NCIS Los Angeles s01e09 Episode Script
Random on Purpose
I told my lawyer I'd agree to mediation if Magda dropped the preconditions.
WOMAN [OVER PHONE.]
: She never appreciated you.
I know, Mom.
At least it's not as ugly as divorce court.
WOMAN: No, you're right.
- I agree with you.
- Thanks, Mom.
WOMAN: Keep your chin up.
- Yeah, I'm trying.
WOMAN: I love you.
I'll see you later.
Okay.
All right, I love you too.
Bye.
[WINDOW BANGING AND CREAKING.]
[FRANK GASPING.]
SAM: Morning, G.
- When did that happen? KENSl: Hey, guys Whoa.
- Who did this? CALLEN: Don't know.
- Where's all our stuff? - Don't know.
- I think it's safe to go in.
- Don't know.
I'm saying I think it's safe to go in.
KENSl: Am I seeing assigned seats? Yup.
I'm here.
This is nice.
Nice.
Oh, look, they even sharpened my pencils.
- Do you write with pencils? - No.
Could be one of Nate's psych experiments.
I'm not one of Nate's lab rats.
- You ever known me to receive mail? - Nope.
- Send mail? - Nope.
Organisation and productivity are directly correlated.
Cleanliness is next to, um, - efficiency.
- So you moved our stuff? - I tried to stop her.
- Hetty.
She's the only one Continue, Mr.
Callen.
Continue.
- With the authority.
Ah.
Hmm.
Nate, if your comment that they might be miffed constitutes trying to stop me, I suggest you learn more forceful techniques of self-assertion.
Not that I would have listened.
People, this is an office.
Insofar as you have equipment necessary to your duties, you'll find it in your desks.
Insofar as you had stuff, - you'll find it all upstairs in trash bags.
- Most of it's Kensi's.
You're welcome to add a personal touch or two.
But let's not again have it looking like a fraternity lounge.
Now, if you'll follow me, we have work.
Chief Petty Officer Frank McEIIon was murdered last night.
He was one of the Navy's top engineers.
He worked on supercavitation.
Really cool technology.
Puts a bubble around a submarine, quadruples its speed.
From 25 knots top speed fully submerged to a hundred knots.
- Nifty trick.
- A trick you wanna keep secret.
Murder and possible espionage.
Both balls are in your court, Mr.
Callen.
Hey, new bullpen's great, huh? An enlisted sailor lives here? - It's a little too upmarket, isn't it? - Way upmarket.
Mobiles go over cribs, right? Huh.
Looks like baby moved out.
Probably not by herself.
Now, the alarm system showed this window open just before the murder.
[CELL PHONE BEEPING.]
Eric, there's a house directly behind us.
They have a security cam.
Thanks.
So McEIIon hears a noise and he comes in.
Killer takes him from behind, no struggle.
McEIIon's 6 foot, so the killer's strong, he's quiet.
And knows how to use a knife.
Hey, guys.
- What do you see? CALLEN: Huh.
Dusted for prints, but there aren't any.
This was the only window open.
He came and went through here.
The whole crime scene is like this.
Do you know what the forensics report is gonna find? Absolutely nothing.
No prints, fibres, hairs.
This guy didn't leave a trace.
[FABRIC TEARING.]
- Nanny cam.
- With a front-row seat.
CALLEN: Okay, Eric, thanks.
- Keep looking, Dom.
CALLEN: Eric says the window - Dom's trying to track down CALLEN: The killer knew - The wife split a month Callen.
- Was I heads or tails? - I'm not telling you.
The window that the killer used was not covered by the security camera out back.
Our guy must have cased the house first.
But Eric found another camera next door.
SAM: Hmm.
- This is video from four days ago.
He's running facial recognition, but there's been no hits yet.
KENSl: And now it's your turn, Sam.
McEIIon's wife split with the baby a month ago.
Dom's still trying to track her down.
- Financials? - It turns out McEIIon's money is clean.
He designed sub technology before he joined the Navy.
His patents are lucrative.
Why would a wealthy engineer enlist? The same reason Pat Tillman left the NFL to join the Army.
Patriotism.
McEIIon signed on after 9/11.
So a patriotic guy sells secrets? That would make him unpatriotic, Kensi.
- You were tails, for the record.
CALLEN: Can I have my phone? - Thank you very much.
- Heh.
Feels weird.
I like it.
I'm over here, you're way over there.
[ERIC WHISTLES.]
- You see the forensics report? - No.
It's right there in your inbox.
I thought it was the outbox.
Heh.
Kensi was right.
The killer left no DNA.
No fibres, no hairs, no prints.
Nothing.
Never seen anything like it.
CALLEN: Thanks.
- Agent Callen.
Agent Hanna.
- Director.
VANCE [ON SCREEN.]
: NSA completed the preliminary review.
Sub programme security protocols do not appear to have been breached.
Espionage or not, this case is still a priority.
That's why I'm sending our top forensic specialist to assist you.
But there are no forensics.
Our forensic expert has a theory about this crime that's, shall we say, original.
Thinks McEIIon is the victim of a serial killer.
No other law-enforcement organisation in this country thinks this killer exists.
Can't say I do either.
And you're sending this person why? I was ganged up on.
[SAM SCOFFS.]
Who gangs up on the director of a federal agency? Oh, you'd be surprised, Mr.
Callen.
- And who's the expert? WOMAN: Oops.
I think I took a wrong turn.
Hello? Abby? We're in here.
There you are.
Hi.
Wow.
This place is seriously cool.
- So how do you? - Double tap, get the menu, fill the screen.
It's all very intuitive.
No wonder McGee can't stop talking about this.
So I'm sure Leon has told you that I know who killed McEIIon.
- Wait, you call him Leon? ABBY: You don't? - Not successfully.
- Give it time.
- You have a name for us, Abby? - He's called the Phantom.
- By whom? - By me.
Anyone else? No, just me.
Well, I'm going to leave you kids to it.
But I must say, Abby, you are the first NCIS employee I've ever met with a sense of style.
You'd all do well to note that one can be functional and stylish at the same time.
Right, Mr.
Beale? [CHUCKLES.]
Abby, the forensics report has no evidence of the killer.
That's why I call him the Phantom.
Fourteen murders in two years.
I mean, it took me a while to see his pattern, but Okay.
Pull up a list of his murders, please.
This is a private website for forensic specialists.
Abby's a rock star among them.
I've been blogging about the Phantom for a few months.
I'm trying to get local police departments to pursue him.
All right, 67-year-old black female poisoned in Tampa.
The killer left nothing.
No hair, no DNA, no fibres.
Zippity doo-dah.
Twenty-two-year-old white male shot in Des Moines.
No trace of a killer.
Thirty-seven-year-old Asian female in Boise.
With a crowbar.
Do you know how hard it is to cudgel someone to death with a crowbar and leave no forensic evidence? I mean, cases with zero forensics are rare.
Like, every few years kind of rare, and this is 14 in two years.
Okay.
Have any of the local P.
D.
S pursued this Phantom theory? Not one.
Can you believe that? SAM: Serial killers are organised or disorganised.
This guy's organised and leaving no forensics.
But completely disorganised in everything else.
I mean, random victims, weapons, locations.
It just doesn't look like one single killer.
He makes it look random on purpose.
That's how I knew that McEIIon was a Phantom victim.
Not just the no-forensics part, but he never repeats himself.
Like, he's never cut the neck of a 40-year-old white guy before, see? Clearly, you've spent a lot of time on this.
If you wanna get my attention, show me a crime scene and tell me there's no clues.
Oh, we have a clue.
This guy.
Casing the house three days before the murder.
Well, okay.
The Phantom's not the kind of guy that would get caught on camera.
Three days prior? Scoping the place out? Maybe he's finally slipped up.
[CALLEN SIGHS.]
I'm just curious why you pressured Vance to send Abby.
He wasn't buying her Phantom theory.
He needed goosing.
So you want us chasing the Phantom? Mr.
Callen, is that what you think? I don't know.
There's There's been some meddling around here, and I'm a little fuzzy on the command chain.
This case lacks forensics.
As your operations manager, I procured for you our best scientist to help you.
You, as head agent, are free to pursue whatever theory of crime makes the most sense.
There's no fuzziness, Callen.
You still shoot the ducks, I just row the boat.
What is he holding? A rabbit? He misses his little girl.
CALLEN: Hang on.
Let me see here and here.
It's the same fabric, top and bottom.
- Overalls? - It's a full body suit.
That explains it.
He doesn't leave it, he takes it with him.
Takes what with him? Hair and fibres and skin.
Evidence.
Every day we lose 50,000 dead epidermal cells.
That's 1.
5 pounds per year.
- We have to go to this crime scene.
- Abby, the crime scene's done.
- Yeah, and they found nothing.
- So you wanna go why? Because I think I can find something.
All right.
KENSl: CSI guys tracked through dirt.
The scene's completely contaminated, Abby.
I'm not looking for footprints that leave dirt, I'm looking for footprints that remove dirt.
Okay, so you're thinking that Come with me.
Smart thinking, Abby.
You live up to the hype.
Dom found e-mails from Magda McEIIon threatening to kill her husband.
I'm gonna need to talk to her.
Gotta find her first.
KENSl: Yo, Callen, Sam.
In here.
So most footwear is electrically neutral.
But some body suits made for chemical workers or doctors, they have a tiny electrostatic charge.
Electrostatic charges, they pick up dust.
Just like those dust cloths you see advertised on late-night TV.
You know about cleaning products? You watch late-night TV? I can get the full pattern from his bootie in this dust here.
Then I can find you the make and a manufacturer.
Huh.
Thank you, Abby Sciuto.
You're welcome, G.
Callen.
So where do we start looking for Magda McEIIon? "Zuggler-Smith.
" I hate lawyers.
Miss Jenkins has left for lunch.
See? I told you, she said the restaurant.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS.]
- Oh, there she is.
- Enjoy your lunch.
Thank you.
JENKINS: My job, I deal with a lot of jerks.
Frank McEIIon was a real gentleman.
Even to his wife, who demanded two-thirds of his submarine patents.
Things he had invented before they even met.
- You advised him to fight.
- With the future value, hell, yes.
They're already a gravy train if he can afford to hire you.
You're cute.
Frank told me they'd be worth a lot more soon.
Top-secret and all, but that had to mean the Navy liked his inventions.
That's a lucky wife.
She's a widow, not an ex.
So Magda McEIIon gets it all.
So when your people went to serve her with the papers, where did they go? Five years married to a button-down Navy guy.
She splits, moves down here to get a taste of the crazies.
I used to live here.
Well, you and crazy speaks for itself.
CALLEN: That's her.
SAM: Well, she's fast.
Fast for a short girl.
- I said she's fast.
- I said she's short.
Nanny cam.
McEIIon's killer was the same height as he was.
She's got the motive, she's just not tall enough.
But he is.
Okay.
That's the guy that was casing McEIIon's house.
- I gotta go.
- Ah.
Boyfriend-girlfriend.
- She's not even divorced yet.
SAM: Ha, ha.
You see other partners after I was shot? Oh, no.
I'm a loyal guy, G.
CALLEN: Mm-hm.
Think old lover boy over there is loyal? Loyal enough to do Magda's bidding? - What do you think? Ten bucks? SAM: Whoo.
Don't do it.
Ha, ha.
CALLEN: Is that a casual walking away or an "I see two guys that may be law enforcement" walking away? I might look like law enforcement.
CALLEN: Yeah? What do I look like? SAM: Like you grew up here.
MAN 1: Come on.
MAN 2: What are you doing, man? WOMAN: Watch out.
ROLLERBLADER: Aah! Unh.
SAM & CALLEN: Unh.
MAN 3: What happened? MAN 4: What did he do, man? MAN 5: I don't know.
BIKER: Unh.
Hey! My bike! [MOTORC YCLE ENGINE STARTS.]
[CAMPER HORN HONKS.]
DRIVER: Watch out! [GRUNTING.]
[GROANS.]
- You hurt? - Uh-huh.
Good.
KENSl: There's Magda McEIIon.
- I'll talk, you get the video.
DOMINIC: Okay.
KENSl: Make sure you zoom in on her reaction.
You're on.
So, what's your name? - Cyrus Hill.
- Heh.
That's funny, you don't actually look like a Cyrus.
Facial recognition says that your name is Ted Brock.
Why did you run? I thought you were gonna steal my stuff.
It had nothing to do with the two outstanding arrest warrants? So basically, what you do is you butter up rich ladies and then you steal their things.
What I wanna know is, where were you last night? - I had a date - Mm-hm.
- With Magda McEIIon.
KENSl: Magda McEIIon? Hi.
I'm Special Agent Kensi Blye.
I need to speak with you.
Please have a seat.
This is difficult.
I'm sorry to have to tell you, but, um, your husband was murdered last night.
- I'm sorry.
- Oh, my God.
How? Where? In his house.
[SOBS.]
I'm really sorry, but I need to ask you this.
Where were you last night? I took Magda to dinner at the Ivy.
I was here, with Lily, my baby.
- And Lily? - She hired a babysitter.
We only have childcare in the daytime.
I'll take her story over his.
Facial cues.
Eyebrows, parted lips.
Her surprise is genuine.
She didn't know.
Guys, she just skewered his alibi.
Let's get to motive.
Tell me something.
How long have you known this man? MAGDA: Cyrus? A few weeks.
Why? Actually, his name is Ted.
Ted, I'm guessing that you wanted the submarine patents that Magda would get if her husband was dead.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Did you tell Ted about your husband's patents? Yes, by mistake.
I was pissed off after a phone call from Frank's lawyer.
He knows about the patents, G.
CALLEN: Hmm.
Magda just called you a liar.
She's out there? - She can hear me? - You weren't with her last night.
You knew about the patents and that she might lose them in the divorce.
So you went to McEIIon's house last night and you killed him.
Now she's a rich widow and she dates you.
Wait, that isn't true.
Magda! I didn't kill anybody.
You cased the house four days ago.
Security camera across the street.
That's why you picked a different window when you killed him.
I didn't kill him.
Then why did you case the house, Ted? Magda said he kept 10 grand in bearer bonds.
I saw the security camera.
I didn't go in, I'm not a B&E guy.
So where were you last night? Brentwood.
Lady friend.
Is she rich? So, what happened to Lover Boy Brock? SAM: He was what he said he was, so we turned him over to L.
A.
P.
D.
For those outstanding warrants.
And back to square one.
Magda's not involved, we've pretty much ruled out espionage.
Yeah, the killer wears fancy suits and studies security cams.
We're missing motive.
Maybe because it's random.
- Oh.
Abby got you onboard? CALLEN: He wishes.
[CHUCKLES.]
So, uh, do you guys know about the birthday paradox? Abby discusses it on her blog.
How many people do you need in a room to have an even chance that two of them have the same birthday? I don't know.
A hundred and 82 and a half.
Only 23.
And with 57 people, it's a 99-percent chance that two of them will have the same birthday.
True randomness includes repeats.
A truly random group of murders would have at least two white males in their 20s.
Yeah.
Or two gunshot deaths, or two stabbing deaths.
But there are no repeats.
It's hard to do.
CALLEN: If the m.
o.
Is to make it all appear random, then why kill McEIIon when there are so many other easy targets? And if it is the Phantom, then he changed his m.
o.
Now, why would he do that? Hey, so good news.
Flagstaff P.
D.
Is going back to their crime scene.
Jose Piñon, electrocuted in his bathtub five weeks ago.
I told them to look for dust prints.
I hope nobody cleaned the floor.
So, um, that's the bootie pattern? Yep.
It was left inversely in the dust on the floor at the McEIIon's house.
It's a pattern from a HAZMAT suit made by ProtectorSuits Inc.
I e-mailed them for a distribution list, but they're not open till morning.
Oh.
Well, so then if we have to wait until morning, then Are you trying to ask me out, Eric? - Yeah.
- Okay, just checking.
Go ahead.
Maybe a drink at, say, SteamPunk? It's only the coolest place I've wanted to go but never been west of the Mississippi.
Yes.
How do you know about SteamPunk? Uh, you mentioned it online somewhere.
You've been reading my blog.
A lot.
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING.]
So along with seeing this awesome club, I wanna see the Museum of Jurassic Technology and the Car Museum.
Oh, have you seen out back? There's hot rods everywhere.
Yeah, this is where they hang out.
That's what makes this place so cool.
And I wanna see an earthquake.
Oh, I mean, I know you can't see an earthquake, but I wanna feel one.
I mean, the whole Earth shaking.
I mean, just a small one, where no people or animals get hurt.
But doesn't it feel cool? Yeah, I guess it feels kind of funky, when no one gets hurt.
Um, do you want another Uh, whatever this is? You're on refills, I'm gonna go check out the hot rods.
Flagstaff P.
D.
Found footprints in the dust.
Same size, same pattern.
Abby's right.
Phantom's real.
Oh, my God, I am buying that woman a beer.
I'll buy her a brewery, but I need to know why McEIIon.
The Phantom's other victims were all easier targets.
NATE: That's not the only difference.
All the other cases happened in smaller cities with P.
D.
S that didn't have the resources to nationalise the case.
But now, Los Angeles.
Second biggest P.
D.
In the country.
SAM: And he gets NCIS involved.
A federal agency.
That's not random.
- You hit McEIIon because of NCIS.
- Yeah, but what does that get you? Other than caught? It gets you Abby Sciuto.
[GASPS.]
The one person calling attention to you when you're trying to stay off the radar.
He must have had access to her blog.
She only reported her Phantom theory on her closed forum.
He hacks into that, sees that she's a threat.
Kills someone from the Navy to draw her out.
Where is she? They went to a bar.
A place she talked about before online.
- Eric.
- Hey, Callen.
You guys should come down here.
This place is awesome.
What? [ABBY GRUNTING.]
ERIC: Abby? Abby! VANCE [ON SCREEN.]
: Where was she abducted? In a dark parking lot, Leon.
But no video and so far, no witnesses.
Nate, I want brass tacks.
The good news is he abducted her instead of killing her outright.
Probably wants to gloat and show her he's superior.
The bad news is she does pose a major threat to him.
So he will kill her.
Probably soon.
All right.
You keep me in the loop.
Gibbs and his team are en route to Manassas Airport.
He's trying to get a favour with the FBI to borrow their G5.
He'll be with you by midday.
Let's pray Abby has that long.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Have you seen this woman? Hey! I'm talking to you.
I don't care, big Muggle cop without a warrant.
Listen, I don't know what "Muggle" means, but I don't have time for this, Marilyn Manson.
Sam, let's do this all at once.
MAN 1: Hey! MAN 2: It's a party, man.
Hi.
This woman was abducted from here 30 minutes ago.
Anyone see anything? Anyone? We need your help.
She was here with a blond dude.
Creepy looking guy in flip-flops.
He's okay.
Anyone else? Please.
Anyone? Her name is Abby.
Please, we need your help.
Please.
She's a friend of mine.
Guy came in yesterday, gave me this.
He said she was an old friend, asked me to text him if she came in.
He gave me a hundred bucks.
- What'd he look like? - Like you, like the blond guy she was here with.
He and I don't really look alike.
I'm sorry.
All Muggles look the same.
Okay, we've identified every person who's had access to Abby's online forum, except one.
Check out Mike287.
He mentions SteamPunk.
He suggests she'd love it if she went to L.
A.
Post is two months old, which means he's been planning it that long.
Yeah, he's setting a lot of bait.
Who is Mike287? Come on, guys, bust down this door.
Poses as Mike Kinkirk, L.
A.
County criminalist.
The real Kinkirk has been in hospice for months.
DOMINIC: He's using routers to hide the computer he posts from, - but I'm sure he's actually in L.
A.
NATE: That makes sense.
All this planning to lure out Abby.
Like Callen was saying, it's a lot more work than he's had to do before.
- Easier to do it in a familiar place.
- Home-field advantage.
ERIC: Okay.
The encrypted phone the bar woman sent the text to belongs to Zuggler-Smith.
That's McEIIon's law firm.
They bought 30 secure phones for their attorneys six months ago.
NATE: That's not all.
They took delivery of a whole bunch of HAZMAT suits.
Deliveries going back two years.
That's when the Phantom started killing.
So he's a lawyer? - Figures.
- Yeah, but which lawyer? Doesn't say who received the suits, so we don't know who the firm issued the phone to.
I'm firing up the ops centre now.
Law firm's our only lead.
We go undercover.
PHANTOM [IN DISTORTED VOICE.]
: Are you comfortable? [PHANTOM'S VOICE ECHOING.]
ABBY: I can't move.
PHANTOM: It's a Just a little chemical restraint.
[IN NORMAL VOICE.]
It's just a little chemical restraint.
It'll wear off slowly.
You'll start feeling your fingers and your toes first.
So it's not quite a creepy dungeon.
I made it for you, Abby.
You who named me.
Phantom.
If I could have caught you, I would have.
PHANTOM: And yet I caught you.
You went right where I asked you to go.
You're Mike287.
You making a little Abby movie? PHANTOM: Oh, that's for watching you when I go to work.
I took the day off today so we could be together.
After all, Abby, we're a team.
There's no "l" in your team.
PHANTOM: You'll resist at first.
And maybe I'll wait for you to come around.
Or maybe I won't.
The only people coming around are my friends.
And they're gonna smash through the door, wherever the door is, and they're gonna put you in prison where you belong, creep.
PHANTOM: Couple of things.
First, anyone comes in here, the place bursts into flames.
Butane.
And second, I'm good at what I do.
You're the definition of the opposite of good.
PHANTOM: In part, thanks to you, I won't wear the suit on smooth floors anymore.
There will be no more Phantom footprints.
I didn't blog about that.
No, you told Flagstaff P.
D.
They posted it when they found them.
And by the way, don't call me a creep.
You're right.
We just met.
It's not polite to judge.
I just I have this itch, it's right on the tip of my nose.
Could you just help me, please? PHANTOM: Aah! Don't you dare! Calm.
- Calm.
- That's what you look like.
Who's better, Zuggler or Smith? - For what, ma'am? - For getting every stinking penny.
Ha, ha.
You've come to the right place.
Have a seat, please.
I don't believe it.
- I was here first, weasel.
CALLEN: Uh-huh.
So you're gonna spend my money to screw me out of my money? So hard you're gonna wanna crawl back to the sewer you came from.
- That's it.
- Don't do it.
Don't touch me.
Give back my purse! Don't touch me.
- Fine.
See if they take your business.
- Heh.
How are you gonna pay the retainer? I froze you out of all the accounts.
Or maybe they'll take in-kind contributions, - like you freely gave to the pool guy? - Shut up.
CALLEN: And gardener.
- Security.
- The driver, the personal trainer.
- Shut up.
Shut up! RECEPTIONIST: Security to the front.
- You are a crazy woman.
- No, no, no.
CALLEN: You are crazy.
- One crazy woman.
KENSl: No.
- Get off of me! Unh! - Sir.
GUARD: Easy, miss, easy.
- Get off me.
- Let her go.
SAM: Go back into your office.
KENSl: I gave you everything.
I'm in.
Which way do I go, Eric? - I think the last room on your left.
- You think? ERIC [OVER RADIO.]
: Not like we had time to plan.
I hacked the surveillance system, buzzed through a lot of old video, and caught a woman giving out a cell phone.
She's the chief admin.
She keeps a roster in her right desk drawer.
It's the best I got.
Capturing video now.
Got it, Sam.
MAN: I'll do it, Miss Jenkins.
- And by tomorrow.
Thanks.
Hey, how are you? Had a little thing up front there.
WOMAN: Oh, okay.
Bye.
- Hey.
Kensi? - On her way back.
ERIC: I found who the phone was signed out to.
Mike Smith, founding partner.
I hacked into his computer.
It's been idle for two days.
I don't think he's been at work.
He logs on as Mike287 and visits Abby's blog regularly.
I'm sending you his licence.
Address is 287 Bruckner, Mike287.
[COMPUTER BEEPS.]
Oh, boy.
Abby's alive.
He's streaming live video from his house to his computer at work.
At least I hope it's live.
- He's with her.
- All right, we're ten minutes out.
Hold on, hold on.
This can't be his house.
The room she's in looks like it doesn't have any windows.
It's gotta be a commercial space.
I'm thinking [KEYBOARD CLICKING.]
Yeah, 458 North Fig.
The law office is expanding to the building next door.
- Smith owns it.
- We're standing right in front of it.
Eric said no windows.
Basement.
Guys, he's moving towards her.
SAM: Mike Smith.
He's not the Phantom.
We're in the wrong place.
So was he.
He's been dead two or three days, Eric.
The Phantom works in a law firm.
Smith, his boss, gets suspicious, so he kills him.
I bet there's no forensics in there either.
Sam, we got him.
Check your phone.
KENSI [OVER RADIO.]
: Mike287 posts from Smith's work computer.
At those specific time codes, we found this guy.
- The receptionist.
SAM: Front desk at the law firm.
Male receptionist is Tom Smith.
Your dead guy is his Uncle Mike.
The boss is your uncle, you have the run of the place.
So wherever he's got Abby, he's probably got the run of that place.
Okay, there's nothing in Tom's name, but his uncle has a dozen Had a dozen real-estate holdings, office buildings, warehouses, it could be any of them.
We check them all out.
We'll take half, Kensi and Dom, you take the other half.
Eric, find out if L.
A.
P.
D.
Can lend a hand.
- Already on it.
- Oh, and Eric.
Eyes on Abby? Still streaming.
What's the bed for? [SIGHS.]
To you, who empower me.
He's toasting her? I thought he was gonna gloat.
What's with the wine and the bed? Men love women who appreciate them, - and she alone has appreciated him.
NATE: I don't buy it.
He's too smart.
He knows she's his downfall.
He knows that she won't come around.
At best, he's just playing with her.
- Playing like chess? - More like a bear with a salmon.
ABBY: You must've been good at math.
- Good at everything.
ABBY: So Tampa, that was your first? My fifth.
So, what four did I miss? Well, they were before the suit.
My first was in Chico.
My first human, I mean.
Animals? Hoo.
Before that, there were dozens of animals.
That's how I knew I was built for this.
Really, I just couldn't stop killing animals.
It was such intense pleasure.
It's not fun.
It's awful.
And you are awful.
Every person and animal that you killed had a life, and people that loved them and deserved them alive.
I'm not on your side.
I've never been on your side, and I will never be on your side.
I know.
But it was fun to pretend.
Do you wanna pretend? Buy yourself another night of life? After all, you'll be able to move soon.
- Look at that.
- Yeah.
And look at this.
Four down, eight to go.
CALLEN [OVER RADIO.]
: Kensi? - Make that five down, seven to go.
Got two black and whites dispatching now.
We don't have time to search seven buildings, even with local P.
D.
Find where that camera is, now.
The camera's fixed, there's no swing Wait.
I do have zoom.
Zoom out, Eric, go wide so we can see the building.
Eric? Eric.
I don't believe it.
She's signing to the camera.
That's sign.
- You read sign language? - Since I was 7.
She's fingerspelling.
All right.
"Noise," something.
I can't read.
It's like when someone's mumbling.
Her fingers are slurred.
"Noise Construction noise.
" That's half the message.
Then start looking for construction sites.
Callen, there's a warehouse on the corner of 6th and Ardmore, owned by Smith.
Construction down the block.
CALLEN: On our way.
[ENGINE STARTS.]
The truth is you're just not smart enough for me, Abby.
Because you're there and I'm here.
And now, the great forensic specialist dies without any evidence of her killer.
And it will be fun for me, Abby.
ERIC: I've almost got the second half of the message.
Okay, it's "noise.
" Uh, "doors.
" Doors? "Noise doors.
" Uh, um"Doors.
" It's, um It's - Wait.
- Guys, stop.
Wire.
Abby's signing, "Construction noise, doors booby-trapped.
" How are we getting in, Eric? Okay.
Skylight, fire escape, north side.
I'll leave, trip the door fuse remotely, place will go kaboom, and the Phantom remains traceless.
You're not traceless.
Oh, come on, Abby.
You know butane burns hot enough to destroy evidence.
You have my teeth marks on your finger.
Creep.
- Miami? - Oh, Miami was half the height and we still got all busted up.
One of us may land soft enough and get the shot.
Yeah, if one of us is Peter Pan.
I saved the "white woman in her late 20s" slot for you.
ERIC: Guys.
You should be honoured.
Guys, gotta go now.
[GLASS BREAKING.]
[PHANTOM GRUNTING.]
Oh, God.
Unh! You've got to lay off the doughnuts, buddy.
[CALLEN GRUNTS.]
- Are you okay? - Yeah.
Thank you, G.
Callen.
You're welcome, Abby Sciuto.
Des Moines P.
D.
Got a traffic-cam shot of Smith near the crime scene.
And Tampa P.
D.
Found him on a flight manifest leaving after the murder.
You've solved 15 murders in as many hours.
Abby, how does that feel? Almost as good as being alive.
SAM: Hey, I lowered him down.
- And did it perfectly.
Mwah.
HETTY: The post-incident medical evaluation is not optional, Abby.
- They're waiting for you.
Go, go.
- Hetty, I'm so sorry, but there's something way more important that I have to do first.
- What could possibly? - Abby.
On-screen in 30 seconds.
That.
Gibbs, Gibbs, I'm okay.
I know you were coming to save me, but these guys, they were amazing.
Really.
I mean, you should see what they can do with a fire hose.
McGee, you were so right about how cool this place is.
Not as cool as home, because nothing is as cool as home, and I can't wait to see you guys.
It was scary, but we got him.
- We got the Phantom.
Amazing.
- I wanna show you something.
ABBY: I mean, really.
NATE: I know, there's a small fee.
We're gonna some lend you resources to search for evidence that Smith was there around the time of the You're going to tell me that I should have consulted you before? No.
My team's getting half a day's desk work done in half an hour.
You row pretty good.
[HETTY CHUCKLES.]
- Thanks.
KENSl: Detective Rogers? Special Agent Kensi Blye, NCIS.
Listen, I think we may have solved [AGENTS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
KENSl: I'm sending you the photo now.
WOMAN [OVER PHONE.]
: She never appreciated you.
I know, Mom.
At least it's not as ugly as divorce court.
WOMAN: No, you're right.
- I agree with you.
- Thanks, Mom.
WOMAN: Keep your chin up.
- Yeah, I'm trying.
WOMAN: I love you.
I'll see you later.
Okay.
All right, I love you too.
Bye.
[WINDOW BANGING AND CREAKING.]
[FRANK GASPING.]
SAM: Morning, G.
- When did that happen? KENSl: Hey, guys Whoa.
- Who did this? CALLEN: Don't know.
- Where's all our stuff? - Don't know.
- I think it's safe to go in.
- Don't know.
I'm saying I think it's safe to go in.
KENSl: Am I seeing assigned seats? Yup.
I'm here.
This is nice.
Nice.
Oh, look, they even sharpened my pencils.
- Do you write with pencils? - No.
Could be one of Nate's psych experiments.
I'm not one of Nate's lab rats.
- You ever known me to receive mail? - Nope.
- Send mail? - Nope.
Organisation and productivity are directly correlated.
Cleanliness is next to, um, - efficiency.
- So you moved our stuff? - I tried to stop her.
- Hetty.
She's the only one Continue, Mr.
Callen.
Continue.
- With the authority.
Ah.
Hmm.
Nate, if your comment that they might be miffed constitutes trying to stop me, I suggest you learn more forceful techniques of self-assertion.
Not that I would have listened.
People, this is an office.
Insofar as you have equipment necessary to your duties, you'll find it in your desks.
Insofar as you had stuff, - you'll find it all upstairs in trash bags.
- Most of it's Kensi's.
You're welcome to add a personal touch or two.
But let's not again have it looking like a fraternity lounge.
Now, if you'll follow me, we have work.
Chief Petty Officer Frank McEIIon was murdered last night.
He was one of the Navy's top engineers.
He worked on supercavitation.
Really cool technology.
Puts a bubble around a submarine, quadruples its speed.
From 25 knots top speed fully submerged to a hundred knots.
- Nifty trick.
- A trick you wanna keep secret.
Murder and possible espionage.
Both balls are in your court, Mr.
Callen.
Hey, new bullpen's great, huh? An enlisted sailor lives here? - It's a little too upmarket, isn't it? - Way upmarket.
Mobiles go over cribs, right? Huh.
Looks like baby moved out.
Probably not by herself.
Now, the alarm system showed this window open just before the murder.
[CELL PHONE BEEPING.]
Eric, there's a house directly behind us.
They have a security cam.
Thanks.
So McEIIon hears a noise and he comes in.
Killer takes him from behind, no struggle.
McEIIon's 6 foot, so the killer's strong, he's quiet.
And knows how to use a knife.
Hey, guys.
- What do you see? CALLEN: Huh.
Dusted for prints, but there aren't any.
This was the only window open.
He came and went through here.
The whole crime scene is like this.
Do you know what the forensics report is gonna find? Absolutely nothing.
No prints, fibres, hairs.
This guy didn't leave a trace.
[FABRIC TEARING.]
- Nanny cam.
- With a front-row seat.
CALLEN: Okay, Eric, thanks.
- Keep looking, Dom.
CALLEN: Eric says the window - Dom's trying to track down CALLEN: The killer knew - The wife split a month Callen.
- Was I heads or tails? - I'm not telling you.
The window that the killer used was not covered by the security camera out back.
Our guy must have cased the house first.
But Eric found another camera next door.
SAM: Hmm.
- This is video from four days ago.
He's running facial recognition, but there's been no hits yet.
KENSl: And now it's your turn, Sam.
McEIIon's wife split with the baby a month ago.
Dom's still trying to track her down.
- Financials? - It turns out McEIIon's money is clean.
He designed sub technology before he joined the Navy.
His patents are lucrative.
Why would a wealthy engineer enlist? The same reason Pat Tillman left the NFL to join the Army.
Patriotism.
McEIIon signed on after 9/11.
So a patriotic guy sells secrets? That would make him unpatriotic, Kensi.
- You were tails, for the record.
CALLEN: Can I have my phone? - Thank you very much.
- Heh.
Feels weird.
I like it.
I'm over here, you're way over there.
[ERIC WHISTLES.]
- You see the forensics report? - No.
It's right there in your inbox.
I thought it was the outbox.
Heh.
Kensi was right.
The killer left no DNA.
No fibres, no hairs, no prints.
Nothing.
Never seen anything like it.
CALLEN: Thanks.
- Agent Callen.
Agent Hanna.
- Director.
VANCE [ON SCREEN.]
: NSA completed the preliminary review.
Sub programme security protocols do not appear to have been breached.
Espionage or not, this case is still a priority.
That's why I'm sending our top forensic specialist to assist you.
But there are no forensics.
Our forensic expert has a theory about this crime that's, shall we say, original.
Thinks McEIIon is the victim of a serial killer.
No other law-enforcement organisation in this country thinks this killer exists.
Can't say I do either.
And you're sending this person why? I was ganged up on.
[SAM SCOFFS.]
Who gangs up on the director of a federal agency? Oh, you'd be surprised, Mr.
Callen.
- And who's the expert? WOMAN: Oops.
I think I took a wrong turn.
Hello? Abby? We're in here.
There you are.
Hi.
Wow.
This place is seriously cool.
- So how do you? - Double tap, get the menu, fill the screen.
It's all very intuitive.
No wonder McGee can't stop talking about this.
So I'm sure Leon has told you that I know who killed McEIIon.
- Wait, you call him Leon? ABBY: You don't? - Not successfully.
- Give it time.
- You have a name for us, Abby? - He's called the Phantom.
- By whom? - By me.
Anyone else? No, just me.
Well, I'm going to leave you kids to it.
But I must say, Abby, you are the first NCIS employee I've ever met with a sense of style.
You'd all do well to note that one can be functional and stylish at the same time.
Right, Mr.
Beale? [CHUCKLES.]
Abby, the forensics report has no evidence of the killer.
That's why I call him the Phantom.
Fourteen murders in two years.
I mean, it took me a while to see his pattern, but Okay.
Pull up a list of his murders, please.
This is a private website for forensic specialists.
Abby's a rock star among them.
I've been blogging about the Phantom for a few months.
I'm trying to get local police departments to pursue him.
All right, 67-year-old black female poisoned in Tampa.
The killer left nothing.
No hair, no DNA, no fibres.
Zippity doo-dah.
Twenty-two-year-old white male shot in Des Moines.
No trace of a killer.
Thirty-seven-year-old Asian female in Boise.
With a crowbar.
Do you know how hard it is to cudgel someone to death with a crowbar and leave no forensic evidence? I mean, cases with zero forensics are rare.
Like, every few years kind of rare, and this is 14 in two years.
Okay.
Have any of the local P.
D.
S pursued this Phantom theory? Not one.
Can you believe that? SAM: Serial killers are organised or disorganised.
This guy's organised and leaving no forensics.
But completely disorganised in everything else.
I mean, random victims, weapons, locations.
It just doesn't look like one single killer.
He makes it look random on purpose.
That's how I knew that McEIIon was a Phantom victim.
Not just the no-forensics part, but he never repeats himself.
Like, he's never cut the neck of a 40-year-old white guy before, see? Clearly, you've spent a lot of time on this.
If you wanna get my attention, show me a crime scene and tell me there's no clues.
Oh, we have a clue.
This guy.
Casing the house three days before the murder.
Well, okay.
The Phantom's not the kind of guy that would get caught on camera.
Three days prior? Scoping the place out? Maybe he's finally slipped up.
[CALLEN SIGHS.]
I'm just curious why you pressured Vance to send Abby.
He wasn't buying her Phantom theory.
He needed goosing.
So you want us chasing the Phantom? Mr.
Callen, is that what you think? I don't know.
There's There's been some meddling around here, and I'm a little fuzzy on the command chain.
This case lacks forensics.
As your operations manager, I procured for you our best scientist to help you.
You, as head agent, are free to pursue whatever theory of crime makes the most sense.
There's no fuzziness, Callen.
You still shoot the ducks, I just row the boat.
What is he holding? A rabbit? He misses his little girl.
CALLEN: Hang on.
Let me see here and here.
It's the same fabric, top and bottom.
- Overalls? - It's a full body suit.
That explains it.
He doesn't leave it, he takes it with him.
Takes what with him? Hair and fibres and skin.
Evidence.
Every day we lose 50,000 dead epidermal cells.
That's 1.
5 pounds per year.
- We have to go to this crime scene.
- Abby, the crime scene's done.
- Yeah, and they found nothing.
- So you wanna go why? Because I think I can find something.
All right.
KENSl: CSI guys tracked through dirt.
The scene's completely contaminated, Abby.
I'm not looking for footprints that leave dirt, I'm looking for footprints that remove dirt.
Okay, so you're thinking that Come with me.
Smart thinking, Abby.
You live up to the hype.
Dom found e-mails from Magda McEIIon threatening to kill her husband.
I'm gonna need to talk to her.
Gotta find her first.
KENSl: Yo, Callen, Sam.
In here.
So most footwear is electrically neutral.
But some body suits made for chemical workers or doctors, they have a tiny electrostatic charge.
Electrostatic charges, they pick up dust.
Just like those dust cloths you see advertised on late-night TV.
You know about cleaning products? You watch late-night TV? I can get the full pattern from his bootie in this dust here.
Then I can find you the make and a manufacturer.
Huh.
Thank you, Abby Sciuto.
You're welcome, G.
Callen.
So where do we start looking for Magda McEIIon? "Zuggler-Smith.
" I hate lawyers.
Miss Jenkins has left for lunch.
See? I told you, she said the restaurant.
[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS.]
- Oh, there she is.
- Enjoy your lunch.
Thank you.
JENKINS: My job, I deal with a lot of jerks.
Frank McEIIon was a real gentleman.
Even to his wife, who demanded two-thirds of his submarine patents.
Things he had invented before they even met.
- You advised him to fight.
- With the future value, hell, yes.
They're already a gravy train if he can afford to hire you.
You're cute.
Frank told me they'd be worth a lot more soon.
Top-secret and all, but that had to mean the Navy liked his inventions.
That's a lucky wife.
She's a widow, not an ex.
So Magda McEIIon gets it all.
So when your people went to serve her with the papers, where did they go? Five years married to a button-down Navy guy.
She splits, moves down here to get a taste of the crazies.
I used to live here.
Well, you and crazy speaks for itself.
CALLEN: That's her.
SAM: Well, she's fast.
Fast for a short girl.
- I said she's fast.
- I said she's short.
Nanny cam.
McEIIon's killer was the same height as he was.
She's got the motive, she's just not tall enough.
But he is.
Okay.
That's the guy that was casing McEIIon's house.
- I gotta go.
- Ah.
Boyfriend-girlfriend.
- She's not even divorced yet.
SAM: Ha, ha.
You see other partners after I was shot? Oh, no.
I'm a loyal guy, G.
CALLEN: Mm-hm.
Think old lover boy over there is loyal? Loyal enough to do Magda's bidding? - What do you think? Ten bucks? SAM: Whoo.
Don't do it.
Ha, ha.
CALLEN: Is that a casual walking away or an "I see two guys that may be law enforcement" walking away? I might look like law enforcement.
CALLEN: Yeah? What do I look like? SAM: Like you grew up here.
MAN 1: Come on.
MAN 2: What are you doing, man? WOMAN: Watch out.
ROLLERBLADER: Aah! Unh.
SAM & CALLEN: Unh.
MAN 3: What happened? MAN 4: What did he do, man? MAN 5: I don't know.
BIKER: Unh.
Hey! My bike! [MOTORC YCLE ENGINE STARTS.]
[CAMPER HORN HONKS.]
DRIVER: Watch out! [GRUNTING.]
[GROANS.]
- You hurt? - Uh-huh.
Good.
KENSl: There's Magda McEIIon.
- I'll talk, you get the video.
DOMINIC: Okay.
KENSl: Make sure you zoom in on her reaction.
You're on.
So, what's your name? - Cyrus Hill.
- Heh.
That's funny, you don't actually look like a Cyrus.
Facial recognition says that your name is Ted Brock.
Why did you run? I thought you were gonna steal my stuff.
It had nothing to do with the two outstanding arrest warrants? So basically, what you do is you butter up rich ladies and then you steal their things.
What I wanna know is, where were you last night? - I had a date - Mm-hm.
- With Magda McEIIon.
KENSl: Magda McEIIon? Hi.
I'm Special Agent Kensi Blye.
I need to speak with you.
Please have a seat.
This is difficult.
I'm sorry to have to tell you, but, um, your husband was murdered last night.
- I'm sorry.
- Oh, my God.
How? Where? In his house.
[SOBS.]
I'm really sorry, but I need to ask you this.
Where were you last night? I took Magda to dinner at the Ivy.
I was here, with Lily, my baby.
- And Lily? - She hired a babysitter.
We only have childcare in the daytime.
I'll take her story over his.
Facial cues.
Eyebrows, parted lips.
Her surprise is genuine.
She didn't know.
Guys, she just skewered his alibi.
Let's get to motive.
Tell me something.
How long have you known this man? MAGDA: Cyrus? A few weeks.
Why? Actually, his name is Ted.
Ted, I'm guessing that you wanted the submarine patents that Magda would get if her husband was dead.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Did you tell Ted about your husband's patents? Yes, by mistake.
I was pissed off after a phone call from Frank's lawyer.
He knows about the patents, G.
CALLEN: Hmm.
Magda just called you a liar.
She's out there? - She can hear me? - You weren't with her last night.
You knew about the patents and that she might lose them in the divorce.
So you went to McEIIon's house last night and you killed him.
Now she's a rich widow and she dates you.
Wait, that isn't true.
Magda! I didn't kill anybody.
You cased the house four days ago.
Security camera across the street.
That's why you picked a different window when you killed him.
I didn't kill him.
Then why did you case the house, Ted? Magda said he kept 10 grand in bearer bonds.
I saw the security camera.
I didn't go in, I'm not a B&E guy.
So where were you last night? Brentwood.
Lady friend.
Is she rich? So, what happened to Lover Boy Brock? SAM: He was what he said he was, so we turned him over to L.
A.
P.
D.
For those outstanding warrants.
And back to square one.
Magda's not involved, we've pretty much ruled out espionage.
Yeah, the killer wears fancy suits and studies security cams.
We're missing motive.
Maybe because it's random.
- Oh.
Abby got you onboard? CALLEN: He wishes.
[CHUCKLES.]
So, uh, do you guys know about the birthday paradox? Abby discusses it on her blog.
How many people do you need in a room to have an even chance that two of them have the same birthday? I don't know.
A hundred and 82 and a half.
Only 23.
And with 57 people, it's a 99-percent chance that two of them will have the same birthday.
True randomness includes repeats.
A truly random group of murders would have at least two white males in their 20s.
Yeah.
Or two gunshot deaths, or two stabbing deaths.
But there are no repeats.
It's hard to do.
CALLEN: If the m.
o.
Is to make it all appear random, then why kill McEIIon when there are so many other easy targets? And if it is the Phantom, then he changed his m.
o.
Now, why would he do that? Hey, so good news.
Flagstaff P.
D.
Is going back to their crime scene.
Jose Piñon, electrocuted in his bathtub five weeks ago.
I told them to look for dust prints.
I hope nobody cleaned the floor.
So, um, that's the bootie pattern? Yep.
It was left inversely in the dust on the floor at the McEIIon's house.
It's a pattern from a HAZMAT suit made by ProtectorSuits Inc.
I e-mailed them for a distribution list, but they're not open till morning.
Oh.
Well, so then if we have to wait until morning, then Are you trying to ask me out, Eric? - Yeah.
- Okay, just checking.
Go ahead.
Maybe a drink at, say, SteamPunk? It's only the coolest place I've wanted to go but never been west of the Mississippi.
Yes.
How do you know about SteamPunk? Uh, you mentioned it online somewhere.
You've been reading my blog.
A lot.
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING.]
So along with seeing this awesome club, I wanna see the Museum of Jurassic Technology and the Car Museum.
Oh, have you seen out back? There's hot rods everywhere.
Yeah, this is where they hang out.
That's what makes this place so cool.
And I wanna see an earthquake.
Oh, I mean, I know you can't see an earthquake, but I wanna feel one.
I mean, the whole Earth shaking.
I mean, just a small one, where no people or animals get hurt.
But doesn't it feel cool? Yeah, I guess it feels kind of funky, when no one gets hurt.
Um, do you want another Uh, whatever this is? You're on refills, I'm gonna go check out the hot rods.
Flagstaff P.
D.
Found footprints in the dust.
Same size, same pattern.
Abby's right.
Phantom's real.
Oh, my God, I am buying that woman a beer.
I'll buy her a brewery, but I need to know why McEIIon.
The Phantom's other victims were all easier targets.
NATE: That's not the only difference.
All the other cases happened in smaller cities with P.
D.
S that didn't have the resources to nationalise the case.
But now, Los Angeles.
Second biggest P.
D.
In the country.
SAM: And he gets NCIS involved.
A federal agency.
That's not random.
- You hit McEIIon because of NCIS.
- Yeah, but what does that get you? Other than caught? It gets you Abby Sciuto.
[GASPS.]
The one person calling attention to you when you're trying to stay off the radar.
He must have had access to her blog.
She only reported her Phantom theory on her closed forum.
He hacks into that, sees that she's a threat.
Kills someone from the Navy to draw her out.
Where is she? They went to a bar.
A place she talked about before online.
- Eric.
- Hey, Callen.
You guys should come down here.
This place is awesome.
What? [ABBY GRUNTING.]
ERIC: Abby? Abby! VANCE [ON SCREEN.]
: Where was she abducted? In a dark parking lot, Leon.
But no video and so far, no witnesses.
Nate, I want brass tacks.
The good news is he abducted her instead of killing her outright.
Probably wants to gloat and show her he's superior.
The bad news is she does pose a major threat to him.
So he will kill her.
Probably soon.
All right.
You keep me in the loop.
Gibbs and his team are en route to Manassas Airport.
He's trying to get a favour with the FBI to borrow their G5.
He'll be with you by midday.
Let's pray Abby has that long.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Have you seen this woman? Hey! I'm talking to you.
I don't care, big Muggle cop without a warrant.
Listen, I don't know what "Muggle" means, but I don't have time for this, Marilyn Manson.
Sam, let's do this all at once.
MAN 1: Hey! MAN 2: It's a party, man.
Hi.
This woman was abducted from here 30 minutes ago.
Anyone see anything? Anyone? We need your help.
She was here with a blond dude.
Creepy looking guy in flip-flops.
He's okay.
Anyone else? Please.
Anyone? Her name is Abby.
Please, we need your help.
Please.
She's a friend of mine.
Guy came in yesterday, gave me this.
He said she was an old friend, asked me to text him if she came in.
He gave me a hundred bucks.
- What'd he look like? - Like you, like the blond guy she was here with.
He and I don't really look alike.
I'm sorry.
All Muggles look the same.
Okay, we've identified every person who's had access to Abby's online forum, except one.
Check out Mike287.
He mentions SteamPunk.
He suggests she'd love it if she went to L.
A.
Post is two months old, which means he's been planning it that long.
Yeah, he's setting a lot of bait.
Who is Mike287? Come on, guys, bust down this door.
Poses as Mike Kinkirk, L.
A.
County criminalist.
The real Kinkirk has been in hospice for months.
DOMINIC: He's using routers to hide the computer he posts from, - but I'm sure he's actually in L.
A.
NATE: That makes sense.
All this planning to lure out Abby.
Like Callen was saying, it's a lot more work than he's had to do before.
- Easier to do it in a familiar place.
- Home-field advantage.
ERIC: Okay.
The encrypted phone the bar woman sent the text to belongs to Zuggler-Smith.
That's McEIIon's law firm.
They bought 30 secure phones for their attorneys six months ago.
NATE: That's not all.
They took delivery of a whole bunch of HAZMAT suits.
Deliveries going back two years.
That's when the Phantom started killing.
So he's a lawyer? - Figures.
- Yeah, but which lawyer? Doesn't say who received the suits, so we don't know who the firm issued the phone to.
I'm firing up the ops centre now.
Law firm's our only lead.
We go undercover.
PHANTOM [IN DISTORTED VOICE.]
: Are you comfortable? [PHANTOM'S VOICE ECHOING.]
ABBY: I can't move.
PHANTOM: It's a Just a little chemical restraint.
[IN NORMAL VOICE.]
It's just a little chemical restraint.
It'll wear off slowly.
You'll start feeling your fingers and your toes first.
So it's not quite a creepy dungeon.
I made it for you, Abby.
You who named me.
Phantom.
If I could have caught you, I would have.
PHANTOM: And yet I caught you.
You went right where I asked you to go.
You're Mike287.
You making a little Abby movie? PHANTOM: Oh, that's for watching you when I go to work.
I took the day off today so we could be together.
After all, Abby, we're a team.
There's no "l" in your team.
PHANTOM: You'll resist at first.
And maybe I'll wait for you to come around.
Or maybe I won't.
The only people coming around are my friends.
And they're gonna smash through the door, wherever the door is, and they're gonna put you in prison where you belong, creep.
PHANTOM: Couple of things.
First, anyone comes in here, the place bursts into flames.
Butane.
And second, I'm good at what I do.
You're the definition of the opposite of good.
PHANTOM: In part, thanks to you, I won't wear the suit on smooth floors anymore.
There will be no more Phantom footprints.
I didn't blog about that.
No, you told Flagstaff P.
D.
They posted it when they found them.
And by the way, don't call me a creep.
You're right.
We just met.
It's not polite to judge.
I just I have this itch, it's right on the tip of my nose.
Could you just help me, please? PHANTOM: Aah! Don't you dare! Calm.
- Calm.
- That's what you look like.
Who's better, Zuggler or Smith? - For what, ma'am? - For getting every stinking penny.
Ha, ha.
You've come to the right place.
Have a seat, please.
I don't believe it.
- I was here first, weasel.
CALLEN: Uh-huh.
So you're gonna spend my money to screw me out of my money? So hard you're gonna wanna crawl back to the sewer you came from.
- That's it.
- Don't do it.
Don't touch me.
Give back my purse! Don't touch me.
- Fine.
See if they take your business.
- Heh.
How are you gonna pay the retainer? I froze you out of all the accounts.
Or maybe they'll take in-kind contributions, - like you freely gave to the pool guy? - Shut up.
CALLEN: And gardener.
- Security.
- The driver, the personal trainer.
- Shut up.
Shut up! RECEPTIONIST: Security to the front.
- You are a crazy woman.
- No, no, no.
CALLEN: You are crazy.
- One crazy woman.
KENSl: No.
- Get off of me! Unh! - Sir.
GUARD: Easy, miss, easy.
- Get off me.
- Let her go.
SAM: Go back into your office.
KENSl: I gave you everything.
I'm in.
Which way do I go, Eric? - I think the last room on your left.
- You think? ERIC [OVER RADIO.]
: Not like we had time to plan.
I hacked the surveillance system, buzzed through a lot of old video, and caught a woman giving out a cell phone.
She's the chief admin.
She keeps a roster in her right desk drawer.
It's the best I got.
Capturing video now.
Got it, Sam.
MAN: I'll do it, Miss Jenkins.
- And by tomorrow.
Thanks.
Hey, how are you? Had a little thing up front there.
WOMAN: Oh, okay.
Bye.
- Hey.
Kensi? - On her way back.
ERIC: I found who the phone was signed out to.
Mike Smith, founding partner.
I hacked into his computer.
It's been idle for two days.
I don't think he's been at work.
He logs on as Mike287 and visits Abby's blog regularly.
I'm sending you his licence.
Address is 287 Bruckner, Mike287.
[COMPUTER BEEPS.]
Oh, boy.
Abby's alive.
He's streaming live video from his house to his computer at work.
At least I hope it's live.
- He's with her.
- All right, we're ten minutes out.
Hold on, hold on.
This can't be his house.
The room she's in looks like it doesn't have any windows.
It's gotta be a commercial space.
I'm thinking [KEYBOARD CLICKING.]
Yeah, 458 North Fig.
The law office is expanding to the building next door.
- Smith owns it.
- We're standing right in front of it.
Eric said no windows.
Basement.
Guys, he's moving towards her.
SAM: Mike Smith.
He's not the Phantom.
We're in the wrong place.
So was he.
He's been dead two or three days, Eric.
The Phantom works in a law firm.
Smith, his boss, gets suspicious, so he kills him.
I bet there's no forensics in there either.
Sam, we got him.
Check your phone.
KENSI [OVER RADIO.]
: Mike287 posts from Smith's work computer.
At those specific time codes, we found this guy.
- The receptionist.
SAM: Front desk at the law firm.
Male receptionist is Tom Smith.
Your dead guy is his Uncle Mike.
The boss is your uncle, you have the run of the place.
So wherever he's got Abby, he's probably got the run of that place.
Okay, there's nothing in Tom's name, but his uncle has a dozen Had a dozen real-estate holdings, office buildings, warehouses, it could be any of them.
We check them all out.
We'll take half, Kensi and Dom, you take the other half.
Eric, find out if L.
A.
P.
D.
Can lend a hand.
- Already on it.
- Oh, and Eric.
Eyes on Abby? Still streaming.
What's the bed for? [SIGHS.]
To you, who empower me.
He's toasting her? I thought he was gonna gloat.
What's with the wine and the bed? Men love women who appreciate them, - and she alone has appreciated him.
NATE: I don't buy it.
He's too smart.
He knows she's his downfall.
He knows that she won't come around.
At best, he's just playing with her.
- Playing like chess? - More like a bear with a salmon.
ABBY: You must've been good at math.
- Good at everything.
ABBY: So Tampa, that was your first? My fifth.
So, what four did I miss? Well, they were before the suit.
My first was in Chico.
My first human, I mean.
Animals? Hoo.
Before that, there were dozens of animals.
That's how I knew I was built for this.
Really, I just couldn't stop killing animals.
It was such intense pleasure.
It's not fun.
It's awful.
And you are awful.
Every person and animal that you killed had a life, and people that loved them and deserved them alive.
I'm not on your side.
I've never been on your side, and I will never be on your side.
I know.
But it was fun to pretend.
Do you wanna pretend? Buy yourself another night of life? After all, you'll be able to move soon.
- Look at that.
- Yeah.
And look at this.
Four down, eight to go.
CALLEN [OVER RADIO.]
: Kensi? - Make that five down, seven to go.
Got two black and whites dispatching now.
We don't have time to search seven buildings, even with local P.
D.
Find where that camera is, now.
The camera's fixed, there's no swing Wait.
I do have zoom.
Zoom out, Eric, go wide so we can see the building.
Eric? Eric.
I don't believe it.
She's signing to the camera.
That's sign.
- You read sign language? - Since I was 7.
She's fingerspelling.
All right.
"Noise," something.
I can't read.
It's like when someone's mumbling.
Her fingers are slurred.
"Noise Construction noise.
" That's half the message.
Then start looking for construction sites.
Callen, there's a warehouse on the corner of 6th and Ardmore, owned by Smith.
Construction down the block.
CALLEN: On our way.
[ENGINE STARTS.]
The truth is you're just not smart enough for me, Abby.
Because you're there and I'm here.
And now, the great forensic specialist dies without any evidence of her killer.
And it will be fun for me, Abby.
ERIC: I've almost got the second half of the message.
Okay, it's "noise.
" Uh, "doors.
" Doors? "Noise doors.
" Uh, um"Doors.
" It's, um It's - Wait.
- Guys, stop.
Wire.
Abby's signing, "Construction noise, doors booby-trapped.
" How are we getting in, Eric? Okay.
Skylight, fire escape, north side.
I'll leave, trip the door fuse remotely, place will go kaboom, and the Phantom remains traceless.
You're not traceless.
Oh, come on, Abby.
You know butane burns hot enough to destroy evidence.
You have my teeth marks on your finger.
Creep.
- Miami? - Oh, Miami was half the height and we still got all busted up.
One of us may land soft enough and get the shot.
Yeah, if one of us is Peter Pan.
I saved the "white woman in her late 20s" slot for you.
ERIC: Guys.
You should be honoured.
Guys, gotta go now.
[GLASS BREAKING.]
[PHANTOM GRUNTING.]
Oh, God.
Unh! You've got to lay off the doughnuts, buddy.
[CALLEN GRUNTS.]
- Are you okay? - Yeah.
Thank you, G.
Callen.
You're welcome, Abby Sciuto.
Des Moines P.
D.
Got a traffic-cam shot of Smith near the crime scene.
And Tampa P.
D.
Found him on a flight manifest leaving after the murder.
You've solved 15 murders in as many hours.
Abby, how does that feel? Almost as good as being alive.
SAM: Hey, I lowered him down.
- And did it perfectly.
Mwah.
HETTY: The post-incident medical evaluation is not optional, Abby.
- They're waiting for you.
Go, go.
- Hetty, I'm so sorry, but there's something way more important that I have to do first.
- What could possibly? - Abby.
On-screen in 30 seconds.
That.
Gibbs, Gibbs, I'm okay.
I know you were coming to save me, but these guys, they were amazing.
Really.
I mean, you should see what they can do with a fire hose.
McGee, you were so right about how cool this place is.
Not as cool as home, because nothing is as cool as home, and I can't wait to see you guys.
It was scary, but we got him.
- We got the Phantom.
Amazing.
- I wanna show you something.
ABBY: I mean, really.
NATE: I know, there's a small fee.
We're gonna some lend you resources to search for evidence that Smith was there around the time of the You're going to tell me that I should have consulted you before? No.
My team's getting half a day's desk work done in half an hour.
You row pretty good.
[HETTY CHUCKLES.]
- Thanks.
KENSl: Detective Rogers? Special Agent Kensi Blye, NCIS.
Listen, I think we may have solved [AGENTS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
KENSl: I'm sending you the photo now.