on the video tape.

Mulder: The camera doesn't always tell the whole story.

Deputy Wetzel: And what about your partner? Does she believe me?

Mulder: I don't think she thinks you're lying.

Deputy Wetzel: Yeah, but what? Maybe I'm crazy? You know, I've been on the job 18 months — all I ever wanted to do. Right out of the gate, I get some kind of rep like I'm crazy? I mean, you know how cops are. How's somebody supposed to live that down?

Mulder: I don't know. Uh, I guess just do good work.

Deputy Wetzel: It's a hard enough job already, you know? You want to help people but it's like the freaking Wild West out here. You know people hate you? Every shift, I go out thinking... Go ahead. [Waving pedestrians across in front of the car] ...I go out thinking, You know, there's somebody out there who wants to take me out. Am I going to run into him tonight? And it's hard to have a fast-track career in law enforcement when everybody thinks you're nuts.

Mulder: Tell me about it.

Scully: Chantara Gomez, age 31, apparent cause of death is the fracturing of the second and third cervical vertebrae. There are contusions consistent with, uh, choking or throttling uh, by very powerful hands.

Coroner's Assistant: People are saying her pimp killed her from beyond the grave. That's the story going around. It's crazy, huh?

Scully: Well, let's see if we can put that story to rest, shall we?

Coroner's Assistant: The other thing I heard was, uh... something about contagion? Like with this body?

Scully: That's... that's completely inaccurate. This, uh, investigation is... is... We're moving towards an apparent chain of victims and I seriously doubt that we're going to find anything that looks like a contagious pathology here.

Coroner's Assistant: Because, I mean, if we were we should be taking precautions. If the body could be contagious, you... We're not even wearing masks.

Scully: Look, this is obviously a murder, here. I mean, this woman died of a broken neck, right? Not the hantavirus.

Coroner's Assistant: Who said anything about the hantavirus?

Scully: Nobody. I just... I was, um... It was a figure of speech.

Coroner's Assistant: It's just, the reason I asked is why is it so urgent to do an autopsy at 3:00 in the morning? I mean, that kind of rush — it's just unheard of.

Scully: We're trying to look for the killer.

Coroner's Assistant: Well, we got murder victims stacked three-deep in the freezer. Plus you got this camera crew reporting everything. Why?

Scully: Because the FBI has nothing to hide. Look, there is no ulterior motive here. It's just... Are you going to help me out here, or what?

Coroner's Assistant: Yeah. Of course.

Scully: Thank you.

Coroner's Assistant: Why did you mention the hantavirus?

Scully: Look, I... [The Coroner's Assistant suddenly sneezes and looks down at blood on her fingers, there is more blood trickling from her nose]

Coroner's Assistant: Oh, my God. [She falls to the floor, Scully kneels down next to her, as the camera crew comes closer]

Scully: Call 911. Call 911! 911! [The camera crew doesn't move] Get out of here! Come on!

Scully: It's not the hantavirus. It looks for all the world like the hantavirus but I can promise you that it's not. Well, I mean, she exhibited all the symptoms — the haemorrhagic fever, the severe chills, acute shock. But, I mean, the thing is that they all developed in a matter of seconds. And the hantavirus doesn't kill that fast. I mean, no virus in the world kills that fast.

Mulder: You were talking about the hantavirus right before she died? Why?

Scully: Because she kept bringing it up. I mean, it was like the power of suggestion, Mulder. She was — she was standing there. She was saying that she was afraid of contagion and then all of a sudden, she just...

Mulder: She was afraid. She was afraid... and her fear killed her in the worst possible way that she could imagine.

Sergeant Duthie: What do you mean by that?

Mulder: It's the same. It's the same MO. Same as the others. What we've been looking for all night. This entity or force somehow vectored off Chantara Gomez to attack this other woman.

Scully: No, no, no, Mulder. I was standing right here. I didn't see anything. [She indicates the camera] They didn't see anything.

Mulder: Yeah, but you weren't afraid.

Scully: The hell I wasn't afraid, Mulder. I don't know what's going on here.

Mulder: You weren't afraid for your life. Neither were Steve and Edy and it left them alone. Mortal fear: I think that's what it comes down to. This... this... this thing whatever it is, is attracted to that. Everybody who was attacked felt that intensely.

Sergeant Duthie: For [beep] sakes.

Mulder: No, no. It makes perfect sense. [to Sergeant Duthie] You said so. You asked me earlier what would this thing be doing in Willow Park. Well, where else would it go but a high-crime neighbourhood? Somewhere where people live behind barred windows and are afraid to go out at night. Where's Deputy Wetzel?

Sergeant Duthie: Back on patrol.

Scully: Mulder, you were walking around with him for three hours and you didn't see anything...

Mulder: But I was with him. I was backing him up.

[Mulder and Scully head around the back of the house with the camera crew following]

Mulder: That gun's not going to be any good.

Scully: It's the battering ram. [The loud banging]

Mulder: Well, how come they're not in yet?

[The door slams shut and they look around nervously]

Scully: Wind?

Mulder: If you say so.

[They see the closet door handle jiggling, Mulder opens it revealing the other two member camera crew who scream and wave the microphone threateningly. Scully slams the door shut again]

Scully: Damn it. I hate you guys. [She glares at the camera crew who has been following them]

Mulder: Where's Wetzel?

Cameraman: [from closet] We don't know. There's something out there.

Mulder: Stay where you are.

Cameraman: [from closet] [beep] yeah.

Mulder: Look at this, Scully. [There is blood on the floor]

Scully: Deputy Wetzel?

Mulder: Wetzel, don't be afraid. It can't hurt you! Don't be afraid! That's what it wants. Hello? Wetzel? It can't hurt you! You're a [beep] Sheriff's Deputy, Wetzel! Don't be afraid now. And you're on national television, so cowboy up! Geez. [The door suddenly opens] Wetzel? [Deputy is is on the floor, alive, but bleeding badly]

Scully: He's alive.

Sergeant Duthie: [from downstairs] Deputy Wetzel?

Scully: We're up here!

Sergeant Duthie: [beep] What happened?

Scully: The sun just came up.

Scully: You think the Deputy stopped it whatever it was?

Mulder: Maybe it just went away until the next full moon. I don't know. You've got to figure there's enough fear in the world that if it doesn't show up in Willow Park it's going to show up someplace else.

Scully: You didn't get the proof that you wanted, Mulder.

Mulder: Well, hey, you know, it all depends on how they edit it together. [Pointing at the camera]

Scully: It's going to be a hard one to write up.