NCIS s02e20 Episode Script
Red Cell
You have entered the circle.
You have felt the flames.
You have suffered the seven trials.
You have reached the moment of your final test.
Are you prepared? - Yes, sir.
- Then let's do it.
Go! Last one to the house drinks the keg dregs! I love Hell Week.
Did you see their faces? NCIS season 2 Strike Force Command, this is Red Leader.
Alpha Team is in play.
Roger that, Red Leader, I have visual.
You've got hostiles on both the north and east quadrants of the building.
Hostile on the left flank.
All teams prepare for entry.
Our target is located on the Say again, Strike Force Command.
Did not copy your last.
Uh, wait one, Red Leader.
Copy that.
Red Unit, hold your positions Hi, Probie! Uh, David, I have to call you back.
Copy that, McGee I told you he was a boxers guy.
Damn, McGee, I thought for sure you were a tighty-whitey man.
Come on, let's get dressed.
You don't want to keep Gibbs waiting.
You said 0900.
It's only 7:30! We thought we'd observe you in your natural environment.
Kind of like watching National Geographic.
We watch as the McGee moves slowly from the watering hole trailed by hyenas.
Is this the History Channel Room? Ah this is where you do your writing thing, huh? Look at this.
"The Continuing Adventures of L.
J.
Tibbs.
" That's personal! Hmm I wonder who "L.
J.
Tibbs" could be? Check it out.
He eats dinosaur cereal.
Okay, wod you both please just wait by the door? By the door, please? Got any Macy Gray in here? Wait, Tony, don't touch those.
Those are collectibles.
They're very valuable.
Oh, my gosh.
Sorry.
I just thought they were musty old records.
It's bad enough having to work on Sundays, without you guys ransacking my appartment.
Yes, it was very inconsiderate of that Marine sergeant to die on a weekend.
I'm getting my weapon.
Don't touch anything else! Hey! George Clooney could not get laid in this place.
Your place needs a lot of help, McGee.
At least you're not building a boat in your basement.
Come on.
Tim? Strike Force Command, this is Red Leader.
McGee, are you there? This is Strike Force Command.
Do you copy? Based on the rigor resolving itself, I'd say our Sergeant's been dead for at least 36 hours.
I'm more concerned with how it happened, Duck.
Well, apart from the obvious, he took a tumble down the hill.
Neck's probably broken.
Yeah, but then, we never do put too much emphasis on the obvious.
Do we, Sergeant? Ow! It's remarkable how these college hangouts all smell the same.
Stale beer, tobacco vomit.
It's from the kid that found him.
Any idea why the young man is half-naked? It must be a college thing.
Hey where you been? Stopped for coffee.
Got you are welcome.
Marine Sergeant Joseph Aaron Turner.
Found dead at 0200 by a drunk college student.
Sounds like Hell Week.
Hell Week? Yeah, fraternal rite of passage.
Worst week of my life.
Followed by the best four years.
Yeah? You were running around in your skivvies, DiNozzo? Technically.
But back then, they made us wear them on our heads.
I think it was a sort of a character-building thing Certainly explains a lot.
- Uh-huh.
Hey, McGee - Yeah.
- Find out what Turner was doing on campus.
- On it.
Excuse me, Special Agent Gibbs? I wonder if we could let Mr.
Pippin go home and dress more appropriately? Sure.
After one of my agents interviews him.
DiNozzo.
Um, you know, I think that's really more up Kate's alley.
Well, maybe, but you two have so much in common.
Go.
This area popular with students? For all sorts of extracurricular activities.
Bonfires, fraternity pranks Hazing? We've had our share of incidents.
Broken bones, alcohol poisoning.
And this isn't the first accidental death we've seen.
Who said anything about an accident? You think this is a homicide? Until I find out it wasn't.
Boss, I had Turner's SRB pulled.
He's an NROTC student attached to the Waverly University campus.
Lives in the dorms.
Get an address? Uh, just getting on that.
I'm going to radio his unit.
I thought college students were supposed to be poor.
Most of my midshipmen would not have survived without at least 200 channels and a DSL hook-up, Agent Gibbs.
How long have you been Turner's Marine Officer Instructor, Captain Lemay? Since he enrolled last year.
You expect to lose men in combat, not on the college campus.
- What the hell happened to my Marine? - Working on it, Captain.
What can I do to help? You can start by telling us about him.
He was one of my best midshipmen.
Came to us straight from the fleet after two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How is he taking to college life? There's a fair amount of culture shock, but like any good Marine, he adapted.
- Any personal problems or issues? - We had a few incidents with student activists on campus.
Protesting the war? Protesting anything military.
Our unit was vandalized, rallies outside our offices.
When word got out that Turner was a vet, he took some heat.
What kind of heat? Name-calling, mostly.
Turner handled it like most Marines.
Not well.
He lost five Marines in his squad in Iraq.
He handled it as best he could, Agent Gibbs.
He was a damn fine Marine.
- And intelligent, too.
- Boss This is graduate-level mathematics.
- Theoretical calculus.
- He was on the advanced track in math and physics.
He was a real asset to the Corps.
You're blowing in my ear, Mr.
Palmer.
Oh, sorry, Doctor.
Something piqued your interest? It seems this break is too clean to be the result of a fall.
Correct.
If he landed on his neck, this would be jagged here.
But this? This is too precise.
- You notice anything else? - Uh, he took a beating.
Yes, bruises round the eyes, knuckles grazed but what captured my attention most were these.
This coloration suggests they were recent - inflicted on our poor Marine just before his death.
Do we know what caused them? We do not yet.
This reminds me of an English earl who was abducted and asphyxiated.
- Every bone in his body was broken.
- What happened to him? Well, it was on a moonlit night We know what killed him yet? Sergeant Turner was involved in a nasty fight that resulted in a broken neck.
- He was murdered.
- Yeah.
What about these welts? Well, certainly painful, but they didn't do any internal damage.
Mostly surface.
You thinking what I'm thinking, Doc? I'm afraid so, Jethro.
Call me when you find out.
Find out what, Doctor? Sergeant Turner may have been tortured before his death.
- Whoa! - Yeah.
So that's what happened to the English earl.
What English earl? You said Turr was smart, McGee, when, in fact, you should've said he was brilliant.
These equations rock.
It's Homology.
Mm, close.
Cohomology I think it's Homology.
No it's cohomology.
I did my independent study in advanced string theory; so I think I would know.
- I see you're playing the MIT card again.
- No, I just happened to go to school there.
And you just happen to talk about it a lot.
Oh, so glad to see you two don't need adult supervision.
McGee was annoying me again.
Don't.
- What do we have from the crime scene? - Oh, um I got Turner's toxicology report back.
His blood alcohol level was.
07 - not drunk.
Not sober, either.
What else? - There were foreign blood samples found on his face and his knuckles - Yeah, and? And a Chinese menu of chemicals found on his skin.
Mixed dried paint, turpentine, bleach-it's like he was partying in a janitor's closet.
What about Turner's laptop? Well, I completely underestimated the depth of his mathematics ability.
I thought that he was concentrating on numerical analysis, but it turns out he was also working on fiber bundles.
I mean, the work's a little rough - Anything connected to his death, McGee? - Not yet.
Um, I didn't go to MIT, but I think I found something.
Turner had a private container.
It's like a vault inside the hard drive where he can hide files very sophisticated.
- Can you open it? They don't call me "Five Fingers Sciuto" for nothing.
Actually, nobody calls me that.
- My nickname was actually Vamperstein, but I never really liked the sound of it.
- Ah, Abby Right.
Too much caffeine.
Sorry It'll take just a second And we are in.
It's an encrypted e-mail.
He received it on Friday.
Same day he was killed.
One, two, three! That's it! One, two, three! Maybe I should give you a break, you know because you're college girls.
What do you think, Simmons? No, Gunnery Sergeant? Damn straight! To me, you're midshipmen! Barely! Understood? Yes, Gunnery Sergeant! You pull a stunt like that again with me, and you can both kiss your scholarships goodbye! Go! A way! Gunnery Sergeant Leeka Special Agents Gibbs and Todd - NCIS.
Sorry you had to hear all that.
What'd they do? Notice the hair, ma'am? Oh Not regulation? No.
Purple and orange? Oh.
Sometimes I feel like I'm a kindergarten teacher.
Oh, yeah I'm familiar with the sentiment.
So, Captain Lemay said you wanted to talk to me about Sergeant Turner.
- What kind of midshipman was he, Gunny? - He put most of those kids to shame, sir.
Would've made one hell of a Marine officer.
Your captain said that he had problems with war protesters? Eh, you could say that, ma'am.
One of them spit on his uniform.
Turner cleaned his clock.
Well, do you think this protester was the type to look for revenge? You saying Turner was murdered? - We are.
- I want to know why.
- Simmons! - Sir! - Get me Midshipman Blake!Double-time! - Yes, Gunny! Blake's a Petty Officer.
He was tight with Turner; he's also the one that pulled him off the protester before the campus cops arrived.
Who else was Turner tight with? Blake'll know.
They're the only two enlisted men in the unit.
Excuse me, Gunnery Sergeant.
- What, Simmons?! - Midshipman Blake didn't report to formation this morning.
Blake's never been UA - not since I started here.
You telling me Petty Officer Blake is missing? No, I'm telling you that he is, Agent Gibbs.
No one's seen Blake since Friday night.
Oh, hi, ladies.
Oh, God, I miss college.
Find the room yet, probie? - Right here.
- Yeah.
Blake's not there.
You never told me you had a brother.
Any idea when he's coming back? I haven't seen him for a couple days.
You guys are definitely not campus cops.
- I make you for FBI.
- Wrong.
NCIS.
- That stands for - Yeah, I know what it stands for.
You're here 'cause of Turner, right? Did you know him? I was in his NROTC unit.
- Oh, wow! These are the new docking stations for the - Yeah, yeah.
He just got that.
For the new Axxum X-5 handheld computer.
It's sweet, right? Sweet! Shouldn't you guys be wearing rubber gloves? You're completely compromising the integrity of the crime scene.
It's not a crime scene.
It's a dorm room.
- You totally think Finnegan had something to do with Turner's death.
Why else would you be here? - You got us, Sherlock.
Maybe they were partners in some kind of illicit business - like, they dealt drugs on campus.
- Well now, did they? - No.
I was being hypothetical.
Do you guys have a warrant? 'Cause if you don't, nothing you find here will be admissible in court.
Unless, of course, you have probable cause.
That is exactly what we have.
- I don't know.
Just because he wasn't home? - Little girl, what's your name? - Simon Frankel.
- Okay.
Listen, Urkel,.
.
we're here on official business, so why don't you go back to your dorm room and play Dungeon Master, and let professionals do their work, okay? I'm just trying to help.
You want to be a big help? Yeah.
Definitely.
Okay.
Put your hands in the air.
Nothing to be worried about.
Spread your legs.
Okay, stick out your tongue.
You're the gargoyle that guards this door.
- That was nice.
- But they don't pay us to be nice, McGee.
Hey! Put on some gloves.
There is definitely something wrong with this guy.
What? Listens to folk music.
There's something else wrong with this guy too, Tony.
A bloody rag.
Nice work, McGee.
That's a lot of blood loss.
Injured? Or dead? Message on the left was on Turner's laptop.
Message on the right was found on Blake's.
He received it on Saturday, boss.
- Who sent them? - McGee's working on it.
What else do we know? - No one on campus has heard from Blake since - Friday.
And Abby says that the blood on the rag and bed matches Blake's type.
Two enlisted men: One missing, one dead what do they have in common? The resentment of the Coalition Alliance Team for Peace, Gibbs.
Cat-Pee.
Not a very attractive acronym.
Their leader's a Waverly senior, Hunter Huxley.
He's been arrested five times for disturbing the peace.
He's majoring in political science Minoring in antigovernment subversion and sticking it to The Man.
I dated a girl like that in college once, boss.
Wasn't bad till she stopped shaving her armpits and her She owns a car dealership now, in case you were looking for a good deal.
Huxley's been leading the antiwar protests on campus, and last month, at a peace demonstration in front of the NROTC building, we know that he started spitting on midshipmen.
- And Sergeant Turner dropped him.
After that, Huxley made Turner his personal target.
Harassed him regularly.
- You think he could've taken it to the next level? - I think you and Kate are gonna go find out.
Hey, turn that frown upside down, sweetie.
We're going back to college.
Tony, your problem is you've never left.
This is what I'm talking about.
It's like I'm having flashbacks or something.
I'm surprised you even remember college.
You spent most of it throwing up in a urinal.
Well, I'm pretty sure you spent your Saturday nights alone, in your PJs, watching Julia Roberts videos.
Oh, you don't know what I did in college.
Mm, but I do know what you did on your Spring Break.
I knew it! You still have that wet T-shirt photo, don't you? - I don't.
- You swear? Well, I don't have it on me.
- A-Chi! Way to go! - Yeah.
God, you're pathetic.
Gotta move on, DiNozzo.
They're over.
- What's over? - Your glory years.
They've passed you by.
It's time to retire the beer bong.
- Ouch, Kate.
Ouch.
- Oh There's our budding anarchist.
is the puppet of corporate America! This is an immoral act! No more war! No more war! Learn the truth about this war! Your government doesn't trust you, don't trust your government! Hey, man, help us defeat Big Brother? We kind of work for him.
- Agents Todd and DiNozzo, NCIS.
- I got a permit to be here.
I'm sure you do.
That's not the reason we're here, Mr.
Huxley.
Sergeant Joseph Turner.
If he's pressing charges on me, then I'm pressing charges on him.
That fascist nearly broke my jaw.
I'd hold off on the charges.
He's dead.
What?! His body was found on campus Saturday night.
- You hadn't heard about that? - I've, uh, I been out of town.
I just got back today.
That's convenient.
Hold on a second.
You think I did it? - Well, you two didn't exactly get along.
- Well, yeah, because tried to beat the crap out of me.
After you spit on him.
You do realize I'm a peace activist, right? Anti-violence.
Maybe you knew his friend, too? Petty Officer Finnegan Blake? He was a midshipman.
Been missing since Friday.
I get it! So this is how it happens, huh? They send their Gestapo goons to try and quiet the movement.
You planning on arresting me? - It's crossed our minds.
- Do it.
I'm not afraid of you,I'm not afraid of your tactics.
You should really meet our boss.
He'd like you.
And you should really meet my lawyers.
They'd love you.
The student organizations alone are mind-blowing.
- Did you know that there are seven online mystery writer workshops on campus? - No, I didn't.
But I'm sure you're going to tell me what that has to do with our dead Marine.
I thought that whoever was involved in Turner's death might have a campus Web account, so I hacked into the servers, looking for any mention of Turner or Blake.
- Okay.
Any hits? No - the servers have been pretty quiet.
What is that? Someone's IM'ing Sergeant Turner.
- It's an "Instant Message," Gibbs.
- It's like an e-mail, but live.
Just put it up on the plasma.
"Hello, NCIS.
" He's not on Turner's buddy list.
He's probably using an alias.
Can you trace it, McGee? If we can keep him online - Abby, talk to him.
- Okay.
Hello, Creepy Voice.
"You're looking in the wrong places.
" He's diverting his connection through half a dozen servers.
We've got the Baltimore Public Library by way of a public server in Buffalo That's it - get him.
Get him, McGee.
Where should we be looking? Deeper.
Oh, come on.
How's that gonna help us? I've back-traced him to the Waverly University campus.
Where on campus? Almost there.
Look beyond the surface.
Oh, that's a really sucky clue.
When you say "beyond the surface", are you being literal or metaphorical? I'm just trying to clarify.
"They're everywhere.
" Okay, I've got it down to one city block.
Right off of campus.
Just one more second Goodbye.
Got him, boss! Yeah.
You are sure about this, right? I was able to triangulate the connection to the campus servers, and then reran the back-trace Just answer the question, McGee.
Yes.
I'm sure, boss.
Let's do this.
Kate, cover the back.
No, no! Stop! Federal agents! Don't move! I am going to kill McGee.
We got it covered, Kate! So, is Gibbs still mad at me? About what, Probie? Dead Marine on campus? The missing Petty Officer? Computer hacker who might be part of a radical peace movement? None of these things are your fault really.
But sending Gibbs on a panty raid? He's going to kill you.
Hey! I want answers.
Where is Abby? She's on a run to the evidence garage, boss.
She's on a run to the evidence garage, boss.
Anything on the hacker? Um, he was on a wireless connection.
The house you hit was set up for WiFi.
He was probably sitting somewhere outside on the street.
But I'm working on tracing him right now.
You tell Abb I want her.
Oh, Gibbs, I never knew! Ducky asked me to help him figure out where the welts came from.
I think I'm gonna start with the ball peen hammer.
I don't know why.
I just like the way it sounds ball peen, ball peen, ball peen, ball, peen, ball What else? Um, probably go with the stun gun, and then the Garden Weasel.
And someone is in a really bad mood.
Spending the night in a room full of crying women tends to do that to me.
Well, this will cheer you up.
I got the analysis back from the blood found on Turner's body.
It belongs to your missing petty officer.
Blake? You're kidding.
I also ran the bloody rag from Blake's house.
Most of it is his, and some of it is not.
Sergeant Turner's? Bingo.
Was his name-o.
Blake and Turner were in a fight.
And one turns up dead and the other hits the road.
Or they were killed together at the same location, Kate.
It's the hacker.
He's sending us another instant message.
"NCIS, if you want the truth, " " be at Unity Quad, ten-hundred hours today.
" - He's somewhere on campus right now.
- Tony, Kate, you're with me.
And you get me an exact location this time.
- You sure you can do it? - Positive.
I think.
Excuse me.
How can we be sure Creepy Voice is even here, McGee? Because, Tony, the campus WiFi system is broken down into nodes, and our hacker's signal is coming from Node Five Yeah? What does that mean? Hi.
It means he's somewhere in the quad right now.
So look for somebody with a laptop or a wireless device.
Not real helpful, Probie.
Less chatter.
Keep your eyes open.
Find him or her.
Boss, your 1:00.
Red hat, sunglasses, looking real suspicious.
That's what I'm talking about.
Don't you get enough of that at home? My Internet connection's down.
Yeah.
It's 10:45.
The hacker's playing with us again.
No, Kate, I'm telling you he's here.
Look for something abnormal.
You're gonna have to be more specific, McGee.
Look out! Move! Out of the way! Hey, watch it! Move it! I'd say that's abnormal.
We've got two suspects, one in a black ski mask.
Moving to intercept.
They're coming out of the tunnel.
Okay.
Hey, get out of the way! Move it! Get out of the way! Clear the way!Get out of my way! You're dead! He's got a gun! NCIS! Federal agents! Drop the weapon! Put down your weapon! - Drop the weapon! - Hold your fire! What's going on? Shut up, dumbass.
That hurt? Yeah.
That hurt, right there? Yeah.
"Kyle Zolin.
" He's a midshipman.
Yeah.
Gibbs.
Gibbs, Gibbs, I figured it out.
- I know what caused the welts on Turner's body.
- We know.
A paintball gun.
I really, really hate it when he does that.
Whoops.
You retreads think you deserve to be officers?! Do you?! Playing illegal games on campus?! - You're lucky I don't rip your heads off and stomp on them! - Agent Gibbs'll take it from here, Gunny.
Yes, sir.
I expect you gentlemen to answer his questions truthfully.
Sit down.
Where's Finnegan Blake? We don't know, sir.
How many midshipmen in this little paintball club of yours? Uh yeah, that's right.
You turn them in, they'll probably be kicked out of school just like you.
It's admirable; protecting your friends.
Turner does not need protection.
He's lying dead on a slab with a broken neck.
- I think Blake is the one who put him there.
- No.
No, not possible, sir.
- They were best friends.
- Yeah? Then why were they beating the crap out of each other Friday night? You were there! Yes, sir, but it's not what you think.
They tossed a couple punches, we broke it up.
An hour later, they were drinking beer and laughing about it.
Does that look like a couple of punches to you, Midshipmen? His neck is snapped in half.
He, uh he didn't look like that when he left.
What was the fight about? Turner never lost a paintball game, so Blake decided to change the rules.
By killing him.
No, sir.
We play one on one, but Friday morning we all got Turner's target photo in our e-mail.
And we ambushed him.
It was supposed to be funny.
I want the names of everyone in your club.
You do that, and we can talk about your futures.
And if we don't? Son, you trust me.
You will not do well in prison.
They call themselves "The Red Cell.
" They all claim the last time they saw Blake was on Friday night, right after the fight.
We think they were protecting him.
Who else knew about the group? According to them, no one.
Only the Red Cell members.
First rule of Fight Club: Never talk about Fight Club.
God, that's a great movie.
Brad Pitt, Edward Norton.
It's, like, the greatest guy movie ever.
I'm going to rent that for you.
They're either lying, or one of them is the hacker that led us to the group.
Find them.
Boss? Find my hacker yet? Uh, no, but? Poor Probie.
You think he needs a group hug?Oh I found Blake.
I've been monitoring the campus WiFi nodes, waiting for the hacker to come back online, and that's when I thought of it.
When we searched Blake's room, he had the docking station for an Axim X5 handheld computer,.
.
but the unit itself was not in his room.
And they're, like, 2,000 bucks.
He probably took it with him when he pulled his disappearing act.
Why does this matter? Because it has wireless built in.
It automatically connects to the nearest network.
He's online right now.
Where? Waverly University, Node Three.
And according to the network logs, he's been hiding out there since Saturday morning.
Not bad, McGee.
Let's roll.
See? I told you he likes you.
You sure about this, Tim? I'm sure.
He's here, or at least his computer is.
Well, I hope for your sake that you're right.
I'm right, okay? Wait.
He's in the building right behind this one.
Got some bad news for you, Probie.
I don't understand.
He should be here.
- Maybe he disappeared with the building.
- I'm telling you, it's here.
The signal's getting stronger.
It's here! Where? It's right below me.
He must have buried it.
We're being screwed with again.
It's the hacker, McGee.
I found something! It's a body.
It's laying face down.
This is where the head should be.
He's wearing a hood.
This is now a crime scene.
It's Blake.
He's not lying face down.
Petty Officer Blake was killed early Saturday morning just hours after Sergeant Turner's death.
Now we're dealing with a killer who's not only extremely powerful, but methodical.
Each of these young men had their necks broken in a violent and identical fashion.
I think by someone using their bare hands.
Well, how's that? Ah.
Well, it's a very specific technique.
- May I demonstrate, Mr.
Palmer? - Of course, Doctor.
Yes, well, one hand is placed firmly on the jaw here.
- And the other hand - I'll do it, Duck.
Thank you, Jethro.
This ought to be good.
No, on you.
You think that's really necessary? Yeah, it'll be fun.
You can either lie on the floor, or I'll drop you on the floor.
We used this to silence enemy sentries.
One hand on the jaw, the other behind the head of the individual.
torque and! Your eyes are in the back of your head, DiNozzo.
Any questions? No, I think I got it, boss.
You missed your calling, boss.
Could've been a chiropractor.
We're looking for someone who knows how to kill.
Yes, but what troubles me is our midshipmen, in order to receive such a killing blow, would have to have been face-to-face with their assailant.
Which means either they were ambushed or They knew him.
Hey.
Another midshipman? They teach combat courses at an NROTC unit.
Maybe.
You found my hacker yet? McGee's upstairs working on it.
I didn't ask McGee.
I asked my senior field agent.
I want that damn hacker.
Did you hear that, Palmer? - Yeah, he sounded pretty upset.
- No, he called me his senior field agent.
Finally! This guy's good, Abby.
He's too good.
Yeah, but we are better! I thought you went to MIT.
Abby, I don't think I can track this guy.
Don't let Gibbs hear you talking like that, Probie.
Caff-Pow, baby.
You guys are just in time for McGee's crisis of faith.
He's starting to realize that there may be someone on the planet that's smarter than him.
Oh, I'm looking at one right now.
Well, Kate, in all fairness I am the senior field agent, but I think it's an experience thing - I was talking about Abby, dodo head.
Thank you, Kate.
Okay, the only chance we have of finding this y is if he contacts us again.
I can embed a virus in the IM software.
- Use it to tag his computer and hope that it leads - Viruses, tracking software? You guys are going about this the wrong way.
What is the first rule of Fight Club, Probie? Okay, Tony, you can barely turn your computer on.
So, no offense You do not talk about Fight Club! And what is the second rule of Fight Club? Abbs? Do not talk about Fight Club! Sir! Exactly.
And Creepy Voice is the guy who led us to Red Cell.
- So he's either a member or he knows a member.
- And they're all midshipmen.
Of course, if the guy's giving McGeek a run for his money, he's got to be pretty smart.
McGee, what was your GPA in college? I failed a fencing class in sophomore year.
So I'm sure you already checked the NROTC records, to make sure there's no computer genius in the unit.
- I hate to say it, but that was actually smart, Tony.
- What was, Kate? - Tony might have figured out how to find the hacker.
- It's his job.
You think I keep him around for his personality? There are 22 midshipmen in the unit with computer science majors.
Only one of them has a 4.
0.
Look familiar? You want to bring him in with me? Considering he embarrassed me, almost got me fired and ruined my weekend? What do you think? "Hello, NCIS.
" You might be smart, but my geek carries a gun.
Hello, you twisted piece of Howdy, Urkel.
Ow! Man, you're hurting me! Ow! You hear something, Tony? No.
Me, neither.
No need to worry.
Federal agents.
Have a nice day.
Hey.
So what do they call it? The box? Coffin? Sweat shop? We just call it interrogation.
What's the deal? You lean on me first, then bring your partner in, get me blabbering? Are you the good cop or the bad cop?Sit.
Okay.
I'm gonna be honest with you.
This is a major waste of time.
You clearly didn't do this.
Reverse psychology.
But my boss, he needs to close the case.
Brass wants answers.
And there is this other agent - Kate Severe-looking thing.
No sense of humor.
She built a profile on you.
What kind of interrogation technique is that? The DiNozzo method.
Not pretty, but it's effective.
Turns out you're the geeks' geek.
The last one to be picked for the team.
That's not true.
This isn't me, Urkel.
Okay? I think you're great.
Sure, you broke a few federal laws, interfering with an ongoing murder investigation.
I was trying to help you.
Right.
It's the way you did it that's suspicious.
Look at me, hmm? The last thing I need is to be pegged as a rat in the unit.
Those guys would have killed me.
Maybe you were looking for payback? They wouldn't let you into their little club? That's crazy.
You know what's crazy? Me almost putting a bullet in a kid's head 'cause he's playing paint ball.
That's a little crazy.
I didn't I didn't want anyone to get hurt.
I was just trying to help.
Turner was a friend.
So you thought sending cryptic e-mails was going to help us find his killer? I think I know who killed him.
Who? Petty Officer Blake.
Yeah, why'd he do it? There's this girl in the unit - Ashley Simmons.
She used to date Blake, but they broke up.
She started dating Turner? I'm not sure.
I know he liked her.
He liked her? Not a real strong motive for murder, Urkel.
Last week I saw all three of them together in the quad.
Ashley was crying.
Turner and Blake started arguing with each other.
About what? I couldn't hear, but I saw Blake push him.
So they fought? No, Turner just left with Ashley.
When I asked him about it later, he said it was personal, something between the three of them.
Well, that's a real interesting theory, Matlock.
One problem.
What? Blake's dead.
He was murdered a few hours after Turner.
B - By who? Someone who wanted to frame him for the murder of his best friend.
Find Midshipman Ashley Simmons.
Now.
Why is your hair still purple, Simmons? It takes a few days to wash out, Gunny.
I hope the time you've spent field-daying is starting to sink in.
I own you until the day you graduate.
Yes, Gunny.
It won't happen again.
You want to give people orders someday? You need to learn how to follow them.
Sounds like pretty good advice, Gunny.
Good evening, sir.
Any luck finding Blake? That's why we're here.
We can talk about this in my office.
- You missed a spot over there, Simmons.
- Actually, we're here for her, Gunny.
Simmons? For what? - We found Blake.
- Where? He's dead.
- We think she knows why.
- I don't, I don't know anything about it.
Then you won't mind answering a few questions.
Take her out to the sedan.
I'll be right out.
But I don't know anything! Tell me everything you know about her, Gunny.
Simmons? Kind of a screw-up, but not a bad kid.
You think she's involved in this? I don't understand.
Blake didn't kill Turner? Nope, they were both murdered.
Not pretty.
Almost twisted his head clean off.
Oh, my God, he did it.
I'm getting too old for this crap.
ROTC was supposed to be an easy tour.
You want a cup? Uh, no.
No, thanks, I'll pass.
Mm.
Good call.
So just how was Blake murdered? I went to them for help last week.
He wouldn't leave me alone.
Wow, two identical neck-breaks? Yeah, we think the killer has military training.
He was forcing me to sleep with him.
Blake and Turner were going to go talk to him, make him stop.
And he killed them.
Who, Midshipman? I'll have everyone in this unit standing by tomorrow.
You can question them all at the same time.
Thanks, Gunny.
Appreciate it.
Just one thing.
What, sir? I said that Blake had been found dead.
You said "murdered.
" You gonna answer that? No.
No, I'm pretty sure I know what it is they want to tell me, Put your hands up.
Not bad, Agent Gibbs.
I'd give up now.
It's only going to get worse.
I think he knows.
You think? You should have stayed out of this, old man.
Okay, stand back.
Cuff him.
Sure thing, boss.
Somehow I don't remember college being quite like this.
Reminds me of this time at Ohio State, we had this frat guy The next person who mentions a spring break or a frat party, or college is fired, are we clear? - Yes.
- Yes.
That's good.
You have felt the flames.
You have suffered the seven trials.
You have reached the moment of your final test.
Are you prepared? - Yes, sir.
- Then let's do it.
Go! Last one to the house drinks the keg dregs! I love Hell Week.
Did you see their faces? NCIS season 2 Strike Force Command, this is Red Leader.
Alpha Team is in play.
Roger that, Red Leader, I have visual.
You've got hostiles on both the north and east quadrants of the building.
Hostile on the left flank.
All teams prepare for entry.
Our target is located on the Say again, Strike Force Command.
Did not copy your last.
Uh, wait one, Red Leader.
Copy that.
Red Unit, hold your positions Hi, Probie! Uh, David, I have to call you back.
Copy that, McGee I told you he was a boxers guy.
Damn, McGee, I thought for sure you were a tighty-whitey man.
Come on, let's get dressed.
You don't want to keep Gibbs waiting.
You said 0900.
It's only 7:30! We thought we'd observe you in your natural environment.
Kind of like watching National Geographic.
We watch as the McGee moves slowly from the watering hole trailed by hyenas.
Is this the History Channel Room? Ah this is where you do your writing thing, huh? Look at this.
"The Continuing Adventures of L.
J.
Tibbs.
" That's personal! Hmm I wonder who "L.
J.
Tibbs" could be? Check it out.
He eats dinosaur cereal.
Okay, wod you both please just wait by the door? By the door, please? Got any Macy Gray in here? Wait, Tony, don't touch those.
Those are collectibles.
They're very valuable.
Oh, my gosh.
Sorry.
I just thought they were musty old records.
It's bad enough having to work on Sundays, without you guys ransacking my appartment.
Yes, it was very inconsiderate of that Marine sergeant to die on a weekend.
I'm getting my weapon.
Don't touch anything else! Hey! George Clooney could not get laid in this place.
Your place needs a lot of help, McGee.
At least you're not building a boat in your basement.
Come on.
Tim? Strike Force Command, this is Red Leader.
McGee, are you there? This is Strike Force Command.
Do you copy? Based on the rigor resolving itself, I'd say our Sergeant's been dead for at least 36 hours.
I'm more concerned with how it happened, Duck.
Well, apart from the obvious, he took a tumble down the hill.
Neck's probably broken.
Yeah, but then, we never do put too much emphasis on the obvious.
Do we, Sergeant? Ow! It's remarkable how these college hangouts all smell the same.
Stale beer, tobacco vomit.
It's from the kid that found him.
Any idea why the young man is half-naked? It must be a college thing.
Hey where you been? Stopped for coffee.
Got you are welcome.
Marine Sergeant Joseph Aaron Turner.
Found dead at 0200 by a drunk college student.
Sounds like Hell Week.
Hell Week? Yeah, fraternal rite of passage.
Worst week of my life.
Followed by the best four years.
Yeah? You were running around in your skivvies, DiNozzo? Technically.
But back then, they made us wear them on our heads.
I think it was a sort of a character-building thing Certainly explains a lot.
- Uh-huh.
Hey, McGee - Yeah.
- Find out what Turner was doing on campus.
- On it.
Excuse me, Special Agent Gibbs? I wonder if we could let Mr.
Pippin go home and dress more appropriately? Sure.
After one of my agents interviews him.
DiNozzo.
Um, you know, I think that's really more up Kate's alley.
Well, maybe, but you two have so much in common.
Go.
This area popular with students? For all sorts of extracurricular activities.
Bonfires, fraternity pranks Hazing? We've had our share of incidents.
Broken bones, alcohol poisoning.
And this isn't the first accidental death we've seen.
Who said anything about an accident? You think this is a homicide? Until I find out it wasn't.
Boss, I had Turner's SRB pulled.
He's an NROTC student attached to the Waverly University campus.
Lives in the dorms.
Get an address? Uh, just getting on that.
I'm going to radio his unit.
I thought college students were supposed to be poor.
Most of my midshipmen would not have survived without at least 200 channels and a DSL hook-up, Agent Gibbs.
How long have you been Turner's Marine Officer Instructor, Captain Lemay? Since he enrolled last year.
You expect to lose men in combat, not on the college campus.
- What the hell happened to my Marine? - Working on it, Captain.
What can I do to help? You can start by telling us about him.
He was one of my best midshipmen.
Came to us straight from the fleet after two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How is he taking to college life? There's a fair amount of culture shock, but like any good Marine, he adapted.
- Any personal problems or issues? - We had a few incidents with student activists on campus.
Protesting the war? Protesting anything military.
Our unit was vandalized, rallies outside our offices.
When word got out that Turner was a vet, he took some heat.
What kind of heat? Name-calling, mostly.
Turner handled it like most Marines.
Not well.
He lost five Marines in his squad in Iraq.
He handled it as best he could, Agent Gibbs.
He was a damn fine Marine.
- And intelligent, too.
- Boss This is graduate-level mathematics.
- Theoretical calculus.
- He was on the advanced track in math and physics.
He was a real asset to the Corps.
You're blowing in my ear, Mr.
Palmer.
Oh, sorry, Doctor.
Something piqued your interest? It seems this break is too clean to be the result of a fall.
Correct.
If he landed on his neck, this would be jagged here.
But this? This is too precise.
- You notice anything else? - Uh, he took a beating.
Yes, bruises round the eyes, knuckles grazed but what captured my attention most were these.
This coloration suggests they were recent - inflicted on our poor Marine just before his death.
Do we know what caused them? We do not yet.
This reminds me of an English earl who was abducted and asphyxiated.
- Every bone in his body was broken.
- What happened to him? Well, it was on a moonlit night We know what killed him yet? Sergeant Turner was involved in a nasty fight that resulted in a broken neck.
- He was murdered.
- Yeah.
What about these welts? Well, certainly painful, but they didn't do any internal damage.
Mostly surface.
You thinking what I'm thinking, Doc? I'm afraid so, Jethro.
Call me when you find out.
Find out what, Doctor? Sergeant Turner may have been tortured before his death.
- Whoa! - Yeah.
So that's what happened to the English earl.
What English earl? You said Turr was smart, McGee, when, in fact, you should've said he was brilliant.
These equations rock.
It's Homology.
Mm, close.
Cohomology I think it's Homology.
No it's cohomology.
I did my independent study in advanced string theory; so I think I would know.
- I see you're playing the MIT card again.
- No, I just happened to go to school there.
And you just happen to talk about it a lot.
Oh, so glad to see you two don't need adult supervision.
McGee was annoying me again.
Don't.
- What do we have from the crime scene? - Oh, um I got Turner's toxicology report back.
His blood alcohol level was.
07 - not drunk.
Not sober, either.
What else? - There were foreign blood samples found on his face and his knuckles - Yeah, and? And a Chinese menu of chemicals found on his skin.
Mixed dried paint, turpentine, bleach-it's like he was partying in a janitor's closet.
What about Turner's laptop? Well, I completely underestimated the depth of his mathematics ability.
I thought that he was concentrating on numerical analysis, but it turns out he was also working on fiber bundles.
I mean, the work's a little rough - Anything connected to his death, McGee? - Not yet.
Um, I didn't go to MIT, but I think I found something.
Turner had a private container.
It's like a vault inside the hard drive where he can hide files very sophisticated.
- Can you open it? They don't call me "Five Fingers Sciuto" for nothing.
Actually, nobody calls me that.
- My nickname was actually Vamperstein, but I never really liked the sound of it.
- Ah, Abby Right.
Too much caffeine.
Sorry It'll take just a second And we are in.
It's an encrypted e-mail.
He received it on Friday.
Same day he was killed.
One, two, three! That's it! One, two, three! Maybe I should give you a break, you know because you're college girls.
What do you think, Simmons? No, Gunnery Sergeant? Damn straight! To me, you're midshipmen! Barely! Understood? Yes, Gunnery Sergeant! You pull a stunt like that again with me, and you can both kiss your scholarships goodbye! Go! A way! Gunnery Sergeant Leeka Special Agents Gibbs and Todd - NCIS.
Sorry you had to hear all that.
What'd they do? Notice the hair, ma'am? Oh Not regulation? No.
Purple and orange? Oh.
Sometimes I feel like I'm a kindergarten teacher.
Oh, yeah I'm familiar with the sentiment.
So, Captain Lemay said you wanted to talk to me about Sergeant Turner.
- What kind of midshipman was he, Gunny? - He put most of those kids to shame, sir.
Would've made one hell of a Marine officer.
Your captain said that he had problems with war protesters? Eh, you could say that, ma'am.
One of them spit on his uniform.
Turner cleaned his clock.
Well, do you think this protester was the type to look for revenge? You saying Turner was murdered? - We are.
- I want to know why.
- Simmons! - Sir! - Get me Midshipman Blake!Double-time! - Yes, Gunny! Blake's a Petty Officer.
He was tight with Turner; he's also the one that pulled him off the protester before the campus cops arrived.
Who else was Turner tight with? Blake'll know.
They're the only two enlisted men in the unit.
Excuse me, Gunnery Sergeant.
- What, Simmons?! - Midshipman Blake didn't report to formation this morning.
Blake's never been UA - not since I started here.
You telling me Petty Officer Blake is missing? No, I'm telling you that he is, Agent Gibbs.
No one's seen Blake since Friday night.
Oh, hi, ladies.
Oh, God, I miss college.
Find the room yet, probie? - Right here.
- Yeah.
Blake's not there.
You never told me you had a brother.
Any idea when he's coming back? I haven't seen him for a couple days.
You guys are definitely not campus cops.
- I make you for FBI.
- Wrong.
NCIS.
- That stands for - Yeah, I know what it stands for.
You're here 'cause of Turner, right? Did you know him? I was in his NROTC unit.
- Oh, wow! These are the new docking stations for the - Yeah, yeah.
He just got that.
For the new Axxum X-5 handheld computer.
It's sweet, right? Sweet! Shouldn't you guys be wearing rubber gloves? You're completely compromising the integrity of the crime scene.
It's not a crime scene.
It's a dorm room.
- You totally think Finnegan had something to do with Turner's death.
Why else would you be here? - You got us, Sherlock.
Maybe they were partners in some kind of illicit business - like, they dealt drugs on campus.
- Well now, did they? - No.
I was being hypothetical.
Do you guys have a warrant? 'Cause if you don't, nothing you find here will be admissible in court.
Unless, of course, you have probable cause.
That is exactly what we have.
- I don't know.
Just because he wasn't home? - Little girl, what's your name? - Simon Frankel.
- Okay.
Listen, Urkel,.
.
we're here on official business, so why don't you go back to your dorm room and play Dungeon Master, and let professionals do their work, okay? I'm just trying to help.
You want to be a big help? Yeah.
Definitely.
Okay.
Put your hands in the air.
Nothing to be worried about.
Spread your legs.
Okay, stick out your tongue.
You're the gargoyle that guards this door.
- That was nice.
- But they don't pay us to be nice, McGee.
Hey! Put on some gloves.
There is definitely something wrong with this guy.
What? Listens to folk music.
There's something else wrong with this guy too, Tony.
A bloody rag.
Nice work, McGee.
That's a lot of blood loss.
Injured? Or dead? Message on the left was on Turner's laptop.
Message on the right was found on Blake's.
He received it on Saturday, boss.
- Who sent them? - McGee's working on it.
What else do we know? - No one on campus has heard from Blake since - Friday.
And Abby says that the blood on the rag and bed matches Blake's type.
Two enlisted men: One missing, one dead what do they have in common? The resentment of the Coalition Alliance Team for Peace, Gibbs.
Cat-Pee.
Not a very attractive acronym.
Their leader's a Waverly senior, Hunter Huxley.
He's been arrested five times for disturbing the peace.
He's majoring in political science Minoring in antigovernment subversion and sticking it to The Man.
I dated a girl like that in college once, boss.
Wasn't bad till she stopped shaving her armpits and her She owns a car dealership now, in case you were looking for a good deal.
Huxley's been leading the antiwar protests on campus, and last month, at a peace demonstration in front of the NROTC building, we know that he started spitting on midshipmen.
- And Sergeant Turner dropped him.
After that, Huxley made Turner his personal target.
Harassed him regularly.
- You think he could've taken it to the next level? - I think you and Kate are gonna go find out.
Hey, turn that frown upside down, sweetie.
We're going back to college.
Tony, your problem is you've never left.
This is what I'm talking about.
It's like I'm having flashbacks or something.
I'm surprised you even remember college.
You spent most of it throwing up in a urinal.
Well, I'm pretty sure you spent your Saturday nights alone, in your PJs, watching Julia Roberts videos.
Oh, you don't know what I did in college.
Mm, but I do know what you did on your Spring Break.
I knew it! You still have that wet T-shirt photo, don't you? - I don't.
- You swear? Well, I don't have it on me.
- A-Chi! Way to go! - Yeah.
God, you're pathetic.
Gotta move on, DiNozzo.
They're over.
- What's over? - Your glory years.
They've passed you by.
It's time to retire the beer bong.
- Ouch, Kate.
Ouch.
- Oh There's our budding anarchist.
is the puppet of corporate America! This is an immoral act! No more war! No more war! Learn the truth about this war! Your government doesn't trust you, don't trust your government! Hey, man, help us defeat Big Brother? We kind of work for him.
- Agents Todd and DiNozzo, NCIS.
- I got a permit to be here.
I'm sure you do.
That's not the reason we're here, Mr.
Huxley.
Sergeant Joseph Turner.
If he's pressing charges on me, then I'm pressing charges on him.
That fascist nearly broke my jaw.
I'd hold off on the charges.
He's dead.
What?! His body was found on campus Saturday night.
- You hadn't heard about that? - I've, uh, I been out of town.
I just got back today.
That's convenient.
Hold on a second.
You think I did it? - Well, you two didn't exactly get along.
- Well, yeah, because tried to beat the crap out of me.
After you spit on him.
You do realize I'm a peace activist, right? Anti-violence.
Maybe you knew his friend, too? Petty Officer Finnegan Blake? He was a midshipman.
Been missing since Friday.
I get it! So this is how it happens, huh? They send their Gestapo goons to try and quiet the movement.
You planning on arresting me? - It's crossed our minds.
- Do it.
I'm not afraid of you,I'm not afraid of your tactics.
You should really meet our boss.
He'd like you.
And you should really meet my lawyers.
They'd love you.
The student organizations alone are mind-blowing.
- Did you know that there are seven online mystery writer workshops on campus? - No, I didn't.
But I'm sure you're going to tell me what that has to do with our dead Marine.
I thought that whoever was involved in Turner's death might have a campus Web account, so I hacked into the servers, looking for any mention of Turner or Blake.
- Okay.
Any hits? No - the servers have been pretty quiet.
What is that? Someone's IM'ing Sergeant Turner.
- It's an "Instant Message," Gibbs.
- It's like an e-mail, but live.
Just put it up on the plasma.
"Hello, NCIS.
" He's not on Turner's buddy list.
He's probably using an alias.
Can you trace it, McGee? If we can keep him online - Abby, talk to him.
- Okay.
Hello, Creepy Voice.
"You're looking in the wrong places.
" He's diverting his connection through half a dozen servers.
We've got the Baltimore Public Library by way of a public server in Buffalo That's it - get him.
Get him, McGee.
Where should we be looking? Deeper.
Oh, come on.
How's that gonna help us? I've back-traced him to the Waverly University campus.
Where on campus? Almost there.
Look beyond the surface.
Oh, that's a really sucky clue.
When you say "beyond the surface", are you being literal or metaphorical? I'm just trying to clarify.
"They're everywhere.
" Okay, I've got it down to one city block.
Right off of campus.
Just one more second Goodbye.
Got him, boss! Yeah.
You are sure about this, right? I was able to triangulate the connection to the campus servers, and then reran the back-trace Just answer the question, McGee.
Yes.
I'm sure, boss.
Let's do this.
Kate, cover the back.
No, no! Stop! Federal agents! Don't move! I am going to kill McGee.
We got it covered, Kate! So, is Gibbs still mad at me? About what, Probie? Dead Marine on campus? The missing Petty Officer? Computer hacker who might be part of a radical peace movement? None of these things are your fault really.
But sending Gibbs on a panty raid? He's going to kill you.
Hey! I want answers.
Where is Abby? She's on a run to the evidence garage, boss.
She's on a run to the evidence garage, boss.
Anything on the hacker? Um, he was on a wireless connection.
The house you hit was set up for WiFi.
He was probably sitting somewhere outside on the street.
But I'm working on tracing him right now.
You tell Abb I want her.
Oh, Gibbs, I never knew! Ducky asked me to help him figure out where the welts came from.
I think I'm gonna start with the ball peen hammer.
I don't know why.
I just like the way it sounds ball peen, ball peen, ball peen, ball, peen, ball What else? Um, probably go with the stun gun, and then the Garden Weasel.
And someone is in a really bad mood.
Spending the night in a room full of crying women tends to do that to me.
Well, this will cheer you up.
I got the analysis back from the blood found on Turner's body.
It belongs to your missing petty officer.
Blake? You're kidding.
I also ran the bloody rag from Blake's house.
Most of it is his, and some of it is not.
Sergeant Turner's? Bingo.
Was his name-o.
Blake and Turner were in a fight.
And one turns up dead and the other hits the road.
Or they were killed together at the same location, Kate.
It's the hacker.
He's sending us another instant message.
"NCIS, if you want the truth, " " be at Unity Quad, ten-hundred hours today.
" - He's somewhere on campus right now.
- Tony, Kate, you're with me.
And you get me an exact location this time.
- You sure you can do it? - Positive.
I think.
Excuse me.
How can we be sure Creepy Voice is even here, McGee? Because, Tony, the campus WiFi system is broken down into nodes, and our hacker's signal is coming from Node Five Yeah? What does that mean? Hi.
It means he's somewhere in the quad right now.
So look for somebody with a laptop or a wireless device.
Not real helpful, Probie.
Less chatter.
Keep your eyes open.
Find him or her.
Boss, your 1:00.
Red hat, sunglasses, looking real suspicious.
That's what I'm talking about.
Don't you get enough of that at home? My Internet connection's down.
Yeah.
It's 10:45.
The hacker's playing with us again.
No, Kate, I'm telling you he's here.
Look for something abnormal.
You're gonna have to be more specific, McGee.
Look out! Move! Out of the way! Hey, watch it! Move it! I'd say that's abnormal.
We've got two suspects, one in a black ski mask.
Moving to intercept.
They're coming out of the tunnel.
Okay.
Hey, get out of the way! Move it! Get out of the way! Clear the way!Get out of my way! You're dead! He's got a gun! NCIS! Federal agents! Drop the weapon! Put down your weapon! - Drop the weapon! - Hold your fire! What's going on? Shut up, dumbass.
That hurt? Yeah.
That hurt, right there? Yeah.
"Kyle Zolin.
" He's a midshipman.
Yeah.
Gibbs.
Gibbs, Gibbs, I figured it out.
- I know what caused the welts on Turner's body.
- We know.
A paintball gun.
I really, really hate it when he does that.
Whoops.
You retreads think you deserve to be officers?! Do you?! Playing illegal games on campus?! - You're lucky I don't rip your heads off and stomp on them! - Agent Gibbs'll take it from here, Gunny.
Yes, sir.
I expect you gentlemen to answer his questions truthfully.
Sit down.
Where's Finnegan Blake? We don't know, sir.
How many midshipmen in this little paintball club of yours? Uh yeah, that's right.
You turn them in, they'll probably be kicked out of school just like you.
It's admirable; protecting your friends.
Turner does not need protection.
He's lying dead on a slab with a broken neck.
- I think Blake is the one who put him there.
- No.
No, not possible, sir.
- They were best friends.
- Yeah? Then why were they beating the crap out of each other Friday night? You were there! Yes, sir, but it's not what you think.
They tossed a couple punches, we broke it up.
An hour later, they were drinking beer and laughing about it.
Does that look like a couple of punches to you, Midshipmen? His neck is snapped in half.
He, uh he didn't look like that when he left.
What was the fight about? Turner never lost a paintball game, so Blake decided to change the rules.
By killing him.
No, sir.
We play one on one, but Friday morning we all got Turner's target photo in our e-mail.
And we ambushed him.
It was supposed to be funny.
I want the names of everyone in your club.
You do that, and we can talk about your futures.
And if we don't? Son, you trust me.
You will not do well in prison.
They call themselves "The Red Cell.
" They all claim the last time they saw Blake was on Friday night, right after the fight.
We think they were protecting him.
Who else knew about the group? According to them, no one.
Only the Red Cell members.
First rule of Fight Club: Never talk about Fight Club.
God, that's a great movie.
Brad Pitt, Edward Norton.
It's, like, the greatest guy movie ever.
I'm going to rent that for you.
They're either lying, or one of them is the hacker that led us to the group.
Find them.
Boss? Find my hacker yet? Uh, no, but? Poor Probie.
You think he needs a group hug?Oh I found Blake.
I've been monitoring the campus WiFi nodes, waiting for the hacker to come back online, and that's when I thought of it.
When we searched Blake's room, he had the docking station for an Axim X5 handheld computer,.
.
but the unit itself was not in his room.
And they're, like, 2,000 bucks.
He probably took it with him when he pulled his disappearing act.
Why does this matter? Because it has wireless built in.
It automatically connects to the nearest network.
He's online right now.
Where? Waverly University, Node Three.
And according to the network logs, he's been hiding out there since Saturday morning.
Not bad, McGee.
Let's roll.
See? I told you he likes you.
You sure about this, Tim? I'm sure.
He's here, or at least his computer is.
Well, I hope for your sake that you're right.
I'm right, okay? Wait.
He's in the building right behind this one.
Got some bad news for you, Probie.
I don't understand.
He should be here.
- Maybe he disappeared with the building.
- I'm telling you, it's here.
The signal's getting stronger.
It's here! Where? It's right below me.
He must have buried it.
We're being screwed with again.
It's the hacker, McGee.
I found something! It's a body.
It's laying face down.
This is where the head should be.
He's wearing a hood.
This is now a crime scene.
It's Blake.
He's not lying face down.
Petty Officer Blake was killed early Saturday morning just hours after Sergeant Turner's death.
Now we're dealing with a killer who's not only extremely powerful, but methodical.
Each of these young men had their necks broken in a violent and identical fashion.
I think by someone using their bare hands.
Well, how's that? Ah.
Well, it's a very specific technique.
- May I demonstrate, Mr.
Palmer? - Of course, Doctor.
Yes, well, one hand is placed firmly on the jaw here.
- And the other hand - I'll do it, Duck.
Thank you, Jethro.
This ought to be good.
No, on you.
You think that's really necessary? Yeah, it'll be fun.
You can either lie on the floor, or I'll drop you on the floor.
We used this to silence enemy sentries.
One hand on the jaw, the other behind the head of the individual.
torque and! Your eyes are in the back of your head, DiNozzo.
Any questions? No, I think I got it, boss.
You missed your calling, boss.
Could've been a chiropractor.
We're looking for someone who knows how to kill.
Yes, but what troubles me is our midshipmen, in order to receive such a killing blow, would have to have been face-to-face with their assailant.
Which means either they were ambushed or They knew him.
Hey.
Another midshipman? They teach combat courses at an NROTC unit.
Maybe.
You found my hacker yet? McGee's upstairs working on it.
I didn't ask McGee.
I asked my senior field agent.
I want that damn hacker.
Did you hear that, Palmer? - Yeah, he sounded pretty upset.
- No, he called me his senior field agent.
Finally! This guy's good, Abby.
He's too good.
Yeah, but we are better! I thought you went to MIT.
Abby, I don't think I can track this guy.
Don't let Gibbs hear you talking like that, Probie.
Caff-Pow, baby.
You guys are just in time for McGee's crisis of faith.
He's starting to realize that there may be someone on the planet that's smarter than him.
Oh, I'm looking at one right now.
Well, Kate, in all fairness I am the senior field agent, but I think it's an experience thing - I was talking about Abby, dodo head.
Thank you, Kate.
Okay, the only chance we have of finding this y is if he contacts us again.
I can embed a virus in the IM software.
- Use it to tag his computer and hope that it leads - Viruses, tracking software? You guys are going about this the wrong way.
What is the first rule of Fight Club, Probie? Okay, Tony, you can barely turn your computer on.
So, no offense You do not talk about Fight Club! And what is the second rule of Fight Club? Abbs? Do not talk about Fight Club! Sir! Exactly.
And Creepy Voice is the guy who led us to Red Cell.
- So he's either a member or he knows a member.
- And they're all midshipmen.
Of course, if the guy's giving McGeek a run for his money, he's got to be pretty smart.
McGee, what was your GPA in college? I failed a fencing class in sophomore year.
So I'm sure you already checked the NROTC records, to make sure there's no computer genius in the unit.
- I hate to say it, but that was actually smart, Tony.
- What was, Kate? - Tony might have figured out how to find the hacker.
- It's his job.
You think I keep him around for his personality? There are 22 midshipmen in the unit with computer science majors.
Only one of them has a 4.
0.
Look familiar? You want to bring him in with me? Considering he embarrassed me, almost got me fired and ruined my weekend? What do you think? "Hello, NCIS.
" You might be smart, but my geek carries a gun.
Hello, you twisted piece of Howdy, Urkel.
Ow! Man, you're hurting me! Ow! You hear something, Tony? No.
Me, neither.
No need to worry.
Federal agents.
Have a nice day.
Hey.
So what do they call it? The box? Coffin? Sweat shop? We just call it interrogation.
What's the deal? You lean on me first, then bring your partner in, get me blabbering? Are you the good cop or the bad cop?Sit.
Okay.
I'm gonna be honest with you.
This is a major waste of time.
You clearly didn't do this.
Reverse psychology.
But my boss, he needs to close the case.
Brass wants answers.
And there is this other agent - Kate Severe-looking thing.
No sense of humor.
She built a profile on you.
What kind of interrogation technique is that? The DiNozzo method.
Not pretty, but it's effective.
Turns out you're the geeks' geek.
The last one to be picked for the team.
That's not true.
This isn't me, Urkel.
Okay? I think you're great.
Sure, you broke a few federal laws, interfering with an ongoing murder investigation.
I was trying to help you.
Right.
It's the way you did it that's suspicious.
Look at me, hmm? The last thing I need is to be pegged as a rat in the unit.
Those guys would have killed me.
Maybe you were looking for payback? They wouldn't let you into their little club? That's crazy.
You know what's crazy? Me almost putting a bullet in a kid's head 'cause he's playing paint ball.
That's a little crazy.
I didn't I didn't want anyone to get hurt.
I was just trying to help.
Turner was a friend.
So you thought sending cryptic e-mails was going to help us find his killer? I think I know who killed him.
Who? Petty Officer Blake.
Yeah, why'd he do it? There's this girl in the unit - Ashley Simmons.
She used to date Blake, but they broke up.
She started dating Turner? I'm not sure.
I know he liked her.
He liked her? Not a real strong motive for murder, Urkel.
Last week I saw all three of them together in the quad.
Ashley was crying.
Turner and Blake started arguing with each other.
About what? I couldn't hear, but I saw Blake push him.
So they fought? No, Turner just left with Ashley.
When I asked him about it later, he said it was personal, something between the three of them.
Well, that's a real interesting theory, Matlock.
One problem.
What? Blake's dead.
He was murdered a few hours after Turner.
B - By who? Someone who wanted to frame him for the murder of his best friend.
Find Midshipman Ashley Simmons.
Now.
Why is your hair still purple, Simmons? It takes a few days to wash out, Gunny.
I hope the time you've spent field-daying is starting to sink in.
I own you until the day you graduate.
Yes, Gunny.
It won't happen again.
You want to give people orders someday? You need to learn how to follow them.
Sounds like pretty good advice, Gunny.
Good evening, sir.
Any luck finding Blake? That's why we're here.
We can talk about this in my office.
- You missed a spot over there, Simmons.
- Actually, we're here for her, Gunny.
Simmons? For what? - We found Blake.
- Where? He's dead.
- We think she knows why.
- I don't, I don't know anything about it.
Then you won't mind answering a few questions.
Take her out to the sedan.
I'll be right out.
But I don't know anything! Tell me everything you know about her, Gunny.
Simmons? Kind of a screw-up, but not a bad kid.
You think she's involved in this? I don't understand.
Blake didn't kill Turner? Nope, they were both murdered.
Not pretty.
Almost twisted his head clean off.
Oh, my God, he did it.
I'm getting too old for this crap.
ROTC was supposed to be an easy tour.
You want a cup? Uh, no.
No, thanks, I'll pass.
Mm.
Good call.
So just how was Blake murdered? I went to them for help last week.
He wouldn't leave me alone.
Wow, two identical neck-breaks? Yeah, we think the killer has military training.
He was forcing me to sleep with him.
Blake and Turner were going to go talk to him, make him stop.
And he killed them.
Who, Midshipman? I'll have everyone in this unit standing by tomorrow.
You can question them all at the same time.
Thanks, Gunny.
Appreciate it.
Just one thing.
What, sir? I said that Blake had been found dead.
You said "murdered.
" You gonna answer that? No.
No, I'm pretty sure I know what it is they want to tell me, Put your hands up.
Not bad, Agent Gibbs.
I'd give up now.
It's only going to get worse.
I think he knows.
You think? You should have stayed out of this, old man.
Okay, stand back.
Cuff him.
Sure thing, boss.
Somehow I don't remember college being quite like this.
Reminds me of this time at Ohio State, we had this frat guy The next person who mentions a spring break or a frat party, or college is fired, are we clear? - Yes.
- Yes.
That's good.