The X-Files Reopened - 1AYX79 - Flight Plan

Pilot
(1AYX79)
Flight Plan
Written by
James Jordan
Based upon THE X-FILES Created by

Chris Carter
GREEN Pages (6 pgs) 08/27/19

(Sc. 11,14,16,20,67,69-70)
YELLOW Page (1 pg / Sc. 11) 08/26/19
PINK Draft 08/26/19
BLUE Draft 08/20/19
WHITE Production Draft 07/31/19
All rights reserved. Copyright © 2019 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. No
portion of this script may be performed, published, reproduced, sold or distributed by
any means or quoted or published in any medium, including on any website, without the
prior written consent of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Disposal of this
script copy does not alter any of the restrictions set forth above.
X-FILES REOPENED
Pilot Episode (1AYX79)
“Flight Plan”
PINK Draft (8/26/19)
CAST LIST
AGENT ELIZABETH (LIZ) EINSTEIN ................. Lauren Ambrose
AGENT KYD MILLER ................................. Robbie Amell
A.D. WALTER SKINNER ............................. Mitch Pileggi
LAUREN MINETTE ................................... Louise Monot

TOOTHPICK MAN ....................................... Alan Dale
S.A.C. FOSSA ............................... Sarah-Jane Redmond
ERIC ZELLMAN (ANXIOUS MAN) ................................ TBC
VICTOR CONSTANZA (CO-PILOT) ............................... TBC
CHARMING WOMAN (WOMAN’S VOICE) ............................ TBC
CAPTAIN ................................................... TBC
YOUNG SOLDIER ............................................. TBC
COMMANDING OFFICER ........................................ TBC
DHS AGENT ................................................. TBC
JUNIOR AGENT .............................................. TBC
MILITARY POLICE ........................................... TBC
AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROLLER .................................... TBC
SOLDIERS .................................................. TBC
SKINNER’S ASSISTANT (NON-SPEAKING) ............. Arlene Pileggi

FBI TRAINEES (NON-SPEAKING) ............................... TBC
SCAN TECHNICIAN (NON-SPEAKING) ............................ TBC
MASKED PARATROOPERS (NON-SPEAKING) ......................... TBC
MUSCULAR MEN (NON-SPEAKING) ............................... TBC
PASSENGERS (NON-SPEAKING) ................................. TBC
X-FILES REOPENED
Pilot Episode (1AYX79)
“Flight Plan”
PINK Draft (8/26/19)
SET LIST
WASHINGTON, D.C.
INTERIORS EXTERIORS
DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
FBI HEADQUARTERS SHORT-TERM PARKING
A.D. SKINNER’S OFFICE HIGHWAY
BASEMENT HALLWAY J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
BASEMENT OFFICE MOTEL BREEZEWAY
HALLWAY
PARKING GARAGE
FBI TRAINING ACADEMY
AUTOPSY BAY
MOTEL
BATHROOM
BEDROOM
RENTAL CAR
SECOND RENTAL CAR
SKINNER’s CAR
NOVA SCOTIA
INTERIORS EXTERIORS
AIRLINER GREENWOOD AIR FORCE BASE
COCKPIT MOTEL BREEZEWAY
PASSENGER CABIN RURAL HIGHWAY
GREENWOOD AIR FORCE BASE SKIES OVER THE ATLANTIC
CONCOURSE
STAIRWELL
HOSPITAL
CORRIDOR
EXAMINATION ROOM
MONITORING BOOTH
SCAN ROOM
MOTEL BEDROOM
RENTAL CAR
CUBA
INTERIORS EXTERIORS
GUANTANAMO BAY GUANTANAMO BAY
BASE CORRIDOR AIRFIELD
BASE BRIG LANDING STRIP
HOSPITAL PERIMETER FENCE
JEEP INTERSECTION
LONG RURAL ROAD
REMOTE ROAD
TEASER
1 A BOEING 777 COMMERCIAL AIRLINER 1
At cruising altitude, flying steadily through the void of the

darkened stratosphere. Leaving a wispy contrail in its wake.
With LEGEND: 35,000 FEET OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, 10:13 PM *
2 INT. AIRLINER - PASSENGER CABIN - NIGHT 2
About half full. Plenty of room. Lights down low. Several

PASSENGERS sleeping. A FLIGHT ATTENDANT serving drinks.
FINDING a seat at the end of an empty row, where a plastic
airline glass of Scotch is lifted by a TREMBLING HAND.
A MAN (40s) sips his drink, sitting in front of his OPEN

LAPTOP. Sweat runs down his forehead. He is visibly ANXIOUS.
WOMAN’S VOICE *
Excuse me --
Anxious looks along the row to find a CHARMING WOMAN (30s)

standing in the aisle. She clutches her carry-on bag with a
bundle of newspapers and magazines stuffed under her arm.
CHARMING
-- I’ve had a six-year-old kicking
the back of my seat since we left
JFK -- would you mind if I -- ?
She indicates the empty seat at the end of the row.

ANXIOUS
Go ahead.
Charming smiles, sits. She takes out a BALLPOINT PEN and

quietly makes a start on the New York Times crossword.
CLOSE ON ANXIOUS
As he taps at his laptop keyboard. Typing at speed. Furtive.
DRIFTING OVER TO CHARMING
As she CLICKS the end of her pen and subtly angles it to

point directly at Anxious’s laptop -- we see it’s no ordinary
pen but some kind of HIGH-TECH LASER POINTER DEVICE.
A tiny RED DOT appears on the base of the laptop. BLINKS.
(CONTINUED)
X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Teaser PINK Draft (8/26/19) 2.
2 CONTINUED: 2
Anxious jabs at his keyboard when his screen suddenly FRITZES

and FREEZES before plunging out to a BLACK SCREEN. Dead.
ANXIOUS
Son of a --
Just then, the lights in the cabin start to FRITZ too. The
plane hits an air pocket and SHUDDERS with turbulence.
The “FASTEN SEATBELTS” sign blinks on.
Charming glances around, concerned. Has she done this too? If

she has, the look on her face suggests it was unintentional.
The cabin SHAKES HARDER and passengers ROCK IN THEIR SEATS.

Anxious looks up from his busted laptop with a rising terror,
as if he has a sense of what might be about to happen.
Another, heavier JOLT and the whole plane RUMBLES. A few

GASPS and SHRIEKS from concerned passengers. What feels like
ordinary yet severe turbulence until --
THE ENTIRE CABIN IS FILLED WITH A BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT

accompanied by AN UNEARTHLY THRUMMMMMMMM --
3 INT. AIRLINER - COCKPIT - NIGHT 3
The CAPTAIN and CO-PILOT struggle to maintain control of the

shaking aircraft. Flipping SWITCHES and DIALS frantically.
CAPTAIN
This is American Flight 814 -- we
are declaring an emergency --
Filled with INTENSE WHITE LIGHT. The cabin SHAKING wildly and
uncontrollably now. Passengers SCREAMING in mortal terror.
Anxious grips his armrests tight. His knuckles going white.

Holding on for dear life when --
THREE NARROW GREEN LASER BEAMS PENETRATE THE CABIN FROM ABOVE
-- searching like a laser-targeted drone strike until --
They FIND Anxious and come to a rest over his head -- *
He looks up into the laserlight, awestruck and terrified -- *

5 EXT. SKIES OVER THE ATLANTIC - NIGHT 5
HIGH OVER the silhouette of the PASSENGER JET as the sharp

edge of a MATTE BLACK TRIANGULAR CRAFT eclipses the airliner.
So close to frame we can only get the briefest glimpse of its

dorsal surface before being plunged into TOTAL DARKNESS.
ROCKING and RATTLING like it might explode from sheer stress

-- SHRIEKING and SCREAMING from hundreds of passengers --
The BLINDING WHITE LIGHT now fills the cabin -- BRIGHTER and
BRIGHTER -- near NUCLEAR INTENSITY until we WHITEOUT FRAME --
7 EXT. SKIES OVER THE ATLANTIC - NIGHT 7
-- as TWO F-15 EAGLE FIGHTER JETS SKYROCKET PAST THE

COMMERCIAL AIRLINER before looping around to fly in escort
formation alongside either wing --
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (RADIO FILTER)

Flight 814, this is ATC Hanscom.
You are ordered to change course
heading one-niner-zero and proceed
immediately to Canadian Air Force
Base Greenwood. Acknowledge.
8 INT. AIRLINER - COCKPIT - NIGHT 8
The Captain and Co-Pilot work their consoles, seemingly back

in control of the aircraft. Keeping calm in a crisis.
CAPTAIN
Acknowledged, ATC. Changing course.
9 EXT. GREENWOOD AIR FORCE BASE - NOVA SCOTIA - NIGHT 9
As the Airliner descends onto the LANDING STRIP and the

wheels of its landing gear touch down with a SQUEAK --
EMERGENCY RESPONSE HUMVEES swarm up the tarmac at speed. BLUE *

AND RED LIGHTS STROBE across the darkness --
MILITARY TROOPS in combat fatigues leap out of the lead *

vehicles and surround the grounded plane -- all armed with
SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLES which they wield with expert precision.
(CONTINUED)
9 CONTINUED: 9
A staircase on wheels is rushed into position against the

side of the plane. Troops surge up the steps. BOOTS POUNDING
OVER STEEL. All happening in the blink of an eye. *
As the cabin door is opened with a mechanical KA-CHUNK -- *
10 INT. AIRLINER - PASSENGER CABIN - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 10
The Troops SWARM IN with their rifles poised. Darting down *

the aisles in well-drilled tactical formation --
FLASHLIGHTS mounted to the barrels of their rifles search *

left and right. Piercing across the darkened cabin where --
Row upon row of spindly OXYGEN MASKS dangle ominously from *

above -- but each seat is mysteriously, inexplicably EMPTY.
The Troops lower their weapons and react in confusion at the

eerie sight of the deserted airliner, as desolate as the Mary
Celeste, and NOT ONE SOLITARY SOUL LEFT ON BOARD as we:
GO TO MAIN TITLES
X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Act One GREEN Rev. (8/27/19) 5.
ACT ONE
THE HUMAN BRAIN
Being extracted from a SKULL that has recently undergone a

craniotomy. A PAIR OF HANDS encased in latex gloves carefully
remove the squelching gray matter from a CADAVER. We are:
11 INT. FBI TRAINING ACADEMY - QUANTICO, VA - AUTOPSY BAY - DAY 11
SPECIAL AGENT ELIZABETH EINSTEIN conducts an autopsy *

demonstration before a small group of enraptured young FBI
TRAINEES. Intelligent, methodical and forthright, Einstein is
always the smartest person in the room. She commands respect.
EINSTEIN
The human brain. The most complex
organ known to science. A series of *
neuronal cascades that begin and *
end in the prefrontal cortex.
Perception. Memory. Personality.
Everything we ever are or hope to
be, all contained within three
pounds of intricate neural tissue.
Einstein is distracted when a JUNIOR AGENT enters the room.
JUNIOR AGENT
Special Agent Einstein? You have a
call from D.C.
EINSTEIN
I’m in the middle of a class.
JUNIOR AGENT
Assistant Director Skinner’s
office.
Einstein is suddenly alert to the import of the message --
CUT TO:
12 EXT. J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING - WASHINGTON, D.C. - DAY 12
The famous elephantine fortress on Pennsylvania Avenue. The

Capitol Dome visible in b.g. With LEGEND to establish: FBI
HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, D.C. 9:33 AM
13 INT. FBI HEADQUARTERS - HALLWAY - DAY 13
Elevator doors open to reveal Agent Einstein. She strides at

a pace down the corridor, busy with foot traffic from various
SUITED AGENTS. Moving with purpose to enter an open doorway --
14 INT. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SKINNER’S OUTER OFFICE - CONTINUOUS 14
Einstein approaches an ASSISTANT busy typing at a desk. *
EINSTEIN
Elizabeth Einstein to see the
Assistant Director?
Before getting a response, the inner office door opens and a

tall, forbidding man with short grey hair exits. Hardcore
fans might recognize him as THE TOOTHPICK MAN. He passes
Einstein who tracks him with a fleeting, curious eye contact.
SKINNER’S VOICE
Come in, Agent Einstein.
Einstein turns back to find ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WALTER SKINNER

waiting in his open doorway. She passes him to enter -- *
15 INT. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SKINNER’S OFFICE - DAY - CONTINUOUS 15
Einstein heads toward a desk, Skinner close behind.
SKINNER
Take a seat. Thank you for coming
on such short notice.
EINSTEIN
Always happy to take a trip to the
Hoover building.
Einstein sits down opposite a tidy, well-kept desk bearing

the nameplate “ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WALTER S. SKINNER.”
SKINNER
Time is against us so I’ll get
right to the point.
Skinner swipes through a TABLET and passes it to Einstein.
SKINNER
American Flight 814 declared an
emergency two hours into a
transatlantic red-eye from JFK late
last night.
(CONTINUED)
X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Act One PINK Draft (8/26/19) 7.
15 CONTINUED: 15
EINSTEIN
(reading tablet)
It crashed?
SKINNER
No. The plane was turned around and
escorted back by two F-15s. When it
landed, not one of its two-hundred-
nineteen passengers were on board.
Einstein looks up from the tablet screen and squints in

confusion, her mind processing the possible explanations.
EINSTEIN
Was the flight intercepted?
Diverted?
SKINNER
That’s yet to be determined. Agent
Miller has opened an investigation.
EINSTEIN
(exasperated)
Kyd Miller?
SKINNER
The two of you have worked together
before --
EINSTEIN
-- on domestic terrorism --
SKINNER
-- that’s the angle that’s being
worked by a joint NTSB-Homeland
Security task force. Agent Miller
and I feel we should all be open to
more... extreme possibilities.
Einstein nods slowly, suddenly picking up on where this is

going and not liking the sound of it.
EINSTEIN
In other words, the two of you want
to entertain the notion Flight 814
may have taken a detour through the
Twilight Zone.
SKINNER
I’ve been petitioning the Director
to reopen the X-files for the past *
two years -- *
(CONTINUED)
15 CONTINUED: (2) 15
EINSTEIN
-- since Agents Mulder and Scully
were not-so-unceremoniously
cashiered out of the Bureau --
SKINNER
-- that’s right. This is the best
opportunity there’s been to make a
solid case for their reinstatement.
EINSTEIN
If you and Agent Miller want to
indulge yourselves in some woo-woo
paranormal trip about alien
abductions at thirty thousand feet,
that’s your business. But I have
real work to be doing.
Einstein pushes up from her chair and hands the tablet back
to Skinner. Hoping to escape before he can reel her in. *
SKINNER
Your scientific background will
legitimize the investigation in the
eyes of the top brass. Your
reassignment has already been
approved.
EINSTEIN
Please don’t do this to me. Don’t
send me down to the basement.
SKINNER
This is a chance for you to show
the Bureau your full potential --
EINSTEIN
-- it’s a career death sentence. *
SKINNER
(non-negotiable) *
Agent Miller is waiting for you *
downstairs. *
Einstein’s jaw hangs, reaching in vain for some further

objection that might get her out of this. But it’s too late.
16 INT. FBI HEADQUARTERS - BASEMENT CORRIDOR - DAY 16*
Einstein descends a short staircase into darkness. Into the *

bowels of the FBI. She walks the dimly-lit corridor until she
reaches an OFFICE DOOR with a conspicuously blank name plate.
(CONTINUED)
16 CONTINUED: 16
EINSTEIN
-- anybody down here -- ?
MALE VOICE (O.S.)

Nobody but the FBI’s most unwanted.
Einstein pushes open the door to reveal the familiar office

space that was once home to the Bureau’s X-files, now barren *
and deserted save for an empty desk and an iconic poster on
the otherwise bare walls that declares: “I WANT TO BELIEVE.”
EINSTEIN
Where have I heard that before?
SPECIAL AGENT KYD MILLER stands with his back to the door, *
studying over a tablet screen. Fresh faced and enthusiastic,
Miller has a boyish charm and intrepid spirit.
He turns to see Agent Einstein enter, eyeing the abandoned

basement without bothering to hide her disdain.
MILLER
-- Agent Einstein -- you push the *
wrong button on the elevator -- ?
EINSTEIN
-- don’t I wish -- A.D. Skinner, in
his infinite wisdom, has assigned
me to work with you on this --
MILLER
-- have you been slipping the
Assistant Director the wrong
migraine medication -- ?
EINSTEIN
-- if only it were so. Believe me, *
I’d much rather be back at Quantico
than joining the lunatic fringe --
MILLER
-- I take it A.D. Skinner give you
the details on the mysterious case
of Flight 814 --
EINSTEIN
-- just the headlines -- seems to
me we’re dealing with some kind of
bizarre hijacking --
MILLER
-- in which over two-hundred
passengers vanish without a trace?
(CONTINUED)
EINSTEIN
Nothing vanishes without a trace -- *
MILLER
-- really -- ? You’re a scientist -- *
EINSTEIN
-- nice of you to remember --
MILLER
-- you tell me how that’s possible.
EINSTEIN
Clearly the plane was diverted and
forced to land somewhere --
MILLER
-- in the middle of the Atlantic?
EINSTEIN
There could have been an aircraft
carrier waiting in the ocean --
MILLER
-- that’s one elaborate operation
you’re describing -- and why allow
the pilots to fly home -- ?
EINSTEIN
-- however they did it, I guarantee
you those passengers are being held
hostage somewhere and it’s only a
matter of time before we receive
some radical terrorist demands --
MILLER
-- except according to ATC, Flight
814 never deviated from its course
since leaving JFK and no other
aircraft were detected on radar --
EINSTEIN
(mocking)
I suppose you think the passengers
were abducted by aliens.
Miller smiles, evading Einstein’s derision and taking the

possibility seriously. He SWIPES HIS TABLET to bring up a *
digitally scanned FBI CASE FILE and hands it to Einstein.
MILLER
There is precedent -- *
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
MILLER (CONT’D)
-- in 1997, Flight 549 crashed over *
upstate New York after a
catastrophic near miss with a UFO --
EINSTEIN
-- I think you mean alleged UFO --
MILLER
Unidentified is unidentified, Agent
Einstein. No adequate explanation
for the cause was ever recorded.
EINSTEIN
There’s always an explanation --
you just have to be prepared to
work for it. Besides, this plane
landed in one piece, from what I
understand --
MILLER
-- grounded at a Canadian military
base in Nova Scotia --
EINSTEIN
Has anybody questioned the pilots?
MILLER
Top of my list, right after I *
examine the aircraft. I figure
we’ve got about 24 hours before
it’s taken apart and shipped over
to the Pentagon piece by piece.
Miller hands Einstein an airline ticket.

EINSTEIN
You seriously want us to go to Nova
Scotia. In the middle of January.
MILLER
Our flight leaves within the hour.
Einstein takes the plane ticket under sufferance. As an

excited Miller heads out the door --
EINSTEIN
-- you couldn’t have found a ghost
plane grounded in Hawaii -- ?
CUT TO:
17 EXT. GREENWOOD AIR FORCE BASE - DAY 17
An N.D. RENTAL CAR cruises up a landing strip where the

grounded CIVILIAN AIRLINER rests behind a CORDON marked by
MILITARY HUMVEES and barricades mounted with HAZARD LIGHTS.
A LEGEND appears: GREENWOOD AIR BASE, NOVA SCOTIA 2:56 PM *
The rental car is flagged down by a YOUNG SOLDIER and Agents

Einstein and Miller emerge, flashing their FBI CREDENTIALS.
EINSTEIN
Special Agent Einstein, FBI. This
is Agent Miller.
YOUNG SOLDIER
Authorized personnel only.
Einstein glances around at the various OFFICIAL PERSONNEL in

windbreakers bearing the letters NTSB and DHS.
EINSTEIN
We have clearance from Assistant
Director Skinner in Washington. You
might want to check with your C.O.
The Soldier looks uncertain. Einstein’s poker face is

magnificent. A beat and the Solider steps aside.
MILLER
I’m with her.
Einstein marches out between the barricades toward the plane

without hesitation. Miller follows, a little impressed.
EINSTEIN
I don’t suppose they’ll let us take
a look at the flight data recorder.
MILLER
Maybe if you ask nicely.
18 INT. AIRLINER - PASSENGER CABIN - DAY 18
Einstein and Miller step on board, flicking on their

FLASHLIGHTS as they edge down parallel aisles.
OXYGEN MASKS still hang from the ceiling. Carry-on luggage

still dotted around the empty seats. Einstein checks the
overhead bins -- finds them full of coats and luggage.
(CONTINUED)
18 CONTINUED: 18
EINSTEIN
All the luggage seems to be
accounted for. This really is an X-
file. *
Miller smiles as he reaches ROW 12, as if it’s what he was

looking for from the moment they stepped on board. The LAPTOP
belonging to Anxious still rests at the end of the row.
MILLER
Check out that laptop.
It’s on Einstein’s side of the aisle. She hits the POWER

button, gets no response.
EINSTEIN
Looks like the battery’s dead.
Miller looks down when he realizes he’s stepped on the PEN

that Charming was using. He crouches, picks it up. Curious.
EINSTEIN
What exactly are we supposed to be
looking for, Agent Miller?
Before Miller can answer, the Young Soldier from the cordon
marches down the aisle with one hand on his side-arm. He’s
accompanied by his COMMANDING OFFICER (40s) -- a stern and
authoritative woman who won’t be so easily bluffed.
COMMANDING OFFICER
What’s your business here?
MILLER
We’re federal agents investigating
this incident. I’m reaching for my
badge --
Miller tentatively reaches into his jacket, cautious of the

trigger-happy Younger Soldier. He flashes his FBI badge.
COMMANDING OFFICER
You’re not authorized to board this
aircraft. I’ll ask you once to
leave before I have you removed.
Miller looks to Einstein, both knowing discretion to be the

better part of valor.
EINSTEIN
Come on, Miller. Let’s go.
Miller subtly pockets the PEN before they disembark.

Einstein and Miller are escorted as far as the cordon by the

Young Soldier, then head for their parked sedan.
EINSTEIN
Why is there such a strong military
presence guarding this plane?
MILLER
Maybe this might help explain it.
Miller takes the pen from his pocket and examines it closely.
EINSTEIN
(incredulous)
A pen?
MILLER
It seems to be equipped with some
kind of laser.
Miller CLICKS the end of the pen and the LITTLE RED DOT
appears at the other end. He turns it around curiously.
Einstein rolls her eyes, dismissive, as her PHONE RINGS. She

checks the display -- “WALTER SKINNER” -- and answers --
EINSTEIN
-- Assistant Director -- no, we
were just escorted from the site --
As she talks, Miller inadvertently tilts the laser pen so

that it’s pointing directly at Einstein’s phone. It FRITZES
and CUTS OUT before she even realizes.
EINSTEIN
-- hello -- ? Assistant Director?
Einstein lowers her phone to find the screen is dead.
EINSTEIN
Great. My battery just died.
MILLER
I’m not so sure about that. But
I’ll bet you can only find these in
CIA stationary cupboards.
Miller CLICKS the pen and the laser winks out.
EINSTEIN
Miller, it’s just a pen.
(CONTINUED)
19 CONTINUED: 19
MILLER
Mightier than the sword.
Miller climbs into their rental car. A beat of frustration

from Einstein before she joins him --
20 INT. RENTAL CAR - DAY - CONTINUOUS 20
Einstein dangles the car keys before Miller, taunting.
EINSTEIN
What aren’t you telling me?
MILLER
What do you mean?
EINSTEIN
What is it about this case that got
you racing down to the basement and
trawling through old X-files like a *
spoilt brat on Christmas morning? *
Miller smiles -- there is something more. He reaches for his

TABLET, swipes through and hands it over to Einstein.
MILLER
This was sent to my SecureDrop *
early this morning. It’s a copy of *
the passenger manifest.
EINSTEIN
(so what?)
You could’ve got this from the FAA.
MILLER
I did. Check out seat 12-G.
Miller hands Einstein a paper print-out of a seemingly

identical manifest. She cross checks it against the tablet.
EINSTEIN
There’s a discrepancy. The airline
manifest has that seat assigned to
a John Gillnitz, but in this *
version it’s listed as --
MILLER
-- Eric Zellman.
Miller swipes over the tablet and a PHOTO I.D. and government
background check of ERIC ZELLMAN (40s) appears on screen. *
It’s clearly the same ANXIOUS MAN we saw in the Teaser.
(CONTINUED)
20 CONTINUED: 20
MILLER
(with relish)
He’s employed as an aeronautics
engineer at Groom Lake, Nevada.
EINSTEIN
(mocking)
Area 51.
MILLER
The rest of his file is classified.
But if he was a passenger on that
plane, I’m guessing his work may go
a long way to explaining what
happened to it and why.
EINSTEIN
You’re not suggesting that the two-
hundred-nineteen passengers on that
plane were somehow kidnapped, mid-
flight, all to get to one man?
Off Miller’s look -- that’s exactly what he’s suggesting --
CUT TO:
21 EXT. RURAL HIGHWAY - NOVA SCOTIA - DAY 21
BARE FEET stagger along asphalt. Haphazardly walking the line

painted down the middle of a long country road.
TRAFFIC ZIPS BY in both directions. HORNS HONK but the

jaywalker does not seem at all cognizant of their presence.
TILT UP to REVEAL the self same man from Miller’s phone
screen, wearing only his underwear -- the man we knew as
ANXIOUS on the plane, now and forever named ERIC ZELLMAN.
But his skin is now CRIMSON RED, covered in what appear to be

RADIATION BLISTERS and an OOZING RASH all over his face.
He wanders along the road -- dazed and confused -- his eyes

glazed and vacant of any sense of where he’s going as we:
END ACT ONE

X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Act Two PINK Draft (8/26/19) 17.
ACT TWO
22 INT. GREENWOOD AIR FORCE BASE - CONCOURSE - DAY 22
Agent Miller races to keep pace with the AIRLINE CAPTAIN as

he marches along the concourse. Agent Einstein close behind.
MILLER
Agents Miller and Einstein, with
the FBI. We’re investigating the
incident aboard Flight 814 --
CAPTAIN
I have nothing to say.
EINSTEIN
Two-hundred-nineteen passengers are
unaccounted for on your aircraft --
CAPTAIN
You’ll have to go through the FAA
or my attorneys, I’m sorry.
MILLER
Why won’t you talk to us, Captain?
But he just keeps on walking away, leaving Miller frustrated

while Einstein is far from surprised.
EINSTEIN
They’re bound to close ranks. The
airline’s got about two-hundred-
nineteen lawsuits waiting to drop.
Miller’s attention is drawn by a FIGURE at the other end of
the concourse, waving him over before disappearing behind a
door marked “STAIRS.” It’s the CO-PILOT from the plane.
MILLER
Maybe one person hasn’t lawyered up
yet.
Miller heads for the door as it swings closed --
23 INT. GREENWOOD AIR FORCE BASE - STAIRWELL - DAY - CONTINUOUS 23
Miller pushes into the darkened, echoing concrete of the

stairwell where the Co-Pilot is pacing anxiously.
MILLER
Hey --
(CONTINUED)
23 CONTINUED: 23
Einstein joins them just a few steps behind. The Co-Pilot

waits for the stairwell door to swing closed with a THUNK.
CO-PILOT
You’re the FBI agents?
MILLER
Special Agent Miller. This is Agent
Einstein.
CO-PILOT
We’re not supposed to talk to you.
MILLER
That’s all right, we can keep this
off the record.
The Co-Pilot glances nervously from Einstein to Miller, not
sure he can trust them. But desperate to talk to somebody.
CO-PILOT
My name is Lieutenant Victor
Constanza.
EINSTEIN
You were the co-pilot on Flight
814?
CONSTANZA (CO-PILOT)
Yes, ma’am. After we gave our
reports to the NTSB, we were
ordered never to disclose what we
saw.
MILLER
What happened to those passengers?
CONSTANZA
What happened up there, I can’t
explain. We left JFK on-time at
20:00 hours. At approximately
22:15, our instruments began to
malfunction.
EINSTEIN
Malfunction how?
CONSTANZA
We couldn’t get our bearing. The
altitude controls locked. Then
there was this... bright light --
Miller looks at Einstein, excited with anticipation.
(CONTINUED)
MILLER
Was there another craft in your
airspace, Lieutenant?
CONSTANZA
No. We radioed to declare an
emergency at exactly 22:17. Then
there was a flash. I looked at my
console and it turned 22:26 --
MILLER
-- you lost nine minutes -- ?!
CONSTANZA
-- right in the blink of an eye.
The cockpit door was sealed. We had
no idea the passengers were missing
until we landed at Greenwood.
EINSTEIN
This alleged time discrepancy -- it
can be verified by the flight data
recorder?
CONSTANZA
They’ll never let that data be
released. It’s already been
classified under national security.
MILLER
Would you be willing to testify to
this? Make an official statement?
CONSTANZA
No, sir. They waved the Patriot Act
in our face, threatened us with
jail time if we didn’t stick to the
official story. But somebody has to
find those passengers. I won’t have
two-hundred-nineteen souls on my
conscience.
As Miller nods in solemn understanding -- *
CUT TO:
Miller leads the charge back to the rental car as Einstein

plods after him. While he’s energized, she’s dubious.
(CONTINUED)
24 CONTINUED: 24
EINSTEIN
Regardless of that story, Miller,
what could possibly take place in
just nine minutes that would
explain where those passengers are?
MILLER
You think he’s lying?
EINSTEIN
Not necessarily. He could be
suffering from post-traumatic
stress. It would be remarkable if
he wasn’t suffering from post-
traumatic stress, considering.
MILLER
Without any reliable flight data,
his testimony is all we’ve got to
go on --
EINSTEIN
-- which is precious little.
Miller’s phone CHIMES with an alert as they reach the car. He

checks it and his eyebrows raise with interest.
EINSTEIN
You know, Miller, I’m starting to
think you’re fishing for an
elaborate conspiracy here just to
justify your new assignment to the
X-files. *
MILLER *
Uh huh. *
But Miller is more interested in his phone right now. *
EINSTEIN *
If that plane were hijacked, the *
military would be well within their
rights to keep that information
classified until any rescue mission
is complete. *
MILLER
Maybe. But I just got a ping on our
APB. Guess who was admitted to a
local hospital thirty minutes ago?
As Miller looks up from his phone screen with relish --
(CONTINUED)
CUT TO:
25-27 OMITTED 25-27*
A PEN LIGHT SHINING DIRECTLY INTO THE CAMERA LENS. We are: *
28 INT. HOSPITAL - EXAMINATION ROOM - DAY 28
Einstein peers into the eyes of Eric Zellman, now dressed in *

a hospital gown and perched on the edge of an examination
table. Still covered in boils and a crimson rash.
EINSTEIN
Do you know where you are?
ERIC ZELLMAN
Hospital...
EINSTEIN
What state? What country?
ERIC ZELLMAN
I... I’m not sure...
Einstein peels down his gown to reveal an ENTRY WOUND on his

shoulder. A corresponding EXIT WOUND on his back. Both
already dressed with white gauze and a bandage.
EINSTEIN
Do you know your name?
Zellman hesitates, tries to speak but can’t find the words.
As if the answer is locked away in his mind somewhere.
EINSTEIN
It’s okay, try to relax. I’ll be
right back.
Einstein steps out into --
29 INT. HOSPITAL - CORRIDOR - DAY - CONTINUOUS 29
Einstein emerges from the side room to join Miller, who’s

been watching from behind a glass panel in the door.
MILLER
How is he?
(CONTINUED)
29 CONTINUED: 29
EINSTEIN
Lucid, more or less. But he’s
extremely disoriented.
MILLER
That’ll happen when you fall to
Earth from thirty thousand feet.
EINSTEIN
He has a gunshot wound to his
shoulder but according to his
notes, it was already bound and
dressed before he arrived.
MILLER
What about those burns?
EINSTEIN
I don’t know. It’s almost like he’s
been exposed to something
radioactive. Plutonium maybe.
MILLER
Let me talk to him --
Miller tries to pass Einstein and enter the examination room

but she stops him by planting her palm in his chest.
EINSTEIN
Not yet. I want to give him an fMRI
scan first, check for brain injury.
MILLER
He’s the one person that can tell
us what happened on Flight 814 --
EINSTEIN
-- right now he can’t even tell us
his own name. Our first priority
has to be figuring out what’s wrong
with him.
Miller reluctantly concedes the point as he stares through

the glass panel to Zellman -- the truth so close yet so far.
30 INT. HOSPITAL - SCAN ROOM - DAY 30
Zellman lies supine within an fMRI SCANNER. He flinches as it

fires out loud, mechanical JOLTS. Encased in a magnetic tomb.
31 INT. HOSPITAL - SCAN ROOM - MONITORING BOOTH - DAY 31
BANKS OF MONITORS displaying real-time HUMAN BRAIN SCAN

imagery. Einstein and Miller stand over a SCAN TECHNICIAN.
MILLER
What are we looking at?
Miller peers at the image as Einstein points to a series of

intermittent CLOUDY PATCHES fogging over the brain scan.
EINSTEIN
See these dark patches flooding the
temporal lobe? They look like what
we’d normally call white matter
tract abnormalities.
MILLER
What would cause that?
EINSTEIN
Typically we’d see these in cancer
patients, stroke victims,
epileptics -- or sometimes as a
result of traumatic brain injury.
MILLER
What are you suggesting?
EINSTEIN
These aren’t any kind of
abnormalities I’ve ever seen
before. It’s like they’re swimming
all through the hippocampus.
MILLER
Isn’t that the part of the brain
responsible for memory formation?
EINSTEIN
Right. It’s almost as if --
Einstein stops herself, worried she might sound almost as

crazy as Miller.
MILLER
Go ahead and say it, Agent
Einstein.
EINSTEIN
It’s almost as if someone had gone
in and redacted his memories.
(CONTINUED)
31 CONTINUED: 31
Miller lights up at such an extreme possibility.
EINSTEIN
Believe me, I know how crazy that
sounds. I want to consult with a
neurologist here before we go any --
Just then, ARMED MILITARY POLICE charge into the room. They
push right through to the scan room and accost Zellman.
MILLER
-- what the hell is this -- ?
MILITARY POLICE
-- step aside -- keep your hands
where we can see them --
EINSTEIN
-- we’re federal agents -- !
Before they can intervene, the MP’s hustle Zellman out of the
room and bundle him into the corridor by force.
MILLER
-- you can’t do this --
EINSTEIN
-- that man is a patient --
MILITARY POLICE
-- this man is being placed under
military arrest --
EINSTEIN
-- on what charge -- ?!
MILITARY POLICE
-- espionage and treason --
Miller and Einstein turn to one another, helpless, while the

MP’s exit as quickly as they arrived. Miller grabs his phone.
MILLER
I’m calling A.D. Skinner.
Einstein shakes her head in disbelief as to what just

happened, then turns back to the monitor where the abnormal
brain scan image stares back at her.
CUT TO:
32 INT. FBI PARKING GARAGE - DAY 32
Assistant Director Skinner steps out from the elevator banks

carrying a briefcase. Heading for his car. Entering --
33 INT. SKINNER’S CAR - FBI PARKING GARAGE - DAY - CONTINUOUS 33
Skinner climbs in, throws his briefcase onto the backseat.

Just as he puts his keys in the ignition, the passenger door
opens and the Toothpick Man slides in -- the same ominous man *
we glimpsed leaving Skinner’s office earlier.
SKINNER
Do you mind?
TOOTHPICK MAN
Leaving early, Assistant Director?
SKINNER
I have a meeting over at Justice.
TOOTHPICK MAN
I’m getting some concerning reports
from Nova Scotia. It seems your
agents may have overstepped their
purview in this matter.
SKINNER
They’re doing their jobs. After a
point, I can’t control what they
may or may not find in the course
of an investigation.
TOOTHPICK MAN
We’ve had this conversation once
before, you and I --
SKINNER
-- and I’m doing what you asked.
What more do you want from me?
TOOTHPICK MAN
Don’t lose sight of the purpose of
the enterprise, Mr Skinner.
SKINNER
Are we done here?
No response. Nothing but a sinister, penetrating stare from

the Toothpick Man.
(CONTINUED)
33 CONTINUED: 33
SKINNER
Then get the hell out of my car.
The Toothpick Man exits the vehicle, leaving Skinner more

than a little unsettled when --
-- his PHONE RINGS. He checks the ID: “KYD MILLER.” Skinner

DECLINES the call, hinting at his compromised position as we:
END ACT TWO

X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Act Three PINK Draft (8/26/19) 27.
ACT THREE
34-36 OMITTED 34-36*
36A INT. MOTEL BEDROOM - LATE DAY 36A*
Einstein holds a landline phone to her head, irate. *
EINSTEIN *
(into phone) *
The FBI has every right to examine *
that flight data recorder. The *
military cannot simply -- *
CLICK. DIAL TONE. Einstein tilts the receiver away in *
disgust. They just hung up on her. *
EINSTEIN *
Unbelievable. *
She slams the phone down in its cradle and charges out -- *
37 EXT. MOTEL BREEZEWAY - LATE DAY 37
Einstein marches over to Miller by his car, scrolling through

his cell phone as it CHIMES repeatedly with multiple alerts.
EINSTEIN
Grindr?
Miller shoots a look of mock amusement and turns his phone

screen to show Einstein --
MILLER
Signal. I’ve been getting anonymous
messages since we left D.C.
EINSTEIN
Same source who sent you that
passenger manifest?
MILLER
Stands to reason. They claim they
were due to meet Zellman in Paris.
EINSTEIN
Don’t tell me. Long distance love
affair.
(CONTINUED)
37 CONTINUED: 37
MILLER
Not exactly. They say Zellman was
carrying classified documents. When
his plane didn’t arrive, his
contact got on the first flight
out.
EINSTEIN
Your source is coming here?
MILLER
Scheduled to arrive at Dulles at
ten-thirty. But they’re going to
need our protection.
Einstein nods, invested now, as we --

CUT TO:
38 EXT. DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - NIGHT 38
Multiple AIRLINERS in the process of landing or taking off.
With LEGEND to establish: DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. *

DULLES, VIRGINIA *
39 INT. DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - ARRIVALS AREA - NIGHT 39
Einstein and Miller sit waiting at a little COFFEE KIOSK.

Miller cradles his phone, checking for messages that aren’t
arriving. Einstein glances at her watch, pessimistic.
EINSTEIN
Is this going to happen?
MILLER
They said they’d be here.
An enigmatic PARISIAN WOMAN wearing OVERSIZE SUNGLASSES at *

the coffee kiosk takes her order and turns around. She
removes her shades to reveal LAUREN MINETTE (30s). *
LAUREN MINETTE
Excuse me, do you have sugar?
MILLER
Sweetener works better for me.
Minette nods -- some kind of prearranged code between them.
(CONTINUED)
39 CONTINUED: 39
MILLER
(reaching for his badge)
I’m Special Agent --
LAUREN MINETTE
-- put that away, I know who you
are --
EINSTEIN
Then you have us at a disadvantage.
LAUREN MINETTE
We can’t speak here. I’ve been
followed since I left Paris.
They’ll be watching.
MILLER
Then let’s get you some place safe.
Miller nods to Einstein -- they have a plan.
CUT TO:
40 EXT. DULLES AIRPORT - SHORT TERM PARKING - NIGHT 40
Busy with CABS and UBERS coming and going as a N.D. RENTAL
CAR pulls out and makes its way past the EXIT signs.
A PAIR OF BLACK GOVERNMENT FLEET SEDANS WITH TINTED WINDOWS

emerge from a queue of traffic in b.g. and begin to follow.
41 INT. RENTAL CAR - NIGHT 41

Einstein behind the wheel. She checks her mirrors. Clocks the
sedans snaking up in the rear-view.
EINSTEIN
You guys ready for this?
Einstein SLAMS HER FOOT ON THE GAS -- LURCHING BACK as --
42 EXT. DULLES AIRPORT - SHORT TERM PARKING - NIGHT 42
The rental car SWERVES OUT of its lane and ACCELERATES --

SCREECHING PAST a queue of traffic -- HORNS BLARING --
THE BLACK SEDANS pull out and SPEED UP in pursuit --

43 INT. RENTAL CAR - DRIVING - NIGHT 43
Lauren Minette in the back seat. Thrown against the

upholstery. She turns to check the rear windshield --
44 EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT 44
Traffic SWERVES to avoid a collision as the rental car SKIDS

OUT from the airport with a SQUEALING HANDBREAK TURN --
-- SPEEDING OUT onto the open highway -- RACING between lanes

as the black sedans ZOOM UP in relentless pursuit --
45 INT. RENTAL CAR - DRIVING - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 45

Einstein struggles to keep control of the wheel as one of the
sedans CUTS HER OFF and forces her to SLAM ON THE BREAKS --
46 EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 46
-- as the rental car is forced to AN ABRUPT STOP at the

roadside -- boxed in by the black sedans in front and behind.
Two pairs of DHS AGENTS in DARK SUITS and AVIATOR SHADES

emerge and surround the rental. They RAP against the windows.
DHS AGENT
Step out of the vehicle.
The driver’s door opens and Einstein steps out --
EINSTEIN
Who the hell are you guys?
DHS AGENT
Homeland Security.
EINSTEIN
Keeping America safe from reckless
drivers?
The other three DHS Agents search the rental car and pop the
trunk, but come up empty. They shake their heads -- nothing.
DHS AGENT
Where is she?
EINSTEIN
(feigning ignorance)
Who?
(CONTINUED)
46 CONTINUED: 46
Off Einstein’s tiny hint of triumph --
47 INT. SECOND RENTAL CAR - DRIVING - NIGHT 47
-- we REVEAL MILLER behind the wheel of a different vehicle.

Lauren Minette safely in the back seat. Driving off way
across the other side of the airport. Never in any danger.
48 EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 48
As Miller’s car turns onto the open road and SPEEDS OFF among
the traffic, receding into the distance. They’re away.
CUT TO:
49 EXT. MOTEL BREEZEWAY - NIGHT 49
Einstein’s car parks up. Rain falling in sheets. A LEGEND *

appears: 11:21 PM *
50 INT. MOTEL BATHROOM - NIGHT 50
Einstein dries her hair with a towel, soaked from the rain.
She spots a little BOTTLE OF PILLS resting by the sink. Picks

them up. Examines the label. Curious. Concerned.
51 INT. MOTEL BEDROOM - NIGHT - MOMENTS LATER 51
Einstein emerges from the bathroom to join Miller. Lauren

Minette sits in a desk chair in the corner.
MILLER
You’re going to want to hear this.
LAUREN MINETTE
But first -- your cell phone, if
you don’t mind.
Minette rises and holds out a plastic container wrapped in

aluminum foil. A FARADAY BOX. Miller’s phone already inside.
EINSTEIN
Did you bring tinfoil hats, too? *
MILLER
Agent Einstein --
(CONTINUED)
51 CONTINUED: 51
Einstein takes out her phone and dumps it in the box.
EINSTEIN
Take it. It’s fried already.
Minette seals the box, sets it aside.
EINSTEIN
Now is somebody going to tell me
what all this is about?
LAUREN MINETTE
My name is Lauren Minette. I work
for an organization called
UfoLeaks.
(Note: she pronounces this “yoo-fo leaks.”)
MILLER
Freedom of information campaigners.
They published unredacted documents
that were left out of the
government’s recent report on
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.
EINSTEIN
(derisive)
I’ve heard of it.
LAUREN MINETTE
We were approached by Eric Zellman
several months ago --
MILLER
-- Area 51 employee with access to
above top-secret intelligence on
our government’s research and
development of classified projects
using reverse-engineered alien
technology --
EINSTEIN
-- tell me you’re not serious --
LAUREN MINETTE
Zellman claimed to be in possession
of detailed plans and blueprints of
the so-called TR-3B Black Manta --
CUT TO:
52 INT. AREA 51 - AIRCRAFT HANGAR - DAY - FLASHBACK 52
Eric Zellman stands in a huge HIGH-TECH HANGAR, busy with

ENGINEERS and SCIENTISTS in LAB COATS huddled in groups.
MILLER (V.O.)
-- an advanced US aircraft capable
of multi-directional flight using
electrogravitic propulsion powered
by zero-point energy -- also known *
as an Alien Replica Vehicle --
Zellman pushes through a mass of bodies until he stands

before A MATTE BLACK TRIANGULAR CRAFT mounted on landing
struts. Looking a lot like the mystery craft from the Teaser.
CUT BACK TO:
53 INT. MOTEL BEDROOM - NIGHT 53
Einstein listens incredulously. Miller manic with excitement.
MILLER
-- technology the military has kept
secret for 75 years --
LAUREN MINETTE
-- Zellman claimed to be an
aeronautics engineer recruited to
the design team out of the US Air
Force. He worked at the Nevada base
for nine years before he was
granted access to their most
advanced projects --
CUT TO:
54 INT. AREA 51 - COMPUTER OPERATIONS ROOM - DAY - FLASHBACK 54*
Zellman works at a COMPUTER TERMINAL in a wide annulus of *

workstations around a HUGE ATRIUM alive with activity. *
LAUREN MINETTE (V.O.)

-- driven by a steadfast conviction
that the public have a right to
know where this technology came
from, Zellman was able to smuggle
the design specs out of the complex
on a micro-SD card --
(CONTINUED)
54 CONTINUED: 54
Zellman takes a stick of CHEWING GUM and pops it into his

mouth. He glances around furtively. *
ARMED SOLDIERS are posted as guards at every exit.

SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS on the ceiling.
Zellman slides a MICO-SD CARD out of his computer and folds

it into the aluminum gum wrapper.
55 INT. AREA 51 - SECURITY CHECKPOINT CORRIDOR - DAY - FLASHBACK 55
Zellman files out in a short queue of other EMPLOYEES.
They all must pass through a METAL-DETECTOR ARCH manned by

more ARMED SOLDIERS. Some are checked with a WAND on the way.
Zellman SWEATS nervously. His eyes fixed dead ahead. Almost
as anxious as when we first met him on the plane.
He’s up next. Guards watching him as he approaches the arch.
Zellman HOLDS HIS BREATH as he steps through and --
-- nothing. No alarm. But next comes the MAGNETIC WAND.
The Guard waves it over his body. No ping. He’s home free.
CUT BACK TO:
Einstein paces the floor, shaking her head in disbelief.

EINSTEIN
You’re saying he managed to walk
out of one of the most highly-
guarded, top-secret military
installations on the planet with
classified documents -- ?!
LAUREN MINETTE
-- that he was prepared to hand
over for authentication in exchange *
for safe harbor in Europe -- *
MILLER
-- except he never arrived --
CUT TO:
57 INT. JFK AIRPORT - DEPARTURES LOUNGE - NIGHT - FLASHBACK 57
Zellman clutches a LAPTOP BAG tight to his chest as he waits

in a queue of other PASSENGERS waiting to board their flight.
MILLER (V.O.)
-- I believe Eric Zellman was
followed onto Flight 814 by agents
of our government determined to
stop him from leaking those files --
ANGLE TO INCLUDE THE CHARMING WOMAN whom we recognize --
58 INT. AIRLINER - PASSENGER CABIN - NIGHT - FLASHBACK 58

Zellman jabs at his laptop keyboard as the screen FRITZES.
The Charming Woman sits at the end of his row, pointing her
LASER PEN at the laptop with its little RED DOT at the tip.
MILLER (V.O.)
-- but they got to him too late. So
they had to use any and all means
to stop him landing in Paris and
blowing the whistle on one of the
biggest conspiracies in history.
Just as in the Teaser, the cabin begins to SHAKE and RUMBLE

as passengers SHRIEK in terror right before --
THE ENTIRE CABIN IS FILLED WITH THE BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT

accompanied by the UNEARTHLY THRUMMMMMMMM --
CUT BACK TO:
Einstein scoffs in derision at this version of events.
EINSTEIN
So, what? He was abducted by
aliens?
LAUREN MINETTE
Not aliens --
(CONTINUED)
59 CONTINUED: 59
MILLER
-- but an elite division of the US
Air Force sent to intercept and
retrieve Eric Zellman using the
same reverse-engineered UFO
technology he was trying to expose.
Einstein laughs out loud at this. A derisive, angry laugh.
EINSTEIN
That’s absurd! Even if any of this
were remotely plausible -- and it
isn’t -- what about all the other
passengers? Why take them too?
MILLER
We can only speculate --
CUT TO:
FILLED WITH BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT. Zellman grips his armrests

tight. His knuckles going white. Holding on for dear life.
MILLER (V.O.)
-- but I think something didn’t go
according to plan --
THREE NARROW GREEN LASER BEAMS PENETRATE THE CABIN FROM ABOVE
-- searching like a laser-targeted drone strike until --
They FIND Zellman and come to a rest over his head -- *

He looks up into the laserlight, awestruck and terrified -- *
61 EXT. SKIES OVER THE ATLANTIC - NIGHT - FLASHBACK 61
HIGH OVER the silhouette of the passenger jet as the sharp

edge of a MATTE BLACK TRIANGULAR CRAFT eclipses the airliner
-- what we now REVEAL to be the TR-3B ALIEN REPLICA VEHICLE.
ROCKING and RATTLING like it might explode from sheer stress

-- SHRIEKING and SCREAMING from hundreds of passengers --
MILLER (V.O.)
-- something they never *
anticipated -- *
(CONTINUED)
62 CONTINUED: 62
The BLINDING WHITE LIGHT now fills the cabin -- BRIGHTER and
BRIGHTER -- near NUCLEAR INTENSITY until --
ARMED PARATROOPERS IN BLACK COMBAT GEAR and RESPIRATOR MASKS

surge into the cabin -- AUTOMATIC WEAPONS pointing left and
right -- SWARMING down the aisle toward Zellman --
MILLER (V.O.)
-- the passengers fought back -- *
As Zellman is BUNDLED UP AND OUT OF HIS SEAT by the masked

Paratroopers, other PASSENGERS exchange little glances and
nods until --
THREE MUSCULAR MEN dart up from their seats and CHARGE AT THE
PARATROOPERS -- tackling them -- wrestling for their guns --
MILLER (V.O.)
Believing they were being hijacked, *
on the verge of another 9/11, they
tried to overpower their hijackers.
Zellman is able to BREAK FREE and makes a desperate,

instinctive SPRINT for the bathrooms when --
BLAM!! A GUNSHOT hits Zellman in the shoulder -- *
He falls to the floor. Wounded. The exact same shoulder wound

we saw Einstein examine at the hospital.
The bullet passes through -- lodges into the cabin wall --

OXYGEN MASKS DROP FROM THE CEILING at the loss of pressure --
The other Paratroopers SLAM THE BUTTS OF THEIR RIFLES into

the guts of the insurgent passengers -- CHAOS IN THE CABIN --
CUT BACK TO:
Miller espousing his theory to an incredulous Einstein.
EINSTEIN
-- that is utterly preposterous --
MILLER
-- in the chaos that followed, the
attackers had no choice but to
evacuate Flight 814 in order to
keep control of the aircraft and
erase any evidence of what really
happened --
(CONTINUED)
63 CONTINUED: 63
EINSTEIN
-- but we found Zellman. I examined
him. How do you explain that -- ?
MILLER
Maybe he escaped. Or maybe we were
meant to find him. Just long enough
to bear witness to their alibi.
Einstein shakes her head, not just refusing to believe this

story but outraged by its complete audacity.
EINSTEIN
This is sheer conjecture. It’s
nothing more than half-baked, pot-
boiled, dimestore science fiction.
(beat)
An aircraft cannot be boarded and
evacuated at thirty thousand feet!
It’s not physically possible --
MILLER
-- not with any known technology.
EINSTEIN
There is not one shred of physical
evidence to back up a single word
you’re saying. Either of you.
LAUREN MINETTE
I don’t claim to know what happened
on Flight 814. But I do believe
Eric Zellman was a credible whistle-
blower with genuine information --
MILLER
-- but without his testimony or the
documents he was carrying, we’ll
never know.
LAUREN MINETTE
He was afraid for his life. In his
last communication, he indicated
that in the event he didn’t make
it, he would most likely be
detained at the US military base on
the coast of Cuba --
EINSTEIN
-- Guantanamo Bay -- ?!
Einstein scoffs. It just gets more and more incredible.
(CONTINUED)
MILLER
You examined Zellman yourself,
Agent Einstein. Whatever you
believe, I know you don’t want to
see an innocent civilian held
without charge or due process.
Einstein frowns, but he makes at least one good point there.
EINSTEIN
I want the truth as much as anyone.
But unlike you I need good, hard
evidence. I need proof.
Minette picks up her Faraday Box and allows Miller and

Einstein to retrieve their phones.
LAUREN MINETTE
If you find him, you know how to
reach me.
And she heads out. Miller goes after her, while Einstein
lifts the pill bottle marked “Clozapine” from her pocket and
regards it warily in light of Miller’s manic energy.
64 EXT. MOTEL BREEZEWAY - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 64
Miller follows Lauren Minette out into the driving rain.
MILLER
Hey, wait --
LAUREN MINETTE
-- I’ve already said too much -- *
MILLER
-- you’ve come all this way. Don’t *
you want to see this through -- ? *
LAUREN MINETTE
It’s dangerous for me to stay in
the country too long. Does the name
Julian Assange mean anything to *
you?
MILLER
That’s exactly why we need your
help. Help us find Zellman and make
sure his story gets told.
(CONTINUED)
64 CONTINUED: 64
LAUREN MINETTE
We publish the truth, Agent Miller.
We can’t fight a crusade for you.
MILLER
Then why reach out at all? Why send
me that passenger manifest?
LAUREN MINETTE
I didn’t send you any manifest. I
was given your contact details by a
mutual associate who vouched for
your integrity.
MILLER
Who?
LAUREN MINETTE
Someone who -- like myself --
values their anonymity.
With one final, intense stare, Minette walks off into the
night. Miller is left standing. Curious. Then who was it?
CUT TO:
65 EXT. GUANTANAMO BAY - LANDING STRIP - NIGHT 65
A SKYHAWK HELICOPTER descends over a heavily-guarded complex *

with an AIR CONTROL TOWER, surrounded by CYCLONE FENCING.
The chopper touches down on a lit-up HELIPAD. ARMED SOLDIERS

rush to meet it as its bay doors slide open to reveal -- *
A PRISONER IN AN ORANGE JUMPSUIT -- handcuffed and shackled
in leg irons -- Eric Zellman.
He’s escorted by USMC GUARDS within the chopper who hand him *
over to the SOLDIERS. Hustling him across the tarmac.
We’re watching this exchange FROM SOMEBODY’S P.O.V. -- ARMING

AROUND TO REVEAL THE TOOTHPICK MAN.
He stares out with dark purpose, utterly inscrutable as we:
END ACT THREE

X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Act Four GREEN Rev. (8/27/19) 41.
ACT FOUR
66 EXT. LONG RURAL ROAD - NIGHT 66
A mud-spattered, old model JEEP CHEROKEE rattles along a *

dusty road. A LEGEND appears: GUANTANAMO, CUBA 11:07 PM *
67 INT. JEEP - DRIVING - NIGHT 67
Einstein behind the wheel. Miller riding shotgun. Both now

dressed in n.d. civilian clothing.
EINSTEIN
Just so you know, if we get brought
up on charges I’m going to ask for
us to be tried separately. I don’t
want any of that batcrap Area 51
nonsense sabotaging my defense.
She’s joking, kind of. Trying to lighten the mood in her way.
MILLER
Don’t be so sure. I plan on
pleading insanity.
Something about that makes Einstein uncomfortable. She

changes tack. Serious now. More personal. *
EINSTEIN
Why is this so important to you?
MILLER
You’re a scientist, isn’t it
important to you? It would redefine
everything we think we know about
the laws of physics --
EINSTEIN
-- but you’re a criminal profiler --
when did proving the existence of
reverse-engineered alien technology
become your Holy Grail -- ?
A beat as Miller stares out to the darkened landscape ahead.
MILLER
I’ve been trying to trace my birth
parents since I was old enough to
understand why they weren’t around. *
I never had much luck until I
discovered the X-files --
(CONTINUED)
X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Act Four PINK Draft (8/26/19) 42.
67 CONTINUED: 67
Einstein takes her eyes off the road to look at Miller,

sensing him opening up to her on a deeper level.
MILLER
I trawled through the digitized
copies of every file I could get my
hands on until I found records of a
series of experiments conducted in
the 1980s and 90s on vulnerable
pregnant women. I believe one of
them was my birth mother --
EINSTEIN
-- what kind of experiments -- ? *
MILLER
-- genetic implantation. In-vitro *
fertilization. Conducted without *
their knowledge or consent. The *
products of which were never fully
accounted for --
EINSTEIN
-- and there was conclusive
evidence of this -- ?
MILLER
I’m not sure. Before I could dig *
any deeper, the files were taken
offline and reclassified by the
executive branch -- *
(more energized)
-- if this case proves anything --
enough to justify reopening the X-
files -- maybe I can find her --
EINSTEIN
-- your birth mother -- ?
MILLER
-- find out what was done to her,
and to me. Where I came from and
why. I’m convinced the truth can be
found in the X-files --
Einstein feels that same manic intensity rising in Miller

again. It scares her. She tugs the wheel to pull over -- *
68 EXT. LONG RURAL ROAD - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 68
As the Jeep pulls to the side of the road. Engine running.

Headlights shining out to the darkened horizon ahead.
69 INT. JEEP - STATIONARY - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 69
Einstein turns in her seat so she can face Miller properly

and give him her full attention. Sensitivity in her eyes.
EINSTEIN
Listen, Miller...
(awkward beat)
Before we left D.C. -- I found
these in your motel room.
She digs out the little bottle of pills marked “Clozapine”

she took from the bathroom earlier. Shows them to Miller.
EINSTEIN
It’s none of my business, but if
there’s something I need to know --
Miller looks away and sighs. He wasn’t planning on getting

into all this now but he’s not ashamed of it either.
MILLER
I struggled with depression and
anxiety as a kid. These last few
years have been... difficult. I was
diagnosed bipolar in 2017. *
Einstein nods slowly, appreciating his honesty.
EINSTEIN
Okay. But you’re managing it,
right? You’re in treatment?
MILLER
Not exactly.
EINSTEIN
What do you mean? Where did you get
these if not -- ?
MILLER
-- I ordered them online --
EINSTEIN
-- Jesus, Miller. Tell me you’re
not that stupid.
MILLER
I can’t go on-record with this.
(CONTINUED)
X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Act Four GREEN Rev. (8/27/19) 44.
69 CONTINUED: 69
EINSTEIN
It’s the 21st century. The Bureau
has support programs for agents *
with mental health issues --
MILLER
-- but no one would take the X-
files seriously ever again. *
Whatever I find, whatever I try to
prove, it would be dismissed and
discredited with a single word.
Einstein grinds her teeth. Sadly, she knows he’s right.
MILLER
Go to Skinner. Go to O.P.R. if you
want. But we’re so close now. Just
let me see this through. Please.
Einstein thinks, then hands the pills over to Miller.
EINSTEIN
Fine. But when we get back we need
to get you a proper prescription.
No more self-medicating.
MILLER
Agreed.
Einstein puts the Jeep back in drive and pulls out.
EINSTEIN
Let’s just hope we’ve both got a
career to go back to.
CUT TO:
70 EXT. GUANTANAMO BAY - PERIMETER FENCE - NIGHT - LATER 70
The Jeep now parked off the nearby road beside a CYCLONE
FENCE topped with RAZOR WIRE. A flashlight shining down on --
Miller with a pair of BOLT CUTTERS clipping at the fence.

Einstein standing over his shoulder, holding the flashlight. *
EINSTEIN
This place has got to be under
constant surveillance. You’re going
to get us both arrested. Or killed.
(CONTINUED)
70 CONTINUED: 70
MILLER
It’s partially decommissioned.
Security should be lax.
EINSTEIN
You won’t make it ten feet.
Miller ignores her, keeps cutting into the cyclone fence.
EINSTEIN
Even if you find Zellman, what
then? You’re never going to get him
off the base, let alone the island. *
MILLER
You’re putting out a lot of
negative energy right now.
Einstein catches sight of HEADLIGHTS on the horizon.
EINSTEIN
Miller -- get down!
They both duck behind the wheels of the Jeep as the

headlights approach from the nearby road -- heading their way
-- resolving into the shape of an ARMY GREEN MILITARY BUS.
As it PASSES BY, Einstein sneaks a glance. Spots THE

TOOTHPICK MAN driving -- and various PASSENGERS from Flight
814 on board. The Charming Woman among them. But not Zellman.
MILLER
Did you see him?
EINSTEIN
No. But I recognized the driver. He
was at the FBI yesterday.
MILLER
Go. Go after them --
EINSTEIN
-- I can’t leave you out here --
MILLER
-- I’ll be fine -- if they’re
moving the other passengers, we
might already be too late --
Einstein nods. No time to debate it. She climbs into the Jeep
as Miller darts back over to the cyclone fence.
(CONTINUED)
As the Jeep pulls away in pursuit of the bus in b.g. Miller

finishes cutting a hole in the fence and sneaks through --
71 EXT. GUANTANAMO BAY - AIRFIELD - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 71
Miller RUNS across the field. Ducking low. Desperate. *
CUT TO:
72 EXT. LONG RURAL ROAD - NIGHT 72
The Military Bus driving at a steady click, PASSING CAMERA.
A beat, then Einstein’s Jeep follows. Its lights OFF.
Einstein behind the wheel. Keeping her distance. The TAIL

LIGHTS of the bus just about visible through the windshield.
CUT TO:
74 INT. GUANTANAMO BAY - BASE CORRIDOR - NIGHT 74
Miller sneaks into a darkened corridor. Creeps around a

corner. Checking WINDOW PANELS in LOCKED DOORS as he passes.
He HUGS THE WALL when he HEARS FOOTSTEPS approaching --
CUT BACK TO:
75 INT. JEEP - DRIVING - NIGHT - EINSTEIN 75
-- discreetly tailing the bus when her PHONE BUZZES against

the dashboard. She checks it: “WALTER SKINNER.” Answers:
EINSTEIN
Assistant Director --
76 INT. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SKINNER’S OFFICE - NIGHT 76
Skinner on his personal cell. Peeking through the venetian

blinds of his office to the FBI hallway outside. Furtive.
(CONTINUED)
76 CONTINUED: 76
SKINNER
-- Agent Einstein, I just got word *
that you and Agent Miller chartered
a Justice Department jet to Cuba
tonight without authorization --
INTERCUT WITH:
77 INT. JEEP - DRIVING - NIGHT - EINSTEIN 77
-- clutching her phone to her ear as she drives.
EINSTEIN
-- sir, I am not currently in a
position to confirm or deny --
SKINNER (PHONE FILTER)
-- listen to me very carefully,
Agent Einstein -- wherever you are, *
whatever you’re doing, I want you
to turn around immediately --
EINSTEIN
-- why -- ?

-- because they know what you’re up
to -- they’ll be coming for you --
CUT TO:
78 INT. GUANTANAMO BAY - BASE BRIG - NIGHT - MILLER 78

-- edges around a wall. Spots a CELL GUARD checking a
clipboard. As the Guard crosses toward a desk --
-- Miller SPRINGS UP behind him and takes him in a SLEEPER

HOLD -- forcing him down to the ground -- unconscious.
Miller grabs the Guard’s KEYCHAIN from his belt --
79 INT. GUANTANAMO BAY - BASE BRIG - CELL BLOCK - NIGHT 79
Miller sneaks into the CELL BLOCK -- passes a long row of

EMPTY CELLS until he finds A MAN IN AN ORANGE JUMPSUIT --
MILLER
Eric Zellman?
(CONTINUED)
79 CONTINUED: 79
ERIC ZELLMAN
Who are you?
MILLER
My name is Miller. I’m an FBI
agent. I’m going to get you out of
here.
As Miller fumbles with the KEYCHAIN to unlock the cell --
CUT BACK TO:
Back to Einstein, still tailing the bus though she’s

distracted by the urgent phone call.
EINSTEIN
-- Agent Miller and I are pursuing
a legitimate investigation --

-- whatever you think you know,
they’re three steps ahead --
Einstein feigns a bad signal just to get off the phone.
EINSTEIN
-- sir, I’m sorry -- you’re
breaking up -- I’ll have to --
She ends the call. Tosses her phone aside. Looks up to find
that she has lost sight of the bus she was pursuing. Damn it.
81 EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 81
Einstein’s Jeep rolls to a stop, faced with a left or right

turn. Darkness in both directions. No sign of the bus.
Einstein looks left. Looks right. She’s got two choices and
one of them’s wrong.
Going on pure instinct, Einstein throws the Jeep into gear

and pulls out. She turns right.
CUT TO:
83 INT. GUANTANAMO BAY - BASE CORRIDOR - NIGHT 83
Miller leads Zellman down the corridor. Glances back over his
shoulder. Evasive of base personnel. He hugs the wall when --
ARMED SOLDIERS race by an intersection up ahead, high-calibre

RIFLES at the ready. Clearly alerted to their escape.
Once they pass, Miller grabs Zellman and bundles him out --
84 EXT. GUANTANAMO BAY - AIRFIELD - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 84
Miller breaks into a RUN -- Zellman keeping pace -- but --
A MILITARY HUMVEE RACES OUT ACROSS THE TARMAC -- RED HAZARD

LIGHT STROBING -- CATCHING THEM IN ITS HEADLIGHTS
Miller SPRINTS FLAT OUT -- but Zellman STUMBLES -- FALLS
Miller turns back and is SURROUNDED BY ARMED SOLDIERS

SPRINGING OUT OF THE HUMVEE -- POINTING THEIR RIFLES
SOLDIERS
DON’T MOVE!! / HANDS IN THE AIR!! /
FREEZE!! / ON YOUR KNEES!!
Miller raises his hands. Drops to his knees. Captured.
CUT TO:
85 EXT. REMOTE ROAD - NIGHT 85
Einstein’s Jeep SPEEDING along a long road bordered by

darkness. No other traffic in sight. The middle of nowhere.
Einstein squints through the windshield. Catches sight of a

pair of tiny red tail lights on the horizon. Accelerates --
-- then HER ENGINE CUTS OUT AND DIES WITHOUT WARNING
The dash lights wink out. Einstein pumps the gas. Tries the
ignition. No response --
87 EXT. REMOTE ROAD - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 87
-- as the Jeep coasts to a COMPLETE STOP in the middle of the

road --
Einstein looks around in confusion. What just happened?
She turns the key in the ignition again. Nothing.
EINSTEIN
-- come on -- *
Tries again. Not even a whimper. Then --
A BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT FILLS THE JEEP FROM OUT OF NOWHERE. *
THREE NARROW GREEN LASER BEAMS ROAM DOWN FROM ABOVE. *
Einstein sees them drift over her body. She pushes out -- *
89 EXT. REMOTE ROAD - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 89
-- and emerges onto the road. Einstein looks up to the source

of the BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT shining down on the Jeep to SEE --
The MATTE BLACK TRIANGULAR SHAPE OF A TR-3B BLACK MANTA ALIEN *

REPLICA VEHICLE.
CLOSE ON EINSTEIN
Shielding her face from the INTENSE WHITE LIGHT beaming down
INTO HER EYES. Then it FLARES THE LENS and VANISHES as --
-- the abrupt WHOOSH OF PASSING HEADLIGHTS and an

accompanying CAR HORN snaps Einstein out of her reverie.
WIDER
Einstein spins in a daze as A PICKUP TRUCK VEERS AWAY to
avoid her and SKIDS OFF into a ditch at the side of the road.
There is now absolutely no trace of the mysterious craft that

was hovering above her just moments ago.
EINSTEIN
Staggers back down the middle of the road in a fugue state --

strangely disoriented. As if she has no idea where she is or
what she’s doing there -- or if she even knows her own name.
END ACT FOUR

X-Files Reopened 101 (1AYX79) Act Five PINK Draft (8/26/19) 51.
ACT FIVE *
90 INT. HOSPITAL - OBSERVATION ROOM - DAY 90
Einstein’s eyes flutter open. Finding herself in a hospital

bed. A light CRIMSON RASH and a few BLISTERS on her forehead.
She fumbles with the WIRES attached to BEDSIDE MONITORS,

getting her bearings just as an exhausted Miller enters.
EINSTEIN
Agent Miller?
MILLER
How you feeling?
EINSTEIN
Confused. How did I get here?
MILLER
Local driver found you wandering
down the middle of the highway. You
don’t remember?
EINSTEIN
I was following the bus -- there
was a light -- a helicopter maybe --
and then --
MILLER
-- well the good news is the
doctors seem to think you’re fine.
I would’ve gotten here sooner but I
had to talk my way out of the
stockade this morning.
EINSTEIN
This morning? What do you mean?
MILLER
I haven’t been able to reach you
for almost 18 hours --
EINSTEIN
-- WHAT -- ?!
Einstein bolts up in her bed. Bewildered.
MILLER
An admitting nurse called me about
thirty minutes ago. They found your
badge and ID in your jacket --
(CONTINUED)
90 CONTINUED: 90
EINSTEIN
-- that’s impossible --
MILLER
-- you’re saying you have no memory
of where you’ve been since you left
me at the fence last night -- ?
Einstein swings her legs out of bed. Starts pulling out her
IV drip and the monitoring cables --
EINSTEIN
I need to have an MRI scan. Right
now.
MILLER
Just slow down. I found Zellman.
He’s being released. They all are.
EINSTEIN
The other passengers -- ?
MILLER
The military claim they were found *
by a search-and-rescue operation in
the Atlantic. They’re being
repatriated as we speak.
Off Einstein’s confusion and disbelief --
CUT TO:
91 EXT. GUANTANAMO BAY - AIRSTRIP - DAY 91

Einstein and Miller pull up in their Jeep as a long line of
CIVILIANS are led onto a MILITARY AIRBUS.
Among them is the Charming Woman. The muscular men. And even
Eric Zellman himself. His eyes glazed. Like a zombie.
EINSTEIN
They’re all accounted for?
MILLER
All two-hundred-nineteen passengers
and crew. Rescued at sea. If you
believe the cover story.
EINSTEIN
I have to examine them --
(CONTINUED)
91 CONTINUED: 91
But before she can cross the tarmac, she’s intercepted by a

pair of ARMED SOLDIERS who seem perfectly happy to let them
watch -- albeit from a distance.
SOLDIER
Sorry, ma’am, I can’t let you come
any closer --
EINSTEIN
-- I’m a medical doctor --
SOLDIER
This flight is ready to depart.
Einstein sighs her frustration. Miller calls out:

MILLER
Mr. Zellman! Will you speak with
us, Mr. Zellman?
But Zellman just looks away and files onto the airbus.
MILLER
We’re too late. They got to him.
EINSTEIN
Why bother? Why not just kill him?
MILLER
They don’t want him dead. That
would make him a martyr. They want
a walking, talking Eric Zellman
that can toe the party line.
EINSTEIN
You’re saying they erased selected
chunks of his memory -- effectively
rebooted his entire brain?
MILLER
Something called Havana syndrome.
U.S. diplomats and White House
staffers have reported unexplained
concussions, memory loss and a so-
called cognitive fog. What has been
attributed to a directed microwave
radiation weapon. Same thing they
did to you last night, I’m betting.
EINSTEIN
I don’t know what happened to me,
Miller. But there has to be a more
rational explanation.
(CONTINUED)
MILLER
Maybe you just don’t want to
believe it.
HOLD ON EINSTEIN -- not sure what to believe anymore.
CUT TO:
92 EXT. J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING - LATE DAY 92*
As the sun dips below the Capitol Dome in b.g. With LEGEND: *
FBI HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, D.C. 24 HOURS LATER *
SKINNER (PRELAP)
A government whistle-blower
carrying top-secret experimental
aircraft blueprints --
93 INT. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SKINNER’S OFFICE - LATE DAY 93
Skinner behind his desk, presiding over an FBI CASE FILE.
SKINNER
-- a clandestine programme to erase
the memories of over two hundred
passengers and crew of Flight 814.
I’m sorry, Agent Einstein, but the
report I’m reading here stretches
all credulity.
Einstein sits on the other side of the desk. Behind her, the *
Toothpick Man looms in b.g. beside a SENIOR AGENT with her *
back against the wall -- S.A.C. FOSSA (50s). Inscrutable. *
EINSTEIN
I appreciate some of Agent Miller’s
wilder assertions may be difficult
to substantiate.
SKINNER
Do you have any physical evidence
to support these allegations?
EINSTEIN
There is the electronic device we
recovered from the passenger cabin.
SKINNER
The sci-crime lab reports it was
nothing more than a laser pointer.
(CONTINUED)
93 CONTINUED: 93
Einstein nods slowly. Of course.
EINSTEIN
Unfortunately the military are
still blocking access to the
plane’s flight data recorder.
Without it, our investigation is
effectively at an impasse.
Skinner glances to S.A.C. Fossa and the Toothpick Man in b.g.
SKINNER
These missing 18 hours. You can or
cannot account for your whereabouts
during that period?
EINSTEIN
I cannot, sir.
SKINNER
Then I don’t have much choice but
to make this case inactive. Not
without good, hard evidence that
would justify an ongoing
investigation.
Beat. Skinner playing to his audience. The Toothpick Man and

S.A.C. Fossa placated. Then Einstein plays her trump card:
EINSTEIN
I had what’s called a functional
magnetic resonance scan before I
left the hospital in Guantanamo.
Einstein swipes through the tablet that’s been resting in her

lap to bring up an fMRI SCAN and passes it to Skinner.
EINSTEIN
It clearly shows the same white
matter tract abnormalities in my
temporal lobe that were present in
Eric Zellman.
Skinner examines the image of the HUMAN BRAIN on the screen

as S.A.C. Fossa whispers into the Toothpick Man’s ear in b.g.
EINSTEIN
If I were authorized to examine the
other passengers of Flight 814, I
have little doubt I’d find the
exact same thing in each of them --
(beat)
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
EINSTEIN (CONT'D)
-- if Agent Miller and I are to be
allowed to continue --
Skinner hands the tablet back to Einstein -- an unspoken

affirmation that she has some good, hard evidence after all.
SKINNER
I don’t think the Bureau has a pair *
of agents better suited to evaluate *
the evidence in hand.
Skinner glances at S.A.C. Fossa. A look of sly satisfaction *

and triumph in his eyes that he shares with Einstein. *
CUT TO: *
94 INT. FBI HEADQUARTERS - BASEMENT OFFICE - DAY 94*
Miller is busy pinning NEWS CLIPPINGS about Flight 814 to the

wall next to the “I WANT TO BELIEVE” poster. The desk now
hosts his laptop and a nameplate which reads: “KYD MILLER.”
EINSTEIN (O.S.)
Doctor Feelgood with your medicine.
Einstein enters with a light knock on the open door. She

tosses Miller a BLISTER PACK of medication. He catches.
MILLER
Where’d you get these?
EINSTEIN
I am a licensed M.D. in three
states.
MILLER
I wouldn’t ask you to risk your
medical license -- not for me.
EINSTEIN
I know. But if we’re going to be
working together, somebody has to
keep you flying straight. No pun
intended.
Miller nods his appreciation, the two of them bound together

by this shared secret now.
MILLER
Is that what we’re going to be
doing? Working together?
(CONTINUED)
94 CONTINUED: 94
EINSTEIN
I still have big questions, and 18
hours missing from my life. I can’t
think of a better place to find
some answers.
MILLER
It’s not too late to go back to
Quantico. I can give A.D. Skinner a
call, ask him to grant you an
eleventh hour reprieve.
Einstein shakes her head, energized with fresh purpose.
EINSTEIN
There is a measurable, quantifiable
scientific explanation for what
happened to me out there. I can’t
just walk away from that. Not now.
MILLER
Are you sure you want to be stuck
down here in the basement with me?
Einstein takes a long look around the bowels of the FBI they
are consigned to, contemplating her future and perhaps the
next decade of her life that hinges on her response. Then:
EINSTEIN
Get me a desk.
CUT TO:
95 INT. FBI PARKING GARAGE - NIGHT 95

Miller emerges from the elevator banks, heading for his car
with key fob extended when --
MAN’S VOICE (O.S.)

Calling it a night, Agent Miller?
Miller spins around to find the source of the voice loitering

in the shadows of a concrete beam. A FIGURE steps into the *
light to REVEAL the man himself, the legendary FOX MULDER. He *
pops a sunflower seed between his teeth as he approaches.
MILLER
Agent Mulder?
FOX MULDER
Plain, simple Fox Mulder to you.
Private citizen.
(CONTINUED)
95 CONTINUED: 95
MILLER
I’ve tried to reach you the last
few years --
FOX MULDER
-- let’s just say I’m not really *
taking any calls these days. At
least, not officially.
Miller puts the pieces together in his head, working it out.
MILLER
You sent me that manifest. You gave
my contact details to UfoLeaks.
FOX MULDER
Call it payback for all the times
someone gave me a tip in the right
direction over the years.
MILLER
Why the cloak and dagger routine?
Why not come back and help us?
FOX MULDER
I have a child at home now, and her
mother who’d have my ass if she
knew I was within a hundred miles
of this building. So to speak.
Mulder tosses Agent Miller a USB STICK. He catches.
MILLER
What’s this?
FOX MULDER
Everything I’ve been working on
since I left the Bureau. Every
scrap of evidence, half-truth and
fuzzy photo. I just had to be sure
I was giving it to the right guy.
MILLER
I don’t know if I can do this
alone.
FOX MULDER
You’re not alone. Someone once
warned me to trust no one. But
trust Agent Einstein. Trust her
judgement. She’ll keep you honest.
(beat)
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
FOX MULDER (CONT'D)
The X-files need scientific rigor *
to give the office credibility.
Without that, you’re just another
crackpot conspiracy theorist
shaking his fist at the sky,
ranting about chemtrails and lizard
people -- and God knows the world
doesn’t need any more of those.
Mulder steps closer and hands out a fistful of sunflower

seeds into Agent Miller’s open palm.
FOX MULDER
This is your fight now, Agent
Miller. Don’t give up.
Agent Miller holds a deep, meaningful gaze with Mulder before *
he turns away and recedes into the shadows of the garage.
Miller watches him leave, in awe and more than a little

daunted by the scope of the adventure in front of him.
CUT TO:
96 EXT. AREA 51 - AIRCRAFT HANGAR - NIGHT 96
A precession of FORKLIFT TRUCKS haul stacks of CRATES marked

“TOP SECRET -- PROPERTY OF U.S. GOVERNMENT” into a hangar.
A large TRIANGULAR SHAPE hidden under a translucent tarp is

visible in b.g. as the hangar doors slowly begin to close.
A FIGURE emerges from within. It is the Toothpick Man. He

slips a PHONE out of his pocket as it BUZZES with a message:
“X-FILES REOPENED. PLAUSIBLE DENIAL CONSTRUCTED.”
The Toothpick Man slides his phone back into his breast
pocket, his face unreadable, and stalks away OUT OF FRAME --
-- as the hangar doors finally slide to a close, shutting us

out of the myriad unknowable secrets concealed within.
THE END

The X-Files Reopened - 1AYX79 - Flight Plan

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The X-Files Reopened - 1AYX79 - Flight Plan

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Pilot

Based upon THE X-FILES Created by

GREEN Pages (6 pgs) 08/27/19

Pilot Episode (1AYX79)

PINK Draft (8/26/19)

LAUREN MINETTE ................................... Louise Monot

SKINNER’S ASSISTANT (NON-SPEAKING) ............. Arlene Pileggi

Pilot Episode (1AYX79)

PINK Draft (8/26/19)

1 A BOEING 777 COMMERCIAL AIRLINER 1

At cruising altitude, flying steadily through the void of the

With LEGEND: 35,000 FEET OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, 10:13 PM *

2 INT. AIRLINER - PASSENGER CABIN - NIGHT 2

About half full. Plenty of room. Lights down low. Several

A MAN (40s) sips his drink, sitting in front of his OPEN

Anxious looks along the row to find a CHARMING WOMAN (30s)

She indicates the empty seat at the end of the row.

Charming smiles, sits. She takes out a BALLPOINT PEN and

As he taps at his laptop keyboard. Typing at speed. Furtive.

DRIFTING OVER TO CHARMING

As she CLICKS the end of her pen and subtly angles it to

A tiny RED DOT appears on the base of the laptop. BLINKS.

Anxious jabs at his keyboard when his screen suddenly FRITZES

The “FASTEN SEATBELTS” sign blinks on.

Charming glances around, concerned. Has she done this too? If

The cabin SHAKES HARDER and passengers ROCK IN THEIR SEATS.

Another, heavier JOLT and the whole plane RUMBLES. A few

THE ENTIRE CABIN IS FILLED WITH A BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT

3 INT. AIRLINER - COCKPIT - NIGHT 3

The CAPTAIN and CO-PILOT struggle to maintain control of the

4 INT. AIRLINER - PASSENGER CABIN - NIGHT 4

Anxious grips his armrests tight. His knuckles going white.

They FIND Anxious and come to a rest over his head -- *

He looks up into the laserlight, awestruck and terrified -- *

5 EXT. SKIES OVER THE ATLANTIC - NIGHT 5

HIGH OVER the silhouette of the PASSENGER JET as the sharp

So close to frame we can only get the briefest glimpse of its

6 INT. AIRLINER - PASSENGER CABIN - NIGHT 6

ROCKING and RATTLING like it might explode from sheer stress

7 EXT. SKIES OVER THE ATLANTIC - NIGHT 7

-- as TWO F-15 EAGLE FIGHTER JETS SKYROCKET PAST THE

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (RADIO FILTER)

8 INT. AIRLINER - COCKPIT - NIGHT 8

The Captain and Co-Pilot work their consoles, seemingly back

9 EXT. GREENWOOD AIR FORCE BASE - NOVA SCOTIA - NIGHT 9

As the Airliner descends onto the LANDING STRIP and the

EMERGENCY RESPONSE HUMVEES swarm up the tarmac at speed. BLUE *

MILITARY TROOPS in combat fatigues leap out of the lead *

A staircase on wheels is rushed into position against the

As the cabin door is opened with a mechanical KA-CHUNK -- *

10 INT. AIRLINER - PASSENGER CABIN - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS 10

The Troops SWARM IN with their rifles poised. Darting down *

FLASHLIGHTS mounted to the barrels of their rifles search *

Row upon row of spindly OXYGEN MASKS dangle ominously from *

The Troops lower their weapons and react in confusion at the

THE HUMAN BRAIN

Being extracted from a SKULL that has recently undergone a

11 INT. FBI TRAINING ACADEMY - QUANTICO, VA - AUTOPSY BAY - DAY 11

SPECIAL AGENT ELIZABETH EINSTEIN conducts an autopsy *

Einstein is distracted when a JUNIOR AGENT enters the room.

Einstein is suddenly alert to the import of the message --

12 EXT. J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING - WASHINGTON, D.C. - DAY 12

The famous elephantine fortress on Pennsylvania Avenue. The

13 INT. FBI HEADQUARTERS - HALLWAY - DAY 13