The X-Files

Yes.

- Love you. - And l love you.

- Hello. - Morning, sir.

Good morning.

- Good morning, Cecil. - Top o' the morning to yeh.

Oh, thank you.

- Goodbye, darling! - Goodbye, Charles!

- What time can l expect you? - Before supper.

X-Files Season 1 Episode 12 - Fire

Oh! l forgot what it was like to spend a day in court.

That's one of the luxuries to hunting down aliens and genetic mutants.

You rarely get to press charges.

- lt's open. - What?

- lt's unlocked. - That's weird.

- l'm sure l locked it. - Must be an X-File .

What's that?

l told you l locked the door.

What do you think it is?

Ten to one, you can't dance to it.

Greetings, Agent Mulder.

Six months ago, British MP Reggie Ellicott received a cassette

like the one you're listening to now.

Unfortunately, when he popped the tape into the stereo

he armed a device which, when he tried to exit the car,

created an explosion heard five miles away.

The Scotland Yard forensic team could only identify the poor bastard by dental records.

lf only he hadn't reached for the handle and triggered the detonator!

But how was he to know he was sitting on enough plastic explosive

to lift the car 40 feet

and deposit the engine block on top of a three-storey building?

Aren't we looking rather ghostly?

lt's an old friend.

- Aren't you going to thank me? - For what?

Saving your life. One tends not to make the same mistake twice.

- l'll try to remember that. - You left your sense of humour

- in Oxford ten years ago? - lt's one of the few things

you didn't drive a stake through.

You know, some mistakes are worth making twice.

Dana Scully, this is Phoebe Green, terror of Scotland Yard.

- Hello. - Hello.

She hates me.

What brings you to the colonies?

Some clever bloke has been giving the aristocracy a good scare.

Killed off a ranking MP or three for good measure.

Set Windsor Castle ablaze in 1992.

- Your car bomber? - This one likes to burn his victims alive.

Can't figure out how he does it either.

Not a crumb of evidence at the crime scene.

The last one died in his front garden,

his poor wife watching helplessly as he went up in smoke.

The lrish Republican Army?

Our suspect likes to send love letters to his victims' wives.

Sent one to the wife of Sir Malcolm Marsden a month ago.

Three days later he narrowly escaped a fire in his garage, burned down.

So they're renting a place out on Cape Cod,

bringing the family for an extended holiday.

- Or until we catch the dirty bugger. - He's that determined?

Judging by his success, he takes a certain delight in his work.

So what brings you on this detour to Washington DC, lnspector?

l figured my friend Mulder...

couldn't resist a three-pipe problem.

l'll run it by our arson specialist.

Splendid.

l'll call London, let them know.

Oh, goodbye.

Three-pipe problem?

- From Sherlock Holmes. lt's a private joke. - How private?

We knew each other at school in England. She was brilliant and...

l got in over my head and l... paid the price.

Mulder, you just keep unfolding like a flower.

lt was over ten years ago, Scully.

Yeah. You couldn't drop everything fast enough to help her out.

l was merely extending her a professional courtesy.

Oh, is that what you were extending?

l am going to run this by the arson guys, then she's on her own.

Something tells me you're not going to get rid of her that easily.

Beautiful!

Oh, just beautiful!

Look at that. Salmon-red flames.

This is 1400, 1500 degrees. This is a work of art.

Was there any kind of incendiary device used?

Yes, actually. The victim's body.

- Spontaneous combustion? - He was murdered.

However, we've no evidence that tells us how he caught fire.

That's peculiar. People don't normally just catch on fire.

l mean, we burn, but we don't conduct all that well.

There's usually some extraneous fuel involved, like candle wax, gasoline,

something flammable and incendiary that adheres to skin.

- Like an accelerant? - Like an accelerant! Yes!

But we found no trace, save for magnesium at two sites.

That's aliphatic pyrolysis, a residue from an exothermic reaction.

There's no evidence of the source. No pore pattern or ignition devices.

There have been some arson fires in Seattle lately, and Pennsylvania.

They burn so hot the firemen can't put them out. 7,000 degrees.

- Hosing that down makes it worse. - How's that?

Well, the... reaction is so intense

that it splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. Just adds fuel to the fire.

- What were they using? - We don't know for sure.

Could be rocket fuel. That burns so hot and clean there's never a trace left.

You see, it's very difficult to prove arson.

lt's driving the insurance companies nuts.

That's about the only explanation that l can give you.

There are cases of pyrokinetics, people who can control and conduct fire.

Well, l've seen fire bend around corners.

l've seen it bounce like a rubber ball.

Fire's got a certain genius, you know,

a certain... demon poetry.

lt's like it's got a mind of its own.

But l've never seen one that can defy the laws of physics. Not when you figure it out.

You've...

got quite a case for yourself here, Mulder. l almost wish l could be in your shoes.

Hey, Jackson!

- Boy, that's a nice house! - What a pleasant surprise!

Welcome to America, Sir Malcolm.

ln here, please.

And over there as well. But the second one l want upstairs.

Gentlemen, the second set of boxes will go directly up the stairs.

- Hello there. - Hello.

l'm Bob, the caretaker.

- We've been exchanging letters. - Oh, hello, Bob!

Excuse the paint. Hi.

- Just trying to spruce the place up for you. - Well, it's delightful.

- The photos don't do itjustice. - Anything l can do for you,

anything at all, you just holler.

Thank you, Bob.

- He seems like a rather nice fellow. - Very.

My God, darling!

That painting rather looks like you.

Do you think?

Oh, l don't know.

Bloody little cur! l'll skin you alive!

You see? l'm the caretaker now.

So, Sherlock, is the game afoot?

Afraid so, Watson.

But you're off the hook on this one.

What do you mean?

l'm not going to put you through this.

- Put me through what? - Phoebe's little mind game.

What are you talking about?

There's something else l haven't told you about myself, Scully.

l hate fire. Hate it.

l'm scared to death of it.

When l was a kid, my best friend's house burned down.

l had to spend the night in the rubble, to keep away looters.

For years l had nightmares about being trapped in a burning building.

- And Phoebe knows about this? - This is classic Phoebe Green.

Mind-game player extraordinaire.

Ten years, and then she shows up with a case like this.

She shows up knowing the power she has over you and makes you walk through fire.

Phoebe is fire.

Are you sure you don't want me to help you out on this one?

Sooner or later, a man's gotta face his demons.

Hello. You're the Marsdens' driver?

Who's that?

Bob.

The caretaker.

Oh. Yeah.

- Bum a smoke? - Yeah, sure.

- l'm going into town. Can l get you anything? - Some cough medicine, if it's no problem.

Syrup or... lozenges?

Syrup'd be good.

Can l give you some money?

l appreciate that!

Beer.

They don't let you bring your own around here.

l guess they'll just have to make an exception... won't they?

You're English!

God, l just love that accent!

Allow me.

A gentleman, to boot.

Oh, my God!

Now, that is a trick!

Hey, guys! Take a look at this!

Care for a light?

l pulled this report off the wire.

A customer in a bar caught fire, but they're still looking for a body.

Any indication an accelerant was used?

The bar is across from a fire station. Burned down before they could respond.

lt turned the concrete foundation into sponge cake. This is a woman who was in the bar.

- Hello. - Hello.

- Miss Gotchek? - Yes.

l'm Special Agent Mulder from the FBl. This is lnspector Green.

- Can you tell us what happened in the bar? - There was this guy.

l'd had a few drinks, so...

He sat next to me and

he did this thing.

lt was like a magic trick where he lit his finger on fire.

When l turned around he was up in flames.

- Can you describe him? - Good-looking, l think.

Brownish hair.

- Long hair? Short hair? - l've already told the police.

Could you work with an artist and come up with a sketch?

- l had a few drinks. - Can l get your name and address?

See...

l live with someone.

- He thinks l was at school last night. - lt's no problem.

You can come down to the field office and work with somebody.

l'll give you a minute to think about it, OK?

Deftly done, Agent Mulder.

Casually disregard her indiscretion.