Sheriff
Looks like nobody's home.
Season 5 · Episode 15
Travelers
Character-labelled dialogue prepared from the official DVD subtitle track.
Production code5X15Original airdate · March 29, 1998
263 dialogue entries
Scene 01
CALEDONIA, WISCONSIN
Landlord
Oh, he's here. [ heavy breathing ] he knows the minute he steps out, I'm changin' the locks on him.
Sheriff
It's an old guy, huh? I don't much enjoy evicting old folks.
Landlord
Well, this particular one will change your way of thinking.
[ knocking ]
Sheriff
Mr. Skur, it's the sheriff. Can you open up, please? Go ahead and open it up.
[ keys jingling ]
Landlord
[ sniffs, groans ] God almighty. What the hell's he got in here?
Sheriff
Smells like a whole lot of somethin' went bad.
[ insects buzzing ]
Sheriff
Mr. Skur, I'm armed. You're gonna want to come out now.
Landlord
Bedroom's back that way.
Sheriff
Mr. Skur!
[ gasps, pants ]
[ retching ]
Sheriff
What is it? Ain't nothin' but a glove. No reason to--
[ gasping ]
Sheriff
Oh, my God.
[ moaning ]
Edward Skur
Mul-- mul--
[ continues moaning ]
Edward Skur
Mul-- Mulder.
[ man and woman arguing, indistinct ]
[ baby crying ]
[ siren wailing ]
[ knocks ]
[ bolt unlocking ]
Scene 02
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Fox Mulder
Arthur Dales?
Arthur Dales
Who's askin'?
Fox Mulder
I'm a profiler with the behavioral sciences unit. You are Arthur Dales, former special agent with the Bureau? I need to ask you some questions about a man named Edward Skur. You opened a file on him in 1952.
Arthur Dales
I don't recall.
Fox Mulder
I brought the case file here with me.
[ chuckles ]
Arthur Dales
How long you been in the Bureau? Do you know what an X-File is?
Fox Mulder
It's, uh-- yeah, it's an unsolved case.
Arthur Dales
No, it's a case that's been designated "unsolved."
Fox Mulder
M-mr. Dales, most of your report has been censored, as you can see. Now, if somebody's trying to bury this case, I'd like to know why. According to your report, Edward Skur disappeared 38 years ago, before you had a chance to arrest him for a series of stranger killings... In which the victims' internal organs had all been removed.
Arthur Dales
And now you've found him?
Fox Mulder
Yes, last week, shot to death by a sheriff serving an eviction notice. A man was also found in his bathroom with all his soft tissue removed.
Arthur Dales
Well, if he's dead, there's nothing you need from me.
Fox Mulder
Look, sir-sir, m-my name is Mulder. You know that name, and so did Edward Skur. How?
Arthur Dales
Have you ever heard of huaac, agent Mulder-- the house un-American activities committee? No, no, no. It was before your time. You wouldn't know. They hunted communists in America in the '40s and '50s. They found... Practically nothing. You think they would have found nothing... Unless "nothing"... Was what they wanted to find, hmm?
Fox Mulder
I'm sorry, sir. I-I, uh-- I don't-- I don't see the connection.
Arthur Dales
Maybe you're not supposed to.
[ locks clicking ]
Scene 03
Scene 03
Television Announcer
The nation's chief red hunters, senator joseph McCarthy... And FBI director, j. Edgar Hoover, join forces. Working through Congress, the senator from wisconsin and the legendary lawman... Vow to wipe out the red menace within our own federal government. Roy Cohn, chief counsel at the McCarthy hearings, warns communist mind control can strike anywhere at any time. It is those americans sympathetic to the communist cause-- the so-called "fellow travelers"-- who pose the greatest threat to our national security. So says the young u.s. Attorney, and he should know. It was mr. Cohn that brought those atomic spies, the rosenbergs, to justice. It was his staunch defense of the American way of life... That first brought roy Cohn to the attention of senator McCarthy. With the support of the FBI, mr. Cohn and mr. McCarthy vowed to work tirelessly... To root out the more than 70 suspected communist spies and the untold numbers of--
[ video player whirring ]
Television Announcer
...McCarthy vowed to work tirelessly to root out... The more than 70 suspected communist spies and the untold numbers... Of fellow travelers working in our own state department. [ video player whirring ]...spies and the untold numbers of fellow travelers working in our own state--
[ video player stops ]
Fox Mulder
Dad.
[ thunder rumbles ]
Scene 04
Scene 04
[ knocking ]
Fox Mulder
Good morning, mr. Dales. I brought you some coffee.
Arthur Dales
Speak.
Fox Mulder
Edward Skur died saying a name-- my name, my father's name.
Arthur Dales
Go ask your father.
Fox Mulder
My father and I don't really speak.
Arthur Dales
[ scoffs ] I told you, I can't help you.
[ lock clicking ]
Fox Mulder
Mr. Dales, I want the truth, and I will subpoena you to get it if I have to.
[ clears throat ]
Arthur Dales
Before his disappearance, Skur worked for the state department, just like your old man did. You had to have suspected the connection before you came here yesterday, but you said nothing.
Fox Mulder
The men that Edward Skur killed 38 years ago-- was my father involved?
[ sighs ]
Fox Mulder
How?
Arthur Dales
Skur killed this man the way he did all the others. All the soft tissue, internal organs, ligature-- all were removed without tearing the skin.
Fox Mulder
The coroner wasn't able to determine how.
Arthur Dales
Oh, I can tell you... How. What I can't tell you... Is why.
Fox Mulder
It said in your report that Skur was suspected of being a communist?
Arthur Dales
Well, that's what they said he was. That's what they said they all were.
Scene 05
LEESBURG, VA
Arthur Dales
To us, Skur was just another name on a list; another communist spy at the state department. We had no idea who or what Edward Skur really was.
[ knocking ]
Mrs. Skur
May I help you?
Arthur Dales
My name's Arthur Dales, ma'am. I'm with the federal Bureau of investigation. This is my partner, agent Michel. Is your husband in?
Mrs. Skur
What do you want with him?
Edward Skur
Supper's gettin' cold, sweetheart. I'll take care of this. It's all right.
Arthur Dales
Edward Skur?
Edward Skur
Yes.
Michel
Hey! You're under arrest for contempt of Congress, failure to appear before the committee.
Edward Skur
I'm a family man!
Michel
Should have thought of that... Before you decided to betray your country, red.
Mrs. Skur
Edward?
[ handcuffs ratcheting ]
Arthur Dales
Let's go.
Michel
[ sighs ] look what I found.
Edward Skur
You planted that.
Michel
I'll plant one in your keister, bolshevik, you don't watch your mouth.
Arthur Dales
I'm sorry. I--
Mrs. Skur
Get out.
[ chattering ]
Scene 06
Scene 06
Bartender
Jeez louise, what'd you do-- take a swim in the potomac?
Arthur Dales
I'd probably be drier if I had. Got somethin' to warm me up?
Bartender
Where's your partner?
Arthur Dales
He's processing a prisoner.
Bartender
You guys still bustin' reds? [ pouring liquid ]
Arthur Dales
Till mr. Hoover tells us different.
Bartender
Good for you, mr. Dales.
[ phone rings ]
Bartender
[ sighs ] yeah? Mr. Dales, it's for you.
Arthur Dales
Yeah.
Michel
You try to reach me?
Arthur Dales
No. Why?
Michel
I thought maybe you heard about Skur.
Arthur Dales
What about him?
Michel
He's dead. He hung himself in his cell. Guards found him about 20 minutes ago. What do you figure-- commie central command... Tells these mopes to snuff themselves in the event of capture?
Arthur Dales
I gotta go.
Bartender
Hmm.
[ sighs ]
Bartender
Everything okay?
Arthur Dales
Oh, nothin' a little bourbon won't cure.
[ liquid pouring ]
Scene 07
10:54 PM
Arthur Dales (1990)
I didn't know what I should say to her. "I'm sorry about your loss, mrs. Skur. If there's anything I can do--" ah, the words sounded hollow. No matter what I said, I was the man who'd busted her husband, turned her life upside down. I sat there for over an hour, trying to find my courage in a bottle. Then-- then I saw... Someone I shouldn't-- I-I couldn't have seen. Now it was my life that'd be turned upside down.
Arthur Dales
Edward Skur!
Neighbor Man
Hey, who's down there?
News Announcer (radio)
Dateline, Washington. The justice department... Vows no mercy for a-bomb spies. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg... [ phone ringing ] once again managed to delay their date with the electric chair. Prosecutors say they are confident judge kaufman's death sentence... Will be upheld by the highest court in the land.
Scene 08
Scene 08
Arthur Dales (1990)
The world still seemed clear to me that morning, despite what I had seen the night before. I still thought I knew who the bad guys and the good guys were. But that was all about to change.
Michel
Hang up.
Arthur Dales
Let me call you back.
Michel
What did the watch commander say?
Arthur Dales
They're still goin' door-to-door in the neighborhood. There's no sign of him yet.
Michel
They're not gonna find him, artie. Open it up.
Arthur Dales
That's Skur.
Michel
Maybe you want to change your description of the suspect who assaulted you.
Arthur Dales
When were these taken?
Michel
Last night, two hours before you say Skur attacked you. You had a few. You were feeling bad about what happened. It's understandable.
Arthur Dales
No, I-- I didn't have that much to drink.
Michel
Just leave Skur's name out of your report, and nobody else has to know.
Arthur Dales
[ phone ringing ] I already filed my report... An hour ago.
Man
Dales. Call for you.
Arthur Dales
Yes? I'll be right there. It's the justice department. They want to talk to me.
Scene 09
ROY M. COHN
Roy Cohn
Good. Agent Dales, have a seat. You know who I am?
Arthur Dales
You prosecuted the rosenbergs. Now you're working with mr. Hoover and senator McCarthy.
Roy Cohn
Then, you know how important my work is, how vital it is to the future of this country that these rats, these... Vermin who dare call themselves americans, be exposed as the traitors they are.
Arthur Dales
I don't interest myself in politics, mr. Cohn.
Roy Cohn
Everything is political, agent Dales. Like this report you filed this morning. We've spoken to mrs. Skur and the neighbors. You seem to be the only person who can identify that man as Edward Skur.
Arthur Dales
Do you believe me then?
Roy Cohn
We are fighting a powerful enemy... In a war of ideology. In any war, there are secrets-- truths that must be kept from the public... In order to serve the greater good.
Arthur Dales
You want me... To amend my report? Take out any reference to Edward Skur? I don't under--
Roy Cohn
You're not supposed to understand. You're supposed to follow orders.
Scene 10
Scene 10
Bahnsen
Agent Dales?
Arthur Dales
Yeah?
Bahnsen
I pulled that file.
Arthur Dales
Oh, right. Thank you.
Michel
Dales.
Scene 11
CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND
Arthur Dales (1990)
I'd never so much as faked an expense report or used a Bureau car to drive home, so lying didn't sit well with me, even if I was under orders. I wanted to leave behind the business of Edward Skur and never hear that name again, but it was too late. By then, Skur had already become a murderer.
Michel
Homicide call came in from chevy chase p.d.-- advise and assist.
Arthur Dales
Well, where are they?
Michel
Must have come and gone.
♪♪ [ faint ]
♪♪ [ woman singing in german ]
♪♪ [ stops ]
Arthur Dales
I know this song. They were playin' it the day my unit rolled in to berlin.
Michel
The guy must be a kraut.
Arthur Dales
Yeah. A well-connected kraut.
Michel
Hmm. There ya go. I got six ounces of german shrapnel in my can, and this kraut gets to shake hands with the president?
Arthur Dales
What's that? You smell that?
Michel
Yeah, kinda. Hospital smell. [ sniffs ] formaldehyde, maybe? Well-connected dead kraut.
Arthur Dales
What the hell happened to him?
Officer 1
Hands in the air! Over there! Over there! Come on, now!
Arthur Dales
Fellas, FBI FBI
Michel
Credentials in my front coat pocket. Hey, easy on the material. I'm agent Michel. This is my partner, agent Dales.
Officer 1
Who called you guys out here?
Michel
You did, you mope. We got the call from your department.
Officer 2
We don't know nothin' about that.
Michel
Then who brought you guys out here?
Officer 1
One of his nurses called in, said the doc didn't show up for surgery this morning.
Michel
Well, somethin' tells me he ain't gonna make it.
Scene 12
BAR
Arthur Dales (1990)
I was summoned to the bar by a man... Who'd already been to the doctor's house that morning. It was the man, agent Mulder, you came here to ask me about.
Arthur Dales
Skur?
Bill Mulder
No, but I came here to warn you about him.
Arthur Dales
Like you warned that doctor you murdered in chevy chase?
Bill Mulder
Look, I tried to save that man, but I was too late.
Arthur Dales
Skur killed him?
Bill Mulder
He'll kill you too.
[ car horn honking ]
[ cat meows ]
Michel
Myrtle!
[ purring ]
Arthur Dales
What are you talking about? Is this some communist plot?
Bill Mulder
Skur's not a communist. He's a patriot. All of these men are patriots.
Arthur Dales
What are you talkin' about? What men?
Bill Mulder
There were three men-- veterans-- working at the state department-- Skur, Gissing and Oberman.
Arthur Dales
Gissing and Oberman-- I read those names on a censored report.
Bill Mulder
And they're dead now.
Arthur Dales
Murdered?
Bill Mulder
No. Dead by their own hand. They couldn't live with what they'd become; what they'd been turned into. And Skur's the last.
Arthur Dales
Why did they put out that story about him hangin' himself?
Bill Mulder
Because they had to do something to cover up what they'd done to him-- label him a communist, say he killed himself... And put him up someplace where no one's even gonna look for him. But his escape threatens everything.
Arthur Dales
Threatens what? What did they do to him? Look, you asked me here.
Bill Mulder
And I risked my career... And my family by coming here. But the crimes these men have committed... Against innocent people-- I can't have that on my conscience anymore. Someone needs to know the truth.
Arthur Dales
Who are you?
Bill Mulder
My name's Mulder. I work at the state department.
[ TV hums ]
Television Speaker
You have no committee-- no partisan in it? You might say this. If the republicans should take over the senate, I happen to be the ranking member--
Arthur Dales
Attaboy, tail gunner.
Michel
[ continues, indistinct ] give 'em hell.
[ cat snarls ]
Michel
Aw, myrtle. Jeez louise. Hmm. Dumb cat. [ sighs ] damn it! Damn it, myrtle!
Arthur Dales
All right then, mr. Mulder. Who is this "they" you want me to arrest?
Bill Mulder
You can't arrest these men.
Arthur Dales
Why not?
Bill Mulder
It's... Political.
Arthur Dales
What are you telling me? Are you telling me that mr. Cohn... And senator McCarthy are involved in this? Is Skur after them too?
Bill Mulder
Skur wants vengeance for what they did to him. He's a killer now. He can only guess at the dimensions of this conspiracy, but he thinks you're part of it-- you and your partner.
Arthur Dales
Phone.
Bartender
What's the number?
Arthur Dales
Klondike 5-0133.
Michel
[ McCarthy on TV, indistinct ] I knew I should have got a dog.
[ line ringing ]
Arthur Dales
Ah, come on. [ line continues ringing ] come on.
Television Speaker
We've got to dig and root out... The communists, the crooks and those who are bad for America.
[ grunts, yells ]
[ yelling ]
[ gagging ]
Arthur Dales
One more here when you get a chance.
Scene 13
Scene 13
Coroner
You, uh, you sure a man did this? Uh, I suppose, um, he could have force-fed him a corrosive agent of some kind-- an acid, maybe. Except I don't know why it wouldn't have burned to the skin.
Arthur Dales
That account for the smell?
Coroner
Yeah, maybe. We won't know for sure until we get a toxology report. Hopefully, we'll have an answer for you in six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, we can at least start on a physical exam of the body, such as it is.
Roy Cohn
Agent Dales. Hey, hey. Where do you think you're taking that? This man's a veteran. The body goes to bethesda. Howard, take care of this.
Arthur Dales
Mr. Cohn, these men are going to the county morgue. An autopsy needs to be performed.
Roy Cohn
Come here. Give us a minute.
Arthur Dales
Let's go.
Roy Cohn
You wanna test me, see how fast I can pull the chain and flush you. You wanna see your name on a list? Are you now, or have you ever been--
Arthur Dales
What the hell are you talkin' about? I'm no communist.
Roy Cohn
You are if I say you are. This is a matter of national security. Take this body outta here. Get it out.
[ speaking, indistinct ]
Roy Cohn
See? You're a patriot again.
Arthur Dales
When your partner dies, a piece of you dies with him. I'd been threatened by mr. Cohn, but I couldn't leave it alone-- not while Michel's killer was still out there-- not if I wanted to live with myself. I knew Skur had killed Michel out of vengeance for what had been done to him. Your father had told me as much. But your father also said there were two other men who had had the same thing done to them-- men who were already dead. Finding out what happened to them at least might help me understand what Skur had become, understand how my partner was killed.
Scene 14
FBI HEADQUARTERS
Arthur Dales
What is this?
Bahnsen
The deposition that names Edward Skur... And these other two men as communists.
Arthur Dales
It's all censored.
Bahnsen
By the committee, to protect the identity of the witness.
Arthur Dales
There was no witness. This whole thing's been manufactured. Edward Skur is no communist. Neither are these other two men, Gissing and Oberman. I wanna see their files-- Gissing and Oberman.
Bahnsen
I already checked. They're missing, but I recognize one of these names. It's in an X-File.
Arthur Dales
An "X-File"?
Bahnsen
Yes, unsolved cases. I file them under "x."
Arthur Dales
Why don't you file them under "u" for "unsolved"?
Bahnsen
That's what I did until I ran out of room. Plenty of room in the x's.
Arthur Dales
Who decides when a case gets an "x"?
Bahnsen
The director's office. It's, uh-- it's kind of a dead end. No one's supposed to see them, but it makes for interesting reading. Here it is. A german emigre, dr. Strohman, patriated here after the war. He was found dead in his office last week at the v.a.
Arthur Dales
Let me guess. They weren't able to explain how his body just kinda collapsed. Right?
Bahnsen
Yes.
Arthur Dales
Gissing-- his name's in this file somewhere?
Bahnsen
Yes. He was a patient, found dead on the scene-- suicide. I guess he didn't much care for his treatment.
Arthur Dales
They think he killed his doctor and then killed himself? How did Gissing kill this man?
Bahnsen
That's why it's an X-File. They don't know.
Scene 15
CORONER’S OFFICE
Coroner
Dr. Gissing's body's still here. The v.a.'s been trying to have it transferred.
Arthur Dales
Why haven't they?
Coroner
This fellow's a bigwig in the state department. His family's been kicking up a stink.
Arthur Dales
What is this?
Coroner
Uh, looks like he had some surgery. Judging by the color of the scar, I'd say it was fairly recent.
Arthur Dales
I want you to cut this man open.
Coroner
No, I-I can't do that. His family will have my head.
Arthur Dales
Gissing and a man named Skur were patients of the same doctors. I think whatever was done to this man was also done to the man who killed my partner. It may be the only way we have to explain how he died. What's that? What is that?
Coroner
I don't know. It looks like it's lodged into his esophagus. Wait a minute. Those are sutures. Whatever this is, someone put it there. Oh, jeez. Whoa! Oh, my God.
Scene 16
SKUR’S HOUSEHOLD
Arthur Dales
Mrs. Skur, I hope I'm not disturbing you.
Mrs. Skur
You have a lot of nerve coming here.
Arthur Dales
Your husband-- you know he's not dead.
Mrs. Skur
How dare you.
Arthur Dales
Your husband was discredited in order to cover up a crime-- a crime that was committed upon him, against his will.
Mrs. Skur
Whatever was done to my husband, you're a part of it.
Arthur Dales
According to v.a. Records, your husband underwent surgery for war injuries. So did two other men he worked with at the state department. But the surgeries that they received-- it wasn't what they thought it was. It had nothing to do with their war injuries.
Mrs. Skur
Then what was it?
Arthur Dales
It's called xenotransplantation. It's, uh, the grafting of another species into the human body. It's a procedure that Nazi doctors experimented with during the war, and I believe that they continued their work here, using your husband and these other two men as unwitting test subjects. I want to expose what was done to your husband, mrs. Skur. I can't do that unless I have his help.
Roy Cohn
Get in. Just get in.
[ dog barking ]
Mrs. Skur
Ed? Oh, God. Are you all right?
Edward Skur
I told you not to come down here.
Mrs. Skur
That FBI agent came back.
Edward Skur
[ panting, gagging ] I'm getting worse.
Mrs. Skur
He says he wants to help you.
Edward Skur
It's too late to help me.
Roy Cohn
No.
Edward Skur
I can't help myself anymore.
[ gagging ]
[ mrs. Skur screaming ]
Scene 17
FBI HEADQUARTERS
Roy Cohn
You sit there.
J. Edgar Hoover
Leave us alone.
Roy Cohn
Mr. Director--
J. Edgar Hoover
Leave us.
[ door opens, closes ]
J. Edgar Hoover
In 1945, at the time of the first conference... To map out the peace after the second world war, there lived within the soviet orbit 180 million people. Lined up on the antitotalitarian side at that time... Were 1,625,000,000 people. Today, mr. Dales, just seven years later, there are 800 million people... Under the absolute domination of soviet Russia-- an increase of over 400%. On our side, the figure has shrunk to around 500 million. In other words, in less than seven years... The odds have changed from nine-to-one in our favor... To eight-to-five against us. The threat of global communist domination... Is a reality that can be ignored... Only at the risk of our own annihilation.
Arthur Dales
The men we arrested weren't communists.
J. Edgar Hoover
If we are to defeat the enemy, we must use their tools. We must go further! We must do those things which even our enemies would be ashamed to do. It is only through strength... That we can make our enemies fear us... And thereby ensure our own survival. You have one chance, mr. Dales, to save yourself, to demonstrate that you have the strength... To serve your country.
Scene 18
Scene 18
Bill Mulder
Make your meeting with Skur. Let him think you're alone. Put him at ease. We'll be in when the time is right.
Arthur Dales
Was this why you came to see me, mr. Mulder-- make me your stalking-horse?
Bill Mulder
I follow my orders.
Arthur Dales
I might need that.
Bill Mulder
We want him alive.
Arthur Dales
There ya go.
Bartender
I turned the lights off out front. Just pull the door shut when you go.
Arthur Dales
Okay. Thanks for your help.
Bartender
Anything to help out the Bureau.
Edward Skur
Did you come here to kill me, or to save me?
Arthur Dales
I'm here to help you, just like I told your wife.
Edward Skur
My wife is dead. I'm dead too, inside, because of this thing they put in me. For what-- to turn me into some kind of killing machine, or just to see what would happen? They're not coming, you know. They wanted me to kill you, or you wouldn't be here. You're part of their test now too.
Arthur Dales
I don't want to kill you.
Edward Skur
I know.
Arthur Dales
Mulder.
[ sounds of struggle continue over speaker ]
[ gagging ]
[ grunting ]
[ dale panting ]
[ struggle continues, ends ]
Scene 19
Scene 19
Fox Mulder
I can't believe my father threw in with these men. [ sighs ] he let them dictate his conscience.
Arthur Dales
Oh, don't fool yourself. None of us are free to choose. I was ruined for my insubordination. You keep digging through the X-Files, and they'll bury you too.
Fox Mulder
Skur died saying my father's name. Why?
Arthur Dales
I haven't the faintest idea.
Fox Mulder
There was, uh-- there's one thing you didn't explain. It was... How Skur was able to get away; how he was able to live in obscurity for the last 38 years.
Arthur Dales
Thirty-eight years? My God. Well, I kept hearing things through the years, you know. People tell me things. I heard that he was dead, that he was kept in some secret lab while they finished up the experiment.
[ chuckling ]
Arthur Dales
I even thought that maybe-- maybe some poor, innocent bastard-- somebody with a conscience-- might have let him go.
Fox Mulder
Why would anyone do that? Why let a killer go free?
Arthur Dales
In the hope that by letting him live, the truth of the crimes that were committed... Against him and the others... Might someday be exposed.
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About this transcript
The dialogue comes from the official DVD subtitle track supplied by Boggsfiles. Speaker and scene attribution was cross-checked against character-labelled reference material. Subtitle wording is preserved while capitalization and spacing are standardized for easier reading.