"Ellie." The man on the ground's voice was so low and gravely that it sounded like it came from his stomach. "Other people could get hurt. There are children in there."

"Don't you dare," Ellie said. "Don't you dare use children against me – not when you told me you never wanted them."

"He took a lot from you," Scully said. She was surprised by how calm her voice sounded, even as she caught her breath. The woman met Scully's eyes. "This isn't just about him anymore. But if you shoot him, you make it all about him again."

This wasn't true, Scully thought. Even if the woman shot, the situation wasn't totally about them. She held the woman's gaze anyway. The seconds pumped by like the sound of a heartbeat. One. Two. Three.

Scully sighed as the woman lowered the gun.

"Scully!" Mulder shouted.

Scully felt someone squeeze her arm. She looked up and saw the round center of Ruth's dazed face. The sound of a gun firing made her jolt back. Ruth's grip slackened in surprise and she slipped from his grasp. She lunged backward and looked in the direction of the shot. The woman – Eleanor – was still holding the gun out.

The other hypnotics looked unphased, but they had stopped moving. Wang, still pinned to the ground, began to screech.

"Get in the car," Eleanor said. She jerked her husband upward and forced him into the back seat. He whined.

Scully ran forward and slid into the back seat behind him to check the gunshot wound. Eleanor slammed the door behind her. A moment later, she heard the driver's door slam. Mulder started the engine. Eleanor dove through the other back side door, jostling her husband again. That left Tom for the passenger side. The hypnotics had begun to blunder toward him. Scully saw Tom look at the door and then at the townspeople – his people – coming toward him. Then, he leapt like a wildcat toward the car, shoving Wang down and flinging the passenger side open. When he slammed it shut, the car's entire frame rattled. Mulder began to drive.

"Mulder, we need to get this man to a hospital," Scully called. She thought of the townspeople, crowded inside the motel. "Motsouka…"

"Do you think he can hang on until we make sure they're safe? The townspeople?" Mulder called. He was driving around to the motel's back side.

Scully looked at the man's shoulder. She could stop the bleeding – she was sure – but she wouldn't be able to remove the bullet without proper equipment. She pulled off her jacket and wadded it. "This might hurt," she told him. She raised her voice and called to Mulder. "I'm going to compress the wound. I think I can get the bleeding to stop, but he needs surgery."

Eleanor was staring at her husband, her eyes glazed.

"How do we help everyone inside?" Tom asked. "What if the professor hypnotizes them, too?"

"Is there a way to get them all out?" Scully asked.

"I've got to talk down Wang," Mulder said. He pulled behind the building and looked back at the front parking lot.

"You can't if we've got a bunch of people ready to block you, Mulder. Especially if he gets more people under." Scully bit her lip. The man under her groaned.

"If there's another signal going on, the mind doesn't focus correctly." Eleanor's voice was quiet and flat, as if she was reluctantly offering the answer in a lecture she didn't want to teach.

"What?" Tom asked.

"If you can play something loud enough to distract the brain, he won't get to them. Use the car." Eleanor was still staring at her husband. He locked eyes with her but did not speak.

"Roll your windows down," Mulder instructed. Scully removed her from the man's shoulder man's shoulder and reached over awkwardly to turn the little handle. Without warning, Mulder punched the radio button and spun the dial to loud. Static exploded from the car. Mulder played with the dial and he back the car around. Finally, he snatched a clear signal, blasting ACDC. Again, he drove to the motel's front parking lot and Scully thought it was almost funny – their circularity. She returned her hand to its spot over the injured man's wound. As Mulder pulled up alongside the front office, Wang came into view. Two large hypnotized men flanked him as he limped toward the front door. The rest of them followed.

"Slowest stampede ever," Mulder shouted over the music. Scully suppressed a smile.

Suddenly, the hypnotics stopped their slow march. One rose his hands to his head and threaded his fingers through his fine, white hair. Another groaned. Scully watched as each of them tried to cover their ears.

Wang from right to left, and then right again. He began to shout. Scully couldn't hear what he was saying over the words. The hypnotics began to sit down on the pavement, covering their ears with their palms and putting their head between their knees, or curling into little balls. She felt someone tug on the bottom of her shirt.

"Can you leave him?" Mulder yelled. He pointed at the bleeding man.

Scully reached across the man and grabbed the woman's arm. She forced it to compress the man's wound. "Stay here!" Then, she looked back at Mulder and nodded.

They stepped out of the car at the same time. Mulder was faster getting to Wang. He reached around the man and pined his arms as he were about to cuff him.

Wang thrashed. "άκούειν!" He screeched.

The hypnotics remained on the ground.

Scully marched toward Wang and stopped near his face. "You've got to fix this." She clenched her jaw. "Hurting these people won't make you feel any better."

Wang glowered at her. Scully saw him curl his lip. Something hot and slimy struck her cheek. She pulled a hand up to find Wang's spit.

From the corner of her eye she saw the black but of Mulder's gun hit the back of Wang's head. He collapsed. In Mulder's arm.

"Mulder!"

Mulder was securing his gun back in his pocket. He laid Wang on the pavement and stepped over him. "Scully." He pulled up his t-shirt and used it to wipe the saliva from her face.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"He shouldn't have spit on you." Mulder's face was red. He took a deep breath. "He'll be fine. Help me get him in the car. Do you think we can leave Tom here to help Motsouka?"

"We need to get the husband help, Mulder. The bullet is lodged deep scapula."

"Leave them here," Tom said. "With me. I'll get someone inside to bring him to a hospital, and she's better off away from Wang. I have a radio inside. I can play some music."

Scully looked at Mulder, reading his eyes for response. "If we keep her cuffed…"

Mulder nodded.