Season 9: Trust No 1 (9X08)

Written by: Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz
Directed by: Tony Wharmby

In Washington, D.C., Scully pushes baby William in his stroller down a sidewalk. She makes her way to an Internet cafe, where she logs on to a server and checks her e-mail. She opens a posting addressed 'Trust No 1.' The message is from Mulder, who speaks of his longing for Scully and William.

Scully's attention shifts to a young woman, who leaves her baby unattended while arguing with a man on the street. The young woman makes her way back to the Internet cafe, where she apologizes to Scully.

At Quantico, Doggett and Reyes approach Scully with word of an individual contacting the X-Files through intelligence channels who wishes to speak with Mulder because he possesses classified military files on bio-engineered soldiers. But the source will only deal with Mulder personally. But Scully believes it would be a mistake to make contact with Mulder because doing so might endanger him.

As Scully parks her car near her apartment building, she observes the young woman having an argument with a driver. The driver grabs the woman's baby and speeds off in his car. Scully invites the woman into her apartment, where the woman introduces herself as Patti.

Meanwhile, Doggett summons Reyes to a warehouse. Doggett explains how he successfully traced a phone call from the mysterious source to the building. A short time later, the young woman's husband parks in front of the building, exits his vehicle and makes his way inside. The husband speaks with an operative named Shadow Man.

Unbeknownst to Reyes or Doggett, their movements outside the warehouse are being monitored by electronic surveillance. Doggett and Reyes tail the husband from afar. He drives to Scully's building and makes his way inside. Doggett phones Scully and briefs her on the situation. Scully suddenly grows alarmed. She draws her weapon and confronts Patti, who took baby William out of his crib. Moments later, Doggett observes Patti's husband attempting to jimmy the lock on Scully's door. Doggett places the man under arrest.

Patti's husband explains that he works for the National Security Agency. The couple's daughter believes there's something different about their baby, just as there's something different about William. As Scully's apartment is secretly wired with surveillance equipment, Patti's husband witnessed baby William spin a mobile over his crib with the power of his mind. The couple's baby has performed the same feat. Patti's husband told his supervisor about his suspicions. According to the supervisor, Mulder is the only person who can put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Moments later, the telephone rings. Scully answers... and speaks with the supervisor, Shadow Man. Shadow Man arranges to meet Scully at the Internet cafe in twenty minutes. The Shadow Man makes Scully take elaborate measures to ensure that she's alone and not being followed. He makes her drive to a remote location and change clothes. When they meet face-to-face, the Shadow Man threatens to disappear with his information unless Scully makes contact with Mulder.

Doggett tells Scully that the Shadow Man's demands may be for the purpose of luring Mulder out of hiding so he can be killed. But Scully informs him that Mulder's return has already been set in motion... and he is arriving by train. Later, Doggett contacts a forensics technician, Edie Boal, and asks her to examine the change of clothes the Shadow Man gave Scully. Doggett tells Boals he's looking to identify a man. Agent Boal eventually finds a single gray hair on the clothing and sends it to a lab for analysis. As Mulder's train approaches the station, Patti's husband pulls out a gun and appears to aim it at Scully's head. Reyes alerts Scully.

Scully then sees the Shadow Man at the other end of the platform. He, too, is wielding a gun and pointing it in her direction. Reyes knocks Scully to the ground. It soon becomes apparent that Patti's husband is aiming at the Shadow Man, not Scully. The Shadow Man opens fire, hitting Patti's husband. Doggett opens fire, hitting the Shadow Man and knocking him onto the tracks. The train station manager orders the engineer not to stop at the station because of the shootout. The train continues on its way. Scully can only watch, grief-stricken.

Doggett informs Scully and Reyes that the body of the man he shot cannot be found. The lab results of the hair sample taken from the Shadow Man show that his DNA makeup is part iron, leading Doggett to believe that Shadow Man is also a super soldier. Scully instructs the station manager to stop Mulder's train, as she's convinced Shadow Man boarded it to kill Mulder. The agents receive word that someone jumped off the train and ran toward a nearby rock quarry. Scully and Doggett make their way to the quarry in hopes of locating Mulder. Instead, Scully runs into Shadow Man. The Shadow Man tells her that either Mulder or baby William must die. Before he can elaborate, his body is suddenly jerked into a red wall of rock, where it disintegrates into a cloud of dust. Later, dust particles at the quarry reform into the Shadow Man's body.

Notes:
Terry O'Quinn (Shadow Man) is credited with "Special Guest Star" as well as being credited by his real name of Terrance Quinn. This is the third guest appearance Terry O'Quinn has made on ''The X-Files''. He previously appeared in the season two episode ''Aubrey'', and in the feature film ''Fight the Future''. He plays a different character in each appearance.

The way the title of the episode is written - Trust No 1 also has a double meaning - Trust No One, and Trust Number 1, i.e. yourself above everything else. Given that everyone in the episode has to work out what's happening for themselves, this seems very fitting.

Scully's screen-name is QUEEQUEG0925. Queequeq was Scully's dog in season 3, which was eaten in ''Quagmire''. 09/25 is the birthdate of Gillian Anderson's daughter, Piper.

'Trust No One' were the last words of Deep Throat in season 1's ''The Erlenmeyer Flask'' and also Mulder's computer password in ''Little Green Men''. During this episode Scully receives emails from Mulder with the address "Trust No 1".

This episode's tag line is changed to 'They're Watching'.

Quotes:
Scully: (voiceover) One day, you'll ask me to speak of a truth — of the miracle of your birth. To explain what is unexplained. And if I falter or fail on this day, know there is an answer, my child, a sacred imperishable truth, but one you may never hope to find alone. Chance meeting your perfect other, your perfect opposite — your protector and endangerer. Chance embarking with this other on the greatest of journeys — a search for truths fugitive and imponderable. If one day this chance may befall you, my son, do not fail or falter to seize it. The truths are out there. And if one day you should behold a miracle, as I have in you, you will learn the truth is not found in science, or on some unseen plane, but by looking into your own heart. And in that moment you will be blessed — and stricken. For the truest truths, are what hold us together, or keep us painfully, desperately apart.

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Subject: Dearest Dana From: trust_no1@mail.com

She opens the email and reads the message;

From: Trust_No1@mail.com
To: Queequeg0925@hotmail.com
Date: 07 Jan 2002

Scully: (voiceover) I've resisted contacting you for reasons I know you continue to appreciate. But, to be honest, some unexpected dimensions of my new life are eating away at any resolve I have left. I'm lonely, Dana, uncertain of my ability to live like this. I want to come home. To you, and to William. I am physically shaking right now, seeing your words. Wishing it were you speaking them to me. I want so badly to see you too, but you are still not safe here.

Scully: I'm sorry about that. I believe that last class we were covering petechia and evidence of death by —

Doggett: Agent Scully. What the hell are you doing?
Scully: I'm trying to teach a class.
Doggett: You understand what we're being offered here? If we know who these Super Soldiers are we can go after them. This is somebody giving us a way that can make it safe for Mulder to come home.
Scully: That's the operative word here — somebody. Somebody that we don't know.
Doggett: You don't want to check it out.
Scully: What I don't want is Agent Mulder's life to be endangered any more than it already is.
Doggett: How long are you going to do this?
Scully: Do what, Agent Doggett?
Doggett: Refuse to trust me... or anybody. How else you going to get him home?

Shadow Man: That's far enough. Get out of the car. Leave it running.

Scully: Where are you?
Shadow Man: Move around to the trunk. You'll see a change of clothes inside for you. Put them on.
Scully: Look... we're in the middle of nowhere.
Shadow Man: There is no middle of nowhere any more, Agent Scully. Put the gun in the trunk. Your clothes, too. (He takes a remote control device out of his pocket and turns it on. The car starts moving away from them, then explodes) Your watch. Give it to me.
Scully: This is ridiculous. This has gone far enough.
Shadow Man: Do you want to see Mulder again?
Scully: These clothes that I'm wearing ... they're my size. How the hell do you know my size?
Shadow Man: Your size? I know your blood type, your resting heart rate, your childhood fear of clowns. I know the name of your college boyfriend, your true hair colour, your ATM pin number, favourite charities, pet peeves. I know you spend too much time alone. And I know... that on one lonely night you invited Mulder to your bed.
Scully: Oh my god.
Shadow Man: I was as surprised as you were.
Scully: Who authorises you? I mean, what gives you the right? Who are you?
Shadow Man: I'm the future, Agent Scully. And I risked my life being here.
Scully: Well, then why do it? I mean, why meet me?
Shadow Man: Because you can reach Mulder. Mulder needs to know what I know or he may have no future. Perhaps no one will. Another car is parked on the main road, half a mile out. If I see that you haven't contacted Mulder in the next 24 hours, I disappear and you never see me again. Do you understand, lady?

Scully: (voiceover) I hold no hope you can respond to this. Or that it reaches you. I only hope that you are alive. I cannot help believing that you jumped off that train because you knew what I now know — that these 'Super Soldiers', if that's what they are, can in fact be destroyed. That the key to their destruction lies in the iron compound at that quarry. I am scared for you, Mulder. And for William. The forces against us are unrelenting. But so is my determination. To see you again. To regain the comfort and safety that we shared for so brief a time. Until then, I remain forever yours — Dana.

Episode Number: 188
Season Number: 9
First Aired: Sunday, January 6, 2002
Production Code: 9X08

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