From: skyfullofstars76 Date: 25 Apr 2002 17:29:45 -0700 Subject: [all-xf] NEW FIC: The Gunmen Live (1/1) Source: atxc Title: The Gunmen Live Author: McJen Feedback: skyfullofstars76@yahoo.com Category: Lone Gunmen Rated: PG Spoilers: Usual Suspects, 3 of a Kind, Jump the Shark Disclaimer: They aren't mine..blah..blah..blah Summary: The Gunmen aren't really dead. Find out what really happens after the Jump the Shark episode. **************************************************** Memphis, Tennessee Wolfchase Galleria 12:21 p.m. It's lunchtime. The food court is busy. Every table is occupied. People are eating, laughing, talking, living their lives. In the middle of the crowd, huddled around a tiny table sit Langly, Frohike, and Byers. They are eating lunch. Each are dressed in their usual Gunmen attire. The only unusual thing about their appearance is the different name tags that are pinned to their clothes. None of them look very happy as they pick at their food. Byers glances at his watch. FROHIKE "You gotta quit doing that, it's no good." BYERS "It's the third printing deadline we've missed." LANGLY (throws his chicken nugget down onto the table. It bounces off and rolls away) "Man, this sucks. I can't take much more of this." FROHIKE "Come on guys. We knew this wouldn't be easy. We gotta start back at the bottom again but we'll work our way back up." LANGLY "I was never this low. If I have to hear another teeny bopper going on about the damn Backstreet Sissys I'm gonna kill." They sit in silence and pick at their food, barely aware of the world going on around them. Frohike's watch beeps. They all look at each other. BYERS "We can make it guys. We have to." The three of them get up and throw their trash away. They slowly walk through the mall. Along the way they walk by happy shoppers, mothers dragging screaming kids along behind them, rowdy teenagers hanging out, old people with ice cream cones. One by one they go their separate ways. Frohike walks into Radio Shack. Byers walks into a Cingular Wireless kiosk in the middle of the mall. Langly walks into a music store. It's blissfully silent, but it only lasts a moment before an Nsync song blasts from the store speakers. Langly cringes as if physically in pain. From across the small store another worker says, WORKER "Hey, can you get the check outs? I'm going to lunch." LANGLY "Yeah, whatever." Langly sighs and walks to the checkout desk. Without looking up he takes the CD that has been placed on the counter. It's Brittany Spears. LANGLY "You do realize that this music has been so digitally altered that it barely resembles her actual voice at all. She doesn't even write her own songs. Why waste your time on this trash?" CUSTOMER (a young guy about 14) "She's hot." Langly shakes his head and puts the money into the register. Before he can look up another CD is slapped down onto the counter. He grabs it and scans it. As he puts it into a little plastic sack he notices the cover. It's the Ramones. He looks up. Standing across from him on the other side of the counter is Yves. Langly's mouth drops open. Yves glances at Langly's "Joey Lives" T-shirt and smirks. YVES "Seems like Joey isn't the only one who still lives." **************************************************** LONE GUNMEN THEME **************************************************** 3 Weeks Earlier Offices of The Lone Gunmen Tacoma Park, Maryland Jimmy, Yves, and Kimmy sit at the couch. Tears are running down Jimmy's face as he grips 3 folded American flags like his life depended on it. Yves looks at Jimmy, a worried expression is on her face. Kimmy stares at the floor, shuffling his feet. It's an uncomfortable silence. KIMMY "So, uh, what happens now?" Yves and Jimmy don't immediately answer. Jimmy stares at the flag in his arms. A long minute passes. Jimmy raises his head as if he's come to a decision. JIMMY "Fight the good fight.....I'll write the paper." Yves closes her eyes as if she were expecting him to say that. KIMMY "YOU!?!?" YVES "You haven't got any money remember." KIMMY "You definitely aren't the sugar daddy you once were." JIMMY "It doesn't matter. I'll sell my car. That should be enough to publish one issue. And after that...I'll figure something out. I'll run off one page fliers at Kinko's and pass them out for free. And when I run out of money for that I'll hand write them. If I have to I'll....I'll stand on the street corners and tell people the stories that need to be told. Whatever it takes. I promised......" Jimmy breaks into tears again. YVES "No you won't." JIMMY "What?" YVES "I've got money. I'll pay for printing. It's the least I can do. I owe them." JIMMY "You'd do that?" Yves nods. A weak smile crosses Jimmy's lips. Kimmy scowls at the both of them. KIMMY "I hate to break up this Hallmark moment but ....are you both nuts? Publish the paper with blood money? Don't get me wrong, the irony isn't lost on me but somehow I don't think the guys would find it amusing." YVES "You fool. You honestly believe I'd lay a hand on any money that my father has earmarked for murder?" KIMMY "Whoa, listen, Yves...Lois..whatever your name is. I'm just saying that I don't know what to believe." YVES "Unbelievable." Yves turns to Jimmy YVES "And you Jimmy, what do you believe?" JIMMY "The guys believed in you at the end. But I've believed in you from the beginning." Yves hangs her head, ashamed at her outburst. They sit in sad silence. Yves finally speaks. YVES "I have money. Not blood money. My money. Enough to publish this paper for several centuries I expect." Kimmy's mouth drops open. KIMMY "How the hell did you get your hands on that kinda moulah?" YVES "What do you think I've been doing all this time? Baby-sitting?" Kimmy glances around the room. Rows and rows of empty bare shelves fill the warehouse. KIMMY "Ok, so, you've got the cash. But what about equipment. This place hasn't been this empty since Frohike loaned me his porno collection." ******************************************************* Lone Gunmen Offices Time has passed. The once bare shelves have a few items on them. On the top shelf is a make-shift memorial to the guys. The 3 American flags are in display cases with a framed photo of the guys beside them. Across the room, 3 new computers sit on the desks. Two are laptops and one is an obnoxious green imac. Scanners, printers, and other computer paraphernalia fill up the rest of the desk space. Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy are sitting at the computers. A stack of the newest issue of The Lone Gunmen is on the table. The headline reads: "Reporters Sacrifice Lives for Others" Beneath the headline is a photo of Langly, Frohike, and Byers. Along the sidebar is another news column. There is a small thumbnail sized photo of Kimmy and the headline reads, "How to keep government patsies out of your computer." Yves picks up a copy of the paper. YVES "They would be proud of you Jimmy. You did a good job." Jimmy smiles. KIMMY "Though Langly would be rolling over in his grave if he saw your kiddy green computer over there." Jimmy pats the green imac affectionately. JIMMY "But I love it. It's the first computer I ever had." Before Kimmy can make a sarcastic retort, there is a knock at the door. Jimmy walks over and glances at the video screen. JIMMY (growls) "It's Morris Fletcher." YVES "Let him in Jimmy." Reluctantly, Jimmy opens the door. He glares at Morris. MF "Hey big guy, gonna invite me in?" JIMMY "Do I have to?" YVES "Let him in." Morris walks past Jimmy into the room. He looks around the place. Glances at Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy and points to the stack of newspapers. MF "What's this? 3 Stooges: The Sequel?" They say nothing. MF "I mean, it's great. There I was stuck in the world's most boring meeting when the mail arrives and what should appear in my hands but The Lone Gunmen Returns!! I just had to come over and see it with my own eyes." JIMMY "So you've seen it, now get out." MF "Oh, come on now. You aren't getting rid of me so easily. I have to know...how'd they pull it off? Are they ghostwriting your articles from some beach on the Bahamas? Or are they stashed away in some secret passageway?" JIMMY "I don't believe in ghosts. But you're gonna be one if you don't shut up." Jimmy grabs Fletcher by the collar and pushes him against the wall. Fletcher glances at Yves. MF "Will you please tell The Rock here, that ghostwriting doesn't involve the supernatural." YVES "Put him down Jimmy." KIMMY "Ghostwriting is when one person writes the article and another takes all the credit." YVES "Why would you think they were ghostwriting the paper?" KIMMY "Yeah, HELLO, they're dead. You were at the funeral." Morris Fletcher looks at them as if he can't believe his ears. MF "You are kidding me right? Come on!!!" They say nothing. Morris Fletcher bursts into laughter. MF "Your stooges aren't dead." JIMMY "What are you talking about." MF "Did you ever see a body? A viewing at the funeral home? An open casket? These were biological hazards, they would never have been buried." JIMMY "Why?" YVES "Biological hazards are always cremated." MF "And how did they get buried at Arlington?" JIMMY "Skinner pulled some strings." MF "The only thing he's pulling is your leg. Arlington is the most well guarded cemetery in the US. There's no way anyone could poke around to find out what's really in those coffins." Morris Fletcher laughs harder. MF "They probably have the whole place wired with sound and video and are laughing their asses off at you as we speak." He walks to the door and leaves. Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy look at each other. Jimmy glances around the room, stares at the ceiling. JIMMY "Guys?" ******************************** Arlington National Cemetery Washington D.C. Yves and Jimmy are walking among the seemingly endless rows of crosses. They are both dressed for a funeral, all in black. Jimmy is wearing a black coat and tie. Yves is holding flowers with one hand and in the other is holding a Kleenex to her face as if she is crying. There is a small headset in her ear. YVES (through headset) "Kimmy, do you read me?" ************************************ Cut to: Interior VW Van KIMMY "Loud and clear. I've got the system online. You just get the sensor in place and it'll be like Superman's Xray vision back here." ************************************ Cut to: Cemetery Yves lowers the Kleenex and takes Jimmy arm. YVES "Kimmy's got everything ready. You know what you have to do?" JIMMY "I'm ready." They walk slowly through the rows of crosses until they find the 3 they were looking for. They stop. Yves, bends down and sets flowers on the middle grave. She bursts into a fit of melodramatic tears. YVES "I can't believe he's gone." She throws herself onto the burial sight and clutches at the ground. Jimmy bends down to comfort her and she hangs onto his chest. One of her hands reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out the sensor. She pushes it into the ground. As two guards approach, Jimmy gets Yves to her feet and leads her away. GUARD "Can we be of any assistance?" JIMMY "No thank you sir, I'll just take her home." The guard nods solemnly. GUARD "I'm sorry for your loss." They walk back up the path and back to the van. Kimmy is staring at the computer screen, saying nothing. On it is the faint outlines of what's beneath the gravesite. The outline of the coffins can be seen, and inside...three skeletons. KIMMY "Sorry guys." Jimmy slumps down onto the floor. Yves hands him her Kleenex and he dabs his eyes. Yves sits down beside Kimmy and takes a closer look at the screen. KIMMY "We never should have listened to Fletcher...this was a waste of time." YVES "Maybe not." Jimmy quits crying and peaks over their shoulders. YVES (points to a skeleton on the screen) "This is Langly's coffin, correct?" Kimmy nods. Yves enlarges it and looks at it on the screen. YVES "Unless there's something that Langly forgot to tell us, this isn't his skeleton." KIMMY "Huh?" YVES "This is the skeleton of a woman. You can tell by the wider ratio of hipbones." Yves points out the differences on the screen. Kimmy laughs out loud. KIMMY "He may have had long blonde hair but he was all man." Jimmy smiles and grabs the both of them in a huge bear hug. ************************************* Lone Gunmen Offices 4:45 p.m. Yves is sitting at the computer, staring at the skeletons on the computer screen. Kimmy is standing beside her watching her work. Jimmy is so excited he can't be still. He is pacing the room with giant steps. JIMMY (huge smile) "They aren't in the coffins! They're alive! They've got to be!!" He bounds towards Yves and Kimmy. Kimmy takes a step backwards and holds his hands up. KIMMY "Please, no more hugs, you've cracked 3 of my ribs already. Can't you just be the strong silent type?" YVES "We don't know for certain they are alive, Jimmy. Don't get your hopes up too high." JIMMY (still smiling) "They're alive. I can feel it." Instead of hugging Kimmy, he puts him in a head lock and rubs his hair. JIMMY "WHOO HOO!!" JIMMY (still holding onto Kimmy) "So what's our next move?" YVES "Our next move is for you to let Kimmy go, so he can hack into the FBI mainframe." Jimmy immediately lets Kimmy go, standing him up straight. Kimmy tries to brush his hair back down with his hands and sits in front of the computer. Within a matter of seconds, Kimmy has it hacked. KIMMY "Ok. Now what?" YVES "Let's find out what the FBI's official position is on them." KIMMY "You know if they've relocated them with new identities there won't be a thing on them. I hear those files aren't even kept on record. Strictly paper files. In the depths of the Pentagon." YVES "We've got to start somewhere." Kimmy types in John Fitzgerald Byers. An older photo of Byers pops up onto the screen, along with his physical statistics and employment history. He's listed as deceased and the case is closed. Yves points at the computer screen. YVES "What's this?" Kimmy rolls the mouse over and clicks. KIMMY "It's some sort of text file." YVES "Let's see it." He opens the file and it is a document from the Center for Disease Control. At the top of the file, in large letters it says, BIOHAZARD LEVEL 1. On the document is a drawing of the chemical bonds of the virus and a detailed analysis of the viral agent. It's pages long. KIMMY (reading from the file) "Three blood samples containing the virus were sent to a CDC lab in Memphis, Tennessee." YVES "Who did the analysis?" Kimmy scrolls down to the bottom of the article. It's signed: Linda Young. KIMMY "Linda Young." Kimmy types into the FBI search, Linda Young. A file pops up on the screen, but there is no photo available. KIMMY "She's some hotshot chemist with the CDC. She specializes in producing antidotes for possible bioterroristic agents." JIMMY (still smiling) "They are SO alive!!!" Kimmy rolls his eyes at Jimmy and looks at Yves. YVES "Graceland anyone?" JIMMY "ELVIS LIVES!! Whoo oohh!!" ******************************************** CDC Laboratory Memphis Division Memphis, Tennessee 10:43 a.m. Interior VW Van Jimmy, Kimmy, and Yves are staking out the CDC labs in Memphis. From the empty soda cans and endless empty sacks of fast food, it's obvious they have been sitting there all morning. Yves is restless. Kimmy is frustrated as he sits at the computer. For once, only Jimmy is perfectly patient as he intently stares at the doors of the high-rise building. YVES "Have you got anything yet?" KIMMY "No, there's no photo of this Linda Young on file anywhere. She must drive a government issued car because there's no car on the register at the DMV. Hell, she isn't even listed as having a driver's license." YVES (sighs) "This is pointless. We can't follow a woman that we've never seen before. Let's go." JIMMY "No wait. I've got an idea. We could have flowers delivered and whoever walks out with them we'll know is Linda." Kimmy and Yves look at each other and in astonishment at Jimmy. KIMMY "Not a bad idea." JIMMY (smiling) "I learned from the best." ****************************************** Interior VW Van From the van they watch as a delivery man carrying a huge bouquet of sunflowers walks into the laboratory. KIMMY "The sunflowers should be easy to spot from here." YVES "All we do now is wait." Time passes. They wait. And wait. And wait. The fast food sacks multiply. They all switch positions several times. The sun arcs across the sky and sets. They wait. JIMMY "What if she decided to leave the sunflowers at work. You know, to brighten up her lab?" YVES "Doubtful Jimmy. This is the CDC lab, they probably don't even let the flowers leave the front lobby. She should pick them up on her way out." Kimmy is staring at the computer screen. He has swiveled the hidden camera in the van to point at the front doors of the building. KIMMY "Guys. We've got sunflowers." Yves and Jimmy both turn and look out the window. Yves starts the engine. Jimmy sees a blonde haired woman carrying the armload of sunflowers as she walks towards the parking garage. Kimmy puts a close up on the screen. His mouth drops open. KIMMY "Shit. Shit. Shit." Yves turns around. YVES "What is it?" KIMMY "I know her. It's Byers hot mama that he's been pining over for years." JIMMY (glances at the woman walking determined down the street) "Susanne Modeski? That's Susanne Modeski?" YVES (completely confused) "Susanne who? How do you know her?" Jimmy is obviously impressed with Susanne's appearance as he watches her walk to her car. JIMMY "Go Byers!!" Yves follows Susanne as she pulls out of the parking garage and drives away. *************************************** Huey's Bar and Grill Downtown Memphis 10:52 p.m. Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy are sitting in a booth in a noisy downtown bar and grill. It's crowded and a smoky haze hangs in the air. The long bar on the opposite side of the room is filled with loud college-aged customers who are laughing and talking and singing along with the music playing on the jukebox. The walls are covered in graffiti and the ceiling is covered in toothpicks. Jimmy watches as one of the college kids gets his straw and expertly shoots a toothpick into the tacky black ceiling tiles. It sticks. Jimmy picks up his tooth pick and Yves grabs his hand and stops him. YVES "We are not here to play Jimmy." He reluctantly sets the toothpick down. YVES "So this Susanne Modeski has had dealings with Byers for years?" KIMMY (nods) "Yeah, the story's practically a myth. She's the one who started it all." JIMMY "If it weren't for her there wouldn't be any Lone Gunmen." YVES (sarcastically) "What a wonderful legacy to leave behind. Remind me to thank her." JIMMY "But Byers got her an alias and she disappeared. She asked him to go with him but he said she'd be safer alone. Isn't that romantic??" YVES "Touching. But I don't understand. If she disappeared, why pick a high profile job with the CDC? It's like painting a target on your back." JIMMY "Don't you get it. The CDC are the good guys. Kimmy said her FBI file listed her as a scientist who makes the antidotes." YVES "I wouldn't be too sure of that Jimmy." KIMMY "You think she knew about the viral agent all along." YVES "Knew about it. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one that developed it. At this point, I'd believe Elvis could walk through that door." At that moment the door to Huey's opens and a guy slightly resembling Elvis walks into the bar. YVES "I'll do a little poking around at her house tomorrow. See what we can't find out about Ms. Modeski." While Yves is paying the ticket, Jimmy watches the Elvis look alike sit down at the bar and get a drink. Jimmy picks up a sharpie marker on the table and writes on the graffiti covered wall in big block capital letters: "THE GUNMEN LIVE." **************************************** "Linda Young" Residence Germantown, Tennessee The VW van is parked in a nice suburban neighborhood. Trees line the streets and the houses and yards are larger than average. Inside the van are: Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy. Jimmy is sitting in the driver's seat. Kimmy is stationed in front of the computer. Yves is crouched beside the van door. She's dressed in black and she slips a headset over her ear. She quietly slides open the van door and closes it behind her. Jimmy and Kimmy watch as she slinks across the yard. KIMMY "Look at her. She's a regular catwoman." YVES (through headset) "I heard that." ***************************** CUT TO: Exterior House Yves walks to the back door. She takes a small metal file out of her pocket and quickly picks the lock to the door. Once inside she sees a burglar alarm. YVES (into headset) "You've got 60 seconds to cut the power." KIMMY (through headset) "I can get it in 30." In even less time than that the power is shut off and the burglar alarm is disarmed. Yves looks around the room. She's in a spacious kitchen. It's spotlessly clean as if rarely used. She creeps through the kitchen and through a living room and into an adjacent office. Yves sits down at the computer desk. She hooks up an external power source and turns on the computer. Within minutes she finds the files she's looking for and starts downloading them onto a portable harddrive. ******************** CUT TO: VW Van While Kimmy is monitoring the computer, Jimmy keeps a look out. Susanne's car drives slowly up the road and turns into the driveway. JIMMY (into headset) "The lion is returning to the nest." Kimmy laughs under his breath. YVES (confused) "What?" JIMMY "Um..I mean the lion is returning to..............uh...Susanne has just pulled into the driveway. She's going to walk in the house any second!!" ************************** Interior House Susanne unlocks the door to her house. She walks to the alarm system and sees that it's off. She flips a light switch but nothing comes on. As quietly as she can she opens a kitchen drawer and reaches for a gun. From a reflection in the kitchen window she sees Yves trying to sneak out the door. She turns around and points the gun at Yves. SUSANNE "Don't move." YVES "I don't wish to harm you." SUSANNE "What do you want?" YVES "Information." SUSANNE "About what?" Yves holds her hands up in a gesture of good faith and moves towards the door. YVES "You analyzed 3 blood samples that contained a deadly virus involving shark cartilage." SUSANNE "I work for the CDC. I analyses a lot of dangerous substances." YVES "These blood samples were from friends of mine. Byers, Langly, and Frohike." The gun slipped from Susanne's fingers. Yves picks it up off the floor. SUSANNE "Byers. One of those was Byers' blood sample?" Yves nods. Susanne begins to cry softly. YVES "I take it then you don't have good news?" SUSANNE "Good news? The virus is lethal. How did they get involved in that?" YVES "It's a very long story and I don't have time to go into it now." SUSANNE "Why did you come to me?" YVES "I thought perhaps, you'd know if there was a cure?" SUSANNE "If that was in their bloodstream then all three of them are dead." ************************** CUT TO: Interior VW VAN Yves climbs into the car and pulls the headset out of her ear. YVES "Did you hear all of that?" KIMMY "Loud and clear." JIMMY "I don't believe it." Jimmy sighs and turns on the ignition. He is about to pull out onto the road but sees a car driving by and waits for it to pass. He looks at it as he goes by. For a brief moment, Jimmy gets an unobstructed view of the passenger. It looks exactly like Byers. Their eyes meet. The car speeds away. Jimmy screams. JIMMY "BYERS!!!!!!!!!!!!" Jimmy floors the gas pedal and shoots off in pursuit of the car. Yves falls onto Kimmy and they tumble onto the floor of the van. Jimmy speeds through neighborhood streets ignoring stop signs as he follows the car. They pull out of the neighborhood onto a busy main highway. The car disappears into traffic. Jimmy pulls off at the nearest gas station and pounds his fists into the steering wheel. Yves and Kimmy crawl from the back seat, both look disheveled. KIMMY "What the hell are you trying to do?" JIMMY "It was Byers! I KNOW it was Byers." Kimmy sighs. KIMMY "Listen, I want to find them as much as you do but you can't go off chasing every brown haired man in a suit you see." JIMMY "But it looked EXACTLY like Byers." YVES "He's right, Jimmy." Jimmy sighs and hangs his head. Kimmy climbs into the front seat. KIMMY "Move over big guy, I'm driving." ********************************* Marriott Hotel 7:15 a.m. Kimmy, Jimmy, and Yves are sharing a hotel room. It has two double beds. Kimmy and Jimmy are on one bed sleeping. Yves is in the other bed. She glances over at the guys and then slips quietly out of bed. She's already dressed. She slips her shoes on and takes the keys from the van off the table. On the complimentary stationary she writes: "Gone to check something out. Back as soon as possible. YVES" She tiptoes out the door and locks it behind her. *************************** Interior VW Van 8:01 a.m. Yves is sitting in the front of the computer. On the screen appears the video feed from the van's surveillance camera. She fast forwards it until the point that the car Jimmy chased drives by. She freeze frames it on the back of the car and enlarges the license plate. She jots down the number and runs a check on the plates. A name and address appear on the screen. **************************** Rivendale Apartments 9:16 a.m. Yves closes the van door and walks up a long sidewalk to apartment 3C. She knocks. There is no answer. She reaches into her purse and pulls out a file and picks the lock. Inside, the apartment is sparsely furnished. An old ratty couch, a TV, and a computer sitting on a rickety old card table are the only things in the room. She walks to the bedroom. On the floor are 3 inflatable travel beds. She walks directly to the closet and begins shuffling through the clothes. She see: 4 identical brown suits, a dozen or so band t-shirts and jeans, towards the back is a strange assortment of clothes that have no rhyme or reason. Yves pulls out a pair of the pants and holds them against her own legs. They are very short. Something falls from the hanger. Yves bends to pick it up. It's a fingerless glove. A small smile spreads across her face. She walks back into the living room. Sitting beside the computer is a name tag for Warehouse Music. Yves picks it up and puts it into her pocket and walks out the door. ****************************** Wolfchase Galleria 12:42 p.m. Yves walks through the mall and goes into Warehouse Music. Across the store she sees Langly as he walks behind the checkout counter. Without missing a beat, Yves walks through the store, picks up the CD she's looking for and walks up to the counter just as a teenage kid is taking his purchase and walking away. Langly looks disgusted. Yves sets her CD down on the table. Without looking up, Langly grabs it and scans it. Before he puts it in a little plastic sack he notices that it's the Ramones. He looks up. Langly's mouth drops open. Yves glances at Langly's "Joey Lives" T-shirt and smirks. YVES "Seems like Joey isn't the only one who still lives." *************************** Marriott Hotel 3:36 p.m. Kimmy is kicked back on the hotel bed watching TV. Jimmy is pacing back and forth. He stops right in front of the TV and looks at Kimmy. JIMMY "Where could she have gone. It's not like her to run off." KIMMY "It's just like her. Move over bigfoot, you're blocking double jeopardy. I'm on a roll." Jimmy doesn't move but glares at Kimmy. They hear the lock open. Yves walks into the room. She's smiling. JIMMY "Where have you been! When I woke up you were gone and all you left was that lousy message and that was hours ago and...." Following Yves into the room are Langly, Frohike, and Byers. Jimmy quits talking. His eyes widen and a smile lights up his face. JIMMY "GUYS!!!" He rushes over to them, getting to Langly first and grabs him in a hug. LANGLY "Ow. Watch the hair man." Langly sounds like his usual sarcastic self but it's obvious he's happy to see Jimmy. Jimmy lets him go and turns to Byers. Byers is smiling and extends his hand. Jimmy takes his hand and pulls Byers into his arms. BYERS (wincing) "It's good to see you too Jimmy." Finally Jimmy turns to Frohike. Frohike opens his arms wide for a hug and braces himself. FROHIKE "Come here ya ol' softy." Jimmy hugs him tightly and lifts him off the ground. Kimmy stands aside watching the happy reunion. He looks happy to see them and at the same time completely annoyed. KIMMY "Where the hell have you guys been?" Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy all stare at the Gunmen waiting for an answer. FROHIKE "Skinner. Only Skinner knows the truth." *************************** FLASHBACK **************************** Jimmy's hand is against the glass window. He's crying as the Gunmen stare out at him. Yves is holding onto Jimmy, trying her best to pull him away from the glass. A stairwell door opens and a dozen or more CDC officials in yellow hazmat suits surround them. Skinner pushes his way through the sea of yellow suits and approaches Yves and Jimmy. SKINNER "I know this is hard but I'm going to have to ask you to come with me." Yves nods and she and Skinner lead Jimmy out of the building. Langly, Byers, and Frohike watch as the CDC guys open the airtight doors. They are immediately surrounded, pushed down onto stretchers and injected with IVs. As they drift to sleep they are sealed into a plastic quarantined boxes and carried away. ************************** Frohike is surrounded by white. He blinks and rubs his eyes several times. FROHIKE "Heaven?" He manages to sit up and realizes he's in a hospital bed. In beds beside him are Langly and Byers. Frohike flops back onto the bed and stares at the ceiling. FROHIKE "Hell." SKINNER "I think you were right the first time." Skinner pulls up a chair and sits down beside Frohike's bed. FROHIKE "This definitely ain't heaven cause you aren't the angel I was expecting to greet me." Skinner smirks. Byers and Langly wake up and stare at Skinner. They wait. Skinner is antsy. He stands up and paces round the room. SKINNER "I'm the closest thing to an angel you three have. But you aren't going to like what I have to say." LANGLY "Are we dying?" SKINNER "No." Langly sighs and visibly relaxes. LANGLY "Then you can say whatever you want." Skinner reaches into his pocket and pulls out 3 driver's licenses. He hands one to each of them. SKINNER "These are your new identities. Your old lives are over." BYERS "What? Why?" SKINNER "We caught you in time to give you an antidote but the virus is still in your bodies. It's in a dormant state." LANGLY "And what? We have to live like bubbleboy for the rest of our lives?" SKINNER "No, nothing like that. But, if terrorists were to get a sample of your blood they could produce enough virus to wipe out the entire population. So we have to make sure you disappear. Permanently." Skinner waits for a reply, there isn't one. SKINNER "I've set you up with a bank account. It's not a lot but it's the best I could do. Your clothes are all in the bathroom. You need to change and get ready to go. A taxi will pick you up in a little while and take you to the airport. I don't care where you go, just go." BYERS "But..." SKINNER (glances at his watch as if worried) "Listen, I've already done more than I should've, I have to go." Skinner stands to leave. Byers struggles to get to his feet and walks over to him. BYERS "We were marked for execution. Weren't we?" Skinner didn't answer. BYERS "The government never would have approved a relocation program for people who are so dangerous. They were going to let us die, weren't they?" Skinner nods. SKINNER "I've taken care of the arrangements. As far as the government and everyone else is concerned, you did die. Your bodies will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery." Skinner walks towards the door to leave. FROHIKE "Hey Walt?" Skinner turns around and looks at Frohike. FROHIKE "Thanks." Skinner nods and walks out the door. ************************** END FLASHBACK ************************** Marriott Hotel Room Byers, Frohike, Langly, Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy are all sprawled out in the hotel room. Three empty pizza boxes lay on the bed. JIMMY "WOW. I love Skinner. I had him pegged all wrong. I love that guy." BYERS "I still don't understand how you could have possibly found us." YVES "We followed the blood." LANGLY "What?" YVES "There was a CDC text file attach to your FBI file. It was a detailed analysis of your blood. Samples had been sent to the CDC in Memphis. We followed the blood here. It had been tested by a scientist with the alias of Linda Young." BYERS "It can't be. I mean, I knew she worked at the CDC in Memphis. Scully helped me set that up back in Vegas. But when I saw you at her house, I assumed you'd just stopped by to inform her of our deaths. I never dreamed it had anything to do with the CDC files." LANGLY "Who is Linda Young?" KIMMY "You may remember her as Mata Hari." JIMMY "Susanne Modeski." FROHIKE (groans) "Modeski? Here? In Memphis. I should have known." LANGLY (to Byers) "And here I was thinking that you wanted to come to Memphis because you were a big Elvis fan." BYERS "If Yves traced the blood samples to Susanne, it's a good bet the terrorists could do the same thing." JIMMY "Her life could be in danger." BYERS "I have to warn her." ***************************** Linda Young AKA Susanne Modeski's House The VW Van pulls up beside the curb. Jimmy, Langly, and Kimmy are in the front seat. Byers, Frohike and Yves are in the back. Byers starts to open the door and get out. Yves stops him. She pulls out a gun. YVES "You better let me handle this." Yves sticks the gun into her belt and opens the van door. She walks to the front door and knocks. There is no answer. She glances back at the van. YVES (into headset) "There's no answer." From the van, the guys watch her. Yves tries the door handle, it's open. Before she can open it. Three men in black burst through the door, knocking her to the ground. They run across the street towards an unmarked government car. Jimmy jumps out of the van and chases after them. He catches one of them before he can get to the government car. They struggle in a heap on the ground and in the process the MIB's wool mask is pulled off. Jimmy quits struggling when he sees who it is. It's Morris Fletcher. Fletcher, catching Jimmy off guard, punches him in the gut knocking the wind out of him. He runs towards the government car and gets in. With tires squealing, the car drives away. Jimmy gets up from the ground and looks around. He sees Frohike, Byers, Langly, and Kimmy disappear into the house. He follows them. The house is in shambles. Papers are everywhere. Cushions are ripped to shreds. The place is completely trashed. In the middle of the floor lies Susanne. Yves is crouched on the ground, beside her, but her expression doesn't look hopeful. Byers rushes to her side and kneels beside her. BYERS "Susanne? Can you hear me?" SUSANNE "They didn't get it. I wouldn't tell them. I couldn't let them find it." BYERS "Of course you couldn't. Just lie still help is on the way." Frohike and Langly take one look at the bullet wounds and the amount of blood on the floor around her and know that they've come too late. Byers holds onto Susanne's hand. Susanne squeezes it gently. As Byers leans over her a gold chain hangs from his neck, on the chain is the small gold wedding band that Susanne gave him. Beside it on the chain is a woman's wedding band. Susanne looks at it and then looks at him with a questioning expression on her face. BYERS "Someday." Susanne smiles weakly and closes her eyes. She's dead. Byers doesn't move. Langly, Frohike, Jimmy, and Kimmy keep their distance. Yves approaches him. YVES "Byers, you've got to get out of here. All of you. The police can't find you here." Langly and Frohike take Byers and lead him from the house. The sound of sirens can be heard in the distance. As the police cars pull up. Yves, Kimmy, and Jimmy stand silently around the body. JIMMY (to himself) "The next time I see Morris Fletcher. I'm gonna kill him." ************************** Memorial Gardens Cemetery Yves, Kimmy, and Jimmy are at the funeral of "Linda Young." They stand silently at the graveside service surrounded by only a few other mourners. *********************** CUT TO: Parking Lot VW Van Langly and Frohike are sitting in their car, parked beside the VW Van. Inside the van, Byers is watching the funeral over the surveillance camera. He watches as the casket is slowly lowered into the ground. Byers reaches out a hand and touches the screen. He watches as mourners toss dirt into the grave site. Jimmy stoops low in order to toss his handful of dirt into the grave. Along with a handful of dirt went the gold band that Byers had gotten a few years ago for Susanne. ******************** Cemetery Parking Lot Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy walk back to the van. Byers has gotten out of the van and is waiting for them, along with Langly and Frohike. JIMMY "It was a nice service." Byers nods. BYERS "It was. Thank you Jimmy." They stand in an awkward silence as if waiting for someone else to make the first move. FROHIKE "So I guess this is it. You guys all packed to get back to DC?" Jimmy nods. JIMMY "I still don't see why we can't do the writing ghosts thing." LANGLY "It'd never work. Our loyal readers would spot it in a second." KIMMY "What all 2 of them?" BYERS "Langly's right. We've already discussed this Jimmy. You're doing a fine job on your own. You don't need us anymore." JIMMY "Yes, we do. You're the heart and soul of the whole paper. Without you guys it's just not the same. It's empty." FROHIKE "We'll miss you too kid." BYERS "We'll still be fighting the good fight Jimmy, But we'll just have to find another way to do it. A quieter way." Jimmy hugs each of them goodbye. His eyes are all teary. JIMMY "I hate good-byes." YVES "It's not like they're dead Jimmy. You will see them again." FROHIKE "Come on buddy, it's not the end of the world. There's always holidays." Jimmy's eyes brighten. JIMMY (starting to get excited) "Holidays? Birthdays? Email!! You know, I do have my own email account now guys." Langly rolls his eyes. LANGLY "Aw man, what's the world coming to?" Yves, Jimmy, and Kimmy get into the Van. Byers, Frohike, and Langly get into their car. The car drives off in one direction. The VW Van goes off into the other. LANGLY "Did you wire the Van?" FROHIKE "Completely. They won't be going anywhere, without us being right there with them peaking over their shoulders." LANGLY "Sweet." THE END ******************************