The Lone Gunmen go undercover in Las Vegas when a defense contractors’ convention comes to town. The threesome hope to ascertain confidential information about the industry by infiltrating its inner sphere. Byers accesses a poker game by passing himself off as an employee of Conglomerated Technologies. He receives help from Frohike, who is disguised as a casino employee. Unbeknownst to the other players, Byers’ eyeglasses contain a tiny transmitter, allowing Langly, who is surrounded by laptops in his hotel room, to feed him information whenever someone discusses the defense contracting business. Unfortunately, the dealer outsmarts and exposes Byers by inquiring about a process that doesn’t exist. As a result, Byers and Frohike are escorted out of the building by security.
The Lone Gunmen regroup in their hotel room. They receive a visit from Jimmy and Timmy, two card-carrying conspiracy geeks. Both men admit that their efforts to crack the contractors’ inner circle was unsuccessful. Later, as Byers and Frohike walk through a casino floor, Byers notices Modeski off in the distance. He runs towards her, but collides with an older man and falls to the floor. When he rises, Modeski has disappeared. The Lone Gunmen telephone Scully and, using a synthesized voice program, trick her into believing that she is speaking to Mulder. “Mulder” requests that she fly to Las Vegas. When the call ends, Byers explains to the others that Mulder’s high-profile presence would tip off the black operatives who kidnapped Modeski in Baltimore ten years earlier. A short time later, Byers watches as the dealer from the poker game kisses Susanne Modeski outside their hotel room.
Using his laptop, Frohike accesses the hotel’s records. He learns that the room in which Modeski is staying is registered to a Grant Ellis. It is determined that Ellis is linked to an advanced weapons facility located in New Mexico. Byers concludes that Modeski has been brainwashed, a victim of the “psychological warfare” gas she invented. The group splits up to find out if Byers’ theory is correct.
Langly and Byers are unable to infiltrate a private event being held by the defense contractors due to their previous run-in with security. They turn to Jimmy the Geek for help. Jimmy crawls through a ventilation duct to spy on the proceedings. To his surprise, he discovers Timmy amongst the group. Jimmy is taken into custody. Timmy places a medical injection gun behind Jimmy’s ear and pulls the trigger. A short time later, the Lone Gunmen learn that Jimmy threw himself in front of a bus. Meanwhile, Frohike sneaks inside Ellis and Modeski’s room to plant a recording device. He discovers the presence of a camcorder already hidden inside an air vent. He pops out the tape and crawls to safety.
Scully arrives at the hotel and, at the Lone Gunmen’s request, begins to perform an autopsy on Jimmy’s body. She comes upon a faint mark just behind Jimmy’s ear. Moments later, Timmy sneaks up behind Scully, places the injection gun behind her ear, and pulls the trigger. When Scully regains consciousness, her personality has changed to that of an airhead.
Modeski pays the Lone Gunmen a visit. She tells Byers that she met and fell in love with Grant when she realized that he was working against the forces who were exploiting her work. She explains how she and Grant had intended to use the Las Vegas conference to expose the group. But the existence of the tape changes everything, as the operatives are aware of the plan. She is certain they will kill Grant and herself. Shortly thereafter, Modeski observes a red mark behind Scully’s ear. She realizes that Scully was injected with her latest creation, a derivative of the E-H gas. But only she and Grant were aware of the derivative’s existence… meaning Grant is behind the scheme. Modeski injects Scully with an antidote. Frohike realizes that the operatives drugged Scully to make her forget about the autopsy findings. He also realizes that Jimmy’s death was not accidental. Unbeknownst to anyone, Langly has also been given an injection of the brainwashing compound.
Timmy instructs the brainwashed Langly to assassinate Modeski during a conference. As participants mill about, Langly opens fire, striking Modeski in the chest. Scully rushes to Modeski’s side. She orders that Grant be detained. Moments later, Frohike and Byers, dressed as paramedics, rush Modeski away. Grant is led to a hotel room… where Modeski greets him. It turns out that the “assassination” had been staged with blank bullets and fake blood. Langly, it is revealed, had been given the antidote. Unfortunately, Timmy senses something isn’t right. He leans over the “blood” on the conference room floor and tastes it. His suspicions are confirmed. He enters the hotel room and shoots Grant. He then turns the weapon towards Modeski. During the confusion, Byers presses the injector gun to Timmy’s ankle, and he falls to the floor. Later, a television news anchor reveals that Timmy was arrested for the deaths of Grant and Susanne Modeski.
Byers gives Modeski her new identity: Holly Fitzgerald. Susanne asks him to come with her as she begins her new life. But Byers believes she will be safer without him. With that, Susanne gives Byers a wedding ring, which had been intended for Grant.
THE X-FILES “THREE OF A KIND”
#6X20 Original Air Date: 5/2/99
CAST:
DAVID DUCHOVNY as Special Agent Fox Mulder
GILLIAN ANDERSON as Special Agent Dana Scully
GUEST CAST:
Bruce Harwood as Byers
Tom Braidwood as Frohike
Dean Haglund as Langly
Michael McKean as Morris Fletcher
Signy Coleman as Susanne Modeski
Jim Fyfe as Jimmy the Geek
Charles Rocket as Dealer/Grant Snow
John Billingsley as Timmy the Geek
Jeff Bowser as Redhead Geek
Jason Felipe as Bald Geek
Phil Abrams as Little Fritz
Brian Reddy as Big Fritz
Richard Zobel as Al
Kalena Coleman as Bus Driver
George Sharperson as Guard
Rick Garcia as News Anchor
WRITTEN BY: VINCE GILLIGAN & JOHN SHIBAN
DIRECTED BY: BRYAN SPICER