YOUNG AT HEART

                               Our government is bargaining with Barnett to buy it from him....he holds all the cards                                  and what he has could change the course of mankind

The episode begins at the Tashmoo Federal correctional facility in Pennsylvania in 1989, and wheelchair bound prisoner Joe Crandall entering the medical room after hearing screams. He sees his friend and fellow con John Barnett laid out on the operating table, and Dr Joe Ridley telling Randall that Barnett was dead - however Randall sees Barnett stare at him and blink.....

In present day Washington DC Mulder and Scully are called to the scene of a Robbery, where Mulder meets an old friend from the Violent Crime Department, Agent Reggie Purdue.  Purdue tells him that a gunman took out the cashier after she had filled the bag with money - but of interest to Mulder was a note left at the scene - 'Fox cant guard the chicken coup.' It appears that this is the work of one John Barnett, with Mulder explaining that this was his first case at the Bureau. Barnett was a trigger happy maniac who killed seven people, and when the FBI set a trap for him he always seemed to be ahead of them - culminating in a stand off in which Mulder could have shot him but didn’t. As a consequence Barnett shot a fellow agent and the driver before Mulder wounded him. Barnett was sentenced to life imprisonment and vowed to get Mulder whilst in court - yet as far as Mulder was concerned Barnett died in prison four days previously.

An analysis of the handwriting suggests that there is a 95% certainty that the handwriting is that of Barnett's, although no prints were found on the note. Meanwhile the prison send over the death certificate to the FBI, stating that he died of a cardiac arrest and passed away on the 16th September 1989.

Mulder is sent a second note by Barnett - 'a hunted fox eventually dies' yet Scully provides a copy of Barnett's will, which asked for his ashes to be scattered along the Delaware river and for any possessions he owned to be left to a fellow con - Joe Crandall. Furthermore Barnett's medical records are faxed to them - again from the prison - indicating that he was admitted to the prison infirmary for an infection in his right hand, with no indications of coronary complications. At the correctional facility the agents pay a visit to Crandall, who maintains that he saw Barnett alive in the infirmary. Mulder meanwhile continues to be plagued by contact from Barnett - who tells Mulder that he will kill his friends. Sure enough Reggie is killed at home, and another note is left for Mulder.

With the investigation going nowhere towards identifying the location of the killer they switch their attentions to the Dr who operated on Barnett - Dr Joe Ridley. It would appear that Ridley has not officially been a doctor since 1979, and that when his membership expired it was not renewed due to research malpractice and a misuse of his government grant. The agents visit the National Institute of Health and meet with an NIH doctor who tells them that Ridley had worked with children who had progenia, that is they would age extremely quickly and be lucky to see adulthood. Ridley thought that he could take ageing and slow it down - and whilst initially some of the labwork was promising things then got out of control. The NIH doctor added that Ridley wanted to begin human trials, and whilst this was opposed, he went ahead with his experiments secretly until discovered. Ridley left in disgrace and it was rumoured he went to South America to continue his work.

Later, at Scully's home, someone sneaks in and Scully grabs her gun - however she then hears a knock at the door and Dr Ridley turns up. Mulder then turns up and Ridley tells them that Barnett is the only one left - the only real success of his experiments. The doctor states that he does not have long left to live as that whilst he was able to reverse the ageing process, he became susceptible to illnesses children would contract. He added that once his experimentation yielded results a number of sponsors came out of the woodwork, including the US government. Deepthroat later meets Mulder and tells him that the US government knew Barnett was in the country, and that he had also stolen Ridley's research. He says that the US government are bargaining with Barnett to buy the research from him, and that this work could change the course of mankind.  Scully meanwhile, conscious that someone else was in her flat earlier, manages to get fingerprints from her answering machine, which match Barnett's. It seems that Scully is his next target and that he had listened to her answering machine, and an arrangement for her to meet a friend at a recital hall. A trap is set.

Barnett shoots Scully at the recital hall, although she is prepared and is wearing a bullet proof vest. A stand off between Mulder and Barnett ensues - and Mulder shoots him. Despite the governments attempts to save Barnett's life he dies - and with him the location of the research....

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